#WomenInForestry: Meet Yonela Mdudu
MTO Group
Dispatch and CCA Plant Coordinator at George Sawmill
Qualifications:
- National Diploma in Wood Technology
- BTech in Wood Technology
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Forestry career: 5 years
I am responsible for the CCA (Copper Chrome Arsenic) treating plant’s production efficiencies to achieve maximum capacity through optimum utilisation of our resources, to supply our end users, mainly in the Southern Cape region. I am also responsible for the dispatching of our finished products to our clients across the country and to some neighbouring countries. With my team, we are a link between the marketing (sales) team and the production team. We ensure that we produce what is needed by the market within a reasonable period to secure our market share and keep our clients happy. It is of great importance that we strive to achieve our objectives without compromising our quality standards as set by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS). I organise the logistics involved in process and use the services rendered by the local trucking companies as much as possible.
WHY I LOVE WORKING IN THE FORESTRY SECTOR
We live in a day and age where our actions determine the quality of life we will have and this will affect future generations either positively or negatively. Forestry is sustainable and its practices reduces the effects of climate change. The passion and dedication displayed by Foresters and Sawmillers is a true reflection of their efforts to adhere to every written compliance standard to ensure that products have a clean carbon footprint. We are not just timber growers and processors. We are businesswomen and businessmen with exceptional leading qualities as we co-exist with communities around us.
WHY I LOVE WORKING IN THE FORESTRY SECTOR
Africa needs young, vibrant and energetic people who are creating practical solutions to our challenges such as combatting poverty. Forestry is creating these solutions at the ground level by helping to build sustainable communities through creating employment opportunities and driving enterprise and supplier programmes for people who desperately need upliftment regardless of their gender. It is liberating to be part of a sector that practices and promotes sustainable development. As women, we are naturally gifted with nurturing skills. Let us invest those skills into the growth of our forestry industry and reach greater heights. And as they say, “Forestry is not just a career, it is a lifestyle”.
