The Pratley Group has established itself as a world leader in the manufacturing of electrical products and adhesives. Since its inception back in 1948, the company has registered over 350 patents and currently manufactures more than 1 200 products and 10 000 product components.
Say the word “Pratley” and most people will think of Pratley Putty®, which, by the way, is the only South African product ever to have gone to the moon. Talk to people in the building and mining industries and the first thing they will come up with is Pratley cable glands and junction boxes. Kim Pratley, CEO of the Pratley Group, talks about the company’s journey to success.
Pratley was started by your dad, George ‘Monty’ Pratley. Tell us more about him. What did he do before he started the company?
He was a very fair person, but a tough businessman and great engineer. He was an inventor and entrepreneur at heart. No matter what he looked at, his first thought was always about how he could improve it.
Monty grew up in South Africa, but studied mechanical engineering at Lanchester Polytechnic in England after his father died. He attended evening classes and during the day worked at British Thomson-Houston Company (BTH), which later became a subsidiary of the General Electric Company. When WWII broke out, he started working as an apprentice turbine engineer as part of the team at BTH in Rugby, who secretly developed the British jet engine under the guidance of Frank Whittle, the inventor of the jet engine.
Later during the war he joined the British Army and landed in Normandy, France on D-Day with the 7th Armoured Division. He was swept all over Europe until the end of the war. He and my mom, Marguerite, met while he was still studying in Rugby. They came to South Africa about a year after the war was over. I think he just wanted to get back home.
What happened when Monty came back to South Africa?
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