#AutomotiveAmbassador: Arthur Mtombeni, NAACAM Vice President, is the Managing Director of Shatterprufe, the Automotive Manufacturing Division of PG Group (Pty) Ltd.
Arthur joined the Shatterprufe team exactly 27 days before the country went into its first and undoubtedly most stringent lockdown in South Africa’s history. This timing has meant a strong reliance on the collective experience and resilience of the capable management team at Shatterprufe. This, for Arthur, has redefined what is termed ‘the first 100 days in office,’ as the crisis effectively ushered in a new way of working and collaborating with teams. Never before has there been such an abrupt switch in how they do business and interact with their employees, business partners, and stakeholders. The change has called upon the Shatterprufe management team, and particularly Arthur, to harness the over 20 years of manufacturing and management experience to navigate this “new normal” brought about by Covid 19.
Having spent the last 10 years at a Fuel Systems tier 1 multinational, of which the greater part have been as Country Director, Arthur comments, “the passion for all things automotive has flowed through my veins and it is difficult to see a life without the high level of standards instilled by the industry, and our role as businesses to partner and pioneer mobility, ensuring as component manufacturers we remain one of the key cogs in driving economic growth and recovery for the country, especially during this period.”
This need to contribute to the growth and development of our sector has led Arthur to be part of the NAACAM Executive Committee for the past 3 years and accepting the role of one of the Vice Presidents of NAACAM in 2019.
Discussing #ThingsIWishIKnew and advice to emerging suppliers, Arthur encourages, “work with the data but trust your gut and act decisively when presented with challenges and for sure the opportunities. The journey for emerging suppliers may seem long but persevere, leverage on your contacts and don’t hesitate to cold call established component suppliers for a hand”
Arthur’s thoughts on #FutureOfComponentManufacturing:
As Shatterprufe, we have invested heavily in developing our people through specific skills programs with the local university and believe this will work in not only our stead in bridging the gap between highly industrialised countries we compete with but also assist in preparing a pipeline for potential industrialists to support our component localisation drive. Through such initiatives, existing business and new entrants in the Tier 2 space via these programs will be able to effectively contribute to growing the local content share of the spend on a vehicle from an average 39% to 60% as envisioned in the SAAM. Visit Shatterprufe’s website: http://shatterprufe.pg.co.za/
