South African Business 2025

OVERVIEWmining, cement

OVERVIEWmining, cement and power-generation sectors, namely forgedgrinding balls and high-chrome grinding media products.Ghana’s location in West Africa, its two deepwater ports andgood logistical links with other countries in the region make it alogical partner for trade. The headquarters of AfCFTA are located inAccra, the capital city.In May 2024, South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry andCompetition (the dtic) launched the Medtech Masterplan, the 12thsuch plan initiated by the department. Medtech encompassessyringes, software and MRI machines and there are 135 medtechmanufacturing companies in the country, according to the SouthAfrican Medical Research Council. The South African MedicalTechnology Industry Association has welcomed the masterplan,which joins a list of similar schemes designed to help, among others,the cultural and creative industries, commercial forestry, steel andmetal fabrication, furniture, sugar, poultry and automotive sectors.One of the most comprehensive was the South African R-CTFL ValueChain Master Plan to 2030 which addressed the retail clothing, textile,footwear and leather sectors.Outgoing Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, EbrahimPatel, told the Sunday Times in May 2024 that in the face of globalcompetition the national clothing industry “risked losing its productivecapacity but today it stands and provides thousands of jobs inmanufacturing and retail”. Critics of the masterplan approach arguethat “picking winners” does nothing to enhance real competitivenessand that small businesses are often ignored. Additionally, masterplanswill make the adjustments that will have to be made to accommodatethe AfCFTA even more difficult to implement.One clothing company that has responded well to marketconditions is TFG, which counts Foschini, TotalSports and Markhamsamong its retail brands. For a decade, it has been buying up clothingfactories and is now in a position to respond more quickly to fashiontrends than when it was more dependent on imports. Among TFG’sacquisitions were Prestige Clothing Maitland and a factory in Epping.Apart from these two Cape Town properties, TFG has factories inCaledon, Durban and Johannesburg. The group plans to increase thepercentage of locally made clothing items from the current level of35% to 55%.The success of TFG has inspired other Western Cape clothingsector companies and consultants to think in terms of rolling out theTFG model, which, according to the Financial Mail, allows for a garmentto get to the end of a production line in less than four hours insteadof 10 days and for items to be placed on store shelves in a matter ofONLINE RESOURCESChemical and Allied Industries’ Association: www.caia.co.zaSA Medical Technology Industry Association: www.samed.org.zaSouth African Textile Federation: www.texfed.co.zaweeks instead of months. If theplan comes to fruition, a series offactories in an arc around CapeTown and within two-hour’sdrive of the five big retailers inthe city and the Port of CapeTown will be established.Sappi has spent R7.7-billionon expanding its dissolvingpulp plant in KwaZulu-Natal. Theproject aims to boost the annualproduction capacity of dissolvingpulp (DP) at Saiccor Mill by anadditional 110 000 tons annually,taking production to 890 000tons a year and reinforcing thecompany’s position as the worldleader in the manufacture ofLyocell, a cutting-edge materialof the future. Lyocell is a formof rayon consisting of cellulosefibres made from dissolvingpulp that is reconstituted bydry jet-wet spinning. The fullybiodegradable and compostablefibre is used to make textiles.Ardagh Group is a largemultinational with 63 metal andglass-production facilities in 16countries, with more than 20 000employees. The group’s 2022acquisition of Consol Glass createdArdagh Glass Packaging – Africa,and led to immediate investmentin an expansion of the glasscontainerplant in Nigel, Gauteng.The two new furnacesthat have been added to thefacility, at a cost of R3-billion, areexpected to create 300 new jobsand have made it the biggest ofits kind in Africa. Other Gautengfacilities of the group are locatedat Wadeville and Clayvilleand there is a Western Capefactory in Bellville. The group’sother continental assets are inEthiopia, Kenya and Nigeria. ■SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 202570

Recycling making great stridesPlastics SA’s survey on polymer consumption and recycling recordssuccesses and highlights the need for more infrastructure and education.The circular economy of plastics. Designing with recycling in mind and developing collection andrecycling systems will support circularity.Plastics SA, the umbrella body representingthe local plastics industry, has releasedits latest survey results on polymerconsumption and recycling figures forthe year ending 2023. This year’s report showssignificant strides in the recycling sector, whilehighlighting the importance of continuedinvestment in infrastructure and education.The annual survey, conducted through personalinterviews and completed surveys, reported that295 recycling operations were recorded in SouthAfrica at the end of 2023. Of these, 40% processedpost-consumer materials, granulating, washing andpelletising them. However, only a portion of theserecyclers can successfully process landfill-sourcedmaterial due to the high capital investment required forproper wash plants, feasible only for larger operations.Notably, 6.2% of the 273 recycling operations from2022 ceased operation, while 39 new companieswere recorded, indicating both challenges andopportunities within the sector.“Strengthening competition within the SouthAfrican plastics industry can have a profound impacton the recovery of the broader manufacturingsector. Plastics are integral to supply chains acrosshealthcare, energy, aerospace, automotive, maritime,construction, electronics and packaging. This multisectordependency makes the plastics industry’scontributions vital. In 2023, the sector accountedfor 1.8% of South Africa’s GDP and 15.8% ofmanufacturing GDP, highlighting its critical role,” saysAnton Hanekom, Executive Director of Plastics SA.PHOTO: Unsplash71 SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2025