The people behind the product

Our People More about some of us

Our contact page will quickly guide anyone new to our business to the help or information they need. This page complements it, with a wider set of names and some background on the people customers are most likely to deal with.

Meet the team → Join us

THE HEART OF THE BUSINESS

Factory and Production Management

This is where pretty much all the real action happens. More than once we have had to explain to well-suited, apparently educated, but in the end generally decent folk that we see traditional rank very differently from most. Every role at Reliable has its own internal customers, who must be served and satisfied the way we expect external customers to be treated.

To make the point, anyone who joins us in a role that supports Production (which covers all office functions, from HR to procurement and finance) spends at least their entire first month working shoulder to shoulder with the factory staff, and longer if they haven’t earned the factory’s respect. It is here that the things customers actually need, want and are willing to pay for get made.

So our most educated, presentable and clean staff, with law, marketing and finance degrees and lots of letters after their names, know that they work for the production staff. Their salaries are paid by what our factory workers guillotine, laser cut, mill, turn, work harden, machine, polish and heat treat. The very existence of an accountant, a lawyer, or an HR or compliance officer in the business is made possible by the output of these men and women.

Caroline Radov

Head of Production

Caroline earned her degree in astrophysics decades ago, but has always worked as a problem solver in manufacturing. Her job can be summed up as doing whatever is necessary to make sure Production can keep every commitment made to our customers.

Caroline works very closely with her factory supervisors, and together they get the different parts of the business pulling in the same direction. Caroline and her team are the organic version of the production planning and scheduling that ERP systems try in vain to replicate.

Caroline’s day begins and ends with her team assessing the flow of value through the workshop (not how busy people are!), because we believe lean has two key enablers: continuous improvement, and people whose opinions and duties are respected. Factory staff have no rules restricting cell phone use, smoke breaks or toilet breaks. Self-management comes down to a single promise: look after the business, and the business will look after you!

Caroline’s outlook on life has been shaped by her experience as a cancer survivor.

Aubrey Raphotle & Maxwell Matamwa

Job and Quality Co-ordinators

Aubrey and Max represent the maturing millennial generation, to whom Generation X (and some Boomers!) should be handing far more responsibility and control of our institutions. This generation brings technical understanding, strong written and verbal communication, and the broader attitudes and behaviours an integrated world demands.

Aubrey was one of the youngest people in the factory (under 30!) when he was first given key responsibilities and oversight duties. Together with Max’s steady, meticulous hands, they co-ordinate and manage day-to-day delivery. In a traditional society where tenure and age matter, they have brought new ways of working, the demands of our quality management system and ISO standards into the factory with great success.

Bahle Shongwe, Nicholas & Thulani

Control and Dispatch

Between the three of them they control everything coming in (spring steel, stainless steel, Inconel, tool steel and more) and going out (product for heat treatment or surface treatment, and finished product being delivered or collected). They will not let non-conforming inputs or outputs past them unless they are satisfied with both the item and its paperwork: delivery note, purchase order, invoice and quality records.

Bahle is responsible for materials management, Nicholas prepares loads for third-party services such as heat treatment and surface treatment, and Thulani looks after disc springs and wedge lock washers. Nicholas and Thulani also make sure that the paperwork for every package leaving the premises, and all the quality records for each job, come back for review and filing, so that everything is traceable.

Evans Mafate

Deliveries and Collections

Evans is arguably the most visible ambassador for our business, and he faces situations every day that would try the patience of a saint. He is part of the old guard, with more than 20 years of continuous service with the business.

Zander Smit

Sales & Operations Co-ordinator

Despite his youth, a five-year stint at Macsteel, where he ended up managing the draughting team, means Zander is at home in all the popular CAD packages. He then moved into profile and laser cutting, where he first met Reliable when he inherited us as a customer. Over the years he caught our attention with his diligent, honest and valuable service, and when Zander and his wife were starting their family, with the arrival of Miane, Reliable was only too happy to take him on.

