Programme director
The executive Director of the Beier Group, Mr Hans Beier
The Beier family
Friends and colleagues
Ladies and gentlemen
On behalf of the government of KwaZulu-Natal and the people of our province, we wish to express our sincere gratitude to the Beier family for having invited us to be part of this auspicious and historic occasion where the company celebrates reaching its eightieth anniversary.
Milestones are, by their very nature, periods of reflection and provide an opportunity to plot the way ahead. They are almost always attended by both laughter and tears. Laughter because of the fond memories that we have of the past but also tears because of our remembrance of those with whom we may have shared the narrow confines of the trenches as we fought our way to the top. This milestone, I am certain, will be no different.
Eighty years is a long time in anyone’s calendar. It is a pretty long time for a company to sustain itself, let alone grow. Beier seems to, over the years, have mastered the elusive art of staying ahead of the pack even when times have been tough. Before I go ahead with my brief address I want to share with you a very short story that I found very fascinating.
In the late 1920s, Canada’s economy and stock exchanges were booming. From 1921 to the autumn of 1929, the level of stock prices increased more than three times. But these heady days came to a swift end with the stock market crash on Black Tuesday, 29 October 1929 in New York, Toronto, Montréal and other financial centres in the world. Shareholders panicked and sold their stock for whatever they could get.
Overnight, individuals and companies were ruined. It was estimated that Canadian stocks lost a total value of $5 billion on paper in 1929. By mid-1930, the value of stocks for the 50 leading Canadian companies had fallen by over 50 percent from their peaks in 1929. You may ask what this story has got to do with an evening where all of us are celebrating the successes of the exemplary Beier group. It just so happened that at the time the Canadians were experiencing one of their most devastating stock market crashes, an industrious gentleman who had originated from Germany was building the Beier Group which has become a force to be reckoned with internationally.
At the time when the Canadians were facing ruin, the first brick of what is now one of the biggest companies in our province was being laid. Incidentally, the
Wikepedia Encyclopaedia reminds us that “the (great) depression originated in the United States, triggered by the stock market crash of 29 October, 1929 (known as Black Tuesday), but quickly spread to almost every country in the world”.
The moral of the story is that success also largely depends on location. Had he been in Canada at the time, one doubt very much if Mr Beier would have been able to start this world renowned enterprise. It also teaches us that even when the world’s financial powerhouses are experiencing ruin, those who have the foresight and genius to make things happen, succeed even as the world’s financial outlook is bleak.
The other lesson that story reminds us of, is the interconnectedness of the world, that when certain superpowers sneeze, all of us catch the cold.
Today, eighty years later, we are celebrating this important milestone in a world that is just recovering from one of the worst financial disasters of our time. Companies that had seemed unshakeable have been shaken to their core. The once invincible American economy has proven ordinary and the economic world order will never be the same again. Fortunately, the Beier Group, formed at a time when the economy of the world was ailing, is still going strong.
This anniversary is not only for the Beier Group to celebrate its achievement and the success of the vision of its founders. It is also an occasion for us in this company to renew ourselves as we prepare to celebrate the centenary in 20 years’ time. There will be challenges that we will continue to face in the years ahead. We have no doubt that through the guidance and commitment of all stakeholders you will be able to dig deep into your well of innovation and be able to conquer them.
Since, like iron, you were forged in fire, it should not be difficult for you to negotiate the hurdles that today’s economic realities throw at you.
Programme director, the success of the Beier Group is all the more remarkable when one looks at the effects of the global economic downturn on this industry. As all of us know the clothing, footwear and textile industry contributes a lot to the economy of our country. According to conservative figures it is estimated that the industry employs close to 200 000 people in our country.
However, it is a known factor that the industry has experienced massive challenges, with a number of factories closing down and workers being laid off over the past few years. Because our government recognises the contribution that is made by this sector in the economy, we have, working with all stakeholders, developed a rescue plan as part of a comprehensive strategy to palliate the impact of the global economic turbulence. In our province we have started the KwaZulu-Natal clothing and textile cluster through which we assist companies to become more competitive.
