Sassda Columbus Stainless Steel Awards Announced

The 2016 Sassda Columbus Stainless Steel Awards are a clear indication that the local stainless steel sector is home to a wealth of world-class products and skill, with a record 39 world-class winners having been announced (see full list of winners below) – up from the 14 awards presented in 2014.

These winners were drawn from a broader spectrum of sectors due to an expansion in the number of categories. This stems from a desire to broaden the scope of categories to ensure they are fully representative of the depth and diversity of the industry. In addition, not only were the awards over-subscribed in terms of sponsors, but they also exceeded all expectations in terms of the number of entries which increased from 43 in 2014 to 144 in 2016.

This year’s Business Excellence Award, as well as the Overall Winner Award, went to Port-Elizabeth based tank container manufacturer Welfit Oddy. As the only manufacturer of tank containers in South Africa and the second largest tank container manufacturer globally the company exports 95% of its local production.

Other significant winners were the Lifetime Achievement Award that was given to John Cluett for his contribution to the local brewing industry in and the development and use of stainless steel in various applications within the food and beverage industry. Another lifetime achievement award went to Diego Sella for his outstanding contribution to Sassda and the stainless steel industry.

Raising awareness of stainless steel

Looking at the enhanced stature of this year’s awards Sassda Executive Director John Tarboton say, “After the huge increase in the number of entries and winners as well as the number of categories, we truly feel that the aim of the awards has been realised; namely to boost the growth and development of the local stainless steel sector. The hype created around the awards also means they’ve been invaluable in terms of raising awareness of stainless steel and its myriad of uses and applications within the local and global economy.”

In tandem with the increased number of entries and winners the awards’ judging panel was doubled in size to 12 industry experts from the fabrication, architectural, environmental, catering and welding sectors to name but a few.

Big improvement in award entries

Based on the standard of the entries received, creative expert Luke Hartdegen from Mettle Advertising commented, “The quality of the projects submitted reflected a vast improvement compared to previous award submissions. For example, in engineering, the complexity of work submitted was far superior this year, and reflected an enormous overall improvement. We also saw more willingness from companies to use stainless steel as opposed to the usage of alternative metals in far more complex ways.”

National Stainless Steel Centre Customer Relations Manager Tholwana Mogowane who was also a judge comments, “I was interested to see that the mining entries revealed many operators upgrading from mild steel to 3CR12 stainless steel. This shows they now appreciate the long-term cost benefits of stainless steel as opposed to short term savings on cheaper alternatives like mild steel that has to be replaced far more often.”

She adds that the award entries also revealed that people are no longer sticking to traditional plate or coil stainless steel formats as there’s obviously increasing awareness of the fact that stainless steel can be used in a variety of formats.

Overall, Tarboton concludes, “Our aim was to boost the aspirational value of the awards by ensuring that participants saw the clear return on investment that their participation and winning provides. We’ve also embraced a more modern approach to championing stainless steel across the continent and the awards are the perfect embodiment of this.”

 

	SASSDA COLUMBUS STAINLESS STEEL AWARD WINNERS 2016
		Project
1	Student
Winner	Jacobus Petrus van Deventer	Welding Competitions
Winner	Obadele Babatunde	Development of functionally graded stainless steels for engineering applications
2	Environmental
Runner UP	Gerhard Unger	CIP Skid for CSIR
Winner	Transfrig	Truck Refrigeration System using 1000L stainless steel cryogenic vessel
3	Services
Runner Up	Formatube	Tube forming and related
Winner	Cronimet	Supplying raw material solutions to the stainless-steel melting industry
4	Welding
Merit Award	Starweld	Welding machine manufacturer
Runner Up	MAXE	Stainless Steel Automotive Accessories
Winner	ND Engineering	The ongoing development of the orbital welding technology used of the DuPont sweater Acid coolers
5	Art
Merit Award	The Matrix	Helenvale Resource Centre
Runner Up	Chris van der Vyver	Fireballs
Winner	Jacques van der Westhuizen	Sculptures
6	Catering & Hospitality
Winner	Gary i Crawford	Biltong Cutter:  Rage Biltong Cutter
7	Food & Beverage
Joint 1st Runner Up	H C Heat Exchangers	Heat exchangers for Dale Spiral Systems
Joint 1st Runner Up	Qualipak	Food and beverage conveying systems – Open Easy Clean System Design
Winner	Gerhard Unger	Manufacture, installation and commission of a 21 Wet (product) conveyors for a product process plant
8	Architecture Building & Construction
Runner Up	Excel Engineering	Stainless Steel Staircase
Winner	The Matrix	Additions & Alterations to Port Elizabeth Opera House
9	Engineering
2nd Runner Up	H C Heat Exchangers	Heat exchangers for Diesel Electric
1st Runner Up	Efficient Engineering	Modular Sub Station
Winner	ND Engineering	Ongoing development of RDA Technology
10	Duplex Stainless Steel
Winner	Styria	The use of duplex stainless steels in an application that demonstrates innovation, life cycle cost effectiveness, substitution and growth potential.
11	Ferritic Stainless Steel
2nd Runner Up	Tugela Mining & Minerals	Ferrochromium Fines Treatment Plant
Joint 1st Runner Up	Kholeka Engineering	35000lt Drinking Water Tanker
Joint 1st Runner Up	Sky Hill Heavy Engineering	Design and manufacture of municipal water storage tanks in 3CR12 instead of concrete
Winner	Efficient Engineering	Modular Sub Station
12	Manufacturing Innovation
Runner Up	ND Engineering	4 x Falling Fill Evaporator Condensers, Tongaat Hullets (Allidex Project)
Winner	Hazelton Pumps	Hippo Slurry Pump Range
	Total
13	Product Development
Runner Up	Transfig	Truck Refrigeration System using 1000L stainless steel cryogenic vessel
Winner	Anderson Engineering	Anderson Andpure Magnetic Mixer & Anderson Andpure Contramix
14	Export Achievement
2nd Runner Up	Hazelton Pumps	Hippo Slurry Pump Range
1st Runner Up	Anderson Engineering	Turnkey Projects
Winner	Welfit Oddy	Only manufacturer of tank containers in SA and second largest tank container manufacturer globally
15	Business Excellence
2nd Runner Up	Duvha Foundry	Duvha Foundry (Establishment of a Foundry)
1st Runner Up	Hazelton Pumps	Hippo Slurry Pump Range
Winner	Welfit Oddy	Welfit Oddy – Only manufacturer of tank containers in SA and second largest tank container manufacturer globally
16	Life Time Achievement
Winner	John Cluett	Contribution made on behalf of the brewing industry in SA and the development and use of stainless steel in various applications within the food & beverage industry
Winner	Diego Sella	Outstanding contribution to Sassda and the stainless steel industry
17	OVERALL WINNER
Overall Winner	Welfit Oddy	Only manufacturer of tank containers in SA and second largest tank container manufacturer globally