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Industry stalwart retires from Bosch Rexroth South Africa | MyPR.co.za

MyPR: Industry stalwart retires from Bosch Rexroth South Africa:

Willem Gijzelaar retires from Bosch Rexroth South Africa after 35 years service, and 47 years in the fluid power industry.

Willem Gijzelaar, Group Marketing Manager at Bosch Rexroth South Africa, retired on 18 December 2020 after 35 years’ service at the company and 47 years in the fluid power industry.

Beginning his career in 1973 at a South African armaments company as a toolmaker, over the years Gijzelaar played instrumental roles in developing artillery, engineering remote-piloted aircraft and upgrading and adapting helicopter components. Working through the ranks in various organisations, 1984 saw him appointed to the Special Projects Division at Hytec South Africa.

In the early 1990s he moved his specialities to marketing, and was subsequently appointed Group Marketing Manager – Communications, at the then Hytec Group. He held this position as the company grew and was instrumental in the marketing success relating to Hytec Group’s acquisition by the Bosch Rexroth Group from 2014 to 2017.

Boasting qualifications in toolmaking, production management, general management and marketing management, Gijzelaar represented Hytec and Bosch Rexroth South Africa on the SAFPA council from the early 2000s to 2020. He was elected and served as SAFPA President for the 2007 to 2009 term.

“We thank Willem for his years’ of dedicated service and leadership, and wish him all the best for his retirement,” said Tillmann Olsen, Bosch Rexroth South Africa CEO.

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Have you tried: Visiting Port Elizabeth?

Did you know this about Johannesburg? Where Johannesburg got it’s name from: The fledgling town of Johannesburg was laid out on a triangular wedge of “uitvalgrond” (area excluded when the farms were surveyed) named Randjeslaagte, situated between the farms Doornfontein to the east, Braamfontein to the west and Turffontein to the south. The property belonged to the government. The Surveyor-General of the ZAR issued an instruction that the farm be surveyed as a township, consisting of 600 stands measuring fifty feet by fifty feet. The first auction of stands took place on 8 December 1886. The settlement was named after two officials of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR), Christiaan Johannes Joubert and Johannes Rissik, who both worked in land surveying and mapping. The two men combined the name they shared, adding ‘burg’, the archaic Afrikaans word for ‘fortified city’.

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The Rand Club: Redemption

The “redemption” of the Rand Club is a fascinating mirror of the city’s broader transformation. In 2016, a group of businessmen and heritage enthusiasts stepped in to save the club from permanent closure. They didn’t just renovate the physical structure; they fundamentally “decolonized” the institution’s culture. Today, the Rand Club is a vibrant, multi-racial hub of Johannesburg’s intellectual and business elite. It has opened its doors to the public for events, tours, and as a co-working space for young entrepreneurs.

One of the most striking changes is in the art. While the walls are still lined with portraits of historical figures, they are now interspersed with contemporary African art and photography that challenges the old narratives. The club has transitioned from a secretive “fortress” of the colonial elite into a shared space for the city’s new generation of leaders. It remains a place where history is physically present—you can still sit in the same leather chairs where Rhodes sat—but the conversations happening in those chairs are now about the future of a democratic, African-led Johannesburg. It is a testament to the fact that even the most rigid institutions in “Joburg” must adapt or vanish.