Experts from across all four corners of the globe will convene to discuss tangible solutions on how to progress the tooling and machining industry in a post-Covid world.

The City of Cape Town in South Africa will host the 16th International Special Tooling and Machining Association World Conference (ISTMA 2023) from 6 to 10 November 2023. The theme of the conference will be sustainable development, technical advances in tooling manufacturing and skills development.

The conference will bring together representatives from global tooling houses, associated industries, industry leaders and business people from 22 countries and 23 ISTMA member associations made up of 8 000 companies to discuss:

• Latest trends and technological developments in tooling manufacturing.
• Post-pandemic and post-war strategies for companies and the sector.
• International and regional trade, government regulations and international trading conditions.

“ISTMA World is the hub of expertise and a key cooperation and knowledge sharing platform for the worldwide mould, die, special tooling and precision machining industry. The event will create invaluable exposure and networking opportunities for the local TDM industry,” said Bob Williamson, President of ISTMA World.

This year, the ISTMA 16th World Conference will coincide with the All Africa Expo – an event that aims to give African countries a platform to showcase their manufacturing and tooling abilities and make their investment case to international companies during an invest in Africa Indaba. Manufacturers on the continent will also be exposed to the world’s foremost tooling technology and influential role-players.

“The All Africa Expo will be the first platform to boast Africa’s spirit of invention and its pockets of manufacturing excellence and will offer unprecedented global networking opportunities to the continent. The All-Africa Exhibition will not only showcase African capability and capacity, but it will also enable the rest of the world to carve out opportunities and build partnerships with their African counterparts,” added Williamson.

Hosted by the Production Technologies Association of South Africa (PtSA) and managed by SBS Conferences and Exhibitions, the ISTMA World conference and the All Africa Expo will offer globally relevant technical presentations,

platforms to share strategies for companies in the sector, as well as skilfully planned and matched networking sessions for the regions and the world.

Tapiwa Samanga, Chief Executive Officer at PtSA said: “Our mission at PtSA is to promote, protect and support the collective interests of the Tool, Die, Mould and Special Machining industries of South Africa to continuously support the growth and development of all manufacturing sectors. If you look at the country’s tooling and machining business, it is well-defined and all it needs is assistance with resources to expand. This conference is bringing insight into those resources in which local and global companies can tap into.”

Looking further afield, Samanga adds that Africa currently lacks an industry-required home-grown skills base. PtSA's objective is to help Africa acquire the required abilities, curriculum alignment and to facilitate the easy cross-border movement of artisans.

“Africa's industrial development can be enhanced through the creation of business clusters, positioning the continent to gain a competitive edge – with the support of abundant resources and skilled labour, hubs located in countries like South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco will make the continent a leader in the sector,” concludes Samanga.