MSQ Health is investing over R100 million in a 5 900m² Akacia Medical manufacturing plant that it says will produce cost-effective quality medical products for both the local and international markets at the Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
Construction of the plant is underway and Akacia Medical and the Coega Development Corporation are discussing further ways to ensure this is a viable and sustainable facility that will support manufacturing jobs in the Eastern Cape for the foreseeable future.
Akacia Medical is a subsidiary of MSQ Health and one of the largest medical manufacturers in South Africa, producing more than 2 600 product lines of medical devices and medical consumables.
The company boasts two ISO accredited manufacturing plants in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth whilst employing more than 400 employees that manufacture, market and distribute medical and surgical health products.
“When the decision came to expand our manufacturing facilities, we were clear that South Africa still offers the best option for locating our manufacturing plant,” said MSQ Health Group Chairman Moss Ngoasheng.
“Local production achieves our vision of ‘Innovation that Cares’ by creating sustainable manufacturing jobs, deepening our manufacturing capabilities and ensuring the supply of high quality medical products.”
He said the investment in new technology and machines would deliver increased production capacity whilst increasing efficiencies and lowering the cost of production. “Akacia Medical will be ideally positioned to support the implementation of the NHI and delivery of cost-effective healthcare to South Africans.”
The South African medical device industry is ranked in the top 30 largest in the world yet it is serviced by imports mainly from the US and Asian countries. MSQ Health believes that, through Akacia Medical, it is well positioned to change this dynamic by adding more manufacturing capacity through its Coega investment.
Christopher Mashigo, CDC Executive Manager Business Development, concurred, saying, “The Akacia Medical manufacturing plant will add diversity of investors in the zone, which will further reinforce our value proposition in terms of Coega being the gateway to local and international markets”.
“As the leading catalysts for championing of the socio-economic development in the region, we could not have attracted a more strategic and well-aligned investor in Akacia Medical, given their plans to support the implementation of NHI that will deliver cost-effective healthcare to South Africans.
“This investment will bring the private sector investment at Coega in excess of R7.1 billion, and further strengthen Coega as the leading SEZ in Africa,” Mashigo said.