The first speaker for the day was Len Hansen – Consultant at Astral Operations. Len’s topic of discussion was: “My Journey with Organisational Development International (ODI) since 1991.” Click here to read more about his presentation.

The second speaker was Esbe du Toit: Organisational Improvement Manager at Wispeco Aluminium. Esbe’s topic of discussion was: “Celebrating Innovation … A Snapshot of our Journey towards World-class.”

Wispeco in a nutshell

• Largest manufacturer of aluminium extrusions in Africa, with its own melting and casting facility, nine extrusion presses, international quality certified surface finishing plants (powder coating and anodising).
• Market leader in architectural systems development and innovation.
• Wholly owned subsidiary of Remgro Ltd with ±1000 employees.
• Registered training provider offering fabrication training to customers, the previously disadvantaged youth, and deaf learners.
• Thirty official distributors in Southern Africa.
• Ecospecifier Green Rating on Wispeco aluminium profiles due to the extensive recycling of post-consumer and industrial aluminium waste.
• BBBEE level 4 offering 100% for procurement spent.

The term “World-class” is not taken lightly at Wispeco, Esbe spoke about how they have entered an era where they are competing on a global level. Wispeco is therefore constantly challenged to remain cost efficient, as they compete against low cost imports.

Recently Wispeco commissioned the first vertical powder coating plant in the Southern Hemisphere. A giant leap for Wispeco!

To run a world class plant like this, a dream team was needed.

The five most important lessons learnt to make such a project succeed were:

1. Maintaining equipment in a world-class way [KEY 9].
2. Connecting the heart-rate monitor early on: What you measure, is what you get.
3. Maintaining quick changeovers [KEY 5].
4. Establishing trust relationships with suppliers [KEY 12].
5. An informed and equipped team [KEY 2 & 3]: All hands on deck.

Most important lesson learnt:

Investing in world-class technology at the right time, and in the right areas of the business, can lead to quantum leaps in efficiencies and improvement.

Author: Huibie Jones: MD at ODI

To view the full album of the recent 2019 ODI Conference – Celebrating 30 years of operations excellence, click here.

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