1. travel
2. tourist destinations
3. africa

THE
BIRTH of
KMC
First Ever Automotive Original Equipment Manufacturer in Africa for Africa by Africa
City of Publication: Kampala
To the great men and women, who by living their
ordinary lives – making history, unknowingly provoked
the writing of this book.
ii
Contents
iii
Preface
“When you innovate, you’ve got to be prepared for people telling you that you are nuts.” ~
Larry Ellison
In 2007, a small group of undergraduate men and women, barely
in their early twenties, had a dream to be part of an international
project consortium, if not for the advancement of their university
education, perhaps for such simple reasons as the associated
international exposures and the learning of some few exciting skills.
As the group of those with similar interests, background and
passions developed into a more diverse professional team of
individuals presenting vital contributions to the making of the Kiira
EV, the team started to see the bigger picture. It was then that the
audacious idea of growing the small project into an automotive
enterprise was born.
This book is an account of the making of the Kiira Motors
Corporation (KMC) – a premier Automotive Original Equipment
Manufacturing company in Africa by Africa, for Africa. It captures
a number of moments, as they defined the concept of the Kiira EV
and the Kiira EV SMACK. One particular one is the pitch dark
night when the group worked harder than usual, in an attempt to
transform the purely electric vehicle into a petrol hybrid car with
smart features to improve the driving experience, all to meet preset timelines. This was a moment re–created for the far away reader
iv
who might wonder how life was breathed into the black pearl
pending her maiden test drive. The Kiira EV SMACK was that
pearl. For KMC, this pearl defines the flagship product for the
automotive enterprise building her solid foundation in uncharted
territory amidst a developing economy where agriculture and
malaria are considered more pressing issues. The move towards the
Kiira EV SMACK as well as the acquisition of land in the Jinja
Industrial Park was necessary in realising her ultimate goal.
With a well-defined flagship product, aristocratic impressions of
modern day infrastructure and an ambitious team, the next steps
were streamlining the organisation and composure of the
commercial entity to ensure preparedness for the wake of 2018.
While writing this book, there were memories re–created such as
the experience of working with Robo Arch who fascinated those in
the design room at the former Faculty of Technology building at
Makerere University, as he designed a miniature model for the
Kiira EV Proof of Concept car. There were also discoveries made on
which teams had more breakfast than the rest. In all ways possible,
the book makes an effort to show the entirety of the team involved,
the challenges faced and the small strides leading to the realization
of the commercial entity.
The birth of the Kiira Motors Corporation is a step in the direction
of impacting lives through high tech employment, job creation for
suppliers, and improvement of private and public mobility in
Uganda.
v
Acknowledgments
Writing a book is always collaboration between so many people
and this was no exception. The Kiira Motors Corporation is thankful
to so many figures that made the pages of this book possible:
The Kiira EV Project team was vital in narrating the lives behind
the making of the prototypes. There were a number of informal
conversations with the members which revealed the daily routine,
the memorable experiences of working together, the work ethic and
the individual vision they have for KMC. KMC is grateful that you
shared this information in such a finite public space.
Richard Madanda and Dativa Tizikara who made it possible to
capture the highlights of the Vehicle Design Summit 2.0 chapter of
the Kiira Motors Corporation history.
Thanks
to
Kenneth
Ndyabawe,
David
Okwii,
…………….,
………….., ……… ……… and …………… for critically reading the
manuscript at its delicate stages of development. You were able to
provide feedback, catch mistakes and suggest those additions that
now make it an awesome piece of writing.
The editors of this book: …………………………….thank you for
making the read better and getting the message out there.
vi
Chapter 1
THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
“Iyi modoka ninzinza cyane!” one of them told his colleague.
“Yego, ninzima. Ntacyo ibaye my friend,” the other
responded.
They moved in their shuttle past the sign post, which read ‘Main
Gate’, at the top of the short ascent of Makerere Hill Road from
Wandegeya, a Kampala suburb. The one sitting in the corner was
fully engulfed in a sheet of newspaper, as he chewed a toothpick.
The other turned to face the first and pulled off the paper. He
pointed towards the girls waking lazily by with their huge
handbags. A closer glimpse in the men’s eyes exhibited the widening
of their eyes and the bustling of smiles on their faces.
The chattering and mumbling on the shuttle suddenly intensified.
Explosions of laughter soon filled the entire the bus. All looked out
through the windows to gain full sight of what was happening
outside along the roads. Their eyes roamed around the small crowds
on the campus, apparently searching for folks of their own descent
perhaps. It was hard to speculate the various thoughts running
through their minds at that moment: Had they always wished to
come here as students, but perhaps lost all hopes as the years went
by? Did they imagine that such a day would ever come? Were they
perhaps thinking about the training they had just undergone? Had
it been interesting for them to meet and engage these new people
speaking more than two native languages? Were their new found
friends intending to keep in touch? Did they remember what they
had learnt in day one? Or were they simply thinking more about
their ancestral homes and hence very anxious to return to familiar
places of comfort?
1
The drive past the various College buildings, the iconic Ivory Tower,
the Main Library and down to the Halls of Residence at the far end
proceeded unnoticeably fast that it hardly drew much attention.
Many had of course heard much about the Institution, but probably
did not give much thought as to what went on there, save for those
who gloried in sending their children to the best schools. Some
might also have remembered the Institution for its evidently
perennial strikes that often halt businesses and movements in the
surrounding Kikoni and Wandegeya areas and invite tear gas from
the police, thereby holding innocent passers–by captive and
subjecting them to its bitter taste.
Gazing at the University students marching along the walk ways,
they studied them with keen admiration. With the time
approaching noon and especially during this period of semester
recession, there were hardly many of them on campus. These were
primarily the first year engineering students who stayed in their
college to undertake Workshop Practice. Most of the other students
had already left to undergo Industrial Training in different
companies and organizations around the country in accordance with
the university curriculum. The roads within therefore had little
traffic. The few patches of lawn were fairly mowed and the air was
generally serene.
Alighting from the shuttle, they were led to a building that did not
show any signs of life in it. “Is this the place?” their expressions
seemed to inquire. However, their profession required them to keep
calm, walk purposefully in all circumstances and follow
instructions. Their conversations were barely audible, but their
Ugandan counterparts seemed to enjoy the fact that they were at
the campus on a friendly mission, and not to execute ‘keeping law
and order’ like they are called to do on many occasions.
Introducing the visiting team to what they were about to witness,
the Commandant of Musanza Police Academy, Rwanda, said:
2
“For many of you, this is your first visit to Uganda. You have the
golden chance of experiencing this great machine that many
Ugandans long to touch personally. Following the training you have
undertaken over the last couple of days, this continues the life–
changing exposure to a whole host of the possibilities of innovation.”
The visiting delegation was a select group of Police Officers from the
East African Region. They had just concluded a classified training
with participants from Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and
Uganda. They were on a tour to acquaint themselves with the
various innovations and developments going on in Ugandan
institutions of learning, select private companies as well as
Government Ministries.
“Welcome,” “this is the Kiira EV,” echoed Albert Akovuku, the
Associate Principal Investigator in charge of Production at the Kiira
EV Project.
The Kiira EV looked elegant parked besides the dusty CNC
(Computer Numerical Control) machines and other scattered tools
in the mechanical workshop at the basement of the Makerere
University College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology
building (known as the Faculty of Technology prior to January
2011). The policemen of varying ages seemed just as excited to see
and sit in the Kiira EV as the numerous primary school, high school
and university students that had previously encountered it.
The Kiira EV is the first electric vehicle made at a University in
Africa. Designed and built by students and staff of Makerere
University, the Kiira EV is a two–seater car powered by a
rechargeable Lithium ion battery bank, with front wheel drive,
automatic transmission and an electric propulsion motor carrying
1000kg of dry weight. The electric car boasts a maximum speed of
100 km/h and a range of 80km from the battery bank. Its green
colour loudly communicates the innovators’ commitment to eco–
3
friendly transport solutions. Perhaps more important than the
Kiira EV's colour and specifications is what it symbolizes for
Uganda: the Kiira EV is the herald of the dawn of a new era in
Ugandan transportation. ‘Iyi modoka ninzinza cyane’! Literally
meaning ‘the car is very nice, very real’ – as the Rwandese
Policemen intimated to each other.
Developed as a proof of concept, the car was part of the beginning of
a journey of automotive development in the Pearl of Africa. Kiira
EV has a simple elegance about it and has features comparable with
world celebrated vehicles. Like Richard M Kavuma, the
PovertyMatters blogger put it: the Kiira EV is a confirmation that
great things can flow out of Africa, just like the river Nile, after
which the car is named. The Kiira EV inspires widespread awe
amongst all age groups.
************
The world–over giant leaps in technology in the last sixty years
demonstrate the extent and impact of research and development.
Much as the Second World War was seen primarily as a battle for
military might and world domination, to the scientific world this
was a major landmark as far as innovative research is concerned.
Events such as the race to the moon are a clear indication of this
rigorous research movement.
Inspired by the key challenges perceived as opportunities in the 21st
Century, a group of motivated researchers at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) founded the Vehicle Design Summit
(VDS) with the ultimate aim of developing environmentally friendly
commuter solutions. To achieve this, VDS sought to assemble a
global consortium of the world’s top thinkers, dreamers,
revolutionaries and change agents to develop a collaborative
framework necessary to harness the world’s genius imagination and
inspiration. A team of students, researchers and industrialists from
4
the world’s top Universities, research fora and automotive
industries was gradually formed, spearheaded by MIT.
Some of the early goals of the VDS were to
1. Develop a truly innovative vehicle and mobility concept, and
2. Build a model for and infrastructure to support student–led,
collaborative projects in the future.
VDS completed their pilot project in 2006 and launched VDS 2.0 in
2007 with the goal of designing, producing and bringing to market
Vision 200 – a hyper efficient four– to five–passenger vehicle,
earmarked as a production vehicle for the then emerging India
Market. It was envisaged that this could be subsequently adapted
for the other developing countries, in general. Makerere University
had its first go at car development during the second chapter of the
Vehicle Design Summit (VDS 2.0).
Dr. Tom Wanyama, a lecturer in the then Faculty of Technology and
Principal Investigator of iLabs@Mak Project at Makerere
University at the time, visited MIT as part of collaborative staff and
student exchanges between the iLabs Africa student partners.
During this visit, Dr. Tom Wanyama met one Anna S. Jaffe, founder
of VDS, who extended an invitation to Makerere University to
participate in VDS 2.0. On returning home, Dr. Wanyama shared
the proceedings of his visit with his students. Steven Jeremy
Ntambi, then a fourth year BSc. Electrical Engineering student,
picked interest in this undertaking – thus the birth of the Makerere
University VDS 2.0 chapter.
VDS 2.0 was a consortium of over five hundred students from thirty
pre–eminent research universities from around the globe, advised
by the world’s leading industrialists, such as General Motors (GM).
Twelve universities were from Europe, fifteen from North and
South America and eight from Asia. Makerere University was the
sole representative from Africa. The VDS 2.0 community was given
5
sets of tasks which would aggregate into the Vision 200 as
illustrated in the framework. Makerere University’s role was in Low
Power Electronics and Data Networking.
The VDS 2.0 Framework for Universities
The unexpected departure of Dr. Tom Wanyama from Makerere
University resulted into Professor Sandy Stevens Tickodri–Togboa
taking on the mentorship role, assisted by Paul Isaac Musasizi. The
new mentors immediately embarked on structuring the Makerere
University VDS 2.0 team. Ten more students from the diverse
disciplines of Mechanical Engineering (Jay Krushna, 4th Year),
Information Technology (Florence Nakitto, 3rd Year), Computer
Science, Electrical Engineering (Douglas Bibita 4th Year, Rashid
Mijumbi, 4th Year, Dativa Tizikara 3rd Year, Emmanuel Ssebbagala
3rd Year, Richard Madanda, 2nd Year, Paul Rwemalla 2nd Year,
Maxima Nsiimenta, 2nd Year) and Civil Engineering (Aggrey
6
Kabunga), joined the team with Steven Jeremy Ntambi as the
student team leader.
Part of the VDS 2.0 Makerere Team: (from left, standing) Aggrey Kabunga, Jay
Krushna, Steven Jeremy Ntambi, Paul Rwemalla, Richard Madanda, Emmanuel
Ssebbagala Douglas Bibita, (from left, seated) Maxima Nsiimenta, Dativa Tizikara,
Florence Nakitto
The Faculty under the deanship of Associate Prof. Barnabas
Nawangwe provided office space with workstations, internet
connectivity and access to laboratory equipment to facilitate the
project’s research activities. This would be the first time the young
team participated in a project of such a magnitude. Were they up to
the task?
A story is told of several men who were in a golf club locker room. A
mobile phone rang.
“Yes I can talk,” said the man answering the call, “You're
shopping are you? That's nice.”
7
The listening men smiled to each other.
“You want to order those new carpets? Okay . . . And they'll
include the curtains for an extra five thousand dollars? . . .
Sure, why not?”
More smiles among the listeners.
“You want to book that week on Necker Island? . . . They're
holding the price at twenty-two thousand? . . . Sounds a
bargain . . . You want a fortnight? . . . If that's what you want
honey, okay by me.”
Smiles turned to expressions of mild envy.
“And you want to give the builder the go-ahead for the new
conservatory? Seventy-five thousand if we say yes today?
Sounds fair . . . sure, that's fine.”
The listeners exchange glances of amazement.
“Okay sugar, see you later . . . Yes, love you too,” says the
man, ending the call.
He looked at the other men and said, “Whose phone is this
anyhow? . . .”
Unlike the man who answered the phone and simply agreed to
requests without considering the implications, the Makerere team
responded to the invitation to join the Vehicle Design Summit well
aware of the uphill task ahead of them. This was perceived as an
opportunity to be part of a world transforming experience! The
magnitude of work and commitment required were assessed and the
team immediately got busy with the system development research,
as well as travel preparations under the guidance of the mentors.
They were definitely up to the task!
8
The formation of the global Vision 200 team was followed by a series
of Design and Evaluation continuum. A Concept Development and
Exploration workshop was conducted between 5th and 9th of
November, 2007 in Delhi India for the different Teams. This event
was a vital platform for direct interaction and consultation among
the different team members. Three weeks later, fifteen teams met
in Leuven, Belgium to present their findings and technical progress.
At this workshop, the Makerere University team was represented
by Student Team leader Steven Jeremy Ntambi.
In February 2008, 25 VDS team members convened in Milan, Italy
to begin work on systems integration and map the ecological impact
that VDS and Vision 200 in particular, would have on the world.
The Ugandan Team was represented by Steven Jeremy Ntambi,
Florence Nakitto, Rashid Mijumbi and Aggrey Kabunga. At this
workshop a decision was taken to have the build–event for the
Vision 200 at Politecnico di Torino in the city of Torino, Italy, the
2008 World Design Capital.
The Makerere University VDS 2.0 Team was excited about the
prospect of being in Torino, a large city in North Western Italy, with
a fine aristocratic atmosphere, old world sophisticated shops, grand
boulevards, pearly parks and palaces, and host to Italy’s finest
institutions of learning, and automobile manufactures like the
FIAT group – producers of Lancia, Alfa Romeo and Iveco . . .
However, their ultimate goal was to join the other world thinkers
and innovators in bringing the Vision 200 to life. But would they get
there? With a distance of over five thousand kilometres between
Kampala and Torino, the renowned Makerere University Faculty of
Science bus would find such a journey too hard to conquer.
Otherwise, the tasks would shift from working on the Vision 200 to
repairing and reassembling that bus a couple hundred miles into
the journey.
