VWSA

Continuing their legacy of building an environment where employees can thrive, Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) has been named a Top Employer for 2024.

This marks the 13th year in a row that VWSA has been honoured with this certification.

The Top Employer title is an internationally recognised certification from the Top Employers Institute, which is awarded in recognition of employers around the world that provide excellent conditions for their employees. Included in the considerations are the company’s commitment to employee wellbeing, continuous improvement and to developing talent within the organisation.

The list of Top Employers for 2024 was announced on Thursday 18 January. More than 2 300 companies worldwide were certified as Top Employers, including 137 recipients from South Africa.

Criteria for the certification include people strategies, digitalisation initiatives, talent attraction and management, learning opportunities, employee wellbeing, diversity and integrity.

“This certification is a testimony of our ongoing efforts to provide an excellent environment for our employees, one in which they can prosper and grow,” said Russell Coleman, HR Director at VWSA. “Just like our counterparts across the Volkswagen Group, VWSA prides itself on prioritising our employees and their needs, and to be named a Top Employer 13 times in a row shows we are doing something right in this regard. I am immensely proud to be part of an organisation that believes in its people and invests in their potential.”

Kariega – On 6 December 2013, Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) officially opened a sports, recreational and community facility for the benefit of its employees, their loved-ones and the larger community. The R30-million VW PeoplePavilion was built to ultimately create a sense of belonging and engagement for VWSA employees in Kariega.

Now, 10 years later, the PeoplePavilion has not only fulfilled this legacy but has become an important fixture in the community of Kariega. Over R3,5 million has been invested in the past 10 years to ensure the facility remains a state-of-the-art centre for visitors.

Since its opening up until 30 November 2023, the facility has welcomed 1 029 168 visitors, of which 59 613 were in the first 11 months of 2023. In its 10 years, the PeoplePavilion – which boasts a multipurpose hall, a clubhouse, sports fields and a fully-equipped gym for its employees and their loved-ones – has hosted 1 867 events, ranging from wedding receptions to birthday parties and fundraisers.

Meanwhile, the gym has received 259 761 visitors in its time, while the sports fields have been used frequently by various sports teams from the VWSA workforce, with sports such as netball, soccer, cricket, baseball, volleyball and Judo among the codes on offer to employees.

The PeoplePavilion also celebrated a significant milestone earlier this year, when it welcomed its 1-millionth visitor, Elvida Klue, in June.

“From the outset, the VW PeoplePavilion was intended to enrich the lives of our employees and their loved-ones by offering them support in living a healthy, active lifestyle and providing a recreational space for them,” said Andile Dlamini, Head: Group Communications at VWSA. “I am happy to say that we have succeeded in this mandate in the past 10 years, and we plan to continue doing so in future as well. The PeoplePavilion team can be proud of making a meaningful contribution to our workforce over the past decade.”

A Reuters interview with the global CEO of the German passenger cars brand, Thomas Schäfer, recently sparked rumours that the company would be leaving the country.

My initial thoughts – after more than one interaction with Thomas when he was MD of VWSA – were that it was a strategic observation from Thomas leading up to negotiations with government and unions. In plain language; “An appendage swinging exercise to remind stakeholders of what they could lose should VW disinvest.”

When asked, Tebogo Losaba – the media and public relations manager at VWSA, responded as follows to Sowetan Live; “Please note that the story is a misrepresentation of the interview Thomas Schäfer had with Reuters last week Friday, he mentioned in the interview that HQ is still committed to SA but that part was not included in the story for some reason.”

It is a very real fact that the operations at VWSA (and Africa for that matter) are so small in turnover that they are not even featured in Volkswagen AG’s global financial reporting as a region or continent so disinvestment will probably not hurt the automaker at all.

Personally one gets the feeling when chatting to VW Executives that they are committed to turning VOLKSWAGEN SOUTH AFRICA into VOLKSWAGEN AFRICA and using the Kariega based factory as a stepping off point for greater investment and dominance of the African market as a whole.

And, on a more personal point, I am greatly relieved that VWSA are not moving soon as that would deny me the pleasure of test driving the Volkswagen T-Cross 1.0TSI 70kW Comfortline for the month of December.

Kariega (Uitenhage) – For their excellent practices in the spheres of lean working models and environmental sustainability, Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) has been honoured with an international Lean & Green Management award.

The annual awards, which is an initiative of the German-based T&O Group, evaluates all participating companies in terms of sustainability and lean management. Over 130 companies participated in the 2023 iteration of the awards. Following an intensive selection process including a questionnaire and assessments, winners were selected by a jury of representatives from science, business and media.

This year’s awards were held in Pfronten in Germany on 19 October, where VWSA’s Kariega plant received the overall award for the Automotive OEM category. In the feedback received from the jury, VWSA was praised for its 2Y24 Production and Logistics strategy, which incorporates lean working and environmental initiatives as priorities.

