Manufacturing

Corobrik’s new factory started producing product in 2021.

SECTOR INSIGHT Several Metair subsidiaries will benefit from Ford’s expansion.

Ford’s expansion project at Silverton will create jobs along the value chain. Credit: Ford Motor Company

Anew factory in Carltonville produced its first bricks in 2021. The R800-million Corobrik Kwastina factory has reduced costs in the manufacturing process by 50% and consumes 70% less gas than previous methods.

At full capacity, Kwastina will be able to produce 100-million bricks per year. Manufacturing contributes 14% to Gauteng’s real economy output and provides 40% of South Africa’s manufacturing overall.

Manufacturing related to the mining industry, historically the lynchpin of the Gauteng economy, is still important. Employer organisations like the Manufacturing Circle and government at national and provincial levels are engaging in initiatives to grow the sector, including incentives such as the

Manufacturing and Competitiveness Enhancement Programme (MCEP) of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic). Sectors that have received support include plastics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, metal fabrication, transport equipment and agri-processing. The Support Programme for Industrial

Innovation (SPII), run by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) on behalf of the dtic, promotes technology development. Original equipment manufacturer Ford announced a $1-billion investment in South Africa in 2021. Expanded production (to installed capacity of 200 000 units) at the company’s Gauteng plant will create 1 200 direct jobs and a further 10 000 jobs along the supply chain.

In response to Ford’s investment, auto component and battery manufacturer Metair will establish a new logistics facility at Silverton. Several Metair subsidiaries, including Hesto Harnesses, Unitrade, Automould and Lumotech, have signed agreements to supply Ford with a wide range of products.

All of Gauteng’s large automobile manufacturers are investing in new model production. Nissan is spending R3-billion on production of the Navara pick-up vehicle. Other major investments include R6.1-billion by BMW at Rosslyn and R260-million by BMW on an expanded campus at Midrand. UD Trucks, a part of the Volvo group, will assemble the Croner heavy commercial vehicle at Rosslyn.

Gauteng is also home to a strong automotive components industry, together with several bus and truck assembly plants. These include Scania, TFM Industries and MAN Truck and Bus South Africa, as well as the Chinese

truck manufacturer FAW, which owns an assembly plant in Isando. Beijing Automotive Works (BAW) assembles taxis at Springs.

Armoured cars are produced by the Paramount Group. DCD Protected Mobility manufactures armoured cars in Boksburg, which are branded as Vehicle Mounted Mine Detectors. In nearby Benoni, BAE Systems OMC designs and manufactures protected vehicles.

The Eastern Corridor of Gauteng, centred on the metropole of Ekurhuleni, is consolidating its position in manufacturing by leveraging the advantages of hosting the OR Tambo International Airport and related Special Economic Zones and industrial parks.

Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality has the greatest concentration of manufacturing enterprises, especially between Wadeville and Alrode, south-west of Alberton. Germiston is the country’s biggest rail junction and Transnet Engineering has invested hundreds of millions of rands in new equipment at its facility there.

Aeroton is the site of SEW-EURODRIVE’s new head office and factory which will bring under one roof several of the company’s activities which were previously in different parts of the country. The R200-million development is about three times larger than the existing head office premises, located in the same suburb.

The Provincial Government of Gauteng plans to bolster manufacturing capacity in the province’s western areas. The priorities are mining and mineral beneficiation, capital equipment and machinery, agriculture and agro-processing, tourism, retail and economic development in townships.

Packaging company Nampak has metals, plastic, paper and glass operations at various locations. It is the market leader in beverage cans. The country’s biggest glass producer, Consol Glass, has facilities in Clayville, Wadeville and Nigel.

Household products manufacturer Unilever represents an example of the lighter industrial capacity of the East Rand. Kellogg’s, Kimberly-Clark South Africa and Procter & Gamble all have significant manufacturing capacity in the area. Corrugated paper manufacturer Corruseal has purchased the Enstra Mill in Springs from Sappi, giving it greater control of production.

The southern portion of Gauteng around Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging is synonymous with steel production. Flat iron is made at the ArcelorMittal plant. Scaw Metals has a chain-making factory in Vereeniging.

There are 35 aluminium processing firms in Gauteng, involved in both secondary processing to produce foils, cans, bars, rods and sheets, with final fabrication in the form of die-casting and sheet metal work. Within Gauteng, the automotive and packaging industries are the chief consumers of these products.

AECI is a large manufacturing company with its roots in the mining industry. It comprises two principal divisions: AEL Mining Services (with a large factory site at Modderfontein south of Johannesburg) and Chemical Services, which presides over 20 separate companies (including Senmin, the group’s mining chemicals company).

More than half of the companies operating in the food and beverage sector in South Africa are in Gauteng, including Nestlé, Tiger Brands, Pioneer Foods, RCL, AVI and Astral. There are approximately 4 000 food processing companies in the province, employing more than 100 000 people.

Although there are more than 200 pharmaceutical firms in the country, large companies dominate the field, with Aspen Pharmacare (34%) and Adcock Ingram (25%) the two key players, followed by Sanofi, Pharmaplan and Cipla Medpro. Among the other big international brands active in Gauteng are Merck, which has a 55 000m² plant at Modderfontein, and Pfizer SA, which runs a laboratory in Sandton among its facilities in South Africa. ■

ONLINE RESOURCES

Centre for Advanced Manufacturing: www.cfam.co.za Chemical and Allied Industries’ Association: www.caia.co.za Gauteng Department of Economic Development: www.ecodev.gpg.gov.za Manufacturing Circle: www.manufacturingcircle.co.za Credit: Corobrik