JOHANNESBURG - As the Regional Chairperson of the Tyre, Equipment, Parts Association National Executive Committee in KwaZulu Natal, Angie Frederic, owner of Supa Quick Hillcrest, is paving the way for greater female participation in the tyre industry.
Not that she has a moment’s regret. She maintains that every aspect of her multi-faceted job – which includes helping customers who need car parts; running the training school she established to feed the need for staff with specialised skills; and attending meetings for the Supa Quick Council or the Retail Motor Industry Organisation – all “fascinating”. “I would definitely advise the future generation to consider a career in the automotive industry," she says.
Angie maintains that, with these being among the key areas where women excel, the automotive industry would do well to focus on becoming more female-friendly. She says that, although some companies are doing an outstanding job in making sure this is the case – Bridgestone being a prime example – much more remains to be done.
The upside to all the fear, however, is that such conditions often give rise to innovation, fueled by the determination to survive, she notes: “After all,” she points out, “when thousands of people are relying on the tyre industry to feed their families, failure is not an option.”