Dear Members and Partners.

On behalf of OCCA Northern Section Committee I welcome you to our 61st AGM.

Thank you for your continued support, commitment, and active participation in our association. Your engagement remains the cornerstone of our strength and relevance within the surface coatings industry.

On reflection of our activities over the past year, I am proud of the resilience and commitment of our members to the association.

Industry overview:

The past year has been one of both resilience and transformation for the surface coatings sector. Globally and locally, the industry has navigated fluctuating raw material costs, supply chain disruptions, and evolving environmental regulations. At the same time, we have witnessed encouraging growth in demand driven by infrastructure development, automotive recovery, and increased emphasis on sustainable and high-performance coatings. Innovation continues to shape our industry, particularly in eco-friendly formulations, waterborne technologies, and energy-efficient production processes.

Recent global economic pressures driven by the latest Middle East conflict have led to intensified financial pressure due to recent surges in fuel prices. The impact of this was urgent price adjustments as a result of rising raw material costs, sharp increases in logistics and transport costs, in some cases projects have been delayed or put on hold due to longer lead times and unplanned rising costs. Our sector remains a critical player in a number of industries – the key fields being manufacturing, construction and infrastructure development which is currently running at reduced profit margins just to maintain businesses afloat.

March 2026 saw the weakening of the South Africa Rand against the US dollar which has led to higher inflation rates and increased operational costs. This status will have an even bigger impact on small to medium enterprises with limited resources to absorb this unplanned cost.

On the positive side , electricity supply remains steady.

Key Achievements:

Over the past year, the association has made significant strides:

• Hosted successful technical webinars, and frequent committee meetings.
• Membership – Our focus in the last 12 months was to clean up our membership list and encourage adherence to membership fee subscriptions. We are presently at 85 members. 11 Retired and 74 Ordinary Members. This number reflects a growing confidence in the association’s value as we remain steady in our membership.
• Enhanced knowledge-sharing platforms to support technical development of our members. Members have access to recordings of previous webinars on both our OCCA-UK and our local website.

Events & training:

Year 2025 was used to brainstorm innovative ways to host an impactful technical symposium. These discussions were held at Committee level.

Going into 2026 – our plans are to set up a networking forum which promotes the inclusion of the broader team of members.

Financial Performance:

The Northern Section remains in a sound financial position. Revenues were generated mainly from membership subscriptions. Income was also generated from interest on investment account. Reduced income generating activities in 2025 led to prudent financial management and careful allocation of resources during the course of Y2025. Please refer to the detailed financial report from our honourable Treasurer.

Challenges:

Despite our progress, several challenges persist:

• Continued volatility in raw material pricing.
• Regulatory pressures, particularly around environmental compliance and sustainability.
• Skills shortages within the technical workforce.
• Economic uncertainty impacting demand in key sectors

Looking Ahead:

• Efforts to strengthen ties with Tertiary institutions to support innovation and formulating skills. This can also be used to target a younger age bracket to subscribers as OCCA members.
• Expanding training and skills development initiatives, for example, hosting of practical training seminars.
• Deepen our engagement with standards bodies – ensuring our industry’s voice is heard in policy discussions.

In closing, I wish to thank all members of the Committee for their service during the year. We are confident that, together, we can turn challenges into opportunities and continue to grow a resilient and forward-looking industry.

A big thanks goes to Beverley van Niekerk, our admin secretary who from her home in Somerset West has faithfully recorded our minutes and agendas, kept us looking professional and keeps the membership communications going.

Thanks also to Danny, for controlling the finances. Preshinee, Dieter & Graeme handling the education portfolio.

Special thanks to Evert for your guidance and mentor-ship.

The time has come for nominations of new committee members. Please submit your completed voting sheets to Beverley van Niekerk.

Thank you

Sabelo Dladla
Chairperson – Northern Section