A relationship between Precision Miniatures and our main supplier, DJH Engineering, has sadly come to an end with the liquidation of DJH/Modelloco in the United Kingdom.
This event led to a lot of soul searching on the way forward for Precision Miniatures. Fortunately, the tooling and other property has been saved.
I could have simply found other suppliers in the UK, and carried on as before, but I have used the time to rethink the business model.
Precision Miniatures sourced 100% of the components from the UK, which would then be assembled in South Africa, and the completed loco. would then, be reshipped to the new owner to all the corners of the Globe. This, with the exorbitant costs of shipping, and the volatility of the SA Rand exchange rate, led to many inefficiencies.
Additionally, I have reached an age, where it was very tempting to walk away and enjoy travelling with my wife in the remote parts of Africa.
Now for the good news.
I have brought a new younger partner into the business. This will ensure the longevity of Precision Miniatures going forward.
We will be bringing as much of the production to South Africa as possible, along with the introduction new technologies. It will also allow us to introduce new models, as we will not face the crippling cost of skilled toolmakers producing the masters and tooling in the United Kingdom.
Obviously, with the demise of DJH, there are components that will eventually run out and cannot be replaced, but we still have a quantity of spare parts to the existing loco’s out there which now number in excess of 4,000 locos.
With the ‘South Africanising’ of the existing loco’s we will wherever possible make sure that the common replacement parts will be able to be retro fitted. Some of these parts will be available for sale as upgrades for the existing fleet.
This website will be totally revamped, and all the new developments will be communicated via this website and the Precision Miniatures Facebook page.
Thank you to all of our supporters over the years and be safe in knowledge that we will still support the existing products, and look forward to an expanded range of South African steam locomotives.