Announcing the winners of the 2022 KLCBT
Welcoming of guests by MC Oupa Pilane
MC welcomes all present on behalf of KLCBT President, Mrs Sandra Jacobs, mentions special guests/VIP’s, namely
Mr Victor Mashego – Chairman of MTPA Board
Mr Mduduzi Vilakazi – Acting CEO of MTPA
Mr Lucky Mohalaba – CEO of IUCMA
Brig. Thabethe – Acting District Commissioner of Ehlanzeni of SAPS
Mr Jasper Ngobeni, GM of Economic Development and Tourism at City of Mbombela Local Municipality
Mr Doctor Mdluli – Senior Manager of Tourism Development at DEDT
Mr Ntwanano Mtungwa – Head of Tourism at Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency
Ms Hannelie du Toit COO at SATSA National
Ms Margaret Raubenheimer – A2A Kopano – our auditor since day 1
Mr Buks Esterhuizen, Mr Marius Bakkes & Mr Stefan de Villiers – Lowveld Media
Mr Lance Classen – Rise FM
Mr Robin Jansma – Radio Laeveld
Our fellow chamber members from the Ehlanzeni Business Alliance:
Ms Anne Briggs and Ms Melissa Brockmann from SATSA Mpumalanga
Mr Mel Preddy – Malalane Chamber
Mr Jan Engelbrecht – Komatipoort Chamber
Mr Adam Sibuyi – Madiba Youth Organisation
Mr Mandla Masuku – FABCOS Mpumalanga
Mr Benny Theledi – NAFCOC Mpumalanga
Mr Mandla Maseko – African National Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Mbombela
We extend a special welcome to the sponsors of the awards tonight. They are all listed in the beautiful booklets on the tables and on screen during the course of the event.
We welcome KLCBT President Mrs Sandra Jacobs and also our past KLCBT presidents who are present here tonight, Mr Henri Pieters, Mr Johan Barnard, and myself – don’t forget the longest reigning president – I made it before Covid, through Covid and beyond…
I welcome fellow members of the KLCBT Executive Committee:
The Chairman of Business, Mr Ferdi Bijzet, Vice Chair of Business, Mr Sakkie van Rooyen our member responsible for ethics and compliance, Mr Johan Barnard and finally our COO, Ms Linda Grimbeek
I welcome all fellow KLCBT Board and Management Committee Members and Members of the Press
Ladies and Gentlemen, the KLCBT Annual Awards is a showcase of Excellence, rewarding outstanding business achievements, sound business practices and recognising businesses and individuals who truly make a difference within the Kruger Lowveld Community.
This is the 22nd KLCBT Annual Awards ceremony, and the competition is always extremely tough. Every business announced as a finalist can certainly be proud of their business achievement, particularly in the current economic conditions. The finalists and winners tonight found a way to not just survive, but excel in difficult times. For this reason we show a 30 second promotional video of each and every finalist.
With only 15 awards given this year, this event is highly prestigious and the only one of its kind in the region. Fourteen of the awards are contested, which businesses entered for, and after an extensive adjudication process, the finalists and winners were selected. The process includes telephonic surveys with clients and suppliers of the business, followed by an evaluation of their financial growth and corporate social investment. Surprisingly, the entry form is only two pages long and all the hard work is done by KLCBT, not the contestant. There are no personal interviews and no public voting system. We choose the best business on all levels, awards are given based on merit, not popularity or perception.
The remaining award that will be given is the President’s Award, the only special award given this year. There are no finalists for this and the recipient do not know that they will receive an award. The President’s Award goes to a recipient that has made an unrivalled contribution to the Kruger Lowveld economy over several generations.
On behalf of KLCBT, I wish all the Award finalists the very best of luck and we thank you for inspiring all of us here tonight to do everything we do just that little bit better. Let’s raise a glass and drink a toast on the good health of KLCBT and all of the finalists…
MC introduces – KLCBT President, Mrs Sandra Jacobs deliver a short overview on the highlights of the organisation’s work during the past year, as well as a vote of thanks.
KLCBT Overview and vote of thanks – Mrs Sandra Jacobs
Followed by Mr Oupa Pilane speaking on Reinvestment in Tourism
Awards Proceedings
- KLCBT / PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS EMERGING ENTREPRENEUR AWARD
This award focuses on the SMME sector; specifically businesses which have been established within the past two years and gives recognition to innovation and job creation through the business venture and the uniqueness of the enterprise and product.