9
Participation in VDS 2.0 required each team met the pertinent
resource requirements and associated budgeting. Considering that
the project wasn’t formally funded through the university
structures, there was a need to raise funds for the varied project
activities. It was the project’s desire that the entire team travelled
to Torino for the Vision 200 Summer Build–Event.
As such, An Exposition and Fundraising dinner was organized and
held at Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala on 10th May, 2008. Amidst
the dancing and dining of suits and shift dresses was the theme:
Reversing the Tragedy of Commons. If the team had caught the
enthusiasm and excitement of the world’s top thinkers to
revolutionize vehicular transport, they clearly failed to infect
Uganda’s elite with it. Hardly any money was collected at the
dinner, not even enough to cover the hotel bill. A handful of pledges
were made but some have never been fulfilled to this day.
The team kept working, hopeful that they would not miss out on the
opportunity to learn and contribute to VDS 2.0. Official letters
seeking contribution were written by the project to several
organisations – a practice leveraged from the Makerere
Engineering Society, to get funds. SN Brussels Airline responded
to the request with an offer of four return air tickets. The Faculty of
Technology, through the support of the deanship of Associate
Professor Barnabas Nawangwe, offered ten million Uganda
shillings to the budget – thereby providing financial support for
travel expenses for one of the mentors. Professor Mondo Kagonyera,
the Makerere University Chancellor at the time, also made a
financial contribution. More still, the parents of Dativa Tizikara
and Paul Rwemalla contributed to the travel expenses of their
children.
In June 2008, Steven Jeremy Ntambi, Aggrey Kabunga, Paul
Rwemalla, Douglas Bibita, Dativa Tizikara and Emmanuel
10
Ssebbagala travelled to Torino for the physical car build. The rest
of the team stayed behind to continue with research to support other
development activities.
Were there any courses on Automotive Development offered at
Makerere at the time? . . . No! These were students of Computer
Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical and Civil Engineering.
The closest they had come to vehicle development was course units
that involved some common elements that find application in car
electronics and mechanical systems such as integrated circuits,
motors, aerodynamics and fluid analysis, bolts and nuts.
The development activities were quite fast paced but the Makerere
team was equally talented. The team members were each assigned
aspects of the powertrain or communication system depending upon
their academic background and interests. They would carry out
comprehensive research leading to actual usable component designs
for system integration. They would then defend their choice of
parameters, materials and models. Being something none of them
had ever done before, constant consultation and team work were
very vital. Weekly meetings would be held to review the progress
made. Mentors together with the teammates would critique each
person’s work presented. Working as volunteers in many aspects
and sometimes using their personal resources to sustain the
operations of the young and vulnerable team, the mentors were very
determined to see the success of the project – they worked very
closely with the students giving as much guidance and
encouragement as they could.
The struggles the team had gone through to make it to Torino did
not deter them in any way neither did the lack of prior exposure to
any system components – due to insufficient finances. In fact, this
geared them to work harder, spending many sleepless nights doing
research and discussing new findings.
11
“It was a little bit challenging being the only African team.
Few of the teams had heard of Uganda; let alone knowing about
Makerere University. As such, we had to work twice as hard to
prove our competence, considering our system; the powertrain, was
the heart of the vehicle. We were each enthusiastic and motivated
to get on with the design,” Dativa recounts.
“After we settled in, we immediately started on working to
source the components we would need to build our systems. We had
a couple of meetings with the rest of the teams, as well as the
Professors we would work with. Interactions with teams that had
built hybrid vehicles before were very helpful in getting up to speed
with how the different components are integrated and communicate
together,” she continued.
In spite of the initial high gear on arrival in Torino, things stalled a
bit due to longer–than–expected delivery lead times of the ordered
components and a few project management challenges –
succumbing to the old adage: “too many cooks spoil the broth”.
12
Part of the VDS 2.0 Team poses for a picture with Professor Sandy Stevens Tickodri–
Togboa, in Torino, 2008
Worth noting is that the student team travelled to Torino at a time
when they were required to fulfil academic requirements – Final
year Projects (Steven Jeremy Ntambi) and Industrial Training
(Dativa Tizikara, Emmanuel Ssebbagala and Paul Rwemalla). As
such, the lead Project Mentor and Academic Supervisor Professor
Sandy Stevens Tickodri–Togboa travelled to Torino to follow up on
project progress as well as ensuring that the academic obligations
were being dully satisfied. This visit was timely!
13
Makerere University VDS 2.0 Team poses for a picture in the Vision 200
For first timers – the Makerere team, made such an amazing
contribution to Vision 200. In particular, Douglas Bibita was
recognized for his proficiency at welding.
The Vision 200 was showcased at the Dream Exposition in Torino,
an event celebrating automotive history and future opportunities.
It was also displayed at the Automotive Museum of Turin, from 22nd
September until 24th November, 2008.
14
The Vision 200 on display at the Automotive Museum in Turin, Italy, from 22 September
– 24 November, 2008.
There was a remarkable turn in the public reception of the group on
arrival back home. Various innovations started to come up, while
those who could not ‘innovate’ gave either positive or negative
feedback.
For instance, towards the end of 2008, Victor Machinery, part of the
Katwe Metal Fabricators Group made a vehicle using a diesel
generator. The target market for the locally made car was the
farmers in rural Uganda, who had minimal means to get their
harvest to market. Katwe is located two kilometres from Kampala
city centre. It is known for the creativity of the local smiths – a
history which dates back to the late 1800s when the Kabaka (King)
of Buganda who reigned at the time gave his blacksmiths land near
the palace – Lubiri, for their operations. From making pans, simple
knives and spears for hunting, different businesses later shifted to
15
the suburb and made it home because of the low cost of living. With
time, metal fabrication became the most common trade in the area.
In fact, a university for vehicle body works was set up in the area –
Musa Body University. The ‘campus’ produces some of the best
welders, carpenters, mechanics and fabricators in the area. Over
the years, the blacksmiths have picked up a new name – copycats,
because of re–creating imported goods of any kind. Their art was in
using locally available tools and materials. The search for just about
any spare part ends in Katwe with Ugandan made petrol–powered
grass mowers, frying ovens for popcorn, children’s bicycles and
grinding mills! The undoubted creativity of the smiths – now
mechanics – is growing . . . they came up with the idea of making a
helicopter!
Was the immediate release of a car by the Katwe Metal Fabricators
in 2008 a coincidence? Or was it a timely response? Did it indicate
the poise of the talent found in the unlearned, or was it ridicule for
the elite of Makerere to take heed?
It was such reception, the pressures and the prospect of causing
global change from within that energized the creation of the Centre
for Research in Transportation Technologies (CRTT) at the
Makerere University College of Engineering, Design, Art and
Technology (CEDAT). When it was created in 2009, the main aim
was to champion research and development of eco–friendly
transport solutions for Africa. With the experiences in building of
the Vision 200 and other global experiences through collaborations
and best practices benchmarking, the Makerere team felt they were
in position to build their own car.
************
Prior to the last quarter of the first decade of the twenty first
century, one did not need to ask for directions to CEDAT (then
known as Faculty of Technology, or better still as ‘Tech’ amongst
16
students). “I will be going back to Tech for a disco in the afternoon,”
you would hear one student tell the other. ‘Disco’ was the short form
for ‘discussion.’ Directions to Tech? “Simply follow the no–
nonsense–looking guys wearing t–shirts, jeans and sandals,
carrying counter books and big text books.” It was joked that if
companies took their clientele as those that wore their promotional
t–shirts only, then Tech students would be the loyal customers! And
the lady students were not left behind in the jeans and t–shirts era!
Shirts seemed to only be worn by their lecturers, and once in a year
when the students would be campaigning for leadership positions
in the various student bodies like the Makerere Engineering
Society!
The Faculty of Technology at the time housed the disciplines of
Electrical, Mechanical, Telecommunications and Civil Engineering,
as well as Quantity Surveying, Land Economics, Architecture and
Construction Management. While their counterparts in other
faculties seemed to always be overdressed for their lectures, some
looking like they were scheduled to attend dinner parties rather
than mere lectures, the Tech ladies kept it simple with the t–shirts,
flat shoes, simple hair styles and minimal make–up.
Any keen eye would have observed that from about 2007, the dress
code in Tech seemed to have taken a turn for the better. More guys
wore shirts and trousers, and the ladies donned more feminine
clothing with occasional heels.
This transformation seemed to have been translated throughout
CEDAT’s developments, the methods of teaching and learning, too.
A number of projects sprouted within CEDAT such as the Centre
for Research in Energy and Energy Conservation (CREEC),
Irrigation Project, and Academic Records and Management
Systems (ARMS), iLabs@Mak Project and Centre for Research in
Transportation Technologies (CRTT) which attracted and enrolled
17
a couple of interested and dedicated students. These numbers were
added to the existing initiatives like the Centre for Technology
Design and Development (CTDD), MakaPads and the Community
Wireless Resource Centre (CWRC).
CRTT was formulated to build upon the VDS consortium experience
by specifically applying advanced technologies to solving local
problems in the domain of energy, transport and environment.
CRTT implemented the Vehicle Design Project (VDP) as the first
project. VDP’s main aim was to design and bring to market the first
Ugandan electric vehicle – the MAK EV – a two–seater car that
would be used by the students to commute around the university
campus. The scope of this project was then revised to making the
MAK EV viable for the general Ugandan market. The requirement
specifications for the various systems were developed and designs
were taking shape.
Most of the Makerere developers that participated in the Vehicle
Design Summit 2.0 had left for greener pastures since there were
no income prospects at the time. A whole new student team had
been recruited with Richard Madanda in the lead. He was joined by
Fred Matovu forming the Powertrain Development Team, Paul
Rwemalla, Patricia Atungire, and Gerald Baguma on the
Communications Team, while Maurice Wandera and Nasser
Gyagenda formed the Mechanical Engineering team. All these were
fourth year students, working on this research for their final year
thesis. Diana Kagimba was the only continuing student at the time
and was a student research assistant of the Communications Team.
As the team continued with refinement of the designs, they received
communication from the President of the Republic of Uganda, His
Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, that he would visit the then
Faculty of Technology on 12th December 2009. This event was a
turning point not only for the project but also others in the Faculty.
18
At the end of the President’s tour of the projects he was very
impressed by the cocktail of Science and Technology innovations in
their incubation phases. Notable among these were the research in
Solar Technology, the MakaPADS Project, the Centre for
Technology Design and Development, the Innovations Clusters
Programme, and the illustrious Vehicle Design Project.
“Professor, I will soon invite you and your children to State House
to have a discussion,” H.E told Professor Tickodri–Togboa, who
doubled as the Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor (Finance and
Administration) of Makerere University at the time.
The invitation did come shortly thereafter and the staff and
students of the Faculty of Technology were hosted by His Excellency
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni at State House, Entebbe on 28th December
2009. In the meeting with Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and
other Technocrats from line Ministries in attendance, H.E. the
President expressed his delight at the great potential for Innovation
exhibited by the Faculty of Technology. A leader passionate about
advancing Science and Technology Innovations in the country, His
Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni pledged government support
to the Faculty of Technology with funds to the tune of UGX 25
Billion for the period 2010/2014 under the Presidential Initiative to
Support Science and Technology. Of this amount, 9 billion was to be
allocated to the Vehicle Design Project.
This funding, meant to run for a period of five (5) years, was
allocated to support activities for a total of eleven (11) projects,
furnish the various Faculty of Technology laboratories that were
dilapidated and under–equipped compared to the number of
students; as well as facilitate the Faculty Industrial Training
program. At the same meeting, the President proposed that MAK
EV be renamed Kiira EV, after the locally known Omugga Kiira
19
(River Nile – the longest river in the world) and the biggest source
of hydroelectric power in Uganda.
H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta and the CEDAT Delegation after the Meeting at State
House, Entebbe
The financial boost came like a shower of rain after a long ugly
drought at CRTT – a reason for the smiles seen that day!
Prior to the President’s intervention, the research was mainly
through hand sketching and computer simulations using different
software packages.
20
Sketches for functional spaces of the Kiira EV
Inspiration for the designs was drawn from the Murchison Falls as
seen in the picture that follows.
21
Murchison Falls
Sketches for Exterior Spaces of the Kiira EV PoC
22
The meagre personal funds the mentors used to inject into the
project were not enough to buy any physical components for tests or
integration. The research was being carried out in a small hidden
office in the Faculty. It was so hidden that even the janitors forgot
to clean it many times. The researchers resorted to getting a
particular janitor whom they would pay using their own money.
The office was then furnished with new computers with updated
software, and the old wooden butt–hardening chairs replaced with
comfortable ones that would not remind them when it was time to
go to their comfortable beds. After their final year, the developers
were retained as Graduate Research Assistants. The team was
expanded to include Nancy Senabulya, Kenneth Ndyabawe,
Jonathan Kasumba and Pauline Korukundo as Graduate Research
Assistants – full time staff; and Victor Tumwine, Brain Kaweesa,
Edgar Mugabi, Africa Junior, Margaret Nanyonga, Richard
Muhumuza, Namazzi Rosette, Arnold Magezi, Betty Maraka, Philly
Kintu plus James Byansi as Undergraduate Student Researchers.
The procurement of the various system components kicked off as
fabrication of the chassis and frame started. Have any idea how
many modules make up a modern average car? Hundreds of them!
Any idea of how the public procurement process works? It is too
generous with time! Such was one of the challenges encountered.
Slowly the ordered items trickled in, as the car chassis, or what was
supposed to be the chassis, took shape.
23
Computer Models of the Kiira EV Dimensions
The completion of the building of the vehicle frame gave further
hope to the team that the hand–sketched and computer–modelled
designs would be achieved.
This ‘classified’ installation of the Kiira EV was being executed in
an open section of the CEDAT basement, just besides the
Mechanical Engineering workshop/laboratory. It did not have fancy
barricades but was rather sealed off using make–shift ones. Access
to it was restricted to the team and a few select people under
guidance from a team member, all in full protective gear.
24
Fabrication Works in the CEDAT Basement
The body was constructed using fibre glass and wire mesh, a concept
illustrated in the image below.
Wire Mesh and Fibre Glass Technique used to forge the Kiira EV Body
25
Assembly of all units was a real test of craftsmanship or the drive
to attain it. With the major fabrication complete, the integration
works were done from inside the workshop.
The assembly and initial testing of the powertrain did not seem to
prepare the team enough for what to expect. As the motor was run
from the computer, the suspended tires started to rotate!
“Unplug the computer, I want us to drive the car now,” Paul
directed.
“Hold on, Paul. We still need to mo..,” Gerald mumbled.
“No, we have done all we can and all that we planned to do! I believe
we are ready for the road. If we don’t test it now, we will keep
moving in circles,” Paul Isaac Musasizi insisted.
Such moments clearly spell out the need for leadership in such
projects. There is the team that greatly worries about the technical
functionalities, and there is the team that gives direction. These
roles need to be synchronized for harmony.
Friday 28th October, 2011 . . . the sun set like on any other day, and
with the weekend mood already set in, there were hardly any people
in the Faculty building. The drizzle that evening created a serene
environment and unusual beauty in the parking lot. By evening, all
was quiet at the four–storey complex . . . , then something stirred!
A couple of figures quietly stepped out of one of the makeshift
workshop and surveyed the surroundings. Satisfied that all was
clear, they beckoned the others inside the workshop and the place
suddenly burst into a quiet flurry of activity. The hour had come.
Suspended about three–quarters of a metre above the floor, it
neither looked, nor did it sound like the ordinary cars that pry the
26
roads in Uganda. Its shouting green colour did not help in
concealing its differentiation.
