A group of 15 South Africans involved in the engineering field of machining and metalworking visited Iscar’s Global Headquarters and Central Manufacturing Facilities, which are located in Tefen, Israel, to attend the Iscar customer seminar programme, hear about the latest trends and innovations in cutting tool technology and to view what it entails to manufacture world-class products that machine shops use every day. The group was hosted by Iscar South Africa’s MD Gavin Adams and three of his colleagues. As the editor of Metalworking News, I was invited to join the group for the visit.
Iscar’s global headquarters and primary manufacturing operations are situated in Tefen Industrial Park in the Galilee town of Tefen, Northern Israel
The facility, or more correctly described as an industrial park, is one of the most advanced manufacturing facilities in the world of metal removal technology, encompassing the latest technology and is a showcase for Industry 4.0. Iscar’s quest to provide the market with high quality yet cost-efficient cutting tools has resulted in Iscar’s unique, fully automated production facilities utilising a variety of robotics and artificial intelligence integrated with its state-of-the-art computer centre.
My previous visit to Iscar’s headquarters was in 1994 so you can imagine the excitement of being able to see first-hand the changes that have taken place. First it was the build-up and anticipation, then it was the actual happening that seemed to rush by so quickly and now it is time to reflect. For some in the group it was their first international trip and for one it was even his first trip in an aircraft. What an experience for him!
Yes, I am sure I can speak for all of us that this trip was an unforgettable experience and it certainly opened up our eyes in more ways than one – culturally and professionally. The visit to Iscar’s facility in Tefen Industrial Park in the Galilee town of Tefen, Northern Israel was very professionally organised and our hosts in Israel were very hospitable and went out of their way to make our stay and trip a memorable one. The trip coincided with similar groups from Estonia, Slovenia, Serbia, Lithuania and Finland.
Thanks to Iscar’s CEO Ilan Geri, South Africa’s Iscar man Gil Rosenzwieg and of course Iscar South Africa MD Gavin Adams and his colleagues Morne, Struan and Carel for making it an exceptional trip where we learnt not only about Iscar and their impressive manufacturing setup and Israel, but where we were also given the opportunity to network with colleagues in the industry.
Iscar was established by Steff Wertheimer (centre) and has come from humble beginnings of manufacturing specials in the town of Nahariya
In addition to the presentation and the excellent corporate films, the tour of the factory highlighted that you can manufacture in a sterile production environment. We saw robots in action, clean and quiet, fully-automated production facilities, and a general atmosphere of productivity. It was exhilarating to experience a world-class facility of this level – a showcase of quality; a gem of Israeli pride.
When the legendary investor Warren Buffett bought control of Iscar, the Israeli manufacturer of precision carbide metalworking tools, in 2006, he said the acquisition was one of the most important deals that his Berkshire Hathaway holding company had ever made. He said it wasn’t just the company’s products but its management team that would bring great things.
It was an historic deal for everyone involved. It was Buffett’s first acquisition outside the United States, and he celebrated it at his company’s annual meeting with 35 000 fans in Omaha, Nebraska, where Berkshire Hathaway is headquartered. It was also Buffett’s third largest purchase at the time. For Israel, it was one of the biggest foreign acquisitions – about $4 billion for 80% of the company, valuing it at $5 billion, at the time. When the remaining 20% of the shares were purchased in 2013, the deal valued the Israeli company at $10 billion.
The deal was unusual in that the late Eitan Wertheimer, son of founder Stef Wertheimer, sent an unsolicited letter with a brief description of Iscar, to Berkshire Hathaway. He received a prompt response and travelled to see Buffett in the US that month. The contract was put together and signed in 10 days, and then announced. The deal was done without Buffet even bothering to visit Iscar’s Tefen hilltop headquarters in the isolated Galilee region of northern Israel.
However, Iscar is not about the investor whose holding company now owns 100% of the company. Buffett not only recognised the potential profits to be made but he aligned with the owners and senior management. As Buffett said, the management is at the heart of Iscar’s story.
Manufacturing is done in a sterile environment with the most advanced equipment
Stef Wertheimer is recognised throughout Israel and the metalworking world not only for building his company to be one of the biggest in Israel and his association with Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett, but rather for his belief and will that spreading economic prosperity more widely will lead to Arab-Jewish coexistence and bring an end to decades of Middle East conflict.
