Andries Steyn Fourie
Engineering; Project Management, Project Finance
East London,Eastern Cape
Summary
Dynamic and results-orientated engineering leader with over 18 years of experience in senior roles within the high-pressure automotive manufacturing environment. Motivated, flexible, and innovative mechanical and industrial engineer with strong project management, cost optimization and financial expertise. Demonstrated skills in engineering, manufacturing, project management, and finance consistently resulted in increased profitability, negotiated margins, and improved processes to achieve operational excellence. Excels at leading cross-functional teams, collaborating on projects, and finding solutions, managing complex engineering projects to deliver cost-effective, high-quality products. Currently seeking new challenges in general, commercial, operations, or project management roles.
Key strengths include:
● Strong leadership and team-building capabilities
● Expertise in project and financial management
● Proficient in cost optimization and margin negotiation
● Extensive experience in manufacturing process design and continuous improvement
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Account Financial Manager
Yanfeng South Africa Automotive Interior Systems Pty Ltd
East London
12.2015 - Current
- Led commercial negotiations with OEMs, managing cost recovery, price adjustments, and margin optimization for a R3.5 billion annual revenue business. Price and/or cost recoveries includes, but not limited to inflation, material, forex, volume, tooling and investment changes.
- Spearheaded product costing, financial planning, and margin management for both new and existing projects, through the entire project life cycle, improving commercial margin by 2%. Project financial planning and management, includes startup cost, engineering cost, tooling and investment.
- Budget and Profit Plan forecasting and planning for commercial margin aspects (5 year plan, monthly and outlook forecasting) to deadlines.
- Month end reporting to Commercial Margin level including vehicle volume analysis, trial balance analysis, accruals, journal entries, margin conservation and pricing analysis to deadlines
- Reported to Local Senior management, European management and the CEO/CFO, driving strategic business decisions.
- Key achievements include winning multi-billion-rand contracts for Mercedes-Benz projects and reducing aged receivables from 12.5% to 1.3%.
Commercial Manager
TI Automotive Systems (Pty) Ltd
East London
04.2008 - 11.2015
- Key contact person with all 7 Automotive OEMs and several Tier 2 customers with all commercial related issues, including relationship building, new project quotations, margin management via customer price negotiations and/or internal cost reductions.
- Managed both commercial and engineering departments, overseeing product development, manufacturing, and project management for the South African division in order to meet customer project and production requirements.
- Established and further developed a strong continuous improvement culture across multiple teams within the company.
- Played a key role in launching advanced manufacturing processes and greenfield projects.
- Part of the senior management team of TI Automotive Systems.
- Key achievements include doubling revenue over seven years while achieving double-digit profit increases, through price recovery and/or internal cost reductions.
Manufacturing Engineering Manager
TI Automotive Systems (Pty) Ltd
East London
01.2006 - 04.2008
- Managed a team of manufacturing engineers, responsible for the the management and development of all manufacturing plants / lines, production systems, processes and machinery for both new projects and current manufacturing plants.
- Establish and directed continuous improvement initiatives in each manufacturing plant, including individual team member improvement projects.
- Key Achievements include justifying and commissioning of several new technologies into the South African manufacturing environment.
Project Engineer (Project Manager)
TI Automotive Systems (Pty) Ltd
East London
01.2004 - 01.2006
- Project managed a team for all new and level change projects for the Research & Development department from from customer received specifications during kick-off to customer approved completion and handover to the production plant.
- Customer point of contact for project management related issues for all 7 Automotive OEMs and several Tier 2 customers.
- Provided technical expertise throughout all phases of the project, ensuring accurate execution of designs and specifications.
- Maintained records for each project and engineering discipline.
Education
PDE (Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Engineering) - Industrial Engineering
University of Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch 02.2012 - 2013.03
Masters degree (M.Sc) in Industrial Engineering or Engineering Management - Engineering Management
University of Stellenbosch
StellenboshDiploma in Fundamentals of Project Management - Project Management
Damelin College
East London 01.2008 - 2008.08
B.Eng (Mechanical Engineering) - Mechanical Engineering
University of Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch 02.1996 - 2001.12
Timeline
Senior Account Financial Manager
Yanfeng South Africa Automotive Interior Systems Pty Ltd
12.2015 - Current
PDE (Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Engineering) - Industrial Engineering
University of Stellenbosch
02.2012 - 2013.03
Commercial Manager
TI Automotive Systems (Pty) Ltd
04.2008 - 11.2015
Diploma in Fundamentals of Project Management - Project Management
Damelin College
01.2008 - 2008.08
Manufacturing Engineering Manager
TI Automotive Systems (Pty) Ltd
01.2006 - 04.2008
Project Engineer (Project Manager)
TI Automotive Systems (Pty) Ltd
01.2004 - 01.2006
B.Eng (Mechanical Engineering) - Mechanical Engineering
University of Stellenbosch
02.1996 - 2001.12
Masters degree (M.Sc) in Industrial Engineering or Engineering Management - Engineering Management
University of Stellenbosch
Certifications & Training
● Lean Six Sigma (Yellow & Green Belt)– 2022
● Leadership Management for Engineers – 2014
● Diploma in Project Management – 2008
Skills
Leadership & Mentorship
Technical Skills & Software
● Engineering Tools: AutoCAD (with Factory Plan and Flow), Mechanical Desktop, Siemens PLM, Wonderware Factory Suite, CNC & CMM planning
● Financial Tools: SAP ERP, QAD ERP, Syspro ERP, Oracle Hyperion, Budgeting & Forecasting, Financial Modeling
● Project & Engineering Management Tools: End-to-End Project Life Cycle Management, Product Development, Lean Manufacturing, Microsoft Projects
● Software: Microsoft Office Suite (Advanced Excel), MATLAB, Mathematica, Statistic, Arena Simulation, Business Process Re-engineering (Moogoo), Microsoft Visio
Languages
English
Bilingual or Proficient (C2)
Afrikaans
Bilingual or Proficient (C2)
Professional Societies
- TI Automotive Systems, Alexander Forbes Retirement Fund Management commitee, 2010-2015
- South African Institution of Mechanical Engineers (SAIMechE)
- ASHRAE, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers
- INCOSE SA, International Counsil of System Engineering South Africa
- Association of Information Systems (AIS)
Secondary Education
Alexandria High School, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 12/1995, Senior Certificate (A aggregate; Passed with distinction)
Driver License
Code EB
Personal Information
- Age: 47
- Date of Birth: 09/06/1977
- Gender: Male
- Nationality: South African Citizen
- ID Number: 7709065114083
- Marital Status: Married
- Dependants: Wife and Daughter
- Willing to Relocate: Yes
Health
Excellent
Criminal Record
None
Interests
Mountain Biking & Racing
Technical Articles
All Activities with my daughter
References
References are available on request.
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