Automotive Business Review April 2009

3 Making the Difference

17 The Prufe of the Pudding

22 Magical Medicine Show

40 Unscrambling the Code

46 Automechanika Overview

84 Feeling the Pulse

ABR April 2009:Layout 1 3/31/09 8:07 AM Page 2

T h e P h o e n i x

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With the current economic crisis, and a credit crunch that is doing severe damage to

the automotive industry from Albania to Zimbabwe, eh, make that Zambia, it is those

who make a difference that will survive. The question is, how do we make a difference

when our product is perceived as a commodity, and there is a large element of the dis-

cretionary when the consumer makes a decision?

ABR’s new website is up and running. The test phase is over, and our readers can now look forward to a website thatis updated daily with the latest news and views. And our latest magazine is on the web, in its entirety, and if you

want to go back to read an old article, it is all there in the archives. All part of our commitment to customer service,and the reason why Automotive Business Review is the most respected and well read automotive aftermarket

publication in South Africa, and by default the most influential by far .

In the March 2, 2009 issue of Fortune magazine, GeoffColvin, in his article titled “Yes, You Can Raise Prices”, dis-cusses how a few smart companies are raising prices in therecession, and he provides a matrix to explain how compa-

nies use this tool to create differentvalue propositions in which price willplay greater or lesser roles. He citesprice sensitivity and other factors, butforgets to mention the most importantdifferentiator of all – customer service.Take a look at this matrix

He places products according to theirnecessity and uniqueness (interestingly,Colgate toothpaste is obviously a verystrong brand in America). Poor old airtravel seems to have no room tomanoeuvre, but this is simply not true.I always choose 1Time over SAA, notbecause of the price, but because of thevastly different attitudes of the cabincrews. It is in the realm of customercare where any company, whether theysell toasters or brake pads, or provide services such as banking ortelecommunication, can introduce elements that make the cus-tomer come back panting for more, irrespective of the price. It isin times like these that customer care becomes of cardinal impor-tance; even though it should always be of cardinal importance!And in times like these, if there is little price difference betweenyour product and your competitors, but your service levels are farsuperior, then the swing in market share will be enormous. The

beauty of it all is that good customer service does not necessarilycost any more. Dr. Theophilus Dreux will tell you this, and muchmore. It is because of this imperative that ABR has asked Dr.Dreux, the founder of Trilogy Customer C.A.R.E. Academy, to

dust off his revolutionary customer careprogramme, and to allow us to pass on hispearls of wisdom to our readers in seri-alised form. Even though this programmewas written in 1992, it is still as relevanttoday as the day it was written. In actualfact, taking into account our current eco-nomic distress, it is the most relevant itcan ever be, even if it was written in 1929.Sound principles and pure philosophicwisdom simply do not age. Federal-Mogul Aftermarket, a company whichascribes to the philosophy that excellentcustomer service can significantly differ-entiate a company from its competitors,is sponsoring this customer care series,and we look forward to Federal-MogulAftermarket benefiting from its associa-tion with such a superb programme, and

a big thank you to them for making it possible for ABR to passon this wonderful collaboration to our readers and the automo-tive industry. To all who heed the advice of the programme, takeit to heart. Learn from it, and benefit. It may be the survival ofthe fittest, as we face the latest evolutionary test. The customercare article is on page 42, and it would also be instructive to goto page 84, to see what Sparepro is doing to enhance its customercare credentials.

A p r i l 2 0 0 9

www.abrbuzz.co.za

Making the Difference


C o n t e n t s

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1919 3838 5252

3 The Phoenix Making the Difference

8 What’s the Buzz

13 Industry Update Motor Industry Shows Faith in South Africa

17 Cover Story The Prufe of the Pudding

22 Auto Topical Magical Medicine Show

23 e-CAR A Project of Note

24 The Chery Story Emulating the Bamboo Shoot

26 Vehicle Evaluation Down the Hatch

28 Frankly Speaking Heads or Tails?

30 Managing the Risks Small Measures; Big Savings

32 Tony’s Take Privatising Profit – Socialising Losses

34 Weighty Issues Quo Vadis the Truck Market

36 Tyre Safety Tyres’ Contribution to Safety in Motoring

38 Personal Profile Q & A with Phonnie Cilliers

The publisher and contributors have done their best to ensure the accuracy of the articles and cannot accept responsibility for any loss or inconvenience sus-tained by any reader as a result of information or advice in Automotive Business Review. The information provided and opinions expressed in this publica-tion are provided in good faith and do not necessaraly represent the opinion of the publisher. No article may be reproduced in any form without the prior

written permission from the publisher, except for the quotation of brief passages in reviews.

Publishing EditorGraham Erasmus083 709 8184

Commercial VehicleEditorAlwyn Viljoen082 458 9332

Intelli-Driving EditorEugene Herbert082 941 3785

CorrespondentsBeeton, FrankBorlz, Baron ClaudeBurford, AdrianKeeg, Howard

Mather, PeterMcCleery, RogerTwine, TonyWilde, Fingal

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Printing:Business Print Centre, Pretoria

39 Lux Lite Peter’s Soap Box

40 Diamond Dialogues Unscrambling the Code

42 Customer C.A.R.E. Trilogy Customer C.A.R.E. Programme

46 Automechanika OverviewAIDC QuizEuroquip NewsKapicoRobert BoschTop Class TopicsCapricorn InsightsCar Care

71 Wilde Things South Africa’s National Lampoon

72 AutoZone News Auto Electrical One Stop Shop

76 Engine Remanufacturing The Right Option

77 Guild News Guild Awards

78 Partinform The Mountain Goes to Montana

84 Industry Update Feeling the Pulse

85 Fast Wheels 2009 F1 Season Under Way at Last

86 The Last Writes

6


The Centre for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI), ofthe American Chemistry Council, has issued a callfor papers and posters to be presented at thePolyurethanes 2009 Technical Conference onOctober 5 – 7, 2009 at the Gaylord National in FortWashington, Maryland. In order to be included inthe conference program, poster abstracts must be sub-mitted by April 1, 2009, but abstracts will be accept-ed until September 1, 2009. Submission instructions,paper guidelines and templates can be found on CPI’sWebsite, www.americanchemistry.com/polyurethane.The Polyurethanes 2009 Technical Conference represents an opportunity to reach an audience ofmore than 1,500 manufacturers and processors of polyurethane-based products across all industrialsectors.

Cars in Action revealed an exclusive in late February2009: The debut of an all-new South African-builtZagato-bodied and Corvette powered super car at theGeneva show

Borne out of the vision of a group of South African arch-car enthusiasts,the all-new Perana Z-one is the first fruits of a collaboration betweenrenowned Milanese coachbuilders Zagato and newly formed South AfricanVehicle Manufacturer, Perana Performance Group. The 330kW CorvetteV8-powered 6-speed manual Z-one is a 2-seater coupé good for a sub-4second 0-100km/h dash and 0-160km/h in under 10 seconds. Z-one ben-efits 50/50 weight distribution allowing for balanced and predictable roadmanners. The secret to the Perana Z-one's iconic performance is the nearperfect combination of its supremely powerful engine, light weight design,balanced weight distribution and 6-speed performance transmission.

W h a t ’ s t h e B u z z ?

A p r i l 2 0 0 98

Automotive veteran tohead up BTMBruce Carolin, general manager ofMICROmega Holdings Limited’s automotivedivision, has been appointed managing direc-tor of BTM Manufacturing. BTMManufacturing is a leading producer, importerand supplier of bull bars and tow bars to boththe automotive industry and private buyers.Carolin will also retain his position as generalmanager of MICROmega Holdings Limited’sautomotive division. “MICROmega has put aconcentrated effort into the future of BTMover the past 12 months, developing ourvision for the company and a growth strategy,”says Carolin. BTM Manufacturing is thelargest manufacturer of bull bars and the sec-ond largest manufacturer of tow bars in SouthAfrica and has been supplying OEMs and theautomotive aftermarket with the highest qual-ity since 1978. The company joined theMICROmega group in early 2006 and hasproved itself a worthy addition to the group’sautomotive division.

Audi goes back to its roots - The new Audi TT RS

Audi is once again producing a five-cylinder powerhouse: the Audi TT RS wasunveiled to the world at the Geneva Auto Show. Its turbocharged 2.5-litreengine produces well above 250 kW. It also delivers explosive acceleration,driving delight, and unrivalled sound. Powerful five-cylinder petrol engineshave a long legacy at Audi, and the turbocharged direct-fuel-injection enginein the TT RS is the new torchbearer of this dynamic tradition. It enables theTT RS to perform extraordinary feats. For example, it needs nowhere near fiveseconds to reach 100 km/h; overtaking is child’s play; and 250 km/h is the lim-ited top speed only on paper. The quattro® permanent all-wheel drive system,a sophisticated chassis, and stupendous brakes keep a tight rein on the power.All in all, the compact TT RS – with its lightweight and largely aluminiumbody constructed as per the Audi Space Frame principle – is a driving machineto be reckoned with. The TT RS is currently due for introduction in SouthAfrica during 2010.

(motorpics)

CPI Issues Call ForPapers and Posters

Honouring Toyota’s Top DealersUnitrans Motors made a clean sweep at Toyota South Africa’s annual Dealer of the Year Awards function held in Durban

recently, with two of the group’s outlets taking top honours – East Rand Toyota scooped the Toyota Dealer of the Year awardfor the second time in only five years of being operational, while Limpopo Truck Centre’s Hannes Pretorius walked off withthe inaugural Hino Dealer of the Year Award. Citing teamwork, hard work and a strong customer focus as key to their suc-cess, East Rand Toyota’s dealer principal Albert Wessels said that he was truly blessed to achieve this great honour. “At EastRand Toyota the customer always comes first and we strive to deliver service of a high standard,” said Albert, adding that inthe difficult times currently facing the motor industry one has to think innovatively to achieve continuous success. “A chal-

lenge is nothing but an opportunity to show what you are made off.”


A p r i l 2 0 0 910

Corobrik presentation to MinisterBuyelwa Sonjica

On 17 February 2008, in yet another of a series of milestones,Corobrik executives met with Minister of Minerals and Energy,Buyelwa Sonjica, to present her with a commemorative record ofthe company’s recently acquired Certificate of Carbon EmissionsReductions (CER). On 13th June 2008, Corobrik became thefirst company in sub-Saharan Africa to be awarded CER’s for itsLawley factory’s Fuel Switch Project for emissions reductionsachieved during the 2005 and 2006 calendar years. CER’s areawarded under the auspices of the United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as set out by theKyoto Protocol, which encourages signatory nations, includingSouth Africa, to reduce carbon emissions.

If you’ve got a formula thatworks, why tamper with it?That’s the rationale behind theFiat Panda’s first change since itsintroduction into South Africain 2005. The cuddliest supermi-ni by far (and Europe’s best-sell-er too!), the Panda 1.2 Dynamicgets a fresh lick of paint (well acouple really…) and a few trimmodifications to bring it bangup to date. No changes weremade to the model’s original,dynamic shape – which almostamounts to a small SUV –because none were needed…and that’s the bear truth!

Mzantsi Truck andBus achieves

international QualityManagement certification

Volkswagen of South Africa’s pre-ferred business partner in HeavyCommercial Vehicle production,Mzantsi Truck and Bus, has beenawarded VDA 6.1 and ISO9001:2000 certification by the inter-national Quality Management bodyTüV Nord. The certification is arequirement for all VolkswagenGroup companies and their sub-sidiaries. Volkswagen of South AfricaTruck and Bus Unit Head ChrisGlover said the receipt of the certifi-cates of compliance was evidence thatMzantsi met the high standards set byISO and VDA.

Dare to go bear in Panda’s new colours



Five Stars for Mazda6 in Euro NCAP Safety Test

Mazda Motor Corporation has announced that the new Mazda6 has just been awarded the five-starmaximum rating by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) in its 2009 com-bined safety performance test. For 2009, Euro NCAP has implemented a new assessment system thatawards a single overall vehicle safety rating composed from scores achieved in four areas of assessment:Adult Occupant Protection, Child Protection, Pedestrian Protection and Safety Assist. The Mazda6 isMazda’s first tested under the revised evaluation framework.

Two new five-cylinderdiesels from Volvo:More power and lessfuel consumptionVolvo Cars sharpens the company's diesel offer.Two entirely new five-cylinder, 2.4-litre turbodiesels give the customers the attractive possibili-ty to combine more power with class-leading fuelconsumption and CO2-emissions: The high-per-formance, twin-turbo D5 with 205 hp and 420Nm of torque. The medium-performance, sin-gle-turbo 2.4D with 175 hp and 420 Nm oftorque. Both engines are available in the VolvoS80, Volvo V70, Volvo XC60 and Volvo XC70from the northern spring of 2009. "This is yetanother step in our determination to reduce thecombustion engine's environmental impact, atthe same time as we give customers truly quietand sophisticated engines with excellent perform-ance," says Derek Crabb, Vice President,Powertrain Engineering at Volvo Cars.

RENAULT'S POWERTRAIN RANGE: A CLEAN BREAK IN TERMS OF CO2 EMISSIONS

�Renault knows that radically curbing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions is vital in today's world. The brand already figures among Europe'sthree best-performing carmakers when it comes to average CO2 emissions, and its sights are now set on moving to the top of the order. To achievethis objective, Renault is currently working on the development of low-emission and zero-CO2 emissions vehicles in a determined bid to introduceas many effective technologies as possible at an affordable price. Its work on power trains focuses on these main areas: An unprecedented commit-ment to the development of electric motors; new technologies for conventional engines; 'Modular' TCe engines; and Twin-clutch transmissions

Fiat is Europe’s GreenestCar Manufacturer

Fiat Automobiles is one of Europe’sbest-selling automotive brands andfor the second year running con-firmed the lowest average value forCO2 emissions from the vehicles soldin 2008: 133.7 g/km (137.3 g/km in2007). The record was corroboratedby JATO, a world leader in automo-tive advisory and research services,founded in 1984 and now operatingin over 40 countries. The bottom lineshows the Fiat brand ahead ofPeugeot (138.1 g/km), Citroen(142.4 g/km), Renault (142.7 g/km),Toyota (144.9 g/km), Ford (147.8g/km), Opel/Vauxhall (151.1 g/km),Volkswagen (158.8 g/km), BMW(160.6 g/km) and Mercedes (185.0g/km). Fiat Group is also in poleposition for groups (138.4 g/km),ahead of PSA, Renault, Toyota andHyundai.

NAAMSA

AnnouncementThe Minister of Trade and Industrymet with the Presidents of NAAMSAand NAACAM in Pretoria on theevening of 24th February, 2009. Atthe meeting there was an openexchange of information on the cur-rent state of the automotive industry(retail, auto parts manufacturing andvehicle manufacturing) in SouthAfrican and the difficulties and chal-lenges facing all businesses in theautomotive value chain. A number ofmatters requiring urgent attentionwere identified and, to this end, a Dti– NAAMSA – NAACAM TaskGroup was established to finalise spe-cific proposals in regard to possiblesupport measures for the industry.The Task Group will report direct tothe Minister.

“STILL SOME GOOD NEWSON MOTORING HORIZON”In the face of dwindling new vehicle sales, there is still somegood news on the motoring horizon for car buyers: accord-ing to Darryl Jacobson, managing director of Burchmore’s,used cars still represent a real bargain. Significantly, used carbuyers also stand a far better chance of being extended cred-it than new car buyers, because of the equity in pre-ownedvehicles. In February 2009, all four vehicle market sectors(passenger car, light commercial vehicle, medium commer-cial vehicle and heavy commercial vehicle) saw significantdeclines versus February 2008. And, on a year-to-date basis,the new vehicle market has contracted by 36.2%. But,despite these figures, Jacobson points out that there is stillconsiderable demand for cars. “Transportation is a basicneed in this country. In South Africa, you cannot be pro-ductive without a motorcar; there are currently no worth-while alternatives in terms of public transport. Yes, newvehicle sales have dropped dramatically. But, in many cases,this is due to financing being declined. We have not expe-rienced any drop-off in vehicle demand at Burchmore’s –primarily, of course, because we are offering exceptionalvalue for money coupled with choice.”

A p r i l 2 0 0 912



First up to the plate was Dr. Hans-georg Niefer, president and CEOof Mercedes-Benz South Africa.At a presentation at Mercedes

Menlyn on 4th March 2009, under thebanner of the Mercedes-Benz South Africagroup tackling tough times, the groupreported its business results for 2008, withMercedes-Benz South Africa, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, debis FleetManagement, Sandown Motor Holdingsand Atlantis Foundries recording aturnover of R35,6-billion, 3,7% lowerthan the previous year. “The Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) group of com-panies has delivered satisfactory resultsdespite the global economic downturn andits impact on both our international exportand local markets. The second half in2008 was tough, but our group was com-mitted to delivering on the mandate givento us by our shareholders. In our favourhas been the continued demand for ourexceptional vehicles, produced locally andabroad, and well-tailored services. Thesenot only gave us a means to secure solidsales across our range of premium vehiclebrands; they also presented opportunitiesfor our finance and fleet business,” said Dr

Niefer, “The current year will remain chal-lenging, but we believe we have stronginfrastructure and excellent products, andexpect that the measures we have put inplace will enable us to beat these toughtimes,” he added. The most telling state-ment was in an answer to the obviousquestion. “We are here to stay” saidDr. Niefer.

Next it was Tata’s turn. AccordionInvestments (Pty) Ltd chief operating offi-cer, Phonnie Cilliers, at a networkinglunch at Pigalle, Michelangelo Towers,Sandton, on 13th March assured ABR thatTata was also here for the long haul. “Weare committed to bringing the benefits ofthe Tata brand to the South Africanmotorist, who can look forward to someexciting announcements later this year.Just watch this space!”

The dynamic TATA team: Gavin Robinson,national retail manager, Francie Lubbe,

national sales manager, Christo Engelbrecht,sales and marketing manager, and Phonnie

Cilliers, chief operating officer; aredetermined to reinforce the Tata image

in South Africa.

On 16th March it was Mahindra’sturn. During the launch of itsnew multipurpose vehicle, the

XYLO, Mahindra South Africa committeditself to staying in the country. The newXYLO is a versatile and spacious MPVthat is set to redefine the way people aremoved in South Africa, and Mahindra hasinvested more than US$ 100 million in thedevelopment of the XYLO, which includ-ed setting up a new robotic body shop atits Nasik plant in India, as well as an addi-tional trim line at the final assembly shop.Over 200 dies and more than 1 000 newparts were developed. “The XYLO sym-bolises the creation of a completely newvehicle platform in the Mahindra stable.We have received very good response tothis product in India and are pleased thatSouth Africa is the first country outsideIndia where we are launching this prod-uct,” said Dr Pawan Goenka, President ofthe Automotive Sector and Member of theManagement Board, Mahindra &

Mahindra Ltd. The vehicle was first intro-duced in India in January 2009. Earlierthis year, Mahindra South Africa (Pty) Ltdwas further capitalised with the infusion ofan additional R30 million in capital. As aresult, Mahindra’s shareholding inMahindra South Africa has increased toapproximately 91%, with the balanceremaining with African AutomotiveInvestments Corporation (Pty), a sub-sidiary of African Resources and LogisticsCorporation (Pty) Ltd (Arelco).

At the launch of the Xylo: Vijay Nakra,chief executive of Mahindra South Africa,Pravin Shah, Executive Vice President,

International Operations at Mahindra &Mahindra’s Automotive Sector, and Dr Pawan Goenka, President of the

Automotive Sector and Member of theManagement Board, Mahindra &

Mahindra Ltd.

I n d u s t r y U p d a t e

13

Motor Industry Shows Faith in South Africa

In the space of less than ten working days, ABR attended threefunctions, whereby three multinationals reaffirmed their

commitment to South Africa.

A p r i l 2 0 0 9

“We are here to stay and in it for thelong haul. We are continuously improv-ing our footprint around the country

and will also be introducing three newmodels into the South African market

during the next six months.” – Vijay Nakra, chief

executive of Mahindra South Africa.


M a r c h 2 0 0 914

Volvo Cars upgraded state-of-the-art emissions laboratory -for reducing fuel consumptionand CO2 emissions

One of the world's most advanced emission lab-oratories is Volvo Cars' important tool in thequest for lower fuel consumption and reducedcarbon dioxide emissions. The upgraded emis-sions laboratory was used when developing allDRIVe models - updated engine mapping androlling resistance were tested and confirmed.The emission laboratory is used for develop-ment testing in all stages of the vehicle develop-ment process, when for instance the engineparameters have been optimised for reducingemissions. The result is verified by performing atest in the emission laboratory, and this processis repeated until optimal results are obtained.

