South African Business 2018 edition

REGION
involved in grain. Cattle and crops such as sunflower
seeds are among the other sectors that generate
significant income and feed large numbers of South
Africans. North West produces about one third of the
country’s maize.
North West has approximately 1.7-million beef
cattle, representing 13% of South Africa’s herd. Major
breeds include Simmentaller, Brahman, Bonsmara
and Simbra, a cross between the Brahman and
Simmentaller breeds. The Marico region is also cattle
country, while the areas around Rustenburg and
Brits are fertile, mixed-crop farming land.
Brits, Rustenburg, Tlokwe (Potchefstroom),
Matlosana (Klerksdorp) and Mahikeng account for
more than half of the total manufacturing capacity
in North West Province. Mining beneficiation,
automotive components and food and beverage
play important roles in the sector.
Food and beverages is the biggest subsector
contributing to the manufacturing industry. The
town of Brits has several companies in the automotive
components sector.
Major companies with manufacturing capacity
in the North West like Nestlé, RCL, Tydstroom and
Clover have all taken advantage of the province’s
strategic location adjacent to the business hub
of Gauteng. There are several milling operations
in North West Province. Masilo Mills is located in
Hanneman (where Papa Super Maize is ground) and
Tau Roller Mills is in Wolmeranstad.
Economic future
The provincial government has pointed out that
the share of manufacturing to the Growth Value
Add (GVA) of the province is only 5% – a figure that
must grow if employment is to grow along with the
expanding economy.
A provincial Integrated Manufacturing Strategy has
been compiled. One of the report’s findings was that
because North West is strategically located near to
the industrial hub of Gauteng, has low input costs, lies
on established trade routes and has easy access to
natural resources, it should make the development of
the chemical processing sector a good bet. This is especially
true for phosphate and nitrogen-based fertilisers.
The Platinum Valley Special Economic Zone (SEZ)
is to be established at Mogwase in the Bojanala
District, north of Rustenburg and east of Sun
City. When fully developed, 200ha of land will be
given over to three infrastructure facilities comprising
Logistics, Light Manufacturing and Heavy
Manufacturing. Areas of investment that are expected
to grow fastest include fuel cell technology (in
which platinum is a vital component), machinery for
mining, energy generation and renewable energy
component manufacturing.
The Seda Platinum Incubator (SPI) is an initiative
of the Platinum Trust of South Africa and is funded
by the Small Enterprise Development Agency
(Seda) through its Seda Technology Programme
(Stp) with the support of the North West Provincial
Government and private companies.
The sun shines in the North West, on average,
300 days of the year. In addition, the province mines
more platinum than any other place on earth. These
two facts combine to present a suite of opportunities
for energy generation and for the manufacture
of equipment for the energy sector.
The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) says
there is potential in the automotive sector which
can be applied to the manufacturing sector for
renewable energy.
An opportunity for solar panel market manufacturers
is being promoted by the North West Development
Corporation at Mahikeng. Investors are sought to manufacture
and supply panels to farms, housing schemes,
the mining industry and government.
The Potchefstroom campus of the North West
University is home to HySA Infrastructure Centre for
hydrogen production, storage and delivery. HySA
is part of a national strategy designed to make use
of hydrogen and fuel cell technology, particularly
arising from platinum group metals (PGM).
Capital Mahikeng
Population 3 707 000
Area 104 882km 2
Premier Supra Mahumapelo (ANC)
Languages
Afrikaans, Sotho, Tsonga,
Tswana, Xhosa
157 SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2018