Brian Wallis with Justin Naidoo in 2009 when they were running safety footwear importer Safety-Boyz. Naidoo later took over that business while Wallis returned to dealing in shoe machinery.
Italian shoe machinery expert - Obituary: Brian Wallis - BU, Newtech, Shoetech and Safety-Boyz (16/10/1945-09/04/2021)
Published: 22nd Apr 2021
Durban, KZN, SA - Shoe machinery expert Brian Wallis died unexpectedly on April 09, aged 75.
Born and raised in Port Elizabeth, he entered the footwear industry in his early 20s when he joined British United, at that time by far the dominant force in footwear machinery in SA, where he trained as a machinery technician.
There he also met his future wife, Shirley.
He was posted to Durban to service the growing industry, but he discovered his real passion was sales. He went on his own to found Newtech, then joined with Willie van Vuuren, another machinery salesman, who was to become a lifelong friend, to start Shoetech.
After they sold the business, he worked mostly on a freelance basis, often in partnership with A.K. Shaikh, owner of Spectrum Footwear.
They bought and sold second hand machinery, and imported new machinery from Italian suppliers, particularly wholesaler Torielli & C. SpA, with whom he had a long and close relationship.
"He was very, very, very knowledgeable about shoe machinery," Shaikh recalls. "I don't think there was anyone else in this country who was as knowledgeable. When he sold you a machine, he made sure you got the right machine for your application."
When they visited the Simac fair together, "he was very warmly welcomed on the Italian machinery stands", he said. "He was well known and well respected."
One of their joint ventures was importing safety footwear through a company called Safety-Boyz.
Outside of work, he enjoyed visiting game reserves and casinos with his wife.
He is survived by his daughters Angie Wallis, who followed him into the footwear industry and is head sales manager for importer Foot Focus, and Julie Macklin, who lives in the UK
Tags: Brian Wallis, Willie van Vuuren, A.K. Shaikh, Angie Wallis, Foot Focus, Spectrum Footwear, Safety-Boyz, Newtech, Shoetech
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