 The Southern African Institute of Steel Construction (SAISC) executive director Hennie de Clercq says that although the current economic climate is characterised by lower prices and slumping demand, the South African steel construction industry remains active.
De Clercq reports that State-owned power utility Eskom will be using 800 000 t of steel for a number of projects over the next decade. “This is a staggering amount of steel which will provide work for the larger companies and some of the smaller companies for a number of years,” he says.
Meanwhile, the stadiums under construction for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which required significant amounts of structural steel, are moving towards completion.
In addition, infrastructural projects such as the Gautrain and other transport initiatives are keeping the industry busy.
SAISC industry development executive Kobus de Beer explains that 140 000 t of structural steel will be required for railway wagons over the next five years.
“A railway wagon, as a vehicle, is really a structural steel product with wheels on it,” says De Beer.
However, although stable and promising infrastructural projects are positive for the industry, De Clercq says that the crisis in certain sectors of the South African mining industry has adversely affected some SAISC member companies.
“The steel construction industry has most certainly been affected by the drop in commodity prices and the subsequent curtailment of mining projects. The mining industry is of significant importance to the industry,” he asserts.
In addition, de Beer says that the closure and postponements of mining projects in Africa create a further challenge for the structural steel industry.
“South Africa is traditionally an exporter. In the past years, South Africa has enhanced and improved its facilities for the very purpose of exporting its structural steel pro-ducts,” he explains.
Meanwhile, South African structural steel producers are having to compete with more participants in the industry, such as China. Coupled with project delays and closures, this is a cause for concern.
Nevertheless, De Beer confirms that 10 000 t of structural steel is exported each month to clients worldwide and he envisions this being maintained and even expects that the figure will increase in the future.
There is no import tariff on steel products and SAISC members can freely import raw material from any international supplier. However, little steel is imported, meaning that South African producers are well placed and respected by the local industry.
“There was concern that the steel industry had insufficient capacity to handle Eskom’s power station construction requirements and that up to 40% of the steel would be sourced from China. However, steel giant ArcelorMittal increased its capacity, in order to meet Eskom’s needs,” explains De Beer.
This was matched by substantial investments from local structural steel fabricators to extend and improve their capacities in order to produce the structural steel for the new power stations.
Skills Programmes
The steel industry needs a solid human resource base with certain technical, scientific and engineering skills to make it sustainable and globally competitive, says De Clercq. He adds that project management and leadership skills should also be emphasised.
These are known skills that are in short supply, something that government, industry and labour organisations are trying to resolve.
Describing the different programmes run by the SAISC, he says:
“The organisation has a [draughtsperson] training centre, offering a two-year programme, with 24 [draughtspersons] currently enrolled.
“Part of the organisation’s strategy is that the programme will not only produce [draughtspersons], but will be an entry point for them to fill all kinds of positions in the industry, such as workshop or project managers,” says De Clercq.
He describes the growth in the number of artisan apprentices in the industry as signifi-cant and says there is no intention of reducing this type of training.
The main concern for the SAISC is that the industry consists of aged professionals and a small number of young people. In addition, there is concern that the design courses taught at local universities are inadequate and fail to teach young people to cope with the challenges of the industry.
Nevertheless, the organisation continues its tertiary education bursary programme. It is especially excited about its sponsorship of postgraduate research. “The people at postgraduate level will hopefully become industry leaders and, in turn, teachers to aspiring students,” says De Clercq.
Success Story
In other news, the organisation is upbeat about the prospects of light steel frame housing.
“While the housing market is experiencing a slump, there seems to be significant demand for housing in Africa. Because the light steel frame is cost effective and environment friendly, it proves an attractive alter-native,” says De Clercq.
He explains that light steel framing could play an important role in tackling South Africa’s need for fast-track and affordable housing.
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