bold spirit - ArcelorMittal South Africa

25
ArcelorMittal South Africa
Annual Report 2010
The other development in
Steel is a key resource in the development of the South
the industry is the unique
African economy as its feeds into the gross domestic fixed
feature that steel poses, that
investment through infrastructure development, which is
is a recycled product. Due to
critical to a balanced and sustainable economic growth.
its magnetic properties, steel
packaging can be readily and
cost-effectively recovered from
the domestic waste stream. Unlike other materials, steel’s properties do not deteriorate when it is re-melted. For
this reason, every steel plant is a recycling plant and the product always contains recycled steel. Used steel cans are
recycled into part of a guard rail, which may one day be recycled into an appliance. Across the world 435 million tonnes
of steel products, including used steel cans, appliances, automobiles and construction materials are recycled every year
as part of the steel making process. This equates to a worldwide recycling rate of over 50%.
As a group ArcelorMittal is the biggest recycler of scrap steel in the world, and the group works with local and national
governments to promote it further. Every year more than 25 million tonnes of products are recovered and recycled,
which also saves around 35 million tonnes of CO 2
.
The steel industry is a major employer for South Africans and according to the South African Iron and Steel Institute
(SAISI), directly employs more than 33 000 employees. We account for over 71% of the country’s output and are the
market leader in Africa’s steel industry.
The company constitutes about 1.3% of South Africa’s GDP and has a favourable impact on the country’s balance of
payment as the cost and quality of the company’s steel limits the need to import the product.
South Africa is the 21 st largest producer in the world and manufactures about half of Africa’s crude steel. According to
our latest calculations, primary steel producers in the country have the capacity to produce over 8 million tonnes of
finished steel products per year. According to SAISI almost 4.8 million tonnes was sold domestically in 2010.
The steel sector also plays a critical role in skills development. The steel manufacturing process requires a broad set
of skills and a continuous programme of upskilling of employees. Maintaining a healthy skills pipeline through training
and bursaries is an imperative for companies in the sector. Skills that are being developed by the industry range from
project managers and engineers to technicians and artisans. Such training programmes contribute to the broader
industrial skills base of the country at a time when the economy is short of skills despite the impact of the financial
crisis. At the end of last year we alone had over 3 000 people in our skills development pipeline.