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| Top: At the Toyota Wessels Institute of Manufacturing studies, (TWIMS) dr Johan van Zyl, president and CEO of Toyota Europe and a trustee of the Toyota SA Educational Trust, hopes to play a part to enable South Africans to grow the deep manufacturing culture — what Japanese calls “monozukuri”. Below: The world’s first fully 3D-printed motorbike called the Nera was demonstrated in Germany last week and such additive manufacturing is one of the topics that will be tought at TWIMS, |
Toyota and Volkswagen are enabling a passion to make things in South Africa to help the economy prosper.
LAST week saw two German companies, NOWLAB and 3D printer manufacturer, BigRep, ride about on the world’s first fully 3D-printed electric motorcycle.
Called the NERA, all the parts of the bike’s frame, including the airless tires, rims, frame, fork and seat, were extruded by a 3D printer. Only the electronic components were not (yet) 3D printed.
This is called additive manufacturing and is among the modern topics that will be taught at the TWIMS, which opened its doors in Kloof on Monday.
TWIMS stands for the “Toyota Wessels Institute of Manufacturing Studies”. While it will bestow Masters of Business Administration with a focus on manufacturing as well as provide short courses, it is not a business school, but an institute open to all Africans who want to take the continent from importing stuff to exporter it.
For this, Africa needs to instill and enable a passion to make things — what the Japanese call “monozukuri”.
This was the dream of Dr Johan van Zyl, these days president and CEO of Toyota Europe, when he introduced the idea of a manufacturing school to the Toyota SA Educational Trust back in 2014. Four years later, the Trust has bought the “colonial relic” built by sugar baron Sir Guy Hulett in 1902 and much added to by two more generations of sugar barons.
The historic sections of the property have remained intact, but the trust is adding an auditorium and classrooms, all linked by Kloof’s high-speed cable to global academic partners around the world.
One of South Africa’s leading thinkers in shaping industrial policy, professor Justin Barnes, will has developed the manufacturing-focused curriculum and will teach the short courses from next year. “We believe that manufacturing holds the key to the long-term, sustainable development of the South African and African economy.
“Unfortunately, this sector’s contribution to our gross domestic product is in decline.
“We hope to address that by developing a new generation of world-class, business-minded manufacturing specialists to take it to 25%,” Professor Barnes said at the launch on Monday.
The launch was attended by representatives from all tiers of government, Toyota, GIBS, several leading academics, the Toyota SA Educational Trust, and members of the founding Wessels family, whose father Dr Albert Wessels introduced the first “Jap Scrap” cars and Stout bakkie to SA’s Chevrolet and Ford drivers, laying the foundation for Toyota’s total dominance of the SA market today.
Dr van Zyl said the Toyota SA Educational Trust has for many years been sponsoring all levels of education, from primary child care to tertiary.
He hoped the TWIMS will enable South Africans to grow the same deep manufacturing culture that have contributed to the development of Asian economies.
Barnes said he grew up in the Bluff and is the only man in his family who is not an artisan. But growing up among fitters and turners and plumbers and welders, he saw how manufacturing can create inter-generatinal wealth and provides a career path that can take an person from being an apprentice to being a corporate owner.
Volkswagen grows small business
Down south at the competing car maker, Volkswagen, Sixty entrepreneurs hope to achieve these aims after they were empowered by VW’s Raizcorp, business incubator based in Uitenhage.
Thomas Schaefer, Chairman and MD of the Volkswagen Group South Africa said Raizcorp enables existing entrepreneurs by assisting them with guidance and business funding applications.
“The training and support that new entrepreneurs receive at the VW Business Centre is a comprehensive support system where every aspect of their business growth is developed.
“Small enterprise development is one of our of five Corporate Social Investment focus areas,” said Schaefer.
With many success stories in the centre’s 11 year history, the recent one that stands out is that of Samkelo Qokolwane (29, originally from Johannesburg) from Hashtag Aluminium.
Samkelo’s business began in a friend‘s garage in 2014.
He joined the VW Business Centre in 2016 and Hashtag Aluminium is now the first youth owned aluminium construction company in the Eastern Cape that are certified to issue Glazing certificates.
“I am constantly inspired and motivated — not just by the Raizcorp guidance but also by my fellow entrepreneurs.
“You know you’re not alone; there’s always someone to talk to at the centre,“ said Samkelo.
The programme exposed Samkhelo to potential business opportunities, budgeting advice, industry specific information, presentation skills, to name a few.
His advice to other aspiring entrepreneurs: “Never give up! You don’t need capital to start your own business; you need guts!“
“We need more of these centres in the Eastern Cape so that we can develop more entrepreneurs like Samkelo.
“The talent is out there but we need to use our knowledge as Corporates and impart it into these centres to help more entrepreneurs,“ said Schaefer.
