INSTITUTION NEWS
Serving with Pride and Integrity In 2018, SAIMechE National Council decided to advertise for a General Manager position at Head Office, with the view to alleviate some of the load on our stalwart CEO, Vaughan Rimbault, who has overseen the smooth running of SAIMechE since 2008.
W
e were looking for a dynamic young South African, preferably with a mechanical engineering background, to support the Institution in moving forward into a vibrant future. We were fortunate enough to receive an application from Uncel Mhelembe, an inspiring young engineer from humble beginnings in Tzaneen, Limpopo.
Uncel Mhelembe
Uncel was fortunate enough to meet Gerald Nkhwashu in his hometown when he was a boy. Gerald is a civil engineer, who was working in Limpopo in the early days of our democracy. As we are all aware, there were few role models for engineering in this community at this stage.
Luckily for Uncel, Gerald took him under his wing, sharing the world of engineering which sparked a passion for all things technical. Uncel took to the subject with ease but he was frustrated by any real emphasis on his main area of interest in this civil engineering environment - the engine! And so began his journey into mechanical engineering. Uncel graduated with a BTech in Mechanical Engineering from VUT in 2008 and did not stop there. It is clear that he has a passion for learning and engineering: he holds a GCC (Factories), an MBA from NWU, and is currently enrolled for his PhD in Engineering Management at UJ. He is registered as a Pr Tech Eng and Pr Cert Eng with ECSA. Uncel worked at Eskom Rotek Industries and for Wärtsilä as a mechanical engineer, GMR2(1) before starting his own consulting engineering company in 2015, Rhino Consulting Engineers. Through his company, he held GMR2(1) positions for the Greater Tzaneen municipality, and worked on various
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THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER
www.pumptechnology.co.za VOL 70 May/June 2020
