Chelyabinsk electrical equipment manufacturer considers opening production in South Africa

Chelyabinsk Electric Equipment Plant LLC (CEEP), a major manufacturer of electrical switchgear equipment in the Urals, is discussing the possibility of setting up assembly production in South Africa, the company has stated. Like Russia, South Africa is a member of BRICS.

CEEP’s statement reads “From January 15 to 17, a delegation from CEEP led by Director Alexei Kamynin visited South Africa, during which they visited the CityPower substation located in the Automotive Special Economic Zone in Tshwane (TASEZ). The parties discussed the needs of the local energy sector and the potential establishment of CEEP’s assembly production in the SEZ. South African companies’ management expressed interest in cooperation, noting that CEEP’s products could significantly improve the efficiency of the country’s energy infrastructure. According to the head of the Chelyabinsk plant, following the results of the visit the ways of further cooperation were outlined in terms of certification of products of the Chelyabinsk Plant in South Africa.

“In South Africa there are European standards and requirements for electrical switchboard products – while we have 0.4/6/10/20/20/35 kV voltage classes, in South Africa they are different: 6.6/11/22/33 kV. Therefore, of course, we will have to adapt the equipment of CEEP to local conditions. To begin with, we will compare IEC standards with Russian GOSTs, draw conclusions and, based on these conclusions, make changes in the technical specifications of our products that are necessary for certification in South Africa”, – Alexey Kamynin shared his future plans.

CEEP also plans to certify its products in South Africa.

The company aims to increase its share of exports to 20% of total production by 2031 and is actively developing its international links, CEEP said. They have previously supplied their products to Georgia, Moldova and Cuba, and in 2024 the company opened an office in China, with plans to open offices in India and the UAE.

CEEP specializes in the production of more than 30 types of electrical equipment with voltages of up to 35 kV, and also produces modular boiler units, heat points, water purification and chemical water treatment units and industrial-type uninterruptible power supplies.

CEEP’s own pivot to the Global South is representative of an increasing trend of Russian outbound investment to ‘friendly countries’ – many of them in the BRICS group. That now includes Russia, and South Africa in addition to Brazil, China, India, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE and Indonesia as full members, and Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan who joined as BRICS Partner states in January 2025.

South Africa is a member of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement which reduces intra-African trade tariffs to zero on 90% of all manufactured products.