Steel Construction Vol 40 no 6 - International Steel Structures | Page 24

SAISC INDUSTRY NEWS

2016 Sassda Columbus Stainless Steel Awards’

world-class winners announced
The 2016 Sassda Columbus Stainless
Steel Awards, held bi-annually, are a clear
indication that the local stainless steel
sector is home to a wealth of world-class
products and skill.This year’s awards,
held on 24 October at the Indaba hotel,
announced a record 39 world-class winners
(see full list of winners below) – up from
the 14 awards presented in 2014.
These winners were drawn from a broader
spectrum of sectors due to an expansion in
the number of categories. This stems from
a desire to broaden the scope of categories
to ensure they are fully representative of
the depth and diversity of the industry. In
addition, not only were the awards oversubscribed in terms of sponsors, but they
also exceeded all expectations in terms
of the number of entries which increased
from 43 in 2014 to 144 in 2016.
This year’s Business Excellence Award, as
well as the Overall Winner Award, went
to Port-Elizabeth based tank container
manufacturer Welfit Oddy. As the only
manufacturer of tank containers in South
Africa and the second largest tank container
manufacturer globally the company exports
95% of its local production.
Other significant winners were the
Lifetime Achievement Award that was
given to John Cluett for his contribution
to the local brewing industry in and the
development and use of stainless steel
in various applications within the food
& beverage industry. Another lifetime
achievement award went to Diego Sella for

22 Steel Construction Vol. 40 No. 6 2016

his outstanding contribution to Sassda and
the stainless steel industry.
Looking at the enhanced stature of this
year’s awards Sassda Executive Director
John Tarboton says; “After the huge increase
in the number of entries and winners as
well as the number of categories, we truly
feel that the aim of the awards has been
realised; namely to boost the growth and
development of the local stainless steel
sector. The hype created around the awards
also means they’ve been invaluable in terms
of raising awareness of stainless steel and
its myriad of uses and applications within
the local and global economy.”
In tandem with the increased number of
entries and winners the awards’ judging
panel was doubled in size to 12 industry
experts from the fabrication, architectural,
environmental, catering and welding
sectors to name but a few.
Based on the standard of the entries
received, creative expert Luke Hartdegen
from Mettle Advertising commented;
“The quality of the projects submitted,
reflected a vast improvement compared
to previous award submissions. For
example, in engineering, the complexity
of work submitted was far superior this
year, and reflected an enormous overall
improvement. We also saw more willingness
from companies to use stainless steel as
opposed to the usage of alternative metals
in far more complex ways.”
National Stainless Steel Centre Customer
Relations Manager Tholwana Mogowane,

who was also a judge, noted that the award
entries revealed that people are no longer
sticking to traditional plate or coil stainless
steel formats as there’s obviously increasing
awareness of the fact that stainless steel can
be used in a variety of formats.
Overall,Tarboton comments; “Our aim
was to boost the aspirational value of the
awards by ensuring that participants saw
the clear return on investment that their
participation and winning provides. We’ve
also embraced a m ore modern approach
to championing stainless steel across the
continent and the awards are the perfect
embodiment of this,” concludes Tarboton.
BELOW: Sassda Chairperson Charles Cammell
delivers the opening address at the 2016 Sassda
Columbus Stainless Steel Awards.
BOTTOM LEFT: John Cluett celebrates winning the
2016 Sassda Columbus Stainless Steel Lifetime
Achivement Award flanked by Sassda Chairperson
Charles Cammell and Executive Director John
Tarboton.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Overall Winner at this year’s
Sassda Columbus Stainless Steel Awards, Frank
van der Burg from Welfit Oddy.