The newly appointed managing director of Stalcor, Tinus Bosch, says he looks at things somewhat differently. As a general manager with a strong marketing and financial background, hailing from the Information Technology industry, his first comment to Stainless Steel, during a recent interview was, “I believe that I am not encumbered by the baggage of the technologies of steel, stainless steel and aluminium. I do however, intend to enhance my knowledge through a steep learning curve. What I did in the IT industry, I think I can do as well in the stainless steel industry, in that we need to ensure that we excel in meeting the expectations of our customers”.
A likeable, easy-to-talk-to person, Tinus was born in the Free State, and attended schools in various parts of South Africa as his bank manager father was transferred. After matriculation, he attended the University of Pretoria, qualified with a B.Comm and then spent three years in the IDC, import/export finance division.
Tinus entered the computer industry in 1977, joining Nixdorf Computer as financial director, later to be appointed managing director of the company. He also held senior general management and director positions at Datakor/Unidata & Unisys. He served Siemens Nixdorf Information Systems as chief executive officer, and was managing director of the information technology joint venture company, Siltek & Origin (Pty) Ltd, prior to joining Stalcor in September 1999.
In private life, he and his second wife Anne have raised five children, and share hobbies and sport of an outdoor nature.
Aiming for a win-win situation
Tinus believes that Stalcor, as an official distributor of Columbus Stainless, has a very important role to play in the South African stainless steel market. Trading fairly within the industry will ultimately benefit all. When asked to comment on Columbus pricing and the few appointed distributors/merchants, his response was strictly from a marketing viewpoint.
“I cannot speak for Columbus,” he said, “obviously they have their own marketing strategies. But I would ask critics one question, what is the core business of Columbus? If asked that question, I would, from an outsider’s point of view say that Columbus’ core business is to produce stainless steel. I do not believe that Columbus would want to be play [sic] the role of a distributor, in holding stock, doing all the marketing, and dealing directly with thousands of debtors.”
“In my view, Columbus would need to ensure that its products are effectively marketed throughout South Africa, by large distributors like Stalcor, which is represented nationally. We have over the last 27 years, since the original formation of the Stalcor Company in 1973, invested in various major facilities. These facilities enable us to buy, receive and stock material in large volume from Columbus, in respect of stainless steel flat products and from overseas suppliers for the rest. We provide and distribute a total spectrum of material to the rest of the stainless steel industry in accordance with their needs, as and when required on a ‘just in time basis’.
“If you look at Stalcor’s facilities, the size of our operations etc., you will note that we have distribution centres throughout the country: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth and Richards Bay. These investments were made by Stalcor and the facilities are available to Columbus who is quite happy to use them as an extension of their marketing organisation and supply chain.
“Stalcor is an important factor in the value chain. We have a very good relationship with the smaller merchant stockists and we assist them in meeting their needs. Some of the smaller merchants/distributors are still importing but in the main, since December 1999, they are making use of our services and have accepted our terms and conditions of supply.”
Equitable pricing approach
On the question of smaller merchant stockists getting a better price, Tinus explained that Stalcor reached supply agreements with certain of these smaller distributors during last year. These agreements have already gone a long way towards achieving the desired effects towards import replacement of stainless steel.
“As far as our direct customers are concerned, the main value-added factor from Stalcor is immediate availability. They do not have to carry stocks and can buy on a JIT basis, either delivered or collected virtually the same day. We also have value-added services in terms of cutting to length and slitting, with delivery the same or next day.”