|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||
Manuel sets tough Budget of R186b... Fourth estate becomes the property of th... No fanfare at Johnnic parad... SA customs bloodhounds sniffing out il... Peers honour Didata and Ruper... Deliver or be sold, Post Office tol... From adversity to achievemen... Government blamed for Safcol's poor show... Rate hike may not be the right medicin... |
From adversity to achievement
SMALL BUSINESS
ARMED with a retrenchment package, a loan from the Small Business Development Corporation and a tremendous sense of fear, Charley and Judy Harnden started East London-based Plas Tech Moulders in 1994. Two years later the husband and wife team are running a thriving business which is expanding nationally and employs 16 people. This week the Harndens won the Small Business Development Corporation's Entrepreneur of the Year award. "I was retrenched in March '94 and my wife Judy was unemployed, having given up her job to join me," says Charley, a toolmaker by trade. "There were no work opportunities for our particular areas of expertise so we decided to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative and create our own business." Plas Tech Moulders, a blow moulding and packaging business, manufactures and supplies plastic bottles and plastic packaging to a number of pharmaceutical, industrial and chemical manufacturers across the Eastern Cape. "Because Plas Tech is a capital-intensive business we had to plough the little capital that existed into stock and materials," says Harnden. This depleted the coffers just as the business was getting off the ground, forcing the Harndens to concentrate on keeping overheads down. With this in mind, they settled for premises that consisted of a dilapidated ablution block which they acquired "voetstoets" and converted into a factory. The business took off and just six months later they were in a position to acquire an adjacent factory. Plas Tech Moulders has increased its turnover by 60% annually since its inception. Courage, passion, desire and determination are the motivating factors which, according to the Harndens, continue to drive their profitable business. The company's continued growth has encouraged the expansion of Plas Tech's existing range of products and services which now includes the manufacturing of bottle moulds. "Our major strength lies in channelling all our efforts into providing high-quality products and service levels to our client base in the Eastern Cape region," says Harnden. "Stay within your area of expertise and don't give up during the rough periods which result in a fight for survival," is the advice the couple offers other entrepreneurs. "If you enjoy what you do and carry your vision with you, it will carry you through the rough patches if you are a relatively 'big thinker'. "If you believe in yourself it's worth taking the risk," they say. In the words of Judy: "If you don't put your fishing line in the water you won't catch any fish." The Harndens hope that the recognition they have achieved by winning the prize will help raise their profile among the big companies which sometimes tend to be reluctant to deal with smaller manufacturers.
|