Working to embrace the spirit of transformation and development, Metric Automotive Engineering has affirmed its Level 4 status in terms of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) requirements.

In an exciting recent deal, the Intombazane Development Trust has invested in the Germiston-based specialist in diesel and gas engine component remanufacture. This new shareholder recognised the value in the company, including its continuous investment in the latest technology and its commitment to the local economy.

The Intombazane Development Trust also appreciated the company’s strong ethos of skills development. The involvement of the trust will further enhance this important work, by supporting the entry of black women into engineering fields through study bursaries.

“It is gratifying to see our interventions uplifting previously disadvantaged candidates, focusing on learners at tertiary level,” Andrew Yorke, operations director at Metric Automotive Engineering, says. “The skills they are learning are vital to the South African economy, and will certainly transform their lives for the better.”

Yorke highlights the importance of genuine transformation initiatives by the private sector to fill gaps in the market and support economic growth. This means training historically disadvantaged individuals in areas where their academic success can be rewarded by employment and personal growth in productive jobs.

“There is no time for window-dressing while our economy struggles to create the necessary opportunities for young people,” he says. “We are embracing the real spirit of B-BBEE, which is not to empower individuals who already have access to opportunities, but rather to give a chance to those who haven’t had an opportunity before.”

He emphasises that the beneficiaries of the recent deal are previously disadvantaged women. Through the company’s training initiatives, it is furthering the opportunities that exist in fields like the local remanufacturing of large engine components.

Metric Automotive Engineering has long been a leader in diesel and gas engine component remanufacture, leveraging the latest technology and decades of experience in this sector. With its Level 4 B-BBEE status, customers receive 100% spend recognition for any work they procure with the company.

Its modern workshop facilities are equipped for a range of testing, grinding, reprofiling, reboring, surfacing and other specialised engineering services. Work is conducted on large diesel and gas engine components including cylinder heads, cylinder blocks, crankshafts and conrods. Compete engines are overhauled and assembled in-house, and are dyna-tested on one of the company’s three dynamometers.

About the Intombazane Development Trust

The Intombazane Development Trust is a non-profit organisation owned by black women, whose beneficiaries are young black women under the age of 29. It is an independent trust that maximises the use of its capital for educational purposes.