Inside Hisense Atlantis
Atlantis, a town roughly 50 kilometres north of Cape Town saw the collapse of its industry in 2010. Its unemployment rate surpassed 50%and its name became shorthand for gang activity and the local drug trade. Walking through the Hisense factory floor, none of that history is visible. What is visible is a working plant: television lines humming, refrigerator shells moving down conveyor belts, and…
Hisense has been present in South Africa since 1996, gradually establishing itself in the market. In 2013, they signed an agreement with the China-Africa Development Fund to build the Atlantis Industrial Park, a R350 million facility built on the site of a former appliance factory that closed in 2008, leaving many workers unemployed.
The factory was formally gazetted as a national Special Economic Zone in June 2018, attracting companies such as Pegas Nonwovens who have invested over a billion rand in the area. The plant directly employs around 1,000 people, with an additional 5,000 jobs spread across logistics, accessories, and support services. Hisense has focused on building its workforce, pairing Chinese engineers with local staff in a skills-transfer program.
This approach has helped workers transition from the production line to higher roles such as mainboard repair technicians, team leaders, and process technicians. The plant has also implemented a rigorous quality assurance system, with daily performance and safety checks, and has expanded its product offerings to include B2B display screens and contract production runs for other appliance brands.
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