Happy Spring! Last month I bemoaned the current state of SA Inc and shortly after we had a raft of bad news from the mining sector in particular. Let’s hope business follows the seasons and we have new and exciting prospects budding in the economic landscape this spring…
The good news is that the annual SAIMC Gala Dinner is selling really fast with only a few tables and sponsorship opportunities left. Please contact Ina on [email protected] immediately, if you have not confirmed your bookings to avoid disappointment. We have confirmed a surprise speaker for the night as well, from one of the international automation technology bodies who will be sharing information on their future working relationship with the SAIMC. Attend to be the first to hear about yet another exciting development in the SAIMC’s quest to be the voice of automation in Africa.
Another exciting development is the upgrading of our website. It is live and you will find the site much faster and more user-friendly. The further upgrades will be rolled-out on a monthly basis to improve functionality and performance. All members registered previously will have their information ported over to the new site, so as to save members the hassle of re-registering. We also have the electronic payment gateway operational to facilitate credit card payments. Thank you to our SAIMC stalwart, Johan Maartens for managing this project, it has been a long journey. The website forms an integral part of our business objective to create more value for our members, particularly for those who are not able to attend our monthly technology meetings.
On the subject of monthly meetings, I am proud to report that the inaugural meeting of our newest branch, Pretoria, was held on 19 August at the Centurion Country Club. It was a very successful event with a very interesting and practical talk by Michael Garnham from the local Profibus Competence Centre (PCC) on 'Pretoria Industries: Case studies on Profibus and Profinet challenges'. The SAIMC council would like to place on record our sincere thanks and appreciation to Jurie Weidemann (ex-Johannesburg branch) who was instrumental in setting up this 8th branch of the SAIMC. Well done Jurie and I am sure this branch will become one of our most active… And the activity has already begun with the Pretoria Branch Golf Day taking place early this month on the 8th of September at the Pretoria Golf Club. Please contact Ina or Jurie on [email protected] for more information.
And yes…we have more good news, unlike the current SA economy…the SAIMC is progressing well with one of the country’s leading tertiary institutions in setting up a specialist automation and control department. Two very fruitful meetings were held thus far and once we iron out the details we will be at liberty to share more information
on this exciting development. A collaborative industry engagement event is also planned to ensure all our stakeholders’ voices are heard. Watch this space…
Finally, as we all have come to expect, the only constant in our world is change! We at the SAIMC are not immune to this and have to reorganise our portfolios to accommodate the resignation of our other SAIMC stalwart Johan van Jaarsveldt (JvJ) from his post of General Secretary. JvJ is pursuing a career opportunity in the Middle East and hence it was not practical for him to continue with his duties on SAIMC Council. We wish JvJ all the best in this new adventure and look forward to his regular updates on his activities abroad. See the table for the new look council.
We wish Rob and Johan Maartens all the best in their new portfolios and I am sure they will take the SAIMC to new heights very soon!
As usual, please mail me your thoughts on [email protected]. I thank you all for taking the time to read this column.
Working together, achieving more,
Vinesh Maharaj, President
| Tel: | +27 11 312 2445 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.saimc.co.za |
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