After scores of hours running while suspended in one place, could it
move at all while on the ground? This was the central question.
There had been many concerns, little and big ones, here and there,
that had been addressed on a case–by–case basis. The latest had
been that in the car’s suspended state, only the left wheel had been
rotating all alone during tests, the one on the right did not show any
signs of life.
“Remove the spinning wheel and start the car,” Paul Isaac Musasizi
suggested. Left alone, the right wheel also rotated when the car was
started. With this nagging concern taken care of, the Kiira EV was
lowered.
Towards 20:00 hours that evening, the team became anxious and
was ready to push out of the building their new baby, weighing in
at one tonne. This time was chosen because the place was generally
deserted, and the university campus is not a designated testing
ground for cars. In any case, you would not want people coming to
watch such a spectacular initiative before you test it. The team
pushed it out as the intense anticipation was reaching its climax.
Kolobe, one of the members of the Bodyworks team, got in the car
together with Gerald Baguma as the co–driver. The rest of the team
looked on, with some on their knees silently calling upon the
Almighty to make it work!
Kolobe engaged the key...
. . . Started the car
. . . Shifted to ‘Drive’
. . . and accelerated
27
“It works! It works!” Victor Tumwine and Paul Isaac Musasizi
chorused as they tried to run after it but could not keep up. The
small team burst into applause as the Kiira EV gained momentum
and made its way out of the parking lot with ease. The car
accelerated and it raced forward without much difficulty; it climbed
the steep hill at the former Faculty of Technology.
Whoosh! That was a memory to cherish!
Kolobe tried some manoeuvres expected of a car and for a few
continuous minutes, the car performed satisfactorily. The
celebration got wilder and louder, and soon the cheering group
running alongside the car was enough to attract other viewers even
at that hour of the night. What these other viewers did not know
was that they were among the first people to witness Uganda’s first
purely electric car running for the first time. It would be another
three days before the car was unveiled to the public.
It was an exhilarating experience for the team as they bid one
another goodnight. On alighting from the car, Gerald, well–known
as the impassive type, turned around and hugged whoever was in
reach.
“My most memorable experience at CRTT was when we
tested the whole car in the laboratory and it was working. There are
many more but this one stands out. And for the day we first test–
drove it, I have no words! I just stood there speechless; I could have
shed a tear or so…am not sure!”
“Finally achieving this project that we started with no idea how it
would turn out made me realize the sky is not even the limit! At
some point, we lost all hope, we felt like we were just throwing
punches in the dark, but we kept moving, and our mentors made
sure we believed in our efforts,” Richard recalls.
28
Did the team sleep that Friday night? It did not really matter then.
Who cares what day or what time it is when your dream finally
comes true? Their grandchildren will probably hear them recount
that experience the same way war heroes make tales of the battles
they fought on return home. And for the lucky few, they are seen
being awarded medals on Heroes day cerebrated every 9th day of
June in Uganda.
The working of the car on a Friday night was energy–boosting
enough to have the team spend the weekend busy making all the
necessary re–alignments and modifications required based on the
results of the maiden test drive. The following day, Paul Isaac
Musasizi took the car through a whole range of performance
validation tests around the campus. Makerere University campus
in a way represents all of Uganda’s road conditions. He drove it on
flat ground, reversed, negotiated corners and roundabouts and
drove over some rough terrain. From very steep hills, sharp corners,
humps to terrible potholes, the Kiira EV covered them all.
The first public test drive was done on the following Monday,
flagged off by the then Vice Chancellor of Makerere, Professor
Venansius Baryamureeba, commonly referred to as ‘Barya’.
29
The First Public Test Drive of the Kiira EV
“This project should get not less than 30 acres of land to begin
producing this car,” Prof. Barya said.
On 24th November, 2011, H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni visited
CEDAT again to review the innovative projects he had helped to
fund. Although he was officially coming to view several various
projects, it was an open secret that the main focus was on the launch
of the Electric Vehicle. He first toured the other innovations which
included Low Cost Irrigation Pump by CEDAT; the Incubation
Centre at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
(CAES); The Role of Natural Products in Health care delivery:
Showcasing Herbal/Medicinal Products in the Treatment of Cancer
and Diabetes at the College of Natural Sciences (CoNAS);
Extending HIV/AIDS Testing and Counselling, TB Testing to
Inaccessible Areas at the College of Health Sciences (CHS); the
Teacher: Pupil Attendance Monitoring Tool from College of
Computing and Information Sciences (CoCIS) and a
30
Training/Education Model Aimed at Universal Production and
Development at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal
Resources and Bio Security (CoVAB).
With delight on his face, the Head of State was then invited to
officially launch the Kiira EV. Franked by Professor Sandy Stevens
Tickodri–Togboa, the entire team and other dignitaries, Paul Isaac
Musasizi welcomed him and explained to him how the car works.
Was the President excited? Oh yes! You could read it all over his
face!
“Where are all my stars?” he joked. “Let them come and I take
photos with them.”
H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni takes a picture with the Kiira EV Team
The entire Kiira EV team approached the car and to many, that was
the closest they had ever come to the President. You bet you will
find that even after so many years, some members of the team still
have the shots of that day being their Facebook and Whatsapp
31
profile pictures as well as for the other various social media
accounts.
“Does it work?” asked H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta
Museveni.
“YES!” Paul Isaac Musasizi uttered confidently.
“Okay, let’s go!” the President motioned as he took the co–
driver’s seat.
Taken by surprise, Paul fumbled a bit reaching for the car key in
his pocket. He was not prepared to be the first Civilian Driver (if
that term exists at all just like First Son), and worse still not for
driving the President off the display platform.
Paul Isaac Musasizi drives H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in the Kiira EV
But again, who says stars do ordinary things? He closed the co–
driver’s door, sat behind the steering wheel and confidently drove
the Head of State to the parking lot of Food Science and Technology
building, spanning a distance of about 200 meters. The President’s
32
security detail, totally unprepared for this too, quickly ran alongside
the car, hardly keeping up.
Beads of sweat broke from Paul’s shirt as he smiled and parked for
the President to alight. And wider was the smile on the President’s
face! Anyone next to him then could swear that the President
definitely uses toothpaste stronger than Colgate!
What better way to grace the launch and publicly test the car than
with the Presidential ride?
“I have nothing but happiness and pleasure to have been here to
launch the Kiira EV. I encourage you to continue. Do not worry
about the money, we shall look for it. With our oil, the issue of
money will be nothing,’’ His Excellency remarked amidst cheer from
the gathering.
“I must salute Makerere. I will give you all the support. This is just
a small beginning. Africa being out of technology has led to slavery,
colonialism and marginalization but we can reverse and go back. I
am really happy with what is happening here. You can be sure of
all the support from Government in spite of our limited resources,’’
he re–affirmed.
His Excellency described the innovations at Makerere as a
renaissance, adding that the institution has woken up from `a deep
Kulambaala (slumber),’ that has taken its toll on the African
continent.
“I have told the ministries that in terms of remuneration, Scientists
should be remunerated up to near international standards. We are
going to increase the support for the Institutions,” he commented,
and that was music to the developers’ ears!
The dusk of Saturday 26th November, 2011, carried good news with
it: Professor Tickodri–Togboa (commonly referred to as just Prof,
33
Professor, or even Uncle T–T amongst the team) received a call from
State House. The caller told Uncle TT that the President of the
Republic of Uganda wanted to talk to him.
They first cracked a few jokes in Lugbara, and then His Excellency
had one question regarding the launch of the Kiira EV: “What
next?”
“Your Excellency, we have a few ideas. Please give me some time to
put together a concrete proposal,” Professor Tickodri–Togboa
informed him.
“How much time do you require?” The President asked.
“One week, Your Excellency,” Professor requested.
“I will all take one week to organise my friends, the KASITAs.” “So
you have two weeks.” The president informed him.
With that, Professor Sandy Stevens Tickodri–Togboa and Paul
Isaac Musasizi went into a brainstorming session with the rest of
the team of researchers and engineers from CRTT and consulted
with a few other colleagues. And boom, the idea of defining the clear
path to producing the Kiira EV was concretized!
The visit to present the completed proposal was made to State
House Nakasero on Saturday 10th December, 2011, and the team
came back all smiles, having been promised the 154 billion Uganda
shillings (70 million USD) required to further the project according
to the budget presented.
And thus the Kiira EV Project was born. CRTT was to implement
the Kiira EV Project as its second venture after the Vehicle Design
Project.
The Kiira EV Project is a five–year project for the period 2012 –
2017, with the main aim of establishing the Government owned
34
Kiira Motors Corporation (KMC) – the pioneer Automotive Original
Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) in East Africa.
The Presidential ride in the Kiira EV heightened the thrill about
the car among all media, both local and foreign. To further show his
pride in the works of Ugandan scientists, the President invited the
Kiira EV project team to showcase the car to the members of the
NRM caucus during their retreat at the National Leadership
Institute in Kyankwanzi district on January 18th, 2012. The
Ministers and all members of the caucus present could not hide
their delight and all stamped their feet in agreement of continued
Government support to the project.
************
Kiira EV continued to receive front page coverage and hot item
status on televisions. Reuters and the CNN came to shoot special
documentaries in the days that followed. The iconic KIIRA EV
captured the attention of both the young and the old!
Inspector General of Police – Kale Kayihura visits the Kiira EV
35
Boys and Girls visit the Kiira EV for Inspiration
“Never thought I'd see Uganda appear on Engadget, makes me
proud of my heritage!” one Ugandan with a user name jleurbewma
commented on Engadget’s article about the Kiira EV.
“The beauty of this project is not in its originality or in its
practicality, but in its symbolism. For the first time in their lives, a
group of young Africans in Africa look at themselves with renewed
confidence – if we put our minds to something we can do it. We are
witnessing a generation of Africans who are very slowly setting
themselves free from the mental limitations that assailed their
parents’ generation,” Nwachi from Nigeria commented on The
Guardian.
Ugandans and Africans in general wanted the Ugandan car
produced almost immediately, and the Kiira EV team got back to
work to give them exactly that and much more. With the Proof of
concept done, the team started on plans to build a vehicle to address
public transport plights.
36
On any working day, you would find in the Kiira EV Project parking
lot a Toyota Corolla of the UAH series that seemed to have served
its time.
“This is the car that fetched the 154bn,” the owner said.
It is the car that part of the team had driven in to present that
proposal before His Excellency. Indeed it was one of those
possessions that when you finally let go of, you would tell ‘Well done
faithful servant.’ Probably he will let go of it when he is handed the
second car that will come off the Kiira EV production line.
Reenah, a young woman in her late twenties, was over the moon
when her husband–to–be handed over keys to a ‘new car’ to her
parents at her kuhingira. Kuhingira is a traditional pre–wedding
ceremony in Western Uganda where a girl is ‘given away’ to the
husband–to–be. As a sign of appreciation, the husband–to–be and
his family may bring gifts to her parents. These gifts may range
from drinks to kitchen ware and accessories, to general house hold
furnishings. The flashier ones include houses and cars, on top of the
cows that are a requirement as dowry, depending upon the family
virtues. And these flashy gifts become the talk of the town until
another story hits!
She indeed was the talk of the town for a while and the envy of
many. Who wouldn’t want a son–in–law that can afford to give them
a ‘new car’? But how new was this new car? It was a Toyota Nadia
1999 model with the latest registration number series at the time –
UAT series – and fresh from one of the numerous bonds in Kampala
with imported used cars.
All the cars plying Ugandan roads are imported, with more than
90% being second hand cars. Most of the vehicles lined up in the
bonds are over 10 years old. These bonds are filled with at least a
representation from each of the major auto makers in the world,
with the latest of these being 2003 models. To an ordinary Ugandan,
37
a 2003 model is ‘brand new’ and it has been difficult to convince
them otherwise.
“The Ipsum 2003 model has got ‘new eyes’ and nobody will convince
me that it is too old to come to Uganda. If it is old then what is new?”
asked Ssebunya, a local car dealer. In an article written by Joshua
Kato in the New Vision newspaper, the car dealer was reacting to
the proposed ban on the importation of vehicles older than seven (7)
years, in a bid to implement a policy to prevent cars in a very poor
condition from entering into the Ugandan market.
The Kiira EV Project seeks to provide a satisfactory answer to
Abbey’s question among others, through establishing an auto
making plant in Uganda. Is Uganda ready for this? The time has
never felt so ripe!
Establishment of the automotive development industry in Uganda
will no doubt play a significant role in industrialization of the
nation. The Uganda National Vision 2040, “A Transformed
Ugandan Society from a Peasant to a Modern and Prosperous
Country within 30 years” is conceptualized around strengthening
the fundamentals of the economy to harness the abundant
opportunities around the country. The opportunities include; oil and
gas, tourism, minerals, ICT business, abundant labour force,
geographical location and trade, water resources, industrialization,
and agriculture. This vision stipulates a strong and competitive
industrial base as the key to a resilient economy through advancing
technology and creation of jobs. By establishing Kiira Motors
Corporation, KMC, a vehicle production plant, Uganda has the
opportunity to leapfrog in technology to advance industrialization.
Prospects for the development of the Uganda automotive sector are
very promising. The Kiira EV Project represents the commitment of
Uganda to develop indigenous solutions to her central needs. The
first step was in delivery of a solution to private mobility – the Kiira
38
EV SMACK, a production prototype and an improved version of the
Kiira EV delivered by the Vehicle Design Project. Incremental
changes are key to innovation and continued improvement, and
CRTT clearly practices this. A hybrid car for the local and export
market, the Kiira EV SMACK has been positioned as the flagship
product for KMC. The hybrid concept is expected to provide wonders
in a land locked country that imports gasoline but produces its own
electricity!
KMC will pay particular attention to delivering world standard
vehicles off its production line. The manufacturing of motor
vehicles, as well as related retail and planned exportation,
distribution and servicing activities will facilitate Uganda’s global
positioning. It will greatly spur local component manufacturing
companies too.
Kiira EV Project draws on the experiences of the team since the
VDS 2.0 times, together with the existing world practices and
standards. It aims at developing the team’s competencies and skills
that will spur the operations of Kiira Motors Corporation to make it
a sustainable global competitor.
The project also recognises the critical role of the concept of high–
performing collaborative community, forming strategic alliances in
order to enhance the speed and flexibility of KMC operations. Mario
Binder and Ben Clegg in their book ‘Sustainable Supplier
Management in the Automotive Industry’ defined collaboration as
a core factor in leading the third revolution in the industry.
Collaboration with relevant stakeholders holds the key to creating
more value and producing more efficiency at the different levels of
product development – from concept refinement, product
specification, throughout supply chain management catering for
strategic and tactical planning, sourcing and contracting,
collaborative forecasting, design and development, as well as brand
39
development. The competitive landscape of the automotive industry
generally thrives on customer responsiveness, faster speed to
market and Innovation. Leveraging the expertise and experience of
other global automotive developers will help leapfrog the
institutionalization of KMC.
KMC is to be housed on a 100 acre estate at the Uganda Investment
Authority, Jinja Industrial and Business Park. It will be furnished
with state–of–the–art facilities for engineering and innovations,
production, corporate affairs and whole vehicle validation. This will
be a ‘first’ for Uganda.
A local newspaper reporter shared how he was at a Regional Miss
Uganda Contest and was trying to convince the crew in charge of
production to change the way they set up the lights at the stage.
The crew did not buy his idea, and the best he got was a yelling from
a lady who had taken his insistence personally. “You have a lot of
lugezigezi1. Do you think this is New York where things are done
properly? This is Uganda, we do what we want,” she shouted.
