MechChem Africa September 2018

The Southern Africa Stainless Steel Development Association (Sassda) welcomes the investment by China into Limpopo’s Special Economic Zone, especially into the beneficiation of raw materials such as chromite. China invests in SA stainless metallurgical complex

R esponding to the recent news of investment into a $10-billion met- allurgical complex development in Limpopo’s Special Economic Zone (SEZ) by Chinese investors, the Southern Af- rica Stainless Steel Development Association (Sassda) has announced it welcomes any and all beneficiation of SouthAfrica’s rawmateri- als, particularly chromite. However, it was quick to state that it was rather in the downstreammanufacturing and conversion of primary stainless steel prod- ucts to finished products where the potential for significant job growth and value lies in

kickstarting the country’s economic growth. Sassda director John Tarboton says: “We sa- lute government initiatives to grow the stain- less steel industry in South Africa, however, it needs to be part of an integrated global value chain if it seeks to boost the economy in any meaningfulway.Ourindustryiscallingforben- eficiation, whichwill directly impact both jobs and thebottomline. In reality, there isno room for additional supply into the local market.” Sassda heads up support for stainless steel industry in South Africa by focusing on promoting the sustainable growth and devel- opmentoftheindustry,withitsmainemphasis

on stainless steel conversionwithin the South African economy.

Beneficiation key ingredient Currently, the stainless steel industry em- ploys 114 000 people and is worth around

Sassda boosts stainless steel trade with Kenya & Tanzania With the priority of fast industrialisation and a call for the development of stainless steel value-add within the agricultural and food and beverage industries, Tanzania and Kenya are primed for increased bilateral trade with SouthAfrica,withconfirmedsourcingenquiries already received at Sassda. This is according to Sassda market intelligence specialist, Lesley Squires,followingarecenttradevisitunderthe auspicesofdtiTradeInvestmentAfricatoiden- tify opportunities for Sassdamembers seeking togrowtheirexportbaseinKenyaandTanzania. is dependent on its agricultural sector, which contributes a quarter of its GDP and employs 80% of the work force. “Currently, there is a lot of investment in rail and road infrastructure, which is sorely needed,buttherearestillmanymoreopportu- nities in the sector and theTanzanianNational Development Cooperation is filling the gap in financing critical development projects in the agro, biological, chemical, metallurgical iron and steel andpower production and a number of enquiries havealreadybeenmade toSassda member companies in the sector.”

has announced a priority focus for the next five years for the nation on the country’s ‘Big 4’, namely affordable housing; food security; increasedmanufacturing; and universal qual- ity healthcare,” says Squires. Following a meeting with KenInvest MD Moses Ikiara, Squires confirmed the current opportunities inKenya lie inagroand foodand beverage processing in linewith food security requirements; conference centres; and green manufacturing practices and technologies. During the trip, the delegation toured both current and potential Sassda member sites, which included: ASL Limited’s Heavy FabricationDivisioninKenya,whichfabricates dairy equipment and bulk milk coolers, car stackers, balustrades, cold rooms, cateringand laundry equipment and steamboilers; Desbro Engineering,aproviderofend-to-endstainless steel solutions for clients across a wide range of processing industries in East Africa; and Uni Industries EastAfrica Limited, suppliers of kitchen, bakery, refrigeration, laundry, super- market andhospitality solutions acrossKenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Zanzibar. q

Green light for Tanzania Returning from a three-day trade visit to the two countries, Squires reports: “South Africa currently sees R6.5-billion in export trade to Tanzania, making South Africa one of the country’s top ten investors, with 170 South African companies such as Game, Vodacom, Stanbic,Multichoice,AngloGoldandSouthern Sun already operational in Tanzania. With an abundance of natural resources – it’s the third largest gold producer in Africa after Ghana and South Africa – the Tanzanian economy

Kenya’s ‘Big 4’ focus Kenya looks just as favourable for increased trade agreements with already US$ 17.3-bil- lion in exports fromSouthAfrica intoKenya in 2017 and a current trade balance that lies in SouthAfrica’s favour in the importationof iron and steel; industrial machinery; alloy steels; cars; and medicines. “There are no exchange controls in Kenya as they fall under the International Court of Arbitration and President Uhuru Kenyatta

20 ¦ MechChem Africa • September 2018