Printing SA will be hosting the half day conference, taking place during the Jamboree Week Of Print on the first day of the Africa Print Expo (7 September 2016) at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg.
Venue: Hall 2 (on the balcony above Hall 2).
Time: arrive 8:00 for 9:00am
Cost: R530 (for members) and R590 (non members) including VAT.
The confirmed speakers of the Second Annual Africa Conference are:
Dr Roelof Botha who received his early schooling in Stockholm (Sweden), Cologne (Germany), The Hague (Netherlands), Christiana (North West), Cape Town and Pretoria.
His Honours and Master’s degrees in economics were both obtained cum laude at the University of Pretoria, while the Doctorate was completed at the University of Johannesburg. He has followed a diversified career in management accounting; financial journalism; lecturing; consulting; and economic research.
He is a regular commentator and columnist on topical macroeconomic issues (in the national and regional media) and has authored more than 500 articles, books and research publications.
In 2005, he received the prestigious Finmedia Economist of the Year award, based on the accuracy of forecasts of key economic indicators.
He remains involved with macroeconomic research and is a Senior Adjunct Faculty member of the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS). Over the past three decades, more than 400 companies and employer organisations have utilisied his services in providing forecasts of economic indicators, mostly for purposes of strategic planning.
He currently researches and writes columns on topical macroeconomic and socio-political issues for a national daily newspaper and three different agricultural sector publications (including Afgriland).
He has also been an economic advisor to PricewaterhouseCoopers for the past 23 years. As a keen sportsman, he has participated in competitive soccer (also as a coach), cricket and sport parachuting & as a member of the Gideons.
As a seasoned veteran of the public speaking circuit in Southern Africa, Dr Botha has managed to captivate audiences with his unique style of blending the serious matters of economics and politics with the lighter side of life. His presentations are regarded as broadly motivational, in terms of highlighting research that confirms numerous positive structural changes in the South African economy.
Dana Braithwaite, who graduated from RAU in 1993 with a PhD in Organic Chemistry. She started working at BMi in 1998 as a researcher within the foodservices division. Dana’s industry experience includes organic chemistry, knowledge management, the local food industry, research industry and foodservice industry. She then moved to Senior Research Analyst of the Food Division before becoming Research Director in 2008. She is currently a Senior Consultant to the Research division, offering BMi half her time. Her current duties at BMi include training, project oversight and project design.
BMi Research is a long standing full service research house in South Africa specialising in qualitative and quantitative research solutions. With multi-sector experience, BMi understands industrial and manufacturing research, wholesale to retail intelligence and shopper insights.
Capable of delivering both tactical and strategic data through sophisticated reporting platforms, clients are able to realise the required return on research investment. More than 40 years’ experience brings a truly refreshing customised approach to research.
Dr Ian James, a WKC Group Director with extensive experience of environmental assessment, in particular air quality issues for printing, oil and gas, petrochemical, power and mining developments, particularly within South Africa, the African continent, and the Middle East
Dr James conducted a six-month study into the impacts of proposed regulations governing emissions of solvents from the printing sector. He continues to advise the printing sector members on the implications of new requirements which could create significant financial hurdles for certain operators.
Tina Costas, an authoritative environmental lawyer based in Durban. She focuses on environmental, planning, occupational health and safety law, renewable energy and climate change.
Costas has extensive experience in investigating and assessing environmental impacts, liabilities and compliance in both national and international companies covering a wide scope of sectors including mining (gold, ferrochrome, platinum, coal), water, chemical and energy, land, manufacturing and forestry.
She has acted for major industries in both contentious and non-contentious matters in South Africa. She has specific experience in wetlands, water pollution, environmental impact assessments, environmental issues within the context of mining (water, waste, regulatory issues), air emissions, waste and contaminated land.
Costas holds the degrees of BSc (Hons); LLB; LLM (Environmental Law). She was admitted as an attorney in March 2003 and joined the practice as a director in June 2011 in the commercial team. Tina co-authored a book on the IFC Performance Standards (Chapter 3: Performance Standard 3 : Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention) : IFC Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability : published by Lexis Nexis in 2012.
Rev/Mr Mvuleni Stephens Thobela, CEO of Printing SA. He started his career as a typographer, and was Regional Chairman of the Media Workers Association of South Africa. He worked in the print production departments of the Pretoria News, Perskor, the Sowetan and The Newspaper Printing Company before becoming Operations Manager of Independent Newspapers Cape. He holds a Christian Ministry Diploma, a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and has recently completed his dissertation for MBA.
He served for four and half years as the Founding General Manager of one of the three of Mr Mandela’s official Charity organisations, The Mandela Rhodes Foundation based in Cape Town. At which time he was also appointed on the board of Oxford University Press. Prior to joining Printing SA on a full time basis he served as Director Print Production at the University of South Africa, Unisa. He joined Printing SA as deputy CEO in January 2014.
Thobela is also a Trustee of the South African Typographical Union (SATU) Pension Fund and serves on committees of the FP&M SETA. He is also one of the directors of an international charity organisation, Breakthrough Partners (BtP) while also serving as the national President of the Association of Berean Grace Ministries in South Africa.
Dr Nicholas Hellmuth, who does research for preparing evaluations of wide-format printers, inks, substrates, RIP software, flatbed cutters and CNC routers, laminators, coaters, professional digital photography and flatbed scanning equipment, 3D scanners, and 3D rapid prototyping printers. The purpose is to assist distributors and printshop owners and managers to learn about the pros and cons of different wide-format inkjet printers, especially UV-curable flatbeds, but also latex, eco, mild-, lite-, and bio-solvent printers, as well as water-based inks for textiles, T-shirts, giclee, fine art photography, and 3D imaging.
Hellmuth obtains his information by spending time inspecting the printers, inks, substrates, cutters or other workflow equipment at trade shows in Europe, Middle East, South Africa, USA, Latin America, and China. When possible, Dr Hellmuth also is invited inside the factories and R&D labs where the inks, media, and printers are developed or manufactured, whether in Canada, Europe, US, India, Singapore, Korea, China or Taiwan. Dr Hellmuth then visits print shops around the world to interview the owners and printer operators to learn the good features as well as issues, quirks, and deficiencies of pertinent printers, inks, substrates, cutters or RIP software that is of interest.
Since wide-format inkjet printers can do a lot more than signage, FLAAR also studies applications for flatbed printers on glass, metal, stone, ceramic tiles and other material for architectural and interior decoration. The interest in architecture is a result of studying architecture at Harvard which in turn was a result of growing up in a family of architects: father, grandfather, great-uncle, cousin, and two brothers are all architects in the Hellmuth family.
Soft signage (and textiles for interior decoration) are a growing business for print shops. So additionally Dr Hellmuth and his team evaluate textile inks and textile printers, but far more than just dye sublimation on polyester. He is supported by an experienced team of wide-format inkjet printing specialists on the FLAAR team.
Hellmuth has his BA degree from Harvard; was several times a Post Graduate research fellow at Yale University, a visiting research Professor of digital imaging at BGSU in Ohio and UFM in Guatemala. His PhD is from the University of Graz, Austria.
You can access FLAAR Reports on http://www.large-format-printers.org, http://www.large-format-printers.org and www.digital-photography.org.
Rian Van Der Merwe, a seasoned consultant with a wide range of experience gained over the past 15 years. He developed technical and commercial strategies to assist print rooms to increase efficiencies and decrease production costs. Rian has modelled these strategies in line with internationally accepted Precision Engineering principles. These strategies have been successfully implemented in different print rooms over the past ten years.