The recipient of the KLCBT / PricewaterhouseCoopers Emerging Entrepreneur Award for 2022 is:
Minty’s Tyres and Mags
2. KLCBT / PRONTO COMPUTER SOLUTIONS YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR (BELOW 35) AWARD
This award will be given to a young person, not a young business. The business will qualify if the owner is younger than 35 years of age. This person should inspire other young entrepreneurs to reach great heights and compete head-on with the more experienced business people. The recipient will be an entrepreneur who capitalises on their youthful energy and their association with the younger generation with their unique needs and expectations.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the recipient of the KLCBT / Pronto Computer Solutions Young Entrepreneur Award goes to:
Heavenly House Designs
3. KLCBT / BUSCOR TOWNSHIP OR RURAL ENTERPRISE AWARD
There are vast opportunities lying outside the borders of our cities and larger towns. It is not the easiest place to establish a business, but can certainly be very rewarding. This award will focus on those who are an example of a gem in the township or rural community. This business should be able to outshine any city business any day. The criteria were the same as for other business categories and they were judged in the same manner.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the recipient of the KLCBT / Buscor Township or Rural Enterprise Award goes to:
Mbombela Experience
4. THE KLCBT / SAPPI LIMITED NELSPRUIT COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD
The KLCBT / Sappi Limited Community Service Award rewards excellence in community service. The focus is on the well-being, community outreach and development of the community at large or a representative sector of the community. Within the Kruger Lowveld community, it’s in our nature to help each other, it’s in our nature to do the right thing, and it’s in our nature to care.
Ladies and gentlemen, in this category it is extremely difficult to single out one winner in view of the remarkable achievements of all three of these organisations, and in recognition of the astounding work they do, I would like to call once again, all three finalists on stage, Children in Distress, Masungulo Youth Development and the Step Foundation.
The recipient of the award for the The KLCBT / Sappi Limited Nelspruit Community Service Award for this year goes to:
Children in Distress
But you are all winners and we acknowledge the remarkable work done by all of you and for your long and dedicated service to the community, in particular youth development projects, which features strongly in the awards this year. For this, Sappi would like to present each of you with a cheque of R10 000!
Thank you very much for the work you do and thank you very much to Sappi Limited for this generous gesture.
5. THE KLCBT / CROSSING SUPERSPAR SOCIAL INVESTMENT OR PHILANTHROPY AWARD
Any individual who prides themselves in investing many hours and or a lot of funds into social investment could enter for the award. In addition, all of our finalists were also automatically entered for this category, and to cast the net even wider, we also asked for nominations from the broader public. The final shortlist and winner was selected by a panel of experts with input from our management committees and board. If a business wins the award, it shall be called the Social Investment Awards, but if the winner is an individual, it shall be called the Philanthropy Award.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am extremely pleased to announce that the recipient of the award is going to be a person who was nominated by various charity organisations and other businesses.
The recipient of the first KLCBT / Crossing Superspar Philanthropy Award goes to:
Dr Andre Hattingh
6. THE KLCBT / THE HALLS PROPERTIES ALAN BACHELOR SUSTAINABILITY AWARD
The Sustainability Award will recognise excellence for those activities which are developed, planned and managed in accordance with recognised best practice for the benefit of the sustainability of human society and the environment on which we depend. This can be an environmental rehabilitation project, green building project, recycling related project, or a business “going greener”, etc.
The recipient of the KLCBT / Halls Properties Alan Bachelor Sustainability Award 2022 is:
EarthSwitch Architects
7. THE KLCBT / NASHUA LOWVELD TOURISM SMME AWARD
Contestants in this category include all tourism related businesses, irrespective of the size of the organisation or the focus of the industry (e.g. food, accommodation, travel, tours & safaris or entertainment. It is a business who physically provide service directly to tourists.) and have a turnover of less than R10 million per annum.
The recipient of the KLCBT / Nashua Lowveld Tourism SMME Award for 2022 is:
Kim Leisure Travel
8. THE KLCBT / KMI AIRPORT LARGE TOURISM ENTERPRISE AWARD
This award is presented to businesses operating in the tourism sector with a turnover larger than R10 million per annum, which have performed exceptionally in terms of business performance and service excellence. This award is highly contested and only a few decimals in the scores separate the winner from the two runners-up.
