Gqeberha — Auto spares manufacturer Jendamark Automation stands to lose R750m worth of contracts in the US, a market it has built up to account for 50% of its exports, the company’s operations director says.
The 40-year-old firm builds automated assembly lines for catalytic converters, engines and axles for automotive customers such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz among other brands.
But like global vehicle makers and suppliers, it has been hit hard by US tariffs.
“As it stands, we’ve got about R750m of deals with our American customers that [we’re] at risk of losing,” Jendamark operations director Siegfried Lokotsch said recently.
“I don’t know if they’re going to still buy the lines from us. We thought we were going to get the orders, we were in a good position ... In my mind, they’re gone [the contracts] because they’ve [the tariffs] just gone up.”
About 85% of Jendamark’s business is for export, with 50% of that to the US, where it also has an office.
The company is looking for new contracts in other markets, such as Saudi Arabia, but has its work cut out to replace the US business it expects to lose.
“To find a new market and to understand how they operate in the country and where the opportunities are is not something that just happens overnight,” Lokotsch said.
Reuters
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