Manufacturing

An Integrated Manufacturing Strategy aims to stimulate the sector.

SECTOR INSIGHT North-West University now offers mechatronic engineering.

Credit: Bosch

Aprovincial Integrated Manufacturing Strategy has been compiled. The strategy notes the North West’s strategic location near to the industrial hub of Gauteng and its low input costs and easy access to busy trade routes.

Chemical processing would be a good proposition for investors. The province also has easy access to natural resources, especially with regard to the ingredients necessary for the manufacture of phosphate and nitrogen-based fertilisers. As one of the country’s biggest producers of livestock, hides for car seats for the province’s automotive industry could profitably be sourced locally.

The Centre for Advanced Manufacturing (CFAM) at North-West University specialises in extruder technology and the recent introduction by NWU of a new qualification in mechatronic engineering will give graduates a head start in a wide range of enterprises. A mechatronic engineer is able to combine computer systems, electronics (such as sensors) and precision mechanical engineering.

Bridgestone South Africa’s investment in new technology at its plant in Brits is allowing the company to produce 19-inch tyres for the BMW X3 being assembled in Pretoria. These tyres would otherwise have to be imported. Brits’ proximity to Tshwane’s Rosslyn automotive hub is a competitive advantage for the city.

Bridgestone’s factory is one of only four in the world that produces runflat tyres. About 850 people are employed at the plant. Also in Brits are Bosch and Dubigeon Body and Coach. SOS Tie & Die is a manufacturer of precision pressings, components and press tools.

AVMY Steel Science is the largest supplier of small-quantity steel in the SADC region. Chassis manufacturer KLT Group has acquired the Brits plant which comprises a pressing, welding, assembly and e-coating facility. The KLT Group has four plants in South Africa and employs more than 1 000 people.

In addition to Brits (automotive components and tyres), other concentrations include mining equipment and engineering (Klerksdorp) and food and beverages (Potchefstroom).

Rustenburg has a mixture of enterprises, the biggest of which are mining-related smelters. Production of non-metallic mineral products is concentrated around Lichtenburg and Mahikeng (cement), and Rustenburg (stone). Tough Metals Toys factory and Totpak are located in Ventersdorp.

RCL Foods has a large processing plant at Rustenburg and Dairybelle (Bloemhof) has cheese factories in the province. Clover’s decision in 2021 to leave Lichtenburg because of a lack of reliable services was a blow for employment opportunities in the Ditsobotla Local Municipality.

About 30% of the country’s grain and oil-seed crop pass through Senwes silos every year. Sasko operates a white-maize mill in Klerksdorp. The SAB Rosslyn Brewery supplies the North West with most of its beer.. ■

ONLINE RESOURCES

Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC): www.aidc.co.za National Department Trade, Industry and Competition: www.dtic.gov.za North West Development Corporation: www.nwdc.co.za

Energy

Solar plants are proliferating in the North West.

SECTOR INSIGHT Pilanesberg Platinum Mines is installing energy-saving technology.

Credit: De Wildt Solar

When De Wildt Solar near Brits (pictured) started commercial operations in January 2021, it became, according to Engineering News, the “fourth utility-scale plant that has come on line in the North West in under five months”. The province was lagging somewhat in terms of projects undertaken in terms of the national private producers’ renewable energy programme, but now it’s making up for lost time.

With 169 140 solar modules, the South African-owned plant delivers 123 186MWh/year and will bring economic benefits to many residents and businesses of the Madibeng Local Municipality and beyond. A brickmaking co-operative was involved in the solar farm’s construction

Pilanesberg Platinum Mines introduced its Kell processing plant in 2021, a technology that reduces electricity usage and eliminates sulphur dioxide emissions in smelting. With platinum group metals (PGMs) attracting good prices partly because of the role they can play in the hoped-for lower-carbon economy, cleaner and cheaper methods of extraction and processing offer even sunnier projections for the miners of PGMs.

Most of South Africa’s energy requirements are met by Eskom’s coal-fired power stations but the drive to start producing renewable energy is growing, and researchers and companies in the North West are investigating several options. Big mining companies are among the biggest users of energy and many belong to the Energy Intensive Users Group of Southern Africa.

Bioethanol, biodiesel and methane gas from waste and renewable resources are among the types of biofuels under discussion. Sunflower seeds and sweet sorghum are suitable for converting into biofuel and bioethanol. The South African Energy Resource Institute (Saneri) Chair in biofuel research is held by a professor on the Potchefstroom campus of NorthWest University (NWU).

Silversands Energy is a North West company that produces ethanol fuel for an ethanolpowered bus made by Scania South Africa for the City of Johannesburg.

South Africa’s nuclearresearch centre is located at Pelindaba near Hartbeespoort Dam and is run by the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation. The NWU Nuclear Engineering Department is the only one of its kind in the country, and the National Department of Science and Technology has allocated a chair in Nuclear Engineering to the university.

One of the key focus areas for the planned Platinum Valley Special Economic Zone (PVSEZ) is the promotion of renewable energy. The PVSEZ is in the Mogwase industrial area in the Bojanala Platinum District Municipality and has already attracted the interest of several investors. ■

ONLINE RESOURCES

Energy Intensive Users Group of Southern Africa: www.eiug.org.za South African Independent Power Producers Association: www.saippa.org.za South African Photovoltaic Industry Association: www.sapvia.co.za South African Renewable Energy Council: www.sarec.org.za