PRESIDENT ’ S MESSAGE
JACO PIETERSE
Current President ’ s message :
JACO PIETERSE ( 2020 – 2022 )
My 2020 term as President started in extremely difficult circumstances , not only for SAIRAC but for South Africa and indeed the world . The worldwide Covid-19 pandemic was wreaking havoc across the world , leaving families without loved ones and disrupting their livelihoods in general ! Now , more than a year later – May 2021 – we are but only in the middle of the unknown storm .
In 2020 we had to cancel meetings , enrichment courses and events , and even postpone our Frigair Expo from 2021 to 2022 . We remain uncertain as to whether this face-to-face Expo will indeed take place due to restrictions still in place and the entire situation in a state of flux .
The world is united in the fight against this common enemy . Our industry survived the initial levels five , four and three lockdowns , but there have been casualties in the form of business closures , downsizing and retrenchments . It would be fair to say that our industry is in a state of crisis with survival rather than profitability being the priority . Our Industry has been tasked with adopting new types of systems to help curb the spread of the virus , as well as to design and engineer refrigeration systems that can transport and store the vaccine at extreme temperatures .
crisis far from over we have had no choice but to resort to conducting SAIRAC ’ s affairs , meetings , and training courses via online platforms . This is not ideal , and we hope to be able to resume with face-to-face activities in the near future .
SAIRAC National will be celebrating our 70th year of existence in July this year , as the Covid restrictions have eased somewhat , we have celebrations planned throughout all four our centres , which will be combined with our AGMs . We do hope to see you at your nearest centre .
I am truly honoured to be part of such a sought-after and diverse industry and institute !
SAIRAC has achieved much over the past seventy years and moving forward will achieve much more . ‘ Let ’ s Build a Future ’!
These difficult and challenging times , coupled with a crippled world economy with the lowest GDP seen since
Our industry survived the initial
the end of World War II are projected to continue with the levels five , four and three lockdowns , economy only starting to recover in 2022 . but there have been casualties in the form of business closures , downsizing
SAIRAC ’ s objectives and activities revolve around the and retrenchments . dissemination of unrestricted knowledge . With the Covid
CELEBRATING 70 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE HERVAC INDUSTRY 3