Members of the SA media visited the Toyota  Africa Motors (TSAM)  Prospecton Plant in Durban which has resumed operations after production was halted due to damages caused by floods in the facility. The announcement was made at a “reopening ceremony” attended by members of the media, TSAM top brass as well as the newly elected Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, and Siboniso Duma, MEC of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs.  

TSAM was enjoying a healthy market share of 30% – on average – before its production plant in Durban was submerged in water following the devastating floods that engulfed parts of KwaZulu-Natal in April. This immediately put TSAM on the backfoot, with its market share shrinking to 17%, 18,1% and 16,3% in the months of May, June and July – respectively. Despite this, Toyota held on to its number-one position in sales. This is a fantastic achievement considering the competition that Toyota faces in the SA market.

TSAM’s Prospecton Plant produces Corolla Cross and Quest as well as segment leaders Hilux, Hiace Ses’fikile and Fortuner – while also assembling a variety of Hino commercial vehicles. All the other production lines have resumed production with the exception of Corolla Quest, which is due to commence on 17 August.  

It is commendable that albeit, that the management of Toyota were concerned about their plant, its first priority was the safety and welfare of its employees, contractors as well as their families. This was followed by support to dealers, suppliers, affected communities, and then the recovery of plant operations.  The other heartening story is the help & sipport from the mother ship in Japan, and they dispatched all manner of experts to SA to assist with recovery operations. The storm was monumental, and to make matters worse, the sluice gates at Shongweni dam failed, and a torrent of water headed for the plant in Durban. The storm canals were breached, and the water and silt, tons of it, swept right into the plant.

The process towards the plant’s full recovery has been long, with pre-floods level forecasted to be achieved in December. Prior to the floods, operations at the Prospecton Plant were halted due to COVID-19 induced lockdowns in 2020 as well as the civil unrest that brought most businesses to their knees in 2021.   The problem with current machinery was that the control panels were at ground level, and the flood waters were up to 1.2m deep, where there were pits for whatever production process necessary, these filled up with water & silt as well.

TSAM’s operations at Prospecton will actually be better and we plan to use this crisis to try and improve our equipment and upgrade where we can. In fact, we’ve created an internal slogan for our recovery called Rebuilding Better Together. This talks to how we all work together as one team to find a way of renewing and improving our site at the same time,” says Kirby.

It also became clear that while there were more than 4 000 vehicles damaged on site during the floods, the costliest damage was to the plant infrastructure itself – including robots and other machines.

In fact, as Kirby referenced one of his colleagues: “There was not a single square metre of the entire 87 hectares facility that was not affected. In fact, it would be easier to just build a new plant.” Therefore it is a phenomenal feat that the plant is up and producing vehicles so quickly. Members of government were invited to the re-opening, and it was clear that a warm relationship exists with local govt.

Before introducing KZN Premier Dube-Ncube to the podium, MEC Duma said: “The reopening of the plant is not only good news to Toyota South Africa, but also to the economy of the province. This also shows Toyota’s commitment to investing in the province of KZN as well as the local automotive industry.”

Kirby agreed that there was a scope for TSAM to further bolster the already strong collaborations with the government of KZN. This was also echoed by Premier Dube-Ncube who commented that she would encourage her provincial colleagues to make Toyota the vehicle of choice for her government. Great news indeed for Toyota, if this comes to pass. Govt thanked Toyota for their commitment to their staff’s well being, as well as making the great strides to restart operations at Prospecton.