Everything suddenly went quiet, and the people around waited for
what he would do next, half expecting him to explode and throw
things at her, considering the impatient person he is known to be.
To the surprise of everyone, the reporter simply smiled and walked
away. He later said: “that miss paid me the ultimate compliment at
the time.”
The Kiira EV Project has also received such ‘compliments’ from a
few people who claim that the Project has lugezigezi. “Leave car
making to Bazungu, they are the ones who started those things,”
one was heard commenting.
Lugezigezi is a local word with not a very precise meaning. It can be used in the
context of someone trying to do things differently, rising above your current norm.
1
40
However, it is time to break away from the Ugandan norm and do
things differently and properly, following the right standards, even
if it means being labelled as having lugezigezi.
A car is a basic need in Uganda today, and the world at large . . .
Try blocking the roads for just one morning, and you have enough
offices, schools, and businesses unable to operate . . . there is a
build–up of anxiety when there is a shortage of fuel in the country .
. . and heightened frustration on people’s faces as they wait at the
taxi stages when the fourteen–seater commuter taxi drivers are on
strike. Cars are the fundamental and most efficient means of
transport in Uganda. It is time for Uganda to break away from just
being a mere consumer of automotive products, and rather
contribute to the automotive development. Why must you continue
renting a house, yet you have the potential to build your own?
Armed with its drive for green technology and enhanced by the
government’s commitment, the Kiira EV Project lays the foundation
for the institutionalization of Kiira Motors Corporation, the genesis
of an industry that will play as an employer providing high quality
jobs to the citizenry, improve global positioning of the pearl of
Africa, improve retention of Ugandan engineers and other
professionals, and not to mention inspire younger generations to
ruminate science and technology innovations and careers.
41
Chapter 2
DEFINING THE FLAGSHIP
PRODUCTION VEHICLE
“Every day that we spent not improving our products was a wasted day.” ~ Joel Spolsky
Back in the nineteenth century when automobiles were new, the
working of a car took precedence over its aesthetic appeal. Harley
Earl, one of General Motors’ designers of over 30 years, determined
to change the appearance of the automobile in the better half of the
twentieth century. When he introduced the concept car, it was a tool
majorly for the design process and marketing. Most of his early
work stretched and lowered car bodies in an effort to make them
streamlined. By the time of his retirement, he had introduced the
use of modelling clay to create full scale show cars. His idea of
conceptualizing allowed one to conceal headlights within the car
body and door handles to flush with the body surface while
incorporating new functional features like windshield wipers
among other things. Earl’s far–sighted dream completely
revolutionized the car making process to more than just a functional
machine.
“I dream automobiles”.
Those were some of Earl’s own words. True or not, many took to
putting their dreams for automobiles to paper. Some designers
became inspired to style cars based on the aircraft body.
The fusion between unbounded technology and imaginative designs
has since evolved. It’s no wonder that automotive engineers are
constantly adding widely impractical technology like nuclear
generators and incredible engines into unusual birdcage – shaped
forms. The Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan houses one such
42
concept – the Nucleon, a show car with an atomic–powered engine,
supposedly attaining 8000 km on a single charge of its fuel uranium.
The car was introduced in 1958 but was never offered for
production.
Ford Motor Company is not the only company to have built concept
cars over the past decades. Automotive Companies like Toyota,
Nissan and General Motors have created demonstration cars with
highly futuristic features, exaggerated body work, fabric–skin,
shape–shifting material and quite the extravagant technology.
These models are usually displayed at Auto Shows such as the
Tokyo Motor show, Johannesburg International Motor Show,
Frankfurt, Paris and Detroit Auto shows to create the buzz used to
gauge public opinion and guide possible production of such cars.
One such time was when Toyota demonstrated a car with a hybrid
powertrain in the 1975 Tokyo Motor Show. It would seem that the
Toyoda–built company had given up on embracing this new
technology, until her first hybrid car to enter production, the Prius,
was released in 1993. Now the Prius doesn’t have the entire
technology illustrated in the Toyota Century Hybrid, it simply took
on the general idea of a hybrid powertrain and was scaled for the
21st century. That’s what concept cars are for, they hardly go into
production directly. The futuristic fanciness they emanate provides
a basic framework for cars to come.
Earl’s radical work implies more time planning a production car.
The approach seems unnecessary and redundant. However, over
the years, history has shown that companies need to make two or
more prototypes before the styling and technology becomes second
nature.
Factors like cost may also be bearing on conceptual ideas but there
are a lot more considerations such as modifications on functionality,
new technology, new tooling and evaluation of styling to ensure
43
practicability. The burden of technology maturity is best addressed
through a production intent vehicle before production can start.
************
The shift of the Kiira EV Project offices from Makerere
University to Ntinda came with terrain changes. There were many
old dirt roads off the Ntinda road that wind into Naguru. After four
or so years in a small office in the old technology building at
Makerere University, there’s one particular dirt road that would be
of significance to the Kiira EV Project team as they journeyed to
work every day. It was so steep that you could picture toppling off
it like a cone. The turn at the end of the sheer drop was now the
access route to their new home. Forget the road nature, it was still
Uganda, such was no surprise. When you arrived at the new campus
though, a couple of things stood out – the gate was green to start
with, if you got past that without losing your sight, you were good
to go. Hidden somewhere on the upper floor, in the corner office, it
was placed on the massive mahogany table. You noticed it every
time you entered the room. It was green too! A green car, shielded
within a colourless structure – It was a model of the Kiira EV Proof
of Concept.
The Kiira EV Project did have their version of Harley Earl. His real
name was Philly Kintu, but his nickname Robo Arch was better on
him. Some say he lived his life in architecture school in preparation
for the apocalypse. One definite thing is that he was a dreamer who
tried to make his university room in the Lumumba hall a smart one.
First was the camera which every visitor had to look into for the
door to be opened. Then there was the inverter and batteries that
got him through power cuts. The classic four twenty litre jerry cans
of water were even funnier. But not to laugh, that’s what you call a
prepared man. His outlook to life poses a question on whether the
architecture programme at Makerere University had been revised
44
to carter for the computer geeks and not just those good at designing
functional space.
Philly (in black) stares at the 1:10 Paper Mache Model of the Kiira EV Proof of Concept
Philly was part of the design team that defined the Kiira EV proof
of concept. His vision was to visualize the car in bigger space. One
of his greatest achievements was the Paper Mache one to ten model
he made for the Kiira EV. It was not functional, hardly full scale,
but it was physical, enabling one to visualize the car being built. It
was painted green, and it made it to that table in the corner office,
reminding everyone of the small beginnings and the bright future
ahead.
‘‘I’m heading back to Studio’’, Philly always said.
45
Once he left that small office, they all burst out into laughter. Studio
was his other home. By ‘studio’, he referred to the architectural
studios where he had his lectures. Philly was in his third year of
Architecture . . . It would take him another two years to complete
his bachelor’s degree. His passion for design and computers would
be his greatest asset as a professional architect on graduation. The
demand on a student of his calibre only heightened with time…He
probably got stuck in studio after that model (as most architecture
students do), but his memory lives on.
The team did go farther to make one to one physical models for the
proof of concept car, using wire and paper, but the move to
production required full scale functional prototypes.
Paper Model for the Kiira EV PoC
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Obtaining Interior Space Requirements using a Wire Model of the Kiira EV PoC
The norm in the automotive industry was to make a production
intent vehicle before releasing a car to market, and so would the
small start–up find her feet! The planning was bound to be a
vigorous and lengthy process, but it was inevitable. Following the
release of the Kiira EV, the tangible discussions on production were
bounced around the boardroom a year later as the reality of this
process would begin. The team would soon agree that the best tactic
was dividing her six year time–to–production into prototyping,
defining the production intent and production! To the operational
team, the Kiira EV SMACK prototype was an idea out of nowhere,
an unexpected challenge that could create unfathomed
opportunities for the Kiira EV Project, or at least it seemed so.
Any tranquillity between Kiira EV proof of concept car and
production was far off. Inside the hearts of the men and women on
that team would be real answers on what it would take. To
understand would require one to know the complexities of building
a sleek production car south of the Sub–Saharan desert (and North
of South Africa), and to profoundly claim that all things are possible.
47
This car would have to break into a market saturated by the
developed world.
The Kiira EV SMACK prototype had to address the needs of a driver
four years ahead. It needed to capture Ugandans and definitely
those closest to her borders. It had to be big enough for a typical
family, generally seating more than two people, but sleek enough to
attract those with quite the amount of money – not only would it
show potential for production, but also attract would–be customers.
The Kiira EV SMACK was a step towards production. It required
lasting engineering that could be transformed into production. It
was a time to innovate while staying relevant.
Marketing such a car can be challenging because of the enthusiasts
and the technology–resistant. Whether using the simplest designs
modern engineering could devise or not, these categories must both
be gratified to the greatest extent possible.
When it came to putting pen to paper, glances were exchanged
across the room. The silence was loud. The month–long
preparations yielded an analysis of the processes to be followed. The
write up was the system requirements specification for the SMACK.
Hereon, the direction was clearly tabled and implementation kicked
off.
************
Aside from knowing that the SMACK was a new product, a
different car with different requirements, a few things were
reminders of the Proof of Concept amidst the new memories created.
Although the composition and behavioural characteristics were the
same, ninety per cent of the team was new. There was a completely
new technology to learn, a new design to achieve and new
expectations to meet. Those were the days at hand.
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The ball kept rolling for nearly eight months. Writing, re–writing
and refining! For the Designers – those unusual professionals –
there inspiration came from interesting dwellings. The inspiration
seemed random: from cars, water, fashion, home furnishing, and
food. Some mood boards hanging in the design room had tops from
soda bottles . . . , do not ask what that inspired. For certain they
meant well. If you visited between 8:00am and 5:000pm, you would
see crumpled pieces of paper everywhere across the design room;
some with lines of code that had failed, others with sketches that
were never accepted. These pages held the first material form of the
car.
The designers had a go at defining a catchy exterior and interior for
the SMACK. The first designs looked something like this:
Initial Computer Model of the Kiira EV SMACK
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Initial Computer Model showing the Interior of the Kiira EV SMACK
It is not until they got it right and as the components started to
arrive that the quietness started to fade. By the time the designers
delivered the final aesthetics of the car with the shape, frame,
interior, grille and body panels, the original design had been
rebirthed into a beautiful piece. It was pure automotive art.
The Final Computer Model of the Kiira EV SMACK
50
The time gave the application developers room to correct all their
bugs as they got better acquainted with the new development
platforms. It was finally time to bring sketch to metal and to test
theory on hardware.
10:30am became the silent coffee hour…perhaps in resonance with
the Bright Angels Nursery School adjoining the premises – the
bellows from those babies must have created internal clocks with
the digestive system. One often slipped away to make a cup or two
and munched on chapatti even after the 8:00am breakfast where
Fred’s pancakes were something to look forward to. Fred Matovu –
one of the Powertrain Systems Researchers – used to carry about
twelve pancakes. Everyone could have a share.
“Fred, does your pancake guy take a day off on Mondays?”
“Yes. He takes his kids to school.”
It was funny if you were not hungry…businessmen in Kampala
hardly take day offs. Nonetheless, pancakes were a rare commodity
on Mondays. You had to carry a bite and hope Fred Matovu
remembered pancakes the next day.
On the other hand the coffee maker did make a strange noise, as
though it begged for attention. Shortly after turning it on, the entire
team was in the kitchen talking and laughing at anything but work.
Those introverts that joined the team were quickly turned into
loud–laughers…it was hard not to bond with such family.
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Fabrication of the Kiira EV SMACK Frame and Chassis
Towards the completion of fabrication of the SMACK chassis
and frame structure, the pressure started to mount. If there were
enough men out there for this job, the ladies would not have shown
up. The numbers were all there in representation. In all majesty,
they dressed up in their blue overalls and safety boots. Welding
glasses and gas masks came in handy once in a while. The
integration of components into the car had started.
Something was amiss. The bigger part of the team was barely sober
when the fabrication was completed. It was a time some would lose
their sleep and precious evenings spent with family or watching the
latest release at the Century Fox cinema in Kamwokya. It also took
a couple of Power Horse and Wake Up cans, the classic energy
drinks available at the Quality supermarket, the nearest store to
the Ntinda office. This was the order of the day! Well, at least for a
couple of months.
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Conceivably, some strangers would not understand the more
common lingo to the team such as the ‘military operation’ or
‘champions’. The ‘military operation’ was a set of circumstances that
inspired more effort, more time, and more diligence to embrace the
current project – the Kiira EV SMACK, and to produce the best
version of that prototype! The activities on the car at the time were
segregated from the outsiders . . . except with the required clearance
– as with the traditional military operations area. They believed
they were ‘champions’ because they held the future in their very
hands; they had the power to continually shape it. They never gave
up at the site of a daunting undertaking; their strength was
renewed at the thought of a better future – one that would influence
the lives of many. These champions believed their greatest victory
was yet to come.
The result of over one and a half years of numerous designs,
unexpected delays, off–board testing, integration, quality checks
and evaluations was a petrol–electric hybrid coupe with an electric
motor of 107 horse power, a 4–cylinder 2.0 L naturally–aspirated
engine in dual operation with sixty–four lithium ion cells to power
the traction motor. The series hybrid powertrain architecture was
configured to enable the vehicle deliver a range bound to the
availability of fuel in the tank along with an all–electric range of
32km for urban duty cycle at zero emission. With only final touches
on the hybrid powertrain pending, it was high time the SMACK was
test driven and show cased to Ugandans. In May 2014, key
accomplishments were earmarked in the history of KMC. Following
final tweaks made to the car during this time, May represents the
first time the SMACK was put on a track to test its performance.
The first public display of the SMACK was on Thursday, 15 th of
May, 2014, when KMC was officially assigned 100 acres of land in
the Jinja Industrial and Business Park to set up infrastructure for
auto manufacturing in Uganda.
************
53
Detailed thought, effort and money define a product such as
the SMACK. Selection of its sedan body style was no sheer luck. It
was driven by a hope for platform sharing, a cost effective method
to foster diversity. It would allow deliberation on other aspects of
the car to make it as unique a product as possible.
For the Kiira EV Project to commercialize any of her products there
was need to set up a company to do that. The Kiira Motors
Corporation, KMC, was that company. In principle, the Kiira EV
SMACK was the ‘would–be’ flagship product for the Kiira Motors
Corporation. Being the flagship product, the SMACK would be the
first product, central to KMC’s competencies, and a defining product
that would sustain KMC out of the profits from its sales.
Modern production does not depend on single or unified sources.
Different countries in the world have comparative advantages in
making certain types of equipment more than others. Supply chains
that actually work have to be set up to ensure smooth flow of
operations. Such was the premise of the anticipated success of KMC
. . . , hinged highly on scholarship from the developed world where
the automotive industry has flourished since Henry Ford’s
transition of this industry in the twentieth century.
Ford’s single contribution to the transformation of the automotive
industry through his vision to make low priced vehicles that could
serve both pleasure and family transportation is inspiring. There
are great lessons in his work since production of the Kiira EV
SMACK faces a lot of competition. If Henry Ford could borrow ideas
from watchmakers, sewing machine makers and meat process to
make a moving assembly line at the time that he did, one wonders
how much easier it is to start producing cars in Africa today.
When you consider the skilled technicians in Uganda who sit away
in the corners of the infamous Kiseka market, bunging away at
sheet metal to shape it as they wish, the thought of hand–made cars
is simplified. Moreover, hand–made cars are some of the most
54
expensive. So, if the use of simple tools is an ordinary sunny
Tuesday afternoon in Kampala, then the Kiira EV SMACK is only
four years from rolling out of the KMC Production Plant.
