Kaizer M . Nyatsumba Chief Executive Officer
FOREWORD
Seventy-five years ago , men of vision – among them inaugural Cape Engineers and Founders Association ( CEFA ) Chairman Harry Gearing – came together to form the South African Federation of Engineering and Metallurgical Associations . The organisation was later renamed the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa ( SEIFSA ), by which it came to be known over the years . Gearing became SEIFSA ’ s founding Executive Director and former journalist Fred Williams its first President .
Since then , the Federation has had a number of similarly outstanding men who have led it in the two respective roles over the years as it established itself as the largest and most influential employers ’ organisation in the metals and engineering sector . My immediate predecessors , David Carson and Brian Angus , were among them . They have all contributed immensely to what present-day SEIFSA is today – and we are immensely grateful and deeply indebted to them all .
SEIFSA At 75 is a catalogue of their – and our – collective story .
Although the name remains SEIFSA , in February 2014 the Board of Directors approved our recommendation for the extension of the Federation ’ s scope beyond the borders of South Africa , through to the Southern African Development Community . From then onwards , SEIFSA stood for “ Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa ”. Today SEIFSA is registered in Namibia and Zambia and is awaiting the finalization of its registration in Mozambique .
We cannot possibly tell the full story of SEIFSA and all those who have played a role in its history in the pages of this publication . Were we to attempt to do so , this would be too voluminous a book that many may page through , but very few would make time to read .
Therefore , we present you here with a glossy , high-quality publication of a manageable size which does its best to tell the Federation ’ s story in a highly-summarised form . We are confident that you will like it and hope that you will also find it quite informative . I commend it to you very highly .
We have certainly enjoyed putting it together for you and hope that you will enjoy reading it This publication to celebrate SEIFSA ’ s 75th anniversary would not have been possible without the cooperation of so many people . Our thanks go to all of them . They include our Communications Consultant Auralia “ Ollie ” Madlala who compiled it , Creative Designer Zandile Ngubeni who is responsible for its fine look and feel , hard-working colleagues who made time to be interviewed for it and who helped to generate much-needed advertising for SEIFSA At 75 , current and former SEIFSA Board Members and our valuable member Associations . We are deeply indebted to all of them .
Most importantly , however , our thanks go to our invaluable advertisers , which have made it possible for us to cover the costs of this publication , and to our long-standing partner Shereno Printers , which can always be relied upon to exceed our expectatons each time it is approached with a printing job . We are immensely grateful to all of them for their wonderful messages of congratulations on SEIFSA ’ s 75th anniversary .
As you will see as you page through this magnificent publication , SEIFSA is much more than just a negotiations agent for its member
Associations and their affiliated companies . In addition to negotiating on wages and conditions of employment with labour on behalf of our members , strictly in accordance with their mandate , we also offer a series of expert-led products and services , which include our unique Price and Index Pages and our world-class SEIFSA Training Centre situated in Benoni here in Gauteng . These products and services are available not only to our members , but also to any companies that need them .
In the last five years , we have done a lot to introduce a number of innovations , among them the Small Business Hub ( www . smallbusiness . seifsa . co . za ), the annual Southern African Metals and Engineering Sector ( www . meindaba . seifsa . co . za ) and the annual SEIFSA Awards for Excellence ( www . awards . seifsa . co . za ). We plan to continue to enhance our offerings and to generate real value for our members .
I invite you to take your time to thumb through SEIFSA At 75 leisurely and to marvel with us at this organisation ’ s rich history . I hope that you will keep this publication prominently displayed at your receptions and coffee tables not only throughout 2018 , our 75th year , but also over the next five years . I hope to see you at the Fourth Southern African Metals and Engineering Indaba , which will take place at the IDC Conference Centre in Sandton on 20-21 September this year . We have amazing speakers lined up to address issues of direct , topical relevance to the metals and engineering sector and to engage with you .
Kaizer M . Nyatsumba Chief Executive Officer
SEIFSA AT 75 - SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE MAGAZINE 7