South African manufacturer of steel products Scaw Metals Group recently signed a knowledge exchange agreement with German steelmaking company Badische Stahl-Engineering (BSE) to drive technological advances and excellence at its steelmaking and rolling facilities.

The agreement, valid for three years, is in line with the group’s focus on driving a smarter and more efficient steel sector as a catalyst for growth in South Africa, in Africa and across key emerging markets.

Experts from the consultancy unit of Badische Stahlwerke (BSW), the BSE Academy, in Germany, will visit the facilities and operations of Scaw’s Union Junction plant, in Germiston, Gauteng. They will provide an on-site assessment of Meltshop 3 and Morgan Mill.

As part of the programme, Scaw Metals will send 90 of its employees to the BSE Academy for training, which will take place over a six-week period by the end of this year. The training will address the gaps identified by the experts during the on-site assess ment.

“Our focus on skills is a major step in ensuring we deliver the quality our clients expect from us. We believe that, through this agreement, we will be able to offer our clients even more than we currently do,” says Scaw Metals Group executive manager for strategy Bheka Khumalo.

“A smarter and more efficient steel sector is critical to fuel growth, not only in South Africa but also in the rest of Africa and across key emerging markets,” he adds.

The BSE Academy has a long and illustrious record. It supports green entrepreneurship and has successfully completed more than 200 consultancy and training contracts and has presented more than 400 classical training seminars. A total of 5 500 participants from 28 countries have graduated from the academy in the past two decades.

“One of the reasons we were attracted to BSW and BSE was their striking similarity to Scaw Metals with regard to steelmaking and rolling operations. We can only reap the benefits from this agreement, enhancing not only our own standards but also those of the entire industry in South Africa,” says Scaw Metals acting head of operations Steve van Wyk.

The participants of the BSE programme will have full access to the BSW facilities. About 60% will receive training at the BSW facilities and the remaining 40% will focus on theoretical training.

At the end of the training programme, Scaw will formulate a specialist training process, in conjunction with the BSE Academy, which will aim to revolutionise the way in which Scaw provides training for new employees.