Nampak Corrugated has appointed an international expert, David Lemmer, as Director South African Operations taking responsibility for world class manufacturing of the four South African operations.
David, who was born and grew up in South Africa, worked for Nampak Corrugated between 1993 and 1997, after which he moved to world leaders in the corrugated industry, SCA. His close to 10 years with SCA saw him occupy senior positions across in Europe and China.
The decision to leave Nampak Corrugated and join SCA in 1997 was part of David's career plan, which included a desire to gain international experience and exposure. SCA was a logical choice as they're not only leaders in their field, but they're also technical partners to Nampak Corrugated. "Joining SCA wasn't like going to the opposition," says David. "In many ways, it was like continuing the Nampak Corrugated journey and several relationships with the South African team were nurtured and built during my years abroad."
David's first appointment at SCA was as the general manager of one of the company's Dutch plants. After 12 months in the position, he moved to Brussels and his last title in Europe was as Operations Development Director, SCA Packaging Europe.
Seeking further international challenges, David and his family then relocated to China where SCA was focused on developing the Chinese and South East Asian packaging operations. One of David's major focuses was to manage the process of designing and building a greenfields factory in Suzhou, approximately 100 kilometres from Shanghai and home to over six million people.
SCA board approval was received for the factory in October 2005, and by December 2006, the factory was ready to commence production – a truly fast-track achievement! With 35 000sqm of buildings, the site houses three businesses: corrugated, litho-laminate and expanded foam.
The Suzhou factory is one of SCA's 10 operations in China and another six in the South East Asia territory. Notwithstanding David's role in getting the Suzhou factory up and running in record time, he was also responsible for technology and manufacturing initiatives in the other factories in the region.
Other projects were on the cards, but with a wife and two young daughters, aged 10 and 11½, David decided the time had come to return home to South Africa, his close family and “my own people”, as he describes South Africans.
During the move, David informed a number of key contacts of his decision. Within four hours of landing in Johannesburg and with every intention of taking a six-month sabbatical, his phone rang and Nampak Corrugated MD, Willie Wiese, invited him to a meeting.
Willie indicated that he wanted someone to take responsibility for the four major corrugated operations in South Africa and that the person he was looking for needed a strong manufacturing background, as well as some knowledge about the corrugated business. Given David's professional history, knowledge and exposure to 70 different plants in Europe and China, as well as the fact that he ‘grew up' in Nampak Corrugated, he was a natural and immediate choice.
In line with David's appointment, which took effect on the 1st of August, he's responsible for the division's operations in Wadeville, Cape Town, Pinetown and Port Elizabeth. He also looks after Corroflex.
Still fresh in his new role, David has spent the past few months engaging people at the operational level. "I wanted to get a reality check, test the temperature of the organisation, and get a grip on where the challenges and opportunities are," he says.
Following this process, David has identified certain areas requiring intervention and support, and programmes and plans are being put in place to address them. Those issues at the top of his priority list include skills development and training, particularly in terms of engineering and asset care, as well as skills upliftment in the operation of machinery.Focusing on customer service is also one of David's passions.
"Successful businesses are known for ‘delighting' their customers. This is going to be our main objective in terms of all the improvements we make. The competition can satisfy our customers, but we can delight them," he says.
Creating a single-minded, customer-focused, world-class operation is his ultimate goal.
On how he's going to do it, David says the power lies in the people who work at Nampak Corrugated. "I firmly believe that leaders must inspire, motivate and guide, but that people will inherently come together and pull in the right direction." This is what David calls the ‘critical mass' effect and it's a philosophy that's at the heart of his approach to business and life.
"I believe in South Africans," he smiles. "Europe is magnificent, China is magnificent, but it's a great privilege to be back amongst my own people. I'm looking forward to continuing working with the Nampak Corrugated team to make our division the one that delights its customers!"
Welcome home, David!
Visit our PRESS OFFICE: For more than 70 years our corrugated cartons and trays have transported and protected some of Southern Africa's most prominent branded products, destined for local and off-shore markets. We serve both large and small customers, across all market sectors, in every industry.- more....
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