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STAINLESS STEEL MAGAZINE

The new look digital Sassda Stainless Steel magazine is here!

Welcome to the first virtual version of Sassda’s Stainless Steel magazine that offers readers easy to access, up to the minute information and insights. The shift to a digital version was aimed at increasing the accessibility of the publication and taking our content to the next level.

This ‘maiden issue’ features the latest on Sassda’s 33.3% member discount for 2020 and provides a useful GPS roundup of the latest market intelligence aimed at giving you some light at the end of a very dark economic tunnel.

This issue also features in-depth features on critical sectors that hold great potential for the use of stainless steel, namely water and oil and gas. We also feature an update on our shift to online learning channels that still offer the world-class information and expertise we pride ourselves on.

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LATEST NEWS

Expedited change in Stainless Steel industry expected

The Covid-19 pandemic will have long-term ramifications, including permanent change in the South African stainless steel industry.

“The stainless steel industry could be on the brink of taking an S-curve upwards, owing to the crisis, which may result in the local industry’s adopting Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies sooner than expected.”

The Steel Master Plan

At this difficult and unprecedented stage in the history of the world, our country and industry; Sassda is working with the Department of Trade Industry and Competition (dtic) as major partner to alleviate pressure in, and create positive outcomes for, the stainless steel sector. We are therefore committed to keep you up to date with the latest news regarding new developments.

Stainless Hotspots for Growth

As part of the latest phase of the Steel Master Plan development, the Department of Trade Industry & Competition is investigating proposals from industry including ourselves regarding initiatives to kick start industry. Sassda has therefore supplied proposals around the gas field developments in Mozambique and increased domestic LPG/LNG gas use in South Africa as well as import replacements and the rejuvenation of the local hollowware sector.

Relief Packages to help you fight the Financial Impact of COVID 19

In light of the devastating economic impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic and as part of our efforts to keep you fully informed of the aid available to assist you during these difficult times, we’ve put together a list of the various financial and tax relief packages as well as business growth facilities

Local Value Chain

Despite the challenges we face, this is also South Africa’s time to shine as we focus on beefing up local supply chains or as we like to describe them, value chains and championing the country’s output and expertise, especially in the stainless steel sector.

National and Regional Support

The dti is also continuing to drive the Steel Master Plan forward, and Sassda attended a very positive meeting hosted and chaired by the Minister of Trade & Industry Ebrahim Patel last Friday regarding this plan.

SASSDA TAKES A STAND AGAINST COVID-19 - Strength in Stainless

With the recent and sudden arrival of the COVID-19 disease which has spread rapidly around the globe, Sassda remains committed to supporting our members, staff, clients and suppliers during these uncertain times.

The State of the Stainless Nation #2020 Vision

Predicting anything positive for the stainless steel industry in terms of market growth in 2020 would be risky and remains in the ‘Daily Lotto’ realm when looking at current economic forecasts. Against this backdrop, Sassda Acting Executive Director Michel Basson takes a look at past and present performance and where there are slivers of potential for growth and development in the local stainless steel sector.

Why Training & Development makes Perfect Business Sense

Sassda has several stainless steel focused courses that are targeted at various levels of a company’s employee complement. Here Sassda Training Manager Mankabe More unpacks the realities of modern day training and how Sassda is meeting these needs in an expert and innovative manner by embracing the concept of continuous training and the use of digital technologies that have made the association’s world-class courses far more accessible and cost effective.

Mozambique’s $128-billion Gas Project could be a Lifeline for SA Stainless

The largest project ever undertaken in Africa, the US$128-Billion Mozambique LNG Gas Project which shifted into higher gear earlier this month, holds excellent potential for local stainless steel supply and may be the lifeline that South Africa’s beleaguered stainless steel sector has been searching for

Economic Policy Dialogue African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

Sassda recently attended the dti’s Economic Policy Dialogue on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which aims at providing a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of people and investments. Its goal is to boost Intra-Africa trade from an existing level of about 13% to 25% or more over the next decade, thus contributing to economic growth and attracting investments from both within Africa and the world.

Lets’s Talk about Tariffs…

When it comes to the minefield of trade tariffs, Sassda is not a policy creator or implementer but rather acts as an invaluable facilitator based on its strong relationships with the relevant government bodies, to ensure all our members’ interests are equitably represented in an independent and objective manner. Tariffs expert and Sassda Market Intelligence Specialist Lesley Squires explains how this complex relationship works.

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Sassda’s Input for Steel Master Plan to Ebrahim Patel

In an effort to fulfil our purpose statement, and with the current lack of projects within South Africa, we have been actively working with Trade Export South Africa and subsequently the Trade Invest Africa units of the dti to facilitate trade between South Africa and other countries on the African Continent. Our particular focus is Africa as the nature of our members’ products tend to be large and therefore logistical costs hamper a lot of exports to the rest of the world.