Panasonic South Africa, which last week revealed plans to expand its African manufacturing capability, has appointed Springbok rugby captain Siya Kolisi as its local brand manager.
He will assist with a project to distribute solar lights to rural communities in South Africa. Panasonic earlier this year launched its “You can be the light” project in collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Foundation that will see the company donating 10 000 lights.
“As a child having only a candle to do my homework by I understand how big it is when a child is given a light,” Kolisi said in Cape Town last week. “What they are doing may be small for the company, but for those people receiving it, it makes the world of difference.”
Expanding its African manufacturing capability is part and parcel of a strategy that has seen Panasonic South Africa relocating its headquarters in the country to Cape Town. Speaking at the launch of the new headquarters in Century City last week, managing director Hidetoshi Kaneko said the company was aiming to double its business within the next two years.
“We currently have two manufacturing plants for televisions in South Africa – one in Durban and one in Pretoria,” he said. “These facilities will remain but we are looking at increasing our local manufacturing capability for several of our appliance products.”
He said growth in their customer base in the Western Cape had prompted the move. “We consider Cape Town a strategic hub for our African business,” he said, indicating that they were also investigating the possibility of moving the entire African headquarters of Panasonic, currently in Dubai, to the Cape.
“Watch this space,” said Kineko. According to Hiroyuki Shibutani, head of Panasonic Africa region, growth in Africa was a top priority for the company. Welcoming the global electronic appliance manufacturer’s decision to base its headquarters in Cape Town, Western Cape Premier Helen Zille said it was a major vote of confidence in the government’s ongoing efforts to create a conducive environment for businesses in the province as well as its efforts to attract investment.
“We must not forget that investors can go anywhere in the world,” said Zille. “Capital and skills are extremely mobile. Every country and city in the world wants capital and skills. Having a big global corporate like Panasonic that can go anywhere choose Cape Town is a big deal.”
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Springbok rugby captain Siya Kolisi with Hidetoshi Kaneko, managing director of Panasonic South Africa.
