Johannesburg-based Sedna Industrial IT Solutions, a leading provider of industrial and mining IT solutions since 2006, is pleased to announce a change in ownership and a renewed focus on expansion in the EMEA region. This comes after Anton Fester (Managing Director) and Koos Fourie (Technical Director), who have been leading the South African business and concentrating on Sedna’s growth in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, acquired 100% of Sedna’s African business.
Following the conclusion of the deal, the original founders and owners of Sedna, Peter Dormehl and Darryl Mitchell, will continue to own and run Sedna in the USA, with the Americas remaining a major growth market for the business.
Effective today, to mark the separation of the businesses, Sedna in South Africa will rebrand and launch a new website (sedna.africa), while Sedna USA will retain its corporate identity and website.
“For our customers and partners, not much will change on the surface. The South African owners have been in place for years as leaders. There will, however, be a change in focus as the two businesses separate to ensure that they are best positioned to provide solutions for their respective geographies. Sedna in Africa is going to be focused on growing its business in EMEA, while Sedna Inc in the USA is keenly focused on the business in the Americas,” says Peter Dormehl, CEO of Sedna Inc.
Sedna’s USA focus remains on in-pit and underground Private 5G networking as well as the implementation of autonomous mining.
“Over the past five years, our team has rolled out autonomous trucks in the USA, Australia and Europe. As Nokia partners, we have rolled out cost-effective private 5G solutions on mines in the USA,” says Dormehl.
Sedna’s focus in Africa has been on delivering and supporting enabling connectivity technologies such as pLTE and surface and underground WiFi networks. These create opportunities for instrumentation convergence, systems integration, and data accumulation for reporting and management purposes in the mining industry.
Fester says Sedna Africa will be “laser-focused” on delivering excellence and value through production-focused enabling technologies, ensuring heavy-duty businesses enjoy the full benefits of Industry 4.0. Sedna has and continues to add value to industry leaders such as African Rainbow Minerals, Zimplats, Seriti, Thungela, Sibanye Stillwater and DRA.
“This team delivered Africa’s first licensed spectrum mining pLTE network and the continent’s first underground mining pLTE network. Today these networks enable surface and subterranean autonomation use cases by leading OEMs. We are proud to be accredited by all leading wireless technology solutions,” he says.
“This deal ensures we can build and grow our solutions so that more heavy-duty businesses benefit from cutting-edge industrial technology. With the fast pace of technological change Africa mustn’t be left behind. We can now better align to regional requirements and ensure we have dedicated resources to deliver tailor-made solutions that match needs on the ground as we expand.”
In the South African market, Sedna is a 51% black owned, Level 1 BBBEE company, contributing to the growth and diversity of the economy.
“While our heritage has been mining and we have built such a strong pedigree there, we are now seeing significant interest from other heavy industry businesses, like ports, manufacturers, oil and gas, among others, and are very excited to spark further growth in these sectors going forward,” says Fester.
Concludes Mitchell: “I would like to congratulate Anton and Koos, who have essentially been operating as owners for five years now. Their business and ours are well geared to build on the successes we have achieved and grasp the exciting opportunities ahead.”