Programme director, if there is one lesson that we should all learn from the economic meltdown it is that the world economic script has changed. In the rough and tumble world of business, we need to do more as a province and as a country in order to survive the rigours of the global economic environment. With investors all over the world inward looking and risk averse, we need to collectively review our strategies of attracting investment to our province and our country.
As one of the emerging markets, South Africa has its work cut out. As all of us know, investors the world over do not make sentimental decisions, but they make decisions based on the possible return on investment. It is because of this reason that as a province we have taken a decision to aggressively market our province as an investment destination of choice.
With the world economy on the cusp of recovery, we believe that our province has what its takes to be the investment destination of choice. Our attributes speak for themselves. We have the two biggest ports not only in the country but also in Africa. We also have a multi modal transport system which is second to none.
Our financial infrastructure is one of the best in the world. But more importantly we have companies such as Beier Group which are a shining example that KwaZulu-Natal is and continues to be a fertile ground for economic growth. By electing to be based in this province, the Beier Group has demonstrated in practical terms that KwaZulu-Natal has a conducive climate for business to thrive.
As the government of KwaZulu-Natal we want to assure you that we will continue to look at ways to create a favourable business environment for businesses which have shown confidence in our province to prosper. In this regard, programme director, we have embarked on a drive to attract companies that are based in Gauteng, but who conduct eighty percent of their business in KwaZulu-Natal, to relocate to our province. Being located in our province does not only make business sense, but it significantly reduces logistical costs.
As all of you know, in August we hosted an Economic Recovery and Jobs summit which brought together stakeholders from across the spectrum including business, government and labour. One of the critical achievements of the summit was that we all agreed that even though our interests at times seem irreconcilable but there is a point of convergence when we are called to put the interests of the province and that of our country above all. It is this principle that is critical if our province is to hold its own in the cut throat global environment.
Among other things, we resolved that: “The crisis demands changes in the nature and mix of productive activities, both within each link and in the value chain, and in the distribution of intra-chain activities”. Our province then committed itself to the creation of upgrading facility. This will help increase the KwaZulu-Natal’s levels of competitiveness through process upgrading, product upgrading functional upgrading and chain upgrading as well as through the implementation of the provincial supplier development programme. A total of R10 million has been set aside to fund this initiative.
One of the key threats to the competitiveness of our firms against their international counterparts is the flooding of our markets by cheap, imported goods.
The government is deeply-distressed by this practice because it undermines the strides that we have made collectively to make our economy competitive. We again pledge ourselves to be at the forefront of efforts to prosecute those who break the law thereby putting many of our industries out of business. We also wish to commend the Beier group for remaining loyal to the Republic of South Africa, particularly the people of KwaZulu-Natal.
Programme director, it has come to our attention that there are a handful companies who benefit from our country’s incentive regime offered by the Department of Trade and Industry but still have the bulk of their manufacturing, done in our neighbouring countries, with the 80 percent finished goods finding their way back into our country only for our workers to put in finishing touches and attach a “Made in South Africa” label. This practice of farming out a huge of chunk of production to other countries is both unethical and criminal and we will leave no stone unturned to expose these individuals who fleece our government.
Programme director, today is not a day for long speeches. It is a day to `toast the success of the Beier Group which has made all of us as the province of KwaZulu-Natal proud. In the current global environment where investors are only loyal to their investment which they can chase to any corner of the world, Beier Group could have decided to relocate to any country in the world. But you chose to remain here.
As this company approaches its centenary, we believe that there is a lot that our government and Beier Group can achieve together. In particular, we believe that Mr Hans Beier, the executive director of company, who is of German descent can play a critical role in strengthening trade ties between KwaZulu-Natal and Germany.
As a former honorary consul for Germany in KwaZulu-Natal, Mr Beier is better placed to assist us to create mutually beneficial linkages between our province and Germany. As all of us know, Germany is not only one of the leading industrialised countries in the world, but is also one of the countries which have showed strong signs of recovery in the wake of the global economic downturn.
Programme director, once again we want to express our gratitude to the Beier Group for choosing to be part and parcel of the national project to build our country. We have no doubt that as look you look forward to your centenary, the
Beier Group can only grow from strength to strength.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Economic Development and Tourism, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
23 October 2009
Source: Department of Economic Development and Tourism, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government (http://www.kznded.gov.za/)
