Ruan van der Westhuizen, of Fillrite Paints in Boksburg, has won the S.A. Paint Manufacturing Association (SAPMA) Student of the Year Award for 2016. He received the accolade and trophy at the Gauteng SAPMA annual student awards function in Bedfordview recently.

Ruan also won the BAMR Award for highest national marks for the Formulating Principles: Module 8 in the SAPITI curriculum.

Other Gauteng award winners for the 2016 SAPMA training final assessments are:
• TAG Solvents Award for highest national marks for Paint Application:

Module 2 – Desireé Maritz of Carst & Walker;
• BAMR Award for highest national marks for Basic Technology:

Module 1 – Veshalin Moodley of SAPS;
• Technipaint Award for highest overall practical marks in Paint Application:

Module 2 – shared between Desireé Maritz of Carst & Walker, and Katlego Maloba of IMCD SA.;
• Engen Award for top national marks for Solvents & Media:

Module 3 – Desireé Maritz of Carst & Walker;
• Rolfes Award for highest national marks for Pigments & Dispersion: Module 4 – Deborah Mohlala of SAPS;
• Lejn Award  for top national marks for Evaluation: Module 6 – Refilwe Mothiba of Kansai Plascon;
• Servochem Award for highest national marks for Convertible Media: Module 7 – Clayton Lowane  of SAPS;
• Kansai Plascon Award for highest national marks for Basic Science – Neel Roshania of Marindec Paints; and
• BAMR Award for second highest national marks for Basic Technology: Module 1 – Neel Roshania of Marindec Paints.

Linnet Ndoro of Astra Paints in Zimbabwe received three SAPMA awards: she was a co-winner of the Rolfes Award for top national marks for Pigments & Dispersion: Module 4; and an outright winner of the Ferro Coating Resins Award for highest national marks for Modifiers: Module 5; and for the highest marks achieved by a Zimbabwean student.

KZN student Kimona Chinsamy of Paintchem won the ACTI-Chem Award for Most Dedicated Student, as well as the BAMR Elcometer Award for Highest Assignment Mark for students in 2016.

In the Western Cape, Natalie Barrett of Carst & Walker was the co-winner of the BAMR Award for highest national marks for Basic Technology: Module 1; and Mauritian student, Priya Abhoosee of SOFAP, was one of three students who shared the Rolfes Award for top marks in Pigments & Dispersion Module 4.