Manufacturing - Page 8

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Manufacturing News

M&E sector output to recover this year after 15% decrease recorded for 2020

By: Marleny Arnoldi 26th February 2021 The Metals and Engineering (M&E) sector was no doubt under pressure in 2020 owing to lower steel production and general trading restrictions, Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) says in its latest 'State of the M&E Sector' report. Seifsa chief economist and... →

New technologies can reinvigorate traditional production in developing countries

By: Schalk Burger 26th February 2021 New technologies can reinvigorate traditional production sectors and speed up industrialisation and economic structural transformation, says United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) technology and logistics division director Shamika Sirimanne. She adds that developing countries... →

Regulation mandates companies to be waste cautious

26th February 2021 With extended producer responsibility (EPR) now mandatory in South Africa, managing the end-of-life of a product has become a social, environmental and economic requirement. Owing to this, companies will need to take responsibility for their waste so that less goes to landfill, warns paper and... →

Global crude steel output decreases by 0.9% in 2020

26th February 2021 Global crude steel production reached 1 864-million tonnes (Mt) for the year 2020, which is down by 0.9% compared with 2019, steel industry association the World Steel Association stated in a press release last month. →

Photo by worldsteel.org
DECREASED STEEL OUTPUT Global crude steel production reached 1 864-million tonnes for the year 2020

Manufacturing recovery’s slow pace a concern, Seifsa

26th February 2021 The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) is concerned about the slow pace of recovery in the manufacturing sector, as depicted by the manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) number of 50.9 last month – lower than the 2020 fourth quarter average. →

MULTIPLIER EFFECT The manufacturing sector remains key to the growth and development of South Africa owing to its multiplier effect on other sectors of the economy

Safe and reliable steel production even more crucial

26th February 2021 High temperatures, molten metals and heavy loads are some of the challenges faced during steel production, says industrial instrumentation and automation multinational Endress+Hauser. →

ZOOMING INTO SAFETY Over the years, the importance of safety has grown substantially, whereby laws and regulations governing the smelter and metals sector have become stricter

Companies committed to transformation honoured

26th February 2021 Entries are open for the seventh annual Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) Awards for Excellence and the federation is calling on all companies within the metals and engineering (M&E) industry to send in their submissions for the Most Transformed Company of... →

TRANSFORMATION GOALS The Most Transformed Company of the Year Award honours and celebrates companies that have been able to transform their workplaces meaningfully

Company adopts ‘three Rs’ approach to reduce environmental impact

By: Mamaili Mamaila 26th February 2021 Wear-resistant chromium carbide-clad liner plates manufacturer Rio-Carb has aligned itself with the ISO14001 environmental management system to benchmark its manufacturing processes by following the reduce, reuse and recycle approach. →

JABULILE MLAMBO Rio-Carb’s approach offered an environment-positive option to the mining, steel and cement industries

Waste management plan holds industry accountable

By: Mc'Kyla Nortje 26th February 2021 Plastic industry body Plastics SA and packaging industry body Packaging SA have welcomed the new Section 18 Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) plan introduced by Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy, which is expected to be implemented on November 5, 2021. Section 18 is... →

SABS amends hand sanitiser standard in line with global guidelines

By: Schalk Burger 25th February 2021 National standards body the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) has published the amendments to the national standard SANS 490, which specifies the requirements for all alcohol-based liquid, gel, foam and aerosol hand sanitisers, driven by global guidelines such as the requirements specified... →

Some of Kruger’s ‘lost hoard’ up for sale through SA Mint

By: Donna Slater 25th February 2021 The South African Mint has released what it says is a rare, intriguing trove of century-old South African gold coins – Kruger ponde – that were discovered in a Swiss vault. The Mint is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the South African Reserve Bank. →

The Kruger half-pond

Adcock Ingram reports ‘resilient’ interim trading performance

By: Simone Liedtke 24th February 2021 South African pharmaceutical manufacturer Adcock Ingram on February 24 reported a 4% increase in turnover, to R3.8-billion, for the six months ended December 31, 2020, during which the group experienced challenging trading conditions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as a depressed... →

Master plans are paying off, says DTIC

By: Marleny Arnoldi 24th February 2021 The implementation of master plans has already started bearing fruit in four sectors of the South African economy – sugar, automotive, poultry and retail (clothing), textile, footwear and leather (R-CTFL). Close to R70-billion has been invested toward reigniting major key sectors that drive... →

