Volkswagen South Africa has set aside R235-million for upgrades to its local manufacturing facilities and assembly line. Specifically, this investment will open a wax flooding facility in Kariega, Eastern Cape, which enables VW to offer a 12-year anti-corrosion warranty on all of its vehicles.
This automated facility will also reduce the brand’s carbon emissions by 55% once it’s fully operational. The process involves dipping the metal components and shells of the vehicles in a wax bath, which protects against rust and corrosion in the long term. Planning and construction began in January 2020 and throughout the pandemic, the facility was slowly completed.
This significant investment by VW signifies a long-term commitment to local manufacturing and job creation in South Africa. VW is a direct customer of Formex Industries and our manufactured components and assemblies are used on the VW vehicles produced in the Eastern Cape.
VW facility improves the longevity of vehicles
The quality of vehicles manufactured in South Africa is already world-class. However, this investment into the wax flooding facility takes this a step further by increasing the longevity of vehicles produced in the Eastern Cape. It ensures that all hard-to-reach spaces and metal surfaces are coated with a thin layer of wax to prevent corrosion.
Wax tablets are imported from Germany and then melted down on-site in a big bath. The painted vehicle shells and metal assemblies are dipped into this bath, which coats every surface possible, even unpainted ones. Wax flooding replaces the old electro-coating process used by VW. This massively improves energy efficiency as electro-coating was energy intensive.
The new facility also improves production efficiency by 25% and will cut carbon emissions by 55%. Ulrich Schwabe, the production director at VW South Africa says; “The modern facility will allow us to keep building and delivering high-quality Polos and Polo Vivos for local and export customers while prioritising our commitment to continuously finding more environmentally-responsible ways to do so.”
VW dealerships also invest R100-million
In addition to VW south Africa’s R235-million investment, VW dealers from around the country have collectively invested over R100-million into their own facility upgrades. There are a total of 109 dealerships across South Africa, Namibia and Botswana -many of which are undergoing facility upgrades to bring them in line with the global brand’s new corporate identity.
“Volkswagen dealers are an integral part of our brand’s success. In 2021, the Volkswagen dealer network helped the brand achieve a market share of 20.1%. Not only is the dealer network responsible for 75% of our annual sales, but our 109 Volkswagen dealers also support South Africa’s economy by employing over 5200 people,” explains Steffen Knapp, head of Volkswagen passenger cars.
These investments are going towards new car showrooms, admin buildings, workshops and wash bays. Once again, these sorts of investments signify the German brand’s commitment to South Africa as a core production and sales location. Formex Industries applauds these steps towards expansion, job creation and sustainability. For more information about our components and products, please contact us today.
Formex Industries is a metal forming and assembly company that supplies a variety of complex products to the local automotive industry and the export market. The company is based in the Nelson Mandela Bay metropole, South Africa’s foremost region for automotive manufacturing and export.
Formex is a Level 2 B-BBEE supplier. The company is owned by Deneb Investments Limited – a subsidiary of Hosken Consolidated Investments Limited (HCI) – one of South Africa’s biggest true B-BBEE companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
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