TASA Gauteng Annual General Meeting – 19^th January 2012

The “New” TASA in Gauteng, with Bevin Davis as chairman and Henk Snyman as the TASA secretary is now two years old.

The TASA Articles of Association stipulatethat a new chairman must be chosen annually for the Gauteng Region. In terms of the rotation policy the Gauteng Chairman is also going to be the National TASA Chairman, and it is therefore important that TASA members in Gauteng make use of this opportunity to choose a chairman that will lead TASA for the next year.

This important event requires that we follow the Constitution to the letter. Therefore the following formal announcements:

1. The AGM for 2011/2012 will now take place on 19^thJanuary 2012 at 2:30 p.m. at The Plastics Federation Offices, 18 Gazelle Avenue, Corporate Park, Midrand.

2. At that AGM, the period of service of the current chairman and office bearers is automatically terminated. A new chairman and office bearers will be elected during the duly constituted AGM by eligible, paid up TASA Gauteng members.

3. The Constitution stipulates that the AGM needs to be announced six weeks before the actual meeting date. Moving the meeting to the 19^thJanuary 2012 allows for this provision.

4. Eligible TASA members wishing to make themselves available for the position of Chairman, Vice Chairman and Office Bearers of TASA Gauteng, are requested to submit their names to the TASA Secretary, Henk Snyman, before or on the date of the AGM. Alternatively, nominations can be made at the meeting at which time candidates need to be able to prove at the meeting that he / she is a TASA member in good standing.

5. A maximum number of nine office bearers (including chairman and vice chairman) can be chosen at the AGM.

6. There is no remuneration attached to the position of any of the office bearers.

7. The office bearers are also ex officio directors of the Gauteng Tooling Initiative - also a pro bono position.

At the meeting the outgoing chairman will presenthis annual report on the activities of TASA and its subsidiaries over the last year. The chairman will answer questions from the floor. An agenda for the meeting will be distributed later.

The position of TASA secretary is an ex officioappointment. The structure is such that the CEO of the Regional Tooling Initiative, in this case the CEO of the Gauteng Tooling Initiative, fulfils the role of secretary.

Members are encouraged to attend the meeting as the office bearers that will be chosen will directly influence the strategy and the visual success of the organisation in all of South Africa.

Henk Snyman

Secretary: TASA Gauteng

18^th November 2011

AFRIMOLD - ONLY FIVE WORKING DAYS LEFT ! ! !

Just a reminder about the upcoming AfriMold Exhibition and TDM Conference at the Sandton Convention Centre, 27th - 29th September 2011.


The programme for the Tool & Die Making Conference running concurrently to the Exhibition is one easy click away on the AfriMold website link: www.afrimold.co.za


We believe that the information that will be made available at the Conference will be essential knowledge for everyone involved in the TDM Industry, and is not to be missed.


Some of the interesting topics for discussion will be:

• The competitive position of the South African TDM Industry
• The achievements of the National Tooling Initiative Programme (NTIP) to date 
• Activities of the Regional Tooling Initiatives (RTI) 
• The results of the Benchmarking process jointly undertaken by the Universities of Aachen (Germany) and Stellenbosch among thirty participating tooling companies nationally. This process compares the achievements of local Tooling Companies with International standards and the results are expected to be hugely informative.

.........Plus a range of exciting and interesting Topical Technical Topics!!!

TOOLING MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY INVESTS MILLIONS IN CAD/CAM TRAINING

The private sector has announced that it is to invest millions of Rands in training  in the tool, die and mould making industry to enable the local industry to obtain a significant part of the tooling contracts  worth  billions currently outsourced overseas annually. This is due to a lack of capacity in South Africa. The Toolmaking Association of South Africa (TASA)’s implementation agency, the NTIP (National Tooling Initiative Program),  have signed an agreement with Machine Simulation SA, for the supply of advanced Dassault Systemes Europe training software to the tooling manufacturing industry.

The software supplied to NTIP for use in the apprenticeship program would have cost several million of Rands if it was bought on the open market. Thus Machine Tool Simulation’s supply of the software amounts to a private sector investment of millions in training in the SA tooling industry.

GTI CEO, Henk Snyman says the tooling manufacturing industry needs to have state of the art electronic and computer aided design content as part of the industry’s curriculum to meet global and international standards. “TASA’s National Tooling Initiative Programme (NTIP) chose Dassault Systemes Catia for the local training curriculum to equip students with skills in 2D and 3D drawings, solids, CNC CAD/CAM, core  and cavity design and functional moulded part design because of the comprehensive training suite offered by the Catia educational solution” Snyman says.

Dassault Systemes’ portfolio of products is rated as the global standard in industry, as it offers a full “end to end” product lifecycle management solution (PLM) - from concept to design and simulation to manufacturing. The software is supplied by Jim Plester of Machine Simulation SA and is supported by Dassault Systemes Europe. Plester says it is critically important for South Africa to develop a proper manufacturing base. “This agreement will enhance job creation as it will enable the industry to improve training and skills development. Local companies will benefit from the extended pool of trained artisans, proficient in the industry standard CAD/CAM solution. Machine Simulation SA as an industry partner is very keen to see this happening”, Plester says.

Snyman has expressed his sincere thanks to Machine Simulation SA for the company’s contribution to training in the tooling manufacturing industry and it’s commitment to the industry and TASA/GTI projects.

TASA members are offered a discount on Dassault Systemes & C G Tech software solutions. Please contact Henk Snyman of TASA at 012 663 9413 or Jim Plester of Machine Simulation SA on 011 021 0616.

