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Steel manufacturer manages processing upgrades despite hostile industry

SUPPORT LOCAL STEEL
Local steel industry has been made to compete with cheap imports, rising production and labour costs, as well as stagnant economic growth

SUPPORT LOCAL STEEL Local steel industry has been made to compete with cheap imports, rising production and labour costs, as well as stagnant economic growth

2nd March 2018

     

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Despite the plethora of difficulties facing the steel industry, steel tubing and profiling manufacturer Augusta Steel has invested in processing line upgrades to improve its offerings.

Augusta Steel says the local steel industry has been made to compete with cheap imports, rising production and labour costs, as well as stagnant economic growth. In addition, it states that the domestic tube market has seen the establishment of foreign tube mills on local soil further limiting employment opportunities for the South African work force and stunting growth in the local tube market.

However, despite these recent hardships, Augusta Steel has managed to invest in new machinery and upgrade its existing process lines. The company reports that it has recently commissioned the implementation of a fourth tube mill, which is ready for installation and will be operational by the end of April this year.

Augusta Steel expects that this new investment will result in increased production and assist in maintaining the company’s market share. Further, the past two years have seen Augusta Steel introduce a large bore mill, increasing its product offering to the steel tube and pipe industry.

Augusta Steel recently became a member of product and services solutions provider InServe Group of Companies. This is a collaboration of a number of South Africa’s oldest and well known industrial brands, including crane hire Concord Cranes, industrial equipment supplier Goscor Group of Companies, formwork and scaffolding provider Uni-Span, fuel pump importer and manufacturer Prowalco and trailer manufacturer Afrit. This alliance is intended to leverage shared resources across the mining, agricultural, petrochemicals, power generation and general industrial sectors.

With increased pressure on the local markets where steel is concerned, Augusta Steel urges all steel industry role players to support local South African steel companies. Boksburg-based Augusta Steel operates out of a 30 000 m2 steel processing plant under crane, with the ability to handle heavy coils of rolled steel up to 30 t. It states that all products are handled and loaded independently, offering a reliable, efficient despatch system, which is operational on a 24-hour-a-day basis.

It processes various lines for the steel industry, predominantly through slitting operations and tube mills. It is equipped with two open section lines for lipped channel and a 6 mm plate line.

Augusta Steel states that it adheres to an ethos of uncompromised materials integrity. The company currently holds a SANS 657-1 specification for scaffold and structural applications, a SANS 62-1 specification for water-piping and a SANS 657-3 mark for conveyor tube. All aspects of the company are subject to permanent in-house and external auditing. The company states that customers are guaranteed a maximum standard, which comprises all established certifications.

Augusta Steel has been broad-based black economic-empowerment compliant for many years. It states that it has continuously endeavoured to improve its status and is currently a Level 3 contributor.

Edited by Zandile Mavuso
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor: Features

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