Pasdec Automotive Technologies has been awarded an exclusive contract, worth R32 million a year, to manufacture and supply automotive cable harnesses for DaimlerChrysler. In addition, Maxe Stainless Steel is to supply the manufacturer with bullbars for the Colt Rodeo and Mitsubishi Pajero.
Pasdec Automotive Technologies has been awarded an exclusive contract, worth R32 million a year, to manufacture and supply automotive cable harnesses for DaimlerChrysler. And Maxe Stainless Steel is to supply the East London-based manufacturer with bullbars for the Colt Rodeo and Pajero vehicles.
The harnesses will be fitted DaimlerChrysler’s Mitsubishi Colt range of vehicles, Keith Turner, the operations director of listed parent Pasdec Resources SA group, told Business Report on Thursday.
Turner said the contract was for the life-cycle of the vehicle, which the company estimated would be at least another four years. He added that there was potential for the contract to become even more lucrative as DaimlerChrysler SA (DCSA) was considering exporting Colt components, which could result in a spin-off to the vehicle manufacturer’s suppliers.
Paul Becker, deputy chairman of the Pasdec group, stressed that the potential export business arising from the DCSA contract would give added momentum to Pasdec’s strategy of taking its products to global markets.
“Our policy of optimising customer service through the establishment of dedicated plants in close proximity to our clients will result in the upgrading of our East London facility from primarily an assembly plant to a full manufacturing facility,” he said.
Although Pasdec’s Port Elizabeth plant is due to be closed down in the near future, “the resultant capital expenditure and recruitment of personnel will have positive economic benefits for the East London region,” Becker added.
Pasdec intends establishing the plant in the new industrial development zone in East London and then changing it to a self-standing business unit, which will require an investment of about R6 million. Fifty new jobs will also be created in the process.
Meanwhile, Maxe Stainless Steel, the bullbar manufacturer, this week clinched a R1-million contract with DaimlerChrysler that could boost it from an accessory manufacturer to a serious player in the motor industry, Business Report reported on Thursday.
Anton Engelbrecht, the owner of Maxe Stainless Steel, said: “The contract to supply a range of limited edition bullbars for Colt Rodeo and Pajero vehicles will give us an entry into the DaimlerChrysler plant that will be followed by further contracts.
“The breakthrough could double turnover from current short runs for various vehicles. The company will also consider extending its manufacturing facilities to East London so that product issues can be resolved on site,” he added.
Maxe had also made progress on the international market, Engelbrecht said. The company recently received a R400 000 export order from a well-known Australian accessories distributor.
Engelbrecht anticipated that Australian orders would account for 50 per cent of turnover within the next two years. Maxe distributes bullbars directly to 750 motor dealerships nationwide, as well as to Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Swaziland and Lesotho.
