Uri closes shop in Namibia

NAMIBIA’S only independent vehicle manufacturer, Uri Offroad Vehicles (Pty) Ltd, has thrown in the towel after months of uncertainty and waiting on Government orders.

According to sources, the company was hit by a a double whammy: Government bureaucracy and a strong Namibian dollar – which devastated the company’s commercial order. The maker of the legendary, all-steel, multi-purpose vehicle – which has become a symbol of national pride for 4×4 enthusiasts and mining companies and put the little Namibian town of Witvlei on the map – ceased operations and handed all outstanding orders to its sister company, Uri Vehicle Manufacturing SA, in Pretoria.The majority shareholding of Uri SA is still in Namibian hands but no more Uris will be built here.Some 30 employees were retrenched in November last year, when the factory at Witvlei scaled down.Another 12 people were laid off last week.”For eight months we were on the brink of something big,” Managing Director Joachim Cranz, told The Namibian this week.”Government has repeatedly promised to support us by giving us orders.But nothing happened.And we simply couldn’t run on promises any more.”According to a former employee, Uri had to compete with commercial vehicles with widely different specifications, all built in South Africa.”We couldn’t offer immobilisers and central locking,” the employee said on condition of anonymity.”The Uri is purpose-built vehicle, the likes of which exists nowhere else.Government has finally come around, but it’s too late for local manufacturing.”Cranz said the strong rand had also damaged their position.”We supply a lot of vehicles to mines.With the rand as strong as it is, they don’t earn as much as they did and cut their orders.”Ironically, The Namibian Police finally put through an order for 36 Uri in late June.”We had to say ‘sorry’, we’ve closed down.The orders went straight to our plant in South Africa,” said Cranz.The police were in such a hurry that Uri last week handed over two vehicles they had in stock, while the others are being manufactured in South Africa.Cranz explained that an office will still operate in Windhoek and that back-up commitments will be honoured.”Uri owners can be assured we’ll support their vehicles during the warranty period.We’ll make use of third-party contractors of course,” he said.All relevant postage and banking details of Uri Offroad Vehicles will remain the same and an operator will be available for queries.”If you want an Uri, you can telephone… Give us the colour and type and we’ll order it for you.”Some 300 Uris currently operate in mines in Namibia and South Africa.”We’ve given the South Africans the recipe,” said Cranz, “but we can’t afford to make them here anymore.”In 1998 a Romanian-owned 4×4 vehicle assembly plant at Gobabis, Aro, shut down after producing only a handful of four-wheel drive cars.No reason was given by the company for the shutdown, but the owner had complained on several occasions to senior Gobabis municipal officers about the company’s failure to obtain credit facilities from local financial institutions.The maker of the legendary, all-steel, multi-purpose vehicle – which has become a symbol of national pride for 4×4 enthusiasts and mining companies and put the little Namibian town of Witvlei on the map – ceased operations and handed all outstanding orders to its sister company, Uri Vehicle Manufacturing SA, in Pretoria.The majority shareholding of Uri SA is still in Namibian hands but no more Uris will be built here.Some 30 employees were retrenched in November last year, when the factory at Witvlei scaled down.Another 12 people were laid off last week.”For eight months we were on the brink of something big,” Managing Director Joachim Cranz, told The Namibian this week.”Government has repeatedly promised to support us by giving us orders.But nothing happened.And we simply couldn’t run on promises any more.”According to a former employee, Uri had to compete with commercial vehicles with widely different specifications, all built in South Africa.”We couldn’t offer immobilisers and central locking,” the employee said on condition of anonymity.”The Uri is purpose-built vehicle, the likes of which exists nowhere else.Government has finally come around, but it’s too late for local manufacturing.”Cranz said the strong rand had also damaged their position.”We supply a lot of vehicles to mines.With the rand as strong as it is, they don’t earn as much as they did and cut their orders.”Ironically, The Namibian Police finally put through an order for 36 Uri in late June.”We had to say ‘sorry’, we’ve closed down.The orders went straight to our plant in South Africa,” said Cranz.The police were in such a hurry that Uri last week handed over two vehicles they had in stock, while the others are being manufactured in South Africa.Cranz explained that an office will still operate in Windhoek and that back-up commitments will be honoured.”Uri owners can be assured we’ll support their vehicles during the warranty period.We’ll make use of third-party contractors of course,” he said.All relevant postage and banking details of Uri Offroad Vehicles will remain the same and an operator will be available for queries.”If you want an Uri, you can telephone… Give us the colour and type and we’ll order it for you.”Some 300 Uris currently operate in mines in Namibia and South Africa.”We’ve given the South Africans the recipe,” said Cranz, “but we can’t afford to make them here anymore.”In 1998 a Romanian-owned 4×4 vehicle assembly plant at Gobabis, Aro, shut down after producing only a handful of four-wheel drive cars.No reason was given by the company for the shutdown, but the owner had complained on several occasions to senior Gobabis municipal officers about the company’s failure to obtain credit facilities from local financial institutions.