Sasol upscales renewables roll-out ambition to 900 MW, starts plotting big green-hydrogen role

By: Terence Creamer 22nd February 2021 JSE-listed Sasol announced on Monday that it would pursue a 900 MW renewable-energy roll-out at its Secunda and Sasolburg complexes by 2030, raising its initial deployment target of 600 MW by 50%. President and CEO Fleetwood Grobler said that the upscaled plan would be pursued in partnership with... →

The Secunda complex, in Mpumalanga

Seifsa to host inaugural Brics Manufacturing Conference in March

By: Marleny Arnoldi 19th February 2021 The inaugural Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) Manufacturing Conference will take place in Sandton, on March 26. The event was initially scheduled to take place last year before Covid-19 brought about restrictions. →

CSIR, Colombia 4IR centre team up on AI and IoT

By: Schalk Burger 19th February 2021 Industrial research organisation the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on February 19 announced that it has partnered with the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) of Colombia operator Corporación Ruta N Medellin (C4IR.CO) to unlock the potential of artificial... →

Greater localisation of OEM supply needed

By: Darren Parker 19th February 2021 Despite the pandemic being a strong motivator for original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to localise procurement, rubber products manufacturer Hudson Rubber MD Stoney Steenkamp believes that too many local OEMs still lack the drive to do so. “Although many customers made huge efforts to localise... →

STONEY STEENKAMP Why should we require a pandemic for customers to localise?

Rubber manufacturer buoyed in tough economy

By: Darren Parker 19th February 2021 Rubber manufacturer Rubber Products and Mouldings (RPM) is “very bullish” about the year ahead, with the company poised for growth despite the difficult economic circumstances because of ongoing lockdowns. “The economy is not strong, so it certainly won’t be easy for any business. However, RPM... →

WAYNE TOZER AND SUE SUPASAR RPM has performed well after the 2019 takeover, following a series of strategic adjustments to operating costs.

Three employees missing after incident at AMSA's Vanderbijlpark Works

By: Marleny Arnoldi 17th February 2021 Primary steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) on February 17 reported that there had been an incident at its Vanderbijlpark Works facility, which resulted in three employees going missing. The company explained that a portion of a 90 m stack at one of the operation’s coke batteries... →

Second Covid-19 wave and stricter lockdown impact on trade conditions

By: Donna Slater 17th February 2021 The second wave of Covid-19 infections and the return to a more stringent lockdown in December 2020 caused a setback in trade conditions during the holiday period, which spilled over into January, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (Sacci's) Trade Activity Index (TAI) shows.... →

Biden faces South African push to extend trade concessions

By: Bloomberg 15th February 2021 South Africa is apprehensive about striking a new trade deal with the US and would rather maintain existing relations with the world’s largest economy, the nation’s top trade official said. South Africa is currently party to the so-called Generalised System of Preferences and the African Growth... →

Seifsa calls for finalisation, implementation of Steel Master Plan

By: Schalk Burger 12th February 2021 Industry body the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) has called for the finalisation and speedy implementation of the Steel Master Plan, which it believes will benefit primary and downstream players in the local steel industry. It is also considered to be key... →

Macsteel commits to paying SME suppliers in 30 days

By: Marleny Arnoldi 11th February 2021 Steel merchant Macsteel has committed to its paying small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) suppliers within 30 days, in a bid to contribute to the growth of this critical sector of the South African economy. Macsteel is the latest company to join Business for South Africa’s (B4SA’s) #PayIn30... →

Manufacturing output increases by 1.8% in December

By: Marleny Arnoldi 11th February 2021 Manufacturing output increased by 1.8% in December 2020 compared with December 2019, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported on February 11. Nedbank said it was the first time that annual factory output had grown since May 2019, surpassing the bank’s expectation of a contraction. →

Italtile grows interim profit to R1.4bn

By: Marleny Arnoldi 11th February 2021 JSE-listed tile and bathroomware manufacturer Italtile has achieved trading profit growth of 38% year-on-year to R1.4-billion for the six months ended December 31, 2020. The company declared an interim ordinary dividend of 31c apiece, up 35% from the 23c apiece interim dividend declared for the... →

Nyanza appoints Intertek for quality control on Richard's Bay titanium dioxide plant

