Plant Tour with Toyota Material Handling – 21 April 2023

Plant Tour with Toyota Material Handling – 21 April 2023

You are invited to a Plant Tour with Toyota Material Handling and Exporters Eastern Cape.

Toyota Material Handling, as part of CFAO Equipment SA, is the global leader in the material handling, counterbalance, and warehousing equipment sector, including the supply of forklifts and tow tractors.

CFAO Equipment SA is the partner of choice (Employer, Customer, Supplier) for the distribution and rental of new and pre-owned equipment, and value-added services for the material handling and industrial market. Offering a total solution, the company provides products from best-in-class brands that deliver optimal lifetime value for its customers.

EVENT DETAILS:
DATE:       Friday, 21 April 2023
TIME:        09:00
VENUE:  General Motors Industrial Park, Gate No. 5, Kempston Road, Sidwell, Gqeberha

DRESS CODE: Closed flat shoes

Exporters Eastern Cape engage with Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor

Exporters Eastern Cape engage with Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor

“Get the basics right,” was one of the key messages shared by Nelson Mandela Bay Executive Mayor Retief Odendaal at a business breakfast held by the Exporters Eastern Cape and DG Incentives in Gqeberha on Thursday, 2 March 2023.

While the mayor highlighted the many challenges which the city faced, he was also hopeful that the metro would return to a favourable position to attract tourism and business investment. “Council signed a pledge together with a business plan that they are committed to the turnaround plan supported by a financial plan, that will dictate how the city will invest in water and sanitation over the next ten years,” he said.

Odendaal said that the municipality is working with all stakeholders and civic organisations in the metro to fix the city. “We brought back two retired engineers to support the water infrastructure development as we do not have the expertise to do that,” he added.

Furthermore, he explained that there are plans in place to source electricity from alternative energy sources and decrease the city’s dependence on Eskom by at least fifty percent.

Odendaal further reiterated that water sustainability is crucial as no one will invest in a city where there is no water. He said that while the dam levels on the western side of the city remained critically low, 100 million litres of water per day is added to Nelson Mandela Bay’s water supply from the Nooitgedacht Water Scheme which receives water from the Gariep Dam. “Despite our water shortage and continued drought, residents have not changed water usage behaviour. We must make a mind shift change as our region will always be affected by cyclical drought,” he said.

Responding to the question of increased crime Odendaal said that the city lacked the capacity to fight crime. The Metro Police consists of about only 100 personnel and the South African Police Services (SAPS) is under-resourced as well. “The Flying Squad does not have any vehicles to respond to criminal activities in the city. Therefore, we must ensure that we capacitate our neighbourhood watches with the resources to help prevent crime,” he said.

The lack of law enforcement in the city has resulted in approximately R300 million security equipment being looted shortly after it was installed.

Exporters Eastern Cape chairman, Quintin Levey asked the mayor what businesses could do to support the metro in achieving its turnaround strategy objectives and why business should continue to invest in the city. Odendaal invited a roundtable discussion to pursue the potential support by business. 

“We have massive opportunity in this city to develop and grow, but we sell ourselves short. Nelson Mandela Bay has moderate climate, the city is not congested and there are two ports to support exports. We just need Transnet and local government to be responsive to the needs of business,” said Odendaal.

The business briefing was sponsored by DG Incentives and attended by exporters and members of the exports value chain in the city. “As part of Exporters Eastern Cape, we felt a need to host a session with the mayor and industry to discuss the challenges faced by both business and residents alike. We were overwhelmed by the turnout and can see that industry is also committed to make our Metro great again,” said Brenden Adriaanzen, Director of DG Incentives.

Caption:

From left are Brenden Adriaanzen, Director of DG Incentives, Mayor Retief Odendaal, Gareth Burley business briefing facilitator and Quintin Levey, Exporters Eastern Cape Chairman.

For more information contact:

Suzanne Loubser

info@exportersec.co.za

 

Nelson Mandela Bay Export Helpdesk at Your Service

Nelson Mandela Bay Export Helpdesk at Your Service

An Export Helpdesk has been established by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in partnership with the Eastern Cape Development Corporation.

The desk is responsible for providing exporter development and trade promotion services in Nelson Mandela Bay for the benefit of local businesses.

The aim of the helpdesk is to provide opportunities and non-financial support to current exporters and businesses with export potential in order for them to competitively enter African and overseas markets.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Export Help Desk offers the following services:

  • Export Information and advice;
  • Export-readiness assessments;
  • Information on export incentives;
  • Market intelligence (country trade profiles)
  • Guides on doing business in other countries;
  • Export-awareness seminars; and
  • Linking South African exporters with foreign buyers through Trade Missions and Exhibitions.

The Export Helpdesk is in the process of updating its business database and requests that interested businesses provide their details to the NMB Export Helpdesk Coordinator using the following online form.

The following information is required:

  1. Business name
  2. Contact person/s
  3. Contact details
  4. Products/services (A description of your business)
  5. Helpdesk services required

For further info, please contact Ms Dineo Seeme, Helpdesk Coordinator, at dseeme@ecdc.co.za or on 073 400 7869 or acting Director: Trade and Investment, Mr Jeremy Dobbin, on jdobbin@mandelametro.gov.za