Toni de Sousa graduated in 1983 from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, and went on to complete his Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at the same University. He began his professional career as a Project Engineer in manufacturing, and later went into field service as a service engineer for Atlas Copco. This field experience with mining mobile plant initiated his interest in maintenance, and more specifically predictive maintenance using various technologies.

In 1991, he entered into the field of Condition Monitoring full time, delivering predictive maintenance service solutions that focused primarily on oil and vibration analysis. During the 1990s he commissioned the bulk of the mini laboratories in South Africa. Then, in 1993 he founded a condition-based maintenance (CBM) company that grew into South Africa’s largest CBM service company, offering thermography, oil and vibration analysis. He also served as President for the South African Institute of Tribology from 1997 to 1999.

In 2000, his company was acquired by ABB and he joined the South African operation as Managing Director for ABB’s Service Business. He founded the ABB School of Maintenance, and added numerous training courses to the school’s schedule of short courses, ranging from skills-based courses aimed at workshop personnel to management-related maintenance courses. He was intimately involved in delivering full-service (outsourced maintenance solutions), and took an active role in the implementation of most of ABB’s key maintenance elements.

In 2004, he founded Yellotec, a company focused on using oil analysis and other condition based technologies on yellow equipment (construction, mining and earthmoving equipment). And joined Noria late in 2004.