LOCALISATION in the capital equipment and valves industry presents enormous economic opportunities for companies along the value chain, according to the National Foundry Technology Network (NFTN).
As an industry support programme, the NFTN has a mandate to support the steadily declining metal castings (or foundry) industry. Project manager responsible for technology transfer and localisation at the NFTN, Isidore Kilongozi, believes that both upstream and downstream producers will need to work together in order to unlock synergy within the supply chain.
“The South African government’s localisation strategy aims to reduce imports by at least 20%. There are approximately 120 active foundries across SA and each of them have a vital role to play in the manufacturing value chain, particularly in achieving targets of local content,” says Kilongozi.
Given their important contribution to the supply chain and the broader economy, there is a need to support improved foundry competitiveness and the industrialisation of new technologies and products.
Opportunity to increase local content
The mandate of the NFTN includes providing technical support to allow local foundries to meet the specifications and requirements of a South African assemblers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). “We are willing to assist foundries to improve across their operations, including design, fabrication and installation of parts,” explains Kilongozi, a seasoned metallurgist and foundry expert.
“When OEMs and other manufacturers only order one or two small parts of a component, is not financially viable for a foundry. However, if we can bring together the OEMs and suitable foundries, there is an opportunity to supply more than just one of the many different parts,” he says.
How can the NFTN assist
Together with the Council for Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR), the host entity of the NFTN, the programme has the expertise to advise and support multiple companies across the sector to be more competitive and sustainable to serve the manufacturing sector better. The National Cleaner Production Centre South Africa (NCPC-SA) is also on hand to assist in improving efficiencies such as energy or water in this sector.
“Our role at the NFTN and the CSIR is to equip and capacitate foundries in order to allow them to participate in the production of the volumes required for localisation. We also advise the government on issues of resolving import leakage,” concludes Kilongozi.
To increase foundry competitiveness in the industry, the NFTN is planning interventions during 2022 that are aimed at equipping a number of foundries that manufacture capital equipment (valves and pumps) to meet the suppler requirements for parts used in the assembling of valves, including water, oil, gas, high pressure and slurry valves.
- For manufacturers who would be interested to be linked up with a local foundry, kindly contact us at nftn@csir.co.za or Communication Manager Julie Wells at JWells@csir.co.za.