Among the strengths listed in the Lean evaluation were the company’s value stream mapping process, long-term planning, and its Shop Floor Management system for swift reporting and problem solving in the production environment. The judges also commended the company for its focus on resource management, particularly water and energy, and its waste reduction projects in Production.

VWSA’s environmental projects range from a wastewater recycling facility and rainwater harvesting, to solar panels on the roof of its Final Assembly building, to a proactive biodiversity roadmap.

As part of their Zero Impact Factory environmental management programme, VWSA achieved the following reductions in 2022 (compared to the baseline set in 2010):

• 49% reduction in energy use
• 52% reduction in CO₂ emissions
• 68% reduction in water use
• 73% reduction in waste
• 32% reduction in solvent emissions
• 53,4% reduction in overall environmental impact

“At Volkswagen Group South Africa, lean and green is a way of life,” said Ulrich Schwabe, VWSA’s Production Director. “That is why we are honoured to receive the Lean & Green Management Award, in recognition of our efforts. Our achievements are the result of every employee sharing our commitment and we are thankful that we have been able to do our part in building a more environmentally sustainable future, for our company and our community.”

Kariega – For more than 70 years Volkswagen vehicles have traversed the roads of South Africa and have become one of the most loved vehicle brands in the country.

Its heritage remains proudly preserved at the Volkswagen AutoPavilion in Kariega. This quaint town, formally known as Uitenhage, is the second oldest town in the Eastern Cape and is home to Volkswagen Group South Africa’s (VWSA) manufacturing plant where the first Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the production line at the end of August 1951.

More than 40 classics are displayed inside the AutoPavilion museum amongst which the oldest is a 1938 DKW F5 Reichklasse.

The Volkswagen AutoPavilion is open to the public and offers plant tours where visitors have the opportunity to experience the production of two of South Africa’s most popular vehicles, the Polo and the Polo Vivo.

Open five days a week, the Volkswagen AutoPavilion has welcomed more than 14 000 visitors this year (as at the end of August).

Andile Dlamini, Head of VWSA Communications, said visitors come from across the country to view the museum and to experience the motoring entertainment on offer at the AutoPavilion.

“The museum is dedicated to preserving and showcasing an impressive array of our classic and iconic cars which were assembled at our Kariega plant in the past seven decades. Many young children and school groups visit our facility to learn about the evolution of the automotive industry,” said Dlamini.

He added that visitors to the AutoPavilion also gain insight into the craftsmanship and engineering behind these remarkable vehicles and learn about the contribution of Volkswagen to the local automotive industry.

Kariega – Small and medium enterprises (SME) are described as the engine of an economy. According to the World Bank, SMEs represent 90% of businesses and accounts for more than 50% of employment worldwide.

However, small businesses often encounter challenges which impede growth or they fail due to the lack of business management expertise, cash flow issues, access to markets, and a number of other factors.

To this end, Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) established the Volkswagen Business Support Centre in Kariega, in collaboration with Raizcorp, to develop the entrepreneurial ability, resilience and business acumen of entrepreneurs who run small businesses in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Since its inception in 2011, many entrepreneurs who have participated in the programme have attained business success. To date, the centre has developed 137 businesses, generating a collective turnover of R640 million in the Eastern Cape, with an average turnover growth rate of 61%. An additional 604 new jobs have been created during this time, and 1 608 people were employed by these businesses while on the programme. Furthermore, 3 866 walk-in visitors from the community have received business advice since August 2015.

VWSA Corporate and Government Affairs Director, Nonkqubela Maliza, says small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are an essential vehicle to address the challenges of unemployment, economic growth, and perhaps most importantly, equitable distribution of income among South African citizens from all walks of life. “The Volkswagen Business Support Centre was established to encourage small business success and create employment,” said Maliza.

The latest cohort of entrepreneurs recently graduated after following a rigorous three-year programme. The graduates successfully completed the Business Commercialisation Programme, the Comprehensive Enterprise Development Programme and the Supply Chain Support Programme for Levels P, M and E.

Guest speaker at the graduation ceremony, Sanda Mntundini, who graduated in 2017, said the Volkswagen Business Support Centre changed his life and contributed to the success of his transportation business. “After my business reached a low point and landed me in significant debt, I joined the Volkswagen Business Support Centre’s entrepreneurship programme. I acquired new skills which helped to attract new clients and my business has since grown by 40%,” said Mntundini.

Guy Taylor, Raizcorp Prosperator Manager, commended the graduates for persevering. “The programme is intensive and demanding, but the participants showed tenacity to continue. Now they are reaping the rewards of their labour,” he said.

The Volkswagen Business Support Centre invites small to medium businesses that need support to apply online on www.raizcorp.com.