Hino South Africa (SA) will open its new truck plant on May 21.
Hino SA is a subsidiary of Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM).
The truck plant has been relocated in a R54-million investment, as TSAM required additional space for production of the Quest Corolla sedan, as well as its taxi assembly line.
The new Hino plant is now located right next to the Toyota Prospecton plant, in Durban, where it was housed prior to the move, says TSAM president and CEO Dr Johan van Zyl.
“The goal was to provide Hino with its own, separate plant so the company could follow its own production methods.”
New Hino SA VP Ernest Trautmann says Hino SA, for example, now makes subassemblies off-line, returning these to the line in a just-in-time fashion.
Trautmann takes over the reins from Dr Casper Kruger, who spent the last five years in charge of Hino SA.
Kruger returns to TSAM as VP for vehicle sales and dealer development for passenger vehicles and light commercial vehicles.
Trautmann was promoted from his position as TSAM sales and dealer network GM. He joined TSAM in 1988 as a marketing and management consultant in the training department.
He has spent 26 years working with Toyota products, of which 18 years have been with TSAM.
Another staff change sees Pieter Klerck, former senior manager for advertising at TSAM, become Hino SA sales and dealer network GM.
His new position will include parts, service and customer relations at Hino SA, making him, in effect, the operational head at the company.
In turn, Trautmann will have overall responsibility for the Hino operation in South Africa, but with a specific focus on strategic and future planning.
Trautmann says Hino SA made a good start to 2014, with record sales of 425 units in March – the first time more than 400 Hino trucks were sold in one calendar month in South Africa.
Total sales of 890 units in the first quarter of 2014 saw the brand move back into second place among truck manufacturers and distributors, while maintaining leadership in the medium truck market and regaining top spot in the heavy truck market.
Hino SA sales moved from around 2 500 units a year in 2009 to just below 4 000 units in 2013.
Trautmann’s target is to hit the 4 000 mark this year. Hino SA was twenty units off the pace for the first quarter of 2014.
South Africa is the ninth largest Hino distributor in the world.