sassda news
Sassda opens global OEM supply chain to local stainless steel fabricators
Localisation Champion The first engagement has also encouraged the Localisation Support Fund to approach Sassda with a further manufacturing opportunity for its members. Sassda is due to meet with the fund to establish the technical requirements and determine which local companies are best positioned to participate. Basson says the development demonstrates Sassda’s growing role as a link between international companies seeking local capacity and South African manufacturers capable of meeting their technical and quality requirements. A separate project involving an American company is already generating local stainless steel work following technical input from Sassda. The overseas company had initially specified an unusual grade of stainless steel that was not readily available in South Africa. Sassda assessed the application and recommended lean duplex stainless steel as a technically suitable and more readily available alternative. The change in material specification helped persuade the company to manufacture the components locally. Stainless steel components have since been produced and are expected to be transferred to another South African company for assembly and further value addition. The project is creating activity across several parts of the domestic value chain, including the stainless steel supplier, component manufacturer and assembly operation. “The technical advice did more than resolve a material selection issue. It helped create the conditions for the components to be manufactured in South Africa,” Basson explains. He adds that Sassda is now pursuing several initiatives aimed at providing direct commercial value to members, including localisation, technical support, market intelligence, trade advocacy and export readiness. The latest projects suggest that this approach is beginning to produce measurable results. Rather than treating localisation as a broad policy ambition, Sassda is using its technical knowledge and industry network to identify specific requirements, connect international buyers with capable manufacturers and turn global supply-chain challenges into production opportunities for South African companies.
Western Cape-based Fabrinox and Gauteng-based National Stainless Steel Centre have been nominated as potential local suppliers and are progressing through the international original-equipment manufacturer’s vetting process. The German company manufactures packaging machinery used across a wide range of consumer industries, with applications ranging from toothpaste tubes to milk cartons, yoghurt containers and other food and beverage products. Its immediate requirement is for South African manufacturers capable of supplying replacement parts and customised components for equipment already operating across Africa. Sassda Executive Director Michel Basson says the opportunity emerged through the Localisation Support Fund, which approached the association for assistance in identifying two capable component manufacturers. “We wanted to provide the company with manufacturing capacity in both the north and south of the country. Fabrinox and National Stainless Steel Centre were nominated and are now progressing through the vetting process,” he says. The OEM’s interest in local sourcing is being driven partly by the difficulty and cost of supplying spare parts and customised components to machinery users across Africa from its overseas operations. The initial focus is expected to be on replacement parts and less complex components. However, successful supplier development could create opportunities for South African companies to manufacture larger assemblies and potentially undertake local assembly in the longer term. This would represent a significant progression from o nce-off component orders to sustained participation in an international equipment manufacturer’s African supply chain. Sassda has helped position two South African stainless steel fabricators to enter the supply chain of a German packaging equipment manufacturer, marking tangible progress in its drive to convert localisation opportunities into work for members.
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Issue 3 – 2026
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