The Casting of Metals in South Africa 2018

The South African Metal Casting Industry: The South African casting industry is varied both in terms of product and process capability. Castings are required for a wide range of applications and range from components weighing a few grams to castings for ships and off-shore oil rigs, which can weigh up to 300 tonnes. The castings sector supplies a wide range of products to most manufacturing industries with the largest output going to the Construction and General Engineering, Automotive and Mining sectors. Companies in the South African casting industry range from small specialist operations to large-scale production facilities. The sector is one of the more cohesive market sectors and is well-represented through the Aluminium Casters Association (ACA) and the South African Industry of Foundrymen (SAIF). ;

An Industry in Distress: Despite the many strengths of the domestic foundry sector, the general metals industry is in deep distress and longstanding issues such as government intervention in pricing and trade measures remain divisive. The metals industry continues to contract and statistics from the South African Institute of Foundrymen (SAIF) show that the number of operational foundry member numbers declined from 450 in the 1980s to 170 in 2015. Role players realise the importance of adopting new technologies, but investment is limited as a result of a market that is oversupplied, especially with low-cost castings from Asia. ;

Report Coverage: The report on the Metal Casting sector examines current conditions and discusses the government interventions aimed at stimulating local manufacture. Factors negatively affecting the success of the sector, which include rapidly rising electricity and raw material costs, high labour costs and the increasing cost of environmental compliance are also covered. Profiles for 21 industry players are provided. Included is Scaw South Africa whose cast products division will be transferred to Cast Products SA which was acquired by US-based manufacturer, Amsted Rail Company in March 2018.