- John Cameron promoted to Plant Manager from 1 November 2014
- Basil Raman takes over role of Operations Manager
- Neil Stander in charge of Programs and Engineering
- Ludwe Kawa joins Ford as new Quality Manager
PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa, 6 November, 2014 – Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa has appointed John Cameron as the new Plant Manager for the Struandale Engine Plant in Port Elizabeth, leading to an all-South African management team heading the facility.
Cameron takes over the position from Satya Banda as of 1 November 2014. Banda held the position from 2012, but has returned home to India to take up a new assignment at the Chennai Assembly Plant.
“We would like to congratulate John on his appointment, and have no doubt that his 13 years of service at the Struandale Engine Plant in several key management roles will provide a solid foundation to continue the success of the Port Elizabeth plant,” says Ockert Berry, Vice President Operations, Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa.
“At the same time, we thank Satya for the time he spent leading the Struandale Engine Plant, and the emphasis he placed on achieving and maintaining Ford’s global standards of production efficiency and quality. He also had a great impact on Ford’s various CSR initiatives in the Port Elizabeth area.”
Prior to his appointment as Plant Manager, John Cameron held the position of Operations Manager for the period 2012 to 2014, and Programs and Engineering Manager from 2006 to 2011. In these roles he was responsible for the planning and delivery of the current Duratorq TDCi and North American Transit diesel engine programs.
Since joining Ford in 2001 he has held numerous leadership roles within the company covering process engineering, productivity, facilities, controls, production and program management.
Cameron also played key roles in securing the RoCam export program to South America and the launch of the Ford engine facility in the Philippines. He completed his studies in Port Elizabeth and his post-graduate work in Cape Town.
The management changes have seen Basil Raman taking over the role of Operations Manager. With 25 years in the motor industry already behind his name, Raman joined Ford in 2005 as a Production Manager across the various machining and assembly lines.
He was also responsible for the roll-out of the Global Ford Production System that sets standards to optimize the overall efficiency and quality of Ford’s manufacturing operations around the world.
Raman has been a community project champion since 2006, and has chaired the plant’s transformation committee for the past 6 years.
Neil Stander is promoted to Programs and Engineering Manager, having filled the role of Manufacturing Engineering Manager since 2007. He started at Ford as a trainee in 1995, and has progressed through junior and senior project engineer positions.
Stander also led a team of seven South African engineers on a 19-month assignment from September 2008 at Ford’s global powertrain facility in Dearborn in the US. He returned to South Africa in April 2010 to commence with the installation phase of the current Duratorq TDCi engine program, followed by the additional capacity for the Transit engine launched at the beginning of this year.
Ludwe Kawa is the most recent appointment, having joined the Struandale Engine Plant in November 2014 as the new Quality Manager. Kawa qualified as a motor mechanic in 1996, and has has spent the ensuing 17 years working in various fields in the local motor industry.
His recent roles, including stints at several Ford supplier companies, encompassed production and quality management, six-years as an independent manufacturing and quality management consultant and, most recently as Quality and Process Improvement Manager.
