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TRADE NEWS
Riaan Botes keeps producers ’ wheels rolling
Riaan Botes , Senwes Equipment Workshop Manager at Bultfontein .
THIS IS how Senwes Equipment Workshop Manager , Riaan Botes , describes his role in this area .
Botes regards his division as absolutely essential for the producer . He describes it as the link between the client , the technician and the spares division . “ We literally run a business in conjunction with the farmer . We are actually his partner and we have to keep the wheels of his business rolling .”
The 37 year old Botes is very competent due to his 20 years of experience at Senwes . He started as apprentice at Bultfontein in 1997 , qualified in 2001 and was appointed as technician and contractor before he was promoted to the position of workshop manager in 2009 .
Riaan ' s duties include work flow planning , setting up of spare parts , dealing with claims , special tools and many other day-to-day duties . He believes that in order to retain a client , the focus has to be of a long-term nature , followed by service . “ Good service ensures that the client returns time after time .”
To support his point , he mentions that 80 % or more of the spare parts are ordered by the workshop .
He enjoys working with producers . Bultfontein is a very dry area in South Africa and this year he witnessed the way in which
Everyone in Bultfontein knows Sonja
producers stand by one another . “ We know and share one another ’ s concerns , which makes us a close community ”.
Riaan has been married to Adéle for the past 16 years and they have three children , Ruan ( 9 ), Henry ( 6 ) and Riaan ( 2 ).
Riaan is perfect for the position which he holds . He is an extrovert and admits that he talks a lot . However , he adds with a smile that he has to exercise self-control because he is actually short-tempered .
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BULTFONTEIN residents all know Sonja Cloete . Sonja has been part of Senwes for the past 14 years and is currently the junior grain procurer at Senwes . She started there as grain administration clerk and was promoted to junior grain procurer in 2004 .
She believes that face value is of the utmost importance . She is truly interested in the farming operations of producers - she wants to be there for them .
She believes that Senwes is the leading agri-company in this
Sonja Cloete is your junior grain procurer in
Bultfontein .
JUN / JUL 2016 • SENWES Scenario
district . There are a lot of reasons for this , one being the fast and effective service rendered by Senwes . “ If a producer delivers grain in the morning , I am able to show him all his consignments within five minutes “. ” When you talk about Senwes Grain Procurement , people know exactly who they are dealing with ”.
Sonja mentions that Senwes offers the best possible prices , as well as a variety of transactions . Her involvement helps this introvert a lot . She likes one-on-one contact . She has to know people in order to have a good conversation with them , and “ she knows these people very well ”. One thing about Sonja is that she says what she thinks . Her colleagues say that farmers really love her , because of the good service she renders .
Sonja has a junior grain pro- curement award in her office , which confirms that this 37-year old grain procurer is indeed very successful .
The Bloemfontein-born Sonja went to school in Theunissen and studied Import and Export Management at the Central University of Technology in Bloemfontein , where she attained her National Diploma in 2001 . She majored in marketing , which helps her a lot in her current position , where she works with imports and exports .
Bultfontein citizens should know that Sonja is a jogger and she likes road races . She completed a Two Oceans Half-marathon in 2000 and a 28 km race in Bloemfontein .
Sonja has been married to Gerrit Cloete for 12 years and they have three children , Lenise ( 10 ), Lianie ( 8 ) and Lize-Mari ( 3 ).