TELL US WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND
RMI Executives
RMI Board Members
RMI Directors
RMI Head Office
Chief Executive Officer:
Jakkie Olivier
Cell: 082 452 5150
jakkie.olivier@rmi.org.za
Chief Operations Officer:
Jan Schoeman
Cell: 082 552 7712
jan.schoeman@rmi.org.za
Financial Director:
Renee Coetsee
Cell: 082 412 6760
renee.coetsee@rmi.org.za
Company Secretary:
Gary McCraw
Cell: 082 560 6613
gary.mccraw@rmi.org.za
Jakkie Olivier – CEO
Jeanne Esterhuizen – President
Ferose Oaten - Vice President
Mark Dommisse
Frank MacNicol
Eugene Ranft
Teresa Spenser-Higgs
Les McMaster
Johann van de Merwe
Mams Rehaman
Sandra Singh
Charles Canning
Marcel van Ruler
Henry van der Merwe
Lindsay Bouchier
ARA, SAVABA
Attie Serfontein
Cell: 082 452 5153
attie.serfontein@rmi.org.za
MIWA
Pieter Niemand
Cell: 082 812 5391
pieter.niemand@rmi.org.za
NADA
Gary McCraw
Cell: 082 560 6613
gary.mccraw@rmi.org.za
SAMBRA
Jacques Viljoen
Cell: 083 337 9922
jacques.viljoen@rmi.org.za
TEPA, SAPRA
Vishal Premlall
Cell: 082 886 6392
vishal.premlall@rmi.org.za
VTA
Julian Pillay
Cell: 082 560 6625
julian.pillay@rmi.org.za
Training Director
Louis van Huyssteen
Cell: 082 560 6623
louis.vanhuyssteen@rmi.org.za
Transformation Director
Nonhlanhla Noni Tshabalala
Cell: 083 208 7161
noni.tshabalala@rmi.org.za
Labour Director
Jeffrey Molefe
Cell: 082 560 6617
jeffrey.molefe@rmi.org.za
Danelle van der Merwe
Brand and Communication Manager
Cell: 082 926 5846
danelle.vandermerwe@rmi.org.za
Nonhlanhla Noni Tshabalala
HR Manager
Cell: 083 208 7161
noni.tshabalala@rmi.org.za
Julian Pillay
Regulatory Compliance Manager
Cell: 082 560 6625
julian.pillay@rmi.org.za
011-886-6300
www.rmi.org.za
Surrey Square Office Park
330 Surrey Avenue,
Ferndale, Randburg
2194
RMI Regional Offices
Julian Pillay: Regional Manager: KwaZulu-Natal
Enrico Phillips Regional Manager: Western Cape
Peter van Mosseveld: Regional Manager: Eastern Cape/Border
Raoul Spinola: Regional Manager: Central
(Gauteng/Northwest/ Mpumalanga/ Limpopo)
Reemo Swartz: Regional Manager: Free State/Northern Cape
Central: Randburg: 011 886 6300
KwaZulu-Natal: Durban: 031 266 7031
Eastern Cape/Border: Port Elizabeth: 041 364 0070
Western Cape: Cape Town: 021 939 9440
Free State/Northern Cape: Bloemfontein: 051 430 3294
RMI PARTNERS
RMI4Law 0861 668 677
RMI4BEE 066 292 0102
RMI4OHS 072 787 5503
@AutomobilSA
Facebook.com/AutomobilSA
www.rmi.org.za
www.automobil.co.za
June 2023
NEWS
he countdown to the eighth Automechan-
ika Johannesburg has begun and with four
months to go before the official opening of
the event on 5 September 2023, entries for the
coveted Innovation Awards are now open and
the cut-off date to enter is midday on Friday, 18
August 2023.
“Whether it be parts, accessories, tools, mo-
bility services, autonomous driving or intelligent
software for workshops and car dealerships,
Messe Frankfurt South Africa is confident that
manufacturers and suppliers in the automotive
aftermarket have a wealth of new products and
innovations that will qualify to enter the compe-
tition,” says Tracy Gounden, Portfolio Manager of
Messe Frankfurt South Africa, the organiser of Au-
tomechanika Johannesburg. “After the immense
interest shown and the high standard of entries
received for last year’s Awards, we look forward
to receiving a record number of entries for 2023.”
