July 25, 2025 – We departed from Terminal 2 of Beijing Capital International Airport and, after an 18-hour flight, arrived at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa. Located at the southernmost tip of the African continent, South Africa is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, with Namibia, Botswana, and three other countries to its north. It has three capital cities: Pretoria (administrative), Cape Town (legislative), and Bloemfontein (judicial). The country spans a total area of 1,219,090 square kilometers with a coastline of approximately 3,000 kilometers. Most regions experience a tropical savanna climate. South Africa is divided into 9 provinces and 278 local municipalities. As of 2022, the population stands at 62 million, with Black Africans accounting for 81.7%, and the remainder comprising Coloured, White, and Asian ethnic groups. English and Afrikaans are the commonly spoken languages, and Christianity is the predominant religion. As Africa's second-largest economy, South Africa is the most economically developed and highly industrialized middle-income developing nation on the continent. It is rich in natural resources, boasts a robust financial and legal system, and has well-established infrastructure in communications and transportation. Mining (with world-leading deep-level mining technology), manufacturing, agriculture, and services form the four pillars of its economy. The GDP per capita is $6,138.
Our first stop was Johannesburg. Covering an area of 1,645 square kilometers and with a population of over 5.5 million (more than half of whom are Black), it is South Africa's most economically developed city, the largest metropolis and financial hub in Southern Africa, a key industrial center, and the nation's largest gold and diamond trading venue, as well as the global epicenter of gold production.
After an 18-hour flight, we landed smoothly at O.R. Tambo Airport. Unlike procedures in many other countries, immigration in South Africa was straightforward—only visa verification was required, with no additional questions asked, though the process was somewhat slow. After successfully clearing customs, we exchanged $1,000 at a rate of 1 USD to 16.89 ZAR (Rand) for daily expenses. While exiting the airport, the noticeable presence of Black individuals initially made us slightly uneasy, but we felt reassured upon meeting our friend who was waiting for us. Our friend then took us to a hotel in Chinatown. The Chinese owner was very friendly and provided considerable assistance. After two days of rest, we began a week of customer visits.
On the first day at 10 a.m., we visited South Africa's largest water treatment products wholesaler, with whom we have collaborated for many years. After a brief meeting, their technical staff showed us around their office area, which was relocated five or six years ago. The space spans approximately 7,000 square meters, encompassing offices, storage, and testing zones. The warehouse was neatly organized with products like Woton reverse osmosis membranes, Runxin control valves, and water purifier filter elements. In the sample room, carbon steel spray-coated and stainless-steel three-stage filters cater to diverse client needs. Additionally, there were stainless-steel reverse osmosis systems with or without pre-treatment units and high-pressure desalination equipment. We also toured a new 12,000-square-meter warehouse currently storing a small quantity of goods, with plans to gradually relocate all products and testing functions there. The visit concluded with a two-hour discussion covering current collaborations, product issues, and future plans, followed by a joint lunch.
The next day, we visited a well-known local client with an extensive retail network and agents in Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. Their business covers both household and commercial water treatment products. This customer places strong emphasis on branding—products ranging from three-stage filters, household/commercial reverse osmosis water purifiers, to melt-blown filter elements, activated carbon filters, fiberglass tanks, and Runxin control valves all feature their exclusive logo, ensuring consistent brand recognition. Their business model balances agent expansion and end retail. During a four-hour meeting, we addressed the client’s procurement needs and technical inquiries by providing detailed quotations and solutions on the spot. The client highly appreciated our responsiveness and solutions, expressing clear and strong interest in cooperation.
On the third day, we met with a long-term wholesale client. Unlike traditional wholesalers, this customer has its own technical team capable of providing direct technical support and customized solutions to downstream clients. In their warehouse, alongside a wide array of our products (fiberglass tanks, three-stage filters, water purifier filter elements, brine tanks, ion-exchange resins, household/commercial water purifiers, ultrafiltration filters, etc.), their self-developed simple filling equipment was particularly notable. The setup centers on a reverse osmosis system, combined with water storage tanks, dosing systems, and UV sterilizers, ultimately producing alkaline purified drinking water for sale. On site, neatly stacked bottles of filled purified water were visible.
