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| The new academic heads at Twims, (from left) Khavitha Singh, the Toyota-sponsored Head of Lean Management, Dr Kruschen Govender, the TFG-sponsored Head of Future Manufacturing research, Professor Justin Barnes, Executive Director TWIMS and Associate Professor at GIBS, Ms Liesel Kassier, the Metair-sponsored Head of Green Manufacturing research, and Mr Mbongeni Ndlovu, the Illovo-sponsored Head of African Trade and Industrialisation. |
Speaking at the event, chair of Toyota SA, Dr Johan van Zyl, said the company supported Twims because the institute enables managers to industrialise Africa.
Having retired as president and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe in March after six years of very successful growth, Van Zyl said Africa’s manufacturers must compete in the world and to succeed, they need the skills to foresee next trends.
Sponsor of Lean Manufacturing research and President and CEO of Toyota SA Motors, Andrew Kirby, said lean manufacturing was much more than just-on-time delivery, but a methodology to reduce waste and optimise productivity.
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| The TWIMS campus in Kloof, near Durban, where managers learn to leapfrog lean manufacturing processes into Africa's young markets. |
Sponsor of Future Manufacturing research, CEO of The Foschini Group (TFG) Anthony Thunstrom, said TFG became South Africa’s largest clothing manufacturer by focusing on vertical control of supplies and local manufacturing. He said TFG has proven that imported clothes are not always cheaper. “We are creating jobs at local factories and I am proud that we can play a small part in re-industrialising South Africa’s clothing sector,” said Thunstrom.
Sponsor of Green Manufacturing research and CEO of Metair, Riaz Haffejee, said the need for green manufacturing was the main driver of disruptive technologies in energy storage and automotive components.
Sponsor of African Trade and Industrialisation research and Group MD of Illovo Sugar, Gavin Dalgleish, said agricultural processing has a large role to play in Africa’s future. He said Illovo, which started in KwaZulu-Natal 125 years ago, has learned a lot about minimising input costs from small scale growers in East Africa.
Professor Justin Barnes, executive director of Twims, said the institute this year has 37 students submitting their masters’ dissertations, adding to the 46 manufacturing leaders who have graduated from Twims since 2018.
Barnes said Africa has the youth markets and the new research chairs will empower managers from all over the continent to explore disruptors and leapfrog technologies to introduce products and services to these consumers.
