Mere months after it was overwhelmed with mud and water up to 1,8 metres deep, the Toyota manufacturing plant in Prospecton, Durban, is bright, shiny, clean and back to production on all model lines.
On April 12, when the cantilever sluice gates at the Shongweni Dam could no longer hold back the outpour of flood waters emanating from torrential rainfall, a massive outflow of water gathered speed as it rushed toward Durban’s South Basin and the 87-hectare Toyota site.
Unable to turn into the canal that directs normal water flows from the river around the plant, the deluge went straight on and flooded the plant, causing damage to the equipment and parts.
“We shut down the plant immediately,” says Dave Finch, Engine Plant President, “and then set about finding and getting our workers to safety. All communications were as the floods around the plant had knocked out the Vodacom, MTN, and Telkom towers.
The cleaning of the equipment and sourcing of spare parts required a bit of innovation and diligence. Some of the equipment had been running for years and was old. Hence the reopening was delayed.
President and CEO of TSAM, Andrew Kirby, described the recovery theme chosen as ‘Silver Linings’ and Finch added: “Our silver lining is the massive attention given to the refurbishment of equipment and systems within the plant mean the build quality of the vehicles now coming offline is better than it was before the flood.”
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. As a result, the company suffered in the market, with its market share shrinking to 17%, 18,1% and 16,3% in May, June and July, respectively. Despite this, Toyota held on to its number-one position in sales.
The relaunch of the plant was possible by backing from the mother company, Toyota Motor Corporation. The Japan-based entity dispatched experts to assist with the rebuilding and sourcing of parts process.
Toyota Motor Corporation’s Risk Management Specialist, Asakura-san, who flew from Japan, said: “This is the most comprehensive damage to one of our production facilities as a result of natural disaster.”
Despite the challenges, there was no impact on Toyota’s long-term future in South Africa.
“TSAM’s operations at Prospecton will be better, and we plan to use this crisis to try and improve our equipment and upgrade where we can. 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 simultaneously,” says Kirby.
Besides the damage to the plant and machinery, Toyota decided to scrap more than 4 000 items, fully or partially built at the plant, that encountered the flood water.
Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube commented she would encourage her provincial colleagues to make Toyota the vehicle of choice for her government.
“On behalf of the government of KZN, the people of KZN, we wish to acknowledge Toyota South Africa for the enormous strides they took in resuscitating operations here at the plant. To all the stakeholders who participated in the clean-up operations, we would like to thank you as the government of KZN. We know that, through your hard work and agility, you were able to save people’s jobs.”
