Four more investors for East London IDZ
The East London Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) has secured a further four investments worth R165-million. This brings the number of confirmed investors in the country’s first operational zone to 14 and the value of their investments to R920-million. These investments also add a further 195 direct manufacturing jobs to the existing 1 118 jobs already created, of which 600 are already active.
The new investors are automotive component suppliers Molan Pino, TI Automotive (Fuel Systems) and Caravelle Automotive Carpets, as well as KwaZulu-Natal logistics company Big Foot Express. Three of these investors, Molan Pino, Caravelle Automotive Carpets and TI Automotive, have already started construction of their plants in the industrial development zone. Big Foot Express is to begin construction of its plant in early 2008.
For an idea of who is investing at the ELIDZ, click here
Targeting manufacturers
Talking at the announcement, East London IDZ chief executive officer Simphiwe Kondlo reiterated that investors had helped affirm the country’s industrial development zone programme which targeted manufacturers aiming to take advantages of global opportunities.
‘2007 has been the year of opening doors for our investors. Not only have our ASP investors met the highly stringent requirements of Mercedes Benz for the production of its C-class model, but several of these investors are taking advantage of further export opportunities,’ said East London IDZ CEO Simphiwe Kondlo.
A strong automotive component
The ASP is now home to 10 automotive component suppliers which provide 12 key components for the new Mercedes Benz C-Class. The
East London based automotive manufacturer recently began with exports of this recently-launched model to the United States of America.
The key advantage of the ASP is that just-in-time and just-in-sequence suppliers are located in one area and consequently are able to benefit from world-class and state-of-the-art facilities. In turn, it benefits the manufacturer in terms of a secure supply of quality components.
Kondlo noted that the endorsement of the East London IDZ value proposition by existing investors played a role in attracting further investors. ‘Our existing investors are extremely important to us and hence a major focus for this year will be to ensure that they remain satisfied,’ added Kondlo. ‘We are making encouraging progress in terms of attracting investors in our key sectors such as biofuels, automotive and general manufacturing.’
‘We are working closely with a range of private and public sector players in order to strengthen our biofuels value proposition and are in negotiation with several interested parties. We are also talking to two OEMs and discussing several concerns, amongst these, the Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP),’ he added.
Aquaculture cluster
The East London IDZ also aims to establish an aqua cluster, growing its current footprint in this sector. Existing aquaculture investor Seatek, which cultivates abalone, intends to expand operations in the zone. The zone offers this sector easy access to pristine coastline as well as the security that the zone will continue to attract clean industry investments.
Kondlo said the latest investments were testimony to the strength of the business case which the East London IDZ has presented. This includes a 430 hectare world-class industrial park with state-of-the-art shared services and facilities, borne out of its cluster approach, and packaged by a professional team who understood the needs of each investor. Other highlights noted by Kondlo included the IDZ gaining its operational license, the first of the IDZs to do so. Preparations for the new East London IDZ headquarters had also begun.
The 10 operational investors in the zone are ASP investors Foxtech Ikhwezi, Johnson Controls, Feltex Trim, Fehrer and Futuris, Eurofit and TI Tanks, Carcoustics, logistics provider Uti as well as logistics company Milltrans and aquaculture company Seatek.
For an idea of who is investing at the ELIDZ, click here
For more information, please contact ELIDZ:
Contact: Ayanda Ramncwana, East London IDZ communication professional
Cell: +27 82 7788 669
Email: ayanda@elidz.co.za
For East London media relations:
Contact: Antoinette Panton. SMG Africa
Tel: +27 43 726 8833
Email antoinette@smgafrica.com