More consumers turn toOmbudsmanComplaints handled by the Motor IndustryOmbudsman during 2008 escalated in value tomore than R109 million, or 18, 5 percent, overthe figure of R92 million in 2007. TheOmbudsman’s Annual Report for 2008 statesthat this rise in value was accompanied by anincrease of 15, 2 percent to 17 039 in thenumber of complaints lodged with theOmbudsman’s office. The increase in the num-ber of complaints was largely due to damagecaused by external factors such the increasingcongestion of the country’s roads, ongoingmajor road works, and the general deteriora-tion of roads, all of which have greatly con-tributed to vehicle breakdowns. It is hearteningto see, says the Ombudsman, that complaintsin most instances did not originate from prod-uct defects but rather from these external fac-tors. Consumers also played their role in con-flict situations during the year by not comply-ing with service schedules, warranty terms andconditions, failing to honour monthly instal-ments and in some cases purposely or uncon-sciously abusing their vehicles. Poor service

again accounted for the largest number of com-plaints (11, 1%), followed by clutches (8, 8%),engines (8%) and cooling systems (7, 2%). Forfurther information please call the MotorIndustry Ombudsman of SA on (012) 841-2945. You can also visit the Ombudsman’s website at www.miosa.co.za, to view the full report

Chevrolet extends LPGportfolio throughoutEuropeIn 2009, Chevrolet will further expand its LPGproduct range throughout Europe. Switzerland,Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic,Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia andSpain will offer LPG-versions in addition tothe regular petrol and diesel range. It isChevrolet’s strategy to offer LPG versions forits entire product line-up. This will include thebrand-new Chevrolet Cruze, which will hit theEuropean dealer showrooms in May 2009. AnLPG version of the Cruze will be launchedshortly after the launch. LPG (LiquefiedPetroleum Gas), also known as Autogas insome markets, is widely available: In Europe,more than 10 million LPG-powered vehiclesare on the road, including 2.6 million inPoland alone. There are over 20,000 LPG fuelstations throughout Europe. Apart from reduc-ing emissions, LPG also offers financial bene-fits through the tax advantages it enjoys inmany countries. In Germany, for example, thetax privileges will remain in force at least untilDecember 31, 2018.

HINO TOPS SA TRUCK CUS-TOMER SERVICE MONITOR

The Hino (formerly Toyota Trucks) dealer net-work has come out as the dominant truck distri-bution and after sales force in South Africaaccording to Scott Byers’ ComparativeCustomer Satisfaction Monitor (CCSM) for thefourth quarter of 2008. This detailed, quarterlysurvey of the local truck market by the ScottByers Network is based on replies from between

3 000 and 4 000 respondents and covers 12makes of truck available on the local market.Not only was Hino top of the list in terms of thecombined customer satisfaction monitor, with ascore of 92,39%, but it was also the best per-former in both the sales (94,37%) and service(91,03%) categories. It placed second, marginal-ly behind Mercedes-Benz, in the parts section(92,78%), although Hino had the lowest per-centage of dissatisfied customers in the lattersection. Only eight of the 12 truck makes in thesurvey had overall ratings that exceeded thenational average of just over 85%.

NISSAN’S LOCALISATIONPROGRAMME GIVES HOPETO EMBATTLED SUPPLIERS

Nissan South Africa (Nissan SA) is committedto working closely with its local supply base toassist both parties weather the economic stormwhich has severely affected the automotiveindustry nationally and globally. SeniorGeneral Manager of Purchasing, DaveCameron, says of Nissan’s localisation pro-gramme that the local supply of parts andmaterials remains a key component in the pro-duction of Nissan vehicles assembled in SouthAfrica. As such he remains confident that ifNissan and suppliers work together to fight theadverse conditions in which they currently findthemselves, the local supply industry has theopportunity to grow. “It’s not a question ofhoping to survive but of putting appropriateplans in place to ensure immediate survival aswell as a state of readiness as and when theturnaround happens,” says Cameron, currentlyon a three-year secondment from NissanEurope. Cameron says that although produc-tion volumes are depressed and profitability isfurther affected by the strengthening of theyen, the main drivers for localisation remain,namely the high cost of duty tariffs on import-ed products and shipping over long distances.

The Sandton Con-vention Centre wasthe venue for theopening of theChina-Africa Deve-

lopment Fund (CADFund) on16th March 2009. Senior officialsfrom the South African govern-ment as well as industry leadersfrom South African and Chinesecompanies were in attendance tosee the chief governor of theChinese Development Bank, Mr.Chi Jianxin, and Dr. MatthewsPosa, treasurer general of theANC, unveil the plaque com-memorating the occasion.

CADFund opens office in Johannesburg



15A p r i l 2 0 0 9

Imperial Holdings launches an intensive management development programme

In these uncertain economic times where costs are being cut and budgets stretched, industrial giant Imperial Holdings has taken the bold deci-sion to invest almost R2 million in a unique Leadership Development Programme to uplift its staff and drive transformation. The objective ofthe programme is to provide high-quality training to staff in order to develop quality managers within the group. The 64 initial candidates for

the programme, of whom 66% are black, have been selected from a pool of high-potential middle managers, representing an array of brands with-in the Imperial stable. The Programme will also promote transformation within the Imperial group. The training will provide specialised skills andknowledge within the motor industry, including business orientation, financial management and budgeting, stock management, sales management,service management and parts management. A substantial portion of the programme will focus on effective management of people and the devel-opment of leadership skills, which are currently lacking within the retail motor industry. The programme will be presented in a modular mannerand will run over a 12 month period. What really sets this programme apart from similar initiatives within the industry is that all the lecturerscome from within the Imperial Holdings group, effectively ensuring that candidates have access to a wealth of relevant knowledge and experience


C o v e r S t o r y

17A p r i l 2 0 0 9

What makes a great company? Taking this a little further,

what makes a great product? These questions have been

asked many times, and there are many answers, some truer

than others. What is unquestionable is that time and history

play major roles, and what is even more unquestionable is

that achievement above the norm defines a company and its

products. Ronnie and Bertie Lubner, in their foreword to the

PG Group’s coffee table edition titled “PGSI 1897 to 1997

– One Hundred Years”, celebrating a centenary of endeav-

our; refer to the history of PG as “100 years of entrepre-

neurial spirit, fortitude and resolve”. The proof of the pud-

ding is in this fabled history and together with the PG

Group’s accomplishments from 1897 to 2009 they provide a

glimpse of this greatness.

In 1897, Jacobs & Dandor was founded as a glass merchantin Long Street, Cape Town, shortly thereafter to be boughtand renamed as The Plate Glass Bevelling & SilveringCompany by Ernest Boardman in 1899. In 1917 Adolph

Brodie of City Glass bought Plate Glass and in 1921 MorrieLubner joined Plate Glass in Johannesburg – from thereon thehistories of the Brodies and Lubners are intertwined like a gold-en thread with the history of PG, a history that is studded withgrowth, energy, acquisition, innovation and the shaping of icon-ic brands. The most iconic of these brands is Shatterprufe®. Thepurpose of this cover story is to discuss Shatterprufe and its con-tribution to the South African automotive industry, and the roleits glass has played in the safety of the South African motorist.Thus, Archimedes may believe that the proof of the pudding isin his pi, but Shatterprufe knows that the prufe of the puddingis in its unmatched products.

Shatterprufe’s contribution to the automotive industry and safe-ty glass began in 1927 when Ford and General Motors, both ofwhom had established assembly plants in Port Elizabeth in the

1920’s, placed orders with Plate Glass for laminated windscreens,which in those days was a revolutionary product. This led to theestablishment of the Shatterprufe plant in Port Elizabeth in1935, and today Shatterprufe is the leading manufacturer of glassfor the automotive industry in South Africa with factories inGarankuwa, Port Elizabeth (Neave and Struandale), andDurban. Shatterprufe registered its brand in 1932, and it isaround this Shatterprufe image that this brand has become syn-onymous with safety glass around the country. Stewart Jennings,chief executive officer of the PG Group, has spent his wholeworking life with the group, having joined in 1973. He is fierce-ly proud and protective of the achievements of Shatterprufe, notleast its dominant position as the only South African supplier ofautomotive glass to the local OEM industry. This position is wellearned, with Shatterprufe now supplying to all the seven OEMscurrently assembling in South Africa. Each of these OEMs has aninternational parent company, which means that in effect eachand every piece of glass supplied to the OEMs has received glob-al approval at the highest level. OE specifications are incrediblytight, which translates into an average development time for a

Stewart Jennings

The Prufe of the Pudding

Molten glass inside the furnace where the temperature is around 1450º Celsius


C o v e r S t o r y

A p r i l 2 0 0 918

PFG’s world class float lines produce over 210 000 tons of qualityflat glass per annum

Shatterprufe maintains the highest globalautomotive quality standards through aunique combination of automation and

personal attention

Double glazed windows for Gautrain – benefits include security,safety and noise reduction

windscreen of three to six months to meet these specifications.Stewart points out that the local SABS standards are nowherenear the much more stringent OE specifications, which allowsmanufacturers east of Tibet to reverse engineer these windscreens,and to sell these windscreens into the aftermarket as SABSapproved, but in no way are these windscreens equivalent to theoriginal, in terms of inherent quality, shape, fit and safety. Stewartstresses the quality aspect, “Quality is the be all and end all of allour endeavours. The PG Group strives to have quality rightthrough the system – from the finest raw materials through to themeticulous manufacture of the windscreen and a zero defectapproach, through to the PG Glass fitment side and thepolyurethane bonding materials used. We only use the very best.It is simply not negotiable. It is based on these facts that I can saycategorically that Shatterprufe windscreens are 100% safe. Canthe other suppliers of glass say this? It is just not good enough tobe 90% safe. When that guinea fowl hits your windscreen at 120km/h and your life is at stake, that 10% margin of error is just notworth it!” It is this philosophy that is behind the fact that the PG

Group has invested R1,6 billion over the past three years alone inupgrading its production facilities, most of this investment in theautomotive glass side, which makes Shatterprufe’s manufacturingfacilities equivalent to the best in Europe and Japan. Shatterprufehas invested around R50 million in plant each year for the pastfifteen years to ensure that it employs the latest technologies.

Shatterprufe’s refusal to cut corners makes good business sense.Stewart Jennings says that in the long run a commitment to qual-ity actually saves money, and it ensures a company’s future. He points out that with every new OE model, the quality require-ments are being ratcheted up, which places Shatterprufe in goodstead, as it is geared up for the challenges. With only the best capital equipment sourced from the USA, Europe and Japan,export orders are streaming in, with 44% of Shatterprufe’s production going to the global aftermarket. This in the face ofsignificantly cheaper product available from the East, which begsthe question, “Are South Africans not as safety conscious as the rest of the world?”


C o v e r S t o r y

19A p r i l 2 0 0 9

Since the 1950’s, Widney has established itself as the leadingsliding-window designer and manufacturer in SouthernAfrica. The company is the only local accredited sliding-win-dow supplier for Toyota, Daimler, General Motors, Nissan

and Ford. And now it has a new feather in its cap. Widney is one ofthe select few local manufacturers to be approved as a supplier for the96 Gautrain coaches which are being assembled in Nigel, and the 12coaches already assembled in Derby, England. Bombardier wanted aunique modern look for the coaches’ windows, and they just lovedthe Widney design which incorporates a unified black appearancewith a highly glossed finish around an aluminium profile. Thisinvolves complex technology but Widney is up to it. The window isdouble glazed to block heat and noise, which allows for the air-con-ditioned coaches to perform to perfection. Widney is an old hand atbuffing up trains, including the Shozaloza Express Premium ClassDining Car and Lounge Car windows in bronze double glaze, andrecently they designed new windows for Putco luxury buses, usingautomotive green glass instead of the usual grey tinted glass, designedto give an all glass look around a small aluminium frame, and thewindow-slide built into the glass. This unique design gives better vis-ibility and improved heat transfer properties.

Before you replace your windscreen or side glass, hereare some important questions to ask yourself

• Can the glass be repaired rather than replaced?• If it can be repaired, does the chip repair processadhere to the British Standards Institute and theAmerican Standards Institute, and is it guaranteedfor life?

• Is the replacement windscreen or side glassapproved by the original equipment manufacturer?

• Does the replacement glass exceed all SABS specifications?

• Are the fitters professionally trained to fit the glassin accordance with the original equipment manu-facturer’s specification?

• Is the replacement glass 100% safe?• Is the shape of the replacement glass 100% thesame as the original?

• Does the replacement glass fit 100%?• Can you place a monetary value on your family’slives?

• Is the black ceramic border on your windscreenmade from the highest quality materials and environmentally safe?

Meri Williamson, managing director of Widney, who is movingacross in April 2009 to a senior management position at PG Glass,stands in front of the Gautrain display at PG Glass’ head office in

Bedfordview, Johannesburg

I Can See Clearly Now

Know the facts before you buy“One of the most important safety critical features in modern motor vehicles is one you hardly notice – the glassthat surrounds you. Today’s cars use glass panels to add strength and rigidity to their bodies. Glass that fits badly

or falls out on impact could easily cause the roof to cave in, or the passengers to be flung out of the car.Additionally, airbags can only do their job if the windscreen stays in place during their deployment”


Manufacturer – float & patternedglass

PFG Building Glass is the only man-ufacturer of float and patterned glassin Southern Africa. Each year, thecompany manufactures 250 000 tonsof ClearVue (float glass), and 30 000tons of DecorVue (patterned glass),clear and coated laminated safetyglass, glazing putty, and is also theonly manufacturer of mirrors. PFG isan ISO 9001 certified company andhas achieved IRCA Diamond statusfor its safety standards.

Manufacturer – automotive glass

Shatterprufe is the leading manufac-turer of glass for the automotiveindustry in South Africa. The compa-ny also exports to markets in theUSA, Europe, Africa, the Middle Eastand the Far East. Local brands areArmourplate tempered and tough-ened and laminated glass.Shatterprufe is ISO 9000 and QS9000 certified and produces over fourmillion pieces of safety glass perannum.

Retailer – Network of installers

PG Glass is the leading glass retailer inSouthern Africa, specialising ininstalling new and replacement auto-motive and building glass. Through anationwide branch network of 130fitment centres, PG Glass offers acomprehensive glass installation andreplacement service to insurance,fleet, trade and individual customers.

Distributor & marketer

Glass South Africa (GSA) is thelargest distributor of Shatterprufewindscreens and Armourplate tough-ened automotive glass in SouthernAfrica. GSA also markets theSmartGlass range of float and pat-terned glass, laminated and tough-ened safety glass, double-glazed units,and copper-free mirrors. The compa-ny has a network of over 40 sales cen-

tres in South Africa, Botswana,Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland andZambia.

Sliding-window designer and manu-facturer

Widney Transport Components hasestablished itself as the leading transportsliding-window designer and manufac-turer in Southern Africa. Widney hasbeen at the forefront of transformationin the motor industry and has becomethe first black-empowered sliding-win-dow supplier to the South African trans-port industry.

Aluminium framed door and window manufacturer

With factories in Cape Town, PortElizabeth, Durban and Gauteng,Primador is a major industry playerwhen it comes to doors and windows,manufacturing patio sliding doors, case-ment and sliding windows, shop frontsand shower enclosures and cubicles,complying with government legislationand the highest standards in safety andheating controls.

Laminate film distributor

LLumar Films (Pty) Ltd is the exclusivedistributor of the LLumar brand treat-ment films in Southern Africa.Manufactured by CP Films in the USA,LLumar films reduce solar heat andglare, enhance appearance, add safety tobuildings and vehicles and comply withinternational testing standards.

Distribution agency

Sentinel Global Logistics, located inCharleston, South Carolina, USA, is afully integrated distribution centre, withits core business being the distribution ofautomotive replacement glass. It hasexpanded its interests into an integratedlogistics business.

C o v e r S t o r y

A p r i l 2 0 0 9

20

The PG Group is South Africa’s leading integrated glass business. Group companies man-ufacture, distribute and install high-performance automotive and building glass.Established in Cape Town in 1897 as a glass merchant, the company has grown into a sig-nificant global player with substantial interests in 17 countries. When it unbundled in1999, the PG Group became a private company, as part of the international PGSI Group.The Group generates revenues of R3 billion a year.


A u t o T o p i c a l

A p r i l 2 0 0 922

February and March 2009 have been alive with motor sector organisa-

tions approaching the South African government, most notably in the

form of the National Department of Trade and Industry, for assistance

in the acute slow down in demand for its products at both local and

international levels. The discussions have understandably been kept

very tightly guarded by the participants, and at the time that these words

fly out of the keyboard (mid-March 2009) there is no official version of

any request or response in the public domain. Thus, this article turns

over some ideas, rather than report on any facts.

Magic Medicine Showfor the Motor Sector?

Apoint of departurecould be to segmentthe South Africanmotor sector conceptu-ally into four distinctareas. The manufac-turing side of the sector

consists of component production andvehicle assembly. The retail side of theindustry splits into new vehicle sales andthen the vehicle servicing, repair andmaintenance and the host of activities thatsupport these automotive businesses. Themotor retail trade has clearly been underincreasing pressure since late 2006, whenvehicle unit sales began an initially slow,but then a rapidly accelerating fall.Dealerships have closed or been consoli-dated within larger groups. In someinstances, where some decidedly fragilelooking import operations were estab-lished during the 2003-2006 boom peri-od, with inadequate business financingand little or no experience of dealing withoriginal equipment suppliers thousands ofkilometres away, badges and enterpriseshave simply disappeared. The after-mar-ket quadrant of the sector remains relative-ly resilient, catering for a still expandingvehicle parque which is inevitably lesscyclical than the new vehicle sales end ofthe sector.

As will be noted later, it is important neverto lose sight of the final demand end of theautomotive production column, but let usthink of the double-edged manufacturingside for the moment. Vehicle assemblersin South Africa are nowadays totallyowned by foreign parents, as opposed tothe mix of local and foreign ownershipinterests that existed as recently as a decadeago. One may therefore not be too sur-

prised if the DTI does not set the vehicleassemblers, and even more so the vehicleimporters, as quite as high a priority forassistance as other sub-sectors of the auto-motive manufacturing industry. It is wellestablished that many of the vehicle assem-bly parent companies are reeling under thecosh of the global recession, but theirSouth African subsidiaries are possibly thebest placed to sustain themselves relative toother areas of the domestic motor sector.

Which leaves the component manufactur-ing sub-sector as the single most likely can-didate for survival assistance. Both domes-tic and export demand for components,particularly those feeding original equip-ment as opposed to replacement markets,have collapsed over the past nine months,often leaving the component manufactur-ers with high inventories of unusable rawand semi-processed materials, which werebought before commodity prices begantumbling in the third quarter of 2008.With strangled demand for components,both balance sheets and income statementshave tipped alarmingly. The following fac-tors could influence the DTI to look afterthe local component manufacturers first:

• Generally high local equity ownershipamongst component manufacturers

• Exaggerated inventory impacts the fur-ther back along any supply chain thatone looks, during any downturn infinal demand

• Relatively high labour: value addedratios and employment levels withinthe sector

• Closest proximity to upstream rawmaterial suppliers eg mining and othermanufacturing sub-sectors.

• Possession of Government paper assets,like export credit certificates whichDTI could discount until industryneeds to repurchase them

• Potential to switch any existing OEemphasis replacement markets withinglobal supply networks.

Whatever format any assistance mighttake, be it for the component end of thesector or even more broadly, it seems high-ly unlikely that it will try to replicate thelemming-like charge of the US SeventhCavalry with huge amounts of cash beingdoled out into a potentially bottomless pit.We must expect more targeted cash flowassistance, which will not require the taxpayer in Kayalitsha to contribute to thefuture survival of decades of historicallycurious policies.

But supporting the back end of the pro-duction column in the form of componentsuppliers without any attempt at rescuingfinal demand for their products calls upthe specter of Say’s Law, which suggeststhat supply creates its own demand. TheGreat Depression of the 1930’s disprovedthis 17th Century theory once and for all,and it appears self destructive to revisit it.The DTI will struggle to bring about arapid rescue to levels of final demand inthe local automotive sector, and has nochance whatsoever of influencing the glob-al demand. While some rescue remediesmay be more appropriate than others, themagic medicine cure will need to be care-ful of the same precipice awaiting thethundering hooves of the US SeventhCavalry, its central bank and its tax payers.

by Tony Twine,Senior Economist,Director –Econometrix (Pty)Ltd


Hi-Tech Auto Centre is immediately recognisablefrom the street as an e-CAR member, with strongsignage facing both James Wright Avenue and theadjacent shopping centre car park, supplemented

with mobile tear drops and prominent signage on the building.e-CAR is fast becoming a household name across South Africa asa port of call for motorists seeking dependable auto electrical andgeneral repairs, so the odds are short that Harry’s new customersare attracted to his premises by the easily recognisable red andgreen e-CAR logo. Once a customer has visited Hi-Tech, Harryis confident that they will be back. True to his background,Harry treats each customer as a project, with his primary goalcustomer satisfaction, and the proof of the pudding is that“familiar faces keep coming back”. One very good reason forthose familiar faces coming back is that Harry ensures that eachand every job, no matter how big or small, complicated or ele-mentary, is approached with meticulous care. For example, if acustomer comes in or phones wanting to know how much a setof front brake pads will cost, Harry will not give an answer untila full examination of the brake system is carried out, includingan analysis of the brake fluid, and a thorough evaluation of thecalipers, the clips, the sensors, the discs and of course, the pads,both front and back. Only once this has been done, will Harrygive an assessment based on his thorough inspection, and revealthe cost of the brake pads, and other parts, if required. With thiscomprehensive approach, it is no wonder that Hi-Tech AutoCentre is highly regarded by the motoring fraternity of KemptonPark and its surrounds.

