Speech by Mr. J.A. Barke, Chairman of the Southern Africa Stainless Steel Development Association, to mark the opening of the exhibition at the Cape Town Building Centre on November 4th.
S.A.S.S.D.A. as the Association is generally known, has been in existence for a year. It was formed in July, 1964, after consultation with the country’s leading stainless steel suppliers and fabricators, who felt that there was a need for a non-profitmaking organisation which would devote its energies and finances to the promotion of this fabulous metal.
Since its formation, the Association has grown phenomenally. At present, we have more than sixty members, encompassing major suppliers and fabricators throughout the country, as well as active members in Europe, Australia and America.
Last year was a time of growth and formation for the Association and we concentrated on making ourselves and the services we offer known to as wide a public as we could reach. This year, the second of the Association’s existence, we are concentrating on our prime function, which is to demonstrate, wherever possible, the applications of stainless steel in all sections of the economy.
This stand that you see here is one of our attempts to show this metal in its domestic, architectural and industrial applications. It is the second exhibition of its kind to be opened. The first was at the Johannesburg Building Centre, where it has proved to have been of great value, drawing enquiries from many parts of the country. All these enquiries are assiduously followed up by the Association and, in some cases, have led to new uses being made of this metal which has so rightly been called “The gleam in the eye of the future.” We also have stands in Durban and Pretoria and may send the mobile exhibit to Port Elizabeth Agricultural Show. It is, of course, well known that we took a stand at the last Rand Easter Show and are committed to show there for two more years.
In architecture, stainless steel has a very important part to play and more and more is being used in roofing, window frames, guttering and wall cladding for both decorative and functional purposes.
An important part of our function is the production of the magazine, “Stainless Steel”. This has already become acknowledged as an authoritative voice of this rapidly growing industry and is creating an ever-widening circle of influence. We have also produced a Stainless Steel Buyers’ Guide listing every company handling stainless steel in one form or another under more than 200 headings. We think that this Guide is of great use to the industry and it, in itself, has also resulted in many enquiries and an increasing awareness of what this wonder metal can do. A revised edition will be issued earlier next year.
