Kathy Gibson reports – Actom has opened a new assembly line for locally-assembled LiFePO₄ battery energy storage systems (BESS).
Yesterday, the company also announced that is expanding manufacturing capacity for its high voltage equipment.
These moves are significant in strengthening South Africa’s industrialisation, and creating new jobs in the Pretoria West industrial area.
Mervyn Naidoo, group CEO of Actom, explains that the company took over the struggling facility in October last year with the vision of transforming it into an industrial campus.
“We have positioned Actom as one of the few Africa OEMs able to support the complete energy value chain,” he adds.
“The world is volatile and chaotic; wars have a major impact on supply chains, with upheavals in logistics.
“The situation now is that countries are moving to protectionism, reflecting inwardly. In an environment like this, Africa is at the end of the queue.”
Apart from securing local supply, investment in the Pretoria hub has a deeper social significance, Naidoo says.
“We have a stagnant economy, with a social crisis driving inequality and youth unemployment.
“But the average age in Africa is 20, and by 2050, the continent is project to have the largest economically active population.
“So we have all the input ingredients for infrastructure development.”
By operating in regional African hubs – Actom has six offices on the continent – the company can use regional supply chains and benefit from local sourcing.
The net result, Naidoo says, is economies of scale that enable better manufacturing capacity and direct support for South Africa’s development goals.
So far, the Actom facility in Pretoria West has been able to expand transformer output by about four-times and doubled its circuit breaker capacity.
Having acquired the local lithium-ion battery manufacturer JUEL Batteries and partnered with an inverter manufacturer, it has increased output of these products as well.
“South Africa’s structural reforms have unlocked a once-in-a-generation investment cycle into infrastructure,” Naidoo points out. “This needs to translate into industrialisation, job creation and sustainable economic growth.
“As a country, we have many challenges, but at Actom we are focused on how we can add value. Which is why we decided to do something about it, and to invest actively into growing the industrial footprint.”
Manufacturing now accounts for just 12,8% of South Africa’s economy, down from a high of more than 25%.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has identified critical minerals and an anchor of growth, and BESS as one of the focus areas for manufacturing.
This is according to Dr Tebogo Makube, acting deputy director-general: sectors branch at the DTI, who adds that the department is working with roleplayers like Eskom, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Department of Electricity to drive investment into BESS.
He adds that government is committed to supporting companies like Actom through procurement to drive investment in industrialisation and localisation.
Featured picture: Actom chairman Andries Mthethwa cuts the ribbon on the new battery assembly plant