MPUMALANGA BUSINESS 2019/20 EDITION THE GUIDE TO BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT IN MPUMALANGA PROVINCE OVERVIEW Oil and gas Gas exploration and gas conversion are growing trends. OVERVIEW Manufacturing Highveld steel works lives again as an industrial park. JOIN JOIN US ONLINE US SECTOR ONLINE INSIGHT row the provincial economy of ectors. Beneficiation of timber iomass are two obvious areas n a sector that already boasts a Mpumalanga’s Gross Domestic akes up 12% of South Africa’s ducts sector contributes about ses logging, saw-milling, wood cture. Pulp and paper are the , wood chips and wattle extract. tage of sawn timber with very n recent times due to concerns ber in South Africa is used in e and topography for forests. f the industry, but commercial uth along the Swaziland border. , with 4% of that being natural er in total hectares under forest C reative thinking kicked in when Highveld Steel’s troubles reached the tipping point in 2015. Aside from the business SECTOR INSIGHT rescue process, which has allowed some production to restart, there is some irony in the that fact | that the WWW.MPUMALANGABUSINESS.CO.ZA 1 000ha | are in food WWW.LIMPOPOBUSINESS.CO.ZA and Most jobs in manufacturing WWW.GLOBALAFRICANETWORK.COM timber. York Timbers celebrated its centenary in 2016. International chemicals and energy company Sasol has several large • An Agriculture and plants in Mpumalanga and plays a major role in the economy of the Forestry Technology Park province. The company’s most recent upgrade of two polypropylene is planned. manufacturing plants at Secunda has been completed at a cost of R1.1-billion. This follows shortly after a stabilisation scheme valued at R1.3-billion and is part of the global giant’s ongoing investment in its facilities. Development and Tourism More than 900 jobs were created for the duration of the upgrading project, which took place while production continued at the plant. (DEDET) will spend R3.9-million Polypropylene is used in packaging, automotive components and in the 2017/18 year on textiles statutory compliance for this park In and Mpumalanga, Sasol’s assets are Sasol Mining, Secunda Synfuels and demand is growing every year. other parks, which will include Operations, an Secunda Chemicals Operations and Sasol Energy. Products manufactured at the Secunda complex include petroleum, paraffin, jet fuel, creosote, bitumen, diesel and lubricants. Gas by- incubation element for SMEs. The Mpumalanga Economic products include oxygen and acetylene, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), Growth and Development and Path hydrogen and nitrogen. The primary feedstock for synthetic-fuel production is coal, and the plant is located in the heart of Mpumalanga’s (MEGDP) intends to expand the coalfield region. industrial base of the provincial economy, with a focus on beneficiation, agri-processing and MPUMALANGA BUSINESS 2017/18 42 value property has been re-purposed as a multi-purpose site for industry and commerce. Called the Highveld Industrial Park, this project has had the effect of promoting a diversity of manufacturing enterprises, something which has been a priority for economic planners for many years. SECTOR INSIGHT Stockpiles of coal and vanadium are being sold off, but two iron plants and a steel plant offer fully-equipped metallurgical and steelmaking record facilities, supported by environmental monitoring services and Sasol produced a volume of synfuel in metallurgical 2017. and chemical laboratories. • Tosaco Energy is searching for gas at three sites. The private rail siding gives the park good connections and the fact that Sasol can supply methane-rich natural gas and that two gas producers (Air Liquide and African Oxygen) have plants in the park makes for an advantageous setting for industrial enterprise. The Eskom grid supplies 350mVA power supply directly. The park is near eMalahleni, next to the N4 highway and close to the N12 highway. The Sasol Synfuels refinery, In early 2018, the park had 21 tenants and many enquiries. Tenants which forms part of the include Sasol a complex at Secunda, is the and only Training com- Authority (CETA) and a mining equipment refurbishment training centre funded by the Construction Sector Education company. An agricultural college is planned. mercial coal-to-liquid fuel plant in The structural mill of Evraz Highveld Steel in Witbank was officially the world, and forms relaunched a vital part in June 2017 after ArcelorMittal South Africa signed a of South Africa’s oil and contract gas to sector. In July 2017 Sasol announced supply blooms and MPUMALANGA slabs for the mill to make into heavy that the synfuel plant produced MPUMALANGA a BUSINESS 2018/19 48 record annual output. Sasol is spending about R12-billion on expanding the structural steel. Evraz Highveld went into business rescue in 2015. The contract is for two years with an option to renew for another year. Alternately, ArcelorMittal may buy the mill after the two years. 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. The chemicals and liquid fluids complex of Sasol at Secunda is a vital component of the province of Mpumalanga’s manufacturing sector. The
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