Against a backdrop of economic and policy uncertainty and potential facility closures – albeit that, for now, these have been deferred - Gebremeskel says the SAISC will concentrate on supporting the steel supply chain rather than on the struggles of specific mills.

“While a steel mill might employ around 2 500 people, the downstream sector, which includes the automotive, construction, energy and mining sectors, is the far larger employer, supporting more than 600 000 jobs.

Therefore, the SAISC must prioritise building a dynamic sector similar to Canada’s, where downstream fabricators remain strong, despite the absence of large steel mills - rather than following Australia - where the closure of large mills has virtually incapacitated the downstream sector,” he explains.

Two streams of investment

As the custodian and sole representative of South Africa’s downstream steel industry, Gebremeskel says the SAISC is prioritising quality and availability: “We are most concerned about ensuring a steady supply and good diversity of steel in our market. This must be predicated on quality and not where steel comes from.”

He says the SAISC has identified two important areas for investment – the development of stringent quality standards through the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) and the implementation of a sound quality regime.

“This includes the development of a SAISC ‘quality certification stamp’- signifying that companies with the stamp have voluntarily completed SAISC quality training. The quality regime will also include the development of a database by the SAISC’s technical committee, which will allow designers to understand – and design around – the particular products which fabricators can access.

He notes that the SAISC’s input into contributing to SABS standards and then providing supporting literature which explains these standards - and illustrates how companies can comply with them - necessitates a considerable investment of time, technical expertise and related resources.

Strengthening sustainability

Another pivotal area where both the upstream and downstream industry needs to improve is sustainability – both from a business and an environmental perspective. While steel may be one of the most widely used - as well as the ‘greenest’ and most widely recycled materials of construction - it has a rather poor environmental record:  

“Older mills which rely on dated technology – known as legacy mills – cannot compete with new mills in Asia and Europe that rely on modern technology. These newer mills use more energy- efficient arc furnaces, as opposed to dated oxygen furnaces which require large amounts of coking coal.

Although many newer steel mills across the world have also invested in renewable and cleaner energy - in contrast to the carbon-intensive coal-fired energy used locally - such investments are yet to reach South Africa,” he advises.

According to Gebremeskel, even though the so-called ‘mini’ (or smaller) mills which have sprung up to process scrap metal are using more energy-efficient induction furnaces, there is still some way to go.

“As they are relatively new - and because they rely on scrap that is often of poor quality – the mini-mills need to elevate themselves to meet the higher standards to which we are accustomed in the market - and that does take time,” he admits.   

While some of these mini-mills have invested considerably to increase volumes, additional spend is now also required to expand product ranges if they are to effectively take up the slack should the ArcelorMittal long products facilities ultimately lose capacity, he adds.

Building a digital ‘skills bridge’  

The South African steel sector is also navigating the loss of key skills to retirement and emigration.

The SAISC needs to respond by retaining the knowledge that is lost to the sector. The ‘silver bullet’ solution would be to upload much of the accumulated expertise onto a digital platform for SAISC members, according to Gebremeskel.

“Through our website and online learning platform, we are aiming to link the older generation of steel professionals with future generations. Hopefully, in this way, we can build a digital ‘skills bridge’ and make this invaluable information readily accessible,” he says.

The SAISC is also reaching out to engineers. Those who attended the Institute’s breakfast discussion earlier this year – which focused on challenges to the availability and quality of steel - reported that the event was extremely beneficial, and an important opportunity to engage with the steel sector. Other events, including the annual SAISC Steel Awards, are similarly well attended by a wide range of SAISC members and steel supply chain participants – from designers and consulting engineers, to fabricators and construction contractors.

In addition, engineers are now being included on the SAISC Board.

Quality engagement

Gebremeskel concludes with a firm commitment that the SAISC will provide further opportunities for stakeholders to engage: “We would like to energise everyone to work together to solve the problems that can be solved. The SAISC needs to set the tone for the steel sector, so that people do not give up and lose out on important opportunities to further the skills, quality and sustainability of the steel industry.”