J
ohn E. Newbury is widely recognised as a vastly experienced industrialist. His business career spans five decades with a significant focus in the motor
industry. He served as Chief Executive of Nissan South Africa for 17 years until his retirement in 2000. Prior to the Nissan years he had built up his own group of retail motor dealerships in the Eastern Cape and Natal. Subsequent to his retirement from Nissan he owned and ran a sophisticated automotive component engineering and manufacturing company.
He currently serves as a non-executive director and chairman on various boards in South Africa and overseas. These include; MMI Holdings and some of its subsidiaries, DimensionData Plc, CSN Group (in Italy), Supergroup, National Airways Corporation, Tracker, and Marc Group.
Management Today spent an edifying afternoon
with Newbury, touching on multiple topics relevant to the Automotive Industry and the current South African economic landscape.
The economic landscape.
“The job situation in South Africa is now critical. I sincerely hope that comments made during the State of the Nation Address on 9th
February 2012, are going to in
some way start stimulating investment in manufacturing in South Africa. Harry Oppenheimer once said that he invests in companies that make things. South Africa, in my opinion, does not beneficiate enough. The Automotive industry is definitely beneficiating less than it used to historically. I think it is a great pity.
It has an enormous effect on so many other related industries such as the computer, textile, and steel and rubber industries, amongst others. It probably cascades across a broader range of industries than any other single industry and can have a dramatic impact on the economy as a whole. I hope we find creative ways to increase beneficiation and job creation within the industry.
We can also play a significant role in sub-Saharan Africa and some of the current players do. We should encourage our people to become a more productive workforce through practices such as Kaizen and Process Control and through motivation, reward systems, through education and training. I firmly believe that we can effectively compete with anybody in the world; we already do in many fields.
April 2012 | Management Today 13
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