REGULARS: PERSONALITY PROFILE
Uwe Schlüter
– bitten by the bug
As a novice I find that meeting experts in the industry who are open
to latest ideas and ways of doing things is rare. I met with quite the
contrary when I sat down with Uwe Schlüter from MiTek, who says
that it is part of his job.
By Ntsako Khosa
C
urrently the general manager of the
light gauge steel (LGS) Ultra-Span
division at roofing system
company, MiTek, Schlűter’s focus is on
everything and anything that has to do with
light gauge steel in construction.
“I am excited to get involved with all of it
– costing, profitability, marketing, structure
design, software, logistics, manufacturing
and finding new opportunities. Basically,
everything that is involved in running this
division,” he says.
Introducing something new in a
traditional industry can be a very difficult
thing to do. When he returned from running
the MiTek German operations to assist in
building up LGS in South Africa in 2003,
Schlűter started with a very low base.
“The market wasn’t ready. South Africa
didn’t enjoy LGS, they were very
traditional,” he says.
Despite his small team he managed to
develop an export base out of South Africa
into the rest of Africa, which represented
roughly 80% of sales at the time. “We
developed a very strong export base. And
then slowly the local market accepted LGS
as an option,” Schlüter recalls. He believes
in LGS stating that it has the potential to
grow exponentially as it gains market share
quicker than timber.
Schlüter has worked in the roof
structure sector of the building industry all
his life. Initially introduced to the
construction industry by his father at a
German construction company in Lagos,
Nigeria, he had no interest in continuing in
this line.
Uwe Schlüter from MiTek is happy to work hard to change people’s mindsets.
“I did however use this time to study the
first aspects of engineering through
correspondence with the German
University of Darmstadt while I was working
in Lagos,” he says. He explains that landing
in the roofing industry was all by
coincidence and through life events which
took him from Lagos to Zimbabwe (ex-
Rhodesia at the time) where he worked as a
junior designer for a roof construction
company. Although he had other job
prospects, designing roofs had fast become
his favourite thing to do.
“I was so excited with structures and
understanding how to design them and put
this all into practice, I got bitten by the
bug,” he says. He worked closely with MiTek
during the 1970s in designs of roofs, that
when he decided to leave Zimbabwe
(Rhodesia) due to political tensions, they
offered him a post in South Africa. He has
been with MiTek ever since.
Over the past 14 years he has been a
valued part of the local LGS industry,
continually growing the Ultra-Span market
share, winning various LGS awards and
setting up MiTek operations in different
African countries.
He describes that being traditional and
sticking to old ways is one of the challenges
that currently face the industry in South
Africa. “The industry needs to be open
minded to new concepts and ideas, to take
full advantage of the latest technologies
that are available,” he advises. Advantages
linked to the latest technologies include
cost savings, it is less time consuming and
is environmentally friendly.
RESIDENTIAL // COMMERCIAL // INDUSTRIAL
FEBRUARY 2018
29