This belief took foothold in the mid-1980s when Wertheimer established the first of six industrial parks – Tefen Industrial Park – all funded by Wertheimer. The six industrial parks – the others are located in Tel Hai, Dalton, Lavon, Nazareth and Omer – bring together high-tech and efficient manufacturing companies and offer vocational education and training, high living standards for workers and their families, and peaceful coexistence between Jews and Arabs. Each is based on five principles: exports, education, coexistence, community and culture, with the goal of fostering economic growth and job creation.
“If people are highly skilled, earning good salaries and enjoying job satisfaction, there will be less urge for individuals or nation states to resort to violence to achieve their aspirations. Religious fanatics only flourish where poverty and despair rule. But to achieve an industrial revolution, we need too, a revolution in our educational system to produce a skilled working workforce.” This is a Stef Wertheimer quote that many should follow.
Another quote from the humble man was when Stef Wertheimer moved his manufacturing facility from Nahariya to the Tefen industrial zone. There was nothing there in the mountainous terrain except for the open land and many rocks. He said: “This area doesn’t have much experience in industry, but this is what it needs to get on its feet. The idea is to put people to work, get them off the street, and end the quarrelling about land and religion,” Stef Wertheimer has been quoted.
Wherever possible Iscar uses automation
Iscar, which is a member of the IMC Group (International Metalworking Companies) and is the largest company within the group, now occupies 150 000m² in the Tefen Industrial Zone and has 30 manufacturing buildings within its complex. They manufacture 44 000 line items and, for example, 3 400 new products were launched in 2015. The company employs 3 000 staff in Israel and the IMC Group 10 000 worldwide. The IMC Group comprises 15 companies with 140 subsidiaries in over 65 countries around the globe.
The Tefen Industrial Park consists of four campuses that are distinctly divided into product line manufacture. For example, most of the milling inserts will be manufactured on one campus, from beginning to end. This will include, R&D and engineering the manufacture of the die-sets in a toolroom, pressing, sintering, roughing, honing, standard and vacuum sintering, coating, edge preparation, inspection and packaging.
The Iscar subsidiary in South Africa has a strong affiliation with Israel as it was the first to be setup outside of Israel, back in 1967. A manufacturing plant was also commissioned in South Africa but later closed. Germany was the second subsidiary established and now there are highly automated production facilities in Israel, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, United States of America and South Korea.
Until recently Stef Wertheimer’s son Eitan, who sadly passed away in 2022, was the Chairman of the Board of the IMC Group. Eitan had been involved with his father’s company since the early 1980s.
Jacob Harpaz is the President and CEO of the IMC Group. The hands-on leader of Iscar, whose actions speak louder than words, Jacob Harpaz joined Iscar in 1972 after completing his technical engineering degree. He has held various positions in the company and was appointed CEO of Iscar in 1994, and has been recognised with many awards honouring him during his career, including the Medal for Distinguished Service in Israel for saving the life of a fellow countryman during the Yom Kippur War, despite being injured himself. With a strong people-centred business ethic and worldly view he was appointed the President of the IMC Group in 2001.
What is very noticeable is that a few people take care of many functions and machines on the shop floor
Ilan Geri, the long-time marketing manager of Iscar took over the role of CEO of Iscar when Jacob Harpaz became chairman of Iscar and the president of the IMC Group. Ilan Geri has a strong connection to South Africa with relatives living locally and he himself having worked in South Africa for a period.
In South Africa Iscar employ 52 staff with branch offices in all the main cities.
Besides the upliftment of his fellow countrymen founder Stef Wertheimer believed in implementing and making use of the latest technology in his business. But it was only when he opened up the first industrial park in Tefen, with Iscar as the main and first tenant, that he could really start to fully implement his vision for the company, his staff and neighbours. Before that he operated on a low-key budget with a small staff complement, using second hand equipment to manufacture the brazed tools that were the main product of the company and 99% sold locally.
A specialist in improvisation and problem-solving Wertheimer looked to international markets to grow the company and in a partnership began manufacturing sintered products. It was only in the late 1970s that, because of his desire to become a recognised international manufacturing company, Wertheimer was led to developing his own products. By this time the company was concentrating on manufacturing product only for the metalworking industry. While establishing itself the company would also make tools for the woodworking and timber industries because there was simply not enough demand in Israel. Raw materials were also a challenge – all had to be imported. The company exited the woodworking and timber industries many years ago.
