Passion for the Klingshield brand.

An Interview with Leon Levy of Klingshield

Leon is more than a businessman. He is a true entrepreneur who worked his way up from a salesman to a leader in the window film industry. Leon became an innovator and leader over a period 48 years and is known in the industry as a pioneer and leader when it comes to turning ordinary glass into solar and safety glass.

Leon says he was very fortunate to have the right product at the right time. I had to learn from trial and error. However, I had a passion for the business and was determined to make it work . It took me four months to crack my first order. I persisted and believed in the product because I did my homework and realised this was a life saving product and an energy saver product which is going to play a very important role in our future world. These two advantages were very important contributors to any society and after the 1976 Soweto rioting the business took off and there was no looking back.

Leon has built a team with a high degree of experience and expertise and a healthy business. We understand the cultures of our markets and our people. We don't lose good people as we look after them and hold onto them as we realise our business is as good as the abilities of our staff.

Sometimes we have 150 years of experience in a room at one time. There's a tremendous amount of loyalty and teamwork in our company here. We all learn from each other and mentor each other. Our company has concentrated it’s efforts on window coating window films and window treatments.

We try very hard to keep our suppliers and customers very happy.

Education and safety is a very high priority in our company and our knowledge in window film is really good as we have been around the block.

Builders and Architects don't have all the answers and rely on our experienced consultants to help and advise them. Experience has taught us lessons and has prepared us for the future.

We do walk away from jobs if the rewards are not fair and we will not take technological risks. It's that simple. Many companies in our industry don't realise the risk in installing window films with high absorption, which becomes a risk when it comes to glass cracking. We put our takkies on and run for the hills when these risky jobs come our way and the client insists on the incorrect film for a particular installation.

Too many companies in the window film industry worldwide are willing to try things with high risk. We say no, it won't work and we don't try to make it work. Trying to make it work is what has killed many companies in our industry.

We found the quickest way to lose customers is to make promises that cannot be fulfilled.

We have lots of old clients coming back to us in commercial and residential areas and this somehow makes us recession proof. We also have a very good client base with the support of car dealers who have been supporting us for many years. Today most cars sold in South Africa need to have Klingshield smash and grab window protectinon applied to their car glass.

People are our greatest asset and we give them lots of room and they rarely disappoint us. Contra to most company philosophies, relatives are encouraged to work at the company.

We have few extended families working in our company. When it's a family business employees have greater stake and a higher loyalty and a strong desire to succeed. We work together as a team and the more educated everyone is ,the more eyes catch mistakes.

As Errol Geyer, our Sales Manager says “It's not my job or his job, his problem or my problem, it's our problem”. We are not perfect. We all make mistakes and we don't pretend to be perfect but we love our business and will go to the ends of the earth to protect our good name and company.