Industry Views:
Local Manufacturers Have Their Say
“Globally there has been a fundamental shift towards sustainability and the company is focussed on developing new technologies that speak to sustainability and have a long-term positive effect. We are on the road to convert our complete equipment portfolio and provide it as battery electric equivalents. Also, eliminating humans from underground mining environments is the trend of the future and therefore R&D is focused on automation to achieve this particular goal.”
Angelo Iovino, Managing Director, Fermel
“Aberdare Cables was one of the first companies in the industry to embrace South Africa’s transformational requirements. Our first black equity transaction was in 1999 and we continue focusing on cementing our BBBEE deals to ensure that we represent the transformational requirements and remain competitive. It was also an excellent achievement for the company to grow into international markets. In 2019, we commissioned a new high voltage (HV) cable manufacturing line in South Africa.”
Jay Chetty, General Manager Sales, Aberdare Cables
“Overall, the requirements on local content have helped us to focus on what can be achieved in South Africa. Promoting local manufacturing is also a huge opportunity for job creation. Local content development has facilitated the company’s growth in many ways. Mines are looking to help local companies develop, improve their technologies and become globally competitive. We hope to see continuous growth, even beyond South Africa as the rest of the continent becomes more industrialised and implements policies of local content.”
Freddy Mugeri, CEO, Fabchem Mining
“The government is listening and lending support to develop local manufacturing capabilities, allowing for more job creation. Local manufacturer collaboration is critical to developing the industry, but not yet synergised. As an industry and government we should come together to set a common goal, this being to grow the economy through local manufacturing. We have the skills available in South Africa to achieve this goal but need to collaborate on a plan as to how we will take advantage of this opportunity.”
Kevin Reynders, Managing Director, Rham Equipment
“The South African mining charter promotes local equipment manufacturing, which is a great benefit not only for the country but also for communities surrounding mining operations. The local demand for our products, coupled with the mining charter requiring local procurement and participation of indigenous black South Africans in the economy, allowed for DRS to be established and to enter a partnership with Sandvik. Local content laws have significantly facilitated the growth of DRS.”
Mncedisi Makhamba, Director, Drill Rod Specialist
