The South African arm of Germany-based metallurgical plant and rolling mill technology provider SMS Siemag has registered significant growth in its technical services over the last two to three years.
SMS Siemag South Africa MD Pieter Bezuidenhout notes that the growth, despite the lack of major steel plant projects, is partially attributable to ageing metallurgical plants needing maintenance services, which include outsourcing, on- and off-site repairs, maintenance shutdown support services and training, as well as developing and implementing preventative maintenance practices.
He adds that besides the technical services the company offers to metallurgical processing companies in large parts of Africa, SMS Siemag South Africa has another key responsibility within the group.
“Our area of responsibility includes being a sales liaison office for the SMS group, thereby supporting our African clients with their various project initiatives and ensuring that we involve the appropriate experts from the SMS group’s global staff complement of more than 13 000. We follow a practice of reliability, responsiveness and high quality by combining our leading metallurgical processing technology, our global pool of experts and a strong local presence,” Bezuidenhout asserts.
He notes that the demand for steel in Africa is growing and he expects this trend to continue. “As a result, we should see an increase in the steelmaking and rolling capacity being established in Africa.
“We will continue to grow and expand our local capacity and expertise in response to the increased demand for our technology, products and services from existing, as well as potentially new, metallurgical processing plants in Africa,” Bezuidenhout concludes.