The 2016-17 edition of KwaZulu-Natal Business is the eighth issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2008, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to the KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa.
The province is unique in terms of its abundant natural and human resources, and is also one of the key drivers behind the South African economy.
To complement the extensive local, national and international distribution of the print edition of the magazine (15 000 copies), the full content can also be viewed online at www.kwazulunatalbusiness.co.za.
Updated information on KwaZulu-Natal is also available through our monthly e-newsletter, which you can subscribe to online at www.globalafricanetwork.com, in addition to our other business-to-business titles that cover all nine provinces, complemented by our flagship publication, South African Business.
OVERVIEW Manufacturing
OVERVIEW Manufacturing KwaZulu-Natal makes aluminium, steel, chemicals, vehicles and footwear. SECTOR HIGHLIGHTS Hulamin spent nearly a billion rand on expanding capacity. • Marine manufacturing is set to grow. • Ladysmith-based Canvas and Tent were Exporters of the Year in 2014/15. • Samsung is building a television factory. The estimated export value of KwaZulu-Natal business in 2014 was R112.4-billion, according to the MEC of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Michael Mabuyakhulu. The sector contributes 16.5% to the provincial gross domestic product (GDP). The strongest export sectors are base-metals (32% including aluminium), mineral products such as ores, vehicles and chemical products. Manufacturing contributes 21.5% of the gross regional product (GRP). An area of anticipated growth and a focus of policy interventions is in the marine manufacturing sector. Sectors such as oil and gas, ship-building and rig repair are being targeted. In 2015 the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone (RBIDZ) welcomed SPS Manufacturing (Pty) Ltd, a pipe manufacturer which will invest R300-million in uMhlathuze, in so doing creating 87 permanent jobs. Investment agency Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal brokered R1.7-billion in new investment in the province in 2014/15, much of it in the manufacturing sector, and the Services SETA set aside R41-million to encourage young entrepreneurs to make things. Samsung Electronics South Africa is spending -million on a television manufacturing plant in the Dube TradePort. Hulamin is a leader in the sophisticated aluminium finishedproduct sector. The company makes rolled products at Edendale, Pietermaritzburg and at Camps Drift, while its Pietermaritzburg facility for making extrusions is one of three in the country. The company's expenditure of R970- million has expanded its rolledproducts capacity. The KwaZulu-Natal Clothing and Textile Cluster is upbeat about the sector in the province because of the support of the national Department of Trade and Industry’s Competitive Improvement Programme (CTCIP). The Textile and Clothing Unit within the Industrial Development KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2016/17 80
OVERVIEW Corporation (IDC) has been very active in the province. Canvas and Tent Manufacturing (Pty) Ltd has more than 400 employees in Ladysmith and won the title of Exporter of the Year in 2014/15. There are 219 clothing companies in the province (Coface). Ninian & Lester is one of the larger employers in the textile sector, with 1 500 people making clothing (including the Jockey brand), textiles and polypropylene. The footwear sector is showing good recovery after taking a battering from Chinese imports. The purchase of 39% of Eddels Shoes by management and staff has paid off, with 385 staff now employed in making 2 700 leather shoes on a daily basis. Two international safety footwear firms operate out of Pinetown: Bata Industrial and Beier. The latter company joined forces with three other South African safety footwear manufacturers in 2014 to form the BBF Safety Group, in the process making them more competitive. Carpet manufacturers Belgotex Floorcoverings and Ulster Carpets have facilities in Pietermaritzburg and Durban respectively. Turkish group Arçelik purchased home appliance manufacturer Defy in 2011 for R2.5- billion. Defy employs about 2 600 people. Companies like Böhler Uddeholm in Pinetown produce downstream products such as tooling materials and welding consumables. Sustainable manufacturing Hulamin has been recycling its own scrap aluminium for the past 75 years. It has always been of great importance to Hulamin to ensure that the community they are in is taken care of sustainably. The environment has always been of great importance to the way Hulamin runs its business In the period between 2013-2014 aluminium demand peaked, increasing their market share growth. Their revenue went from R7 560 000 in 2013 to R8 039 000 in 2014. Hulamin took this as an opportunity to expand, thereby launching a recycling operation that would save 95% of energy used during primary aluminium production. In 2015 the company secured a five-year R270m loan from Nedbank for its new recycling plant. The company’s goal for this recycling plant is to quintuple the recycled content of its aluminium to more than 25% by 2018. The recycling facilities will not only be recycling Hulamin scrap but also extending to cans, aluminium foil, windowpanes, automotive parts and window frames. The company being a primary aluminium producer would benefit from the consistent recycled supply in the country ONLINE RESOURCES Aluminium Federation of South Africa: www.afsa.org.za Chemical and Allied Industries’ Association: www.caia.co.za Manufacturing Circle: www. manufacturingcircle.co.za National Department of Trade and Industry: www.thedti.gov.za 81 KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2016/17
