Reaching for the stars

Change is underway at ERP
The winds of change are blowing through East Rand Plastics, with recently
appointed general manager Dieter Kreissel firmly at the controls.
East Rand Plastics’ management team, from left: Dieter Kreissel (general manager), Ramon Scheepbouwer (sales manager), Wessel
Richter (financial manager), JP Venter (operations manager - retail) and Terence Oliver (supply chain & logistics manager).
East Rand Plastics is the largest
operation in Astrapak’s
portfolio – but that hasn’t
shielded it from torrid times.
There was the severely debilitating
industrial action in the last financial year,
including violence, damage to property
and the replacement of almost the
entire workforce; and the business
has been hard hit by the slowing
economy and increased competition
in the marketplace. Quality suffered,
customers were dissatisfied and the
sales team were disillusioned.
But reorganisation within the Group,
Craig Lowe assuming executive
responsibility for the operation, and a
coordinated turnaround programme
have started to make the difference.
And the appointment of Dieter Kreissel
as general manager is set to accelerate
that process.
Dieter hails from the automotive
industry; for the five years before joining
Astrapak, he was general manager of
a plant that had 400 CNC machines
with 60 production lines supplying
components to every car manufacturer
in South Africa. He has a metallurgical
background, has completed an MBA,
studied strategic business management
in Germany and is an ISO 9000, 14 0000
and ISO TS 16949 auditor. So it’s fair
to say that Dieter has a firm grasp of
business and quality.
‘I’d spent almost 15 years in the
automotive sector, which included
bringing a business back from the brink
to profitability,’ he says. ‘In fact, in my
last year we were awarded Supplier
of the Year status by Toyota SA and
were in line for a similar accolade from
Mercedes Benz.’
The timing for someone of Dieter’s
experience to land at East Rand
Plastics couldn’t be better. ‘What really
impressed me when I first arrived at
the beginning of August and started
to understand the situation was the
workforce’s desire to go forward in a
positive way,’ he says. ‘I believe that the
staff have a desire to be led and create
a successful working environment for
themselves. Everyone here has at least
a matric certificate, they’re keen to
learn and improve their lives – and
that’s music to my ears.’
With around 400 employees at East
Rand Plastics, Dieter has made it
one of his personal goals to ensure
that each person is treated with
integrity and honour. ‘One of my core
responsibilities is to lead a profitable
and sustainable business, the kind of
operation that will yield well-paying,
long-term employment opportunities for
our staff,’ he says. ‘But they also have
responsibilities and must reciprocate
with commitment and a desire to
consistently produce high-quality work.
If we combine our responsibilities, we’ll
take East Rand Plastics to heights it’s
never experienced before.’
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ASTRAPAK NEWS