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PASDEC Automotive Technologies, a carcomponent manufacturer based in Brits, NorthWest, has won a contract from Renault-NissanSA to produce wiring harnesses.
The harnesses would go into the Renault Sandero and the NP200 half-ton bakkie, the company said.
Pasdec, which also does work for Nissan and Mitsubishi, was creative in its use of sector education and training authorities (Setas), the Unemployment Insurance Fund and the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration to help it win the contract, CEO Kevin Pather said on Friday.
Instead of retrenching staff as the company waited for news of the tender, Pasdec applied for assistance in terms of the government’s Training Layoff Scheme.
"The scheme allowed for the training of suitable new candidates, as well as existing staff, sothat they could immediately provide the increased capacity required should the tender be awarded," the company said in a release on Friday.
Under the scheme, the company said, "training costs were borne by mer Seta (the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Skills Education Authority) while learner allowances for the duration of the training layoff period were paid by the Unemployment Insurance Fund".
Wiring harnesses are what Mr Pather described as "the nerves of a car", in fact all the wiring between a car’s engine, engine control unit, dashboard, headlights and so on. "We normally work on Japanese products, but this is our first entry into a European product,"said Mr Pather.
The contract to produce the harnesses had previously been held by a Botswanan company, so benefits to Renault-Nissan in the contract would also have been an increase in local content, for which the company will receive relief in terms of the Automotive Production and Development Programme, and also in terms of its broad-based black economic empowerment procurement.
parkera@bdfm.co.za
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