EXPORTERS Eastern Cape announced the region’s top exporters at their annual gala event on August 14.
The Exporter of the Year Awards, now in its 25th year, is hosted annually to acknowledge the achievements of Eastern Cape exporters and service providers in the province.
It was also the first year that the Exporter of the Year Awards was hosted online, with an interactive live event, which was presented by MC Gareth Burley.
A highlight of the evening was the announcement of the prestigious overall Exporter of the Year winner, who is selected from the category winners of the competition. S4 Development Services, a Port Elizabeth-based company with a wide skill set in the engineering field, achieved the title of overall winner.
S4 Development Services have increased their export turnover by a whopping 71% over the last year through doubling their sales to their United Kingdom client and securing a new client in Germany. This growth resulted in significant capital investment at their plant as well as local job creation.
The company, which started exporting in 2008, specialises in machine building and software development, with foreign income increasing through 4IR aligned projects dealing with Microsoft Connected Vehicle Platform, Azure and IoT.
The category and merit award winners of the 2020 Exporter of the Year Awards were:
. SJM Flex Environmental Practice Award winner: Tavcor Motor Group
. SJM Flex Environmental Award winner: Volkswagen Group South Africa
. IDC Job Creation Merit Award: Oracle Media
. IDC Job Creation Merit Award: S4 Development Service
. IDC Job Creation Award Winner: Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa
. Best Provider of Service to Exporters winner: Oracle Media
. Best Exporter Medium Enterprise Merit Award for New Contracts: Sovereign Foods
. Best Exporter Medium Enterprise winner: S4 Development Services
. Best Exporter Corporate winner: Eberspächer South Africa
. Best Exporter OEM Merit Award for Major Achievements: Volkswagen Group South Africa
. Best Exporter OEM Merit Award for Overcoming Obstacles: Isuzu Motors South Africa
. Best Exporter OEM Winner: Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa
Exporters Eastern Cape chairperson, Quintin Levey, said that all the category and merit winners richly deserved their awards for their outstanding achievements over the past year.
“The Exporter of the Year Awards showcase the true success of our exports in the region.
“We continue to have great success stories in the Eastern Cape, despite the challenges and trials of the year, and we look forward to growing our influence within the industry for the years to come,” said Levey.
