SASSDA ROSE TO THE CHALLENGE IN 2021 & WON
When this article was written for the Stainless Steel Magazine issue in April 2021, we referred to this second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the year of living bravely. At that stage, as we entered 2021, the Sassda Team had started to seek perspective on the previous twelve months, and we held a ‘team debrief’ to assess the changes the previous year had wrought on our industry.
It was clear that Sassda had to remain committed to becoming an even more flexible and agile, industry-relevant association that furthered its goal of growing stainless steel demand locally and adding value to our members’ bottom line in a variety of ways.
The main objectives for 2021 were therefore to improve on what we were doing well and enhance the services rendered to not only the stainless steel industry but the industrial and manufacturing sectors in general. After all, that was part of Sassda’s commitment to the Steel Master Plan.
ENHANCED OFFERINGS
To achieve this, three brand new workshops were designed and accredited for CPD value to professionals in the Architectural, Mining and Water industries. Our Fundamentals of Stainless Steel course was also CPD accredited for mechanical engineers and the frequency of the presentation of this course has been increased from four regional presentations a year, to five national events during 2021. Our educational reach has therefore grown exponentially this year.
However, the future for our industry not only resides in training. Sassda has the mandate of increasing locally converted stainless steel and this can only be done by readying members for new markets, identifying those new markets and bringing them closer to our members. Our bi-weekly webinars play a major role in this. The topics for these events range from technical, business-orientated sessions assisting members with export readiness, the details of the African Free Trade Agreement and detailed market intelligence type information with a special focus on African growth markets.
We did not only attract impressive numbers of members to these services but also non-members from all kinds of industries and market sectors. We are also busy building ties between members and retailing groups, through the Steel Master Plan, to localise the manufacturing of products in the catering and hollowware sector.
As we approach the end of the year at a rapid rate, we are looking at the figures and statistics that would indicate our activity and achievements for 2021. From what we hoped to achieve earlier this year; given all kinds of new challenges in the world of stainless steel and our local environment, we are happy and satisfied that Sassda has been able to deliver good value to our members and industry during the past months. This has also been the feedback from a members survey that was conducted during the year.
However, this is no time for resting on our laurels. We are already working on improving our level of service delivery and benefits for members in 2022 and we are tenacious in our belief that we will make a difference in the greater picture of South Africa’s socio-economic future. Read in this edition how we plan to do some of that next year.
From Sassda management and staff, we would like to wish you a peaceful rest period over the upcoming holidays and that the coming year will offer more opportunities than challenges.
