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MICHEL BASSON Executive Director michel@sassda.co.za
CALLUM SUTHERLAND Members & Communication callum@sassda.co.za MANKABE MORE Education & Training mankabe@sassda.co.za
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A Year of Change, a Future of Purpose This is the final edition of Stainless Magazine for 2025, marking the close of a year filled with unexpected developments within the Association, the industry, and the country at large. At this time last year, we reflected on a busy 12 months that included our 60th Anniversary celebrations and the return of the Stainless Steel Awards. Now, as we look back on 2025, we recognise a year shaped by significant shifts, from major changes in global geopolitics and trade relationships to new challenges confronting local exporters who face growing uncertainty around existing and future markets. Not all surprises were negative, however. We continued to enjoy relative stability in electricity supply and the welcome relief of South Africa’s removal from the so-called financial grey list. Typically, GDP growth slows in the latter half of the year, but 2025 brought a positive revision to growth forecasts. Still, we know that unless South Africa can consistently sustain growth above 3%, neither our economy, our industry, nor our people will experience the improvement we need. When assessing the current state of the stainless steel industry, we must do so against the broader backdrop of the decades-long decline of the national steel industry, once a powerful pillar of South Africa’s economic development. Although it still employs close to 200 000 people and contributes around 1.5% to GDP, the sector has been weakened by years of deindustrialisation, declining production, job losses, and a steady erosion of competitiveness. This decline has not occurred by chance, but as the result of systemic policy failures, poor coordination, and inadequate implementation of recovery frameworks.
LUISE ALLEMANN Content, Social Media and the Stainless Steel Magazine luise@mediaink.co.za
JOSE HERON Accounts jose@sassda.co.za
The Stainless steel magazine is published quarterly and is distributed to stockists, distributors, fabricators, specifiers, consulting engineers, architects, mining, petrochemical and chemical industries, food beverage and pharmaceutical industries, consumer outlets, end-users, educational institutes and provincial and government departments. Sassda makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the contents of its publications, but no warranty is made as to such accuracy and no responsibility will be borne by the publisher or Sassda for the consequences of any actions based on information so published. All opinions, views and expressions contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the management of Sassda. The contents of this publication enjoy positive protection under the Copyright Act and therefore copyright thereof is expressly reserved. Any copying, publication and distribution of part or whole of the publication is prohibited unless consent is granted by Sassda.
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Issue 4 – 2025
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