The National Foundry Technology Network, a programme of the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition (the dtic) hosted by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)  in partnership with the South African Institute for Foundrymen (SAIF) and the Aluminium Federation of South Africa (AFSA), hosted a South African Pavilion at the 15th International Foundry Trade Fair in Düsseldorf Germany from 12 to 16 June 2023.

Aptly named The Bright World of Metals, the GMTN trade fair comprises a quartet of the metals industry forums namely, GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS and NEWCAST. It is considered the industry’s biggest export opportunity event in the world where international buyers, users, experts and decision makers from the metallurgy, heat technology and foundry industries meet to exchange skills, components and new technologies. The 2023 fair attracted 63 000 trade fair visitors from 114 countries and 2 200 exhibitors from 56 countries.

South Africa’s participation and the presence of the pavilion also saw the launch of the much-anticipated Foundry Value Chain Online Directory, SA-Foundries website at the pavilion networking session. The groundbreaking directory has more than 190 South African companies and proved to be a useful tool for promoting South Africa and its capabilities in the foundry industry.

Read the full story in The Green Agenda.