The recipient of the KLCBT / KMI Airport Large Tourism Enterprise Award for 2022 is:
Nkambeni Safari Camp
9. THE KLCBT / TSHWANE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AWARD
Innovation is desperately needed in all sectors to facilitate economic growth in our region. The award will honour any business or project or initiative that provides something out of the ordinary. An exciting new product that will enhance the suite of tourism or business offerings in the beautiful Kruger Lowveld. The panel of judges is the KLCBT board, who vote by secret ballot which one of the finalists is the most innovative in their opinion.
The award goes to:
BASE – Barberton Archaean Surface Environments
10. THE KLCBT / NELSPRUIT FASTENERS SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISE AWARD
This award is contested in the open division with a turnover of less than R5 million per annum.
The recipient of the KLCBT / Nelspruit Fasteners Small Business Enterprise Award for 2022 is:
Dee’s African Spa
11. THE KLCBT / TRACKER CONNECT MEDIUM ENTERPRISE AWARD
This Award is contested in the open division with a turnover of more than R5 million per annum but less than R20 million per annum.
The recipient of the KLCBT / Tracker Connect Medium Enterprise Award for 2022 is:
Gundle Plastics Group – Lowveld
12. THE KLCBT / BUCO NELSPRUIT LARGE BUSINESS ENTERPRISE AWARD
The Large Business Enterprise Award is contested in the open division with a turnover of more than R20 million per annum. This is also known at these ceremonies as the proverbial clash of the titans and our finalists were incredibly brave to compete.
The recipient of the KLCBT / Buco Nelspruit Large Business Enterprise Award for this year is:
Rooikat Liquors
13. THE KLCBT / NASHUA LOWVELD HEALTH AND WELLNESS AWARD
In today’s stressful environment and the desire for companies to perform at optimum productivity, it is commendable when the business implements programmes to encourage their staff to be healthy and fit. All finalists were automatically entered for this category, plus any business who prides themselves in providing programmes, opportunities and events to have a fitter and healthier team, could enter to compete in this category. The shortlist was compiled by a panel of experts based on the information supplied in the entry form.
The finalists for 2022 are:
Buffalo Rock, LabourNet and Nkambeni Safari Camp
The recipient of the first KLCBT / Nashua Lowveld Health & Wellness Award is:
It is a tie! Ladies and Gentlemen, this award is shared by
Buffalo Rock and Nkambeni Safari Camp
Both these companies have many sports activities amongst each other and the neighbours, like Kruger Park. They have male and female soccer teams, netball, tug of war teams, volley ball that regularly play matches against each other. Then there is the big annual sports day against SANParks and teams from the surrounding community. How great is that!
14. THE KLCBT / KONICA MINOLTA SA CUSTOMER SERVICE AWARD
This award will be presented to a business operating for longer than two years which prides themselves for excellent customer service. Once again, all finalists were automatically entered for this category, plus any other business could enter for this specifically. The finalists and winner were selected based on a client or customer survey, and the finalists are:
The finalists for 2022 are:
Dee’s African Spa, Fourz Lowveld Properties and Mo’s Studio – as you may have noticed, these are the exact same finalists as those in the Small Business Award – remarkable that they set such high standards in business.
The recipient of the KLCBT / Konica Minolta SA Customer Service Award goes to:
Mo’s Studio
What a remarkable achievement and we are proud to have such quality in Small Business Sector! They scored 100% in their client survey, and none of their clients could even suggest anything further that should be done to improve their service levels. I quote from one of the customer responses: “I have used the whole of SA and she is the best. It is in her nature just to be friendly and deliver what she promises. Her standard of work is fantastic.” Congratulations once more!
I now call upon our esteemed President, Ms Sandra Jacobs to return to hand over the final award.
Honoured guests, we have come to the last award for the evening. Ladies and gentlemen, the last award of the evening is a complete surprise to the recipient and therefore there is no shortlist of finalists.
15. THE KLCBT / MMC PRESIDENT’S AWARD
As The President of the KLCBT, at my sole discretion, it is my honour and privilege to give recognition to an individual, or group, or company or institution, who’s contribution to the community and the economic growth of our region goes above beyond the criteria and requirements of any of the other awards. They are a well-known presence, deeply rooted into our society. Them not being in existence, is almost unimaginable. In 2015, the award was presented to the Halls Family and in 2016 it was scooped up by The Lowvelder, both recipients has been part of the Lowveld for over 125 years. The next year it went to Kruger National Park, followed by RCL Foods, previously TSB Sugar. The last recipient just before Covid was the amazing Kishugu, so who on earth could it possibly be tonight ???
Ladies and gentlemen please rise and share in my applause as I welcome the 6th recipient of the KLCBT / MMC President’s Award:
TRAC N4
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