As green technology, especially Electric Vehicle (EV) technology,
slowly creeps into Uganda with the likes of Nissan Leaf, and Toyota
Prius, the market understands it better. The hybrid technology will
not take much longer to become commonplace.
Remember the black pearl diamond on her hushed maiden test
drive, with a tenacious grille embracing the silhouette of the crested
crane! The hope was that purely electric, hybrid and internal
combustion engine sedan versions would roll out of the plant, with
up to five choices of attention–seeking colour shades that implore
open–eyed glances, Uganda would be ready for a new technological
revolution.
A Computer Model of the Production Vehicle
55
Chapter 3
POSITIONING THE TEAM FOR
KIIRA MOTORS CORPORATION
“If you believe in something, work nights and weekends, it won’t feel like work.” ~ Kevin Rose
One of the significant milestones of the five–year Kiira EV
Project was the incorporation of Kiira Motors Corporation in April
2014, thereby creating the first ever home for automotive
manufacturing in Uganda. Establishing the pioneer automotive
original equipment manufacturing company in Jinja would perhaps
revive the once industrial heart of Uganda into a hub for the
automotive industry. This former industrial heart was vibrant for
almost three decades, growing by leaps and bounds from the
generation of hydroelectric power at the Owen Falls Dam and the
Railway line going through the town. Her decline was triggered by
the exodus of Asians following Idi Amin’s declaration of an
‘economic war’ in 1972 and the post–Amin civil wars. The former
resounding splendour of the town is best described by John Hanning
Speke’s notes when he first laid eyes on the River Nile in Jinja:
“Though beautiful, the scene was not exactly what I expected,
for the broad surface of the lake was shut out from view by a spur
of hill, and the falls, about twelve feet deep and four to five hundred
feet broad, were broken by rocks; still it was a sight that attracted
one to it for hours. The roar of the waters, the thousands of
passenger fish leaping at the falls with all their might, the
fishermen coming out in boats, and taking post on all the rocks with
rod and hook, hippopotami and crocodiles lying sleepily on the
water, the ferry at work above the falls, and cattle driven down to
drink at the margin of the lake, made in all, with the pretty nature
of the country — small grassy-topped hills, with trees in the
56
intervening valleys and on the lower slopes — as interesting a
picture as one could wish to see.”
The industrial fame of Jinja was soon replaced by Kampala city
which had a major pull on its industries. Since her establishment in
1907, Jinja has grown into the second busiest commercial centre in
Uganda. This tourist location speaks hidden memories for the Kiira
Motors Corporation history apart from the origin of the name
‘Kiira’. The tale begins at the end of a long journey – the completion
of the proof of concept car. The team did not go on hiatus. They had
become convinced that neither the Kiira EV achievement nor the
154 billion Uganda Shillings would produce the car of the future;
they needed fresh inspiration, the kind that comes from within until
it overflows without. This would be their recipe to design a great
car.
In the dawn of January of 2012, about ten of them jumped into a
blue stripped van – a taxi, and took a long ride to Jinja to gain this
inspiration for the next vehicle. A typical two–hour journey on the
Ugandan road was nearly four hours long that day, despite the
recent roadwork to improve the highway. The excursion was
nothing short of the usual Namawojolo ‘chicken-on-a-stick’ for the
meat lovers and roasted plantain for the rest. The Namawojolo spot
could not be missed. It is along the Jinja – Iganga highway before
the edge of the Mabira forest, with its enthusiastic roadside meat
vendors calling out for attention:
“Chicken?”, “Muchomo?”, “Liver?”, “Gizzards?”, “Sister ka soda?”
Everyone had to their fill, two or more sticks, anticipating no other
stopovers.
Arrival in Jinja was signified by the large houses and noticeable
compounds, a part of the legacy left by the original sizeable Asian
community. Covered with oils from the spoils of Namawojolo, the
team had arrived at the Source of the River Nile – the Speke
Monument site. Lots of open stalls with African craft filled the
57
stairway to the water. The walk down was short. It’s a good thing
these vendors hardly call out to Black Africans! At the end were
enormous rocks making way to a mid–sized boat. A few minutes of
paying the trip fare and suiting up for the waters, they jumped onto
the next available boat with yellow life jackets wrapped round the
upper body. The trip to the source of the Nile was a swift glide along
the calm waters. They arrived at the quaint attraction the explorer
had walked along in search of the source of the Nile. A mere look at
the small island enclosing Speke’s monument is a magical sight to
digest. It was at that point that you would see the water emerge
from the soil, the source of the River Nile.
Overlooking the island were nearly submerged rocks, perhaps due
to the rising water level as dusk drew close, large flora and the
fauna wandering on the water and a sight of birds unknown.
Jonathan was one of the designers on the boat, he asked the guide
to get closer to something in the water. Attention was soon
swallowed by the unspoken whirlpool of the ripples and mysterious
bubbles in the water, a phenomenal marvel for mere architects and
engineers on the boat. To wonder if the confluence was spiritual
activity was not far–fetched. The interspersing of white water drew
Jonathan close, and held him in. He had found a mystic moment of
inspiration, one that would shape the KMC future. Six months
later, there were exciting designs from the exploits – the sketches
he created flowered into the character lines of the Kiira EV SMACK.
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A sketch of the Kiira EV SMACK showing the Character Lines
These were the fruits of inspiration from a land like no other, one
that would soon be home to the team.
Despite the fall and rather sluggish economic recovery of Jinja, the
connection to the Malaba and Busia border posts with Kenya is still
existent – a linkage to the Mombasa port. Its proximity to the
electric power station, and the low crime rate compared to Kampala
was rather advantageous. It glitters with a deep blueness on the
Lake Victoria and the lush green and view of the water can quietly
soothe your soul.
Charles Onyango–Obbo, a Daily Monitor reporter wrote an article
in July 2012 where he defined Jinja as a place with the potential to
give Uganda the “Nile Silicon Valley”. In his article on Forget
Kampala; Uganda’s technology dreams will come true faster in
Jinja, Charles calls Jinja a perfect place where a lively innovation
scene can be created. Jinja’s promise for KMC is rich.
************
The opportune acquisition of land in Jinja for the establishment of
the KMC infrastructure, coupled with the almost tangible promise,
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suggested a need for expeditious preparation of the team for 2018 –
a timeline signifying the close of the Kiira EV Project and
institutionalization of KMC. At that time, KMC would also be
preparing to roll out her first vehicles to the market. Whereas the
KMC foundation was strongly built on a student team working
closely with lecturers at the university, alongside a select group of
automotive technicians to build the first Kiira EV, the KMC success
would be premised on a strong professional organisation, with a
notable skillset in automotive development.
For seamless synergy in the transition, the development of the team
was informally started back in 2008 when the Vehicle Design
Summit team was constituted; students from the former Faculty of
Technology and Faculty of Computing and Information Technology
did part of their internship at the Faculty of Technology and spent
a couple of weeks in Torino, Italy.
In 2009, the team was trained in automotive systems at the Spear
Motors Limited workshop in Nakawa, Uganda – a private company
duly incorporated under the Law of Uganda. Founded in 1974 by
Professor Gordon Wavamunno, it became the sole official
distributor in Uganda for Daimler AG of Stuttgart, Germany – the
manufactures of Mercedes Benz. It also distributes other legendary
brands like Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Deutz Fahr Tractors. The
team of five students had over twelve weeks of intensive training at
the Spear Motors service garage in automotive mechanical systems
and control units. The end of the training produced engineers with
knowledge in the internal workings of a conventional internal
combustion engine vehicle. With a well–founded mechanical team,
there was need to harness skills in control systems development.
As such, in 2010 core training in control systems programming was
taken at Muhlbauer, Germany for six months. Three noteworthy
Kiira EV Project researchers that took part in this training were
Gerald Baguma, Doreen Orishaba and Nasser Gyagenda. The
knowledge from this exposure, together with LabVIEW training
60
under the supervision of a National Instruments (NI) Field
Engineer was vital in the creation of the Kiira EV. The LabVIEW
graphical programming platform helps engineers scale from design
to testing of small– to large–scale systems. It is ideal for any
measurement or control system. Its support for accelerated
productivity and continual innovation provided a strong foundation
for the Vehicle Electronics department of the Kiira EV Project.
Around the completion of the Kiira EV proof of concept
development, the Kiira EV Project Internship program had
improved from students taking training for a few weeks as required
by the University for Academic Credit, to a team that was eager to
learn while they carried out their normal study load. The
requirement by the project was that the students maintained good
grades while doing the research with the project. Some structure
was visible in the internship program that had been birthed to
breed professional engineers. The scheme of working with students
started to produce tangible results in 2011 when the Kiira EV proof
of concept car was finally brought to completion.
Additionally, the second group of interns had completed their
undergraduate studies. Their full time availability for project
activities indicated potential for quality innovations. To explore this
potential, the project initiated avenues for mentorship – A much–
needed effort in fostering efficiency whilst delivering work. Through
collaboration with the iLabs@Mak Project, a few international
mentors were identified: Andrew Watchorn and Lesley Yu of
National Instruments. These provided guidance to the technical
team that had been working on the control systems of the Kiira EV.
The competent nature of the engineers on the project kept Andrew
Watchorn’s attention quenched since his first visit to the Kiira EV
Project. That encounter was in 2011 during a visit to Makerere
University in which he was to give training and administer a
certification test to beginners in LabVIEW programming.
Successful participants would become Certified LabVIEW Associate
61
Developers. His focus at the time was the iLabs@Mak Project which
had embraced the National Instruments’ hardware for her online
laboratories. In 2011, Kiira EV Project was not only using NI
hardware to develop the brain of the Kiira EV, but also took part in
the LabVIEW training delivered by Andrew Watchorn. Three of the
Kiira EV Project’s engineers qualified for the certification as
LabVIEW Associate Developers.
Following that visit, he sought out Gerald Baguma, the lead
software developer on the Kiira EV Project at the time. Since then,
Andrew Watchorn seems to have added Makerere University to the
list of universities where he would monitor the use of National
Instruments hardware as well as further discussions on working
with National Instruments. His interest in the car project became
profound. He decided to support it the best way he could without
any remuneration for his efforts. The engaging technical
discussions with Gerald Baguma, as he developed the software for
the Kiira EV, were not only on email and Skype, but also involved
Andrew travelling to Uganda at least every year to follow up on the
team’s progress. Andrew’s LinkedIn profile speaks volumes of his
proud association with this team. In a summary of his profile he
writes, “…I'm also proud to travel to Sub–Saharan Africa to teach
NI tools often. One of the most positive projects I've been a part of
can be viewed in the link below . . . Note: the prototype used
LabVIEW and a cRIO as the Vehicle controller and an NI touch
panel is front and center in the second half of the video. . . ” The link
is to a video about the Kiira EV taken by a team from CNN’s Inside
Africa program. It is the only link shared on his profile!
Arguably, Andrew Watchorn’s passion for music created the
passionate engineer he is. On one of his trips to Uganda, he quickly
created a simple LabVIEW VI (Virtual Instrument) where he
interfaced with an NI DAQ (Data Acquisition device). The simple
program played a musical tone based on the keys pressed on the
computer keyboard. The audience of ‘campusers’ (university
62
students) in mixed colour T–shirt and jean attire marvelled at the
symphony created by technology thought only for technical work.
While training engineers in Engineering Schools, most universities
have lacked in their preparation of these students for engineering
work. “The kids that come into engineering school have no common
sense. They have no idea how to apply math and science to
problems.” Andrew Watchorn’s desire for mentoring young people
in skills by doing was inspired by such complaints – a chance for
him to help ‘kids’ connect university theory to deployment in real
world problems through technology. Andrew’s belief is that:
“Teaching helps move people from A to B.”
The Andrew Watchorn belief that creating challenges for students
exposes them to a wide set of intelligences, hence nurturing world–
class engineers, had been put to the test by the Kiira EV Project.
One vivid example of this exposure was the internship exodus of
Dennis Kibalama who, while still a student, had requested to carry
out his thesis research with the Kiira EV Project.
On the flipside of this geek was a party animal with the best advice
on where Friday nights could best be spent. A search for Dennis
Kibalama online showed that he called himself Dolibondo on his
Facebook profile. When asked why, he said that the name simply
made him laugh. It is also likely that he picked it from the local
Stand–up Comedian Dolibondo aka Felix Jesero – a member of the
Crackers Group with very humorous stories. When the young
comedian was asked about the true origin of the stage name
Dolibondo during an Interview with the Sqoop Magazine, he
responded:
“I had a friend who used to say that I was as funny as Dr Dolittle
(Eddie Murphy’s character in the movie Dr. Dolittle), so one day we
were in a group jazzing and as I tried to assure the rest of the guys
how funny I was, one of the guys failed to pronounce Dolittle, he
instead said Dolobonbo and the other pronounced it Dolibondo, they
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sounded funny to me and I thought it would sound funny to many
more people and I took it on. Many times people laugh at the name
even before getting to meet or see me perform.”
In an attempt at rapping, he had been booed by the audience at a
karaoke event; he then cracked a joke which they laughed at to his
surprise. The comedian used the opportunity to his advantage and
has since set out to relieve people of their stress through laughter.
The tale of Dennis and the Kiira EV Project starts in 2011 when he
was just a boy in his second year of engineering school. When he
reached his third year, he started his thesis project on an Intelligent
Lighting Control Module for Automobiles under the mentorship of
Paul Isaac Musasizi and Doreen Orishaba. The project was targeted
at designing a prototype with potential of being installed into
vehicles in Uganda where most cars have primitive lighting
systems. The module would have an Auto Turn Off feature engaged
when the ignition was turned off to prevent draining the battery.
The Auto Turn ON aspect of the module would turn on or off the
lights depending on the intensity of light in the surrounding. The
system also had a fault detection component which would warn the
driver through an LCD on the dashboard. Mainly open and short
circuit faults in the system would be detectable by the module.
Wednesdays were dedicated to project work during the fourth year
of engineering school at Makerere University. This was the time he
spent in one of the labs at the College of Engineering, Design, Art
and Technology, or at the Kiira EV Project offices to add to his
research findings. His best friend, apart from his project partner
and classmate, was Barry Hollembeak’s book on Automotive
Electricity and Electronics. There was also a bond formed with Mr.
Ntege, a technician in the Electronics lab at the school of
engineering who provided greater insight into wiring some of the
components. Aside from those faculties of knowledge, shooting in
the dark was the order of the day. Various simulations on computer
64
using the Multisim software package produced the confidence to
create the system using the actual components.
From the simulations, they narrowed down to the specific number
and sizes of components to be used and proceeded to buy them. The
components that made up the project include low resistance
resistors, op–amps, transistors, switches, bulbs, relays (normally
open and flasher relays), photocells, a development board and
breadboards.
It was a thrilling experience to move from computer simulations to
physical bulb and switch with flowing currents and variable
voltages as they had hoped. However, the physical realization of the
project came with repercussions, with op–amps and transistors
burning due to high currents flowing in the headlights circuit and
thereby creating delays and broken hearts. As though the fires were
not enough, the auto turn off feature was also a mountain of its own
for the pair of researchers to climb.
May 2013 was a turning point for the young researchers – the
display on the development board came to life with a green light.
The turning of the switch turned on the ‘headlamps’ (bulbs) and
removal of one of the bulbs (hence creating an open circuit situation)
triggered a combination of words on the display:
The LCD on the BigPIC5 Development Board displayed CHECK LH
FR TS. It symbolized “check left hand front turn signal”.