After the tour, both sides held in-depth discussions on current collaboration progress, issues in product usage, and future cooperation plans. This meeting clarified the direction for future collaboration, laying a solid foundation for deeper partnership.
As we had another customer visit in the afternoon, we did not return to the hotel. Instead, we bought food at a nearby supermarket and tried local wraps. This is typical for those in foreign trade: where the customers are, we are. After a short break, we began the afternoon visit.
The afternoon client was a representative comprehensive service provider in Johannesburg—engaged not only in pipeline installation and drilling engineering but also offering full water treatment equipment installation services. Johannesburg's municipal water pipeline network is decades old, with many pipes rusted and leaking, sometimes leading to water cuts three to four times a week. Consequently, more households are opting to drill their own wells. While well water is convenient, it has high sand content and hardness; boiling it leaves thick scale, making water treatment systems essential. Thus, the client’s core business is "drilling + water treatment": first drilling wells for households, then installing reverse osmosis systems (to remove heavy metals and impurities), three-stage filters (to filter sediment), and UV sterilizers (to eliminate bacteria) based on water quality test results. Their visited store, though small, was well-organized: the front hall display area featured various pipe fittings (PVC pipes, joints, valves), water treatment equipment, reverse osmosis systems, three-stage filters, and household water purifiers placed near the entrance. Having previously communicated the client’s procurement needs via email, we directly addressed order details during the meeting. Building on prior discussions, both sides proceeded to align products and confirm requirements, preliminarily reaching intent for a 20-foot container order, pending final verification by the client’s partner. Due to time constraints, the client agreed to provide feedback the next day.
As planned, we visited an engineering contractor in Johannesburg specializing in water treatment. Like other companies, they operated with a "warehouse + office" layout: the ground floor housed a roughly 2,000-square-meter warehouse, while the upper floor contained offices and a sample room. The sample room displayed current best-sellers, including a compact reverse osmosis system notable for its black frame and touch-screen display panel—distinct from other South African clients' equipment—and praised for its solid construction and high quality. The client expressed interest in importing this product, requesting quotes and subsequent maintenance parts. Besides this, the sample room also featured melt-blown filter elements, high-pressure pumps, stainless steel membrane housings, and more. We learned that the client is a distributor for Pentair and operates two main business segments: wholesale serving small and medium-sized businesses with cost-effective standard products, and project engineering addressing large-scale water purification needs for factories and hotels, thus demanding extremely high product quality. Due to time limits, after discussing products, we briefly introduced our company’s development history and global best-selling product matrix to give the client a comprehensive understanding of our capabilities, paving the way for future collaboration.
Friday, we visited a 70-year-old engineering company in South Africa as scheduled. The client attached great importance to the meeting, with the owner and purchasing manager participating throughout. During discussions, we introduced our company’s development, best-selling products in South Africa, and future plans. The client clearly expressed interest in cooperation and looked forward to further steps. This client utilizes an integrated "office + warehouse" layout: the front area on the ground floor features a reception desk and display hall (showcasing Atlas filter housings, three-stage filters), while the rear area is a 1,500-square-meter warehouse. Post-meeting, the client showed us the warehouse, where a containerized reverse osmosis system with a capacity of 10 tons/hour—primarily for municipal supply—was being assembled on the left. The right side displayed components like fiberglass tanks, ion-exchange resins, SEKO dosing pumps, etc. The product quality and organizational rigor reflected their stringent standards, marking them as a high-potential, quality client.
As of today, our itinerary in Johannesburg concluded. Limited time meant we couldn’t visit all customers. After organizing our schedule, we prepared to depart for Cape Town.
