OUR HISTORY
MORE THAN 50 YEARS
The Willard Batteries branch was opened and started trading in 1978 in Windhoek in Voigts Street in an old house that was painted green and yellow using the house as office space and the garage as the warehouse. The branch continued to fall under the Free State Region.
In the early 90s Willard Batteries moved to larger premises in a new building on the corner of Voigts and Edison Street and Willard Batteries was registered as a separate company in Namibia following the Independence of Namibia in 1990. It is proud to have one of the earliest and oldest Namibian company registration numbers (SWA 403).
Following the acquisition of the SABAT Battery brand by Powertech in the late 90’s/early 2000s, Willard Batteries took on the distribution of SABAT batteries in Namibia.
All documentation and legal issues at the time was under the Willard Batteries company and it was decided to change the name to a more general name and Powerbat was established in 2005 to cater for both the Willard and SABAT battery brands.
Originally being located in the Northern Industrial area meant that the operation was far from the Windhoek customer base and, with the growth of the SABAT Batteries brand it was decided to move closer to the market and source a larger warehouse. A site was identified in the then newly established industrial area in Prosperita and this is where it is still housed today.
Powerbat was included in the acquisition of Powertech shares of Powertech Batteries and as such continues to operate as a subsidiary of AutoX and continues to trade with both the Willard and SABAT Battery Brands as well as the VARTA brand in Automotive Batteries and has along with its holding company recently introduced to the Industrial market the Rentech brand of standby and renewable energy solutions.
THE POWERBAT TEAM
WAREHOUSE FOOTPRINT
From our distribution centres in Windhoek and Walvis Bay, Powerbat supplies trusted automotive battery brands to retail partners right across Namibia.
BATTERY STANDARDS
As a subsidary of AutoX, we regard quality as a non-negotiable. AutoX subscribe to the highest quality standards in the South African industry as well as to international standards relevant in European markets. We also benchmark our products against the best quality car batteries in the world.
In 1987, AutoX’s Port Elizabeth production facility became the first in South Africa to be awarded the SABS Quality Management System for battery manufacturing. Since then, both pillar brands, Willard and SABAT batteries carry the SABS Mark of Approval.
In 2018, AutoX became the official distributor of the high performance international battery brand, VARTA. The VARTA brand is certified according to European Battery standards and subscribes to all European quality car batteries standards and forms part of the Powerbat offering.
CODE OF CONDUCT
As a subsidiary of AutoX, Powerbat follows the same Code of Conduct/Battery Standards, click here to view them.
Sustainability
At Powerbat, we believe performance should be supported by accountability. Our battery brands form part of an independently verified Product Carbon Footprint study, aligned to internationally recognised environmental and greenhouse gas reporting standards.