By: Schalk Burger 8th February 2021 Manufacturing company Nyanza Light Metals has appointed LSE-listed quality assurance provider Intertek as its quality control and assurance partner for its titanium beneficiation project, which is under construction at the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone (RBIDZ). Nyanza is building the... →

Nampak's first-quarter revenue, profit up; alcohol ban has limited impact

By: Donna Slater 5th February 2021 Packaging company Nampak reports that trading conditions in South Africa and Nigeria were good in the first quarter of its 2021 financial year, ended December 2020, with group revenue up 1% year-on-year. Cost saving initiatives undertaken by the company during the 2020 financial year had yielded... →

Endress+Hauser certifies its industrial cloud as industrial digitalisation steams ahead

By: Schalk Burger 5th February 2021 Industrial instrumentation and automation multinational Endress+Hauser reported its latest industrial technology developments during a virtual briefing on February 4, and detailed new developments of its Netilion industrial cloud platform that enables customers to derive greater value from their... →

Group continues to embrace instrumentation technology

5th February 2021 Utility management company Bosch Munitech continues to make a substantial investment in the latest instrumentation technology, offering geospatial services in line with stringent global standards. Munitech, a division of multidisciplinary consulting engineering group Bosch Holdings, continuously... →

GROUP POWER The new technology enables the company to accurately survey complex structures in just one site visit

New pressure gauge incorporates IoT tech

By: Halima Frost 5th February 2021 Measuring instruments supplier Wika Instruments has aligned the global launch of its Bourdon tube pressure gauge, the company’s most advanced gauge to date, with its new business strategy. Although the new gauge uses the old gauge’s design, it includes Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)... →

PRESSURE GAUGE The pressure to move to a more technology orientated company has seen the introduction of the Internet of Things to its devices

Society drives initiatives to improve instrumentation sector

By: Halima Frost 5th February 2021 The Society for Automation, Instrumentation, Mechatronics and Control (SAIMC) has announced that its trust fund will be introduced to the instrumentation and control sector this year, which is among other initiatives being developed by the society for the coming years. “The trust fund is being... →

HELPING HAND The Society for Automation, Instrumentation, Mechatronics and Control hopes its trust fund will drive change in education in the sector

Lift built for stringent environmental regulations

5th February 2021 Mobile elevating work platforms manufacturer JLG Industries has made available to the access industry its environment-friendly all-electric DaVinci AE1932 scissor lift. JLG mobile elevating work platforms engineering senior director Shashank Bhatia says featuring zero hydraulics to help eliminate... →

Flow control meter added to product range

5th February 2021 Last month, Instrotech introduced its Kobold’s calorimetric (KAL-D) flow meters with an integrated microcontroller that allows users to adapt the device to individual process conditions. The KAL-D continuously monitors water-based liquids. It finds service in all applications where flow currents... →

FLOW WATCH the KAL-D flow meter has the capacity to continuously monitor water based liquids

Time switch series available locally

5th February 2021 Electric solutions provider Legrand’s AlphaRex and MicroRex series of time switches are now available in South Africa. Both switches, which ensure high-clock precision and energy efficiency in industrial, commercial and domestic environments, have been designed for easy programming. →

EASY TECH Legrands new series of time switches have been designed for easy programming

Seifsa gauges impact of oxygen shortage on members' operations

By: Marleny Arnoldi 4th February 2021 To assess the scale of the reported oxygen shortage in South Africa, the Steel and Engineering Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) took it upon itself to survey its member companies to establish their experiences around oxygen shortage within the metals and engineering sector. Seifsa set out... →

Researchers conclude that fatigue issues regarding 3D printed parts can now be handled

By: Rebecca Campbell 3rd February 2021 Researchers from South Africa, Italy, Norway and the US have jointly written a review article for the prestigious journal Materials Science and Engineering R, in which they argue that concerns about the structural integrity of metal cellular structures created by additive manufacturing (AM),... →

Photo by Central University of Technology
Titanium metal lattice cubes produced by additive manufacturing

Entries now open for Seifsa Awards of Excellence

By: Simone Liedtke 3rd February 2021 Entries are now open for the seventh edition of the yearly Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) Awards for Excellence. The awards, aimed at celebrating excellence in the metals and engineering (M&E) industry, honour small and large manufacturers that promote... →

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