When Harry established the business two years ago, he chose e-CAR as his support base, because of the tremendous support thismembership affords, a fact that Harry attests to wherever he goes.A sense of belonging to a national brand with strong corporateimage is a critical element, but this would be worthless withoutthe other support structures. Bosch provides technical back-up,training, world class diagnostic equipment and an efficient help-line. Diesel-Electric provides quality branded product at compet-itive prices and efficient delivery. Combined with the other ben-efits befitting such an organisation, e-CAR is an irresistible pack-age for a project manager who insists on covering all the bases.

Also gaining a sense of security and peace of mind are Hi-Techcustomers, which includes the Ekhuruleni Metro Council.Anything else from this precise project manager? “Yes, I onlyemploy good people. This is a prerequisite for anyone who wantsto run an efficient project”.

23A p r i l 2 0 0 9

e-CAR – a Project of Note

Renier Smit, Frans Maaba, Peter Mafotga and Harry Smit givinga customer’s car the project management experience

Harry Smit is a mechanical engineer, with extensive project management experience.

When one visits Hi-Tech Auto Centre at 58 James Wright Avenue, Norkem Park, Harry’s

project management background is clearly evident. The facilities are neat, organised

and well laid out, with everything precisely in its place. A customer visiting these

premises would immediately feel at ease, with the feeling that they are in good hands.

This initial impression would be spot-on.

To join the fastest growing workshop network in South Africa and to add a new dimension to your business, contact Wilfried Langenbach at 0860 003 227

(0860 00 ECAR)


by Adrian Burford

A p r i l 2 0 0 924

A series of articles on the rise of the Chery automobile

Chery seems to be blossoming despite the storm that has lashed the motor industry

since the middle of last year, with a number of Chinese brands the first casualties of

the subsequent floods to reach our shores.

Last year the brand sold 356 000 vehicles worldwide andplans on growing that to 419 000 by the end of 2009.This in a market which has excess global productioncapacity and a downturn in consumer demand which is

some way from bottoming out. But Chery, which is little morethan a decade old (and has been making cars for slightly less thanthat), sees the current climate as an opportunity to optimise itsoperations in terms of management, innovation and sales. This isaccording to Biren Zhou, President of Chery International andVice President of Chery Automobile, who recently visited SouthAfrica. “Ranked as the top independent Chinese passenger vehi-cle manufacturer, we believe that Chery has entered another phaseof rapid growth whereby annual sales have increased by 30 percentfor the third consecutive year,” said Zhou.

Chery produced its millionth car in 2007, which is more or lesswhen their focus shifted to the international market, along withmany other Chinese brands as sales at home slowed. In 2008exports topped 135 000 units, a 10 percent increase on 2007, andSA is rapidly becoming an increasingly important market. SaysZhou: “South Africa is currently Chery’s biggest right hand drivemarket and with the current steady growth in sales, we are con-sidering the feasibility of setting up a manufacturing plant.”

If this happens, it will make it the 10th production facility outsideChina, not bad for a brand which has its roots in the largely agri-culturul Anhui province in the country’s East, far from the eco-nomic action which has rapidly dragged China into the 21st cen-tury. While a potted history of most brands requires very broadbrush strokes, Chery can be covered in some detail: founded in1997 it bumbled along initially, eventually aided by a ShanghaiAutomotive Industrial Company (SAIC) investment in 2001,which enabled Chery to sell its cars in China.

This decade has been noteworthy for legal action by GeneralMotors, which claimed the tiny QQ3 was a copy of the ChevroletSpark (in turn a rebadged Daewoo Matiz, that Korean brand hav-ing been rescued by GM). The matter has subsequently beendropped, ostensibly in the interests of maintaining cordial rela-tions with the Chinese government in what is after all a vehiclemarket with unparalled potential – it is already the second largestnew vehicle market in the world. The local Chery story is shortbut sweet and company executives are probably planning theirfirst anniversary as you read this. Introduced in May 2008, CherySouth Africa has doggedly set out to establish its credentials andthere are a number of highlights. These include the QQ3 settinga series of 48-hour speed and endurance records at the Gerotektest facility, as well as returning impressive fuel consumption

results in the car’s first attempt at the Total Economy Run. In theannual Kinsey Report into parts pricing, Chery came out lookingpretty good too. An ambitious number of new model launches areplanned for 2009. Significantly, Zhou points out that the compa-ny’s focus has shifted from increased production rate an emphasison quality and research and development. “Not only has Cheryachieved the status of the best-selling domestic car brand inChina, it has also attained international standards for the qualityof its manufacturing processes,” said Zhou.

Because Chery is so young and still relatively small, they are prob-ably far more able to bob, weave and roll with the punches thatare being thrown thick and fast in the automotive ring. And itseems there will be be a few knockouts, even in the heavyweightcategory.

A number of international observers have confirmed the highstandard of Chery’s facilities, which boast the latest and greatestthat car production has to offer in terms of equipment. Chery hasalso not been shy about forging partnerships with the best-knownEuropean design and engineering houses, which suggests the endresult will match up to the claims.

While we are yet to see a teenager (rather than a Boy Wonder inthe shape of Lewis Hamilton) winning the Formula One worldchampionship, maybe when it does happen it’ll be a Chinese lad,and he’ll be driving a Chery...

Emulating the BambooShoot

Answers on p 74


V e h i c l e E v a l u A T I O N

A p r i l 2 0 0 926

Down the Hatch

Crisp, modern styling gives the Chev Aveo a marginal edge in the styling stakes Driver ergonomics are well looked after

It’s a jocular toast. It is a preamble to drinking a tot of whatever in one

gulp. Irrespective of whatever you are throwing down your throat,

whether it is rotgut moonshine at R50 a bottle, or Johnnie Walker Blue

Label at R200 a tot, it is a momentary sensation of something foreign

and fiery doing a peristaltic dance down your gullet. The aftertastes may vary, but

the toast “Down the Hatch” suffices for the connoisseur and the bergie. In reality,

there is not really much difference between them, apart from an emotional response

to a brand or a perceived image.

These thoughts came to mind as I was test driving theChevrolet Aveo Hatch LS, courtesy of GeneralMotors. The car that was allocated to me had over 10000 km on the clock, so I assume that this LS was not

the latest Aveo. Its performance was closer to the 1500cc 62kWengine, and not the latest 1600cc 77kW mill. Regardless of theperformance, which normally correlates closely to the cubic cen-timetres working away under the bonnet (unless a turbochargedbeast), you simply get what you pay for. With the Aveo, normalservice resumes. Apart from an unusually noisy engine, the Aveodoes what is expected of it with as little fuss as possible. It offersa smooth, comfortable ride, and its handling is precise and pre-dictable. The styling is fresh and modern, and its passenger andluggage space is perfectly acceptable. True to the latest innova-tions in design, its driving position and clever use of forwardspace gives an impression of driving a much larger car, and apartfrom the omission of the audio controls on the steering wheelthis commuting marvel could go for any number of hatches nowon the market. It is simply a case of “down the hatch” for amotoring journalist looking for something different. As is thecase for the bergie or the connoisseur, it comes down to what youaspire to and to what you can afford, or something in between.

This is a symptom of the malady now facing the South Africanautomotive industry, and indeed the global automotive industry.Too many cars chasing too little money. It is a consumer’s delight,and a marketer’s nightmare. And this situation shall pertain untilthe number of manufacturers and the number of models andderivatives are whittled down to a sane level, either by attrition orconsensus. With global warming now the hot discussion and car-bon footprints the new age measurement, it is the humble andnifty hatch which will move up the market share ladder, and thechoice is staggering. The problem for the motoring scribe is thatall these vehicles are well designed and any difference in perform-ance is more perceived than actual, so any road test is an exercisein nit picking, with the knee jerk effect and gut wrenching feel-ing of here we go again. The end result is a Top Gear typeattempt at humour and parody, just to keep the reader or theviewer awake. The only advice I can give is to go with your heart,and buy what you fancy. Don’t worry about the minor technicaldifferences; let your emotions take over. And if the Chevroletbowtie gets your juices flowing, go for the Aveo. You can’t gowrong. And neither can your neighbour, whatever he or she buys.It’s either the black jelly baby or the red one, or the green, it allends up the same.

by Howard Keeg

The all-new Chevrolet Spark made itsworld premiere at Geneva, a small cardesigned to make a big statement. It's

big on style, big on fuel economy and, likeall products carrying the gold bowtie, big onvalue. Distinctive, edgy styling conveys ener-gy and spirit because this is a mini-car that'sas fun to drive as it is economical to own.With punchy 1.0 and 1.2-liter four-cylindergasoline engines and a five-door hatchbackbody format offering surprising versatility,the Chevy Spark is set to light up Europe'smini-car segment.(quickpic)

All-New Chevrolet Spark: A Mini-Car with Attitude


Heads or Tails?F r a n k l y S p e a k i n g

A p r i l 2 0 0 928

Over the past several months, I have been reading and writing, almost

continuously, about the unfolding drama surrounding the world’s motor

manufacturers. This process continues, as there is still no clear sign

that circumstances in the global financial universe are moving in any

positive direction, and the outlook for even some of the largest and most

powerful vehicle manufacturers is far from rosy. Inevitably, there is continuous

speculation over their prospects for survival, with new rumours appearing, almost on

a daily basis, of potential mergers, acquisitions and sell-offs. Of course, many of

these are flights of fancy, but they still add colour and, in some cases, a sense of

desperation, to the broader saga.

As a commentator and ana-lyst, I often feel compelledto make predictions, butto predict the demise orsurvival of companies thatturn more money over in

a year than the Gross Domestic Productsof small countries can be a risky business. Ihave no doubt that some rationalisationwill take place in the ranks of vehicle man-ufacturers. Many of these entities werealready engaged in restructuring and prof-it restoration programmes well before theonset of the Sub-Prime crisis, and the cur-rently prevailing market conditions are nothelpful in the progressing of these plans.Orderly business restructuring needs stablemarkets, because fundamental changes tolarge corporate structures and culturesdemand time, a great deal of money, and,above all, predictable cash flows. Someflexibility will be injected by the urgencyof the situation, but it will still not be pos-sible to make wholesale cuts in facilities,personnel, social commitments or modelranges overnight. Short of a miraculousturnaround in present market conditions,some manufacturers are bound to just runout of cash, and time, too fast to survive asstand-alone players. This will most likelylead to them taking refuge in some form ofbankruptcy protection, leading to radicalrestructuring, outright closure, or absorp-tion by more viable competitors.

Even those manufacturers and groups thatsurvive intact, are likely to shed selected

parts of their corporate anatomies in orderto enhance long-term viability. The recentdissolution of several extremely large andpowerful families has proved that thebanding together of well-known brands,with highly disparate cultures, does notalways work out. Nevertheless, there seemsto be a fairly substantial number of corpo-rate decision makers still embracing theprinciple of Mergers and Acquisitions intheir quest for “critical mass”. Much of thisphilosophy is driven by the extremely highcost of compliance with ever more strin-gent international environmental and safe-ty regulation, but it is critical to select fun-damentally viable targets and partners,rather than trying to transform them, oncethey are in the “family”.

Interestingly enough, the ChineseGovernment is also pursuing a plan torationalise its own young, and highlydiversified industry. The initial, modest,target is reportedly to reduce the numberof manufacturers from twelve into ten, butthere will be many people outside Chinahoping that the process eventually cutsmuch deeper. Anybody who has tried tofathom who builds what in China, and haswrestled with the alternative productnames used in the export market, will con-cur. There also seems to be a good chancethat Chinese manufacturers will snap upone or more of the brands being hived offby the global giants. In recent years, therehas been a huge proliferation of new mod-els from global brands, as they try to milk

the last available ounce of critical mass outof every available market. This has led tothe creation of innumerable “cross-over”market niches, and the encouragement ofindividual geographic and demographicmarkets to indulge their specific prefer-ences. Why should it be necessary, forexample, to have a completely separatemodel range in the US market to that soldin Europe, and then even more uniqueproduct line-ups in Japan and Australia?There can be no doubt that some of theseproducts do not contribute to the bottomline, and will have to go. There is also apossibility that manufacturers will revisittheir world marketing footprint, and re-evaluate the potential profitability of eachexport market. It will not be surprising ifsome recent high profile efforts at interna-tionalizing certain brands fall away.

Then there is the headlong rush towardstechnological innovation. The level of electronic wizardry found in to-day’s pop-ular car models is truly amazing, withouteven considering their more expensivelarger brethren. It is significant that somemanufacturers have recently adopted acounter-cyclical approach by introducingnew models which are deliberately basic,and several steps back from the establishednorm. The industry will watch with interest to see how the Tata Nanos,Renault Logans and their ilk are acceptedby world markets if the current economicenvironment prevails for any extendedperiod of time.

by Frank Beeton


m a n a g i n g t h e R i s k s

A p r i l 2 0 0 930

Small Measures; Big SavingsSéan Jackson, fresh from a round of RTMS (Road Transport Management System)

meetings, quotes an alarming statistic that was one of the prominent discussion

points at these meetings, i.e. road transport costs per kilometre in South Africa are

the highest in the world! The villain of the piece is usually identified as the truck

driver, but Séan cautions against such a knee-jerk reaction.

The truck driver tends to beblamed for all manner of ills,which may be an easy cop outfor management, but Séan

says this allocation of blame is simplistic,and does not really address the core ofthe problem. In a perfect world, yes, thedriver should ensure that his truck is notoverloaded, he should give regular andinformed feedback on the roadworthi-ness of the truck, he should drive histruck as solicitously and efficiently aspossible, and of course he should playsheriff when it comes to protecting therig against misdemeanours such as fueltheft. Unfortunately, the world is notperfect, and South Africa has moreimperfections than average. One of theseimperfections is the propensity for oper-ators to overload both truck and driver.The consequences are inefficiency andhigher costs. Overloading of a truck hasmechanical and associated chickens com-ing home to roost, whereas overloadingof a driver creates even more dire prob-lems. An overloaded driver goes into sur-vival mode, with motivation, enthusi-asm, propriety, and most importantly,“ownership” of the truck becoming themajor casualties. To get the driver to bepart of the management team, Séan says,the operator should equip his driverswith the correct training, the appropriateprocedures, and the right tools, whichincludes anti-siphoning devices.Empowering the driver will result inimproved fuel consumption, feedback ontechnical problems (allied to a strictmaintenance regime), less downtime andyes, less fuel theft! Thus relatively smallmeasures produce big savings.

Séan says that operators must not juststop there. There are many other ways towring savings out of your transport costs,each small step leading to a giant leap ingetting your costs per kilometre moreinto line with international figures. Séanrefers to Kenworth Trucks, a unit oftruck conglomerate Paccar in America.Merely by reducing the drag on the mudflaps via a simple trimming and taperingprocedure, Kenworth managed to reducea typical truck’s annual fuel bill byUS$400 (over R4 000). For a couple ofhundred trucks in a fleet, that translatesinto close to a million Rand! And byother simple aerodynamic tweaks, thesavings will mount up. Another lucrativearea worth improving is the shockabsorbers. Underperforming shockabsorbers affect many areas – tyres, safe-ty, fuel efficiency, etc. The standardshock absorbers that come with a newtruck will give you anything from 150000km to 300 000km of life, dependingon road conditions and driving skills. Byfitting above average shock absorbers you

can expect anything from 800 000km towell over 1 000 000km. With four timesthe life of the standard shock, world classshock absorbers will give you savingsmerely by its lifespan, but additional sav-ings will accrue over the life of the truckvia the performance of the shocks. Bykeeping the tyres on the road under allconditions with no bounce, and by theconstant damping effect, excellent shocksimprove tyre wear, reduce fuel consump-tion, and the better handling and lesssway contribute significantly to enhanc-ing the safety of the rig and driver. Apartfrom the desired lower cost per kilome-tre, ancillary benefits will be lower war-ranty rates, less downtime, less stress forthe driver, and a far happier accountant.The good news for the fleet operatorwith a wide variety of heavy vehicles isthat KONI has a full range of shocks forpassenger vehicle, bus, truck, trailer andmilitary applications, all specificallydesigned for the task at hand. And theirversatility knows no bounds, they areeven involved in Formula One racing.Another big bonus is that the shocks areadjustable, with a unique setting for eachvehicle, and they are fully serviceable.

Thus it makes sense to adopt mainte-nance plans beyond the norm. With theright tools and some smart moves, youcan reduce the risks of high costs anddamage to your vehicles. As Séan loves tosay, “Enhance and Deter!”. He’ll be backwith more tough love in the next issue ofABR.

by Séan Jackson

There are many otherways to wring savings outof your transport costs,

each small step leading toa giant leap in gettingyour costs per kilometre

more into line with inter-national figures.

[[

It’s been said a million times before that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. This cliché takeson a new resonance when describing the truck industry. Times may be tough, but trucks are tougher, andtruckers are the toughest. This industry is literally the wheels of the economy, so thank goodness that whenthe going gets tough, the toughest get going. A critical element in this dynamic is the ability to keep costsdown, and to ensure that operating costs are kept under tight control. The first port of call in this endeav-our is to protect against theft and misuse. The first port of call in this endeavour is to protect against theftand misuse. A close second is thinking smart and keeping costs down. ABR has commissioned SéanJackson of TRUCKTEK to give our readers a series of tips on Managing the Risks.


T o n y ’ s t a k e

A p r i l 2 0 0 932

World political, economic and financial leaders are struggling to establish some kind

of pattern and set of rules that will help their economies claw their way out of the

ever deepening and darkening pit into which they have toppled since the middle of

2008. There seems to be an economic theory for every occasion at the moment, and

traditional lines of thinking that may have previously been expected from particular

political quarters are becoming increasingly difficult to predict as time goes on.

After the collapse of SovietCommunism around 1990, theglobal economy appeared des-tined to run forever along unin-

terrupted tracks of increasing globalisationand decreasing nationalism. Multi nation-al corporations were rapidly taking over theeffective allocation of resources in marketsthat were steadily seeing trade barriersmelting within the large geo-political freetrade zones, with cross-zone barriers alsoweakening.

Hidden amongst the renewed spurts ofcapitalist vigor, which had slewed its waythrough post second world war bouts ofexpanding socialism in the west, came theseeds of its own undoing. Wealth couldapparently be created out of thin air, aproduct of financial market keystrokes,rather than hard work. Ever increasingly,people, corporations and nationaleconomies borrowed from tomorrow topay for today’s consumption.

It is easy to see that expanding the amountof credit offered to borrowers in any systemmust force lenders into ever increasingareas of risk. Where they existed, financialmarket rules were increasingly manipulat-ed to make the risk more difficult to iden-tify as lending increased, but the camou-flage did not mean that the risk had ceasedto exist. In 2008, tomorrow suddenlyarrived, demanding payment from todayand there was nothing with which to pay.

Roughly 150 years earlier, Karl Marx hadimagined socialism and capitalism onlybeing able to expand at each other’sexpense, not simultaneously. Ever since,observers of politics and economics havewatched and debated whether Marx wasindeed correct. The so-called Washingtonconsensus school of thought would suggest

that the benefits of socialism can only growin an economic environment where growthis driven along capitalist lines.

But today, with sectors, industries andmarkets far removed from the banking andfinance markets which gave rise to the cur-rent crisis, all floundering commerce andindustry are turning to government to tryto halt or reverse the problems which theeconomic system that had led to their pros-perity is now delivering as a reality. Freemarkets and liberal capitalism were muchsought after on the way up, but govern-

ment ownership of losses now seems to bethe main band aid sought by hemorrhag-ing earlier free-marketeers.

In the mid-1970’s the South African econ-omy fell into a prolonged period of zerogrowth, following a sharp decline in thegold price, the metal then accounting formore than half of SA’s export values,together with increased military action inNamibia and Angola, and a rapid deterio-ration of brittle domestic political stabilityin the middle of 1976. At about that time,well known South African academic andfinancial sector economist Merton Dagut,writing in a Seifrets-UAL newsletter,reminded us that one of the positiveaspects of economic downturns was thatthey cleaned out deadwood from enterpris-

es that inevitably builds up duringupswings in economic growth and boomconditions. While not comfortable, this isalmost certainly true.

