About Altron - the story of a 60-year-old technology giant

1959

Xerox revolutionised the printing industry on 19 September 1959 with the launch of the fast, economical Xerox 914, the first automatic, plain-paper commercial copier. This paved the way for even more ground-breaking inventions and technological advancements that positioned Xerox as leaders in their field.

1964

Established in South Africa as Rank Xerox.

1974

Founded as Bytes Document Solutions, a division of the Bytes Technology Group, and appointed as the exclusive distributor of Xerox office automation and production printing equipment in Southern Africa.

1995

Merged with Xerox South Africa, becoming the exclusive Southern African distributor of the full range of Xerox products and services.

1997

Acquired Nashua’s production printing division, significantly expanding our capabilities in the high-volume print environment.

2000–2003

• Xerox SA secures the exclusive Sub-Saharan distributorship for Xerox products.
• Xerox operation becomes 100% owned after acquisition of Xerox Limited’s 50% plus 1 share.
• Launched a network of authorised Xerox concessionaires and dealers across Southern Africa, strengthening our footprint in the region.

2003–2004

• The Bytes Group sells 27% of its Bytes South African operations to Kagiso in a BEE deal.
• The Bytes Group purchases CS Holdings as well as 50% of Xerox SA from Xerox International to move to 100% ownership and rebrands Xerox SA as Bytes Document Solutions.
• The exclusive Xerox distribution agreement is renewed for a further 10 years.
• Xerox increases its distribution rights to 22 African countries.

2007

Introduced managed print services (MPS) and outsourced document solutions to meet growing customer demand for service-based models.

2008

Bytes Document Solutions acquires NOR Paper, further expanding our capabilities.

2009

• Named "Partner of the Year" and won the "Productivity Through Partnerships" award at the Xerox Middle-East and Africa Operations Conference in Dubai.
• Upgraded our support structure and presence in Zimbabwe by appointing Document Support Centre as our exclusive distributor.
• Awarded Best Company within Bytes in 2009. With R1.8 billion in revenue and operating profit of R179 million, Bytes Document Solutions consolidated its position as the key contributor to the Bytes group.

2010

Xerox distribution rights increased to 27 African countries.

2011

Won the Xerox Middle East & Africa Partner of the Year Award for 2010, outperforming competitors from 76 countries in the MEA region.

2015

Expanded our offering to include workflow software and cloud-based document management solutions.

2017

Following a restructuring of the Bytes Technology Group, our business remained within the Altron Group.

2020 and beyond

Rebranded as Altron Document Solutions, continuing our journey as a leader in intelligent document solutions and services across Africa.