Alan Winde, Minister of Economic Opportunities, highlighted success stories of the Red Tape Reduction Unit in November 2017.
On 30 November 2017, the team visited Phoenix Marine in Atlantis. Due to the unit’s intervention, the firm was able to create job opportunities for 100 people, mostly for residents in Atlantis.
In 2016, Phoenix Marine, a boat manufacturer, was battling to obtain an abnormal load permit from the Department of Transport and Public Works.
The company needed the permit so it could take a R12.5million yacht, via road, to Cape Town Harbour and ship it to the Annapolis boat show in the United States of America.
With only a few days left before the show, the unit and the Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works, intervened by expediting the approval process through consultation with the respective Department.
As a direct result of this intervention, the manufacturer sold two yachts worth R29 million and received two awards from the prestigious SAIL magazine. This marked a critical turning point in the business. The intervention came at just right time for the business. Display at the international show garnered it the attention of many international boating enthusiasts and a number of subsequent orders.
It secured foreign investment of US $2million. Its annual production is set to triple, and turnover is set to climb from R38 million to R62.5 million by 2019. Before this deal, the company was facing the prospect of retrenching 40 employees. The business has since moved premises to larger accommodation, increased employment to 54 employees, with additional short term employment plans of reaching 81 manufacturing staff and an additional 18 administrative staff.
Clinton Johns the CEO said: “Attending the show was a pivot point for us. If we didn’t get the boat there, it is unlikely we would be in existence today.”