Father and son team, Kerry and Craig Motherwell, have received the Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year® award at the awards ceremony for the annual 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS, held in Johannesburg this morning.
Kerry and Craig are the owners of Foxolution SE, which designs and builds on-site oxygen generators for various industries, utilising their own purpose-built technology to supply hospitals and clinics. The generators, which extract oxygen from the surrounding air, are utilised for a number of industrial applications, including gold recovery, waste water treatment, water purification and odour control.
While Foxolution is currently the only manufacturer of oxygen generators in South Africa, the company has sold the majority of its units on the rest of the African continent, which helps to bring revenue into the country. The company has installed units in Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, among other countries.
Launched in 2003, Foxolution has also prevailed against its share of potentially crippling challenges. Most notably, Foxolution has rebounded from being bankrupted by one of its clients, and successfully weathered the 2008 global financial crisis.
Kerry and Craig have also committed themselves to ensuring that Foxolution’s employees receive the best possible opportunities to grow their skills. Having been accredited by the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority (merSETA), Foxolution offers in-house training for aspirant technicians, artisans, and engineers. The company also provides financial support for long-standing employees who wish to study further in line with its core engineering activities.
The Entrepreneur of the Year® panel of judges commended the Foxolution team’s tenacity and entrepreneurial drive. “We are extremely impressed by Kerry and Craig’s commitment to understanding every aspect of their industry, as well as their results when it comes to bringing revenue into South Africa. Like many businesses, Foxolution has also experienced situations that threatened to close their doors, and the fact that they could continue to build their business through rough times is a testament to their entrepreneurial spirit,” commented the judges.
On being selected as a winner in the national competition, the father-son duo say this is only the beginning for Foxolution. “This award confirms that we are on the right track with our business, but it also serves to motivate us to keep moving forward in terms of growth and expansion,” they conclude.
For more information on their business, please visit the Foxolution website: foxolution.co.za.