How car workshops are transforming to stay in business during loadshedding in SA

• Tiger Wheel and Tyre is going off the grid by leveraging the sun's power.
  
• Fourways, Johannesburg outlet is the first to run purely on solar energy.
• In phase one, 16 tyre shops in the chain are undergoing a transition to self-sustainability.
• For motoring news, go to Wheels24

Running a business in South Africa can prove challenging these days, particularly when it comes to loadshedding. You'll never know, until the last minute, if you're going to be without electricity for two hours or four hours – sometimes even longer. If you run a business that's dependent on electricity, such as a tyre and wheel shop, you'll need the 'power' to stay in business. 

Tiger Wheel and Tyre (TWT) has just announced that it's taking its stores off the grid when it comes to electricity to ensure the viability of its operations into the future as South Africa continues to grapple with an ongoing energy crisis. The company's store in Fourways in Johannesburg is the first of the Tiger Wheel and Tyre chain to complete the move to solar power. 

A first for tyre shops in SA

This is just the first store to go solar, as the Tiger Wheel and Tyre continues its mission to prioritise a carbon-neutral footprint, with all stores running on solar energy within the next three years. The company's spokespeople say several fitment centres are currently in various transition phases.

Tiger Wheel and Tyre cemented its decision to use renewable energy for several reasons. The most important of these is the brand's stated responsibility to ensure a healthier future for generations to come.

Other essential factors that informed this decision include soaring energy prices and the uncertainty of loadshedding in South Africa. Alex Taplin, TiAuto Investments CEO, is passionate about the project: "We have to take active steps towards using clean, renewable energy sources to lessen our impact upon the environment. State-of-the-art technology that embraces sustainability is now readily available, so it would be highly remiss of us were we not to incorporate these technologies and obvious benefits into our everyday operations."

Massive carbon dioxide emissions reductions

Taplin adds: "The advantages of solar power are tangible and measurable. By way of example, if we take just the initial Fourways store pilot project, we're looking at a reduction of more than 28 000kg of reduced carbon dioxide emissions per annum. That's the equivalent of 64 trees saved."

He expounds that once TWT has fully transitioned stores in Phase 1 of this electrification project to solar power, 16 outlets, it will reduce emissions equivalent by more than 560 000kg of carbon dioxide and reduce its oil equivalent by 80 000 litres a year. That's the same as saving 1 200 trees a year.

"We call on other businesses to move to sustainable energy, as we will all benefit in the end," Taplin concludes.

Tiger Wheel and Tyre's solar solution enables stores to continue operating normally without reducing service offerings during loadshedding. What's more, thanks to being increasingly self-sufficient from a power supply perspective, the company's power system is now even more stable, and in a small way, we can assist by reducing reliance on an already overburdened Eskom Grid.

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