Top exporters push the boundaries of success
Thinking blue, working green VW has won the SJM Flex Environmental Award for the third consecutive year
EXPORTS have not only changed the focus of their business, they have grown it exponentially. With South African vehicle manufacturers on average only investing in new production lines every three to seven years, Eastern Cape Exporter of the Year 2014 Jendamark Automation had to specialise in international automotive markets.
Jendamark Automation is a designer and manufacturer of special-purpose machinery used in the manufacturing of catalytic converters as well as power trains used, for example, in engine assembly lines.
“We started by getting contracts no one else wanted to do and making a success of something that’s not practically probable,” Jendamark Automation managing director Quinton Uren says. “This has acted as leverage to open the door to more contracts across the world . . . We have enjoyed taking up the challenge of making something of what previously was said could not be done.”
Although it was very difficult to break into overseas markets, Jendamark was awarded its first export contract in 2002 by a US manufacture and today the company exports to 19 other markets.
Over the past year, the company has increased turnover by 188%, while increasing net profit percentage by 130%.
The head office and plant are in Port Elizabeth, with service divisions in Johannesburg and East London, as well as offices in Germany and India. It also has partnership agreements with various other overseas companies.
Uren admitted that the South African automotive industry was a tough business to be in, particularly with ongoing strikes in different sectors, but he said key to the success of the company in SA and abroad was innovation.
“Intellectual property is a key driving force in our business. Automotive multinationals are drawn to a small company in a coastal city of SA for the technology and design experience we have. We stay ahead of the game with new, simpler and cost-effective ideas for designing machinery offering solutions to customers’ businesses,” Uren said.
Looking to expand premises soon, Uren says Jendamark prides itself in having simple designs that are flexible and, most importantly, reliable, ultimately aimed at minimising any possible down-time at factories.
“The pure passion of our employees rules over all of this. It is a place where engineers get to use all of their disciplines – from mechanical, electrical to mechatronic engineering,” Uren said.
Project sales director Yanesh Naidoo says in the long term, automation seems to be “the only way to go”, but this does not necessarily mean job losses.
“Automation results in efficiency and optimisation, which ultimately make the cost of the product cheaper and therefore bigger volumes can be produced.
“The jobs are more high-level and specialised, but automation does not necessarily lead to job cuts because more business is created,” Naidoo said.
Jendamark Automation was the overall winner of this year’s Eastern Cape Exporter of the Year Awards and winner in the category Best Exporter of a Medium Enterprise, an award they won for the second consecutive year.
Other double category winners were Shatterprufe (IDC Job Creation Award and Best Corporate Exporter) and Volkswagen Group South Africa (Best Original Equipment Manufacturer and SJM Flex Environmental Award).
Despite the tough economic times, Shatterprufe increased its workforce by 55, increased export turnover by 32%, and increased profitability by 61%.
Shatterprufe sales and marketing director Mike Ford says the company is extremely proud of the awards.
“They are just reward for our concerted efforts in the export markets. By increasing our export demands in a tough economic climate, we have been able to create more employment opportunities and expand our product range globally.
“We look forward to building on these successes.”
VWSA is no stranger to accolades, exporting to more than 31 countries. General manager of group communications Matt Gennrich said the company was also delighted to have been recognised for its environmental efforts.
The company’s successful environmental campaign, known as the Think Blue initiative, focuses on making not only the vehicles but also the factory as environmentally responsible as possible. Think Blue aims to reduce the environmental impact by 25% per car produced. Over the last three year VWSA has reduced electricity usage by 20%, waste disposal by 26%, water usage by 40%, CO2 emissions by 14% and reduced VOC emissions by 18%.
These environmental efforts have meant that VWSA has for the past three consecutive years been awarded with the SJM Flex Environmental Award. “This is seen as a less high-profile yet very important part of doing business responsibly, so the award is particularly important to the people working on these programmes. Being recognised as a key exporter once again is appreciated.
“Exporting has become a way of life for VWSA and forms a key component of our business mod- el. We would like to thank the Exporters’ Club for their initiatives to promote exports from this region and holding this event to recognise the achievements of companies,” Gennrich said.