There was cause for excitement with this achievement. The two
jumped up and down, and ran around the extension block of the
Kiira EV Project office. They almost created their own nursery
rhyme that day. It was only two weeks prior to the presentation that
the two would stop holding their breath.
The joy of seeing the prototype work for the first time was
immeasurable, even though an experienced software developer
65
would find it a small accomplishment, the researchers had moved
from the unknown to the known.
To research is to purposely and methodically search for new
knowledge and practical solutions in the form of answers to
questions formulated beforehand.
The researchers had made good on their promise. The goal had been
achieved, of course after several days of refining the prototype
functionality.
One year later, the project had moulded Dennis into a keen
electrical engineer with experience in automotive wiring, lighting
and lighting control. The skills gained from taking case studies from
Toyota (the most common vehicles in Uganda) wiring manuals and
the physical wiring in cars was priceless. He had learnt the
difference between ordinary lighting systems and those with
intelligent control.
On completion of his studies, Dennis Kibalama applied for full time
research assistantship with the Kiira EV Project. Because of the
skills he had amassed, the young engineer was ready to plug into
the team without special training or orientation for his position –
he successfully transitioned from student to professional engineer.
The investment in a fresh mind (a student) had created a seasoned
professional.
In 2013, the seemingly minor investment allowed the project to use
one of its own to head the wiring of the Kiira EV SMACK rather
than hiring an external professional team as was the case with the
Kiira EV proof of concept! In a bid to avoid any unnecessary
electrical accidents, a team from a renowned service garage in
Kampala, Uganda, was sub–contracted at a rate of about three
million Uganda shillings to wire all the low voltage electronics and
high voltage components, under the supervision of a Kiira EV
Project Powertrain Researcher. This was during the final
integration of components into the Kiira EV proof of concept in
66
September 2011. When it came to the Kiira EV SMACK, no extra
costs on hiring external specialists were incurred because of
employing a simple internship program in the operation of the Kiira
EV Project.
************
The evolution of the Kiira EV Project internship program into
structure where student researchers finalised designs, carried out
programming and integration tasks related to the Kiira EV Proof of
Concept was a great achievement. In addition to the international
mentors with knowledge in manufacturing and in the hardware
being used at the time, part of the team started to take on the
mentorship role. Despite having taught themselves everything they
knew through the earlier internships and time with the Vehicle
Design Project, the fresh graduates were now able to train other
students while they matured into professional engineers
themselves, with skills applicable to automotive development.
Around the close of 2013, self–development had become essential.
The once small project required passion and self–drive to grow from
within, such that the growth of those around them would be
influenced too. The young men and women had informally
established a knowledge transfer scheme within the organisational
structure of the project. The structure of the project was such that
each department or team as it were, had at least one Researcher to
provide technical guidance, Graduate Research Assistants and
student interns, borrowing various principles from the Graduate
Training Scheme.
The Graduate Training Scheme in most big companies is
characterized by employees attending campuses to promote
employment vacancies and career opportunities to students that are
about to graduate. To handle the high number of applications, the
company sets up an online recruitment site where accounts can be
created. Ordinarily, the recruitment process will be lengthy and
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formal, with multiple rounds of interviews. Once the competitive
process is complete, the selected fresh graduates find the salary to
be relatively high. Once taken on, the fresh graduates are trained
for about six months to three years. To target a specific job
description, the system is highly structured. The graduates are
given small projects to work on during this time. Their grasp of the
skills is based on the evaluation from these projects. Needless to
say, there is mentorship of the graduates and supervision of the
work to ensure projects are completed within the shortest time
possible. This period allows one to practice both skills from the
degree course and the workplace, and to build their confidence. With
time, there is need for some level of flexibility in the structure such
that the graduate can take ownership of their own career
progression by choosing which department to work in.
The plus of graduate training for a company is that young people
are creative; they have fresh ideas, and work hard . . . because they
are new to the working environment, and they want to make the
most of it. They are also good at innovative brainstorming. When
young people are trained from ground up, they grow with the fabric
of the culture of the company and are bound to become future
leaders of the company. For the graduate, the opportunity provides
an excellent platform to start off their career. Gradvert, a leading
graduate recruiting company in the UK, notes that ‘the phrases
‘promoting from within’ and ‘hiring future leaders’ are gaining floor
space once again in the world of graduate recruitment. Home–
grown talent does have a bigger impact on the leadership role than
talent drafted from elsewhere. Externally sourced leaders have so
much more to contend with than internally sourced leaders hence
driving a divide within the company.’ In addition to their future
leadership role, graduate schemes maintain a good reputation for
the company with the government because jobs are being provided
to fresh inexperienced staff. Besides, highly experienced staff is
often expensive to service.
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Within the Kiira EV Project teams, new members quickly learnt the
technologies being used at the time; the Vehicle Electronics
Engineers plugged into the team and learnt how to control
hardware using the LabVIEW programing environment, the
Mechanical and Design Engineers learnt the Solid Works tool for
Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Simulation
(CAS), and the Design team learnt Autodesk’s 3ds Max, Adobe
Illustrator and Photoshop. The Designers learnt the mastery of
these three tools throughout the different projects being handled,
while for the mechanical engineers the learning and usage of the
tools was in a phased manner. By the time they started the upgrade
to more professional tools like Unigraphics and Ansys, Solid Works
was common knowledge to the team. Unigraphics and Ansys is a
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) tool used for Computer Aided
Manufacturing, Engineering and Simulation (CAM, CAE and CAS).
The tool is also handy in marketing and sales – an essential addition
as the team started to design production vehicles for KMC. The
teams were growing and so were their methods!
Worth noting is that the Kiira EV Project’s preference for learning
by trial and error, a willingness to take risks, an ability to identify
and attract talented people and the use of mentorship will make it
easy for Kiira Motors Corporation to incorporate the other aspects
(like long term training in a particular skillset) of Graduate
Training in her recruitment strategy.
Obviously, there’s no full proof methodology when it comes to
research . . . learning by trial and error did create a couple of
challenges for the Kiira EV Project. For example, the first software
development team that made the hardware and software
requirements and the design analysis of the Vehicle Control System
for the proof of concept made a few mistakes here and there.
Particularly, the recommendations made were later found to be
lacking for use in an automotive environment. One thing for sure is
that great lessons were learnt and would not be repeated in the
future. It was hundreds of dollars and six months later that a fresh
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team was brought on board, and new recommendations were made.
Gerald Baguma had just returned from the six–month internship in
Muhlbauer, Germany, he was one of those on that fresh team. He
became the lead software developer during the development of the
Kiira EV. Despite the wisdom he came with, the development that
followed was not a piece of cake either!
Gerald’s core training was in programming. Programmers use a
programming language to write code (a set of instructions) for the
computer to execute, for the purpose of achieving some desired end.
They write awesome code, make it clean and ensure its error free .
. . it’s all about knowing the good code in their domain. Software
developers on the other hand are involved through the entire
software development process. Their work is in research,
requirements, design, implementation and testing phases of
building the software (or system). They are expert at finding ways
around problems and plugging components together to fulfil a set of
requirements. As the software industry matures, ‘software
developer’ and ‘software engineer’ have replaced the title
‘programmer’ because they encompass a broader set of skills than
simply writing awesome code (or algorithms). On the other hand,
there are application developers who translate software
requirements into workable programming code. Application
developers are software engineers whose primary responsibility is
developing new applications for electronics (computers, phones and
other electronic devices). It is necessary for them to have an
advanced understanding of mathematics.
The programmer had to allow himself to think as an applications
developer, but it was something that would take time. Gerald joined
the Vehicle Design Project when he was still a student, and had
continued to work for the team for another two years on completion
of his undergraduate studies. The disposition he gave was full of
composure, but he understood that there was always new territory
to be conquered . . . He always took time to learn how to program in
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new high level languages. During his time in Germany, he had
learnt to be patient when it came to control systems.
“I used to go to work early in the morning. I didn’t know where to
start. I would sneak into the bathroom and think for long hours.
When I was thinking straight, I went back to the office.” Gerald
Baguma let out a content sigh.
The experience was fast–paced. The culture and work environment
was different. With short projects and a limited internship period,
results were expected almost immediately. The urgency for results
prompted him to be at the top of his game. In totality, he called the
experience “crazy”, but it was a great one to carry back home.
To help with the implementation phase of the software for the Kiira
EV control units, Gerald Baguma had cut sheets of A1 paper into
the size of A4 paper. He used a box cutter (from the toolbox!) and a
foot ruler to estimate the A4 paper size. He then stapled the papers
into a book where he wrote all his thoughts. It was filled with his
ideas on the system design, algorithms and possible communication
between the different nodes of the car – seeing as LabVIEW is a
graphical programming language.
My head is buzzing’’, Gerald repeatedly exclaimed. He would then
thump his table so hard to somehow stop the buzzing. The loud thud
triggered a nauseous feeling in the pit of your stomach. Perhaps his
attempt to feel better can be explained as freeing up computer
memory for the next task – a good practice in programming. It
happened every time he was very engulfed in finalizing parts of the
control application for the Kiira EV. Aside from the drama, this was
typically how a programmer’s life was. If he wasn’t dreaming about
code, something wrong was happening every time he was eighty per
cent done with a project, as though every testing moment created
fear in the code. An example of a programmer’s day would usually
be:
9:30am: Starts work
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11:00am: A bug occurs
3:00pm: Code cannot compile
3:30pm: Looks for bug
8:00pm: Oh no, I forgot a semicolon!
During the final integration and testing of the Kiira EV, Gerald
Baguma had an encounter with ‘crashing code and bugs’ one too
many times while in the workshop.
The basement of the old technology building had a winding staircase
that peered shyly at the entrance of the workshop. The room had a
high ceiling and bright lighting, one could hardly tell the time of
day. There were many nights the researchers were reminded to go
home as the locking of doors in the building by the custodian drew
closer to the workshop. On one of those late evenings in the
workshop, Gerald Baguma had built the code and was now
compiling it. Needless to say, it had taken several attempts to reach
a stage with work worth compiling. On this particular attempt, all
eyes were on him. The rest of the team had set up the off–board
assembly of the components; the development computer was on the
table in the corner of the workshop, the compact Rio (cRIO), and the
motor were connected together via a CAN hub.
The progress bar was almost at its other edge when Gerald cried out
loud, “damn, my PC has crashed!’” There was pain in his voice, the
sound of harsh disappointment. The anticipation of the test grew
cold as the silence grew loud. None could do anything, including the
interns he was training. They all hoped he would find a way to
recover the program and compile it again.
For Gerald Baguma, it was that moment every programmer dreads
. . . when the boss says, “So what time shall we test the system?”
Those words cause a quiver, the heart rate starts pacing, there’s a
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blood rush and something in the code stops working for some
reason.
A few hours later, he attempted to compile again. This time, he had
modelled a virtual throttle pedal to test traction of the motor. There
were still a couple of disappointments as the code crashed again.
But, the long unpredictable evening produced the first ever test of
the traction motor for the Kiira EV; the forward and reverse
rotation was well achieved at variable speeds. The relief for the
programmer in the hot seat was evident. It would be the first quiet
night for him after so long.
Gerald Baguma had grown to be a lover of books and online forums
as major sources of information. The first weeks interns spent under
his wings were challenging. He appeared to punish them with 500–
paged books on embedded systems and the Controller Area
Network, CAN. He once gave a new graduate engineer a book to
read and the next day he asked, “So, have you reached chapter five?”
Chapter five was on page 200!
The burgeoning of the classroom student and ambitious
programmer into a seasoned Applications Developer was a
combination of mentorship, highly specialized training and a
yearning for further knowledge, something the rest of the team
would have to emulate.
************
By 2012, the team started to grow bigger. For instance, the vehicle
electronics department now had six application developers – young,
excited and passionate. They could have written thousands of
scripts in Assembly or Q Basic. If there was something they didn’t
know they were ready to learn. Their future was still full of
possibilities at the time. However, staring at the soon arriving train
of KMC, there was no time to waste going low level. It was time to
consider the use of high level modelling languages. Despite
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LabVIEW being a great tool for this, the National Instruments
hardware had extremely advanced capabilities, only 30% of which
had been utilized in the Kiira EV. The project took to incorporating
a hardware used in most production vehicles. For that reason, the
MotoHawk Control Systems Solution – a rapid controls system
development tool that allows controls engineers to quickly create
controls software within Simulink diagrams (in MATLAB), which
run on any MotoHawk–enabled electronic control modules – was
added to the project’s development process. It has been successfully
used in thousands of production applications using both single
controller and distributed implementations.
The development using MotoHawk was simplified because of the
templates provided for automotive applications. This gave the
application developers a head start. The first six months of using
MotoHawk were not exactly a walk in the park; for most Simulink
was new! Even so, there was need for various technical discussions
with engineers at New Eagle to completely familiarize with the
templates. Model after model, the task was daunting and it seemed
never–ending.
Despite the intense nature of the work, the team was better
positioned. Moving from minding semicolons to modelling the
system – concern was no longer with the semantics and syntax of
the application, unknown variables or command line compilers that
earned one squinting eyes. The programmers had now grown into
application developers. They could independently develop different
pieces of the cake and bring it together when it was time to pour the
butter into the cake pan by transforming user requirements into
tested solutions. There was also expertise in making design
considerations for the future based on an analysis of the tests on the
current prototype. In general, the technical expertise was ripening.
2014 was a time for finalizing the Kiira EV SMACK and definition
of the production vehicle. The result of which was enhanced
expertise in aesthetics and mechanical design, packaging,
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integration, performance and technology definition. At the same
time, modifications were being made to the Internship Program in
order to create a broad package with concentration on individual
development rather than groups. The independent research allowed
interns to define value added services that could be considered for
future prototypes and production cars. Additionally, a Post High
School Internship Program had been running for two years now;
students in their senior six vacation spent six months at the Kiira
EV Project, learning automotive systems development at a tender
age. The first group had comprised eleven students from St. Mary’s
College, Kisubi (SMACK).
The second group was of three students from Mary Hill School,
Mbarara. The selection of the Post High School Interns was both
strategic and meritorious; the students had worked on automotive
related projects in the Secondary Schools’ Science and Technology
Innovations Challenge while in their senior six. This challenge was
an initiative of the iLabs@Mak Project – embedding the love for
science in the still fragile hearts of secondary school students.
A render of the Kiira EV SMACK by a Post High School Intern from St. Mary’s College,
Kisubi
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Instrument Cluster Concept by Post High School Intern from St. Mary’s College, Kisubi
The iLabs hope was that the participants would find reason to
pursue engineering degrees at the university, and become the
innovators of the future, something Uganda greatly needs.
Inadvertently, the release of short–sighted engineers – with no idea
of how to relate theory with practice – into the professional world
would gradually die out. The students selected in the Post High
School Internship at the Kiira EV Project hailed from schools that
had emerged in the top three positions of the challenge. In 2014,
there was a formal interview leading to the appointment of the
three ladies. Aside from these interns, the project had a unique set
of secondary school students under its belt. These were two students
who spent one of their school holidays with the project modelling
cars using wire mesh while learning word processing tools. In
addition to the undergraduate research assistants, predominantly
from Makerere University, in 2014 the project was privileged to
train two international students (both Ugandans) in her core
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business. One was a Software Engineering student from Saint
Petersburg State University of Waterway Communications in
Russia, and the other a Mechatronics Engineering student from
Shenyang Aerospace University, China. The two trained with the
project for two months before leaving Uganda to resume their
studies. They wrote back home to appreciate the skills in vehicle
mechanical systems, design and software engineering for the
automotive world. It might seem that this effort was a wasted one,
seeing as all these interns left the project at the end of their
training. Up until this time, it still looks futile. But, the Kiira EV
Project, in all her undertakings, was preparing the nation, in small
and big ways, for the future that was imminent. For example, one
of the post high school interns – Buwanguzi Yusuf (part of the first
lot from SMACK) learnt how to design cars in Solid Works while at
the Kiira EV Project for six months. When Yusuf joined Mechanical
Engineering at Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak
Campus, Malaysia, he continued to nurture his skill in this tool. In
fact, he learnt how to use even more advanced tools. The result of
his passion and mastery of the ‘surfacing’ add–on in these modelling
packages allowed him to create diverse models of cars and
aeroplanes such as the Airbus A380.
