A Hallmark of Trust
Combining customer dedication with a world-renowned stamp of quality
South Africa’s automotive supply chain industry must be one of the most exciting and at the same time challenging spaces to be involved in,” muses Frank du Plessis, Regional President ED SA for Bosch. “Very few other countries face the challenges and opportunities that we do.”
A complex, nuanced sector of the South African economy, the wider automotive sphere is the mainstay of the national industrial base and accounted for 6.9 percent of 2017’s GDP, or $42 billion in monetary terms.
“It is not an easy environment, however, and for this reason companies need to be resourceful and innovative with an entrepreneurial spirit, something that Bosch drives very well,” du Plessis adds, further explaining why he decided to join the company back in 2009.
“The number one reason was the Bosch values. Businesses nowadays often seem to be run without core values and can only lead to short term gains and a damaged reputation later on.
“I was excited about the allround diversity within the company, especially the technology fields and vast product ranges that Bosch offered. The firm also invests greatly in its employees and it was clear that they had a career plan with each person, something you do not find in all organisations.”
This reputation stems from a long and rich history that the German industrial heavyweight has in South Africa.
Perhaps unbeknownst to some, Bosch began life in the country all the way back in 1906 when Friedrich Hoppert & Co. became the first representative for the company in a small building in Johannesburg, the Bosch sales subsidiary later established in 1965 in Rosettenville.
Original equipment manufacturing followed around a decade later, with starters, generators and alternators being produced at the Brits plant from 1976.
“The legacy is not only that which was started in SA, but that carried over by Robert Bosch the founder in 1886,” adds du Plessis. “It paved the way for us in the country and our customers know that Bosch stands for quality, value for money and, more importantly, our values.”