Spanish spray equipment manufacturer Sagola is stepping up its efforts to re-establish itself in South Africa, with a renewed focus on local distribution, improved product availability and industry training. Leading the expansion is Adrian Harvey, Regional Distribution Manager for South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, who believes the market presents significant growth opportunities for the brand.
Harvey's primary responsibility is to develop and support Sagola's distribution network across the region, with particular emphasis on the automotive collision repair sector.
"My main role is to find and manage distribution in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa," says Harvey. "When it comes to the automotive segment, that's the main area I'm focusing on. I'm looking mainly for automotive distributors."
Founded more than 75 years ago, Sagola became part of the Elcometer Group approximately six years ago. While Elcometer is internationally recognised for its coating inspection and testing instruments, including paint thickness gauges, adhesion testers and surface inspection equipment, Sagola complements the portfolio with its range of professional spray guns and finishing equipment.
Although the brand once enjoyed a strong presence in South Africa, Harvey says its market position declined after previous distribution arrangements fell away. Despite the continued recognition of the brand among experienced technicians, inconsistent local representation affected its availability.
A key development in Sagola's return strategy has been the acquisition of Edward Searle, providing the company with an established local warehousing and distribution network. Harvey says the absence of local stock had previously been one of the company's biggest disadvantages, with distributors often facing lengthy delivery times.
Edward Searle's existing infrastructure, including its headquarters in Wynberg and branches in Cape Town, Durban and Gqeberha, now enables Sagola to offer improved stock availability, competitive local pricing and faster delivery to customers.
Training forms another important pillar of Sagola's strategy. Harvey is working to ensure distributors receive comprehensive product training so they can better support body shops and refinish customers. One of the company's most innovative training tools is its virtual reality spray simulation system, already used internationally by training centres and technical colleges. The system allows users to develop spraying techniques and muscle memory without consuming paint, compressed air or other workshop resources.
Harvey believes education will become increasingly important as the collision repair industry evolves to accommodate electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). While some repairers have embraced these technologies, he says there remains a need to attract and train a new generation of technicians capable of working on increasingly sophisticated vehicles.
Despite rapid advances in technology, Harvey believes skilled technicians will remain central to the repair process.
On the product side, Sagola continues to invest in innovation. Among its latest developments is the Sagola HEX spray gun, featuring a hexagonal air cap designed to pre-atomise paint more effectively, resulting in finer paint application, improved finish quality and reduced paint consumption.
All Sagola spray equipment continues to be designed and manufactured in Vitoria, Spain, with every spray gun individually tested before leaving the factory.
As the company rebuilds its South African footprint, Harvey says Sagola remains committed to working through local distributors rather than selling directly to end users.
"Our main aim is to support our distributors, help them grow their businesses and provide products that deliver real value to their customers," he says.
