saaw update
Roadmap needed for
auto sector
South African Automotive Week will provide the sector with a health check and a framework of a plan
to re-energise its vision of doubling vehicle production within the next five years, automotive industry
leaders believe.
S
outh African Automotive Week
(SAAW 2014), hosted every two
years, is expected to attract over
10 000 automotive and allied role players
when it is hosted at Gallagher Convention
centre in Midrand in Gauteng from
October 13-17, 2014. Up to 600 industry
delegates, including the CEO’s of several
South African OEMS, will deliberate on
issues affecting its performance and
progress on achieving its Vision 2020
targets.
“If this is not done quickly we will not
remain relevant and our industry will be
at risk,” Houdet adds. Houdet predicts
that the South African Automotive Week,
in which manufacturers and several
levels of policy makers, including the
Minster of Trade and Industry, would
A roadmap to achieving
the local goal of 1.2 million
by 2020 must be drawn up
collectively between government,
labour, the OEMs and
component manufacturers
says National Association of
Automotive Component and Allied
Manufacturers of South Africa
(NAACAM), executive director,
Robert Houdet.
participate, would provide a base for the
development of such a roadmap.
Reviews and testimonials on the newly
implemented Automotive Production
Development Plan (APDP), progress on
the implementation of the Automotive
Supply Chain Competitiveness
Improvement Initiative (ASCCII) and a
benchmarking study are all expected to
hold up a mirror in which the industry
will reflect, assess the gap and plot an
improved way forward.
High on the agenda of the Two-day
Industry Conference are developments
that have changed the global
automotive landscape, including the
tragic collapse of Australia’s auto sector
and the development of a powerful new
auto manufacturing hub in Nigeria.
“There is no doubt that the SAAW2014
will challenge the readiness of South
Africa’s automotive supply chain
to adapt to a fast changing global
landscape, new technologies and
key market opportunities and threats,
with a specific focus on our ability to
increase exports,’’ says Automotive
Industry Development Centre CEO,
Barlow Manilal. Manilal emphasises that
“the fact that SAAW was developed
by industry, for industry, will create an
appropriate platform and sounding
board and present current global
benchmarks against which the health
of the automotive supply chain will be
measured.”
Key to growth is the ability of the industry
to access new markets, says Houdet,
a reason he puts much expectation
in South African Automotive Week.
“The participation of numerous
international buying delegations and a
key theme in the learning programme
of accessing Africa as a market, gives
confidence that SAAW 2014 is a key
vehicle in facilitating growth and direction,”
he concludes.
South African Automotive Week Project
Director, Andrew Binning says that
delegations representing 20 countries are
expected to participate. The partnership
of the AIDC, a subsidiary of the Gauteng
Growth and Development Agency, which
secured the rights to host SAAW in
Gauteng for the first time has also been
instrumental in growing Brand South Africa
and attracting record interest, Binning
adds.
SAAW 2014 will be hosted from
October 13-17, 2014 at the
Gallagher Convention Centre,
including a two-day Industry
Conference, six workshops,
site tours, a tradeshow, matchmaking programmes and
networking functions.
More information at www.saaw.co.za
TRADE SHOW • MATCH MAKING • CONFERENCES
GALA DINNER • NETWORKING • SITE TOURS
WWW.SAAW.CO.ZA
GALLAGHER CONVENTION CENTRE • MIDRAND • JOHANNESBURG
GAUTENG PROVINCE • SOUTH AFRICA
| words in action
8
september 2014