Former VW manager to head industry body

Port Elizabeth businessman Weza Moss took up the seat as Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC) chairman this month – a role he hopes will improve business relations between various stakeholders in the Bay.

No stranger to the automotive industry, Moss, 51, is a former executive manager at Volkswagen, where he enjoyed a 16-year stay.

Five years ago, the New Brighton-born entrepreneur decided to venture out on his own.

He got involved in various projects like chairing the Bay United Football Club and later founded agro-processing company Anathi Oils.

After recognising a gap in the market for such a venture, Moss worked to make his business one of the first primary producers of canola oil in the Eastern Cape.

Recently returning to the automotive industry in a different capacity, he said: “Due to all my years of experience, I feel I am now able to contribute to the business in a different way.

“Understanding the industry is the importance of business.”

The AIDC’s role is to provide support to the automotive sector. The centre acts as a feeder system for manufacturing products.

The objective was to work with all stakeholders for the benefit of the supplier, Moss said.

“We have to supply big automotive businesses like BMW, Volksalways wagen and Mercedes-Benz with products.

“I am nervous about my role because the automotive sector is a major business not only in our province but in the world. My objective is to get things done and not take anything for granted.

“I am also very excited about being at the heart of this sector, coupled with my 16 years of experience. I am happy to be back in the field.

“I have always felt that the automotive industry is in my blood and I returned partly due to my late brother, who worked at General Motors for over 30 years. He used to speak with such pride when we saw cars pass on those big trucks.

“Those cars passed through his hands and that sense of pride made me want to continue my contribution, although in a different way.”

Speaking about the state of business in the city, Moss said it could be better.

“I do not get the sense that there is a common road map for all sectors to follow. It is almost as if everyone is doing their own thing.

“I would like to see all sectors work together to make our city a formidable one,” he said.

“When I enter a city and see massive cranes at work, roads being fixed and bridges being built, that is when I know something is happening in this city, that the work being done will have an impact and will bear results.”

He said his vision while in his new position was to see collaboration among all players and for the municipalities in the Bay and Buffalo City Municipality, big and small business as well as communities to get involved in creating a balanced business culture.

“We all need one another, we need to engage each other more to see the city grow,” he said.