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Mpumalanga Business 2017 edition

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Mpumalanga Business 2017 is the seventh edition of this highly successful publication that has since its launch in 2008 established itself as the premier business and investment guide to Mpumalanga Province. Supported and utilised by the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA), Mpumalanga Business is unique as a business journal that focuses exclusively on Mpumalanga.

OVERVIEW Manufacturing A

OVERVIEW Manufacturing A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is to be established in the Nkomazi area. The last two years have been very tough for steel makers. Ervaz Highveld Steel cut its workforce nearly in half, then it went into business rescue in 2015. Attempts to stop cheap steel imports came too late to save the company, but attempts are still being made to find a buyer. Middelburg-based Columbus Stainless is a major supplier of stainless-steel products to the domestic and international market. About 25% of the company’s production is sold domestically. The presence of ferrometals means that Mpumalanga is still an important place for metals and machinery manufacturing, but the turbulence in the steel sector has reminded everyone of the need to diversify. Samancor Chrome (which runs Ferrometals) is the secondlargest ferrochrome producer in the world with three plants, two of which are in Mpumalanga: eMalahleni (Witbank) and Middelburg. There has been good news in the food processing sector, with McCain Foods investing R40-million to upgrade its processing plant in Delmas. The Mpumlanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) has been appointed to establish an SEZ in the Nkomazi area of the province. This move is intended to boost manufacturing capacity. Most manufacturing in the province takes place in the Highveld where there is access to chrome, steel and coal. Sasol’s petrochemical complex and Sappi’s huge Ngodwana Mill are among Mpumalanga’s biggest manufacturing assets. Manufacturing accounts for 15% of Mpumalanga’s gross geographic product (GGP). The Manganese Metal Company in Mbombela is the largest producer of pure electrolytic manganese metal in the world. Delta EMD, in the same town, is one of the biggest producers of electrolytic manganese dioxide, a material used in the manufacture of alkaline batteries. The Lowveld area supports food and beverage enterprises and timber processing. Approximately 70% of jobs in the manufacturing ONLINE RESOURCES Middelburg Chamber of Commerce & Industry: www.middelburg info.com Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency: www.mega.gov.za National Department of Trade and Industry: www.thedti.gov.za South African Iron and Steel Institute: www.saisi.co.za Southern Africa Stainless Steel Development Association: www.sassda.co.za SECTOR INSIGHT Sasol makes a major contribution to manufacturing capacity. • McCain Foods has upgraded its Delmas potato processing plant. sector are in food and forestry. Standerton has textilemanufacturing capacity in the form of Standerton Mills. It is also home to several plants that use local raw materials: Nestlé has an infant-cereal manufacturing plant, Rainbow runs farms in the Carolina district and Early Bird is prominent. McCain and PepsiCo (Simba) have plants that use the province’s plentiful potato crop. Africa Silks Weavery in Graskop employs 70 people to create luxury silk items. Mbombela and White River have several furniture manufacturing concerns. TSB Sugar, now part of RCL Foods, runs two large mills and produces fruit juices through a subsidiary company. Mbombela is the centre of the province’s foodprocessing cluster. Hops Hollow Brewery is located at Lydenburg. Piet Retief in the Mkhondo Local Municipality is the site of a large pulp and paper plant run by Mondi. MPUMALANGA BUSINESS 2017 60

Columbus Stainless, founded in 1966, is South Africa and Africa’s only producer of stainless steel fl at products. Because of the boundless potential for stainless steel as a metal for the future, we at Columbus remain dedicated to becoming one of the leading suppliers of stainless steel in our domestic market and the global arena. We have created a modern, effi cient stainless steel production facility that meets the changing demands of users in the domestic market and around the world. With a wide range of products in Austenitic, Ferritic, Utility and Duplex grades produced in our plant in Middelburg, Mpumalanga we are able to offer a variety of grades of stainless steel suitable for most applications. Backed by sound technical support, we are also able to make recommendations on correct material selection as part of our customer support process. Our exported products are channelled through a well-developed network of agents and group sales outlets operating in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and the Far East. For all your stainless steel requirements, please contact us at your earliest convenience. Columbus Stainless (Pty) Ltd Head Offi ce Hendrina Road, Middelburg, 1050 P O Box 133, Middelburg, 1050 Tel:+27 (0) 13 247 9111 Fax: +27 (0) 13 246 1681 Email: commercial-enquiries@columbus.co.za www.columbus.co.za

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