OVERVIEW
Manufacturing A Durban shipyard is making tugs for Transnet.
SECTOR INSIGHT Packaging company Mpact has increased capacity at Felixton by 35%. • Two special economic zones are designed to attract manufacturers.
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waZulu-Natal is a key centre of manufacturing in the South African economy. Two large oil refineries and a sophisticated sugar milling and refining industry underpin provincial chemical manufacturing. The chemicals and petrochemicals subsector makes up 17% of the manufacturing output of KwaZuluNatal, with industrial chemicals accounting for nearly a third. Steel and aluminium are other heavy manufacturing products. The automotive industry is covered in a separate article. The manufacturing sector contributes 17.7% to the provincial Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The strongest export sectors are base-metals (32% including aluminium), mineral products such as ores, vehicles and chemical products. The nine-tug contract put out by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) is worth R1.4-billion and was won by Durban-based Southern African Shipyards in Durban. Most of the tugs have been built and sent to ports around the country. Paper and plastics packaging company Mpact recently invested R765-million on increasing capacity at its Felixton paper mill by 35%. The company has 21 manufacturing sites across Southern Africa. Special Economic Zones (SEZs) at Richards Bay and Dube TradePort are attracting manufacturers with zoned and serviced land and tax rebates. The provincial government is keen to link the agriculture sector with manufacturers and intends to use its Agri-Village Programme to pursue this goal. To take advantage of the existing strengths of cities and districts in the province, a network of Industrial Economic Hubs (IEHs) is being developed in KwaZulu-Natal. Leading the process is the Department of Economic Development, Tourism & Environmental Affairs (DEDTEA). KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2018/19
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A Halaal Manufacturing Park is being considered by DEDTEA, finance institution Ithala, the South African National Halaal Authority and business leaders. A location near a good road or national highway and within easy reach of the Port of Durban would be ideal. It is expected that investors will find this an attractive proposition. Hulamin is a leader in aluminium finished-products. The company makes rolled products at Edendale, Pietermaritzburg and at Camps Drift while its Pietermaritzburg facility for making extrusions is one of the three in the country. Rolled products make up 91% of the company's output. Extruded products make up the remainder. Exports to the automotive industry in the USA are on the increase. The group headquarters of Africa’s biggest pharmaceutical manufacturer, Aspen, are in La Lucia Ridge. German chemicals group Lanxess has built a carbon dioxide concentration unit at its existing plant in Newcastle. The company makes tanning raw