Dakar - South African crews dig deep as second week begins
The 2026 Dakar Rally roared back into action on Monday with Stage 8, a gruelling 481km loop around Wadi Ad Dawasir.
- Industry News
- 12 January 2026
Continental Tyre South Africa (CTSA) has appointed a new senior management team for its tyre manufacturing plant in Gqeberha.
Ahmed Boualam is the new General Manager for Manufacturing, responsible for the overall management of the plant operations.
Ramoabi Moeng has been appointed Deputy Plant Manager, supporting Ahmed with the running of the facility.

They have extensive experience in both the manufacturing and the tyre industry with Ahmed seconded from Continental’s South Carolina Sumter tyre plant in the United States, where he served as Plant Manager for the past two years. Continental Tyre SA’s outgoing GM for Manufacturing, JJ Dowling, has relocated to the US to take up the position of Production Manager at the Sumter plant.

The Gqeberha plant in South Africa is not new to Ahmed who worked here for three years prior to his move to the US. He has been involved in the tyre industry since 2007, starting in his native France as a production management engineer before moving up to Production Manager in the curing and final finishing areas. He joined Continental in France in 2011.
As the new Deputy Plant Manager, Ramoabi has gained vast experience in the manufacturing sector since 1997. He spent 11 years in vehicle production, including a one-year training stint in Germany, before joining a pharmaceutical company in 2008 where he headed up the Engineering, Production and Operational Projects portfolios over the ensuing seven years.
He joined Continental Tyre SA in 2016 as Maintenance Manager and was selected to lead the Manufacturing Engineering Technologies team in 2018, a position he held until now with his appointment as Deputy Plant Manager.
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