The Aluminium Federation of South Africa (Afsa) executive director Mark Krieg says the demand for education and skills develop-ment in the aluminium industry remains high, as the next ten years will see the retirement of many skilled people who will need to be replaced.

He says that manufacturing became unpopular as a profession, resulting in a technical skills gap in the 30 to 45 years age group. The decay of industry infrastructure and employment policies have also resulted in skills loss and Krieg says serious challenges will be faced in the future.

Afsa facilitates education and training within the aluminium industry, and assists in growth initiatives by working with its members to promote research into issues the industry is prepared to invest in. The federation aims to assist the aluminiumindustry with knowledge transfer and diffusion.

Education and Research Initiatives
Afsa supports a number of education and research initiatives. The federation is currently develop- ing continual professional development lectures suited to a range of aluminium-related professions. Krieg says that attending rele- vant lectures will become a requirement for industry professionals to ensure that skills are maintained.

Undergraduate research projects are also regularly supported by the federation. It is currently supporting an MSc project on fatigue damage ratios, and a project adding silver ions into the anodising process to improve bacteriological attack, for the health sector.

A third area requiring research is the replacement of chrome six passivating pretreatment systems with alternatives that meet environmental requirements, but achieve the same performance of the chrome six systems.

Krieg explains that, while chrome six produces a hazardous waste product, it is an effec- tive pretreatment, achieving 15-year building guarantees. No new pretreatment technologies have achieved results that last longer than eight years.

The aluminium industry is currently working towards a solution using chrome three. Krieg says that tests are running successfully but that it is a difficult system to supply. Chrome three is less temperature tolerant and less concentration tolerant than chrome six, which is easy to maintain. Members of the industry require training to learn how to use chrome three, and should only use it once training is complete.

Meanwhile, the federation collaborates with the Southern African Institute of Welding to train workers to weld competently, and has supported student design projects in a number of faculties at different universities over the last 25 years.

Afsa also offers training to local aluminium product stockists to improve their ability to assist customers. Krieg says that only once a sales person is given the tools to ask the relevant questions and understand what a customer needs, will they be better able to serve the customer.

Additional Initiatives
Krieg says Afsa takes part in exhibitions to promote the aluminium industry, and sends delegates to speak at conferences in order to make contact with a wider audience. The federation recently tackled important environmental issues at the Green Building conference, in August, on environmental and social sustain-ability.

He says that an important environmental issue is that industry usually focuses on improving the green agenda, which refers to the environment. Meanwhile, the brown agenda, which refers to poverty and quality of life issues, is overlooked. Krieg says that developing countries need to balance these agendas.

The federation is an active member of the National Foundry Technology Network (NFTN), the intent of which is to provide a platform to extend the existing skills base in the foundry sector and to introduce new, appropriate technologies. The NFTN, which recently received funding from the Department of Trade and Indus-try, is conducting a number of ongoing projects.

Afsa collaborates with inter-national partners to remove technological barriers to trade, such as definition differences, and to develop a common international understanding.

Technological Advances
Two new continuous casting machines were recently delivered to a South African smelter.

Krieg explains that continuous casting machines use liquid metal, which is squeezed out into a thin plate. This process replaces the conventional process of rolling down solid metal. This is not a new global technology, but it is new to South Africa. These machines have been imported to help serve the different demands in the alumin-ium industry.

Future Plans
Afsa continues to work with affected members to manage trade solutions through mandated representation to government. The federation speaks on behalf of its membership to provide a platform and common forum where members can discuss aspects of common concern.

The federation aims to continue promoting an awareness of how aluminium is used.

“The federation has built its reputation on the quality of its technical advice, coupled with the ongoing development of technical literature. “Technical diffusion continues as an important facet of the operation. Coupled with this is the commercial reality of opportunistic export from developing countries to South Africa, as well as dumping,” concludes Krieg.

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