THE Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry – the biggest Metropolitan chamber in the country with almost 3000 members – is on the move.
With its lease up at its headquarters in the city’s Stalwart Simelane (Stanger) Street, staff are now looking forward to relocating to bright new offices at the smart Lion Match Office Park in uMgeni Road. The big move will happen over the weekend beginning 21 February.
“We are very excited about our move. Being in new premises will give us all a new lease on work,” said Andrew Layman, the chief executive officer.
The Chamber searched for a new home for months, only settling on the Lion Match Office Park recently. A major contributing factor was the availability of plenty free parking for visitors.
Visitors to the present offices are unable to park outside the building and, are reluctant to pay for parking at the nearby ICC when they attend Chamber events.
“It is going to be such a relief to be able to offer parking at our new address,” Layman said.
The Chamber, which will have a five-year lease, will occupy the ground floor which boasts large industrial windows that admit plenty of light. There is a coffee bar, and another bonus for the business-minded Chamber is that the rent is cheaper.
Coinciding with the historic move is the announcement that the Chamber has extended Layman’s contract for another 12 months.
“Andrew has done a good job and the Chamber is very excited to have him for another year,” said Chamber president Akash Singh.
In the three years that Layman has been at the helm, the Chamber has been able to improve the organisation’s finances significantly from several years of operational losses to a surplus in 2012. The Chamber is expecting a similar positive result for 2013. Layman has also raised the Chamber’s public profile, enabling the Chamber to once again become the “voice” of business, which had previously been very quiet.
Now his focus is going to be on the Chamber’s internal efficiencies and professionalism and he says that improvements have already been made.
“We want our members to rave about our service and the value of their membership and it will take a lot of work to ensure that all are happy,” Layman said.
Dr Stan Hardman, previously a senior lecturer in the Graduate School of Business at UKZN, has now joined the Chamber team to manage policy and advocacy in the Chamber’s various forums.
“We will be appointing a new enterprise development manager soon. The Chamber made significant strides in its advocacy work during 2013, and this will improve with the appointment of a dedicated manager,” Layman explained.
The telephone number of the Chamber will remain the same (031 335 1001).