Sectors and industries seeking governmentassistance to stay alive in 2009 will argue,probably with some conviction and somesuccess, that the current situation is notjust clearing deadwood, but ripping theforest to pieces as well. None of them arelikely to dig too deeply into why their par-ticular corner of the woods came into exis-tence in the first place, or whether theresources that it uses could better bedeployed as the basis for an orchard or aploughed field. Some governments,wealthier than others, will throw mainlymonetary resources at flailing sectors.Other governments, not quite as wellendowed, will do their best to appease theirpopulations, who will demand similar butunaffordable interventions like the onestaking place in countries where the accu-mulated wealth of decades and centuries inthe past can be harnessed to patch thedamage created by trying to consumetomorrow today.

Should governments be expected to buythe excess productive capacity of businesswhich is struggling to survive to grapplewith any tomorrow? Certainly every gov-ernment will have to be selective in what itchooses to save and that will give rise to asubstantially new political era. Unfor-tunately, the heavily depressed global eco-nomic conditions of 1929 to 1933spawned some terrifying political solutionslike Fascism, Nazism and isolationism,while entrenching Soviet Communism andpreparing a path towards total war. Whocan tell where the current path of socialis-ing economic losses in the name of politi-cal survival, may lead?

by Tony Twine

Privatising Profit –Socialising Losses


w e i g h t y i s s u e s

A p r i l 2 0 0 934

Quo Vadis the TruckMarket?

Since first entering employment in the South African road transport sector in 1968,

I have seen the local truck market fluctuate wildly from highs to lows. In those far-

off days, annual volumes of trucks and buses totaling around 20 000 units were com-

monplace, and these rose and fell in sync with national economic activity until 1981,

when an all-time record of 30 742 units was set. This was just prior to the introduc-

tion of stringent local content requirements for these vehicles, and reflected a hefty

pre-buy of the last fully-imported driveline products before more expensive local

engines and gearboxes became mandatory. The local content regime eased consider-

ably during the 1990’s, but it was not until 2006 that the next new outright record

of 33 080 units was established, followed by yet another new benchmark of 37 067

units in 2007, and a slight drop to 34 659 units in 2008. Most of the growth took

place after the turn of the Millenium, and seemed destined for even greater heights,

but the market ran out of steam in the second half of 2008.

It would be easy to blame therecent loss of momentum in thismarket on the Global financialcrisis. However, this needs to beplaced into perspective against thebackground of the local economic

framework. During his recent Budgetspeech, Finance Minister Trevor Manuelgave assurances that the government’sR787 billion infrastructure developmentplan would still roll out. Of this, R50,9billion has been earmarked for specifictransport-related expenditure includingtaxi recapitalization, bus subsidies, freewayimprovements, and maintenance on non-toll roads. Other public and private invest-ment will go into facilities supporting theConfederations Cup and 2010 SoccerWorld Cup, Gautrain, ESKOM upgradesand the shopping mall revamps that seemto be popping up everywhere.

There is hardly anything that happens inSouth Africa that does not require inputsfrom road transport. Ever since roadhaulage was progressively deregulated fromthe late nineteen-eighties, rail transporthas played a diminishing role in movinggoods and commodities to and from portsof entry, factories, warehouses and pointsof sale. There are two dedicated “singlepurpose” railways in South Africa – theRichards Bay coal line, and the Sishen-Saldanha iron ore corridor. Criticism ofthe former’s inability to cope with the ton-nage demand appears regularly in themedia, and the latter is due for an immi-

nent upgrade. Transnet experiencesenough difficulty in managing these, sothere is little prospect of rail haulage mak-ing a comeback in the broader arena, any-time soon. Political rhetoric notwithstand-ing, road transport will continue to pro-vide the backbone of South Africa’s econo-my for the foreseeable future.

It is also significant that several metropoli-tan projects for the implementation of BusRapid Transit schemes are starting to takeshape. Johannesburg has placed orders for143 BRT units, and the acquisitionprocesses for similar schemes in CapeTown, Port Elizabeth and Durban aregaining momentum. In addition, state-owned operator Autopax will receive near-ly 1500 additional vehicles to ensure thatSWC 2010 is adequately provided withcoaches to move players, officials and spec-tators around its manifold venues.

Under these circumstances, it is difficult tounderstand why truck manufacturers andsuppliers have been so bearish overprospects for the 2009 truck market. Asurvey carried out by the media amongindustry management at the end of 2008elicited an average total market of just lessthan 28 500 units, which suggests a year-on-year decline of nearly 18%. It has alsobeen puzzling that the recent downturn intruck sales has been felt, most keenly, inthe top-end Extra Heavy CommercialVehicle segment (Gross Vehicle Mass rat-ings over 16,5 tons). The multi-axled vehi-

cles that make up this segment are mainlyused for long-distance linehaul or con-struction-related duties, both of whichshould be direct beneficiaries of the fixedinvestment-related activities which aresaid, by most analysts, to dominate thelocal economy.

While this has been going on, there hasbeen some reawakening of the entry-levelMedium Commercial Vehicle segment(3,5 to 8,5 ton GVM), whose constituentsare mainly involved in the local delivery ofFast Moving Consumer Goods, or operat-ing as medium to long-distance taxis. Theeconomic outlook says that consumeractivity is still on the wane, with very littlegrowth in prospect over the next few years.So why are MCV sales picking up?

It now appears more likely that the ills inthe truck market relate more directly to anextremely difficult financing environmentfor prospective vehicle buyers, and thesomewhat understandable reluctance ofsuppliers to drive the market with ade-quate and appropriate supplies, given thatextra heavies can be priced at well over amillion rand per copy. The macro econom-ics suggest that the latent demand remainsin place, but if the suppliers don’t believethis, as suggested by the market forecastsquoted above, and trim their inventoriesaccordingly, the reduced volumes can easi-ly become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

by Frank Beeton


As promised in the last issue, we are going to have a closer look at tyres and their

life span, while in service on light delivery trucks. We will discuss the vans used for

so many varying types of operations in S.A. like the Mercedes Sprinters, Iveco Turbo-

Dailys, VW Transporters and Toyota Quantums and many others which pass us by each

day on the roads and highways.

Tyres are subjected to as many dif-ferent types of use on these vehi-cles, as on the bakkies we dis-

cussed. But there are some extra concernswhich need consideration.

One, is that these vans are capable of someserious speed. The tyres they are fitted withas standard are capable of the speeds thevans are capable of, but here lies two prob-lems. One is that when the vehicles areloaded to their full capacity, and highspeeds are maintained for long distances,the tyres are placed under severe stress.These vans are also capable of maintaininghigh speeds on their trips up and down hillall day. We recently noted one such van onthe N12 highway to Witbank. It was easyto see that it was heavily loaded as the sus-pension was riding really low, but at nostage, did the driver reduce his speed below130km/h. Even if those tyres were correct-ly inflated, they were suffering. Load andspeed at the same time are killers. Whilethe tyres are designed to carry the load,and do the speed, it is never recommendedthey do both at the same time. The rule isthe higher the speed, the lower the load,and to carry a real load, one should reducethe speed. But who tells the users this?

Where is it written down? Hopefully thesearticles will assist in educating the publicusers. Generally it is thought that if thetyre says 600kg at 200km/h, and you loadit with 599kgs and drive it at 199km/heverything is well within limits. Wrong!Nothing can operate that close to all it’slimits and be expected to last. A tyrealways has high expectations placed on it,but realistic thinking is what is needed.The above “rule” should always be bornein mind.

The second consideration comes whentyres get replaced. Most often price gets inthe way as with the bakkie tyres, and spec-ifications are forgotten. There has alsobeen a growing “fashion” where these vehi-cles are bought for use as part time recre-ational vehicles, often fitted with alloywheels and high performance tyres. Theyare then loaded to the hilt with quad anddirt bike equipment, or boats and jet-skisand their equipment, along with trailersetc. This really puts the vans performanceto the test. Factory tyre specs aren’t evenconsidered on these vehicles, and veryoften, these vehicles are part of a fleet,which are used in one way over the week-ends and are then back delivering goods

during the week days. Tyre safety isstretched beyond all limits, and mostly dueto owner and driver ignorance.

The van has other serious factors to takeinto account as well. Let’s look at thesenow.

Loads: As with bakkies, the versatility ofthe van in service is what makes it so use-ful and therefore popular. It is also whatdetermines the life and safety of their tyres.The loads can vary from steel fabricationsto polystyrene fast food holders; frommotor cycles to clothing, and from flowerarrangements, to a variety of parcel deliver-ies. The list is endless. The one commonfactor, is that usually, the loads are con-stantly diminishing. The tyres build upheat while loaded, increasing the inflationpressure. Then on the empty return tripsthe tyres are pounded to death as explainedin the last issue. The high speeds generallymaintained by the drivers of these vehicles,make sure the heat is retained, especiallyunder the belt pack. This ensures that theintegrity of bond between tyre body andthe belt package stays constantly understress. This weakens over time and increas-es the potential for separation. A danger-

by Marcus Haw

A p r i l 2 0 0 936

Tyres and TheirContribution to Safety in Motoring


37

ous condition, which could end where thetyre throws its belt package away endan-gering both those in the vehicle and thosefollowing it. The tyre also becomesextremely susceptible to impact damage,and overall, its life expectation will bediminished. So again apart from the dan-gers involved, company costs go throughthe roof. One last thing regarding loads;the load areas of these vans are big squareclosed boxes. Bakkie’s loads are often lim-ited by the fact that they are open, or whencovered with a canopy, the area is greatlyreduced. The van has a huge load area allthe way to it’s roof and is often loaded all

the way to the roof, believe it or not. Highloads equal high sway where this playshavoc with tyres. As the vehicle sways fromside to side, the tyres take the strain. Heatis generated very quickly adding to thespeed and load woes already being suf-fered. These vans are extremely versatile,useful and efficient transport tools, butmust be correctly managed or they canbecome extremely expensive on tyres.

Roads:Most of these vehicles run highwayroutes, so the impression is that roads arenot a concern. This is a dangerous impres-sion and needs to be seriously thoughtthrough. Highways are the reason that thehigh speeds can be maintained, which asexplained is a major problem in the life oftyres. But also remember, that at the end ofevery highway route are less well main-tained roads which take the van to it’sdelivery point. These roads are most com-monly full of repairs, varying aggregate,potholes and are usually rutted from theconstant use by heavy vehicles. After thehigh speeds, and consequential heat of thehighways, the tyres are more susceptible todamage than at any other time, and theseroads become a real danger in themselves.It is advisable that fleet controllers know

the routes their vans use, and take specialnotice of the roads and yards at the end ofthe highways. These are problem areas spe-cific to vans, but all the other problemsmentioned with bakkies are applicable aswell, especially inflation pressures. Thesevehicles need careful management.

Then we get to the light trucks. Thosetrucks which transport up to about 4 tonsof bread, pharmaceutical products, petfood, office equipment and so many otherproducts. These vehicles fall into that highrisk to tyres area in a big way. Let’s take abrief look at their specific problem areas.

Firstly, they are most commonly used inand around cities, as well as between cities.This means stop/start driving all day.Braking forces one moment, transferringof power the next. Load transfer front torear, and rear to front all the time. The tyrebody is flexing and generating heat, andthe tread is taking all the forces. Tread lifeis never very good with these vehiclesbecause of the stop start conditions. Butwhile these conditions do affect the casing,the real damage to the casing is not due tothe stopping and starting. These vehiclesare usually fitted with a load body, andthese can vary greatly. Bread vehicles forexample have an insulated body, whilesupermarket and pharmaceutical vehiclesare either refrigerated or insulated. Otherproduct movers are just plain panel typebodies. It is often found that these bodiesare heavy enough to almost equal the vehi-cles designed GVM. Once they are loadedmany are over the designed load limits. Sowe have vehicles with a hard operationalprofile, running at their load limits, andvery often, having extremely harsh under-foot conditions, when deliveries take placein the townships. In many of these placesthe roads are either in serious disrepair, ordon’t even exist. So these light trucks are

working under extreme conditions all thetime, but again the impression is that theirconditions are fine since they are in-townoperators. Wrong! Very wrong! These vehi-cles are extremely hard on tyres, and there-fore extremely expensive to run.

We discussed high loads earlier, and thesway they induce. Some of these trucksalso have very high load bodies and can beloaded from bottom to top irrespective ofwhat they are carrying. This affects the sidesway, and plays havoc with the stop/startfront and rear load transfers.

In the next issue, we will discuss ways toreduce tyre costs with these high risk vehi-cles, by managing the concerning areas.Until then, inspect your tyre conditionregularly!

A p r i l 2 0 0 9

www.bridgestone.co.za


A p r i l 2 0 0 9

38

HOW DID YOU GET INTO THEMOTOR BUSINESS?

I was a Maths and Chemistry teacher withdegrees the length of your arm. First atSand du Plessis School and then as DeputyHead at Fichard Park – both inBloemfontein. By chance I met Manny daCanha, who heads up the AMH Groupthat, independent of manufacturers inSouth Africa, imports cars into this coun-try. He had seen my CV and he said “Whydon’t you think of a career in the motorindustry.” He was prepared to train me inall aspects of the business. So I left theteaching profession and went into a dealercalled Sovereign Motors in Kimberley as aDealer Principal. We sold Land Rovers andBMW’S.

WHERE DID YOU GO FROMTHERE?

After six months in Kimberley I movedover to Bloemfontein Multi-Franchiseswhere for 18 months we sold Kia,Daihatsu, Renault and Daewoo. I was therefor 18 months when Brand Pretorius, oneof my mentors in the motor industry whois the CEO of McCarthys, offered me thejob of running Audi Centre in Menlyn. Imust have been doing an alright job.Because soon after that, Manny da Canha,who has also been a main influence in mymotor industry career, said he needed aGeneral Manager to market Renault.

WAS THIS A GOOD MOVE?

Well for three years we went places bigtime. So much so that I was given a five-

year contract at Renault in France. Notspeaking French fluently, I was moved overto do the same job in the U.K.

HOW DID YOU ENJOY YOUR OVER-SEAS STINT?

Brilliant. Good to meet other people inother markets.

WHY DIDN’T YOU STAY?

Simple. Manny da Canha said in 2005 hewanted me back in South Africa to head upTata, which AMH had just signed up withthe Indians.

HAS THIS BEEN A SUCCESS?

Well, we have sold 42 000 LCV and carswith great back-up from the factory inIndia. It is tough now, but with the rightrange of vehicles we have, which are rightfor the times, we are here for the long hauland will probably see an upward trendsometime late in 2010.

YOUR PHILOSOPHY IN BUSINESS?

I think my strength is that I like people andI love motivating them. I believe whetheryou have knowingly or not been sowinggoodwill from day to day, you will reap thebenefits later.

WHERE DI YOU GROW UP?

Born and bred on a farm in Griquastad.

WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE ATSCHOOL?

A dentist.

YOUR FAVOURITE SPORTS?

Athletics and rugby at school, which youhad to play unless you were in a wheelchair.

At Free State University it was rugby. NowI just love rugby, play golf and am runningin the Two Oceans Marathon.

MARRIED?

26 happy years to Annetjie. We have twobeautiful daughters. The elder one,Monette, is studying for her B.ComAccounting at Tukkies. Elizna is in HighSchool

WHEN YOU RETIRE?

I must stay active. I have learned to bestreet-wise in this motor business andwould like to pass on all these experiencesto others to help make them successful.

The motor industry in South Africa is full of good motormen who know the business.

People who are all rounders and who can weather the current crisis, as they are

hands on people. Such a person is 48-year-old Phonnie Cilliers, who has headed up

Tata In South Africa since the brand was introduced here in 2005.

Roger McCleery spoke to him.

Q & A INTERVIEW WITH PHONNIE CILLIERS

P e r s o n a l p r o f i l e

Just when you thought you’d seen it all Fiat 500 makesheadlines once more… This time it’s an original Fiat 500show car dedicated to the most famous fashion doll ever:Barbie®. This exceptional vehicle, created by a partnershipbetween the Fiat Centro Stile and Mattel, was handed overofficially to Barbie® at her fiftieth birthday celebrations inMilan.

A Fiat 500 Show CarBirthday Gift for Barbie®


L u x L i t e

PETER’S SOAP BOXby Peter Mather

Peter Mather has worked in the field of human capital development in the motor industry for the last twelve years andhas enjoyed great success in facilitating sales and leadership programmes within the industry.

Since my last article I’ve decided tocontinue with the theme perfectpractice makes perfect. In factthis is the theme I will be usingthroughout the year. Let me

explain why?

Sometimes we are bombarded by so muchadvice and information that very often webecome more confused and this createsanalysis paralysis. My goal over the rest ofthe year is to help simplify this and stick toone guiding principle repeated throughoutall aspects of life and business. Simply put,Ken Blanchard in his recent book “KnowCan Do” refers to this as the less-more phi-losophy. He also refers to the fact that inorder to apply anything we need to utiliserepetition hence I’m using the practicetheme which by its very nature is repetitionof application. So much has been writtenon the theory of motivating people and yetif we adopt one simple principle to perfectour practice the results of applied actionchange are amazing.

Today I’m focusing on one area of businesson everyone’s mind at present - IncreasingSales.

• Firstly how are you selling?• Does your sales person still cold call?• What percentage of calls does it taketo convert to an order?

• How much time are your sales peoplespending on fruitless activities?

• Is your sales person educating yourcustomer or simply selling?

• Do you have communication everyweek with your customers?

• What is your relationship with yourcustomers?

• Is your sales person an order taker or agenuine sales professional?

• Can your sales person generate his/herown prospects for the business?

• Has your sales person brandedhim/herself in your specialist area ofbusiness?

• Has your sales person developed a net-work of like-minded sales profession-als?

• Can your sales person stand up anddeliver a digital power point presenta-tion?

• Can your sales person develop theirown power point presentations forprospects?

• Can your sales person stand and deliv-er a motivational talk on your indus-try?

If you would like to know more and wishyou could have answered differently,then go to my web site www.s2p.co.zaand join my mailing list indicating thearea you’ve identified and I will mail youa free preview of my s2p in selling pro-gram. Have fun and look forward tohearing from you. Visit www.s2p.co.za orcontact peter @s2p.co.za to register formy monthly newsletters or telephone082 456 8479 for more details.


Firstly, what exactly is quality?Diamond Dialogues has cov-ered this subject in quitesome detail, but Giel wantsus to look at it from anotherangle, and he refers us to Jim

Wade, director of Advanced Training andthe driving force behind the UK basedBusiness Improvement Network. In theAugust 2005 edition of qw, Jim bemoansthe use of words that are bandied about byquality professionals when discussing qual-ity. Phrases such as “exceeding customersatisfaction”, “fit for purpose”, conformingto requirements”, “world-class”, “zerodefects”, “right first time, every time” allsound wonderful, but in effect meaning-less in the real world. Everyone just wantsto get on with business, to humble thecompetition, to cut costs, retain staff, getto grips with the latest technology, and allthose good things that face business on adaily basis, and they do not have the timeor the inclination to play with words. Toaddress this smorgasbord of indulgences,the American Society for Quality went fora little more accuracy but still ratherwishy-washy with “a subjective term forwhich each person has their own defini-tion”.

Jim Wade is having nothing of this, and heattempts to close the debate with “in anyorganisation, at any one time, quality isprecisely defined by the organisation’s cur-rent measurable objectives”. Giel puts in

his own pound’s worth with a quote thathe uses frequently when discussing quality;“It is an immutable law in business thatwords are words, explanations are explana-tions, promises are promises – but onlyperformance is reality”. However, what hasreally exercised Giel is not the definition ofquality, but rather the subject of pirateparts, and the misconceptions around thisfrequently abused term. Giel is concernedthat perfectly good product gets taggedwith the “pirate part” label, in many casesvery undeservedly so.

Before we look at what is pirate part, weneed to identify what exactly is originaland what exactly is genuine. For the formaldefinitions, Giel goes to the CollinsConcise English Dictionary. Collinsdefines original as 1) the characteristicsthat something had when it first existed;and 2) not copied, origin, source, firstcopy, model that from which anything istranslated or copied. Genuine is describedthus 1) something that is genuine, is realand exactly what it appears to be; and 2)belonging to the original stock, real, pure,true. Giel’s contention is that OEM partsas well as alternative replacement partsboth qualify as original and genuine. Helaments the often incorrect belief that theonly “true” genuine product is parts thatare packaged under the vehicle manufac-turer’s label, and that anything packaged inanother brand would be classified as“pirate”.

