South African business personality Bertie Lubner, who died this week
The Manufacturing Circle has paid homage to the man it says played a fundamental role in promoting the interests of the South African manufacturing sector.
Bertie Lubner, who died on Monday, had, along with then-PG Group CEO Stewart Jennings, established the Manufacturing Circle in 2008, advocating for a strong and healthy manufacturing sector brought about by an environment conducive to increased investment, improved competitiveness and job creation.
Lubner, in effect, began championing South Africa as a manufacturing nation, with a firm belief that manufacturing was the sector that offered great opportunity for economic growth and jobs at respectable pay levels, the Manufacturing Circle said in a statement on Wednesday.
This followed a personal tribute by Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies, who praised the role Lubner played in the industrialisation of South Africa through the companies that he founded.
Lubner had helped build PG Group from a small family business into a global player.
Both the Manufacturing Circle and Davies noted the “indelible mark” left by Lubner’s expansive philanthropic efforts to support the underprivileged and disadvantaged.