UCB Timing holds no grudges over lost tender
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday July 14, 2017 16:49
The company has been handling the marathon for a number of years, but has lost out to competitor, Pro Time. Reacting to allegations that UCB Timing lost the tender due to their higher charges, UCB Timing shareholder, Cal Phableton said they charge a standard rate.
“The charge is determined by the number of runners expected at the race and the micro chips that are bought. The more runners you have, the more chips needed. A lot of the marathons get less runners they had expected and we only invoice for the chips used,” he said. Phableton said their quotation was fair and the only thing that was going to cost them was medals. UCB Timing had charged P109,636.80. to time the Phikwe marathon.
“Our quotation is fair. If Pro Time has won that job, it is fine. We do not have a problem; it is business. We have no hard feelings,” he said. Another shareholder, Mogomotsi Setlhare said competition is healthy and it would prompt them to work harder. “I admit that we have not been pro-active in engaging the Local Organising Committee of the marathon.
I have just realised that committees change every year and it is something that we are working on,” he said. Meanwhile, Phableton said they started the company in 2013 as a passion and not a business. He said back then, everybody was using manual timing such as stop watches during races.
He said they got to a stage where they decided to buy equipment. He said it was just something that they did over the weekend but it turned into a business when the demand rose. “We are a registered company and have full staff members. We have timed all marathons in Botswana and this would be the first time that we are not doing the Phikwe marathon,” he said.
Phableton said the equipment that they have is the same as the one being used by their competitor. He said they have had the same equipment since 2013 when the company started.
He explained that it is the Radio Frequency Identify Device (RFID) Bib Chip, which is the latest timing technology. It is an antenna that sends out frequency and the micro chip sends back the frequency.