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May 2015
MODERN MINING
41
COMPANIES
Wire rod and reinforcing in
coil are products of Scaw’s
Rolled Products Division.
which manufactures grinding media,
and in Australia, where we have
subsidiaries which manufacture and
market chain and which also dis-
tribute steel wire rope and crushing
equipment. Our next area of focus is
South America and we’re busy estab-
lishing a sales outlet to service that
region.”
Within Africa, Scaw’s ambition
– at least in key markets such as
West Africa – is to bring its services
closer to its customers and possibly
establish local manufacturing facili-
ties where sales volumes justify it.
“Already we have a sales office in
Ghana, which was opened in 2011
and serves the entire West African
region,” says Executive Head of
Operations Steve van Wyk.
Like Hannemann, van Wyk has
spent many years with Scaw. A Wits graduate
in metallurgical engineering (he was a Scaw
bursary student), he progressed to being Mills
Divisional Manager before moving to AltaSteel
Canada as the VP of Operations in 2007. He
returned to South Africa in 2009 to take up the
position of Asset Optimisation Manager and, a
year later, was appointed as the Business Unit
Manager for Grinding Media.
Van Wyk makes the point that one of Scaw’s
competitive edges is the high quality and
sophistication of its beneficiation and manufac-
turing facilities, which include five foundries
(able to produce castings of up to 30 t in weight),
a steel wire rope plant, a world-class chain
products facility and a scrap metal processing
plant with the largest scrap shedder in Africa.
The group operates to the best international
standards and has ISO 9000, OHSAS 18001 and
ISO 14001 accreditation. Its Germiston foundry
is US-approved for the manufacture of locomo-
tive frames and associated components while
its McKinnon chain operation in Vereeniging is
approved to manufacture and supply premium
chain products into the European oil, gas and
industrial sectors.
Scaw is the largest producer of cast high
chrome grinding media in the southern hemi-
sphere, the only significant producer of forged
grinding media in Africa and the sole manufac-
turer in Africa of cast steel railway wheels. It
is one of only three manufacturers worldwide
able to make the steel wire rope used in hoist-
ing applications in the mines.
Says van Wyk: “Our manufacturing abili-
ties and the high quality of our products are a
definite advantage. We’re seeing a new demand
from the South African mining industry for
high-grade products because of failures with
cheaper products and we’re one of the few –
sometimes the only supplier – able to meet
these more stringent requirements. In the case
of chains, for example, we can supply in grades
that are not available out of China. In addition,
we’re able to provide an in-depth technical
service to customers on the application of our
products – in terms of performance and lon-
gevity – which is a real value-add that can be
crucial to the bottom line.”
Hannemann adds that Scaw is making good
progress in meeting ever more demanding
environmental requirements. “We’re having
to spend over R200 million on our foundries
alone to reduce emissions,” he says. “This is
a big investment with very little direct return
but it does put us in a strong, sustainable posi-
tion as we move forward. Other foundries are
going to have to keep up with us if they want
to survive.”
Finally, Hannemann stresses that Scaw –
whose BEE partners are Izingwe Holdings,
Shanduka and Southern Palace – has led the
way in the South African steel industry in
terms of empowerment. “We’re the only level
3 B-BBEE steel producer in South Africa. We
have a variety of empowerment initiatives
underway, particularly in terms of Corporate
Social Investment (CSI) programmes and the
empowerment of women, and we put enormous
energy into all of them – it’s not just a box-tick-
ing exercise. Transformation of the group is an
imperative that we recognise and we are fully
committed to meeting the government’s objec-
tives on the revised B-BBEE codes.”