Nov 19, 2014 Warwick Robinson Iveco, Dr Anna Mogkokong, CNHi South Africa, Mayor of Tshwane, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, trucks, manufacturing
Iveco South Africa officially opened their local plant in Rosslyn on Wednesday. The facility represents an R800 Million investment and is expected to reach production capacity at 6000 vehicles per year, of which 20% would be earmarked for export to the sub-Saharan region.
It is the first such investment in Southern Africa for Iveco’s holding group CNH, and the 63rd in their global network. According to the Vice President of CNHi South Africa, Mario Gasparri, a continued effort to better service emerging markets had been adhered to within the group over the past 5 years. “With a strong presence in agricultural, construction and commercial vehicles, the localisation strategy is focussed on the Iveco brand – in terms of production, dealer network and after sales support capability” he explained.
This strategy is aligned with the CNH Group’s corporate social responsibility ambitions, with the plant hoping to create up to 1000 direct employment opportunities, and extended opportunities into the surrounding communities. The facility is primarily a heavy commercial and bus manufacturing facility, and will see ever increasing localised production roles, as operations continue to grow. A tour through the shiny new buildings shows how important human resources remain, specifically in terms of building the bus bodies. It shows the training and development opportunities that exist, as well as the expansion of roles that can be performed once those skills are acquired. Along with the commercial and bus ranges, the Iveco 682 “value” range is also destined for the facility, to allow the plant to cater for an affordable product suited to specific African requirements and specifications. Gasparri concluded his portion of the proceedings with a firm statement that the investment represented “the right amount of capital – both financial and human - to make the new facility a large part of Iveco’s success in South Africa and the region”. Dr Anna Mogkokong, the Chairperson of Larimar Group who have a 40% stake holding in the JV with Iveco, opened the presentations. Dignitaries in attendance included the deputy Ambassadors of France and Italy, and the Mayor of Tshwane, Kgosientso Ramokgopa. He delivered a thank you to Iveco for adding to what he termed the city’s “bouquet” of quality automotive brands being produced. Putting it into perspective, Mayor Ramokgopa pointed out that the automotive industry in Tshwane is the 3rd largest provider of GDP in the city, which itself provides a third of Gauteng’s provincial GDP. That figure is not only roughly a third of our South African national GDP, but also makes the Gauteng region the 4th largest economy on the continent. Iveco Brand President Pierre Lahutte had presented details of the successful bidding for bus contracts in Germany, and a completely electric solution Azerbijan. This prompted the Mayor to point out how pleased he was to have new opportunities in terms of Iveco’s “greener” public transport products, as alternatives to consider in the modernisation of public transport. “The Iveco plant supports our city’s ambitions on a number of levels - in transformation, modernisation and re-industrialisation - in order to combat the challenges that urbanisation brings in our specific context” he commented. The plant is at this stage producing 6 vehicles per day and will be inaugurated in March 2015. Along with the official proceedings, and site tour, guests were invited to try out the Iveco “507” replica Dakar race truck on a specially laid out course at the venue.
Feb 05, 2025 0
Feb 04, 2025 0