Driving customer success

Macsteel is a company that brings steel to life. From research and design to merchandising, Macsteel has been at the heart of South Africa’s steel industry with a story dating back to 1904. The customer’s journey with Macsteel doesn’t end there, however. With a fleet of top-quality trucks and a team of well-trained drivers, Macsteel also offers steel transportation and logistics across the country with many customers dependent on the company’s drivers to deliver their steel correctly and on schedule, every time.

One of the drivers responsible for ensuring that customers receive what they need, is Pfumelane Ngoveni. A woman in a world still largely dominated by men, Pfumelane epitomises the energy and skills that make up the tightly connected and supportive team of drivers, who take on the challenge of keeping Macsteel’s customers supplied with the steel they need.

“It’s a big responsibility. It’s not just about driving; you need to learn how to deal with materials and how to offload safely. You need to learn the process of slinging, which is to ensure that the material is positioned correctly on the bed of the truck and that it is correctly strapped. You are also required to work correctly with the customer,” she says.

“Most of our customers don’t have their own vehicles, so I know they are depending on me to keep their businesses running. I am so proud to work for a company that has its own fleet, allowing us to deliver to our customers, on time and in full,” she says.

This dedication to efficiency is why Pfumelane and her fellow drivers at Coil Processing Wadeville, can be seen before seven every morning double-checking every aspect of their vehicles, from oil levels to tyre pressure and diesel, before they set out with their deliveries.

“I deliver in and around Gauteng, to five or six stops a day. I might occasionally arrive home late, but I don’t mind, it is important that all my customer receive their promised deliveries,” she says.

As a woman, she admits that her skills were called into question at the beginning of her driving career. “In the beginning, the customers couldn’t believe that a woman could do it. I would get questions like, ‘Are you really going to reverse? Are you sure?’,” she laughs, adding that once they saw her work the disbelief soon turned into trust. “I soon showed them that I could handle the pressure. I love driving and I love my job.”

True to the Macsteel tagline, Pfumelane and her colleagues work hard at constantly pursuing reinvention: “We have sessions every Tuesday for our toolbox talks regarding issues that affect us as a team. Here we come up with suggestions together, on how we can improve. An easy example is by being early. I can start my day early and deliver to my customers on time. It’s the small things that make the difference.”