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A model of the s–class 2013 by Buwanguzi Yusuf
A model of the Boeing A380 by Buwanguzi Yusuf
While talking about his new experience in Malaysia, Yusuf said, “I
have an unfair advantage over my classmates.” He appreciated the
training he had received from the Kiira EV Project. He obtained a
Grade Point Average of 4 out of 4 in his first semester at university.
Currently this genius creates models which are downloaded by
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thousands of fans on the GrabCAD Workbench – a fast and easy
way to manage and share CAD files in the cloud.
************
How does a new company survive in such a competitive industry?
Through collaborations! They are key factors in the growth of any
field. In any case, they foster relationships between otherwise
disjoint faculties. The Kiira EV Project’s need for establishing local
and international linkages to fast track the production of vehicles
was realised through participation in conferences, workshops and
discussions, which promoted associations with key figures in
industry. The SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Conference
and Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS) had become de facto events
for project to take part in.
Andrew Watchorn, Prof. Tickodri–Togboa and Paul I. M. at the SAE 2012
In 2013, Fred Matovu presented a poster at the EVS26 in Los
Angeles, California, USA. The poster, which was displayed for about
three hours at the symposium, illustrated the Design and
Implementation of the Electric Powertrain technology used in the
Kiira EV proof of concept.
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Poster presented by Fred Matovu at the EVS26
The establishment of international contacts saw a delegation visit
Vernacchia Design Group, Torino, Italy in February 2013 to discuss
80
possibility of collaborating to design an Electric Vehicle. The
invitation followed from a workshop by Vernacchia Design Group in
Kampala, which had been attended by part of the Kiira EV team.
CRTT Management Team and Steering Committee Delegation
Later that year, a delegation visited the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) in Boston, and Harvard in Cambridge, U.S.A. The
two universities had exciting ideas to share with the team in the
area of technology and entrepreneurship. Concepts like smart
charge controlling to handle power demands from electric vehicles
were also discussed while visiting various labs on the two campuses.
Stephen R. Connors noted that the visit to MIT was perfectly timely.
It was a season in which MIT was interested in partnering with
institutions in Africa to increase her visibility on the African
continent.
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Inspecting the MIT Solar Electric Vehicle
Aside from the linkages with the academia, there were initial steps
taken in working with the other entities in the public and private
sector. Particularly, there was an invitation in June 2014 by the
Malaysian Government to unearth the secrets of Technology
Innovations commercialisation. The one week workshop, by the
Malaysian Development Corporation, targeting practitioners from
African countries was timely in the sense that the project was
making a shift into implementing the different fronts of the
commercial centre – KMC.
Collaboration between industry and academia enhances creation of
new mutually beneficial curriculum. Such curriculum is vital in
knowledge that can be transformed into skills relevant to potential
employers. To yield rewards for the company, the Kiira EV Project
put forth a great amount of time and resources into training the
team in superior operational and quality control processes such as
lean manufacturing, business process re–engineering, operations
management, rapid prototyping and sigma six and principals of
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finance for engineering. Foundation knowledge from such training
provided better insight into the success of the corporation.
Regarding collaborations with the academia, the Kiira EV Project
was birthed through one, so this area was perhaps second nature to
her. In fact, setting up new collaborations could have started much
earlier if not for the demand to show potential by releasing the first
prototype.
The second of the project’s many academic collaborations to be
formalized was initiated in early 2013 when a delegation from the
Kiira EV Project management team had lengthy discussions with
the Vice President of Kettering University during a trip to
Michigan, USA. Kettering was formerly known as the General
Motors Institute and GMI Engineering and Management Institute.
This university is greatly attributed to the development of the
American automotive industry. The visit fostered the signing of a
Memorandum of Understanding between Makerere University and
Kettering University to pursue development of educational and
research collaborations between the two institutions. The training
was expected to culture a new breed of managers for KMC.
Later that year, six employees of the Kiira EV Project were
admitted to the masters’ programmes in Operations Management
and Engineering Management. Doreen Orishaba was one of the
masters’ students on the Engineering Management programme.
Her journey into the Electrical Engineering field is interesting.
When her electric tales leaked in The Observer Newspaper, it was
revealed that the overwhelming fear she had, as she watched her
brothers taking radio components apart and re–assembling them
triggered an interest in electronics. The fearful girl upgraded to an
‘expert’ repairing sockets under her brothers’ supervision. With
time, she found that her true passion was in managing teams hence
her interest in Engineering Management.
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Doreen Orishaba noted that the programme demystified the current
and best practices used in industry. Fathoming the Marketing
Management class, she felt as some people do when all at once they
can walk. To her, the knowledge made perfect sense for the
immediate future of KMC.
An analysis of the gap between the present and the future indicated
that planning for market penetration and business success of the
KMC products was best addressed early. She quickly drafted a
marketing plan to that regard, with excitement of making that
reality come to life. “. . . The various qualitative and quantitative
techniques for assessing and maintaining quality are timely to
ensure uncompromised KMC products,” echoes Brian Kaweesa on
the relevance of the Quality Assurance module in Operations
Management.
Likewise, Gerald Baguma and Richard Madanda were pursuing
their masters’ degrees in Embedded Systems Engineering at the
Uppsala University, Sweden and the Eindhoven University of
Technology, Netherlands respectively.
“The value of a college education is not the learning of many
facts but the training of the mind to think”
~ A. Einstein
The training of the mind to think as leaders was more important
than the qualifications gained at the end of these programs. The
impact of this gradual process in which home grown leaders have
been made will eventually develop those around them to be leaders
as well. As the strong individual leadership traits are developed, the
rounded organisational leadership shall evidently create a
sustainable system of leaders for KMC.
Perhaps it would appear that in preparing for KMC, the emphasis
on Technology Innovations transcended Production of the cars
themselves. That’s not entirely true. Inasmuch as the KMC
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Technology and Innovations arm was the catalyst that would
ensure relevant and beneficial technology was incorporated in the
vehicles, the Production Plant was the avenue for churning out
hundreds of such cars to the market. In that regard, the apparent
preparation was in the making of the chassis and frame – the super
structure – and the integration of parts. The fabrication of the
prototypes created so far provided a neat training ground for the
mechanical engineers. The fabrication of the Kiira EV super
structure and body provided hands–on–skills transferable to the
production plant.
Wire mesh and fibre Glass method used to make the Kiira EV PoC
Forging of Sheet Metal into the Kiira EV SMACK Shape
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The same was true during the fabrication of the SMACK body
panels, a phase that employed a completely different methodology;
electric welding techniques and simple hand tools such as grinding
machines to attain a smooth panel finish on the sheet metal plates
– all necessary skills for the production engineers and managers for
the KMC body shop. All teams were involved in the assembly of
parts and testing phases. To start producing cars, KMC had to
qualify these familiar day–to–day accomplishments into standard
processes for the commercial entity. Inasmuch as some companies
thrive on constantly varying expectations that require an adaptive
process, others require routine procedures. Major lessons for
standard processes would be borrowed from the making of the Kiira
EV SMACK.
************
In the 17th Century, many scientists kept new findings secret
so that others could not claim the results as their own. Henry
Oldenburg, the secretary of the Royal Society of London created a
solution to this naivety which gave the scientists both rapid
publication and credit – the Modern Scientific Journal and Peer
Review.
There are countless conferences out there, and the project’s goal was
not merely to attend them. Besides experiencing on–going
developments in the world of automotive engineering, her different
departments were also engaged in documenting and sharing their
findings, experiences and challenges. In 2011, a paper on “Design
Considerations for Optimizing Real–Time Vehicle Control and
Communication for the KIIRA EV” was presented at the
International Conference on Embedded Systems by Gerald
Baguma. In 2014, another paper was presented by Doreen Orishaba
on Kiira EV Project Transition from Student to Professional Team
through Project Based Skills Development at the International
Conference on Transportation Engineering and Management held
in Madrid, Spain. There was continued incentive to encourage
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publications from within the project to place KMC on the global
scene and to grow research leaders.
One of the greatest leaders the project has had is Arthur Tumusiime
Asiimwe. In 2012, he was one of the three successful Young African
Leaders’ Initiative (YALI) alumni from Uganda. The professional
mentoring and networking opportunity did not only provide Arthur
with leadership training with other African and American leaders,
but also enabled him to listen to world leaders such as the US
Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Mentoring
Partnership for Young African Leaders Innovations Summit held in
Washington DC, USA. Under the arrangement of encouraging U.S.
experts to consider Africa as an investment and growth opportunity,
Arthur was placed under the mentorship of Zach Tyler – the Chief
Designer at Boulder Electric Vehicle in Colorado, USA. Boulder
Electric was building electric trucks for FedEx and UPS, an
invaluable time for Arthur to experience the workflows on an EV
truck assembly line. The boulder team shared that making EVs in
Uganda was not far off, the realization of such a dream would only
take a motivated and multi–skilled team, and investment in
inexpensive fundamental tools.
Following this training, the three Ugandan alumni (Grace
Nanyonga Mugisha – Grana Fish Supplies Ltd, Rusia Orikiriza
Bariho – Oribags Innovations (U) Ltd and Arthur Tumusiime
Asiimwe – Kiira EV Project) submitted a proposal to empower the
youth through motivational speaking and hands–on demonstration.
In 2013, the proposal received a grant of USD 20,000 by the US
Education Programme under the U.S Embassy, Kampala. Prior to
writing the proposal, the three had attended a YALI Reunion
Seminar in Johannesburg, South Africa where the dire need to
combine efforts in creating a platform for identifying and inspiring
young leaders in Africa was discussed.
Such outstanding leaders are probably what inspired the
Ambassador of USA to Uganda, Ambassador DeLisi to invite the
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team to witness the unveiling of the Nissan Leaf at the US Embassy
in Kampala.
The Kiira EV Project team with Ambassador DeLisi at the US Embassy
While writing this book, there was a great heap of books scattered
on the table, to which reference was made on training and
development. One expression that stood out from the thousands of
pages about how companies should work was from Toyota:
“We do not just build cars, we build people.”
An excerpt from the Toyota Way gave insight on the philosophy of
training and development within Toyota: ‘The company uses every
avenue to achieve development of its people, whether it is in a new
product development program, a prototype, a quality defect in the
factory, or a kaizen activity.’
“If you want one year of prosperity, grow seeds. If you want
ten years of prosperity grow trees. If you want one hundred years of
prosperity, grow people.”
~ Chinese Proverb
Perhaps the roots of Toyota make it easier to employ the proverb in
their work ethic! Nonetheless, the Kiira EV Project was in the
business of growing such. Some did not just grow in skill – they grew
physically. Can they still be called ‘young and vibrant’? Maybe,
maybe not!
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When the Kiira EV Project was started in 2012, it was required that
it birthed a team in preparation for KMC. The plan was to position
the KMC team as a technology–driven innovative company within
the automotive industry. This would require a team with a set of
capabilities relevant to achieving KMC’s core objective. By 2014,
this had been achieved to a greater extent. The success story of
KMC would be built on resilience and innovative leaps by this
unique team of skilled workers and farsighted leaders.
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Chapter 4
ENVISION THE KMC CAMPUS:
AN ICON OF WONDER
“As long as you’re going to be thinking anyway, think big.” ~ Donald Trump
You
might be an eight or twelve–cylinder guy who only
enjoys a car when the speed needle is dancing in the red zone. The
weight of your foot on the pedal is not your problem because the
thrill it drives down your nerves is like shaking the hand of an old
friend. Living out your life like a motorsport enthusiast makes you
love the roaring sound of the petrol head, one wonders what you
would think of the sound of racing electric cars at earth–shattering
speeds! In the quiet still moments when you buckle up and pick the
popcorn pack, you can almost hear cars speak to you. Their secrets
from a foreign land are a reminder a childhood fetish. For you, the
sleek ground–necking low body, the brutal power, the turning
pistons and high revving pleasure, that is how you tell an Aventador
LP 700-4 bull is being parked along the street near you. But for the
ordinary others, this art of recognizing a car is still flimsy, they
must see the logo and the label to tell the auto manufacturer.
Because to them, like Andrew Hughes a marketing lecturer at
Australian National University's School of Management says:
“Recognition is with the brand of the car.”
For example, the Peugeot is known for its aesthetics, dynamics, and
innovative French style; Lexus for its technical excellence,
reliability, visual beauty and luxury enticing ownership of the
premium cars by several world renowned celebrities such as Bill
Gates, Marcia Cross, Leanardo DiCaprio, Gerald Butler, Morgan
Freeman, Tyra Banks and Eddie Murphy; Volvo, a brand
engineered tough and reliable, takes the crown of “Your family is
safest in a Volvo;” Alfa Romeo, the renowned Italian marque is
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known for building models with passione and bellezza; the Morgan
cars are loved for their unique blend of charisma, quality materials,
craftsmanship and incredible sounds. Mercedes Benz, four–ringed
Audi and BMW cars make it to the garages of those who seek solid
mid– and ultra–luxury; Hyundai and KIA make it on the list of
those that love grand style that is wallet–friendly, with generous
warranty programs; and generally Toyota takes the crown for
affordability in all aspects.
As we all know, every single car company out there has its very
unique history, mostly related to the way it managed to emerge
from a tiny entity into a huge conglomerate that sells hundreds of
thousands or maybe millions of vehicles a year.
What do football, coffee and bicycles have in common?
. . . men’s love?
No!
. . . a letter common to two of the words, but not all three?
No!
. . . France?
Almost there!
It is one of the world's oldest car manufacturer; Peugeot. In 1912
Peugeot produced the world’s first car with twin overhead
camshafts and four valves per cylinder. 1934 saw another world
first: the 402 Éclipse Décapotable: a convertible with a retractable
hardtop. Peugeot was also the first automotive manufacturer to fit
rubber tyres on its road cars and pneumatic tyres – Michelin – on
its racing cars. More recently, the world's first diesel particulate
filter first appeared on the Peugeot 607 2.2 litre HDi in May 2000.
Peugeot is actually one of the oldest brands on the car market today
even if at first they didn't exactly make cars. The Peugeot business
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started out as a pepper, salt and coffee grinder manufacturer in
1842 and the way it ended up making cars is quite interesting: from
making steel rods for crinoline dresses, it turned to umbrella
frames, then wire wheels which seemed only a natural step towards
bicycles with the model name as ‘Le Grand Bi!’ And once there, it
was only a short distance from motorcycles scooter and cars at the
turn of the century when personal transportation was right in the
middle of a revolution. As for football, a member of the Peugeot
family started up the Sochaux Football Club in 1928, and to this day
Peugeot remains sponsors of this football club.
East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, tho’ they come from the
ends of the earth
The elimination of borders shall be inevitable when the conceptual
KMC impressions sitting on paper, living in our minds and moving
in a motion picture piece chance upon the lofty grandiose of brick
and cement holding solar cells to graze the morning sunshine as the
Kiira EV SMACK rubber hits the rugged test tracks.