If we applied this idea strictly, then “pirate”could be both good and bad product,because it is generally well known thatmany components in motor vehicles arenot manufactured by the OEMs. They aremanufactured for OEMs and supplied tothem by component manufacturers, whoquite often participate in the design anddevelopment phase, as they are in effectthe specialist in their specific area ofexpertise and have the research and devel-opment facilities to become the seniorpartner in getting to a final product thatsatisfies the requirements.

In reality, OEMs are no longer solely man-ufacturers, they are assemblers. In an iron-ic twist, and taking this line of thinking toboth its logical and illogical conclusion,then the pendulum has swung 180 degreesfrom Henry Ford’s days. From the sublimeto the ridiculous, so we shall banish theterm “pirate” from this discussion. And toput this particular argument to bed, weleave the last words to Giel. “If it looks likea duck, walks like a duck, and quacks likea duck, it is a duck”; which means that if itlooks genuine, and it performs to therequired specification, then it is a genuinereplacement part.

Now that Giel has well and truly put theoriginal vs. genuine debate to bed, in thenext issue we shall concentrate on theother misunderstood term, “counterfeit”.

Giel Steyn

D i a m o n d D i a l o g u e s

Editorial

Partnership

In this series of articles ABR discusses with Giel Steyn of Grandmark International the four significant factors that should betaken into account when purchasing automotive parts - Technology, Quality, Safety and Value for Money. These four characteristics are inter-related, and each cannot stand on their own, and together they become a motorist's best friend. Similarly, diamondsare also judged on four characteristics, known as the “four c's” - carat, clarity, colour and cut; and of course, diamonds are a girl's best friend.Grandmark International, as a distributor of automotive parts, is keenly aware of the need to source only the best in Technology, Quality,Safety and Value for Money, and therefore it is appropriate that this series of articles is titled Diamond Dialogues.

Unscrambling the CodeIn previous issues of Diamond Dialogues, Giel Steyn ruminated on the concepts of tech-

nology, quality, safety and value for money, and applied these principles when dis-

cussing automotive glass, radiators, anti-freeze and automotive lamps. He promises to

discuss much more, but for this issue and the next, he asks us to take a step back, and

to think about what exactly we are talking about, and to dissect these thoughts.

A p r i l 2 0 0 940


C u s t o m e r C . A . R . E

A p r i l 2 0 0 942

Trilogy Customer C.A.R.E. Programme

– sponsored by Federal-Mogul Aftermarket

In 1992, Dr. Theophilus Dreux,the founder of the Trilogy Cus-tomer C.A.R.E. Academy, wrote aCustomer C.A.R.E. Programme toaddress the core problems in poor

customer service levels – ATTITUDE.This was in response to the many cus-tomer service courses available in SouthAfrica, focusing on techniques, responsetimes, anecdotal stories and urban leg-ends. But very few even attempted toaddress the core problem. A companywith the right attitude is one in whicheveryone C.A.R.E.S. about the customer,because Customers Are Really Every-thing. We accept that the customer,although not always right, does alwayscome first. Our advertising and commu-nications usually reflect this, and yet thesewarm and fuzzy feelings usually only lastuntil the client experiences poor customerservice. All our costly efforts to please andretain clients are wasted as long as wecontinue to make the same errors.Research shows that 68% of clients thatstop doing business with us have done sobecause they were treated with indiffer-ence by an employee. Usually the solutionis thought to be training the frontlinestaff to handle customers. This approachtypically creates some short-term excite-ment, but after this dies down, people’sbasic attitudes determine their behaviouragain, and it’s back to business as usual.The reason for this is usually a lack ofcommitment and consistency. To bestsucceed into transforming our companiesinto truly client-centric, world-classservice organisations, it is necessary tofocus on these core issues:

1) The entire company is responsiblefor good customer care, not just front-line staff.

2) The single biggest determinant ofcustomer care is staff attitudes, and itis this that needs the most focus.

3) Commitment to customer care mustbe viewed as a “condition of employ-ment”, and must be expected from allemployees, from boardroom down.

4) Customer satisfaction must be consis-tently on the agenda. A culture ofclient-centricity will encourage con-tinual improvement seeking andavoid complacency and arrogance.

5) We need to treat everyone we interactwith, including other staff/depart-ments/divisions, as valued clients.When we look at the entire companyas a team looking after the sameclients, then we accept that we mustwork with each other synergistically.

The Trilogy Customer C.A.R.E.Programme has been designed to addressthese issues, and aims to improve people’sattitudes across the entire company. Itbrings in commitment from SeniorManagement, and through ongoing eval-uation and feedback, provides a frame-work for ongoing improvement in theway we treat customers, and each other.The C.A.R.E. programme has beendesigned as a holistic approach to cus-tomer care, and is split into 53 modules,mostly an hour long. The selection ofmodules employed will depend on thelevel of employee and your specificrequirements.

Next month, we shall discuss the outlineof the programme, and will recommendhow you go about implementing thisprogramme in your company.

Which one

of these

will your

customers

be wearing?


It all started in Frankfurt in 1971 with the first Automechanika Trade Fair, created

by a twist of fate with the cancellation of the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show. This can-

cellation was as a result of a crisis in the motor vehicle industry, and whilst

serendipity cannot be fingered as the reason for the Automechanika show eventually

finding its way to South Africa, it is ironical that the show was held in the midst of

another industry crisis – and this time it is the mother of all crises.

South Africans are resilient, and tough, and welove to buck the trend and to break records. Thiswas evident at the Johannesburg Expo Centrefrom the18th to 21st March, which attracted over

350 exhibitors, utilising over 25 000 square metres ofexhibition space, making it the most successful inauguralAutomechanika Trade Fair by far, eclipsing runners up St.Petersburg and Istanbul by a fair margin. With the sup-port of the Retail Motor Industry organisation (RMI),National Association of Automotive Manufacturers(NAACAM), National Association of AutomobileManufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) and theAutomotive Industry Export Council (AIEC), the showattracted domestic and global big hitters. The consensusamongst the exhibitors was that the quality of trade visi-tors was well above par, and that their efforts were wellworth their while. Whilst no one managed to hook anycoveted platinum awards, the many gold and silverawards were indicative of the high quality of the exhibits.Media exhibits were sparse and sub standard, and did notreflect the quality that is available in our vibrant niche ofthe publishing industry. Unfortunately, AutomotiveBusiness Review, South Africa’s most influential automo-tive aftermarket publication, was not on show, due to alate invitation which precluded effective planning.However, this was not surprising, as ABR is a mere sixmonths old, and we were most probably not in the origi-nal planning, which obviously took place months beforeour creation. However, we are a resourceful lot, and wetook the opportunity, despite limited personnel resources,to comprehensively cover the show, and to give our dis-cerning readers an overview of the events and exhibits.And we promise our readers that next time the showcomes round we shall be ready to exhibit and to partici-pate innovatively and constructively, and to fly the mediaflag with imagination and verve, and to use our imagina-tion and influence in making Automechanika SouthAfrica an iconic and well attended event.

Over and above the enthusiastic participation of themajority of exhibitors keen to salvage something from themidst of an industry “perfect storm” (as described byBrand Pretorius in ABR’s February 2009 issue), the high-light of the show was the high quality of conferences,media briefings, workshops and the like co-ordinated byvarious forward looking organisations. We have dissectedand diced these events into easily digestible bites:

A p r i l 2 0 0 946

18 – 21 March 2009

RMI Conference: “Survival in thesetimes: an industry perspective”Nicky Weimar (Nedbank Economist) – Economic overview andprospects for 2009

Global perspective – “The developed world has borrowed and spent themselves into a recession”South African perspective – “We’ve watched with horror, and we’ve listened and talked ourselves into our own recession” – Ed’s comment “a self fulfilling prophecy?”The Weimarian good news – The turnaround in South Africa will come as early as the third quarter of 2009, on the back of interest rate cuts of anything from 3,5 to 4,0% in 2009.

Clem Sunter (Consultant) – Survival in these Times

In these turbulent and unpredictable times, the fox shall trump thehedgehog. Flexibility and speed will beat a single minded approach. Froma global perspective this recession is most likely the prelude to the end ofAmerican dominance. New technologies in the form of energy andrenewable sources shall herald more balanced global dynamics. The worldshould come out of its funk relatively smoothly, but there are four flags towatch out for: protectionism; a major military conflict; a national bank-ruptcy in either Hungary, Poland or Ireland; or a Chinese meltdown. TheSouth African scenario is more dynamic. We are in the premier league ofnations, but we are in the relegation zone. We need to up our game, buton the bench sits violent crime, HIV/AIDS, infrastructural deficienciesand uncompetitive industries. The good news is that we are the onlyAfrican country in the G20, and if we take the high road of inclusive lead-ership, improving our infrastructure, and creating a successful dual logiceconomy, we can move up the league table. Further gains can be made byadding value to our resources, taking tourism to new heights by leverag-ing off 2010, and reinforcing our logical position of being the gateway toAfrica. Things are looking good for South Africa, not because we’re great,but because the others are looking bad.

Ed’s comment: Clem Sunter had some advice for the automotive industry. His firstbit of advice was around the high inventory levels of vehicles. He said that the bestway to liquidate vehicle stock was to cut prices. He even cited the apocryphal storyof a Porsche dealer who cleared the showroom by offering two cars for the price ofone (the true story was that it was a serious blunder by a overzealous and arith-metically challenged sales manager who is now unemployed). Yes indeed, you doreduce your inventory levels in a hurry and you do get an amazing short termboost to your liquidity, but there is that unwelcome reality called the income state-ment, and the nasty little habit of shareholders and bank managers and otherinquisitive stakeholders of analysing said statement. When Brand Pretorius heardthis suggestion, he swallowed his peppermint and nearly needed the Heimlichmanoeuvre. If Brand followed this advice, people would soon be bidding for hisvest. Clem Sunter’s second suggestion was far more pragmatic and does indeedneed further investigation. To forego retrenchments maybe the industry shouldlook at an across the board wage and salary cut. More on this later.


47A p r i l 2 0 0 9

Brand Pretorius (CEO McCarthyGroup) – Survival in these Times: AFranchise Dealer Perspective

The industry is in a perfect storm, withvehicle sales down 50% on its 2006 peak,and investments and capacity are basedon these 2006 numbers. The situation isunique and fundamental change isrequired. It takes time, but restructuring,refocusing and a different emphasis isnow called for. Very high fixed costs, pri-marily long term lease obligations, areforcing many dealers to hang in there,resulting in high discounts, specialschemes, stress selling, and a myriad ofother ways to get product to move. Thishas resulted in net margins on new vehi-cles to drop as low as 1,3%. The goodnews is that used vehicles are starting torebound, and parts and service divisionsare showing growth.

Further significant rationalisation isneeded, as metropolitan dealers need ahigher volume throughput. The conse-quence is going to be job losses. To easethis haemorrhaging Brand Pretorius isappealing for partnerships betweenOEMs, importers and dealers. To giveconstructive assistance to dealers, theOEMs need to become more pragmaticand to compromise on unrealistic stan-dards. Dealers need more favourablebusiness terms, margin restoration onvehicles, parts and service, and they alsoneed to optimise supplementary income.With an implosion at dealer level, thelong term consequences for the brands, toparaphrase many erstwhile leaders, aretoo ghastly to contemplate. Thus thefocus has to be on reducing asset levels,aggressive cost cutting, productivityincreases, a higher level of after sales con-tribution, and a fanatical approach to

customer retention. The advice fromBrand is doses of tough love and spoon-fuls of sugar to help the medicine godown. He says that we have no optionbut to stay optimistic and upbeat. Wemust hold on to longer term visions andobjectives. Self management skillsbecome key priorities, and don’t compro-mise on your ethics. Make discipline away of life, and make tough calls early.Watch cash flow like a hawk and protectkey relationships. Keep talented peopleand become an inspirational leader.Easier said than done, but definitely notimpossible. Brand’s core message is thatthere is still hope, and he expects an over-all improvement in South Africa’s envi-ronment in the last quarter of 2009.Hang in there as “these times shall alsopass”.

David Bullard, Master of Ceremonies,Clem Sunter, Scenario Planner, and JeffOsborne, CEO RMI, played key roles atthe RMI Conference

Three Presidents in one room,and not a bodyguard or blue

light in sight! Stewart Jennings,President NAACAM, Ferose

Oaten, President RMI, DavisPowels, President NAAMSA,

were keynote speakers at the RMIConference, and contributed sig-nificantly to a well rounded and

extremely informative forum

Ian Groat (Publisher) – IsCar Design OutstrippingRepairability?

The car industry is focusingmore on safety rather thanrepairability. The emphasison performance, economy,emissions and vehicle size,together with end of life dis-mantling legislation and arapidly diversifying car parc,and you have a witch’s brewof complexity facing the

modern day repairer. Thehigh use of aluminium,hybrid metals and compos-ites, is creating a situationwhere it takes three timeslonger to repair than thegood old days. Equipmentcosts are soaring with therequirements around laserwelding, hybrid welding, selfpiercing rivets, ultrasonictechnologies and wiring .Another sticky issue is the use

of adhesives, with the mod-ern car made up of up to 120kg of adhesives. All this tech-nology is invisible until youhave an accident, and thenthe “poppe dans”. The solu-tion is for the industry towork together to overcomethe issues and to minimisecosts. The insurance industryhas become a hard taskmaster– the repairing game is notfor sissies.

Guy Harris (Group Strategy& Public Affairs Director,Bell Equipment) – DoesSouth Africa need a CapitalVehicle, Equipment andComponent Industry?

The MIDP (Motor IndustryDevelopment Programme)achieved its objectives, but at acost of R120 000 per annumper job, and very little financialbenefit to the car buyer. AllOEMs and the majority ofcomponent manufacturers areoffshore owned, so the benefitsin reality are being realised off-shore. Capital vehicles require40 times more employees thanpassenger vehicles per vehicle,with the added benefit of localdesign and vertical integration.Local is therefore lekker, andthe question is “Is industrialpolicy decided in Peoria orPretoria?” The plea is for theMIDP and its successors to beapplied to capital items as well.We should develop the wholeindustry, not just the glamourtoys. A case in point is the trac-tor industry. A vibrant segmentof the economy lost its dutyprotection, with no safety netand the result was the demise ofa strategic manufacturing base.Is the capital equipment indus-try going to go the same way?


David Powels (President NAAMSA) –The South African AutomotiveIndustry – Where have we come from?Where are we going?

South Africa is still a minnow in the vehi-cle production stakes, producing a mere0,7% of global production. We simply donot have the scale or critical mass to makea difference. The dynamics of global vehi-cle manufacture are also changing.Established markets are stagnating, whilstIndia and China are accelerating. SouthAfrica’s position is basically of its ownmaking. The inefficiencies of the industrycame out of the history of the local con-tent programme. Phase One to PhaseFive were primarily weight based, withthe focus on value only shifting withPhase Six in 1989. The MIDP radicallyoverhauled the programme in 1995, withthe resultant benefits of 59 brands and1336 models available to the consumer in2009, vs. 17 and 102 respectively in1994. The consumer has also had thebenefits of keener pricing. With theexception of 2000/2001, vehicle price

inflation has consistently been below theCPI rate since 1995. Quality has alsoimproved dramatically, with improve-ments in faults reported down by over50%. Investment in the industry hassoared, and profits have been reinvested.Productivity has also improved, with 14,7units per employee in 2008 versus 9,4 in1997. Employment levels have stabilisedand exports have soared, for both fullybuilt up vehicles and components. Thebalance of payment situation has alsoimproved, with the automotive industrytrade deficit down to R5 billion in 2008,compared to a R13 billion deficit in1995. GDP share has also increased.What cannot be ignored is that if thecountry had no automotive industry theimplications would be significant. Thefive goals of the MIDP have been met,some more significantly than others.However, we cannot rest on our laurels.Using the Western European cost indexas our base, South Africa is still over 20%less competitive than the establishedmanufacturing bases in Europe, and we

are a staggering 40 to 50% less competi-tive than China. India, Mexico andEastern Europe are also extremely com-petitive manufacturing bases. The “SilverBullets” needed to survive in the mediumto long term are:

• Local content levels need to increasefrom below 40% to above 70%

• Average volumes per platform to increase to 75 000 to 100 000 units p.a.

• Supplier competitiveness to improveto Western European levels, at least

• A major industrialisation strategy isrequired in the supply industry

• APDP as well as IDC to improvetheir support levels for this strategy

• Productivity to improve dramatically– to over 30 cars per employee perannum

• Massive investment needed in train-ing and skills development

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Petro Kruger (RMI Road Safety Foundation) – International Call for a Decade of Road Safety

Road deaths are a global epidemic which is being ignored by global leaders. Make Roads Safe is an international campaign to putroad traffic injuries on the G8 and UN sustainable development agendas, led by a coalition of road safety and public health organ-isations. The aim is to procure US$300 million for an action plan to improve road safety in developing countries, and to halve theprojected increase in road deaths by 2020. Concomitant to this is to ensure that at least 10% of development budgets for road infra-structure provided by the World Bank and other major lenders and donors are dedicated to road safety. Why do we need interna-tional action? Road traffic crashes kill more than 3 000 people, including 500 children, every day, with many more injuries. Morethan 85% of these casualties (and 96% of child deaths) occur in low and middle income countries, with pedestrians and breadwin-ners bearing the brunt. By 2015 road crashes will be the leading cause of premature death and yet international efforts to combatthis scourge commands only a tiny fraction of resources deployed to fight malaria, etc. South Africa is no exception, with more than15 000 people killed per annum, or 42 per day.

Stewart Jennings (President NAACAM)– Into 2010 and Beyond: An IndustryPerspective

The current financial crisis is having a sig-nificant impact, and the componentindustry is more vulnerable than new cardealerships and certainly more vulnerablethan the OEMs. It faces all the challengesof the manufacturing sector, whilst beingvulnerable to OEM strategies and whims.All OEMs in SA are 100% foreign ownedand globalisation strategies predominate.Thus, whilst over 80% of the cost ofmotor vehicles is in components, the pro-curement functions are influenced andcontrolled from offshore, and in many

cases have non South Africans at the helm.The South African government, particu-larly the treasury, does not understand thechallenges, importance and needs of themanufacturing sector, which makes up16,5% of GDP. We have inappropriatepolicies for a developing country, no freelabour market (and the most expensivelabour in the world), the threat of defla-tion and stagflation, and South Africancomponent manufacturers are particularlyvulnerable on short term working capital.What is needed is aggressive interest ratecuts, a focus on the unemployed and afocus in manufacturing, tourism and smallenterprise building activities. The afore-said is in the national interest. More on a

micro level, we need more convictionfrom the OEMs to support the localindustry, particularly from the OEM lead-ership and NAAMSA. We also need a lev-elling of the playing fields vis a vis global-isation, and a weakening of the Rand toincrease the viability of the componentindustry. Short term bridging finance isalso required, and appropriate protectionagainst dumping, etc. Strong lobbyingfrom the local manufacturing centre is animperative, and the current crisis could bethe catalyst for a much needed new eco-nomic vision on manufacturing and vehi-cle production. Perhaps the componentindustry will take the lead out of necessity.


A p r i l 2 0 0 952

To satisfy international consumer demand for fuel-efficient, affordable cars, vehicle manufacturerswill invest heavily in relevant new models, prod-ucts and technologies over the next five years.Hybrid systems and electric and battery technolo-

gy will receive the greatest investment. This is according to anannual global survey of the international motor industry byKPMG International. In the KPMG survey, which was con-ducted during late September and October 2008, a total of 200executives were interviewed representing vehicle manufacturersand suppliers in Canada, the US, UK, France, Germany,Sweden, India, China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Brazil,Mexico, Spain, Poland, Slovakia, Russia, the Czech Republic,Italy, Switzerland, South Africa and Australia. KPMG hasreleased an annual survey of automotive executives expressingtheir views on the state of the industry since 1999. At the sametime, the KPMG survey reveals that only 15% of executivesexpect profits to increase this year, 24% expect a decline, with46% indicating that profits will be too volatile and unpre-dictable to forecast. “This is a clear indicator of the automotiveindustry in crisis, with 85% of executives unsure if they wouldbe profitable” says Gavin Maile, Africa Chair of KPMG’sAutomotive Practice. “And it is extremely likely that the situa-tion has worsened further in the first months of 2009”. TonyTwine, director of Econometrix, began the proceedings with anoverview of the reasons for the industry’s impasse and he point-ed out the short term challenges, and he concluded with a vividdescription of what industry executive are going through.“When you are up to your nether regions in alligators, it is dif-ficult to remember your original intention of draining theswamp.”