As always, entries will be judged by a group of
hand-picked jury members that are all experts in
their fields, which includes macro-economics, im-
port and export, aftermarket retail, business and
skills development, transformation, sustainability,
automotive technology and more. They will be
tasked with identifying the most innovative and
pioneering automotive products that are manu-
factured, supplied or distributed in South Africa.
Organisations represented on the panel of
judges will include, among others, the Retail
Motor Industry (RMI), the Automobile Associat-
ed (AA), the National Association of Automotive
Component and Allied Manufacturers (NAA-
CAM), the National Association of Automobile
Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA), the
Automotive Industry Export Council (AIEC), the
Motor Industry Bargaining Council (MIBCO),
the Automotive Industry Development Centre
(AIDC), and the sponsors of the event. After an
initial vetting process by the convenor of the
competition, the jury will be required to score
each entry on a predetermined list of criteria that
covers the design, quality, efficiency, functional-
ity, practicality, value for money, environmental
friendliness and – of course – innovation of the
product. The names of the members of the jury
will be announced in due course.
In keeping with the latest automotive trends,
both in South Africa and abroad, the 10 categories
for the 2023 competition include, Parts; Accesso-
ries & Customising; Driver Assistance & Safety;
E-mobility; Data & Connectivity; Diagnostics &
Tuning; Repair & Maintenance; Original Equip-
ment Products & Services; IT & Management and
Service Station & Car Wash equipment.
Winning the coveted award isn’t the only ben-
efit of participation. As before the finalists and
winners in the Innovation Awards will be show-
cased in a special exhibit at the show that has
garnered huge interest from industry represen-
tatives and the public alike. Winners have been
able to successfully harness their achievements
in the competition to bolster their marketing pro-
grammes and – as a result – have tasted local and
international success.
In 2022, the ultimate accolade went to Syn-
apCAM, designed, and developed in the USA and
South Africa by Synap Inc, and launched on the lo-
cal market at Automechanika Johannesburg 2022.
In order to be considered for the award, pro-
spective entrants must submit photographs and
a detailed description of any automotive after-
market or original equipment product they have
developed, manufactured, imported, or distrib-
uted in South Africa. There is no entry fee.
The description of each product must include
its country of origin, when it was introduced to
the South African market, the category of the af-
termarket in which it competes, as well a variety
of additional criteria.
Based on the photographs and descriptions
– which must include information relating to the
technical characteristics and relevance of each
product, jury members will score and rank each
item. Products that achieve the highest marks on
a collective basis will be deemed to be finalists in
the competition. Representatives of the compa-
nies whose products have been selected will be
required to submit – on Monday, 21 August – two
examples of their entries for physical scrutiny by
jury members.
The finalists and winners of the Innovation
Awards will be showcased in a special display at
Automechanika Johannesburg 2023, with the
winners and their innovations being honoured as
part of the trade fair’s official opening on Tues-
day, 5 September.
How to enter
Entrants are requested to submit a completed
entry form by e-mail on or before midday on
Friday, 18 August 2023. This must include their
product motivations, along with hi-resolution
pictures of at least 1 Mb in size of the items, as
well as the name, e-mail address and telephone
number of the person responsible for the sub-
mission, along with details of the company he or
she represents. Please note that no incomplete
or late entries will be accepted.
Entries must be sent to the competition’s
convenor, Liana Reiners, at the following e-mail
address: reinersliana@gmail.com.
Queries or requests for additional informa-
tion on the Innovation Awards can be sent to
the same e-mail address. Alternatively, contact
Liana Reiners on 083 407 4600 or via e-mail at
reinersliana@gmail.com. Please visit www.au-
tomechanika.za.messefrankfurt.com for infor-
mation on Automechanika Johannesburg 2023.
The trade fair runs from 5–7 September 2023.
Entries now open for
2023 Innovation Awards
Winners of the 2022 Innovation awards