Ineos Automotive, the manufacturer of the Grenadier off-road vehicle, has acquired Botswana-based Kavango Engineering, a leading vehicle conversion specialist in southern Africa. Following this acquisition, the business has been rebranded as Ineos Kavango.

Located in Maun, northern Botswana, at the gateway to the Okavango Delta, Ineos Kavango’s 5,000 square meter premises includes extensive fabrication and assembly facilities. Its highly skilled 70-strong workforce completes around 200 conversions a year. The team members that founded Kavango Engineering will remain involved in the business.

The acquisition will enable Ineos Automotive to expand its vehicle conversion and maintenance capabilities. Ineos Kavango will focus on ground-up conversions and ongoing maintenance of Grenadier Station Wagon and Grenadier Quartermaster pickups for a wide range of use cases, including conservation, safari, anti-poaching, veterinary, primary healthcare, and film production.

Ineos Kavango has already created a Safari Grenadier from a donor production prototype vehicle. Engineering modifications were minimal, centring on a slightly raised ride height and relocating the Station Wagon’s roof-mounted switchgear to the centre console. A lightweight roll-back canvas top has replaced the original roof with a foldable windscreen, and the usual tiered seating has been added to maximise passengers’ views.

Ineos Kavango Grenadier Safari

“This acquisition will help Ineos Automotive realise the vision of Ineos chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe for the Grenadier to play a key role in critical conservation and environmental programmes worldwide,” says Lynn Calder, CEO of Ineos Automotive. “Bringing the Kavango team in-house also means it can work closely with our engineering and manufacturing teams to optimise processes to supply conversion-ready vehicles so we can better serve these specialist use cases worldwide.”

Charles van Rensburg, CEO of Ineos Kavango, added: “Botswana is recognised as a global leader in conservation, and we will continue to support its work and that of other countries and organisations across Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, there are a broad range of opportunities across other sectors that always need durable, capable off-road vehicles with purpose-built bodies to perform specific roles. Our objective is to sustainably grow the business over the long term. That means developing a broader portfolio of services, adding further high-skilled jobs and diversifying the local economy to the benefit of the community.”

Phil Huff
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