Iscar – first to introduce self-grip concept
Back in the seventies, Iscar introduced Self-Grip, the brand name of the original blockbuster parting tool design concept. According to the design concept of the Self-Grip tool, a pressed carbide insert was clamped into a tool blade using the blade’s elastic forces without the need for mechanical securing elements. At that time, other manufacturers also attempted to clamp inserts into a parting tool using the same principle. However, it was Iscar that invented a reliable, truly workable concept that set the benchmark for parting applications.
The Self-Grip tool proved to be a game changer in parting. Shortly after its inauguration, similar designs by other producers appeared in the metal cutting market. Iscar had already established its name as the authority in parting applications and quickly became the unrivalled leader in the industry.
The helical concept was the first of many new ideas and products that Wertheimer built his company on. Until then the company focused mainly on specials. The cut-off tool, which Wertheimer considers the first good new product developed by Iscar, originated after Wertheimer went to a few trade shows, especially in Germany, to show his products, and he found that he had nothing special to talk about.
Iscar has had to adapt and become a ‘smartech’ company
“We wanted to offer something that was an improvement on existing tools. The cut-off tool performed clamping by the forces of the taper instead of a screw. Most of the tools, at that time, had a screw to hold the tip. Our product made it like changing cartridges in a Gillette shaver. It was easy to exchange.” Wertheimer is quoted as saying.
Iscar’s Self-Grip tool concept was a breakthrough, which aspires its prolific R&D engineers to continue improving the concept and others today. Iscar’s products and tools cover all the disciplines in metal removal including parting and grooving, turning, milling, hole-making and drilling, threading and tool-holding. Brand names and tooling lines include Cut-Grip, Penta-IQ-Grip, Do-Grip, Tang-Grip, Penta-Cut, Jet-Cut, Heli-Grip, Dove-IQ-Grip, Sham-IQ-Drill, Deep-Drill, Groove-Turn, Ball-Plus, ISO-Turn, Logiq-4-Turn amongst many others.
The company likes to make a major new brand launch about once every four-year cycle but still upgrades and offers more solutions on its existing products regularly. Multi-Master, Chamdrill, Neologic and Sumocham and various variants are some of the more recent brands launched.
Machining intelligently for better profitability: Jacob Harpaz
The customer seminar programme kicked off with Jacob Harpaz’s usual passionate address that provided a comprehensive and compelling presentation featuring Iscar’s latest cutting tool developments and his thoughts on industry in general that will influence the metal cutting tool industry.
The main themes of his presentation were machining intelligently and logically using data exchange, automation and adopting Industry 4.0 and 3D printing for better profitability.
Elaborating on his thoughts on world trends Harpaz said: “A few years back I said by 2030 there will be big changes in the automotive sector, for example. The major OEMs are moving away from the internal combustion engine, which will mean much less metal removal will be required. There will be a wider use of composite materials and the introduction of 3D printing also means less metal removal. Look at the new Boeing 787 – there are now over 100 3D printed components being used in its assembly. We have had to prepare for these changes. But it is happening faster than we think,” explained Harpaz.
“In seven to 10 years the mix of combustion versus electric/hybrid cars production will be 78% versus 22%. Look at the history of the Tesla Roadster, an all-electric battery-powered four-seater all-wheel-drive sports car concept developed by Tesla in 2008. The technological advancements in this car have been phenomenal.”
“Who would have thought that China would go from producing one million cars a year to 20 million cars a year in 10 years?”
“We will all have to adapt going forward. Look at 3D printing. It has and is going to further replace outdated practices as the technology matures.”
Some of the top management: Dov Avraham (VP Commerce), Kobi Kisos (Chief Technical Officer), Ran Taman (Manager Legal Department), Ilan Geri (CEO of Iscar) and Jacob Harpaz – President and CEO of IMC Group
“Artificial Intelligence, including machine learning, is also having a huge impact. It is not great to say it but AI is going to replace humans. We are now being provided with big data to make informed decisions and increase our productivity. We should be calling it the Digital or Cyber Revolution and not the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
Machining via new cutting tool technology to improve machine shop profits
“Iscar has had to adapt and become a ‘smartech’ company. CNC technology will continue to be the backbone of machining methods in the near and far future. The development of CNC machines is intended to increase versatility, productivity, stability, reliability, and accuracy of a given machine. We, as cutting tool developers and manufacturers, are working closely with the machine tool manufacturers.”