Never let it be said that accountants cannot be creative. The tabledisplay at KPMG’s presentation at Automechanika on the 20thMarch had many messages. It warned us to tread carefully, as

times were blooming hard. Like the Proteas, we have our ups anddowns, but we must take a leaf out of Churchill’s words, “If you’regoing through hell, put the rubber on the road and keep going!”The sunflower indicates that there are sunny times ahead, even

though you may have left an ear behind.

VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS TO CONTIN-UE TO FOCUS ON NEW MODELS ANDPRODUCTS THROUGH SUSTAINEDINVESTMENT IN NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Key players at the AIDC Workshop

Ed’s Note: I really believe this workshop came a few months too late. Itwould have been much better to have workshopped on how to avoidretrenchments. My suggestion? Everyone goes on a three day work week,and EVERYONE, including the CEO, takes the commensurate pay cut.Yes, I know there are hurdles and legalities, but with enough will, these canbe overcome. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, and justimagine, if everyone bites the bullet, how strong and cohesive the team willbe when the good times return.

AIDC Workshop:Surviving the DownturnOn the 20th March 2009, Automotive Business Review was wit-ness to an extraordinary collaboration of stakeholders in the auto-motive industry, who came together at the Black EagleConference Room at Nasrec, to workshop on “identifying criticalactions to assist in addressing the future of retrenched workers inthe automotive industry”. The background to this workshop wasthe broad retrenchments within the broader automotive sector,reported to be well over 40 000 over the past few months. TheAIDC have thus engaged with a number of key stakeholders tounderstand the current crisis and to identify possible solutions toreduce the impact. The Coega Development Corporation hasdone groundbreaking work around these issues in the EasternCape and joined forces with the AIDC to combine inputs into acollaborative workshop on a national level, to hopefully identifyways to ameliorate the situation. NAAMSA, NUMSA and NAA-CAM gave presentations on their views of the situation, and thenit was down to work, as five groups worked independently of eachother to identify the key issues, and then to propose solutions tothe crisis, under the watchful eye and ear of facilitator LawsonLeslie. With the solutions whittled down to ten proposals, theteams then voted on the two best solutions, which were adoptedas the proposed action plans to be taken back to the constituen-cies, and hopefully to be implemented by the co-opted bodies.Briefly, the two proposals were:

1. The establishment of a national data base, identifying skills andavailability of retrenched personnel, to facilitate training andfuture reenrolment.

2. The promotion of SMMEs within a broad environmental policy.

ABR shall monitor the progress on these action plans, and shallreport back regularly on this progress.


2009 MikarConference

Chairman’s Award – Fred Nasser

53

Supplier of the Year – PARTQUIP Member of the Year – PART-MAN

Just a stone’s throw away from the Johannesburg ExpoCentre, the 2009 Mikar Conference was hosted by theexecutive team of Mikar and Imperial Auto Parts. The con-ference took place on 18th March at the Gold Reef City

Conference Centre, and concluded with a magnificent awardsevening that lifted the spirits of the delegates and guests, partic-ularly those who had slipped across from the RMI Conferenceat the Automechanika, which had some sobering messages.Imperial Auto Parts and Mikar have blazed an independentstreak across the automotive firmament, which has contributedbalance to the distribution side of the aftermarket and has

offered an attractive alternative to those with an entrepreneurialbent, and the night of the 18th March was testament to this pio-neering partnership, and it culminated in a fitting tribute toFred Nasser, who received the Chairman’s Award for his founda-tion efforts a few years ago. The evening ended with 45 minutesof side splitting comedy dished out by John Vlismas, who gavenew meaning to the term “shark attack”.

The winners of the main awards were congratulated by ImperialAuto Parts chief executive officer, Deon Botha, and procure-ment executive Terry Brand.

A p r i l 2 0 0 9

Highlights at Tenneco’s stand atAutomechanika included thenew Monroe® Quick-Strut andMaxlift ranges included in the2009 / 2010 Monroe® catalogue,expanded Magnum truck and

bus and Rancho shock and kit ranges, the RanchoMyRide remote wireless shock absorber adjustmentcontroller available as a special order, and the testmarketing of the innovative Monroe SafeCheckshock absorber wear indicator. “WE bring the bene-fits of our OE advanced technologies and expertiseto the aftermarket business”, said Megan Naiker,Tenneco Ride Country Manager, Southern Africa.“We continuously offer new product lines, servicesand support to our customers, positioning Monroeas a genuine ‘solution provider’”.

Monroe Launches New

Products and 2009 / 2010

Product Catalogue


A p r i l 2 0 0 956

27 EXHIBITORS SINGLED OUT FOR AWARDS AT AUTOMECHANIKA SA

Judges singled out 27 stands from a total of 421 displays for gold or silver awards at a prize giving ceremony held at the end ofthe inaugural Automechanika South Africa automotive trade show. Representatives of 21 of these companies were presented withgold awards and six displays qualified for silver awards. Although there was no overall award, the managing director of the organ-ising company, Dogan Trading, Pula Dippenaar, said it would have gone to the Motor Industry Staff Association (MISA) display

which was “outstanding: in every aspect in which an exhibition stand is evaluated”. Award winners included: Africa Truck Parts andWheels; Beissbarth South Africa; Bosal Afrika; Control Instruments Automotive; Diesel Electric; Federal-Mogul; Marouns Auto Paint;MICROMega Holdings; Robert Bosch South Africa; Tenneco-Monroe Shock Absorbers


57

GermanAmbassadorEntertainsAutomechanikaGuestsTo mark the occasion of the first Automechanika inSouth Africa, the German Ambassador, Dieter W.Haller, held an evening function at his residence inWaterkloof, Pretoria, on Thursday, 19th March 2009.He reiterated to the invited guests Germany’s acknowl-edgement of the economic importance of SouthAfrica, as Africa’s largest economy, and as a valuedtrading partner of the Federal Republic of Germany.The role that German companies have played in theSouth African automotive industry, in particular, pro-vides a rich and storied tapestry on which to ruminateand celebrate.

RMI ActivitiesThe RMI and their constituent associations were active at the Automechanika with many initiatives. ABR went behind the scenes to give our readers some titbits:

Sarah Lindsey, project manager, Messe Frankfurt with Dr. Ann-Katrin Nolte, pressofficer, Messe Frankfurt.

The TDAFA (Tyre Dealers and Fitment Association) held a roadshow meeting on the 19thMarch, whereby national chairman Herman Erdmann gave an update of the association andits objectives. This roadshow will visit the entire country, including Durban, East London,Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein and Kimberley, and is hosted by Chemvulc. The keynote pres-entation was an enlightening and realistic overview of South Africa’s current dynamics, byFrans Cronje of the South African Institute of Race Relations. He pointed the way forwardand the recipe for alleviating poverty, as practiced by many successful emerging economies:

1. Remarkably effective government2. Effective public education system3. Removal of constraints of free flow of capital4. Removal of labour constraints

Ferose Oaten, president of the RMI, concluded proceedings with an impassioned plea for the RMI members to confront and addressthe current realities, and to canvas strongly for periodic testing of vehicles, specifically around tyres, brakes and electrical systems. This

would not only benefit the industry, but it would also contribute significantly to road safety.

At an ERA / MIWA / SADFIAworkshop, Rob Mildenhall,national chairman of MIWA,and Paul Britz of the RMI, tookthe opportunity to present theMystery Shopper Programmewinning trophy to Swedo TechService, and Thys van Eck, ERAchairman, gave a farewell gift toCarlos Soares.

A p r i l 2 0 0 9

Frans Cronje of the SAIRR

Influential guests at thefunction included JeffOsborne, CEO of theRMI; Dieter W. Haller,German Ambassador toSouth Africa; EdwardSmith, managing directorof Trysome; Detlef Braun,management board mem-ber, Messe Frankfurt; andPhilip Otto, director,Dogan Trading.


A p r i l 2 0 0 958

Goodyear is the winner of the Innovation Award at Automechanika South Africa. Thepresentation of the Gold Award was made by the vice president, AutomechanikaMesse Frankfurt from Germany, Stephan Kurzawski, to Goodyear’s regional man-ager: Gauteng, Bernie Andrews. The winning product is the new Max Tyre

Technology that delivers tangible cost savings and improved efficiencies for truck owners, as wellas increased safety and performance. In terms of environmental considerations the technologyprovides a substantial reduction in fuel consumption, lessens harmful emissions and landfillwaste. Lower rolling resistance, better braking capability in the wet, less noise, pollution, betteroperation efficiency, greater load capacity and longer tyres life are some of the claims made ofthe company’s long haul range of Marathon LHS II (long haul steer) and LHD II (long hauldriver) truck tyres, which results in lower cost per kilometre. The Regional RHS II (regionalhaul steer) and Regional RHD II (regional haul driver) tyre range – aimed at the largest sectorin South Africa’s truck tyre market – are said to offer similar benefits for shorter haul operations.All these new generation tyres utilise Duraseal technology, which enables a punctured tyre torepair itself and remain serviceable until it is retreaded. The result is less downtime andimproved safety.

GOODYEAR WINS FIRST AUTOMECHANIKA SOUTHAFRICA INNOVATION AWARD


A I D C Q u i z

59A p r i l 2 0 0 9

Roger McCleeryasks the questions

See how many of these 20 Questions you can answer.

by Roger McCleery

Answers on p75

1. Name the man who holds the World Land Speed Record.

2. What is the name of the new rocket-powered record breaker soon to be used to break the current World Land Speed Record?

3. Where in South Africa is it hoped that this rocket-powered car will break the current land speed record?

4. What do the letters ‘DB’ in the Aston Martin nomenclature stand for?

5. The proto-type of the Renault R8 was designed by which motor company?

6. ‘ALFA’ in the name Alfa Romeo stands for what?

7. How long has WesBank sponsored South African motor sport?

8. Name two South African who have won their home Grands Prix?

9. Who owns Zwartkops Raceway in Pretoria?

10. What is the capacity of the original Citroën 2CV?

11. What is the Nationality of the founder of the Lagonda Motor Company in Middlesex in England?

12. The nicknames ‘Escargot’ and ’Umbrella on Wheels’ was given to what make of car?

13. The original Honda 50cc 8-valve twin cylinder grand prix motorcycle that had a reputed top speed of 200 kmh used whatmethod of braking on the front wheel?

14. Where was a pre-war Grand Prix held in Cape Town?

15. The 2008 WesBank Series in South Africa was won with a car sponsored by a Bearing Company. Name it.

16. Name the Bridgestone SAGMJ Motor Sportsman of the year 2008.

17. Three tuning forks are the badge of what motorcycle company?

18. Name the top three manufacturers that sold most cars in February 2009.

19. Who founded Jaguar?

20. What did this company make before they manufactured Jaguars?


OCAP is a private limited company founded in 1975,but the original company is now the parent compa-ny of a group. OCAP has UNI EN ISO 9001 certi-fication, Environmental Certification ISO 14001

and Quality System Certification ISO/TS 16949. The Italianproduction units and associated companies are located inValperga, Feletto, Busano and Rivara. Originally, the companywas founded as an aftermarket manufacturer for steering and sus-pension parts, but the well-established after market brand wasthen partnered with the OEM engineering and production forthe automotive, agricultural and heavy industries. OCAP’sstrategic advantage lies in its ability and expertise to co-operatewith customers from the earliest stages of engineering to finalassembly, and to offer them over 30 years of experience and aworld-wide distribution network. OCAP R&D activities havefocused on the engineering of composite material lubricated-for-life joints for high duty applications and aluminium alloys sus-

pension leverages with integrated ball joint. OCAP has beenmore and more consolidating its position in the OEM market,and OCAP engineers and supplies steering and suspension sub-systems for diversified applications, ranging from snowmobiles tothe latest generation tractors equipped with independent wheelaxles. In the context of the automotive market, OCAP’s leadingcustomers are some of the most prestigious sport car, city car orspecial vehicle manufacturers. On the other end, agricultural andheavy duty application customers are several of the world mostprestigious manufacturers. OCAP’s strength lies in its dynamismand expertise to partner with customers from the earliest stagesof designing and engineering to FEM analysis and bench testing.The product range for automotive applications includes parts forboth the steering and the suspension systems.

OCAP’s range of products includes:• Tie rod ends• Steering rods• Drag links• Steering boots• Suspension ball joints• Track control arms• Suspension wish-bones• Swinging transoms• Rubber bushings• Repairing kits• Wheels hubs

E u r o q u i p N e w s

A p r i l 2 0 0 960

Euroquip at Automechanika

The popularity of theEuroquip stand was

enhanced by the popcornavailable to show visitorsDavide Giovanardi, commercial manager at OCAP S.p.A., links

arms with Kevin Chetty, national sales manager at Euroquip, andPrakash Bhagwan, director at Euroquip.

The Euroquip stand at Automechanika proved to be popular, and Prakash Bhagwan,

director at Euroquip, commented that the quality of visitor was very high. The

Euroquip stand also had an international flavour, with Davide Giovanardi, commer-

cial manager at OCAP S.p.A., Italy, attending at the stand to discuss OCAP product

with interested parties.


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KAPICO Launches 3 New Productsat Automechanika

Kapico South Africa (Pty) Ltd, a global company specialising in the supply of top qual-

ity automotive parts and accessories, used the Automechanika trade fair to launch

three new brands: Allied Nippon, Rubrex, and Loozen LN-04. All of these brands will

be available from April 2009.

Kapico is looking

for distributors in

Free state, Eastern

Cape, Northern

Cape, Mpumalanga,

North West and

Limpopo provinces

and also in neigh-

bouring countries

in Sub Saharan

African region.

Contact Rajan

Krishnamoorthi at

27 11 870 4300

for more details.

Allied NipponAllied Nippon, a well known global producer, manufacturesbrake pads & brake shoes and is a professionally run jointventure created to produce an internationally accepted quali-ty brake pad par excellence, utilising technology developed byJBI (Japan Brake Industrial Co. Ltd. Tokyo), the frictionproduct division of Hitachi. Kapico has acquired the exclusivedistribution rights for southern Africa for Allied Nipponbrake pads, and intends to position this high quality productin the premium segment of the market, at very competitiveprices, giving the South African automotive aftermarketaccess to a good range at good quality and good prices.

RubrexKapico has also exclusive distribution rights in southern Africa for Rubrex, a flagship brandof Allied Autotech International which has successfully claimed a major share of the world’sautomotive aftermarket in rubber products. The range is extensive, covering enginemountings, gearbox mountings, strut mountings, exhaust hangars, centre bearing assem-blies, rubber bushes, suspension and spring bushes, all types of rubber hoses, and steeringand CV boots.

Loozen LN-04Loozen LN-04 is a multi purpose penetrant and lubricant, and is avail-able in 480ml and 220ml tins. The 480ml tin is the largest available onthe market, and Kapico is launching the 220ml tin at a very attractiveprice. Also available is a range of car care products, comprising dashboardsprays, air fresheners (in 11 flavours), tyre polish and car shampoos. Theseproducts come from Oman, and everyone knows that the Land of Arabiais famous for its perfumes, so these products have centuries of tradition.

Rajan Krishnamoorthi, Operations Director of Kapico South Africa, withMr. Lalit Handa, a member of the founding family, and a visitor to the

stand, “Champ” of Chamb’s Tyres

For the global range of vehicles, all theAllied Nippon brake pads have the

e-mark and conform to SABS specifications.

K A P I C O


R o b e r t B O S C H

A p r i l 2 0 0 964

Bosch Launches New KTS 340 atAutomechanikaThe Automechanika trade fair saw many innovations and the introduction of a number

of new products, but nothing matched the excitement at the Robert Bosch stand when

they launched the new Bosch KTS 340 compact control unit diagnostic tester

Dereck Knight, Senior Product Manager,Automotive Aftermarket Division, Robert Bosch(Pty) Ltd, who introduced the KTS 340 to the

media at the Automechanika Trade Fair.

Compact, complete, and mobile.The perfect travelling compan-ion for diagnosis, troubleshoot-ing, maintenance and service

on any vehicle, with simple operator guid-ance for all types of information via thetouch screen. This is the essence of the newBosch KTS 340 compact control unitdiagnostic tester. This robust new kid onthe block weighs just two kilograms, andwas designed on the tried and tested KTSseries specifically for mobile use on and inthe vehicle. For example, it is ideal fordiagnosing a fault during a test drive. Thedevice operates without a mains connec-tion via integrated commercially availablebatteries (AA type) and can be charged viathe cigarette lighter, the car’s diagnosticsocket, and the mains supply. Over anabove the control unit diagnostic func-tions, all information from the ESI[tronic]workshop software package required for

troubleshooting, maintenance and servicework is on the KTS 340 and thereforedirectly available in the vehicle. Thisincludes the new Technical ServiceBulletin (TSB). In addition, a two-channelmultimeter is integrated into the KTS 340for troubleshooting. The KTS 340 istherefore fully Computer Added Service(CAS plus) compatible. Thus, the work-shop mechanic has everything he needs fordiagnosis, troubleshooting, maintenance,and service with this handy device at hisdisposal. In addition, the KTS 340 with itsclear and intuitive operation and integrat-ed measuring technology is able to effi-ciently support the work of workshopmechanics. The Bosch experts also saw thevalue of ensuring technology investmentswould remain secure in the future. Likethe KTS module and the KTS 670, theKTS 340 is equipped with an OBDexchange adaptor. An integrated multi-

plexer, which is controlled via theESI[tronic] software, establishes the con-nection between the various control units,the different manufacturers and the tester.If, in the future, the hardware require-ments for the diagnosis communicationsinterface should change, the exchangeadaptor can easily be replaced.

The new KTS 340 control unit diagnosistester rounds off the range of KTS testersavailable from Bosch. The Bosch productrange now offers diagnosis testers to meetall requirements: from the simple KTS 200in handheld format for service and mainte-nance, through to the new KTS 340, aswell as the various KTS modules for use inBosch vehicle systems analysis and exhaustanalysers. There is also the flagship KTS670 with integrated laptop and use of allESI[tronic] information.


T o p C l a s s T o p i c s

A p r i l 2 0 0 966

SNR ROULEMENTS receives the 2008Mechatronics Awards Grand prix for itsASB3® load sensor technology

After the international success ofASB® and its velocity measure-ment, SNR has upped the inno-

vation stakes again in the mechatronicsfield with the ASB3® load sensor. Its tech-nology, previewed at the SCS Fair ofParis, received the Grand Prix all cate-gories of 2008 Mechatronics Awards.Mechatronics Awards are the first mecha-tronics trophies created within the frame-work of the mechatronics SCS Fairwhich took place on 2nd December2008 in Paris. Organized by ARTEMA,CETIM, SCS and THESAME, the tro-phies were awarded by a jury composedof technical experts and specialised mediajournalists. The all categories Grand Prixwas awarded to SNR for its 3rd genera-tion of instrumented bearing load sen-sor. The company alreadyboasts the success

of ASB®, which has become a world stan-dard, today equipping eight out of tenvehicles sold in Europe. Why was thisinnovation necessary? Simply becauseASB3® bearings improve the efficiency ofthe trajectory control system (ESP).Beyond the automotive market, thistechnology could also apply to otherindustrial sectors such as constructionmachines, robotics or even windmills. Inall cases, such innovation requiresmechanical know-how, but also in elec-tric, electronic and embarked softwarefields: a scientific mix of competencies.

The ESP Calculator detects the abnor-mal trajectories of the vehicle and cor-rects them by activating the brakes onspecific wheels. The ASB3® load sensortechnology measures the loads on thewheels. This information (in addition toinformation of measurement of angles ofwheel, speed and rotation of the wheels)makes it possible to optimise the ESPoperation. This technology was designedto improve the quality and safety of driv-ing, with the ultimate aim of protectingthe driver and passengers.

The ASB3® load sensor bearing: this isthe latest generation of wheel bearing,with the outer ring equipped withgauges. The electronics produce electricalsignals and an algorithm transforms theminto loads that are continuously analysed.

Tests in real conditionsSNR conducted tests last September on theASB3® load sensor bearing on the du Pôle deMécanique circuit in France to identify theperformance of the system in real operating-conditions. ASB3® load sensor bearings wereassembled on a modified car; in particularthe kingpin supports (castings supporting the bearing). Onboard, a real small laboratory tomeasure and analyse. Over 3 days of intense acceleration and braking, as well as obstacleavoidance and driving on the skid pan, the R&D project team validated the data and cameto the conclusion that this innovation has a great future.


A p r i l 2 0 0 968

Free Technical Vehicle Data forCapricorn Members

Kevin Clausner, Sales DevelopmentDirector. Autodata

The Capricorn team with Kevin Clausner on the Autodata stand

Last year Capricorn Society secured a deal whereby its members could access free

technical data from automotive technical data provider, Autodata. ABR visited the

Autodata stand at Automechanika South Africa to find out more about “Europe’s

leading publisher and supplier of technical information for automotive profession-

als”, and what is behind the byline – it’s what we know.

