South Africa’s tool-, die- and mould-making (TDM) industry received a shot in the arm this week with the launch of the Limpopo Tooling Initiative (LTI), a programme aimed at driving the rehabilitation of the industry in the province. The initiative forms part of the R9-billion National Tooling Initiative (NTI) established in 2005 to reverse the overall decline of the tooling industry in South Africa, which has suffered after years of underinvestment in skills and development. Speaking at the launch, acting MEC Cachalia said the South African TDM industry supplies about R1,9-billion worth of products and services to the manufacturing sector, which uses approximately R6-billion worth of TDM products annually. “This means the TDM sector is producing far below the needs of the local manufacturing sector. The Limpopo Tooling initiative is one of the most important support elements of the province’s drive towards full scale manufacturing ability. “There is no doubt that in order to be globally competitive, the province has the daunting task of expanding, modernising and making competitive its manufacturing sector,” said Cachalia. The Limpopo Tooling Initiative is the second NTI programme of its kind to be launched nationally (the first was in the Western Cape) and represents the culmination of a partnership between government, the TDM industry, organised labour and higher education institutions to boost the TDM industry in Limpopo, as well as nationally. Limpopo Tooling Initiative CEO Nathi Twala said five major driving programmes have been identified to help achieve the industry’s rehabilitation objective. “These are skills and expertise development, capacity expansion, technology recapitilisation, competitiveness improvement and export development and public private partnership structure development. “The idea is that stakeholders take part in and contribute to these programmes on regional and national levels through capacitated legal structures and forums,” said Twala.
Board members for the Limpopo Tooling Initiative are Sheila Malatjie (chairperson), Llewellyn Jenner (industry), George Poopedi (TICA), Hangwani Makwarela (Industry), Lilly Maja (government), Mary Mavanyisi (women), Solly Maake (people living with disabilities), Johann Raath (academia) and Frank Mollele (industry). Twala says the NTI programme is a three-phase initiative. “The first phase, planning and road mapping, took place from July 2005 to March 2006. The second phase is focused on the mobilisation of regional and national structures, the alignment of stakeholders, and facilitating capacity building and co-operation. This phase started in April 2006 and will run into 2008,” he says. The third phase is the execution phase. Projects addressing TDM shortfalls, as defined within the framework of the five driving NTI programmes, are to be generated, mandated and governed by the regional and national stakeholder structures. Execution of the projects will be achieved through utilisation of regional skills and expertise. The NTI will facilitate funding for these projects through project focused PPP’s and commercial arrangements. Initial activities of this phase are already underway. It is anticipated that this phase will continue to 2014. Note to editors: The National Tooling Initiative (NTI) is a concerted effort to boost an industry that lies at the core of the manufacturing sector. The tooling industry is intrinsically linked to the need for significant skills development, SME growth, manufacturing sector competitiveness and South Africa’s national growth strategy. The NTI has launched a series of programmes to revive and boost tooling, moulding and die-making in South Africa. “Tooling” is NOT about making hammers, chisels and screwdrivers. It is really about making high-tech equipment that is used in one way or another by the entire manufacturing sector. Factories cannot produce anything without the right gear and tools to manufacture their products. South Africa’s tooling sector needs revival because it has been dwindling for some years under the combined effects of more factories importing their gear, skills erosion and lack of enterprise development. ; |
