IDC hires private security to guard equipment at BT Industrial amid fears of asset stripping

The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), which had anticipated a South Gauteng High Court judgement to liquidate empowerment company BT Industrial Group (BTIG) for an R136 million debt has had to hire private security to guard equipment at the company's premises amidst fears they have already begun asset stripping.

The legal matter has been postponed sine die following the late filing of an application to opposed the liquidation order. This is as the matter had been set for Thursday for a final judgement by the Gauteng High Court, which had been expected to grant the IDC authority to dispose of the moveable property of  the BTIG  to recover the debt.

The court could not confirm the order after the BTIG, through its attorneys, filed a notice to oppose, requiring the matter to be set for a hearing at a future date.

Sources close to the matter have said the IDC, in fear of losing out on expensive equipment, which could recapture some of the debt, had hired a private security firm to maintain a presence outside of the BTIG's facilities. A source told Business Report that the IDC has over the past two years made considerable effort to restructure the struggling black-owned business so it could restart operations but has been rebuffed by the BTIG CEO.

“It’s not true that operations at the company were seized because of interference by the IDC. The business has been in limbo for the past two years or more,” sources said.

"The company employed delaying tactics by making the late challenge. The IDC resorted to having its own security around the clock at the premises because it was tipped off from the sheriff's report that one of the six plants had been removed. So the whole plant and equipment could be sold off by the time a new hearing date and the legal process concluded," sources said.

The IDC declined to comment on the matter with IDC spokesperson Tshepo Ramodibe saying the Corporation does not comment on matters in litigation.

BT Industrial Group, a South African company established in 2017, was chosen as an Enterprise Development partner for Pharma Dynamics, under the DTIC’s Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP).

BT Industrial Group operates in the industrial and healthcare sectors, manufacturing HDPE pipes for residential, industrial, agricultural, and commercial use. BT Industrial develops and manufactures various medical products and devices from its manufacturing plant in Benoni, Ekurhuleni. It has a pipeline of close to 40 patents that can be developed and manufactured.

The company has earlier said the fallout with the IDC stems from a failure to apply a key regulation and renew an empowerment compliance certificate by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, which has put a R150 million localised syringe manufacturing programme at risk.

The non renewal was also not properly disclosed by the department or the subsidiary of a multinational pharmaceutical involved.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, BT Industrial Group developed an innovative inner lining for medical masks, designed to trap viruses and bacteria, significantly lowering production costs and reducing reliance on imports. The company has had manufacturing contracts with German and American companies and won numerous awards, including Black Industrialist and Exporter Award.

BUSINESS REPORT