ABR spoke to Kevin Clausner,Sales Development Director,who confirmed that Capricornhas done a wonderful job for

Autodata in Australia, and that his visit toSouth Africa backed up his belief thatSouth Africa has great potential for hisproduct. Established in 1975, and based in Maidenhead, England, Autodata isEurope’s leading publisher and supplier oftechnical information for automotive pro-fessionals. The secret behind Autodata’ssuccess, says Kevin, is the research method-ology, working directly with vehicle manu-facturers. Autodata has long-standing rela-tionships with all vehicle manufacturers,and this coupled with over 30 years ofexperience, enables Autodata to providecomprehensive, accurate information tothe professional workshop technician toservice, repair and diagnose faults on all

makes. Autodata’s reputation and reliabilityis enhanced by the company it keeps, sup-plying information under licence to worldrenowned companies such as Robert Boschand Snap-On for use in their diagnosticand repair equipment.

The saying “sticking to the knitting” fitsAutodata neatly, as their core function is asan information gatherer and an informa-tion provider, with no side distractions.Employing 130 people on the west side ofLondon, 70 of whom are trained techni-cians with experience in the industry,Autodata knows what and how to provideand present, the focus being on clear illustrations and minimal text. Using astandardised template for both sourcingand disseminating, the information provid-ed covers all the necessary repair and diagnostic requirements that an indepen-

dent workshop needs. Comprehensive cov-erage on the majority of vehicles on theroad makes this a truly exciting and indis-pensable package. And the good news forSouth African technicians is that the annu-al subscription for Autodata CD 3 andOnline 3 is being offered at a 25% dis-count on the UK price. This comprehen-sive package provides the whole gamut ofinformation, from basic technical dataright through to the latest innovations,such as tyre pressure monitoring systems,electric parking brakes, etc. An added ben-efit is the hot-line service available 24hours a day, and if the international callfees are too rich for your blood, then any e-mail query will be answered within 24hours, and more often than not within thehour. This service is truly invaluable. Muchmore on Autodata in future issues of ABR.

I n s i g h t s

To join Capricorn Society Limited call Rob

Mildenhall on 083 654 2094 or e-mail him

at [email protected] or

visit their website on www.capricorn.com.au


C a r c a r e

A p r i l 2 0 0 970

Globalisation is a word that splits people into twocamps. But it has a definite supporter and bene-ficiary in LIQUI MOLY. The German company,which specialises in lubricants, additives and carcare, appreciates the importance of international

business relationships. It’s not for nothing that its products arenow sold in more than 90 countries around the world. And allthe signs are pointing towards further growth – especially inSouth Africa.

LIQUI MOLY regards South Africa as one of it´s most impor-tant markets in the future. Because of this the company foundedan affiliate at the end of 2007. At Automechanika LIQUI MOLYshowed its whole capability. The South African market is a veryimportant piece of the globalisation puzzle: the organization isrepresented on every continent. Europe is at the forefront withmarket coverage of 98 percent, more than in America and Asia.The managing partner, Ernst Prost, sees enormous opportunitiesin globalisation: “Wherever cars are driven in the world, there’s aneed for our products” – in other words, there is huge potentialaround the world for the manufacturer of engine oils, car careproducts and additives for oil, fuel and cooling circuits: Out of

the 640 million cars in the world, Ernst Prost views 500 millionas potential. In the long term, he aims to achieve sales of 50 centsper car. The company, which manufactures its products exclu-sively in Germany, currently generates more than 40 percent ofits revenue in the export business. A figure that is also set to rise.LIQUI MOLY South Africa is headed up by MeliciaLabuschagne and Gary Swinson. “We’re winning more garagesand car accessory retailers for the brand,” says Labuschagne.“This is a really good development in a market with so muchpotential,” adds Swinson. In the eyes of the company boss, ErnstProst, this proves that the company is on the right track: “There’sno standard recipe for our success. We assess the markets all overthe world correctly and support them in an exemplary fashion.”This is accomplished by strategic market developers instead ofsales representatives who are oriented towards the German salesmix – although every market has to be catered to individually.Based on the maxim “think globally, trade locally”, multilinguallabels, local product names and advertising are just as matter ofcourse as a product range tailored to the needs and purchasingbehaviour of the customers – taking local fuel qualities and cli-matic conditions into account, for instance.

The Liquimoly team on duty when ABR visited: Melicia Labuschagne , Sal Vatore Coniglio, KarinHeijboer, Peter Baumann, Danie Correia, Alexander Macketanz

This was the first Liquimoly prod-uct – more on this in future editions

of ABR

Lubricant specialist LIQUI MOLY takespart at the Automechanika and is expand-ing in South Africa


South Africa’s National LampoonW i l d e T h i n g s

71A p r i l 2 0 0 9

It is not for me to pass judge-ment. My role is to poke fun atany and every thing that standsin my way, without fear orfavour. To be chosen as SouthAfrica’s National Lampoon willrequire an immense faux pascapability, and a truly breath-

taking ability to cock up monumentally andconsistently. Sounds pretty elementary, butwhen you get down to thinking about it,the competition is wide spread and intense,and the candidates simply line up and pileup. In no specific order, I will mention justa few. I will most probably miss manydeserving folk and/or institutions, but thisis just a preamble to an already chosen spe-cial one. You may compile your own listwhich will be far more comprehensive thanmine, and have your own lampooning fun.

So here goes my pathetic attempt, in a wildand unstructured manner. I’ll start withdear old Jacob Zuma, our home grownAIDS specialist, and plumbing expert, andGod forbid, soon to be leader. Then, whatabout the electrifying Eskom, or the high-flying SAA. Not forgetting Carl Niehaus,

who is now kaal and sonder huis. Talkingabout kaal, one Joost van der Westhuizensprings to mind, socks and all. The questionis, can he take the heat, or must he drum upsupport from you and the huis genoot. TheCheetahs rugby side, did I hear? Or OscarPissedtorius, who could not drink Canadadry, so he went for a wet Vaal dam. Andplease, no jokes about hollow prostheses. IfRobert Mugabe was South African, it wouldbe no contest, and his eulogy would be anamazing grace. Or maybe something inani-mate like potholes, or out of order robots.

All of the above have tried strenuously totake the national lampoon title, but theone that takes the cake, the icing, thesprinkles, the cake tin and even the wholebakery has to be Telkom. I must admit thatI am biased, but then I don’t think I’malone. Telkom, through decades ofmonopolistic dominance and recentlyyears of bureaucratic bungling and govern-ment ineptitude, has cast itself in stone asroyal game, and it behaves accordingly.

I have been struggling with this headlessbehemoth for many years now, and it issimply impossible to get them to acceptthat it is normal business practice to sup-ply a service that is being paid for. Myproblem is the ADSL service that I suppos-edly receive. Yes, I get it, intermittently,but when the day comes that I have cleanpure ADSL for just 24 hours on the trot, Iwill celebrate like there is no tomorrow.My IT consultant, my internet serviceprovider, my modem supplier are all inunison when identifying where the prob-lem lies. It is a faulty connection at theexchange, but the only entity that can doanything about it seems blissfully unaware

as to how to solve this problem. If I had adollar for every time I have logged a com-plaint, or every reference no. that has beenissued by the call centre, I would giveWarren Buffet a run for his money. I mustknow every Telkom technician by name,and the parade of unqualified lampoonistsgoes on and on, but no one in any positionof authority will talk to me. The excuse isalways the rain. I have a solution. Let usget technicians from some first worldcountry (maybe the UK is a good one, asthey do get a lot of rain) and let them fixup our telecommunications infrastructurewhilst also training the local lampoonists.Who knows, within a year or so, we mayhave ADSL lines that actually work, and acountry that becomes far more productive.Don’t get me wrong, I am a rabid patriot.

I love this country and all its faults. I loveits unique characteristics – I could not livewithout koeksusters, melktert, vetkoek,brandy and coke, Highveld thunder-storms, Noot vir Noot (okay, maybe I’mtaking it too far), the Mighty Elephants(okay, I have taken it too far), Patricia deLille, and many more. And there’s even theGautrain to look forward to. But, please,can’t someone do something aboutTelkom!

I am technically challenged and unin-formed about recent developments, somaybe there is something better aroundthe corner, and Telkom could soon be anunpleasant memory. One can but hope. Inthe interim, eish, eish and more eish!!!!

Editor’s Note: This column was receivedbefore the release of Shabir Shaik.

The word lampoon has traditionally meant a harsh

satire usually directed against an individual or a liter-

ary work, and its origins are French, but Chevy Chase

and his motley crew have introduced a modern twist,

and today lampoon can mean many things, not excluding

making a bloody fool of yourself, or being a total idiot,

and the word can now be used without too much proba-

tion as a noun or a verb or even an adjective. It is from

this premise that I begin my search for South Africa’s

National Lampoon, of which there are many deserving

candidates, some fairly and some unfairly, and some

who have had lampoonness thrust upon them, either by

default or by design, or by the quirkiness of fate.

by Fingal Wilde


U p d a t e

A p r i l 2 0 0 972

Auto Electrical One Stop Shop

Shane Subban, AutoZone’s custodian ofauto electrical product. When asked whyEcotech is the auto electrician’s choice,

he says “Why Not?”

If there is such a thing as auto electrical DNA, it runs through the

veins of the Subban family. Juggie Subban is a legendary name in this field and his

sons Mark and Shane have followed in his footsteps. Shane has 17 years experience

in the auto electrical game, where he has alternated stints at various endeavours,

and he currently baby-sits the auto electrical product portfolio at AutoZone

Shane Subban has a B.Com degree, but the dual attraction ofnature and nurture conspired to make it inevitable that hewould ultimately follow in his father’s footsteps. And an elec-trifying path it has been, as he ensures that customers walkinginto any AutoZone store in South Africa are presented with a

veritable Aladdin’s cave of auto electrical product, from the well knownproprietary brands to the value for money Ecotech offerings. Ecotech waslaunched in 2004, the name derived from Eco = economical and Tech =technology, and today leveraging off this economical offering with up todate technology, Ecotech is the largest and fastest growing range of topquality automotive electrical products catering for passenger, light andheavy duty commercial vehicles. This range includes starters, alternatorsand their respective components, trailer plugs and sockets, electrical ter-minals and on/off road lighting. Shane ensures that all Ecotech productthat comes into the country is backed by comprehensive test reports, andthat these reports are vetted in South Africa. For Shane, quality is nonnegotiable, as he understands that auto electricians cannot have down-time, and that they need to trust explicitly the product that they fit totheir customers vehicles. Ecotech is backed by a 12 month “hassle-free”warranty and is the auto-electrician’s choice.

Over and above the advantage of AutoZone being a one-stop shop forauto electricians, the AutoZone pit crew is available for free expert fit-ment advice, from 7am to 7pm, 7 days a week, at 0800 200 993.AutoZone provides quality and peace of mind, and when it comes toauto electrical product; it has the Subban name behind it.



73

Intelligent learning navigationsystem helps drivers save FuelNavigation systems are a popular and reliable way of gettingto a desired destination. Now the BMW Group’s Research andTechnology arm is opening up whole new possibilities for nav-igation systems technology, by endowing them with artificialintelligence and teaching them basic learning skills. Evenwithout entering a destination, this will allow navigation sys-tems of the future to do things like warn of traffic hold-ups orimprove fuel efficiency. Researchers have converted a BMW 3Series model into a prototype platform for a navigation systemthat can predict where the driver will be heading, and whatroute will be chosen, even when the driver has not entered adestination. Project manager Andreas Winckler dubs the sys-tem a “self-teaching route predictor”. He continues: “We areworking on getting vehicles not only to react to the driver’scommands but also to be proactive. In that way a vehicle willbe able to prepare itself for future events. The upshot isincreased convenience, performance and fuel economy.

Karting for the CheetahsSunday 01 March saw motoring enthusiasts from various organ-isations gather at the Zwartkops kart circuit for a fun day of rac-ing action and heart-felt generosity. The Truckman & De WildtCheetah and Wildlife Trust Karting Day, organised by theGatorback Ram Wesbank V8 racing team (Clare Vale & MackieAdlem), saw devotees including Egoli’s David Rees, Renault SAMD Xavier Gobille, 702 Talk Radio’s Sagie Moodley, De Wildt’sVanessa Bezuidenhout and Kaizer Chiefs players ItumelengKhune and Siphiwe Tshabalala, take to the 1km circuit, amongstmany others. Some wide-eyed passing manoeuvres, super-quickdriver changes and superb driver skill paid off for the Wesbankteam who walked away with first prize – hot laps aroundZwartkops’ main circuit in Clare Vale’s V8 Supercar. The dayraised in excess of R12 500 for the De Wildt trust, and as a thankyou, Byron, the organisation’s exquisite mascot, ended the day bypulling the proverbial heart strings as people were able to strokehis back – an experience that changes one’s perception of theendangered animal completely.

Editor’s note: ABR is considering organising a “Save the Free State Cheetahs” day in the near future – details to follow

A p r i l 2 0 0 9

SA FAN JUMPS 22-YEARWAITING LIST TOATTEND ‘TOP GEAR’SHOW IN UKMpho Magabana from Pretoria jumped the 22-year wait-ing list and secured a spot in the audience for the filmingof one of the BBC’s hit TV shows, Top Gear. He scoopedthe prize from hundreds of thousands of fans that enteredBP Ultimate’s MPH competition via SMS. Rumour has itthat over 350 000 fans are on a waiting list for seats towatch the motoring stars film their highly successfulmotoring show, and some even go as far as putting theirnew-born children’s names on the waiting list! Magabana(22) an IT graduate will be jetting his way to London with

his mother as his travel companion who is also a huge Top Gear fan. When notified of his prize, Magabana who drives a white Golf Chico, says heentered the competition every time he visited his local BP service station. He says he has been a fan of Clarkson and Hammond and their specialstyle of motoring entertainment since the age of 15. “I’ve even gone as far as to try out some of their crazy stunts and proved them wrong on oneoccasion, which I can’t wait to share with them. They’ll probably rip me to pieces, but I’m up for the challenge”, he says. The prize – an all expens-es paid trip to the UK as guests of BP and Top Gear .



A p r i l 2 0 0 974

CAR Magazine’s Top 12 Best Buys for 2009 and the recently announcedwinners of the annual CAR Awards show that when it comes to battlingit out in the current recession, it really is survival of the fittest. In thiseconomic environment, value for money and fuel economy lead the race.The CAR Top 12 Best Buys programme, sponsored by FNB VehicleFinance, has established itself as South Africa’s most respected guide tonew vehicle purchasing since its launch in 2000. The initiative recognis-es the top car in 12 categories which represent the major segments of theSouth African passenger car market. The best cars are chosen by theCAR magazine editorial staff based on the criteria of the ‘four Ps” – pack-age, price, performance and personality.

Top 12 Best Buys for 2009• Best budget car – Chevrolet Spark• Best light car – Honda Jazz• Best compact car – Honda Civic• Best compact executive – Mercedes-Benz C-Class• Best executive saloon – Jaguar XF • Best grand saloon – Mercedes-Benz S-Class• Best hot hatch – Renault Megane R26

• Best sports/performance Car – Porsche Boxster (convertible) /Cayman (hard top)

• Best MPV/SUV – Mazda5• Best compact SUV – Honda CR-V• Best SUV – Mercedes-Benz ML-Series• Best double-cab/pick-up – Toyota HiluxCAR Awards winners for 2009 by category:• Motor company of the year – Suzuki • Motor personality of the year – Peter du Toit • New car design of the year – BMW X6 • Technical innovation of the year – Mazda’s smart idle stop-system • The safety award – The RMI Road Safety Foundation and

volunteers • The green award – Lexus SA • Motorsport achiever of the year – Giniel de Villiers • CAR Challenge winner – Ben Morgenrood• Rookie of the Year – Michael van Rooyen

VALUE FOR MONEY A WINNING FACTOR IN CAR

MAGAZINE INDUSTRY ACCOLADES

Snap-on Exclusive Video Inspection Device

Phone 031 569 7643 or 082 551 5388

Introduced late last year this product is a must have for anyworkshop, and is not limited to this market either. Even sold tobird watchers as a NON-INTRUSIVE device for nest viewing,the uses are many. A nice feature is that Information can bedownloaded from the BK5500 & saved to PC with the pur-chase of an AV to PC adaptor (not supplied with unit). Thisadaptor would need to be purchased from a security outlet orsimilar gadget shop. The unit currently retails at the introduc-tory price of R 5,767 incl vat, and is exclusively available fromSnap-on Africa (Pty) Ltd and/or Authorised Snap-on Dealers.A 180cm flexible shaft will be available as an optional extralater on this year.

This time saving inspection tool is great for engine work, airconditioners, under-dash work, suspension and transmissionwork. It is simple to use with a single on / off button and a bat-tery indicator. It has a convenient thumb control for LED light

intensity, and its 8mm diameter imager head fits into mostspark plug holes. Its high intensity LED directs light where it isneeded, and a long obedient shaft gives it added reach, withgood flexibility. And excellent image quality ensures clearvision. This great innovation comes in a blow moulded carrycase, and its two year warranty gives peace of mind.

KIT Group kits outTraffic FreeflowPointsmen andPointswomen

The Kit Group has redesigned, manufac-tured and sponsored new uniforms for theTraffic Freeflow points heroes who are

committed to alleviating traffic congestionin Gauteng. This initiative provides jobsto previously unemployed people. Fromtop to toe, these traffic champions willlook smarter and more professional, whileat the same time offering their invaluable

service to motorists with a smile.

puzzle on p24Solution


75A p r i l 2 0 0 9

ANSWERS ANSWERS1. Wing Commodore Andy Green.2. Blood Hound.3. Verneukpan.4. David Brown.5. Alfa Romeo – see it in the museum in Arese.6. Anonima Lombardi Fabbrica Automobili.7. 25 years.8. Jody Scheckter and Buller Meyer – both from East London.9. Peter du Toit.10. 375cc. Final engine was 602cc.

11. American.12. Citroën 2CV13. A calliper brake working on the rim just like a bicycle.14. Pollsmor – on the site of the current jail.15. Team Timken16. Tyler Rattray – World 250 Moto-Cross Champion.17. Yamaha.18. Toyota, Volkswagen and Ford.19. William Lyons.20. Sidecars.


A p r i l 2 0 0 976

The Right OptionYou need to replace the engine in one of your company vehicles. What are your

options? You could scrap the vehicle, but the odds are that you will be disposing of

an asset that is making a significant contribution to your balance sheet, and by scrap-

ping you could be transferring this significant amount to your income statement,

unfortunately on the debit side. You could enhance the value of this asset by replac-

ing the engine, but the enhancement may not look so good if you replace with a new

engine. You are running out of options, but then you consider the option of replac-

ing with a remanufactured engine. Now things are looking up, but then someone men-

tions that you could be throwing good money after bad. Then the penny drops. What

about a Remtec remanufactured engine? Case closed.

The major benefit of replacingwith a Remtec remanufacturesengine is that it is made to thesame standards and uses the

same parts as a new engine, but it comes ata big cost saving. An ancillary benefit ispeace of mind: the remanufactured enginecomes with a nationwide 12 month/100000 km warranty. Peace of mind is rein-forced with the knowledge that Remtechas a nationwide support network, withaccess to workshops around the country aswell as having 6 Technical Representativesestablished in key geographical locations.And Remtec is definitely not a fly by nightoperation nor a Johnny come lately. WithRemtec you get immense experience andlongevity, with over 40 years service to theindustry and as such is the only OEremanufacturer in the country.

All these advantages are diluted if you haveto wait for the engine, but fortunately withRemtec you have minimal downtime:Remtec remanufactured engines are nor-mally available from stock and can beshipped anywhere in the country. Thisallows the engine to be replaced and thevehicle back on the road in the wink of aneye. Remtec currently has almost 4 000engines in finished goods; work in process

and core stores. That’s not all. Remtec alsohas an extensive range of remanufacturedengines, with well over 200 differentengines in their armoury, all built to exact-ing standards and of the highest quality,endorsed by South Africa's leading motormanufacturers. Remtec has an ISO 9001Quality Management System certificationin addition to SABS accreditation for theremanufacture of petrol engines and therefurbishment of diesel engines.

What if some cost cutting accountantfinds a bargain basement refurbishedengine? The discussion should stop rightthere. The differences between remanufac-turing and refurbishment/reconditioningare quite stark. It should be emphasisedthat a remanufactured engine has beencompletely restored to OEM specifica-tions; utilising quality componentssourced from OEM's or OEM approvedsuppliers, with the equivalent of a newproduct warranty. Throughout the reman-ufacturing process, stringent standards andprocedures are observed in terms of ISO9001, an internationally recognised tech-nical standard. This therefore results in aproduct comparable to that of a new prod-uct, with the same level of protection forthe end user. On the other hand, a refur-bished/reconditioned engine has beenrepaired and brought back to a runningcondition without particular standardsbeing observed. Although this approachmay sometimes appear to be less expensive,it does not provide meaningful protectionto the end user and does therefore not rep-resent a cost effective long term solution.

