Building Zambia's electronics industry.
HERO Control Systems designs and manufactures electronics in Zambia and trains the engineers who will build more. Our hardware arm, Travis Labs, designs the boards, writes the firmware and builds them in Lusaka: a replacement card at Lusaka Water, control boards exported to the USA every month, a STEM kit in 57 schools.
Company profile · 2026Engineered in Zambia18 pages · PDF · 1.1 MB
Designed in Zambia by HEROLusaka Water contactor board · running since Feb 2026 · zero failures
A national electronics industry starts on one bench.
Most of the electronics running Zambian plants, towers and classrooms were designed elsewhere. We are changing that: schematic, firmware and boards designed in Lusaka, then built, tested and installed here. When an OEM discontinues a critical part, that same bench designs the replacement, and component-level diagnostics with oscilloscopes and thermal imaging tell us exactly what to build or fix. No other company in Zambia has put this on public record.
Telecom power & radio repair
Rectifiers, site monitoring units, RRUs, BBUs and RF amplifiers repaired to component level in Lusaka — instead of shipped abroad or scrapped.
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Industrial repair & maintenance
VFDs, soft starters, UPS, inverters, PLCs and motors. Thermal-imaging inspections that find failures before they stop the plant.
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Electronics design & PCB
Replacement boards for discontinued OEM cards, battery management systems, custom controllers — designed, built and tested in Zambia.
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When the OEM said "discontinued"
Pump-station contactor control cards kept burning out and the manufacturer had stopped making them. Travis Labs reverse-engineered the card, designed a new PCB and firmware, and built a replacement in Lusaka. Deployed since February 2026 — zero failures.
Deployed since Feb 2026 · zero failures
Read the storyTrusted by the operators that keep Zambia running.
We train the people who keep plants alive.
300+ engineers and technicians trained in PLC & automation, electronics and power design, thermal imaging and energy storage — on real drives, real boards and our own Zabble training kit.
Seven apps. One login. Built for Zambian SMEs.
Xeel · SalesOps · Money · Inventory · Workshop · Field Work · Route43. Browser-based, offline-capable, statutory-compliant, and it talks to your team on WhatsApp. Free to start.
Lamia 1 — the first phone designed in Zambia.
A bench that redesigns industrial boards and exports electronics is a bench that can design a handset. Lamia 1 is our programme to prove it — target availability 2028.
The Lamia programme
Today we design and build the electronics Zambia imports, and the replacement when an OEM says "discontinued". By 2050 we will lead electrical and electronics manufacturing in SADC: controllers, power electronics and devices designed and made in Southern Africa, by Southern African engineers.HCS vision 2050 · Learn · Build · ScaleMeet the team →
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WaterHandler: the Zambian-built smart valve sold in Texas
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Who repairs industrial and telecom electronics in Zambia?
HERO Control Systems (HCS), through its Travis Labs workshop in Lusaka. It repairs variable speed drives, soft starters, UPS units, solar inverters, telecom rectifiers, PLCs and control boards at component level, for clients including MTN Zambia, Lusaka Water and ZESCO.
Is there an electronics service centre in Lusaka for industrial equipment?
Yes. The HCS Travis Labs workshop is at Plot 34, Harrison Chongo Road, Nyumbayanga, Lusaka, open Monday to Friday 08:00–17:00 and weekends 08:00–13:00. Call or WhatsApp +260 974 546 632.
Can a discontinued circuit board be replaced in Zambia?
Yes. HCS reverse-engineers the failed board and designs a replacement with parts available today. Its replacement contactor control card for Lusaka Water has run since February 2026 with zero failures.
How long does a repair take, and is there a warranty?
Standard turnaround is 5–7 business days, or 48–72 hours priority under a maintenance agreement. Every repaired unit is load-tested, comes with a written report and has a 6-month (180-day) workmanship warranty.
Does HCS work outside Lusaka?
Yes. HCS has a presence on the Copperbelt, does site work across Zambia and has delivered for JCHX Mining in Botswana.
Does HCS supply and install equipment, or only repair it?
All three. HCS supplies fibre optic cable, telecom rectifier modules (new and refurbished), electric motors (new and rewound), variable speed drives, soft starters, PLCs and HMIs, UPS units, inverters and batteries, solar panels and kits, and cables, switchgear and electrical parts. It installs and commissions what it supplies, and repairs it afterwards.
Does HCS buy broken electronics?
Yes. HCS buys dead solar inverters, UPS units, drives, industrial controllers and telecom equipment for parts. Send photos through the "Sell to us" page; phones, TVs and home gadgets are not bought.
What else does HCS do besides repair?
It designs and builds electronics in Zambia (its WaterHandler boards ship to Texas every month), trains engineers and technicians (more than 300 so far), and makes the O'Sense business software.
Equipment failing? OEM can't help?
Send a photo of the nameplate on WhatsApp and we will tell you what we can do.