The local tooling industry has recov- ered slightly from its significantly decreased production period between the end of last year and midway through this year, the Tool- making Association of South Africa (Tasa) reports.

“The vast majority of tooling compa- nies have endured a tough, quiet period with many of them reporting some recovery in the market since June, this year, and a degree of optimism for the next few months,” says Tasa national chairperson Bob Williamson.

He says that a number of tooling companies have closed down as a result of the financial downturn and that companies which have failed to market themselves adequately have been over- shadowed by international tooling companies that have launched aggres- sive marketing campaigns in South Africa.

He adds that, in contrast, companies that are seeing a turnaround in demand have used the slower period effectively to invest in improving service delivery and are now running at full capacity from six days to seven days a week.

National Tooling Initiative (NTI) Intsimbi programme CEO Dirk van Dyk says that while tool, die and mould (TDM) making companies supplying the automotive and aerospace industries, which the aluminium industry also supplies, have been signifi- cantly affected during the downturn, TDM companies serving the consumer, food, beverages and pharmaceutical pack- aging industries are seeing increased workloads.

Williamson says that there is a move in the tooling industry towards achieving shorter lead times for production and that integrated management systems are a key technology in contributing to shorter lead times. These systems include the full integra- tion of all phases of the production process, from design to manufacture.

“The market wants a fast turnaround. China is setting new standards and, locally, we will not be able to match these standards unless we embrace new technologies,” says Williamson.

Van Dyk says that the local and global trends in tooling are directed towards highly specialised, significant investment in research through partnerships with research institutions and collaboration between small and medium enterprises.

NTI Programmes
Williamson says that the NTI’s five core programmes have continued despite the downturn, but that some of the subprojects have been altered to accom- modate the industry’s support needs during this period.

He adds that, through the NTI and regional tooling initiatives, a number of surveys have been conducted in an attempt to establish the degree of distress in the tooling industry with the view to possibly establishing emergency funding schemes.

“The TDM industry, through the NTI, is positioning itself to take advantage of the new government assistance programme the R2,4-billion programme, announced by South African President Jacob Zuma, to advance the skills of laid-off workers or workers destined to be laid off as a result of the slowdown,” says Van Dyk.

In the Western Cape, an initiative is in place that provides subsidies for small tooling firms to reduce their dependence on subcontracting.

The NTI’s preapprenticeship orienta- tion programme was launched in July.

The initiative is called TDM-Powered locally and two national project teams have been mobilised to carry out the programmes.

The first team is focused on the market- ing and recruitment for the programme and the second team is tasked with deve- loping the curriculum for the programme and training educators. The teams were sent to the US to receive training for the programme and will be returning to the US at the end of this year and the beginning of next year to complete their training.

Students will begin the programme in February next year.

The Coega skills centre, in the Eastern Cape, is currently under construction for completion in January 2010. The NTI is in partnership with the skills centre. It will be a technical campus in the Coega industrial development zone and will be the main supplier of technical skills for the region, in partnership with local further education and training colleges and universities, says Van Dyk.

A new competence-based apprentice- ship programme to be run at the Coega skills centre will initially comprise a 70% practical component and a 30% theoretical component.

Skills Shortages
Van Dyk says that critical skills shortages exist in the tooling industry at the high end of the skills value chain. He says that the industry lacks suffi- cient numbers of engineers, project mana- gers, tool designers, TDM makers and specialist computer numerically controlled programmers and machinists.

The skills required by the tooling indus- try are based on a strong practical appren- ticeship programme, which requires a longer-term view of quality and capa- city generation, says Van Dyk. The NTI’s approach is, therefore, to tackle the entire skills value chain, he adds.

Williamson says that increased aware- ness of available technologies will assist the development of skills in the tooling industry. He adds that ensuring that graduate engineers have an effective practical element included in their training will enable them to better understand the industry.