Chamber honours company for 40 years
Henk Langenhoven, an economist, was the speaker of the evening.
The Eastern Gauteng Chamber of Commerce and Industry honoured the company John Crane with a 40 years membership award.
This silver award was made for the company’s continued membership of the chamber and was handed to Johnathan Read, John Crane’s engineering manager at the chamber’s annual general meeting, held last Thursday night at the Riverside Country Estate.
Gavin Roberts, the president of the chamber, gave an overview of the chamber’s activities during the year.
He also announced the committee members who will serve on the chamber’s committee for the next year.
They are Sanjay Mathapersadh (Sappi Paper and Paper Packaging, Enstra Mill), Richard Kumalo (PFG Building Glass), Maans Swart (MPact), Jo Fourie (Element Six), Bob Gillies (Diesel Electrical), Mike du Toit (Forest Products), Barbara-Ann Day (Barbara-Ann Recruiting Services), Fahmida Smith (Impala) and Bobby Mahlori (Western Platinum Refinery).
The speaker of the evening was Henk Langenhoven, chief economist of the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA).
He spoke about the economic environment that influences the steel and engineering sector, saying this sector currently has little to no growth.
The steel and engineering sector of the South African economy also has challenges such as an ongoing labour unrest and the uncertainty of the country’s electricity supply.
He says the businesses in this sector have to look into ways to strategically compete on the world market by renewing their businesses to cut costs.
The businesses in this sector also have to invest in its electricity security.
