This much sought-after accolade did not come easy. All the Ford dealerships in the Human Auto Group had to perform well above average in all aspects of the business and had to fight for podium places with first class scores in most categories.

And that is precisely what the four dealerships located in Bloemfontein, Welkom, Kimberley and Ficksburg did.

“I am so proud of the teams at the different dealerships, with our dealer principals at the helm who just know exactly what to do and do not need to be micro-managed. In Bloemfontein, Des Williams takes charge of the team, Pierre Beukes leads in Welkom, PG Welthagen fights the good fight in Kimberley, and Jaco Grove leads in Ficksburg,” says Pine Pienaar, Group Franchise Executive at Human Auto.

“We all know business conditions across the country are tough, and our region is no exception. A lot of money is spent with the expansion and upgrading of the dealerships, and we are busy with the last phase at the one in Welkom before moving on to our Kimberley dealership.

“It is our firm belief at Human Auto that instead of holding back in these tough times, we forge ahead with our expansion plans, notwithstanding the fact that it costs us millions of rand. We are also taking dealerships off the grid with sustainability an integral part of what we do.

“Not if, but when conditions change for the better, we will be on target with our facilities and able to render a world-class service to the most important aspect of our business, namely our customers,” Pine tells Dealerfloor.

“The owner of Human Auto, Jacques Strydom, grandson of the founder of Human Auto in 1950, Barnie Human, also gives us the freedom to run the business. He creates unique opportunities for us to get our products to more people with the creation of Be Human on the Middelwater Farm just outside Bloemfontein. We use opportunities and create new ones to get more people to see, sit and drive our products.

“This state-of-the-art facility includes, amongst others, a wedding and concert venue, boutique hotel, a new shooting range for national shooting competitions, a motocross track, restaurant, 18-hole golf course and is a venue for livestock auctions and farming exhibitions. This allows a large number of people from across the spectrum to see Human Auto’s vehicles, which is displayed at functions,” says Pine.

Pine tells Dealerfloor that the people working at Human Auto are the backbone of the business that makes it all possible. For us, it is very important to appoint the right people, people who can contribute to our success story. The hard work and effort going into the business ensure that we produce the output, which is reached through our exceptional customer care and remarkable product range.

“I honestly believe taking a gamble on the future is a guaranteed win and so far we have not been proven wrong,” Pine concludes.