Automotive

Automotive Quality throughout

Mahindra bakkies are being assembled at the Dube TradePort.

In 2018 AIH Logistics started assembling Mahindra and Bolero bakkies from kits imported from India on a site at the Dube SECTOR INSIGHT

With an annual capacity of 60 000 units per year and their position as a globally respected extra heavy TradePort. The 5 000m² plant is owned by Automotive Investment • The Bag Ladies have a duty truck design and manufacturing company, KAMAZ relies on strong strategic partnerships with

Holdings (AIH), which formed AIH Logistics specifically to deal with new home on the site of premium original component manufacturers to ensure quality, and the ongoing success of their vehicles. the Mahindra contract. The intention is to make 2 500 bakkies per year, with an option a tow bar manufacturer. The air-suspended seats and cabs create industry-leading comfort that drives productivity, safety and ensures driver satisfaction. to expand production to 4 000 and to increase sales of bakkies in the South African market. The company sold 4 650 bakkies in 2018, Richards Bay facility of heavyWell matched engines and drivetrains bolster performance and the ability to deliver results while stronger about half of its vehicle sales in South Africa. fabricated structures promote durability. equipment manufacturer Bell Brink Towing Systems is not just supporting a local SMME, it Equipment, upwards of 11 000 is hosting one in its Pietermaritzburg factory. Brink has recently people are employed. Both increased annual capacity to 100 000 units which will mean more work for The Bag Ladies, who produce protective bags for the tow companies are market leaders. Bell is in the process of Industry leading components bars. The Bag Ladies previously repaired clothing and did some bag transferring production of its making, but with their own premises within the Brink facility (and current truck range to its factory advice on business management and the purchase of industrialin Germany, which will double strength sewing machines), they can now set their sights higher. in size to accommodate the Brink’s largest customer is the Ford Ranger. growing demand for trucks in The Mathe Group’s tyre recycling plant at Hammarsdale has Europe and America. The shift quickly increased capacity to 150 000 used truck tyres per year and intends going past 200 000 soon. A quarter of the rubber crumb will not affect employment levels at the Richards Bay Inter-wheel and inter-axle differential lock for increased Over 2 million engines built prove strength and reliability. Air-conditioned ergonomic cabs with air-suspended seats Durable ZF gearboxes deal with harsh environments. product goes to Van Dyck Floors. Other applications include modified traction. site because Bell will start for operator comfort. bitumen and as a component of artificial grass. assembling Kamaz heavy-duty www.bellequipment.com l 3 Toyota South Africa and Bell Equipment are manufacturing giants. trucks in 2019 for the African Between the Toyota plant at Prospecton south of Durban and the market. Kamaz (pictured), a

CREDIT BELL EQUIPMENT

Russian brand that has won 14 Dakar rallies, is known for its reliability in tough conditions. Bell’s intention is to increase the percentage of local components over time. Bell is best known for its heavy equipment which is primarily used in the mining and construction sectors. The listed company reported a 6% rise in revenue for the six months to June 2018, an amount of R3.7-billion. Toyota recently invested a further R6.1-billion into its already very large plant at Prospecton. The company regularly sells about a quarter of the vehicles sold in South Africa, and accounts for the same proportion of export volumes. The Corolla car, the Hilux bakkie and the Fortuner SUV are manufactured at the plant. Powerstar, a Chinese state-owned brand, assembles trucks in Pietermaritzburg on a site formerly used by Super Group. The companies that make Powerstar in Asia are the China North Vehicle Corporation (Norinco Motors) and BEIBEN, who produce about 60 000 heavy-duty commercial duty vehicles every year at their plant in Inner Mongolia.

Automotive components

KwaZulu-Natal has a substantial and varied automotive components sector which includes large manufacturers such as Apollo Tyres and GUD Filters. Thirty-nine companies are currently members of the Durban Automotive Cluster which is funded by the municipality. Together, these firms have about 17 000 employees. In line with the policy of developing Industrial Economic Hubs, the Durban Automotive Supplier Park is being built at Illovo, south of Durban and near to the Toyota plant. The Dube TradePort Corporation will manage the project, which covers 1 013ha. Other partners are the eThekwini Municipality, Toyota and the provincial government. The aim is to attract car assembly and component manufacturing companies. Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal (TIKZN) estimates that the province's component automotive manufacturers enjoy a combined turnover approaching R10-billion.

ONLINE RESOURCES

Automotive Industry Development Centre: www.aidc.co.za Africa (NAAMSA): www.naamsa.co.za Durban Automotive Cluster: www.dbnautocluster.org.za Manufacturers (NAACAM): www.naacam.co.za National Association of Automotive Component and Allied National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South

Keeping MAN and Toyota sup plied is the R300-million operation, Duys Engineering Group. This diverse group of companies includes in its business plan the supply of truck bodies and truck components and has produc tion plants at New Germany (Pinetown) and Richards Bay, from where it services the min ing industry. Toyota Boshoku manufactures seats and does the interior trim on contract for Toyota.

International company GUD Filters has a big presence in the province. Headquartered in Prospecton, where more than 1 500 people work at one of its factories, the company has another plant in Pietermaritzburg and a distribution centre in Pinetown that concentrates on exports. Indian-owned Apollo Tyres SA makes Dunlop products at two large factories in the province: truck tyres are made in Durban where 840 workers are employed and a passenger car tyre plant in Ladysmith (1160 employees). The Durban factory devotes 40% of production to supplying the truck and earthmoving market. Both plants make about 25 000 tons of tyres with half of the passenger tyres being exported. The Behr Group (airconditioning and cooling systems) has a factory and its headquarters in Durban. Ramsay Engineering supplies cross-car beams for BMW and Ford. Funding was received from the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to buy new tool-making technology to make this possible.