The re-positioning was realised by the appointment of two black executives, Enoch Sithole and Roschelle Mtirara, CEO and Chief Operating Officer (COO), respectively.
Sisulu has tasked the new management with the responsibility to re-engineer the company and reverse the uneasy atmosphere that characterized the transition between the previous management and the new.
“Staff morale is low and this has resulted in uncertainty about the direction of the company,” said Sisulu adding that malicious elements had spread rumours suggesting that the company was closing down.
“How could I spend money buying a company only to close it down?” he asked.
Sithole said it was apparent that the company had a lot of potential. The market conditions are right and the company has an impressive client list,” he said.
“The challenge is to ensure that the company goes back to basics in terms of its management processes,” said Sithole. This, said Sithole, meant ensuring that both debtors and creditors books come down in order to improve the cash position of the company.
“The balance between debtors and creditors is positive in favour of the company. What this means is that if we can collect what is owed to us by our clients, we should be able to pay our suppliers and still keep a healthy bank balance.
“This will enable us to capitalize on our machinery so that we can take in more business, be cost-effective and efficient as well as keep up with technology advancements,” said Sithole.
Sithole also has a mandate to re-brand the company. “Stonehouse Graphics is a household name in the industry, well known and respected. The re-branding will not change that, but will inject a sense of progress and recommitment to today’s business environment,” said Sithole.
Sithole says he will energise the workforce with an incentive scheme, which will reward excellence among all employees. “What tends to happen is that only sales people are rewarded by means of earning a commission for the sales that they bring. What I am aiming at is rewarding everyone, including the cleaning staff so that they can all feel that their output is recognized and that their work contributes to the bottom line as well,” said Sithole.
The company’s new COO says her job “is simply to get things done at the factory floor, efficiently and to the satisfaction of the client”.
“This company has a lot of potential. It has gone through a rough process because of the change of ownership, but all the fundamentals remain in place and it can certainly be turned around and be made one of the leaders in the industry,” said Mtirara.
Mtirara’s background is in marketing and public relations, but she also ran former President Nelson Mandela’s residence for seven years.
