The closest thing I have ever gotten to Optimus Prime was a gigantic Autobot in Toyota’s Prospecton factory in Durban. Its giant arm moved effortlessly back and forth, picking up steel sheets and popping them on a stamping die to be shaped into car doors. If you are a Transformers fan, you’ll know that Optimus has been down and out on several occasions but always manages to rise from the ashes. In the case of our Toyota Autobot, he had to rise instead from the water and mud of the devastating April floods – and did so thanks to the “Ultra Spark” of the determined staff of Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM), assisted by their global Toyota family.
While many parts of KZN were already feeling the effects of the floods – which have been described as anywhere from a once-in-100-year to once-in-200-year occurrence – from the afternoon of 11th April 2022, TSAM was confident that previously implemented flood mitigation measures would protect their gigantic coastal plant. And indeed, they did, until the cantilevered gates of Shongweni Dam – about 40 km upstream from Toyota’s SA manufacturing hub – were tipped by the rapidly rising water, resulting in a massive volume of flood water rushing into the Mlazi River in the early morning of 12th April.
The result was a deluge of water and mud that left no part of the extensive 87-hectare facility untouched, with several areas in knee-deep – or even higher – water. Below ground “pits” were filled to the brim, vehicle parts and cars in various stages of production were submerged, and the factory’s many machines and Autobots were left with wet feet. Thankfully the flood also knocked out the factory’s electricity supply, but to ensure their safety, staff – many of whom were keen to assist with mop-up operations – were instructed to stay at home until the flood waters had subsided.
Then began the truly gargantuan task of assessing the damage – no easy task considering the tens of thousands of parts and hundreds of machines that go into making some of your favourite models, including the Toyota Hilux, Fortuner, HiAce and Corolla Cross. To ensure quality control – and happy Toyota customers – every vehicle (over 4,000 of them) and vehicle part in any way touched by the water and mud was scrapped. An SOS call was sent out to Toyota Japan, who immediately sent out a Disaster Relief Team who described the Prospecton flooding as the worst disaster they had ever seen, but who also rallied the global Toyota family to help to replace the 75,788 parts required.
President and CEO of TSAM, Andrew Kirby, described the global response as overwhelming, especially considering existing supply chain disruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite this, the plant is still short of some 28,000 parts, so rather than delay their return to full production longer than necessary, they have cleaned and repaired – and are still in the process of doing so – a considerable number of parts and components that power the many machines and Autobots that are essential to the different models’ production lines.
On our tour of the facility – to mark the plant’s official re-opening a mere four months after the floods – we watched how technicians painstakingly cleaned and repaired circuit boards to the point where the previous damage was imperceptible. Other than lines dotted around the plant indicating the flood water levels and images of the devastation, one would never know that this buzzing, efficient – and dare I say, spotless – factory had ever ground so unexpectedly to a halt.
The plant’s remarkable re-opening is not only good news for thousands of prospective customers – both locally and abroad – who are keen to get their hands on their preferred models but also for its massive contingent of staff, not one single one of whom lost their jobs despite the level of devastation. This is excellent news too for the province – already ravaged by the effects of pandemic lockdowns, last year’s deadly riots and the widespread floods – as the Prospecton plant is an integral and invaluable part of KZN’s economic eco-system. So much so that the provincial government has been working closely with TSAM to aid in the re-opening of the facility and to put measures in place to mitigate any future flood damage.
KZN Premier Dube-Ncube was one of the dignitaries present on 16th August to celebrate the plant’s remarkable recovery and commented: “On behalf of the government of KZN and the people of KZN, we wish to pay tribute to Toyota South Africa for the enormous strides that they took in resuscitating operations here at the plant. To all the stakeholders who participated in the clean-up operations, we would really 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”.
And one such “job” was that of the robot I nicknamed Optimus. He’s busy at work making up for lost time, and with his help – and that of hundreds of dedicated Toyota staffers – will, no doubt, ensure that Toyota will retain its position as SA’s number one car manufacturer of choice for many years to come.
Report by Nicky Furniss | Images © TSAM
