Business urged to respect the environment
WARNING that there would be dire consequences for the Bay’s emerging ocean economy, Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Athol Trollip yesterday appealed to industry and business to respect the region’s environment, and more specifically the Swartkops River.
Trollip was the keynote speaker at the Nelson Mandela Bay’s Top 50 Companies Awards ceremony at the Boardwalk International Convention Centre, where he applauded the Bay business community.
The event acknowledged the contributions of 50 Bay companies across a number of categories, ranging from investors and longstanding entrepreneurs to top exporting manufacturers.
The awards form part of the metro’s trade and investment strategy aimed at retaining and recognising investors, both past and present.
The companies were recognised for, among other achievements, their roles in developing the economy, creating employment and promoting investment into the region.
Saying that the ocean had the biggest economic potential in the region, Trollip made specific reference to the Swartkops River.
He appealed to companies not to pollute the river – which reaches the sea at Amsterdamhoek in Port Elizabeth.
This would have a direct negative impact on the area’s emerging ocean economy, he said.
Trollip told the awards gathering that the metro was well positioned as an international investment destination of choice and should therefore capitalise on its niche offerings.
‘ We need to develop the economy of our city to become competitive
“The metro is a major roleplayer in agriculture and the ocean economy, as well as other key economic areas,” Trollip said.
“We therefore need to capitalise on our strengths and develop the economy of our city to become competitive with others such as Cape Town.”
The mayor said the government’s core goal of eradicating poverty, unemployment and inequality was enabled through the continued investment by the business sector in the region.
“As such, the continued recognition of the contribution you make in our city is acknowledged, highly appreciated and celebrated,” he told representatives of the top companies.
In recent years, some of the Bay’s local companies, big and small, had shown confidence in doing business in the region.
This had translated into new investments in the manufacturing industry and considerable expansions or reinvestments had occurred or been announced, Trollip said.
He concluded that despite the plethora of challenges facing local companies, many continued to grow in spite of strenuous increases in the cost of doing business and trading in a globally competitive market.
The Top 50 firms, in no particular order, are:
Adient SA; Lumotech; Air Products SA; Mayibuye Fishing t/a Marine Wholesalers; Algoa Bus Company; Aspen; BKB; Cape Produce Company; CocaCola Beverages SA; Coega Dairy; Coega Dev Corp; Continental Tyre; Coricraft Group; Dimension Data; Dynamic Commodities; Eberspaecher SA; Federal Mogul Sealing Systems SA; Goodyear Tyre & Rubber Holdings; Hansen Engineering; Innowind; Jendamark; KK Butchery; Lear Corporation; Lension; Eyethu Fishing; Mend A Bath; NMMU; Powertech Batteries-Auto-X; Price Water House Coopers; Rush On Trading cc t/a Nyati Security and Cleaning Solutions; RV Foot Wear; Sage SA; Schaeffler SA; Shatterprufe-A Division of PG Group; SJM Flex SA; Sovereign Food Investments; SRCC Marketing; Stateline Pressed Metal; Stephen Dondolo African Pioneer; Supercare; Talhado Fishing Enterprises; Tavcor Motor Group; Tenneco Ride Control SA; The Boardwalk Casino & Entertainment World; The Little Slipper Company; The Swartkops Terminal; Times Media; Volswagen Group SA; WNS Global Services and Yenza Manufacturing.