THE Germany-based lighting and electronics specialist, HELLA, is ramping up its operations in Sub-Saharan Africa to levels that will enable them to serve as a gateway into Africa, and the Eastern Cape is at the centre of these ambitious plans.
The local operations office, HELLA Automotive South Africa, is currently situated in Uitenhage and has been a presence in the Nelson Mandela Bay region for over 40 years. The brand has long-standing links with the local automotive industry.
Now, the company has set in motion plans to build a R30-million operations hub to cater for administration and logistics operations under one roof at the Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Zone 2. It hopes to start operating out of their new facility by the middle of next year.
“Nothing brings us greater joy than to diversify our value proposition with a focus on becoming a powerhouse in Africa, increasing both business and efficiency into the 18 Sub-Saharan African countries which we are already supplying,” said Hella Automotive South Africa Managing Director Theo Theuner.
“Our move to the new facility will see HELLA strategically neighboring with some of the biggest automotive companies already in the development zone, namely First Automotive Works (FAW) and Beijing Automotive International Corporation South Africa (BAIC SA).”
Theuner said the company also planned to significantly boost its aftermarket business, citing trends like autonomous driving, electrification and digitalization that the company believes will drive greater demand.
HELLA’s current spares range spans more than 40 000 products of which 5000 are stocked items. It aims to increase this when their new larger facility opens.