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Africa key to company’s expansion plans

PLANNING AHEAD Fabrinox is continuously forming strategic partnerships with multinational companies, which supply products to mines, as Fabrinox manufactures on behalf of these companies

TRAINING FOR THE FUTURE Students receive their practical training at Fabrinox’s premises, in Paarl, in the Western Cape

25th October 2013

By: Ilan Solomons

Creamer Media Staff Writer

  

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Sheet-metal component manufacturer Fabrinox intends to expand its footprint in Africa by partnering with multinational companies, which are already active in Africa or aim to secure a foothold on the continent, Fabrinox MD Andre Visser tells Engineering News.

“Fabrinox is continuously forming stra-tegic partnerships with multinational com-panies which supply products to mines, as it manufactures on behalf of these companies, which possess large existing business net-works,” he states.

The company is involved in agricultural- and mining-related projects in Africa, such as in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, where there is a significant demand for stainless steel products.

Visser explains that stainless steel is used predominantly in the mining sector at processing plants, while in the agriculture sector it is used mostly for farm equipment and storage tanks.

Projects outside Africa account for about 60% of the company’s total export operating income.

He points out that Fabrinox is undertaking projects in Europe, in countries such as Germany, Russia and Netherlands, as well as in Asia, in countries such as China and Mongolia.

Further, in February 2012, Fabrinox was audited by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, as the company is one of the subcontracting and partnership exchange suppliers to local expansion programmes. The audit found that Fabrinox manufacturing operations match global standards.

Consequently, as a result of the audit, the Department of Science and Technology granted Fabrinox funding in March 2012 to further enhance the company’s operations.

Fabrinox is using this money to upgrade its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to incorporate a live track of all its jobs in the production area.

The upgraded ERP system, which the company intends to have completed by the end of the year, will also enable Fabrinox to provide its customers with better service by reducing the company’s lead time on projects and by providing faster feedback for customers on the status of jobs.

Fabrinox’s sales team, technical team and project managers will know exactly what the status of all jobs are at all times.

Visser stresses that the upgraded ERP sys-tem is critically important for Fabrinox, as the company operates 24 hours a day, six days a week, and has ongoing multiple projects at any one time.

Sourcing Stainless Steel

Fabrinox sources about 50% of its stainless steel from stainless steel flat products pro-ducer Columbus Stainless. The rest of its materials comprise imports of stainless steel grades, which are not manufactured locally and are mainly sourced from Germany, Italy, Finland, Taiwan and the US.

Importing stainless steel comes with further cost implications, as large amounts need to be safely and correctly stored to ensure Fabrinox has sufficient supply for projects.

Visser notes, though, that the company’s efficient ERP system enables Fabrinox to ensure that it is never overstocked or under-stocked, pointing out that international imported stainless steel is becoming increas-ingly more attractive, owing to its competitive pricing and quality.

Nonetheless, Fabrinox is reluctant to import stainless steel from China, as the com- pany has concerns about the quality of Chinese stainless steel, despite being competitively priced.

Skills Development and Training

Since 2011, Fabrinox has been working with the Riebeeck Valley Special School (RVSS), in Riebeeck West, in the Western Cape, supplying its learners with scrap metal to assist them in their welding training.

Fabrinox sold one of its old bending-break machines to the school at a discounted price to assist the learners in carrying out more advanced bending of components and in training them on how to use newer types of equipment.

Fabrinox has donated carbon steel to RVSS, as stainless steel is more expensive and more complex to work with.

Visser says it is important that the learners first master working with lower-grade carbon steel before possibly moving on to work with stainless steel.

The learners are manufacturing products, such as braai utensils, braai sets and garden ornaments, which they sell to raise money for RVSS.

Fabrinox has a programme in place that sponsors two to three students’ fees at further education and training colleges (FETs), such as False Bay or Northlink, in the Western Cape, so that they can attend these institutions and learn to weld or process sheet metal and become accredited artisans.

“This programme also assists us in gener-ating staff that possess the required skills to work with stainless steel,” he enthuses, adding that sponsored students go on to receive their mandatory practical training at Fabrinox’s premises, in Paarl, in the Western Cape.

The company also employs several mech-anical and industrial engineering graduates from institutions, such as the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Stellenbosch University and the University of Cape Town, all in the Western Cape.

The graduates undergo training as part of the company’s technical drawing teams and its technical sales and projects division.

“About 80% of the FET and university graduates remain with Fabrinox after their mandatory training is completed,” says Visser.

Fabrinox believes its training programmes are critically important, as they are helping to develop skills in working with not only stainless steel but also other sheet metal.

The company offers students at tertiary institutions training during the July and December holiday periods.

Fabrinox is also working with the Southern Africa Stainless Steel Development Association by offering seminars to engineer-ing students enrolled at Stellenbosch Univer-sity. Several topics, such as the complexities, the different grades and the chemical compo-sition of stainless steel, are discussed during these seminars.

Additionally, the seminars offer practical advice on how to bend, cut and process stainless steel.

Fabrinox, established in 1993, has a yearly turnover of R80-million to R100-million and is serving more than 300 customers, with its client base growing every year.

Edited by Tracy Hancock
Creamer Media Contributing Editor

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