HELLA to Build New Operations Hub in Africa

Leading lighting and electronics specialist HELLA is expanding its presence in Africa with the Establishment of a new operations hub in Sub-Saharan Africa. The company is hoping that this facility will serve as Hella’s gateway into Africa.
Currently, Hella’s local operations office, HELLA Automotive South Africa (Pty) Ltd. is located in Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape and has operating in the Nelson Mandela Bay region for over 40 years.

The HELLA brand is a key player when it comes to the automotive industry in South Africa, and its new facility bring both the administration and logistics operations under one roof.

The state of the art operations hub is slated to be built at the Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Zone 2. It is expected that it will need an investment of 30 million rands and the facility is expected to become operational by the middle of 2019.

“Nothing brings us greater joy than to diversify our value proposition with a focus on becoming a powerhouse in Africa, increasing both business and efficiency into the 18 Sub-Saharan African countries which we are already supplying to,” said Theo Theuner the Managing Director of Hella Automotive South Africa (Pty) Ltd.

He said that the move would take Hella closer to some of the leading automotive companies that are already located in the development zone, including First Automotive Works (FAW) and Beijing Automotive International Corporation South Africa (BAIC SA).

HELLA’s aftermarket business plays a key role in supplementing its core automotive business.

It is expected that the new technological trends in the automotive industry like autonomous driving, electrification and digitalization will further increase the demand for innovative electronics solutions on the independent aftermarket.
Currently, HELLA has a comprehensive spare part range comprising over 40,000 products of which 5000 items are in stock.

With the new state-of-the-art facility, HELLA’s aim is to increase the local stock of parts.