THE FUTURE MANUFACTURING INTERVIEWS
SEASON 1
VINESH MAHARAJ
Pr.Eng (Associate Director: Smart Manufacturing at PwC)
Listen to Vinesh’s Interview above on YouTube or on Vimeo and SoundCloud.
Donal Ryan
Technical Director at NUVO Rubber Compounders
Listen to Donal’s interview on YouTube above or on Vimeo, and SoundCloud.
I’m an R&D scientist at heart. I have a PhD in Polymer Technology and I worked for over 8 years in R&D in the plastics industry when living in Ireland. I relocated to Durban, South Africa in 2006 and decided to tackle the rubber industry and haven’t looked back since. I have worked for NUVO Rubber Compounders for 10 years – starting in production and then moving to R&D.
In 2014 I decided I needed to broaden my business knowledge and signed up for an MBA and I’m happy to say I got through it and qualified with an MBA degree in 2016.
Mark Hassenkamp
Managing Director at
RedSun Hortitech
Listen to Mark’s Interview above on YouTube or on Vimeo and SoundCloud.
Mark has over 20 years of experience in International horticulture production and projects in Africa, Central & South America, Middle East, Asian Sub-Continent.
Mark established RedSun Hortitech in 2014, which has become a leading producer of macadamia and avocado trees, producing in excess of 800’000 trees per annum for growers across Southern Africa, offering growers technical support from planning to orchard management.
In 2017 Mark was appointed Agri-Tech Advisor to Blue Horizon Corporation AG– Future crops now – Accelerating the global transition to food innovation and non-animal based sustainable agriculture production.
Since 2015, Mark has led the start up and implementation of multiple agri-ventures in India as Chairman of Operating Boards within the Pioneering Ventures Group.
Mark is Managing Director at Corvus Investments International.
Since 2011, Corvus leads and consults on agri-project strategy, planning, and implementation for clients in multiple international locations.
Until 2012, Mark was Director of Operations Africa for Chiquita Brands International,Inc. Here Mark led implementation of Chiquita’s Strategic Fruit Sourcing Business Strategy from African, Pacific, Caribbean regions. Mark developed large scale agri-projects in Angola, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Sierra Leone to promote food security and exports.
Mark was previously Managing Director of Du Roi Laboratory, a South African Bio-tech horticulture company specialised in the production and export of tissue culture plants and fruit trees.
Manna Hoogenboezem
Managing Director
Good Stuff
Listen to Manna’s Interview above on YouTube or on Vimeo and SoundCloud.
Manna Hoogenboezem is Founder and Managing Director of Saradox and a director of Good Stuff Co.
Before starting on his entrepreneurial journey, he worked for Unilever for 14 years, starting as a mechanical engineer. He held various senior manufacturing and technical board positions.
In 2004 he started Britec laboratories, a manufacturing and supply chain management company which supplied Clicks with the “OhSoHeavenly” range of personal care products.
He sold his business shares in 2012 and started a number of other companies which focused on water treatment and home care product manufacturing.
In 2014 he started Saradox and bought into the Good Stuff Brand.
He is passionate about creating brands, manufacturing, supply chain optimisation and growing and developing young people in his businesses
Pieter Pienaar
CEO at Informed Decisions and Executive Board Member - IoT Industry Council
Listen to Pieter’s Interview above on YouTube or on Vimeo and SoundCloud
I have been fortunate in my career to have been involved in a number of industries managing projects and business processes.
This diverse experience has culminated in me becoming a passionate entrepreneur with the ability to effectively work with all levels of people as well as many sectors and industries.
I pride myself on being able to understand business requirements and rely to technical and operational functions. My Project Management background then closes the loop to manage the execution to a successful outcome.
I am a natural born problem solver and my ability to see the big picture in relation to the challenges and the task at hand gives me an advantage in business.
Our company – Informed Decisions is the result of great partners, good understanding of business problems and a exceptional technical capability to answer the burning issues that our customers face. We are committed to drive digital transformation, while creating space for people to learn new skills.
Arjen de Bruin
Managing Director
OIM Consulting
Listen to Arjen’s Interview above on YouTube or on Vimeo and SoundCloud
Arjen, MD of OIM Consulting has more than 28 years’ consulting experience within mining, manufacturing, retail and financial services.
In this capacity, Arjen is deeply engaged in creating long lasting client partnerships through ensuring that OIM engagements deliver significant benefits.
Arjen is a thought leader on how performance coaching of supervisors can significantly improve productivity and show a sustainable ROI.
A white paper called “The state of Supervisory Competencies: A frank look at supervisory capabilities in South African mining and manufacturing” was produced in October 2018 by his team.
Some of the clients Arjen is currently working with is Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Gold Fields.
Prior to OIM, Arjen worked for a major financial service corporate, an international consultancy and a South African consultancy. In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s Arjen was at the forefront of the digitisation of financial services in South Africa and was the Chairman of the Business Process Workforce, a sub-committee of the Computer Society of South Africa (Cape Town Chapter).
Arjen believes relationships are fundamental to delivering successful projects, and enjoys working with clients who are passionate about their business, have a clear and objective realisation of the challenges and issues that they face as well as the courage and conviction to take action that cuts to the core of the critical factors, even when unconventional and unpopular.
For more information contact Arjen at debruin@oimconsulting.com or visit www.oimconsulting.com.
THANDO MAKHOBA
Managing Director at Multotec Rubber (Pty)Ltd
watch Thando's interview below:
Grant Butcher
Chief executive officer at same water (pty) ltd
watch grant's interview below:
Bronwynn Dreijer
Chief Operating Officer at Pimms Group
Stephen Stanley
Chief Executive Officer at PIMMS Group
watch their interview below:
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