Manufacturing

Boatbuilding exports have soared since 2014.

The International Superyacht Society has awarded a yacht built by Cape Town company Southern Wind, Seatius, the accolade of best sailing yacht in her category (Sail 24m-40m). The Boat International Design and Innovation Awards also awarded the yacht Best Interior Design in Sailing Yachts.

The hull lines, appendages and sail plan of Seatius are by Farr Yacht Design with the deck design created by Nauta, illustrating how much collaboration goes into an intricate yacht project. The Seatius (pictured) has a lifting keel and twin rudders. Southern Wind’s huge manufacturing site is a landmark in Athlone Industria.

Atlantis is home to Phoenix Marine, a specialist catamaran manufacturer. Celtic Yachts, which makes catamarans and cruising yachts, is in Killarney Gardens. Ullman Sails makes sails in Maitland while Two Oceans Marine Manufacturing constructs its catamarans on the Foreshore. In 2019 Two Oceans Marine launched South Africa’s biggest composite and leisure catamaran. Le Cerf is owned by Mason’s Travel, a Seychelles company.

Robertson & Caine’s facility in Woodstock produces three boats a week for the international market. With a staff complement of 1 350, a record of having launched more than 1 300 vessels and a subsidiary company in Tampa, Florida, the company is a world leader in power catamarans and sailing catamarans. In 2017 the company’s Leopard 45 won the Cruising World Boat of the Year Award for best Charter Boat. A 20-year relationship with Tui Marine (which includes the two Sector Insight The Atlantis Special Economic Zone is specialising in green tech.

largest yacht charter companies in the world), Robertson & Caine has supplied more than 1 194 catamarans.

Nautic Africa makes larger vessels, including patrol, defence, oil and gas platform and commercial vessels. Damen Shipyards Cape Town delivers vessels to public entities such as the Robben Island Museum and the South African Navy and private companies such as Smit Amandla Marine and De Beers Marine.

Invest Cape Town reports that the city’s boatbuilding industry is the second-largest producer of recreational

catamarans in the world, after France. The city’s companies export 80% of the products that they produce and attract a positive trade balance of approximately $73-million annually. Boatbuilding exports have grown by 20.5% annually year-on-year since 2014 in Cape Town (Quantec, 2019).

The Whisper Boat Building Academy is located at the False Bay TVET College.

Green growth

A diverse manufacturing sector contributes 15% to the Western Cape’s GDP. The agri-processing sector (including food and beverages and tobacco) is the largest employer (24%) followed by metals, metal products, machinery and equipment at 19%. A proposed Cape Health Technology Park will further boost the manufacture of medical devices.

The Atlantis Special Economic Zone, which is specialising in green tech, has already attracted nearly R700-million in privatesector investment. Goals for the green sector include the creation of 1 200 direct jobs in a 20-year period.

A Moody’s report on the green economy in Africa states that South Africa has the fastestgrowing green sector in Africa, and one of the fastest-growing in the world. About 70% of South Africa’s manufacturing in renewables is happening in the Western Cape.

The decision by Britain to leave the European Union has led to increased interest in bilateral trading relations with individual European countries. France has established a tech hub in Cape Town and Business France has been facilitating a number of conferences and visits. More than 300 French firms currently operate in South Africa.

Food and beverages

The combination of excellent and plentiful agricultural produce, good manufacturing capacity and a skilled workforce give the Western Cape a competitive advantage in the food and beverages sector. A sophisticated transport infrastructure system allows it to service international markets.

Famous Brands has bought a famous Western Cape brand in its drive for greater backward integration. Lamberts Bay Foods supplied Famous Brands restaurants with chips for two decades. With its purchase from Oceana, Famous Brands now has greater control over a menu item at all of its 26 restaurant brands, including Wimpy, Fishaways and Mugg & Bean. Lamberts Bay Foods sources potatoes from all over South Africa, but its proximity to the potato-growing Sandveld region is helpful.

The wheat-growing areas of the Swartland host several mills such as Sasko’s facility in Malmesbury. Bokomo has several manufacturing facilities in Atlantis, Epping, Ndabeni near Pinelands, Worcester and Bonnievale. Safari Vinegar is based in the Strand and there are two Heinz manufacturing plants at Wellington and Atlantis.

Two of the biggest chicken processing facilities are located on the N7 highway (Tydstroom) and on the N1 (Rainbow Chickens). The Western Cape has about 16 000 commercial pork sows and produces a quarter of South Africa’s milk.

Willards has a factory in Goodwood, in nearby Parow there is a Simba factory and local chip and snack manufacturer Messaris, which has been in operation since 1898, has a facility in Elsies River. Nestlé produces condensed milk and milk powder in Mossel Bay and canned pet food in Cape Town. Tiger Brands makes mayonnaise in Bellville and has also invested heavily in its prepared meals plant in Cape Town.

SABMiller’s Newlands brewery is one of the busiest in the country as it is responsible for providing product for a very large geographical area.

Coca-Cola bottler and distributor Peninsula Beverage has three plants – at Parow, Athlone and Vredendal on the West Coast, and employs 1 300 people. ■

Online Resources

Cape Chamber of Commerce: www.capetownchamber.com Invest Cape Town: www.investcapetown.com Wesgro: www.wesgro.co.za Whisper Boat Building Academy: www.falsebaycollege.co.za