Stephen Leclezio | Director, TSAR Group & Lead Project Manager, Sprint Organics
Bright sunlight and the glimmer of waves from the harbour of Trou Fanfaron light up the elegantly decorated office of Stephen Leclezio. In his early thirties, he is one of the co- directors of TSAR Group, a dynamic and multi-faceted family company. Lead project manager of Sprint Organics, Stephen Leclezio is a man with a passion for sustainable agro-industrial development.
Stephen Leclezio, you are one of the directors of the TSAR Group. Port-Louis Digest would like to know more about the company and why it has chosen to operate from the vicinity of the port?
TSAR Group is a family company formed by my father; Arnaud Leclezio. My father worked in the agro-business industry for a long time before eventually starting his own business trading fertilizer called Island Fertilizer back in 2004. He sold his shares in the company over six 6 years ago and decided to start a family office, now called TSAR Group, that would focus on new investments. T.S.A.R. actually is an acronym of our first names, Thierry, Stephen, Arnaud (our father) and Robbie.
So, we set up our headquarters here strategically. And indeed, being located at the harbour of Port-Louis is a great asset for us. On top of being centrally located, with immediate access to the highway, being at the port facilitates all our logistics, import, packaging and export activities. It allows us to comfortably consider on the spot delivery if needed but also envision expanding export activities for the future.
TSAR Group was created in 2015 and is made up of a portfolio of different activities in which we each have a particular interest. As a group we have proven our capacity to be able to develop more than one product or service at a time. Therefore, being located at the doorstep of the harbour is definitely a major advantage as it allows us the room for exploring different investment and growth avenues not only for the Mauritian market, but also for the Indian Ocean and beyond that we would possibly not been afforded if not for the ease of development provided by the harbour’s facilities.
Can you elaborate more on the portfolio of activities of TSAR Group?
My elder brother Thierry and I were both overseas when our father came up with the new business development vision. Given his optimism we both decided to move back to Mauritius to join forces with him to help realize his vision and create long-term value. One of the first companies that the group invested in was a waterproofing company called Speciality Coatings, which has now been operating for over 6 years and has consistently grown year on year and built a trusted and loyal brand name within the marketplace. Although a wholly-owned subsidiary of the group, the entity is very much self-sufficient and is able to operate with minimal intervention. We advise on financial matters to ensure that the cash flow and budgets are on track, but from an operational point of view that are very independent.
One of the first ventures that my brother and I developed with the group is a company called Integrated Energy Solutions (IES). The focus of IES is to identify new exciting technologies from abroad which promote energy efficiency and optimization. In Mauritius, the price of electricity is very high and, before the pandemic hit the world economy, we had been interacting largely with players from the hotel industry. We have since readapted our focus on the residential market, for example apartments, buildings built under the IRS scheme or, buildings related to healthcare, like homes for the elderly which have a higher consumption of electricity.
Our most disruptive and exciting offering is a low- pressure heat pump hot water system that saves up to 70% of a client’s operating costs when compared to electricity or gas. Such an offering generally offers a return on investment of no more than 3 years. We have had great success with this product and are looking to keep growing this product line in the years to come.
Another subsidiary within the TSAR group is called VetroMedia, a digital marketing agency which is actively managed by my brother who has a deep interest in digital marketing. The brand is in fact the overseas arm of a South African marketing powerhouse which we have partnered with to open up the Mauritius office. One of its specialties is in building and implementing loyalty systems. This is something we believe we become a market leader in locally as we have a real know-how in this area of expertise. Our branch, Vetro Studio employs five account managers who deal directly with the clients on the ground, with all the development and behind the scenes work being done by the South African head office.
The Mauritius branch can directly tap into the expertise from the team in South Africa. Therefore, it benefits from economies of scale which allows it to deliver high quality service at very competitive prices. We propose services such as branding, setting up modern websites and marketing strategies.
A third branch of the group is called Island Salt. This company deals with all types of salts, from edible salts to livestock salts or swimming salts for example. We act as the middlemen and we do the trading and supply the distributors in Mauritius, in Reunion Island and Mayotte Island. Island Salt has a project to set up a packing plant with added value. We would like to introduce our own brand, with the Made in Moris label to really establish a local presence and transform ourselves from not only trading but to now owning and selling our own brand. With the new brand we are really working towards a product that will avoid any single-use plastic and offer a healthier version of salt not only for consumers but for our environment.
Our fourth branch is called Ethanol Technologies, a company that has developed a unique product that helps improves the efficiency of fermentations, therefore allowing distilleries to get more alcohol from the molasses fermented. We have invested a significant amount of resources into the Research and Development and eventually the Intellectual Protection of this product.
The product is a yeast additive that is added at the start of a fermentation. It fortifies the yeast cell walls, allowing it to withstand higher osmotic pressure. In turn this improves the conversion efficiency of the sugar into ethanol, meaning the distilleries get more “bang for their buck”. Looking to the future we are aiming at tackling the African continent, where there are numerous molasses distilleries which we believe could add tremendous value to their operations. Now that the concept is being proved, we will push the product towards South Africa and the southern African areas. It remains a long term prospect, but one which offers exciting growth potential.
Stephen Leclezio, you are the Lead Project Manager of Sprint Organics, which brings you back to the initial family business, fertilisers. What is the added value of Sprint Organics?
Indeed, we come to Sprint Organics, our fifth area of activity. The company was launched in early 2019 and it reconnects us with our father’s network and business specialty, being agro-business and more specifically fertilizer. My father has always wanted to transform the fertilizer business in Mauritius from a market that is dominated by chemical products to a much more sustainable and organic offering. This has always been a challenge, but given the current state of affairs within the agricultural industry of Mauritius, we believe that now really is the opportune time for farmers to migrate towards a more organic offering so as to add more value to their final product. Nowadays there is a real drive for organic fertilizers and we envision growing Sprint Organic’s as a market leader in this space, the real go-to in this industry.
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