Foundries must apply front-end engineering to reduce the weight of their castings and to develop products that are designed to be manufactured at a competitive price .
Localisation for Africa
Foundries must apply front-end engineering to reduce the weight of their castings and to develop products that are designed to be manufactured at a competitive price .
Dr Shawn Cunningham , a partner at Mesopartner who works with the NFTN to promote competitiveness and technology upgrades within the foundry industry , echoed that foundries need to focus on their customers ’ needs . He was speaking on the back of his engagement with the industry , which entailed visiting foundries and foundry customers . Cunningham explained that foundries must apply front-end engineering to reduce the weight of their castings and to develop products that are designed to be manufactured at a competitive price .
Dr Shawn Cunningham - Process Facilitator and Partner , Mesopartner ( PartG ), South Africa
There are many manufacturers in South Africa who are looking to localise and this will be encouraged by the Preferential Procurement Act . Already , State Owned Companies are demanding greater local content .
This requires investment in new technology and new partnerships between foundries , their customers and universities .
Cunningham outlined that NFTN , SAIF , ASFA and the universities are trying to pull foundries closer , “ we can do this now because we are working from the inside out ” says Cunningham .
“ NFTN is developing partnerships with buyers of castings to develop the resilience and competitiveness of their foundry supply chain , thus we combine a supply push ( upgrading the
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