CAPITAL: The Voice of Business Issue 1, 2015 | Page 64

PCB AWARDS
ity. Worth noting is that the company has
managed to remain competitive and grow,
even while reducing its energy needs.
“We have reduced our energy usage per
ton by 38%,” Mike Wolhuter, managing
director of PDC told Capital.
Wolhuter said that the increased use of
automation, as well as new power-saving
technologies such as LED lighting, heat
pumps and variable speed drives in PDC’s
factory, has delivered this efficiency. PDC is
located on two properties of 16 000 square
metres and 7 000 square metres in Pietermaritzburg’s Willowton industrial area.
“Automation has made us seriously
competitive against imports,” says
Wolhuter. “Man hours per assembly
have dropped by 90%, and quality and
consistency have gone up.”
He adds that this has resulted in 30%
of the business that PDC gained in 2014
coming from “reshored” business —
business that had previously left South
Africa for countries like China.
However, he is quick to point out that
“80% of our business is with customers
we’ve had for more than 50 years”
.
“We do business with people we like,”
Wolhuter smiles, pointing out that the
company has a strong customer-service
focus. “If ever there is a problem, our
approach is: ‘What can we do together to
fix this?’.”
But the credit for the company’s success
lies with PDC’s 220 staff members, Wolhuter
insists.
This “dedication to its people” was
another aspect to PDC that was singled out
by the competition judges. The company’s
full-time on-site clinic, its commitment to
upskilling its employees, and the great
value it places on creating a pleasant
working environment, were all identified
by the judges as “evidence of the extent to
which they care about their people”
.
“Our staff’s commitment and their contribution to the business are what have resulted in the company’s success, as recognised by this PCB award,” Wolhuter says.
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| Issue 1 | Capital

2014 Nedbank PCB Champion Entrepreneur of t
Haffejee Street, Pietermaritzburg. Going into busin
PHOTO: Barr

2014’s Ned
Champion Entrepr

I

f you’ve ever languished in a job that
made you unhappy, or if you have ever
harboured fantasies of “going out on
your own” this success story about
,
the 2014 winner of the Nedbank PCB
Champion Entrepreneur of the Year award
will appeal to you.
Four years ago, Lumen Pillay was working
for a prominent motor dealership and it
would probably be true to say that his life
was his work.
“I was working from 6.30 am to 7 pm on
most days,” says Pillay, “and I had no real
family life.”
“December holidays were out, as far as
leave goes — that was our busiest period.”
“And when you’re ‘father and mother’ to
55 staff members, it takes a toll on you,” he
explains.
In fact, his doctor advised him to change