Ensuring that the entire SAC Group with its shops and related service departments spread out all over the country delivers not only the highest level of service, but also all the same level of quality is no simple task.

We have been the industry leaders for almost 30 years now, and plan to continue on this path going well into the future.

But it is certainly at times a difficult and almost always costly road to follow.

We have seen massive changes taking place in the automotive world, from motor manufacturers extending warranties to unheard of lengths in order to keep customers coming into their workshops, right down to bargain basement service centers that promise the world for little money but seldom deliver on this promise.

Technology of course has also not stood still for a moment; in fact it is progressing at such a rapid rate that most aftermarket workshops don't have the staff or tooling to keep pace with it.

It was mostly because of the already mentioned need for class leading quality and the need to bring new product to the market that I commissioned and built a state of the art Research and Development Center that is now fully utilized to not only assist in this direct need but also continue to train all our staff to the highest possible levels.

You are after all only as good as the weakest in your chain, and it is a known fact that South Africa has lost a lot of skills these past two decades, and the majority of these have been in the prime 25 to 45 year old age bracket.

The frightening part is that these skills are not being replaced quickly enough, so we are not only getting fewer skills, we are maintaining older outdated skills too.

It is no longer as simple as creating apprentices from a pool of underachievers and turning them into mechanics because they passed a trade test at Olifantsfontein.

For us there is a constant drive to attract highly talented young men and women into our group as this is a profession that must be seen as equal, if not superior, to the other professions like accountancy, computer science, law etc.

Development centers, product development, training and the correct recruitment of staff all carry a massive cost, but this is just one facet of the business that we have to continuously invest in if we want to stay the market leaders.

There is also a very non technical side to our business, and you will be surprised to find out how many non technical issues I deal with on a daily basis.

Just one of these is the 'mystery shopping' initiative that I drive.

Now this might be the norm at franchised dealers, but I can assure you that it is unheard of in the aftermarket industry, and is just another example of the level we go to in order to ensure our customers are looked after and receive the best service out there.

The other important factor in this business of ours is the direct advertising and marketing of the SAC brand and the services we offer, while also keeping our finger on the pulse so that we can remain visible to our potential and existing customers.

This part of the business is also always changing, gone are the days where a simple ad in a few motoring magazines would do the job.

I guess you could say the same for television, ads have to be updated all the time and they have to be good enough to attract an audience too.

And not just any audience, but one that has the same passion for their vehicles as we do.

Now days, the internet also plays a massive part in any advertising campaign, and for that I have developed over the years a very informative and award winning website (www.steves.co.za) that answers all your automotive questions and concerns while also allowing you to make bookings and performance enhancement enquiries at the click of a few buttons.

Add to this the promotional projects we get involved with in the various media and you will get some idea of what it takes to keep this well oiled SAC machine moving at pace.

The bottom line is, I am driven by passion and perfection, and these ethics are fed down to each and every member of the SAC Group to ensure that you, our customer, has complete peace of mind when you deal with us and remain our number one priority.

So sit back and relax and read all about what we can do to not only save you fuel or keep you from a costly repair bill, but also what we can do to make your car, bakkie or suv that much more fun to drive!