Despite a challenging start to the year for companies in the mining and engineering sectors, friction welding specialist Manapp Industries director Shannon Frost and welding and cutting solutions provider Shield Technologies CEO Wayne Holt are optimistic about their companies’ prospects.

“The beginning of this year has been difficult for many companies; people have been very cautious about spending money as there has been a significant downturn in the market. “Although there are still some tenders going out, there is less work than before, so everyone is vying for the same projects, making bids highly price competitive,” Frost notes.

He attributes the challenging business environment predominantly to production decreases in the mining industry, which have had a ripple effect on companies whose primary clients are in that sector.

Holt similarly notes that the engineering industry as a whole is in decline, listing investor sentiment in South Africa and a slow global economic growth rate as possible contributing factors.

Frost, however, is enthusiastic about Manapp Industries’ outlook for the rest of the year in light of the company’s specialisation in friction welding. Despite the slowing of mining activities, it is unlikely that it will cease completely and the company is thus preparing for a future upswing in the market, he notes.

“There is increasingly more interest in the friction welding products offered by Manapp Industries . . . there is definitely still a market for our products and services, and we are even looking into expanding our offering for mining exploration activities,” he says.

Holt states that “the industry has the potential to grow substantially”, and cites Shield Technologies’ broadening of its chemicals offerings for the welding industry as a key factor in positioning it to benefit from this possible growth.

Shield Technologies has traditionally offered expertise in gas savings and spatter control for welding processes, but depressed activity in the welding industry has necessitated product and service diversification, he explains. “Although welding is still our core business, because it’s slow at the moment, we’ve had to get involved in other areas.”

The company has thus developed a stainless steel cleaner for railway applications, which is undergoing final testing and which, Holt says, will prove cost effective for companies in South Africa, owing to its being locally produced.

In addition, Shield Technologies is introducing two new degreasers, which have applications in multiple processes for cleaning oil and grease off metals prior to painting and powder coating processes. The company is also investigating the possibility of manufacturing a scale remover for boilers, predominantly for use in the power industry. The introduction of these products is expected to be finalised this year.

Moreover, last year, Shield Technologies was awarded a two-year tender to supply spatter guards to State-owned freight logistics utility Transnet. The company is also installing a gas-saving system at automotive solutions providers Tenneco Automotive Holdings, in Port Elizabeth, the Eastern Cape.

“I’ve travelled a lot and I’m very positive about South Africa and its business prospects. ‘We are going through a phase of political change in this country, and that has an affect on everything. “I am very optimistic about the country’s future though; things are going to change for the better, it is just going to take time,” Holt concludes.