Problem solved and debate ended.Visit www.remtec.co.za for moreinformation.

E n g i n e R e m a n u f a c t u r i n g


The South African

Guild of Motoring

Journalists (SAGMJ)

announced the Honda

Accord 2.4 Executive

as South Africa’s

2009 Car of the Year

(COTY) at a gala ban-

quet at Gallagher

Convention Centre,

Midrand, on Tuesday

17 March. The

awards function,

hosted by competition

sponsor WesBank,

was attended by the

who’s who of the

South African motor-

ing industry.

(motorpics)

(motorpics)

G u i l d N e w s

77A p r i l 2 0 0 9

Tyla Rattray and Roger

McCleery honoured Tyla Rattray, who became the third South African in 16 years to win amotocross world championship, taking the hotly contested MX2 title in2008 in a season that included a round in Nelspruit, South Africa, is the2008 Bridgestone/Guild of Motoring Journalists Motor Sportsman of theYear. Three other motor sportsmen were nominated for the prestigiousaward, which was first won in 1964 and has been sponsored by Bridgestonefor the past 16 years. They were Hennie Groenewald, winner of the WesBankV8 Supercars championship for the third year in succession; Graeme Nathan,overall Bridgestone Production Car Champion in a class B SEAT LeonCupra; and Leeroy Poulter, who won both the European Rotax MaxChallenge DD2 championship and the Rotax Max Challenge DD2 WorldFinal at La Conca in Italy. Winner of the Colin Watling Award for specialachievement in motor sport by someone other than a competitor was RogerMcCleery, doyen of South Africa’s motor sport commentators and radiomotoring presenters, for his long and tireless contribution to local motor rac-ing. To most South African fans he is the voice of local motor racing and hisalways-enthusiastic delivery makes him a great ambassador for the sport. Alsonominated for the Colin Watling Award were Brian Cook, the driving forcebehind the long-running WesBank V8 championship for 25 years; NeilCurtis of The Kart Shoppe, a former kart racer, for his contribution to thedevelopment of karting in South Africa; and the Kyalami Marshals’Association, whose members not only voluntarily perform their duties atKyalami but also at motor sport events around the country.

Car of the Year Announced


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The Mountain Goes to MontanaPartinform, South Africa’s longest running and most informative parts forum, visited the

sunny and humid climes of northern Pretoria on the evening of the 26th February 2009,

to unveil its revamped guise to participants and guests from near and far. This was an

auspicious event, in that it was the first Partinform to be held under the umbrella of the

new Automotive Aftermarket Manufacturers Association (AAMA), and as per usual it did

not disappoint with its mixture of networking, bonhomie, information, edutainment, and

rounded off with a quiz show with a difference. Four stunning prizes on offer to the lucky

recipients, with the top prize the most stunning of all; an opportunity to participate in a

Ferrari Track Experience, put together by Forza Racing.

SKF top mount kits are available with bearings ina variety of configurations – sheet metal type, composite type,small thrust and deep groove ball, and integrated MacPhersonBearing. All kits are twin packs complete with rubber pads, newmounting nuts and screws. SKF advises that the top mount kitsshould be replaced every time you replace shocks; this will obviatetyre wear, wheel alignment problems, vibration, instability andtraction loss. The advantage with SKF product is that you are

getting OE quality at aftermarket prices.

A verdant venue a silver bullet


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Thinking outside the box is required in the current economic crisis. Inthis case, Federal-Mogul has thought about the box, with aco-branding promotion on Ferodo brake pads and Champion sparkplugs. Federal-Mogul have focused on the popular taxi applications,with the Ferodo front brake pad sets for the taxis with the 3Y and 4Y

engines. Thus the part no’s FDB579 and FDB388 haveacquired a suffix CH to denote four free Champion N9YCspark plugs, giving the consumer an excellent inflationfighting deal with free plugs to the retail value of R40 oneach set of brake pads purchased. Launched on 1stFebruary 2009 to encourage the use of Championspark plugs, the initial response was so overwhelmingthat the publicity campaign was delayed for twoweeks to allow the outlets to get sufficient stock ontheir shelves. This campaign will run for anindefinite period – a true case of boxing clever.

GUD’s pollen filter(cabin air filter) range has grown to 51numbers, covering 23 manufacturers and 552 vehi-cle models. The good news for South Africa from aconsumer and balance of payments point of view isthat these pollen filters are to be manufacturedlocally at GUD’s Atlantis plant from the secondquarter of 2009, with 75% of this production to be exported and 25% for local consumption. Pollen filters are now being fitted inthe majority of new vehicles, as they provide enor-mous health and environmental benefits – see pg 58of ABR’s February 2009 issue for more details.

On display are the ATE brake pads with different formulations for differ-ent applications, developed to handle the specific requirements for eachvehicle, i.e. load carry, size of vehicle, power output, etc. And specifical-

ly for the different uses of these vehicles, such as normal use, or taxi use, orbakkies that are used in a commercial environment, translating into acombination of safety and durability, giving better costsper braking kilometre. With the prolifera-tion of new entry vehicles,Ate pads can alsoimprove the braking ofthese emerging vehiclesand the life of the pads.With one specific example,Ate claims to have replacedthe original with Ate, and tohave increased the life of the pads from 6 000km to 30 000km!

Fram’s diesel filtration mediumhas evolved significantly over the past fewyears. Cellulose was fine in the days of yore,when diesel engines did the donkey work anddefinitely did not win le Mans. Now, withhighly sophisticated power plants, tolerancesare critical and combined with the high pres-sures from the fuel pumps, diesel has to beclean to the nth degree. Pore size is now sofine, that a hybrid synthetic/cellulose mediumthat is fused together is now required (as dis-played by Rob Stone) – this is the medium ofchoice worldwide for most diesel fuel filters.


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Veyance Technologies Africa is now using the Partinformplatform to market its variety of industrial hose andpower transmission belts, creating increased brandawareness about the broad range of quality GoodyearEngineered Products accessible to the South African

After Market. “Due to increasing interest in this line of GoodyearEngineered Products, we took the decision to “get on board” withPartinform, and we are looking forward to participating at futureevents, as the Partinform Shows provide an important arena for show-casing quality products and services,” commented Christo Stroebel(Product Manager for Goodyear Industrial Hose & PTP).

Loctite’s number one seller is theoil resistant, grease resistant, sensor safe 5699 GreyFlange Sealant, a high performance RTV Siliconegasket maker. Designed for high-torque applications,the 5699 sealant remains flexible and withstandstemperatures from -59º to 329º Celsius, making itideal for sumps and gearboxes. Other importantproperties are its non-corrosive and low odour char-acteristics.


Competition Corner

1. Ferodo and Champion products are now available in one box. Name the products.

2. When will Partinform visit Port Elizabeth?

3. Partinform falls under the umbrella of AAMA, of which Malcolm Perrie is chairman. Who is the chairman of Partinform?

Name and Surname: __________________________________________________________________________________

Company: ___________________________________________________________________________________________

Position: ____________________________________________________________________________________________

Postal Address:_______________________________________________________________________________________

Contact Tel. no’s:_____________________________________________________________________________________

e-mail address:________________________________________________________________________________________

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Frik Nel of Frik Nel Motors reacts ecstatically whenhe realises that the stainless steel briefcase held by hislady of choice contains the magical picture – Frik willbe attending the Forza Racing Ferrari TrackExperience in November 2009, courtesy ofPartinform. All Frik had to do was to affirm that SKFsupplies top shock mount kits, and that got him intothe draw. The next winner could be you – just makesure that you attend the next Partinform in your area:Springs/Brakpan Tuesday 12th May 2009;Bloemfontein Wednesday 17th June 2009; DurbanTuesday 21st July 2009; Klerksdorp Tuesday 8thSeptember 2009; Port Elizabeth Tuesday 13thOctober 2009; White River Tuesday 10th November2009. And if you are a reader of ABR, you also havea chance to win a Forza Racing Ferrari TrackExperience. All you have to do is answer these threesimple questions:

Partinform chairman and co-ordinator, Colin Murphy and Monique Piest,standing in front of the Ferrari 360 Challenge Car, which is used in the

Ferrari Track Experience.

Beware – a watchdog with teethColin Murphy, in his address at the function, drew the industry’sattention to the mooted Consumer Protection Bill, which will placea great onus on suppliers, producers, importers and distributors, toensure that the product that they supply to consumers is of soundquality. Colin referred particularly to Section 61 of the Act, whichdeals with the liability for damage caused by goods. This sectionholds everyone in the supply chain jointly and severally liable forharm caused by defective or unsafe goods, including economic loss.

Send your answers to fax 086 6579 289 or e-mail [email protected] with the following details:


3 4

5 6

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How to make an “OE Quality” brake hose quicklyand easily that meets the specification

SABS3996 (ISO3996)

Customer brings in old or damaged brake hose as a sample.

The operator identifies the correct end fittings and cuts thebrake hose to the required length. Fittings and brake hosemust be from the same manufacturer to ensure compat-ibility.

Measure crimped, sleeve section of the end fitting to ensureit meets the correct specification.

Crimp end fittings to the rubber brake hose usingapproved crimping equipment, to the correct crimp speci-fication.

Supply your customer with the new “OE Quality” brakehose. The time taken to assemble this brake hose is +/- 5 minutes.

The operator must conduct the specified tests and recordthe results on the relevant test certificate..

1 2


In our March 2009 issue, ABR described how Patrick Latouche, general

manager of Sparepro, found comfort in figures when confronted with a seemingly

intractable situation. Yes, he is a man who loves to analyse, and measure, and plot

intricate graphs. Not surprising for someone with a B.Comm and an MBA. However,

Patrick is definitely not a one-dimensional manager. He merely uses his analytical

skills to build a solid foundation, which serves as a launching pad for his true pas-

sion. This passion is the building of relationships, a philosophy which fits hand in

glove with the customer care concepts discussed in this month’s editorial comment,

and it would not be out of place in the Trilogy Customer C.A.R.E. Programme, which

makes its debut this month on page 42

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Feeling the Pulse

Patrick bemoans the traditional relationships that manydistributors and wholesalers have with their customers;basically taking orders via phone or fax, with the soleproactive element in this scenario being the telesales

staff phoning customers to elicit orders. No physical contact anddefinitely no relationship to talk about. When Patrick took overas general manager at Sparepro, he took the conscious decision toshift this paradigm. This required not only moving the goalposts; it also required moving the field! Taking the sales team outof their comfort zone initially met with resistance, as “radical”manoeuvres are never truly embraced by entrenched mindsets. Itis human nature to resist change. Even Barack Obama is facingresistance as he endeavours to pull America out of its economiccrisis. With perseverance, transparency and sincerity, Patrickslowly won the sales team over, one by one, and now the resultsare coming through. Sales are up, and Sparepro is growing.

What exactly were these radical changes? Firstly, the salesmen

were encouraged to work as a team, and were incentivisedaccordingly. Individual performance is still recognised, but thesupplemental ingredient of team performance and company per-formance in the incentive package, spread across all departments;the sales team, the technical (product development) team, thewarehouse (sales support) team, and the accounts team, hasadded a new dimension to Sparepro. No longer is it every manfor himself, it is now a co-operative effort, bonding the teams,bonding the company, and creating a new dynamic, which allowsPatrick to introduce new concepts that are not only welcomedand accepted; they are enthusiastically embraced by a rejuvenat-ed people corps. This bodes well for an exciting future. Growthwill no longer be merely organic by nature; it will be vibrant andgreen field, and created from opportunities identified by a teamconsistently feeling the pulse of the market.

More on feeling the pulse in the next issue of AutomotiveBusiness Review.

Patrick Latouche and his motivated sales team


F a s t W h e e l s

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By the time you read this, the2009 Formula 1 Season willhave got under way inMelbourne. For Formula 1fans, March 29th could nothave come fast enough after

a break of five months give or take a weekor two. Thankfully the Summer GP, orSilly Season as they call it, is over. Firstcame the signing up of drivers and all therumours surrounding that . Then once thelimited official testing was under way justabout all teams posted the fastest time atone time or another using the newBridgestone slick tyres.

One never knows what compounds oftyres are actually being used or the fuelload that they are carrying which can makea huge difference to lap times. Anyway it isgood to keep the opposition guessing untilRound 1 arrives. At the beginning ofMarch only 18 cars were in the line-up.Anything under this number, according toFIA Rules, says that races cannot be part ofthe World Championship.

Honda pulled out at the end of Decemberafter 50 years in GP Motor Sport citingdropping vehicles sales worldwide (true).This gave the entire F1 circus a wake-upcall. First to start seriously cutting costs asoutlined by Max Moseley, boss man of theFIA, and secondly to try and get a buyerfor the Honda Team with its latest 2009car already developed and ready to go.Also it was to try and keep the specialisedmanpower that make up this GP teamunder top F1 racing man, Ross Brawn,together. Brawn of course engineeredMichael Schumacher to seven world titlesin Bennetons and Ferraris. Both have nowhappened. Costs certainly have started todrop and Ross Brawn has bought theHonda Team and all its assets. The vehiclesare now called Brawn GP 001 Cars.Whether Ross got the team for free fromHonda or on long-term credit, or financedpartly by Bernie Ecclestone, or whatever –who cares – they are in the line-up withNic Fry as CEO or MD. Good news isthat Jenson Button on his debut on hisfirst drive was right on the pace with hisnew V8 Mercedes Benz engine, which arebeing used only this year. Three teams havethis power bolted behind the driver –McLaren, Brawn and Force India. By the

way, if the field has dropped below 18starters, Max was going to fill the fieldwith upgraded F2 cars. In reality this is nota bad idea and why not do it anyway, andmaybe make a customer car available aswell.

With all that behind us, what can weexpect in 2009? Rory Byrne headed up theteam that decided on the aerodynamic andslick tyre package in an effort to make GPcars able to pass each other easier. Laptimes he said would be about 2 seconds alap slower although you wouldn’t reallynotice that. I have never known GP carsover the last 50 years to ever go slower,whatever the rules say. With less turbu-lence behind the 2009 set up and with alook that we all have to get used to, will itimprove passing? We will see. A1 GP carsand other single seaters from other formu-las with smaller wings, pass and re-passeach other with relative ease

For those using the KERS (Kinetic EnergyRecovery System) they will find morepower to call on from time to time at thetouch of a button. This is from the heatgenerated by the back wheels under brak-ing. Don’t ask me how it works, but theysay it does. Williams and Toyota are notusing this system yet. Now about theteams and their prospects. Funnilyenough, just about all the teams are in witha chance – some of course more than oth-ers. World Champion, Lewis Hamiltonwith his MBE from the Queen safe in theback pocket of his overalls, must start asfavourite. Kovalainen, his teammate I amsure is going to play wingman, in the newMcLaren, which hasn’t exactly set theworld alight so far. Don’t be fooled. Theydo this every year.

Ferrari have tested well and are set to gowith their star team. Kimi Raikkonen felloff his mountain bike I believe. He has hadless seat time to that enjoyed by FilipeMassa. By Race 2 these two teams -McLaren and Ferrari - will start slugging itout again on all circuits. BMW are goingto do well. Their driver line up of Pole,Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfield – notthe best of mates they say – have settled inand have both got contracts. But waitthere are others. Renault mainly becausethey have Spaniard, Fernando Alonso as

chief peddler and sorter outer of cars. He isbacked up at times by his Brazilian team-mate, Nelson Piquet. Alonso could be thechamp at the end of this year.

Toyota has to do well. Thank heavens theydidn’t pull out like Honda. Jarno Trulli isnow more than a hot shoe qualifier. TimoGlock is going to surprise everyone now heis deeply into Formula 1. New signing,Swiss Sebastian Buemi and AmericanChamp. Car champion, FrenchmanSebastian Bourdais, (there are a lot ofSebastians in Formula 1) are in the TorroRosso team with Ferrari power. Don’tunderestimate them. Sebastian Vettel, theGerman has moved over to the Red BullRenault powered cars with Mark Webber.The Aussie is recovering from a broken legafter falling off his mountain bike. Vettelis another real talent with a great attitude.

I don’t know about the Williams Team.From top of the pile to being a strugglerdown in the pack in just a few years. NicoRosberg and Kazuki Nakajima are twogoers of note and have proved it.Williams – its funny to be saying that -could be the dark horse of the whole show.Let’s hope they get their slice of the action.We have mentioned the Brawn GP teamwith regular runners, Jenson Button andRubens Barricello, who with the right carcould be up front and could cause a realshake-up of F1. Force India – like Brawn –have now Mercedes Benz power and twotalented pilots, Adrian Sutil and GiancarloFisicella – a former World KartingChampion. After months of doubt,Formula 1 GP is starting to come togeth-er. True form will be seen in a few racestime when the teams get back to Europe inMay after their Far East Tour to start usingthe new bits they are developing all thetime.

Enjoy!

by Roger McCleery

2009 F1 SEASONUNDER WAY AT LAST


More gems from my readers:

T h e L a s t W r i t e s

An Urban Legend?

A woman from Soweto rented a Citroen C4 inJHB. She drove from JHB to Bloemfontein ..

Approximately 220km from JHB the car stopped.........still in 1st gear!! SHE THOUGHT IT WAS an AUTOMATIC! She apparently said when the car stopped, “Sowhere to now?” She has been nominated for the Nobel Prize forPhysics.

Voted Best Joke in Ireland 2007

John O'Reilly hoisted his beer and said, 'Here's to spendingthe rest of me life!, between the legs of me wife!' That won himthe top prize at the pub for the best toast of the night! He wenthome and told his wife, Mary, 'I won the prize for the Besttoast of the night.' She said, 'Aye, did ye now. And what wasyour toast?' John said, 'Here's to spending the rest of me life,

sitting in church beside me wife.' 'Oh, that is very nice indeed,John!' Mary said. The next day, Mary ran into one of John'sdrinking buddies on the street corner. The man chuckled leer-ingly and said, 'John won the prize the other night at the pubwith a toast about you, Mary.' She said, 'Aye, he told me, andI was a bit surprised myself. You know, he's only been theretwice in the last four years. Once he fell asleep, and the othertime I had to pull him by the ears to make him come.'

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by Baron Claude Borlz

This is something to think about when negative peo-ple are doing their best to rain on your parade.Remember this story the next time someone tries tomake your life miserable. A woman was at her hair-dresser's getting her hair done for a trip to Rome

with her husband. She mentioned the trip to the hairdresser, whoresponded: "Rome? Why would anyone want to go there? It'scrowded and dirty. You're crazy to go to Rome. So, how are yougetting there?" “We're taking SAA" was the reply. "We got a greatrate!" "SAA?" exclaimed the hairdresser. "That's a terrible airline.Their planes are old, their flight attendants are ugly, and they'realways late. "So, where are you staying in Rome?" "We'll be at thisexclusive little place over on Rome's Tiber River called Teste.""Don't go any further. I know that place. Everybody thinks it'sgonna be something special and exclusive, but it's really a dump,the worst hotel in the city! The rooms are small, the service is surly,and they are overpriced. So, whatcha' doing when you get there?""We're going to go to see the Vatican and we hope to see thePope." "That's rich," laughs the hairdresser. "You and a millionother people are trying to see him.

He'll look the size of an ant. Boy, good luck on this lousy trip ofyours. You're gonna need it." A month later, the woman again camein for a hairdo. The hairdresser asked her about her trip to Rome."It was wonderful," explained the woman, "Not only were we ontime in one of SAA's brand new Airbus planes, but it was over-booked and they bumped us up to first class. The food and winewere wonderful, and I had a handsome 28-year-old steward whowaited on me hand and foot. And the hotel was great! They'd justfinished a $5 million remodeling job and now it's a jewel, the finesthotel in the city. They, too were over-booked, so they apologized andgave us their owner's own suite at no extra charge!" "Well," mutteredthe hairdresser, "that's all well and good, but I know you didn't getto see the Pope." "Actually, we were quite lucky, because as wetoured the Vatican, a Swiss Guard tapped me on the shoulder, andexplained that the Pope likes to meet some of the visitors, and if I'dbe so kind as to step into his private room and wait, the Pope wouldpersonally greet us. Sure enough, five minutes later, the Pope walkedthrough the door and shook my hand, I knelt down, kissed his ringand he spoke with me a while." "Oh, really! What'd he say?" "ThePope said: "Where'd you get that kak hairdo?"

This place should be avoided, unlessyou’re into this sort of thing….

A glimpse of the future????

Negative People - WHO NEEDS THEM?


Automotive Business Review April 2009

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Transcript of Automotive Business Review April 2009