“The machine tool builders are now manufacturing a new generation of CNC machines to cope with the faster speeds and feeds. You now require less torque to remove the same amount of metal as compared to a few years ago but in less time. Chip removal is also taking major leaps forward as is machine vibration and coolant adaption. MQL (Minimum Quantity Lubrication) can provide significant savings and improved performance in the right applications. Through coolant – coolant directed at the cutting edge through the tool, therefore there is no requirement for external coolant, is having a direct effect on cutting tool and tool holder life. More cost savings and on production time.”
“Cutting tools will have to adapt to remove less metal but at much faster speeds and feeds. The cutting tool can have a huge impact on productivity. Not every company can buy the latest machine tools but changing to our cutters means the tools can run at very high speeds with a minimum amount of downtime,” said Harpaz.
“In the metalworking industry, there are enduring trends that place the cutting tool manufacturer before new challenges.”
Product managers then presented new products and gave live demonstrations on the products via digital demonstrations with an emphasis on customer training and technical assistance.
We were then treated to tours of the various campuses so that we could experience first-hand the various carbide and tool production from beginning to end. This included the plants manufacturing special and micro tools.
New distribution centre
One of the highlights was the visit to the recently completed 8 000m² global distribution and warehouse centre, which only began operating at the beginning of 2023. The theme of efficient handling and distribution with speed is evident throughout what must be one of the most modern distribution centres in the world, like for like. There are robots that have been introduced and special conveying systems that can handle boxes weighing up to 50kgs and even seamlessly flip between conveyors. Distribution has gone from 10 000 boxes per day to 110 000 boxes per day.
One of the new concepts introduced is the rotation of staff between stations and a box will wait for an employee rather than an employee waiting for a box. Currently the centre is only running at 60% capacity.
Embedded sensors and QR Code
“Industry 4.0 is not a slogan anymore it is a reality. It has gone from hype to reality,” Harpaz said when he made his closing comments.
“Industry 4.0 is also influencing our thinking in cutting tool development. For example, will a cutting tool be digitally enabled that it will be able to predict a possible spindle breakage? Yes, I believe so.”
“Embedded sensors in the cutting tools, which I believe is around the corner, are going to feed back huge amounts of data to the manufacturer and end user. Just like the QR code is giving information specific to the labelled item, so too will the embedded sensor.”
“Although it is happening already, in future, your cutting tool supplier is going to have to be more of a solution provider, rather than just a hardware supplier. Better machines, better tooling and advanced software is all available. Now the individual or the company just has to contribute to the advanced machining revolution,” said Harpaz.
Ettienne Schmidt, Hentie Mare and Gregg Dixon
Etienne Schmidt
“The first day at Iscar head office we were shown just how technologically far ahead the first world company really is, an eye opener to say the least. From an in-house conference room, on-site catering and the cleanliness of it all, it was amazing.”
Iscar’s President, Jacob Harpaz, opened the two-day event with an amazing showcase of the Iscar way of doing, “Where innovation never stops”. All or at least most of us were a bit astonished that many of the tool bodies were 3D printed to ensure better performance of the cutting tips due to better coolant flow through the coolant pathway that is directed at the cutting tips with more pressure and better flow.”
“We also received a short but very insightful explanation on where we as the sellers and users of the Iscar tools can save ourselves or our clients the most money and it’s not where most people think. It`s not the cost of the tools but in how the tools can be used. Iscar has put a lot of time and money into saving the end user time in set-up time as well as creating tools that can work faster and/or harder for yet more time saving and at the bottom line same more money.”
“After every morning’s presentation in the conference room we were split into groups and taken on trips through the various buildings to see how all the tools are manufactured.”
“These workshops were clean, quiet and all busy with their tasks as required. Some areas only had a couple of operators for the machines as every person works on more than just one machine and all the machine data was controlled from the main control room in which they capture all the data of all the Iscar workshops and plants from all across the world.”
“It was amazing to see how much effort was put into every product. Iscar designs and builds their own machines and robots to ensure their product meets their very high standards.”
“I can’t name all the people but everyone at Iscar and everyone we met was very giving of their time and effort to make us feel welcome. For two days we were shown all the intricacies of manufacturing all the Iscar tools and even improving on the already great tools supplied to the world of metalworking.”
“In the beginning of the trip we were told that we can expect to gain weight during this trip as at every meal we were given enough food to make up an 8 course meal and as tourists in a new country we wanted to try it all. Needless to say, we all gained weight from the great food.”
“The last two days we were tourists and were taken to some of the sights and wonders that Israel has to offer. For me, to swim in the dead see was an amazing experience.”
