I have to say it was my fault, having done a successful seminar tour in South Africa earlier last year; the thirst for knowledge was palpable. So I contacted one of the major electronics publications and suggested an alliance with SMART Group to put on a series of RoHS and Lead-Free seminars.
This was the start of our 'great adventure′. On paper it looked a bit tough, three events over three days in different cities, with exhibition table-tops too. But we were 'seasoned professionals' so it would be fine. Then reality dawned, starting in Johannesburg, then 1 hour flight to Durban after the first event. The next evening was Durban to Cape Town, almost 1300 km and about 2,5 hours, now it was looking really tough, and doubts were starting to creep in.
We arrived on the Monday to a warm wet ′English′ summer's day and lots of apologies for the weather, but it had cleared before our get-together that evening. Everything was in place, the organisation and planning was worthy of SMART Group secretary, Tony Gordon, and the audiences at each event were much better than expected. So now all we needed were presenters who would live up to the expectations - no pressure then!
Johannesburg went well, over 100 delegates and lots of questions; the Q and A at the end went on for more than an hour and covered lots of topics, so I feel we were value for money. Then a quick drink in the bar and off to the airport, with talk of South African thunderstorms making the flight sound even more fun. Arriving at Durban, collecting luggage, promotional material eg, banners and literature, then driving to the hotel, meant arriving just in time for a late drink and snack in the hotel bar, or to be more accurate, outside the bar in a very warm humid night where the mosquitoes ate very well too. We had dropped down to sea level from almost 2000 metres and the difference was obvious.
Venue 2 was the International Convention Centre, and this was even more impressive than the first one and next door to the hotel. A slightly smaller audience here but even more questions, so it ended up being a bit of a rush to the airport. Stellenbosch was the destination; this is not Cape Town, but 40 minutes from the airport, so another late night. Again, a great audience and almost 2 hours of questions at the end, we did not care now, we were staying here for the night, so it was like the end-of-term party.
Then it was over, the bubble had burst and it was down to earth, at least for me as I had customers to visit. Bob found a day to visit the delights of Cape Town and on Saturday, he went diving with sharks, an experience he describes as truly amazing. I was taken to a bay called Hermanus, 40 minutes up the coast where I was privileged to stand on rocks and watch Southern Right whales with their young cruising leisurely beneath me, less than 30 yards away. To see these huge creatures close up, banging their tails on the water and teaching their young to stay close, or risk attack from killer whales waiting offshore, was amazing.
At each event we did a survey on 'Readiness for RoHS' etc. The results, I am sure, will raise some comments. There is now much talk of a SMART SA as a group under the SMART Group umbrella, so I may get the chance to return. I hope so, it is a country not without issues, but with a huge amount to offer. Missionary work for SMART is exhausting, but with a good team it was great fun, one of the best tours ever. I would like to thank the rest of the team, the support crew and of course Bob Willis our leader.
Thank You
We would like say thank you to the SMART Group for coming over to South Africa and taking the time to educate our SA electronics manufacturing industry about the many issues involved in ′Lead-Free′ production.
Also, a thank you to our sponsors of the events, without whom the costs of running these seminars would have been out of reach.
To the delegates, who took valuable time out of their workday to attend, thank you. We are sure you gained much valuable information that will be put to great use in future!
The Dataweek Team
For more information see www.smartgroup.org
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