ELIDZ plant ships 90% of components overseas

One of the major players in the East London industrial development zone (IDZ) is Foxtec-Ikhwezi – a supplier of high-volume forged non-ferrous products to the automotive industry. The company base is conveniently located about two kilometres from the Port of East London, 1km from the Mercedes Benz SA (MBSA) plant, and 7kms from the East London Airport. It was founded in 2004 as a joint venture between Otto-Fuchs of Germany (70%) and Ikhwezi Investment Holdings (30%), and started production at its R112-million plant in September 2006. Foxtec-Ikhwezi supplies parts to the SA and also European production plants of Mercedes Benz. It is the single source supplier into the global market for these components, and its East London IDZ plant is established as the supplier, for example, of forged aluminium suspension struts for the rear axle of every Mercedes Benz Cand E-Class in the world. It is also making suspension parts for high-performance AMG models, and for the SL-Class 2012 model. While most of its products find their markets in Germany, the US and China, the company is constantly looking to expand, according to Foxtec-Ikhwezi GM, Antony Funston. “We now have an output of 5.4-million parts, and we are shipping 90% of the components we produce overseas,” he told FTW. “But, as well as adding to our automotive customer base, we have also expanded into the production of nonautomotive components.” An initial move into the general engineering field has been the production of aluminium drive adaptors for a mining company in Swaziland, according to production manager, Andrew Brown. And, he told FTW, the company is aggressively marketing its expertise to other potential customers, and is also looking at using a variety of other non-ferrous alloys. In this, Foxtec-Ikhwezi will share in the skills base of partner, Otto-Fuchs, which manufactures highquality products for the aerospace, automotive, construction and general engineering industries, manufactured from aluminium, magnesium, copper, titanium and nickel alloys. “The widespread application of light-weight materials in the field of general engineering is due to their excellent combination of dynamic strength, low density and good corrosion resistance,” said Brown. “The forging technology allows us to adjust the direction of the optimum mechanical properties to the direction of stress in a component and thus fully exploit the properties of the material. “And copper and brass alloys, for example, have good processing properties. They are easy to form and, at the same time, have a high strength and resistance to wear, tear and corrosion. They have a wide range of applications, in particular in hydraulics and pneumatics.” Training is also a focus for Foxtec-Ikhwezi, according to Funston. “Continuous investment in training and development is vital to the firm, as is creating a safe work environment,” he said. “As the work place needs to be a safe place to work, this is ensured through the implementation and accreditation of OHSAS18001 standards and ISO14001. “The work place also needs to be challenging and productive, hence the strong focus on achievement of goals with the aid of mission-directed work teams.” And, the company must be doing something right, insisted Funston. “Not many businesses can count the likes of Mercedes as valued customers,” he said.