Industry body the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI) has pledged its support to the international automotive service industry trade fair Automechanika Johannesburg, which will be held at the Johannesburg Expo Centre, Nasrec, from June 7 to 10. The event is sponsored by financial institution Absa.

This will be the seventh time that the automotive aftermarket trade show has taken place, but it will be the first time that all eight of the RMI’s constituent associations will participate in the event.

RMI is the largest employer and business representative organisation in the South African retail motor industry and is comprised of the Automotive Remanufacturers’ Association (ARA); the Motor Industry Workshop Association (MIWA); the National Automobile Dealers’ Association; the South African Motor Body Repairers’ Association; the South African Petroleum Retailers’ Association; the South African Vehicle and Bodybuilders’ Association; the Tyre, Equipment and Parts Association; and the Vehicle Testing Association.

The ARA will host a “nuts and bolts” conference, while the MIWA will host its yearly national executive conference.

The RMI will be represented with its own stand in Hall 6, which will focusing on digitalisation and the “value of belonging”. It will also host its yearly board meeting during the event.

“The last two years have been extremely challenging for many businesses in the sector, in particular the small business owners. The RMI has had to manage the past two difficult years which have been marked by disruption as well as facing some major changes and adapting to new and unique challenges,” said RMI CEO Jakkie Olivier on May 13.

He said that, throughout this time, the RMI and its associations had managed to stay focused and, therefore, continued to perform well.

“The last two years have taught us the importance of effective communication, of collaboration with peers and colleagues and the need to digitise many of our activities. We have needed to adapt and innovate to remain relevant and grow our businesses,” Olivier said.

He said that inspiring employees and embracing what made them uniquely human remained critical.

“We fully appreciate the importance of networking and the significant role it plays in our business. We thus welcome the opportunity presented by Automechanika to interact face-to-face with other business owners and product suppliers,” Olivier said.

The Automechanika Johannesburg trade fair was meant to have been staged in 2021 but was postponed to this year owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, added event organiser Messe Frankfurt South Africa CEO Michael Dehn.

“This year’s trade fair will be the ideal meeting place for members of the local and international motor industry to meet again in person and have the opportunity to view the latest innovative offerings in the global aftermarket and related service industries,” he added.