August 2, at 6 a.m., dawn just breaking, we set off for the airport to fly to Cape Town. The airport was already bustling. Our friend saw us off and then left. A helpful Black gentleman guided us to the check-in counter; we gave him 50 ZAR. After a three-hour flight, we landed smoothly at Cape Town Airport. Having pre-arranged pickup, the process was seamless, and we were driven directly to our booked downtown apartment—equipped with cooking facilities, very convenient. After settling in, we explored the surroundings. Noticing many Black people around, we immediately felt less safe than imagined: passing a scenic park, we hesitated to take out our phones for photos, fearing robbery. After a brief look around, we bought some food at a nearby supermarket and returned. The next day, we toured Cape Town on a sightseeing bus, enjoying the beautiful views along the route.
The first day involved visiting a long-term supplier. The client first showed us their Cape Town warehouse (approx. 1,500 m²): the ground floor mostly stored pipe fittings and water pumps, with one-third area dedicated to filter elements and filter housings; the upper floor partly served as offices, with the rest storing over a hundred three-stage filters and string-wound, melt-blown filter elements. Their Johannesburg warehouse also primarily focuses on irrigation components. The client mainly operates in the irrigation sector, supplying garden/agricultural irrigation parts, water pumps, etc., with water treatment business accounting for 10%-15%. Products include household water purifiers (with/without pump models, recommended based on water pressure), fiberglass tanks, Runxin valves, etc. When asked why they expanded into water treatment, the client cited its relevance to their core pump and irrigation business; additionally, Cape Town's drought (compared to more rainfall in the north) creates significant irrigation (including cultivation) demand, thus a substantial water treatment market, with government support for irrigation. The client predicts a stable and growing water treatment market in South Africa over the next 10 years due to prominent local water issues (hard water, seawater, abundant groundwater), offering vast market potential. We also discussed future cooperation and category expansion; the client expressed satisfaction with the current collaboration.
The second visit was to another long-term client. Previously focused on household reverse osmosis series, filter elements, filter housings, countertop filters, etc., they are now gradually expanding into industrial reverse osmosis series, including fiberglass tanks, three-stage filters, Runxin control valves, ion-exchange resins, silicon phosphor crystals, reverse osmosis membrane housings, and filters. This client has become a top online retailer in South Africa and has begun in-house production of melt-blown filter elements, expanding their warehouse threefold, showing rapid development in recent years. This reminded us: we must keep pace with our clients, proactively engaging with the market and customers rather than waiting passively in the office.
The third client is also an engineering contractor, visited previously in 2018 though collaboration hasn't commenced yet. They specialize in large-scale water treatment projects and recently bid on a new project in Ghana. If successful, they will inquire about prices for components like fiberglass membrane housings, reverse osmosis membranes, and couplings. Despite being over 70 years old, the client is energetic and enthusiastic about our visit; their work ethic and attitude are admirable.
The fourth client is a local wholesaler specializing in reverse osmosis equipment and parts, with deep product and industry knowledge. During a two-hour meeting, we thoroughly discussed current cooperative products and explored future collaboration directions. Afterwards, the client showed us their warehouse, where we saw many best-selling products: Southern pumps, UV sterilizers, desalination equipment, fiberglass tanks, Runxin control valves, three-stage filters, etc.
The fifth client is a specialized engineering contractor who showed us three projects: first, a groundwater treatment production line for a beverage factory, using green sand and Birm filter media for iron and manganese removal as pre-treatment, paired with fiberglass membrane housings, Huitong membranes, Seko dosing pumps, CNP pumps, UPVC filters, etc., to meet the factory's water intake requirements; second, a containerized direct-drinking water reverse osmosis system (similar configuration) supplying daily water for a church; third, a 3,000-ton/day desalination and sewage treatment plant at an amusement park (we couldn't view the desalination unit due to strict park management). The client highlighted Cape Town's significant water challenges (abundant seawater, scarce water resources, plentiful groundwater), leading to numerous desalination and groundwater treatment projects. They plan to transition into wholesaling in the future while maintaining technical support and parts supply.
After two weeks of visits, we not only gained insights into our clients' situations but also developed a deep understanding of the local water treatment market. We will continue to cultivate the South African market to acquire more customers and market share. We concluded our customer visits on August 16, 2025, local time, and returned to China.
