NOT one but two gas companies will be under construction in the Coega industrial development zone after a R300-million investment deal with industrial gas company Afrox saw the company break ground on their site in zone 3. The Coega Development Corporation welcomed the onset of site clearing and construction. “We are incredibly excited to welcome Afrox to the Coega IDZ,” said Christopher Mashigo, Coega Development Corporation Business Development Executive Manager.

“Already a supplier to a number of our investors, including DCD Wind Towers, Agni Steels and Dynamic Commodities, their positioning and establishment in the IDZ means they will be able to service their established customer base while moving into new markets.”

Afrox will establish a 150 ton per day air separation unit in the IDZ to service customers throughout the Eastern Cape. The investment will see the supply of a variety of industrial gases used in the automotive, food processing and medical sectors.

Afrox managing director Brett Kimber said: “The new 300 million investments at the Coega came as a result of CDC continuous assistance in wanting to make this investment work. Their assistance has seen a culmination of business coming together with industry.”

Afrox has an established customer base in the Eastern Cape, servicing the automotive and medical sectors in particular, but the company also indicated that it is focused on broadening its focus.

“Afrox’s air separation unit is important to us not only as a new investor but as an enabler. It enhances our value proposition and also provides a foundation for Afrox’s own growth,” added Mashigo. “Gas is a critical part of industrial processes and we are happy to see demand equate into supply through the establishment of two air separation units in the IDZ.”

The Afrox ASU will come online in the first quarter of 2015. Air Products, also an industrial gas company, is well underway with construction at the site of their ASU plant and is due to come online in the third quarter of this year.