SANJI ELECTRONICS: The Cutting Edge in Curbing SA Car Crime

Car security has been a pressing concern in South Africa for as long as many would care to remember. Even as far back as in 1998, the extent of the scourge drove SA inventor Charl Fourie to craft the aptly named ‘Blaster,’ an outlandish car-mounted, laterally-firing flamethrower designed to defend against carjackings, ultimately removed from the market shortly thereafter following a brief blast of sales.

The problem persists, however, and in fact continues to swell; the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) latest report indicates close to 70 cars being stolen daily, a 6.5% rise from the previous year, while Tracker’s latest Vehicle Crime Index highlights hijackings and car thefts having significantly increased by the end of 2023 and into 2024.

From headquarters in Kyalami, Gauteng, over more than three decades Sanji Electronics has been a world leader in vehicle security products, “renowned for our ability to design leading-edge security products,” states MD Steve Easton.

KEYLESS THEFTS

“In the area of hi-tech security, you can always leave the thinking to Sanji.”

In 2022, Easton spoke proudly of the company’s resilience and continued growth through Covid and its many reverberations, outlining that the company had its building blocks in, “all of the right places,” to position it incredibly strongly; two years down the line, different challenges have been overcome to ensure the same level of growth, he explains.

“2023 was a fantastic year for Sanji, as we had forecast back in 2022,” Easton confirms. “We had all expected 2024 in South Africa to be more difficult, and we certainly witnessed a downturn in confidence and a hesitance to spend from February onwards, but we seem to be past all that now and things are slowly turning again – there has been a uptick in the motor industry from August and there is a lot more positivity out there, and we are starting to share in this.”

Among the most impactful of automotive advancements in recent years has been the advent of keyless cars. Convenient, futuristic and compact, the technology affords hassle-free access to the vehicle with a simple push of a button enough to start the engine.

Sadly, Easton explains, although highly sophisticated and innovative, these developments are not immune to the techniques and manipulations of a resourceful criminal looking to exploit any vulnerabilities they may contain. “Keyless car theft has become a major issue, all over the world, but very noticeably here in South Africa,” he relays. “It is as seamlessly effectuated and apparently innocuous as it is devastating.”

It goes without saying that anyone who has invested money in a vehicle asset will be anxious to protect it, but this level of protection has, equally, to be commensurate with the range of technology choices that criminals have available to them. Tackling this particular matter head on, Easton explains, Sanji has just brought to market the STELTH, a product long in the crafting that will have life-changing impacts throughout the country.

“There is no point in being a weak link in the crime chain, which is why Sanji has developed the STELTH to enhance factory keyless entry remotes by providing secure immobilisation via a proximity FOB,” Easton outlines, as Sanji outsmarts the unscrupulous once again. “To finally reach a point where we can confidently release a product like this is significant – is so difficult, given the rapidity with which the technology is constantly changing, but to know that it works, and works well, puts us in a great position to go directly into competition with the thieves and come out on top.”

A highly intuitive solution, Easton expands, the invention essentially sets a perimeter, similar to a Geofence, around a vehicle, outside of which any attempts to start it would fail. “STELTH is therefore less susceptible to code grabbers and sniffers than any standard keyless entry system, currently on the market,” Easton further details. “Only if the driver has the specific Sanji tag on their person will the vehicle start.”

MOVING WITH THE TIMES

This is a further example of Sanji’s inimitable knack for identifying gaps in the market, and quickly capitalising, Easton explains. “Numerous other products have tried to resolve this issue, and lot of companies are going down the CAN Bus route (Controller Area Network) – essentially the computer that runs the car – but we have gone away from that,” he says. “It is fraught with issues, which can potentially inhibit the functionality of the security system.

“We, on the other hand, have gone with a physical mobilisation cut, which cannot be affected by any changes in the software or computer, all for the safety of the consumer.”

Moving with the times, and listening to the market and its needs, Easton reiterates, is a factor that he has long pinpointed as pivotal to Sanji’s success the in conversation with Enterprise Africa over the years. “Our reaction time to market is very quick – we are a small, agile company, and can swiftly analyse and make a decision,” he states. “We partner with numerous manufacturers in South Africa who will come to us with a specific problem, and we are able to give them a solution within weeks; for most larger companies, that wheel turns very slowly indeed.

“I attribute a lot of our success to this capability of ours, and such adaptability is also critical in keeping ahead of those looking for ways to manipulate or override our systems.

“Our core business remains vehicle security, and we do this very well, but equally we are always on the lookout for other opportunities, for niche markets and avenues to enhance our brand and close the loop and give everybody everything they could require or desire.”

A policy of ‘customer-first’ at Sanji lends the business another critical edge, according to Easton. “Our customer service is what we have built this company on,” he enthuses. “It is entrenched in every facet and in every employee across the organisation, and the feedback we receive across every platform reflects it.

“Most importantly,” Easton cements, “our failure rate is incredibly low – next to nothing, in fact. We have very stringent quality tests meaning that before a unit reaches an end user it has been through multiple tests in our facility; the chances of a problem are very, very slim.”

Reliable, secure and all-encompassing; the Sanji offering becomes more compelling each time we revisit the company. “We cover every aspect of the vehicle, with units that work, and we move with the times and conventions,” Easton concludes. “We can offer a products for any vehicle, whatever the cost or specification, to improve its safety and security.”