“At 436m below sea level or what they called “Level zero” it is filled with minerals, and the bus could not drive close to the water for the first while as the ground has mineral deposits and because of the lowering water level these deposits would cave in and create sink holes.”
“We also made a visit to Mount Masada, where we were taken on a tour of the castle and stronghold that was built by Romans and later used by Jews to escape being slaves or killed by the Romans of the time.”
“We also went to the Wailing Wall and walked the path Jesus walked with his cross and saw his tomb. It was a quick trip through this area as we had one more stop to make that day.”
“We were also taken to, Yad Vashem, a Holocaust remembrance centre for the Jewish people who were killed in the Second World War. At first, I saw it as just a memorial sight of what happened somewhere else, like watching a TV programme, but then you see the shoes of the people killed. I took pictures of all I could, but at some point it hit me hard to see how the people were transported and the ones who tried to escape, even kids, were killed.”
“For anyone who likes history, travelling or just experiencing new things, Israel is a great destination but for me the trip as a whole was amazing, as I could see where the tools I work with every day are designed and made all the way through the touristy things we did.”
“The lovely people, cultures, food and landscape are definitely reasons for me to go back again and again.”
Gregg Dixon
“It was really an eye-opening trip for me, as to where you can take a business to. Especially a manufacturing business as this is what we are involved in at CWE.”
“The difference for me is how much they focus on smooth production and try to keep the disruptive to a minimum. Yet even so it was comforting to see that they to have their difficulties and it’s not just us. The real big difference was how much they focus on production. Our business is built on jobbing (i.e disruptive in nature), but their processes and systems you can see have really been nit-picked and a lot of effort put into them for Iscar to operate so efficiently.”
“I really enjoyed listening about the amount of resources they had dedicated to R&D because I feel without you are going to start dying, if you are not investing in the future.”
“I was hoping to try stumble upon some more information about jobbing shops but I don’t feel like I did. A lot of the attention is focused on production and I can really understand why. (But this is purely my opinion and I certainly can say that Iscar is most definitely a world class organisation). I don’t believe I will visit another company of this stature any time soon.”
“I was amazed at how there was a vision for Iscar by its team over the years of what they wanted Iscar to be, as they have this huge business park now, where the company is situated. But I am sure the first few builds were only a hand full (so to speak). To believe you will grow your business into that huge space is really challenging. And they still want to expand more and have they have the space to do it.”
“I was extremely happy to see the patriotism of Iscar and its people for Israel and the amount of areas where they really try to uplift the community. They really do try to give back and support. They are a great nation and back one another.”
“The food and hospitality was off the charts and there was no expense spared. I wish I could express to the team of Iscar how grateful I am for taking me on this experience because it really was outstanding, but I am not much of a writer and can only say thank you for everything.”
“I feel we were lucky to share this trip with the South African team because they were all a great bunch of guys. A special thanks to Uncle Gav. It was great to spend time with a person who has so much knowledge and pride for a company he has grown over his life.”
Marco Ferreira and Theo Janse van Rensburg
Marco Ferreira
“First ,what an privilege it was to be part of this amazing experience. I have been in precision engineering and machining for the past 30 years, so in my field I see production factories almost every day, but I was really impressed by Iscar’s top quality facility.”
“What stood out for me from the trip was the passion of the Israeli people and dedication to make their country work. Iscar as a company also reflects that passion and dedication.”
“I want to thank Gavin and his team for exposing all of us to that passion of the Iscar brand.”
Steve Wenzel, Donovan Potgieter and Jeffrey de Beer
Donovan Potgieter
“The experience was a once in a lifetime occasion. You always hears of first world countries but to experience it for oneself, is something different. People walking with their dogs at 2 AM in the morning, everyone seemed to be to contempt and happy with living life and enjoying life. As for us in South Africa it’s a fight to survive, constantly worried is it safe here or there, are the doors locked, the list goes on and on.”
“It was the first time for me being in a factory of that calibre, and the experience was overwhelming.
I met a youngster there with the name of Guy. We spoke about the differences of the two countries. He had just finished his studies in mechanical engineering and got a job at Iscar immediately, and he was walking with us in the factory as if it was his first week at Iscar, such was his enjoyment to be working for Iscar.”
“At the one building where they showed us where Iscar comes from and how it started, I was amazed as to see the Self-Grip insert technology, which was released in 1982, 50 years old, and everyone in the Free State province still uses that parting technology. It just shows what an awesome product it is.”
