Bramhope Group is pleased to announce that Dries van Tonder has been appointed managing director of the Group, effective 1st of March 2017.
 
Dries has been working in the health and safety industry for the past 17 years, and brings a wealth of industry experience to the Group, including valuable experience in business development, project management and information technology. "The Board and management look forward to drawing on Dries' expertise as we continue to advance the Group’s capabilities and innovations in the industrial supply and outdoor & leisure markets," says Isak Marais, Bramhope Group CEO.
 
"His strong skill set is a perfect match for Bramhope's business strategies and Dries will add immediate value to the Group's capabilities," adds Marais. Dries holds various qualifications in project management, information technology and has recently completed his MBA studies.
 
Van Tonder says: "Bramhope has an excellent reputation in the market for being a value-add-supplier applying the best technologies currently available to ensure continuous benefits to its clients. As managing director, I will remain focussed on the Group's accomplishments in bringing real value to its clients through utilising cutting-edge technology, professional and skilled human resources and proven management systems that guarantee a reduction in the total cost of ownership. My 'entrepreneurial spirit' distinctly identifies with the Group's strategic vision, mission and values that are encompassed in the following statement: “Leadership through Innovation." 
 
As the Group's capabilities expand across industries and across borders, Dries' experience in business development within the industry is on target to take Bramhope's business to the next level, not only in terms of capabilities, i.e. products and services, but also into new markets and countries.
 
Bramhope has grown from being a PPE supplier to a supplier of health, safety and hygiene products, and today to the level where the Group is providing comprehensive and integrated solutions to, among others, the MRO (maintenance, repair, operations) markets. Several awards have been bestowed upon the Group for its innovative business models and Bramhope was recognised by Accenture as one of the Top 3 Most Innovative Companies in its category in 2016.
 
"Innovations in the MRO and supply chain industries are both promising and exciting. Companies that have not yet incorporated innovation into their strategic agendas, are unfortunately already at least five years behind and will have to play catch-up in order to remain sustainable. Thus, for me to join a company such as Bramhope, that has not only applied innovation successfully in its daily operations, but is now also widely recognised as a leader in the industry, is certainly a motivating factor for me." 

"I am ready to assist this remarkable company to further realise its vision: To be the leading omni-channel supplier of health, safety, hygiene, MRO, PPE, outdoor & leisure products and solutions in selected African markets. We will achieve this through teamwork, innovation and through sheer hard work while never losing sight of our valued clients' specific needs and requirements," van Tonder concluded.