The Durban Automotive Cluster (DAC) is a well established, proactive and ambitious public-private partnership between the eThekwini Municipality and the automotive industry in KwaZulu-Natal that is focused on developing the competitiveness of this industry. The partnership, established in 2002, enjoys the support of the major role players and stakeholders in the regional automotive industry.
The DAC is an industry driven initiative, drawing on the leadership and expertise of individuals from a broad range of automotive member firms and using it to identify and address a wide variety of challenges confronting the automotive industry.
KwaZulu-Natal is home to a significant portion of the automotive industry in South Africa. Toyota South Africa, the largest vehicle manufacturer in the country, is located in the province, as are several major national suppliers. The region's total automotive employment is approximately 30 000. Over 25% of all light vehicles manufactured in South Africa are produced in KwaZulu-Natal, as well as the majority of the country's vehicle exports.
The activities of the DAC are managed by an executive committee. The executive committee is responsible for determining the strategic direction and overseeing the finances of the public-private partnership, while the core focus areas or programmes and identified interventions are directed by Technical Steering Committees (TSCs) of industry representatives that meet on a regular basis.
The DAC Section 21 Company operates according to a fixed business plan which aligns all activities with a set of goals common to the parties in the public-private partnership.
The overarching long-term strategic objective for the KwaZulu-Natal regional automotive industry is to double its size by 2020. This is consistent with the national government's objective of 1.2 million vehicles being produced in South Africa by 2020. The DAC partnership is focused on supporting the local automotive industry to achieve this strategic objective.
Strategic focus areas have been identified as being core to attaining the above objective, and these are operationalised through the following programmes:
Localisation
The low levels of local content in the automotive value chain undermine sustainable competitiveness of the sector principally through the exposure to cost-raising factors such as exchange rate volatility, duties and tariffs, and logistical costs. In order to address local content and cost competitiveness, the DAC analyses automotive industries in countries that have successfully increased local content, examines opportunities for firms to capitalise on the Automotive Production Development Programme (APDP), and increases dialogue between local automotive manufacturers.
Skills Development
Attracting, developing and retaining certain skill sets are central to the automotive sector. Areas that are being examined include the identification of key skill sets and the skill supply requirements needed through to 2020. The DAC further addresses the skills development challenge by ensuring that member firms acquire the appropriate internal human resource development capability. Through the DAC's public-private partnerships, the extensive public and private sector resources are supported and supplemented to benefit local automotive firms.
Infrastructure
Provision and availability of appropriate infrastructure and infrastructure-related services is an important investment and growth determinant. Cost and reliability can be identified as two requisite outcomes of this particular focus area. In the short term, the DAC is engaging with opportunities to support optimisation of value chain efficiencies within current operational constraints. This support is principally operational in nature with a view to reducing cost and improving reliability given current environmental constraints. Additional priority focus areas that influence infrastructural cost and reliability will be examined in the long term.
Transformation
The objective of this focus area is to improve industry performance across all Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) indicators. While a strong focus on developing capacity at firms to develop and implement effective B-BBEE
strategies is central to success of this area, this needs to be supplemented by sound cluster-based initiatives aimed at optimising resources invested in this area. As an effective economic transformation and empowerment facilitator for the automotive industry in KZN, this programme has delivered significant benefits to the industry.
Growth
The DAC has identified the areas of market access and investment support as being central to facilitating growth opportunities for the KwaZulu-Natal automotive industry. These strategic issues will be handled under the auspices of growth.
World Class Manufacturing
The DAC assists member firms to achieve World Class Manufacturing status through various initiatives and through the KZN Chapter of the South African Automotive Benchmarking Club.
Full Name of Company: Durban Automotive
Cluster (DAC)
Nature of Business: public-private partnership
between the eThekwini Municipality and
the automotive industry in KwaZulu-Natal
developing the competitiveness of this
industry
Date Established: 2002
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Chairperson of Executive Committee &
Chairperson of Skills Development TSC: Zamo
Xaba (HR Director Kaymac Group)
Chairperson of Localisation TSC: Andrew
Turner (Managing Director: Ramsay
Engineering)
Chairperson of Infrastructure TSC: Selvin Konar
Director: Supply Chain Smiths Manufacturing)
Chairperson of Transformation TSC: Dolly
Msomi (HR Executive Feltex Automotive)
Chairperson of Growth TSC: Alex Holmes
(Sales Executive BEHR SA)
Chairperson of Manufacturing Excellence TSC:
Bruce Muggeridge (General Manager Feltex
Fehrer)
eThekwini Municipality Representative:
Shunnon Tulsiram (Head Economic
Development eThekwini Municipality)
Nominated Industry Representative: Steve
van der Ham (Department Manager Toyota
Boshoku SA)
Nominated Industry Representative: Ted
Waldburger (Director BEHR SA)
Nominated Industry Representative: Nigel
Ward (Vice-President Procurement Toyota SA)
Nominated Toyota Representative Sarv Pillay
(Manager Supplier Development - Purchasing
Toyota SA
Nominated Toyota Representative Theunis
Rootman (General Manager TSAM Purchasing
Toyota SA)
Chief Facilitator: Douglas Comrie (Managing
Director Benchmarking & Manufacturing
Analysts)
Facilitator: Dr Justin Barnes (Chairman
Benchmarking & Manufacturing Analysts)
Facilitator: Graeme Minter-Brown (DAC Project
Manager Benchmarking & Manufacturing
Analysts)
CONTACT DETAILS
Durban
Tel: +27 (0)31 764 6100
Fax: +27 (0)86 607 4510
Physical Address: 1st Floor, 8 Old Main Road,
Hillcrest, 3610
Postal Address: PostNet Suite 10139, Private
Bag X7005, Hillcrest, 3650
E-mail: dac@bmanalysts.com
Website: http://www.dbnautocluster.org.za
Durban Automotive Cluster - South African Automotive Week 13 - 17 October
2014-04-30
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Durban Automotive Cluster Upcoming Events
2013-05-03
Quarterly Infrastructure & Materials Session
Thursday, 9 May, 2013
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South African Automotive Week (SAAW) - October 2012
Quarterly Infrastructure & Materials Session
Thursday, 9 May, 2013
The DAC Quarterly Infrastructure & Materials Session will be taking place on 09 May 2013 at B&... continue reading ›