August 2014 August | Page 68

partinform The Need to Know ➲ Oukie Mkhatshwa, parts salesman at Nelspruit Mazda, visited Partinform to see what’s new ➲ Julia Ndlovu, parts sales lady at Midas White River, was there to learn more about the products she sells ➲ The job of making sure that the show goes smoothly falls on the shoulders of Brett Hermon, MC for the night, and Charmaine Innes of Charm Events. Brett is relatively new to Partinform, but he has become a passionate convert. He tells aBr that “Partinform is a phenomenal organisation. Promoting South African products is the right thing to do, and it is great to see an association putting money behind this. It is an industry initiative to be admired”. Charmaine has been involved for quite a few years, but she still has “an absolute passion for Partinform, and I believe that it still has potential to go even further. The members add so much value to the concept, and the introduction of technical training to the informal sector has made such a difference” ➲ Belinda Scholtz, branch manager; and Heidi Stoltzer, parts sales; of AutoZone Nelspruit, used the Partinform evening for networking, and they were also on the lookout for new technologies ➲ Petrus Müller, salesman at Lowveld Brake, was at Partinform looking for information. Previously a fireman, Petrus is now putting out fires in the automotive aftermarket. His wife, Annemarie, of Lafarge Gypsum, accompanied Petrus to find out more about his new found career ➲ Aluwani Nemakonde was the star attendee of the night. Operating manager at Zwavhudi Thohoyandou, he drove all the way to attend the show. He heard about the show on the grapevine and he just had to visit, as he wanted to source quality brands. He confided to aBr that he had not yet seen 60% of the brands on show ➲ Protectors of quality: The RMI’s Pieter Niemand and Corrie Taljaard were manning the RMI stand at Nelspruit. Pieter is the general manager – Northern Region, as well as ERA director; whilst Corrie is the TDAFA director. Pieter and Corrie tell aBr that the RMI utilises the Partinform shows as a platform for the RMI brand, and that they also see it as a good opportunity to meet potential new members, whilst also an opportunity to network with existing members. With the vibrant nature of the industry, there are always current issues to discuss, and of course stimulating debate leads to solutions to these issues | words in action 66 august 2014