Otraco Southern Africa, a leader in off-the-road (OTR) tyre management solutions and a subsidiary of Bridgestone Southern Africa, has been accredited a B-BBEE Level 1 supplier. André Bode, Otraco’s Managing Director, says that the accreditation has enhanced the company’s ability to deliver specialist tyre management solutions to the mining and construction industries. “Our clients in the mining and other heavy industries are themselves on a transformation journey, and their suppliers need to be in step with them.”
André says that achieving the accreditation required a significant effort from his team. He explains that the accreditation was achieved on the back of a broad and comprehensive empowerment approach that includes ownership, management control, employment equity, skills development, preferential procurement and talent acquisition practices.
Meaningful response
“We believe that any meaningful response to poverty, unemployment and inequality in South Africa must focus on leveraging supply chains to build, incubate and unleash local entrepreneurs in the areas where we operate,” he says. “We are focused on creating opportunities for qualified enterprises to join the economy, and on preparing vulnerable youth for work”.
For example, Otraco has launched an enterprise supplier development in the Northern Cape. It identified two 100% black female-owned businesses in the traditionally male-dominated tyre and rim management industry on mines. These businesses have been provided with high-value opportunities, as well as the correct resources and support to enable them to fulfil the contracts, with the ultimate aim of creating wealth and employment opportunities in the Kathu and Postmasburg areas.
