Positive noises from the newly formed government, combined with promises of support from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to meet the needs of the local catalytic converter sector, all provide fresh hope that large-scale catalytic converter manufacturing will stay in South Africa, says the new chair of the Catalytic Converter Industry Group (CCIG), Paul Thompson.

The CCIG has been in discussion with government around the provisions of the new Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP) – set to replace the current government Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP) – to provide greater incen- tives for companies making use of locally produced platinum and stainless steel, such as the catalytic converter manufacturing industry.

Thompson says government recognises the importance of the catalytic converter industry as the only large-scale beneficiator of precious metals in South Africa, and has given the industry the nod on the jobs it creates and the technology it brings into South Africa.

While the country currently supplies an estimated 11% of the world’s automotive cataly- tic converters, there is a real danger that the industry could be lost if there were no incentives to ensure continued investment, he emphasises.

Without support, it would not be possible for local catalytic converter producers to compete against plants abroad, which have much shorter logistics lines to their customers.

South Africa’s supply lines run all the way from the domestic market to Europe, and even further.

South Africa’s catalytic converter industry was built around the incentives offered by the APDP precursor, the MIDP, notes Thompson.

Discussions centring on the APDP have been stalled owing to uncertainty about what the new government’s priorities and policies would be, according to outgoing CCIG chairperson Hans Kuehn.

“While we were encouraged that the former Minister of Trade and Industry had identified the catalytic converter industry as being a sector worth supporting, we were deeply concerned by the delay in the announcement of the nature of these envisaged support measures.

“Combined with the present global economic uncertainty, the lack of clarity with regard to industrial policy affecting our industry is making it extremely difficult for the overseas parents of our member companies to make decisions regarding their future involvement in South Africa.

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