HAVING increased production at the Kempston Road assembly plant over the past two years from 13 trucks to 21 a day, Isuzu Truck SA said yesterday it wanted to help grow the economy by helping entrepreneurs do business efficiently in South Africa.
Despite the constant volatile environment and lacklustre economy in the country, director and chief operating officer Craig Uren said Isuzu Truck SA wanted to grow the economy by continuing to provide cost-effective vehicles in the market to entrepreneurs who generated “economies of their ownâ€.
The more trucks sold in South Africa, he said, the more people were employed and the more business opportunities were created. “Trucks make people money. Cars cost people money. Trucks create employment through various downstream business initiatives,†Uren said.
Although the African growth strategy was important for the company, he said, there was a lot of work to do at home by growing the national economy.
“Although Isuzu Trucks might be in the vehicle industry, we contribute greatly to society – the main mode of transport in South Africa is road freight, and by ensuring that companies that purchase our vehicles are sustainable, we ensure that people are employed through the supply chain, from drivers to merchandisers, store controllers [and] distributors,†Uren said. He said the Kempston Road plant was ideally situated close to the harbour to serve key growth nodes as export markets in the sub-Saharan regions of Africa.
Africa was the continent “everyone was striving to conquer and grow their business inâ€. The African strategy would be an extension of the company’s South African business model to expand sales, growth and volumes.
Last year, Isuzu sold more than 25000 bakkies and trucks in Africa, with more than 10000 units sold in Egypt alone. Algeria, Kenya and this country were among the continent’s other biggest retailers and manufacturers of Isuzu products.
Also, last year, Isuzu Truck SA said the company was majority owned by Isuzu Motors Ltd, which had taken a 70% stake in the company. General Motors SA remained as a 30% shareholder.
Isuzu Motors Japan, described by Uren as an “engine company that builds trucksâ€, employs 26102 globally with plans to produce one million vehicles and 1.5 million engines in 2016.
The Kempston Road plant in Port Elizabeth was run efficiently, Uren said, making it a globally competitive factory.
While productivity had risen from 13 trucks to 21 a day, the labour force had not grown.
Isuzu SA Kempston Road truck plant manager Sipho Sandla said the company planned to produce 4400 units this year, and had 110 employees at the factory.
