OVERVIEW Manufacturing
OVERVIEW Manufacturing TFG plans to double manufacturing output. TFG, whose South African brands include TotalSports, Markhams and Foschini, has a five-year plan to double its manufacturing capacity. Having purchased Prestige Clothing Maitland and Prestige Clothing Caledon in 2012 and spent R75-million on expanding the factory in Caledon in 2017, TFG now plans to significantly increase the percentage of locally-made clothing items from the current level of 35% to 55%. This expansion should lead to more jobs within the group, which expanded in 2020 with the purchase of Jet from Edcon. The Foschini Group is one of several South African retailers which have their head offices in Cape Town. Others include Woolworths, Truworths and Cape Union Mart. The Manufacturing and Competitiveness Enhancement Programme (MCEP) of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) has disbursed grants which have resulted in 230 000 jobs being sustained. Because of the Clothing and Textile Competitiveness Programme, that sector currently now employs around 95 000 workers, contributing 8% to manufacturing GDP and 2.9% to overall GDP. In the leather sector 22 new factories have been opened, supporting 2 200 jobs. In the Western Cape, this revival is reflected in member companies of the Cape Clothing and Textile Cluster hiring 35% more staff in four years. About 23 600 people are employed in the province and exports from the Cape amounted in 2017 to R4.4-billion with sales up by 34% above inflation. The K-Way brand of Cape Union Market has successfully weathered several storms. The Ottery factory, which houses more than 250 employees, has produced more than 311 000 K-Way Felixx Softshell Jackets since 2012. The textiles sector makes up about 7% of manufacturing economic activity, about the same as furniture. A diverse manufacturing sector contributes 15% to the Western Cape’s GDP with the two biggest contributors within that being fuel, petroleum, chemicals and rubber products (26%) and food, beverages and tobacco (25%). Wood and wood products (11%) and metal products, machinery and household appliances (10%) are the next two biggest subsectors (Wesgro). The Atlantis Special Economic Zone, which is specialising in green tech, has already attracted nearly R700-million in privatesector investment. Goals for the green sector include the creation of 1 200 direct jobs in a 20-year period. About 70% of South Africa’s SECTOR INSIGHT The closure of the Saldanha Bay steel mill is a blow to the sector. manufacturing in renewables is happening in the Western Cape. The decision in 2019 of ArcelorMittal to close its Saldanha Bay steel mill is a big blow to the manufacturing capacity of the province. With iron ore delivered from the Northern Cape Province, the mill was producing as much as 1.2-million tons of steel per year. About 900 workers have lost their jobs. Invest Cape Town reports that the city’s boatbuilding industry is the second-largest producer of recreational catamarans in the world, after France. The city’s companies export 80% of the products that they produce and attract a positive trade balance of approximately -million annually. Boatbuilding exports have grown by 20.5% annually year-on-year since 2014 in Cape Town (Quantec, 2019). Robertson & Caine’s facility in Woodstock produces three boats a week for the international market. With a staff complement of 1 350, the company is a leader in power catamarans and sailing catamarans. WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2021 36
OVERVIEW Prestige Clothing factory. Image: TFG Nautic Africa makes larger vessels, including patrol, defence, oil and gas platform and commercial vessels. Damen Shipyards Cape Town delivers vessels to public entities such as the Robben Island Museum and the South African Navy and private companies such as Smit Amandla Marine and De Beers Marine. The Whisper Boat Building Academy is located at the False Bay TVET College. A new investor has breathed new life into the manufacturing business of Hayden Cobra. The maker of replica cars is operating out of Montague Gardens and building for the local and export markets, primarily the US and the Middle East. Three models are manufactured: the Classic 427, the Evo and a Cobra with an electric drive which promises “instantaneous torque”. Food and beverages The combination of excellent and plentiful agricultural produce, good manufacturing capacity and a skilled workforce give the Western Cape a competitive advantage in the food and beverages sector. The wheat-growing areas of the Swartland hosts several mills such as Sasko’s facility in Malmesbury. Bokomo has several manufacturing facilities in Atlantis, Epping, Ndabeni near Pinelands, Worcester and Bonnievale. Safari Vinegar is based in the Strand and there are two Heinz manufacturing plants at Wellington and Atlantis. Lamberts Bay Food sources potatoes from all over South Africa, but its proximity to ONLINE RESOURCES Cape Clothing and Textile Cluster: www.capeclothingcluster.org.za Invest Cape Town: www.investcapetown.com Wesgro: www.wesgro.co.za Whisper Boat Building Academy: www.falsebaycollege.co.za the potato-growing Sandveld region is helpful. Two of the biggest chicken-processing facilities are located on the N7 highway (Tydstroom) and on the N1 (Rainbow Chickens). The Western Cape has about 16 000 commercial pork sows and produces a quarter of South Africa’s milk. Willards has a factory in Goodwood, in nearby Parow there is a Simba factory and local chip and snack manufacturer Messaris, which has been in operation since 1898, has a facility in Elsies River. Nestlé produces condensed milk and milk powder in Mossel Bay and canned pet food in Cape Town. Tiger Brands makes mayonnaise in Bellville and has also invested heavily in its prepared meals plant in Cape Town. SABMiller’s Newlands brewery is one of the busiest in the country. Coca-Cola bottler and distributor Peninsula Beverage has three plants – at Parow, Athlone and Vredendal on the West Coast, and employs 1 300 people. ■ 37 WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2021
