Car makers save jobs

A group of South African car-part makers have switched their focus to the local production of breathing aids, a move to help the country’s
health system and protect jobs threatened by the Covid-19 crisis.

Shocked by images of virus-ravaged Italian hospitals earlier this year, the collective – which includes engineers and doctors as well as businessmen – decided to use South Africa’s initial hard lockdown to help address a shortage of ventilators.

After studying the country’s specific needs, they began developing a non-invasive breathing device that had proved effective in countries such as the UK and doesn’t require specialist intensive-care beds or staff.

“The idea was to help South Africa and to keep our guys employed,” Graham Ellett, a director at Reef Engineering, said at a factory north of Pretoria which is now assembling the Constant Positive Airway Pressure devices, or C-PAPs.

“We weren’t going to make any serious money out of this but at least we could pay for materials and cover overheads.”

The upshot is a R37.4 million contract to supply 2,000 devices to South Africa’s virus-response fund, according to project leader Justin Corbett, who also runs Rand York Castings.

With demand for car parts in Africa’s biggest auto producer below pre-virus levels, SAVE-P saved about 350 jobs and created 35 more across its 14 organisation members, Ellett said.

SAVE-P isn’t the only South African group to have switched to producing personal protective and medical equipment from their core business.

The local unit of CGI Creative Graphics International, which specialises in the design and production of automotive graphics and branding products, has sold more than 250,000 face shields to its customers as well as hospital groups.

That allowed the firm to keep about a fifth of staff at work during the strictest lockdown period and it has since shifted to making disposable hospital gowns, fabric face masks and plastic counter screens, managing director Shaun Rosenstein said.

More permanent local production of medical equipment could bolster the manufacturing industry.

The department of trade, industry and competition is looking to formalise a so-called master plan for the local production of medical goods, said Tebogo Makube, its chief director of industrial procurement.

It could have a draft strategy ready within four to six months, he said.