Association places renewed focus on innovation, growth and commitment to PSC
The Southern African Vinyl’s Association (SAVA), the Producer Responsibility Organization for the local PVC industry, has welcomed three new companies as members.
“SAVA is dedicated to enhancing the growth and protecting the stature of the Southern African vinyl industry. Growing our membership by encouraging industry leaders to join us, is therefore an important area of our focus. The greater our support and representation, the louder our voice and the stronger our muscle to address vinyl-related issues, engage with stakeholders and advocate on behalf of the entire industry,” explains Adri Spangenberg, CEO of SAVA.
The latest companies to be awarded membership are Emeraude International, Innovative Pvc Compounds and Associated Additives. According to Adri, these new members ensure that SAVA has a strong representation across a wide variety of different sectors - ranging from manufacturers of PVC compounds, chemicals and stabilizers, to producers of film, bottles, flooring, cables, pipes and other products.
“We are very excited about welcoming these new members to SAVA who have all signed SAVA’s Product Stewardship Commitment (PSC) and are in full agreement with our principles, activities and Constitution,” Adri says.
Comments from new members
Commenting on the reasons why it was important for Associated Additives to join SAVA, Divisional Managing Director Siyabonga Ngcobo says: “As a leading manufacturer and supplier of lead and non-lead based products into a wide range of markets world-wide (including the mining, battery and chemical industries), it is our company’s mission to provide the highest-quality and most reliable products and services to our customers.
We have a rich history of product excellence and technological innovation. We believe that membership to SAVA will afford us the opportunity to be part of the broader PVC community where we can learn, share and contribute information to the benefit of the local and international industry”.
Mubeen and Saalick Siddiqi of Innovative Pvc Compounds say they agree with this sentiment. “We decided to join SAVA because, although we are a family-run PVC supplier based in Durban, we supply our products nationwide, as well internationally. Our business is built on a combination of passion, high standards and expertise and we wanted to associate ourselves with other leading players in the PVC industry who share these core values. Belonging to SAVA also gives us insight into international developments and a platform to learn and share ideas,” they explain.
Emeraude International has been distributing polymers and chemical products since 1986 and specializes in working in both emerging and mature markets. Although the company started out as a French family business, today they export to over 60 countries. According to Trevor Moroney of Emeraude International (South Africa), belonging to an industry association such as SAVA is about making a difference when and where you can.
“By joining SAVA, Emeraude made a public commitment that we stand for responsible and sustainable manufacturing processes and end-of-life solutions for vinyl products. We also want to help protect the industry from possible legislations or negative attacks that might harm our own business or those of our clients, and make positive contributions that will drive us forward for the next 5 to 10 years,” he says.
Encouraging growth and innovation
“SAVA has adopted the theme “Accelerating Innovation” as our focus for 2019, because it is clear that our members are eager to learn from each other and from international best practices in order to stay abreast of industry developments, regardless of the sector in which they operate. Over the past few months we have seen many new and exciting new market applications that were developed both locally and internationally, and we will be making a concerted effort this year to expose our members to this innovative way of thinking.
Our doors remain open for any organization, selected individuals and PVC recyclers who are in agreement with our mandate and supportive of our efforts to a positive, vibrant and sustainable environment in which the industry can flourish,” Adri concludes.
For more information about joining SAVA and benefits of memberships, visit www.savinyls.co.za