We are currently working on an exciting commission – a 4 meter high, 7 sided diamond structure – for world renowned and much loved Mercedes Benz South Africa (MBSA) in East London, under the current directorship of Andreas Brand. Andreas took the time to attend a sustainability session we hosted in January 2023 in Hamburg, during which time he pledged a partnership with KAP to celebrate MBSA’s 65^th year and diamond legacy. Building on the strength of ‘Threads that make a car’, a project for MBSA which we completed in 2022 where we covered an entire C-Class Mercedes in embroidery, in the last year we have been working on the structure and embroidery for a new feat of not only engineering, but also interpretation of legacy into tapestry.

MBSA are pivotal to industry in the Eastern Cape, supporting not only their own employees, but networks of industries, and even families in the region. Andreas Brand and Abey Kgotle invited us into the heart of their diamond strategy which is described by 7 pillars – sustainability, our leadership, licence to operate, operational excellence, passionate people, diamond product and innovation. Not only have we benefitted from an extraordinary commission – through work – but we have also grown our understanding of what it takes to lead an organisation of excellence.

Currently in production is a the steel diamond structure being engineered in Gqeberha by physicist and aerodynamic engineer Jan Hendrik Coetzee. The 41 square metres of embroidery making up the diamond facets are 90% complete and we look forward to installation of the diamond at MBSA and its launch in the coming weeks. MBSA continues to prove their commitment to the developmental landscape of the Eastern Cape, partnering with us also in their area of corporate social responsibility. It is a long-standing relationship that exists between MBSA and KAP which flourishes to this day.