“Rudolph and I had a chat to the tour guide on the day we went to Masada. I had a good laugh, as this tour guide asked us, do we know biltong, and I mean like Rudolph said, we practically invented biltong and they make it from camel and lamb meat.”
“I do love history, so for me being at the Masada, Dead Sea and especially Jerusalem, just made the lifetime experience. I was always the last one, and everyone was waiting for me but, I just tried to take in as much as I could, the feeling one got from being where Jesus was buried is something else.” “Israel is on the bucket list for me and my wife. I would love to show her the Israel experience as what Gavin showed us. The food was good but, it doesn’t beat South African food, I just couldn’t wait to have a nice piece of well-marinated steak when I got back home.”
Lem Serrao and Rudolph van Tonder
Rudolph van Tonder
“As you said it felt like the trip was never going to happen and then when the time came it went by so fast. I got the call from Thys, who has been my Iscar representative since I started at the company. He told me that he has great news. He had put my name forward to go on the seminar to Israel and I was selected.”
“I was very excited as I have never had the opportunity in my 16 years in engineering to see first-hand how the tooling that we use on a daily basis and is a key part of our business is manufactured. Of course I have seen video’s and been told by people that have witnessed it but it is not until you see it for yourself that you can actually comprehend the precision and the sheer scale of it.”
“I was excited and did not know what to expect. You hear on the news that Israel is being shot at with rockets and they are at war and you think that it is a country mostly consisting of desert and sand
The reality is quite the opposite, we never felt unsafe once. Your first impressions when you walk out of the airport is that it is not some desert, there are very nice buildings. We got on the bus and drove to our hotel and you could see the streets were very clean, the roads had no potholes and everywhere you looked there were cranes busy building. There are big cities with impressive infrastructure, nice cars, they have power all the time, it is a country that everything works.”
“On the Monday and Tuesday I finally got to see how it is all done after all these years of using tooling every day and it was nothing short of amazing. The machines and robots working seamlessly without stopping and you actually witness how it is done and the immense scale, planning, thought, technology and the running of everything was just mind blowing and I have never seen anything like it in my life.”
“I have been blessed to have gone to quite a few countries in my life and more recently been to a machine manufacturing plant in Taiwan and I must be honest when I say that the Iscar plant is the most advanced plant I have ever seen and to learn about how Iscar started from a shack to what it is today is just amazing.”
“It was a privilege to have been taken there and for them to share it with us is truly something I am thankful for. To top it off Israel is one of the nicest countries I have visited in my life and I would defiantly go back. The trip was rounded off with some play and not just all work, we got to experience swimming (floating) in the dead sea and we got the privilege of walking the path that Jesus carried the cross all the way to where he was crucified and his tomb in Jerusalem among all the other sights we saw.”
“We were treated exceptionally well, everything was organised to the tee, we were never late for anything and they looked after us like royalty. I would like to thank the whole Iscar team once more for everything, it was truly special.”
Mike Jooste, Willem Swanepoel and Lance Tondolo
Lance Tondolo
“The trip to Israel was a truly incredible experience. Having toured the Iscar facilities one has a better grasp of what goes into maintaining such a world-class facility.”
“The sheer quantity of IT personnel employed by Iscar (a cutting tool manufacturer by rights) is testament to the company’s drive to not just stay ahead of the industry at larger, but develop and drive the next generation of skills and technologies.”
“Interacting with the Iscar personnel one was immediately made aware of the immense pride they have and share for the company. This is the case for the local Iscar team too. Iscar surely does seem to know how to get a group of people to form a functional team and develop the pride in their work. This in turn is built with us the customers.”
“As a closing note, with the country facing the challenges at large it was great to be able to network with companies from different but similar environments. The skills, ability and experience of the group was a refreshing change with what we are faced with on a daily basis.”
“I encourage the group to maintain contact. We have all got different experience in different fields. Sharing our abilities can only contribute to our future successes.”
Gavin Adams and Gil Rosenzwieg
Bertus Piekaar, Carel Nimb and Charles Steyn
Struan King and Morne Oosthuyzen
One of the highlights was the visit to the recently completed 8 000m² global distribution and warehouse centre, which only began operating at the beginning of 2023
Distribution has gone from 10 000 boxes per day to 110 000 boxes per day. Currently the centre is only running at 60% capacity
There was also time to do a bit of cultural and touring activities
