THE development and application of composites in manufacturing in South Africa is accelerating up a steep growth curve and could be a “game changer” for the Eastern Cape economy, according to the Mandela Bay Composites Cluster.
Created with support from the Department of Trade and Industry, the cluster has implemented projects to boost the productivity of local manufacturers and establish value chains to commercialise South Africa’s emerging composites resources.
Managing Director Andy Radford said the cluster had mapped the value chain for the production and application of basalt in composites and was at an advanced stage of securing local and global beneficiators and buyers for the mineral for use in composite materials.
“The country, and particularly the rural areas of the Eastern Cape have vast dolorite reserves, from which global-standard basalt can be viably extracted,” Radford said.
“Basalt fibre mined from dolerite in the poorest regions of the Eastern Cape could be an economic game changer for the region. Processed at Mthatha, Butterworth, East London or Coega, basalt product such as re-inforced bar can be shipped to Europe through France,” Radford said.
The cluster is doing the same with a crop grown largely in Kwazulu-Natal called kenaf, the fibre of which is used in the production of composite components, including at the Mercedes Benz automotive plant in East London.
Closer to home Radford believes that composites provide South Africans with solutions to unique challenges and that could transform communities.
“South Africa has a legacy based on iron, steel and other metals, yet our global competitiveness in steel is marginal. Metals are heavy, they rust and have driven industrial and engineering thinking in South Africa up until now.
“Composites can provide new avenues for industrial and economic competitive advantage and we are showcasing this by creating a composites corridor in Port Elizabeth, where composite applications will replace metal and cement where appropriate.
“From manhole covers, street poles and railings to motorised drones, composites are the answer to several age-old problems and new opportunities.
“In Africa composites can be manufactured anywhere. You don’t even need electricity. In fact, rather than using energy, resin-based thermoset manufacturing is exothermic – it gives off heat.”
The Cluster is driving collaboration with French companies, as part of a DTI-driven France-South Africa business forum. France is acknowledged as a global leader in composites within aviation and boat-building.
A delegation of 10 French companies will visit South Africa on an incoming trade mission from 27 to 30 June with a focus on boat building and composites, which is why the MBCC will work together with the South African Boatbuilders Export Council (SABBEX) to make the most of the opportunity.