The world over interaction of people with the automobile machines
is a daily routine. While it is a commonly used product, the
automobile is an extremely complex and technologically
sophisticated one. Forget about the wire cars with wooden steering
wheels and ‘tires’ made from blue and red Umoja slippers that most
of the boys in Africa made in a few hours of brother–efforts put
together and ‘drove’ in their formative years. Even the most
sophisticated toy cars that toddler boys play with leading to lots of
repair hours do not measure up to an inch of the complexity of a
usable car. That is why manufacturing new cars requires state–of–
the–art technological methods, processes and facilities.
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Automobile manufacturing at Kiira Motors Corporation will involve
careful consideration of the following elements: Cost; Durability;
Product Development; Process Development; Flexibility; Facilities
and Equipment; Technology and Process; Work Force and
Organization; Logistics and Supply Chain; Research and
Engineering; and Interfaces.
Kiira Motors Corporation will be based at the Jinja Industrial and
Business Park, Butembe Block 2 in Kagogwa Village, Mawaito
Parish, Kakira Town Council, Jinja District, about ninety seven
kilometres from Kampala city centre. This virgin piece of land that
you bet has only known grasses and shrubs plus a few reptiles and
insect species as its inhabitants will be developed into state–of–the–
art facilities worthy of producing its first vehicle, the Kiira EV
SMACK in 2018.
The institution with roots in an overcrowded miniscule office in the
Makerere University CEDAT Old Building is planned to comprise
of state–of–the–art facilities that include the Kiira Motors
Production Plant; Kiira Motors Technology and Innovations Centre;
Vehicle Testing Tracks; an Administration and Conference Centre;
and the Kiira Courts that will double as a Guest House and home
to an Infirmary. A “big picture” approach has been considered in the
design of these facilities – conceptual plans for each facility all
clearly laid out. This planning brings out better organization of the
site development. The involvement of designers, architects,
surveyors, engineers and builders will help meet the plant
requirements. It will enable continuity between the main facilities
and the support amenities such as the road network, layout of the
ICT backbone, electricity, water, waste treatment and disposal, as
well as entrances and exits.
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Original Plan for the Jinja Industrial Park
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Kiira Motors Infrastructure Master Plan for the100 acres on the Industrial Park
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The unique squad of architects led James Byansi designed buildings
that are a marvel to the eye and a friend to the environment.
Architecture is a very important element in our lives – an art that
influences us every single day. The houses we live in, our
workspaces, the hotels and restaurants we love to dine in, our
schools and our cities are all created by Architecture. Architecture
improves human lifestyle; it creates spaces to interact and to
experience a new world within the confines of a structure.
Architecture has created the facilities that will help us experience
KMC.
Conceptual drawings depicting the specifications of components
that make up each building have been developed. This has been
executed using both detailed technical drawings and artistic
illustrations.
The Kiira Motors Production Plant has been designed with a
capacity of up to 300 vehicles every month. Covering a total of
twenty acres, the production plant shall be furnished in such a way
as to support the functions of vehicle integration and assembly;
body shop works and painting; inspection of individual cars; and
flagging off of finished products.
The assembly process will initially rely very much on the human
element, constantly drawing on the superior senses and intuition of
highly skilled technicians, rather than a robotic workforce.
The production space is skirted by supporting spaces that make up
the changing rooms and observation decks. Another significant
feature in this facility is the suspended walkway on the mezzanine
level that will accommodate tourists and automotive scholars/
researchers who will visit the plant.
Production has been set to commence in 2018 with the Kiira EV
SMACK rolling off first with a blend of the Conventional Internal
Combustion Engine, Electric Vehicle and Hybrid Vehicle Models.
Buyers will also be able to choose from the options such as driving
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home a 2–door or 4–door; a car with bench or buckets seats; with no
limitation to only the eco–friendly green colour. The cars will be
available in Red, Pearl Black, Grey, Pearl White and Blue. The
paint shop will be able to give the vehicles two base coats – out of a
multi–layered paint system, one designed for each lighting
condition. The first base coat may contain large aluminium flakes,
which sparkle better under sunlight while the second base coat may
contain smaller flakes, which sparkle better under cloudy skies.
Aerial View of the KMC Production Plant
In a bid to improve product quality and efficiency in production,
automakers invest a large amount of time and money into
developing and improving the manufacturing process, and rely
heavily on research and technological innovation. Kiira Motors
Corporation is dedicated to continuous balance of increased
productivity and efficiency with quality and innovation. The Kiira
Motors Technology and Innovations Centre (TIC) will host research
and development activities in the four core areas of Vehicle
Electrical and Electronics Systems; Powertrain Systems; Industry
Design; and Automotive Engineering.
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The research accommodated within this upcoming national
spectacle will include calibration of relevant and beneficial
technology in alternative fuels such as Compressed Natural Gas,
Liquefied Natural Gas, Fuel Cells, Methanol; Materials, Design and
Styling, as well as electronics to make the vehicles smarter. This is
expected to position KMC ahead of customer expectations.
The Kiira Motors Technology and Innovations Centre is the iconic
infinity building as depicted by the solar cell cladded roof atop the
entire structure. The amalgamation of architectural finesse and
modern technology is of picturesque eloquence that speaks for itself.
This building will leverage Uganda’s all–year–round abundant
sunshine to harvest solar energy for various in–house functions.
Artistic Impression of the KMC Technology and Innovations Centre
The TIC will be occupied by a brain hub of visionaries – the kind of
minds that will be thinking about the most exotic versions of the
Kiira EV and how best to meet forthcoming user needs. They will
develop new technologies and product directions and count on their
colleagues at the production plant to turn their sketches and
designs into reality.
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For all the times the Kiira EV Proof of Concept or the Kiira EV
SMACK has been exhibited or talked about, there is one line of
question that has proved to be a constant. On lending themselves to
the specifications of the car, the immediate question is, “Has the car
been tested?”
Testing and validation are qualification processes for any product.
This the market knows very well and KMC even knows better. KMC
will employ tests to provide proof that quality is part of each and
every step of the vehicle development process. The vehicles will be
tested under various environmental, mechanical and electrical
conditions that depict the ‘real world’ situations in an accelerated
manner.
Meticulous testing is a necessary evil: online banking products must
be safe and have no bug or vulnerabilities, baby–foods must be
proved to provide what the babies need without causing repulsions,
medicine must be tested before it kills patients faster than the
illness it is meant to cure, automobiles and planes will not have any
drivers and pilots if there is no proof of guaranteed safety. Testing
takes a while and cannot be rushed, and it is joked that if it were
up to programmers to get products out to market, it would never
happen – remember Gerald Baguma and the Kiira EV PoC?
KMC will devise approaches to test the stability of its products, and
answer the simple questions of whether the cars will do what the
Engineers specified and what the Sales and Marketing department
will be claiming they do. The ease of use by the vehicle owners and
drivers will also be catered for therein.
“People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a
quarter-inch hole!”
~ Theodore Levitt
KMC will carry out validation tests to make sure their products
meet their customer’s objectives and needs . . . whatever it will take
to deliver to the customers the “quarter-inch-hole.”
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The road networks in Uganda and Africa at large are still under
development, and constitute a significant portion of the national
budget every year. Most of the highways are tarmacked, and
although some stretches are good, some have cavernous potholes at
almost every turn, and speed bumps that are almost irrationally
placed. The conditions of the minor roads tend to be variable from
one season to the next.
Half the expanse of the one hundred acres of KMC land will be
dedicated to Vehicle Testing Tracks with specific conditions that the
cars will be subjected to, relevant to the local and regional
conditions of Uganda. Hills and grades shall be set up to simulate
the various terrain types and ensure that the cars can comfortably
make it around the winding hills of Kabale and Kisoro Districts.
Steering pads will be constructed, as well as high speed tracks to
ensure that the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Charlie Lubega and Arthur
Blick can comfortably step on the gas and get tempted to use the
Kiira EV production car in their next races.
Detailed Plan View of the Vehicle Testing Tracks
Vehicle performance and ride handling bump courses, brake testing
courses and Belgium blocks will be the hallmark of this space. The
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famous humps and potholes littered all over Ugandan roads will
also be mimicked to test for Noise Vibration and Ride Quality.
KMC Grande Monument
Not far from the main entry to this estate is the Grande Monument,
a masterpiece leading way to the central edifice of the KMC facility
– the Administration Block – which caters for the governing arm of
KMC. It shall house the Board room and various meeting rooms,
the KMC Showroom, a cafeteria, conference facilities as well as
offices for the Directors and such teams as sales and marketing,
finance and accounts, the legal teams, communications teams and
human resource teams.
The building is aligned on a radial grid oriented centrally to the
entry court. The language of design here reflects the foundation
upon which KMC is built, harnessed in technology and innovation.
Sustainable design is not underscoring on the block as recessed
glass curtain walling is employed to prevent glare and the reflective
pool on the radial axis coupled with the orientation of the building
ensure passive cooling.
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KMC Administration Block
Part of the welfare of the KMC staff will be catered for in the KMC
Guest House that will double as an Infirmary. The ground floor will
constitute a secluded unit dedicated to emergency health services
while the next floors will be dedicated to accommodation for visiting
researchers, interns and resident researchers in case of tasks that
necessitate overnight stay.
KMC Infirmary and Guest House
Back in the temporary Kiira EV Project Ntinda office, an ordinary
day would have the bunch of engineers, designers and architects
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fighting to have a glimpse of the fruity contents of the fridge. One
would find at least an apple or a banana. If anyone ever asked:
“Whose apple in the fridge?” The automatic response would be,
“Check with Pauline or Victor.” The same answer would be got if
the question was about the yoghurt; and on a few occasions that the
fridge would be coloured by dices of watermelon or pineapple, the
answer would probably change to: “Check with Doreen.” However
sumptuous and fruity they tried to keep their meals, during the
second half of every month, the number of cans of yoghurt and the
variety of fruits gradually decreased until the next pay day.
“We are eating healthy,” Jonathan and James (coincidence that
both were in the Industrial Design team?) usually chorused! “We
want to compare notes when we are in our 70s,” they would joke.
They would have a fruity breakfast, lean lunch and probably katogo
for dinner. The words “pizza party”, “gym subscription”,
“basketball” and “swimming dates” were more common
denominators of their conversations during the first half of the
month than during the second. Whether this resonates with the fact
that probably their wallets were heavier during the first days of the
month or not, the fact is that good health is every employee’s
responsibility and should be every employer’s concern. Other
members of the team actually joined this duo on these ‘gym,
basketball and swimming dates’. However, for many people, the
thought of gym or fitness centres rings a bell of constant vigorous
motion on a still machine with a fast tread–belt to make you sweat
– a simply strenuous activity. When such fallacies about fitness are
broken, the health facility housed in the KMC Guest House and
Infirmary block will serve its purpose of promoting a healthy
lifestyle amongst the KMC staff. The gymnasium and garden in this
quiet locate away from the industrial environment shall allow the
staff and guests to relax and wind down after a long day’s work.
************
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The mere thought of ones favourite pastries is often followed with
mouth-watering temptation either leading one to a café or to the
nearest bakery. When you think about the baker with hundreds of
orders every month: must he mill the flour, produce the milk and
lay the eggs for it to be branded his cake? It is practically impossible
and economically discouraged for any automaker, no matter how big
and experienced, to make every single component in–house. This
provides a great opportunity for entrepreneurs and investors to set
up plants for the local manufacture of such parts as tires, lights,
shock absorbers, brake pads and the like. Kiira Motors Corporation
will handle the entire product development, and despite the high
drive for as much local content as possible, there will be need to
source a number of vehicle components at the start.
KMC is like the proverbial volcano; it is an industry capable of
attracting the development of many others in the domains of steel,
rubber, electronics, forex, vehicle seats and upholstery. The Kiira
EV Project will go a long way in securing Uganda today for
tomorrow starting with the registration of KMC. The registration of
Kiira Motors Corporation as a government owned company is under
the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) – an investment
institution established as a wholly owned government entity with
the mandate to facilitate the industrial and economic development
of Uganda. Originally established by the UDC Act of 1952, Chapter
326 of the Laws of Uganda, the mission of the UDC currently being
revived is to make long–term investments in strategic sectors of the
economy in order to stimulate industrial and economic development
and thus spur private sector growth.
Maybe when that shuttle of policeman from the East African region
pulls over at the KMC campus in 2018, they will see the icon of
wonder. The feeling will be incomparable to what most people feel
when they first enter the former Faculty of Technology building,
and move down to the basement to see the glory of Uganda’s first
electric vehicle. The aura of this modern day architecture shall be a
major transformation to gaze upon. As for the chatter on the bus!
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That chatter would be easier to guess: It most likely shall be because
they had seen the picture before, and were now stepping on the very
ground bearing it. It might be the pieces of automotive art in her
contemporary museum that will marvel the historian on board . . .
Or possibly the rare sight of esoteric solar cell arrayed rooftops.
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AFTERWORD
“I don’t think an economic slump will hurt good ideas.” ~ Rob Kalin
The Kiira EV project was started in 2012 as a five year project
aimed at establishing a pioneer Automotive Original Equipment
Manufacturer – KMC. The writing of this book was at a time of
transience between this project and establishment of KMC. The
development of the Kiira EV SMACK had just been concluded while
the construction of the Kayoola solar bus – an intervention for
public transportation – was underway. The Kiira EV Project was
engulfed in identifying and building competent human resource,
defining standard manufacturing processes, as well as creating
local and international linkages. The detail of the on-going plenary
sessions was in defining a concise roadmap for: the production
vehicle development, the infrastructure development, and
streamlining the human resource – milestones spanning over four
years. The result of achieving these key milestones would be a fully
operational Kiira Motors Corporation, ready to release her first
production car to the Ugandan market.
When established, technology innovation and commercialisation
shall be the epicentre of her business, breathing life into the once
still image they pictured in meetings. It will leverage global
competitiveness for wealth creation, national prosperity and
provide a high quality of life for the ordinary Uganda. The merging
of her goals with the national priorities of advancing Science and
Technology Innovation shall perhaps be one of her strongholds.
The envisioned infrastructure on that estate is picturesque prodigy
of a tropical paradise. As she lay on that sheet of paper, a beauty in
her own space – she was surrounded by nothing, awaiting her
anticipated sanction in Jinja. Staring at her elegance built my
anxiety . . . I was dreaming of that fast approaching train of 2018. I
relished the imagination of how they would all marvel at the
spectacle of her true manifestation – the sight of a dream come true.
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It will take hundreds of men and women to produce her finite being,
an icon that would attract the attention of Ugandans and the world–
over. When the rubber on the very first production car–lot hits the
tarmac, I pictured uproar, tribute and praise to the team that will
bolt the last nut on the car . . . the beams shall be ludicrous.
But that’s not all I saw. The sight of that spell is not as modest as
producing hundreds of vehicles every month or building capacity in
automotive development; it is a more complex print, a package
wrapped inside defining a new era, breaking misconceptions that
automotive production is impossible in Uganda, and leading the
path to a new industrial age.
This long storied tale is only truly imprinted on the hearts of those
that saw its genesis with their own eyes – Those that felt the pain
of starting from nothing, borrowing from the stores of their families
when they were stretched too thin to cover project resources,
‘begging’ strangers to contribute to something they hardly believed
in, and second–guessing their own commitment to such a
prestigious uphill undertaking . . . Those who in the end, knew what
it meant to meet the head of the nation, to convert hundreds into
their vision and to watch the reality unfold in front of their bare
eyes . . . those who making something out of nothing was part of
their DNA. Such visionaries sparked the writing of this book.
Perhaps the biggest reason for documenting the birth of KMC was
to ensure such history is not totally lost in yesterday, or the dreams
and plans for the future forgotten.
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