Obituary

Nino La Monica was born on the 2^nd of February 1947 in Sicily.  Due to the economic difficulties in Europe at the end of the second world war, the family moved to northern Italy near the industrial town Turin. Nino left school early due to the economic circumstances at the time and started working at the age of 14.

Through his will and determination to improve his living standard, he learnt his trade as a tool and die maker and qualified in his early twenties. Nino’s sense of adventure brought him to South Africa in 1970. Instead of staying for a short time, Nino found a place to call home and remained in South Africa.

On arrival in South Africa, he worked in the automotive industry as a tool and die maker for approximately ten years before he had the opportunity to start Remkor Tools together with a partner on the 1st of June 1981.  The partnership lasted eighteen months before Nino became the sole proprietor of Remkor Tools.

Remkor was originally based in Polly Street, in central Johannesburg, and only manufactured tools and dies.  In 1986 they moved to Ophirton where they expanded into stamping for the automotive industry, as well as manufacturing larger and more complex tools and dies including, some of the largest tool making equipment in private hands at the time.

In the early 1990s, Remkor evolved to include production stamping for a number of customers which by then included the telecommunication sector.

In the mid-1990s the company became a member of Sassda and increased its business offerings to include fabrication and welded assemblies. In 1997 it moved into the current premises which were designed and built by Nino.

By early 2002, the company expanded further to includes another two factories and also expanded its offering to the industry to include powder coating. Nino also decided at the time to change the name of the company from Remkor Tools to Remkor Technologies to represent the changing scope and diversity of the company. The company continued to expand and grow under Nino’s vision and leadership for many years, who took the company to the pinnacle of sheet metal manufacturing and fabrication in recent years.

Amongst other achievements, Remkor won two Sassda Awards. In 2004 it received the Merit award for the design and manufacture of domestic extractor hoods and in 2006 it won the Product Category for an airport public waiting area seating.

Nino always had an insatiable desire for adventure, which brought him to South Africa 50 years ago. This continued even later in his life and he would use every opportunity to travel somewhere around the world.

The industry tragically lost him in January 2021 due to COVID-19 complications and he is survived by his wife, his two sons, Raffaele and Fabrizio (who now run the business) and three grandchildren.