New chairman outlines AREI vision

9 November 2016 Editor's Choice News

AREI, the Association of Representatives for the Electronics Industry, recently held its AGM at which it named its new committee. Also confirmed at the meeting was the appointment to the role of chairman of Warren Muir, who shared his thoughts on the direction of AREI and the state of the South African electronics industry in general.

“I was impressed with the excellent attendance at the AGM, and the willingness of members to participate on the committee – the breakfast was also great,” says Muir. “The only negative for me was the resignation of Albert Kopp, who was a founder member and director of AREI.”

One of the key goals of AREI has been to look beyond distribution and become more inclusive of manufacturers, and Muir is eager to continue this effort. “I believe that the initiative of my predecessor to include the manufacturers and other stakeholders from the electronics industry in AREI will aid in achieving our mission of ‘Working together to grow the South African Electronics Industry’. I have continued this initiative by concentrating a large portion of my effort on growing the membership, and will continue to invite all the stakeholders to join the association,” he states.

Looking ahead, Muir identifies contraction of the South African electronics industry as a key challenge, and believes AREI has a part to play in addressing it. “If properly constituted, AREI has the potential to coordinate growth,” he says. “I believe that the participation of AREI in the industry can be improved. Our future strategy will be defined in an upcoming meeting with consensus of the committee, but key initiatives may include: interfacing with government, educational institutions and related associations; growing the membership; measuring the industry KPIs as accurately as possible; and having more frequent association networking sessions.

“My election as chairman of AREI is somewhat out of phase with the legacy of the association, as I have been involved in manufacturing for many years and not distribution. This has some positive connotations as I believe a fresh approach has the potential of invigorating AREI. I look forward to the challenge and will work closely with the committee to achieve the goals we set for ourselves,” Muir concludes.

The newly elected AREI committee is:

• Warren Muir – Muirlenium

• Jenny Gooding - Secretary

• Andrew Dixon – Electrocomp

• Rudi Opperman – TRX Electronics

• Erna Kruger – TRX Electronics

• Petrus Booyens – OSRAM Opto Semiconductors

• Philip Hall – Avnet South Africa

• Lesley Bebbington – Proactive Manufacturing Solutions

• Sean Flynn – Projects Concern Manufacturing

• Stuart Hanford – Arrow Altech Distribution

• Stephan Martinussen – Arrow Altech Distribution

Representing the media as non-voting members are:

• Malckey Tehini – Technews Publishing

• Irene Blythe – EE Publishers

Portfolios are due to be assigned to the committee members at a meeting scheduled for 17 November 2016.

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