Zander tracks how our Quality Management System is embedded in day-to-day operations, has first sight of continuous-improvement opportunities, leads many of our R&D projects, and specialises in conical disc springs and additive manufacturing, particularly 3D printing.

SUPPORTING PRODUCTION

Back Office, Finance, Supplier Management & Procurement

Everyone in a supporting role spends at least their first month in the factory before they switch on a laptop or make a call.

Jessica Erens

Tax and Accounting

Jessica is based in Stellenbosch, just outside Cape Town. After graduating with a BCom from Potchefstroom, she worked at Ernst & Young and then Barclays Business Banking, before becoming Finance Manager at PGBI Group Construction.

She is responsible for accounting, tax and cash management. Jessica brings discipline and oversight to the business and makes sure it meets the highest accounting standards and good governance. She trained and competed at the highest level in the swimming pool, and brings the same discipline to our business.

Kim

Debtors and Credit Management

Kim must have one of the more thankless jobs at Reliable. When statements don’t reconcile or delivery notes go missing, she is the one who sorts it out. Likewise, on the occasions when creditors let us down, she is the one who makes contact.

She also makes sure every injury on duty is handled the way the compensation fund requires, so that our staff get the best treatment available in the country.

AN INVERTED STRUCTURE

Our Leadership

Culture beats strategy, hands down, every time. We see the key role of any leader as creating and nurturing an environment that helps Production meet its obligations to our customers without risking anyone’s health or causing harm elsewhere. Our structure is inverted: we work for those who report to us. The workshop manager is there to remove every reasonable obstacle that might get in the way of production.

Julian Wright

Custodian of Value

At 6′6″, Julian is hard to miss around the office, and with a semi-professional basketball background it’s easy to see where the height and competitive edge come from. He brings the same energy to his work, combining finance, operations, strategy and governance to help businesses grow with clarity, discipline and purpose.

Growing up in Port Elizabeth, closely connected to family-owned businesses, gave Julian an early understanding of entrepreneurship, resilience and the realities of building a business from the ground up. His career has since spanned manufacturing, property, consulting and a range of entrepreneurial ventures, underpinned by a BCom in Accounting, postgraduate studies in business and a Master’s in Business Administration.

At Reliable, Julian is closely involved in financial oversight, operational improvement and strategic execution, always with an eye on long-term value and sustainable growth. Outside work he is a devoted husband, and unapologetically obsessed with his dog.

Nico Jacobs

Chairman of the Board

Nico represents Reliable’s BEE shareholders and provides board oversight. He holds a non-executive position, but facilitates many of our strategic projects and new business development initiatives. Nico has held executive positions in blue-chip companies across retail, financial services, FMCG and telecommunications, and has interests in businesses in commercial property, hospitality, software, manufacturing, branding and gifting.

Much of the culture Reliable Pressings has adopted, and is still developing, in how it deals with all its stakeholders comes from Nico’s belief in pursuing a Noble Purpose and serving our community.

Ivan Uttley

Managing Director, Head of Product Development & Quality Management

Ivan has a BSc in Engineering from UCT, an MBA from INSEAD in France, and various less usual qualifications from Wharton and Caltech, such as gamification and astrophysics. His 30-year career has taken him from New York to Tokyo and from London to Johannesburg, with Paris, Houston and Frankfurt in between, across automotive, defence engineering, banking, insurance, e-commerce and IT services. He has extensive experience in strategy, business management, restructuring and process engineering.

Ivan is the custodian of Reliable Pressings’ quality management, our conformance to ISO 9001:2015 and our continuous-improvement activities. He is accountable for the business’s quarterly performance and, with an eye on strategies to navigate a demanding, competitive and risky world, he personally guides, oversees and verifies the tactics and actions that carry out the business strategy.

Position vacant

Business Development

This is a key position, and we have struggled to find a suitable candidate. If you know someone who fits with us culturally and is up for a challenge, please get in touch.