Scaw Metals Group, a leading South African manufacturer of a diverse range of high-quality steel products, has signed a knowledge exchange agreement with the German Steelmaking Company, Badische Stahl-Engineering GMBH (BSE) to drive technological advances and excellence at its steelmaking and rolling facilities. The agreement is in line with the group’s focus on driving a smarter and more efficient steel sector as a catalyst for growth in South Africa, in Africa and across key emerging markets.

The agreement, which will run for the next three years, will see experts from the BSE academy touring facilities and operations of Scaw’s Union Junction plant in Germiston, Johannesburg. They will provide an on-site assessment of Meltshop 3 and Morgan Mill.

As part of the programme Scaw Metals will send 90 employees to the BSE Academy in Germany for training, which will take place over a six week period by the end of this year. The training these employees will receive, will address the gaps identified in the on-site assessment.

“Our focus on skills is a major step in ensuring we deliver the quality our clients expect from us. We believe that through this agreement, we will be able to offer our clients even more than we currently do,” said Bheka Khumalo, Executive Manager for Strategy for the Scaw Metals Group.

Scaw Metals is a firm supporter of skills development in the local steel sector. “We believe that by giving our employees the best possible education and training, we can only benefit the entire industry and our clients. A smarter and more efficient steel sector is critical to fuel growth, not only in South Africa, but in the rest of Africa and the across key emerging markets,” Khumalo said.

The BSE Academy is the consultancy unit of Badische Stahlwerke (BSW), and has a long and illustrious track record and supports green entrepreneurship. It has successfully executed over 200 consultancy and training contracts, over 400 classical training seminars and has had 5,500 participants from 28 countries graduate in the past two decades.

“One of the reasons we were attracted to BSW and BSE was that they are strikingly similar to Scaw with regards to their steelmaking and rolling operations. We can only reap the benefits from this agreement and thus enhancing not only our own standards but that of the entire industry in South Africa,” said Steve van Wyk, Acting Head of Operations at Scaw Metals Group.

The participants of the BSE programme will have full access to the BSW facilities. “Around 60% will be training on the BSW facilities and the remaining 40% will be focused on theoretical training,” van Wyk said.

At the end of the training session, Scaw will formulate a specialist training process, in conjunction with the BSE Academy, which will look to revolutionise how Scaw provides training to new employees.

“It will be like going through the process of getting a driver’s licence. First you will have to do a written test. If that student is successful, they will be tutored by a senior competent specialist from Scaw. If the specialist feels that the student has shown sufficient skills, he or she will be asked to show their competency by doing a physical test at the relevant unit,” van Wyk explained.