SUPREME SPRINGS
feature
Springing int o a c ti o n
The automotive industry is a world of opportunity for those with the right experience and capability says Supreme Spring’s Mark Barley. By Ian Armitage
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Supreme Spring FOCUS AUTOMOTIVE
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hings are looking a lot better for those involved in South Africa’s auto industry. Vehicle sales are improving, vehicle manufacturers have been increasing capital expenditure, new models are entering the market and employment is rising. Component exports, however, have dipped due to global financial pressures. Supreme Spring, a Division of Metindustrial (Pty) Ltd, is one of a number of local component manufacturers that has been “performing well” in this environment. South Africa’s automotive component manufacturing industry is renowned internationally for its technological sophistication, expertise, and flexibility. Supreme Spring has long tradition of being able to manufacture a wide range of products quickly and economically in relatively small volumes but can also, importantly, meet high global quality and supply reliability standards for large volumes. “I think that within our local market it’s been fairly good,” sales director Mark Barley says. “That’s on the back of growth from the local manufacturers, particularly on pick-up vehicles. The new Ford Ranger also has been introduced and they are forecasting high volume.” That’s thanks to historically low interest rates‚ ongoing improvement in vehicle affordability in real terms and higher demand
for credit by households and businesses, he says. “Generally we haven’t really seen the recession locally in terms of the replacement market but we have seen our export market suffer a little bit in Europe. We also supply specialised markets - into Thailand and Australia - and those markets have grown, primarily I think because they are replacement markets as well.” Supreme Spring is a leading manufacturer of vehicle suspension springs for the South African and International markets. Its product range covers coils springs, leaf springs, stabiliser bars, torsion bars and specialised components. All its products are manufactured using the latest technology processes in both hot and cold forming, which are supported
The new Ford Ranger also has been introduced and they are forecasting high volume
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Supreme Spring FOCUS AUTOMOTIVE
with technical know-how agreements with Allevard France and CHKK Japan. Competition in the industry is fierce. “The market is becoming more competitive and it has opened the doors for some of the Chinese products that come in,” Barley says. “One might argue that the quality isn’t the same but if you’re a struggling business you’ll go for the cheaper prices. We have turned some focus towards the African markets, particularly in vehicles such as pick-ups; where we are quite strong there. We supply pretty much all the locally manufactured pick-ups.
“We are looking to grow into the aftermarket where we have allocated some new resources to do the market surveys to see how we can grow the aftermarket both within SA as well as the Sub Saharan Africa.” New opportunities are opening up for component makers, he adds. “Some of the passenger vehicles are being built locally and we’ve been in development this year working on localising products for some of the big players. It’s been a busy year for us from a development point of view and we’re confident from that side that the growth in locally produced vehicles under the APDP programme will continue. However, overall competitiveness will always be an issue with escalating labour rates and energy rates so it’s always going to be tough. We’re pretty much a manual type business and we’re labour intensive to an extent so we can’t put automation in to replace some of the operations we have. 4
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Tel: 011 865 5229 or 011 902 9167 Fax: 011 902 6165 Email: erosiontech@mweb.co.za web: www.erosiontech.co.za
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We are also aware of the need to create jobs so it is a fine balance sometimes.” Supreme Spring’s quality and environmental systems are maintained through adherence to the TS 16949 2002 and ISO 14001 standards; this gives it a competitive advantage. “If we look at Europe, we’re trying to say to our customers to look at the quality level that has been built in,” Barley says. “A lot of the bigger problems that have happened in Europe and America are product recalls. There’s been a lot of additional focus now on things that wear, rust or catch fire. There’s been a lot more focus on quality. Also as the designs have gotten lighter to try and save cost. There’s a lot more emphasis on the protective coating of the product. In the European market we have been promoting to our customers that they are getting the best quality. The same will happen in our internal market also and we will have cheaper imports
coming in from the likes of India and China but we don’t necessarily want to operate in that segment of the market as we grow our aftermarket business. That will continue to be one of our selling points – it’s a high quality product now.” The future is bright. “Decisions are being been made to build the next generation of vehicles here in South Africa and we’re obviously well positioned for that. We’re dealing with BMW and they have their own standard and then Volkswagen, who also have their own standard, so we’ve had to adapt to lots of different quality standards. “We have some very competent people and that’s a major advantage to us,” says Barley. “We can match the guys overseas. We understand the products that are going into the vehicles and are able to adapt. The volumes here are relatively small here compared to the mass plants overseas and the fact that we can supply products to all the motor companies here, from one major factory, has probably been a key factor as well.” END To learn more visit www.supremespring.co.za. www.southafricamag.com
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