The Toolmaking Association of South Africa (TASA)’s implementation agency, the NTIP (National Tooling Initiative Programme),  has signed an agreement with Machine Simulation SA, for the supply of advanced Dassault Systemes Europe training software to the tooling manufacturing industry.

At the handing-over ceremony of the training software were: Henk Snyman (CEO - Gauteng Tooling Initiative), Emma Whitehead (Channel Sales Manager -  Machine Simulation SA), Herman Pienaar (Programme Manager – Curriculum – National Tooling Initiative Programme (NTIP), Linda Coetzer (Curriculum Administrator - NTIP), Jim Plester (Machine Simulation SA) and Dirk van Dyk (CEO - NTIP)

Also see: Shortage of tool makers hits manufacturing sector - Business Day Article, 13 July 2011. http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=148227

Potential opportunity for TASA members to participate in the SA Nuclear Capability Survey

As you might be aware, a portion of South Africa’s future electrical energy requirements will  be derived from nuclear power stations.

There is a drive to procure and build a significant portion of these plants locally.

During our engagement with UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organisation) we have identified a potential opportunity for TASA members to participate in the SA Nuclear Capability Survey.

The UNIDO SPX Programme is compiling a national data base of potential suppliers of general equipment as indicated on the attached sheet.

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This will indicate the local supplier capacity to the Nuclear Programme which presents an exciting future opportunity to TASA members.

We urge you to complete the attached spreadsheet to get your organisation and its abilities registered on the UNIDI SPX Programme database, if you feel this is part of your company’s future strategy.  

To submit your company’s information, please click on the link http://www.unido-spx.co.za/?p=927 and complete the Nuclear Supplier Capability BOM spread sheet as soon as possible.

SOUTH AFRICAN TOOLMAKING COMPANIES ASSISTED TO BECOME WORLD CLASS

South African toolmakers invited to participate in global benchmarking 

programme

The Gauteng Tooling Initiative (GTI) and the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP)  have signed a funding agreement of R1.6 million that will enable a number of Gauteng tooling companies to participate in a benchmarking and re-engineering programme, aimed at enhancing their international competitiveness.  

Henk Snyman, CEO of GTI, says the benchmarking and intervention programme is being conducted and supported by the German Fraunhofer Institute and the University of Aachen.  Participating tooling companies in South Africa will benefit significantly from inclusion in this international tooling company benchmarking database.

The Toolmaking Association of SA (TASA) is currently incubating a cluster of toolmaking companies to service the tooling requirements of the automotive sector. “The toolmaking requirement in the automotive sector is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of rands per year”, Snyman says. “The companies participating in this program will therefore position themselves to participate and become credible and respected players in this huge toolmaking market as part of the Automotive Tooling Cluster”.

The total company intervention and development exercise is to be conducted in phases. The programme starts with benchmarking against similar international companies, a gap analysis, and developing a strategy and business plan for each  participating entity. This will be followed by an intervention plan for each company that will include assistance to access the various support grants, loans and recapitalisation programmes currently available.

Snyman extended an open invitation to the toolmaking fraternity to grab this opportunity to participate in the programme and to share in the huge tool supply market opening up in South Africa, especially in the automotive sector.

For more information contact Henk Snyman at henks@gtiweb.co.za, www.tasa-gauteng.blogspot.com or call 012-6633756

Picture caption:

The Gauteng Tooling Initiative (GTI) and the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP)  have signed a funding agreement to enable local tooling companies to participate in a benchmarking and re-engineering programme to enhance their international competitiveness.  At the signing ceremony were Henk Snyman, CEO of GTI (left) and Mpumelelo Ndebele, Manager: Partnerships in the Office of the CEO of GEP. 

The NTIP (National tooling Initiative Programme) in conjunction with TASA (Tool Association of South-Africa) are in a process of setting up the curriculum for Toolmaker training in South Africa.  We require subject specialists from the industry to participate and assist in developing course materials regarding the following specialties.

1. Metrology
2.  Metallurgy (Heat Treatment)
3.  Hydraulics/Pneumatics
4.  Press Tool Design/Forming
5.  Plastic Die Casting
6.  Blow Moulding
7.  Injection Moulding
8.  EDM Wire (Conventional)
9.  EDM Wire (CNC)
10.  EDM Plunge (Conventional)
11.  EDM Plunge (CNC)
12.  Laser Machining
13.  Welding (Advanced)
14.   CNC Machining (Advanced)
15.  CMM
16.  Mechatronics
17.  PLC’s

The whole purpose of the programme is to assist the industry. Your input and cooperation will be highly appreciated.  Interested applicants please contact Herman Pienaar hermanp@ntipweb.co.za or lindac@ntipweb.co.za  / 012 663 9413.  

TASA Toolmaking Apprentices have Best Lecturers in the World!

NIMS (National Institute of Metalworking skills) is a National Institute in Washington U.S.A and the institute that is used to set the exams for our South African TDM students.

NIMS USA selects the top ten performing Lecturers each year internationally with respect to their credential achievements – that is the results that their students achieve.

TASA/NTIP is proud to announce that one of the TDM Empowered Programme lecturers, Mr. Darryl Ebraim from Lephalale FET College has been selected as one of the top ten lecturers in the world for foundation level toolmaking.

The above mentioned lecturer is going to receive an award for his achievement. The TDM Powered pre-apprenticeship programme has 270 students in Gauteng.

In Gauteng the TDM Powered Programme is currently offered at Ekurhuleni East FET in Kwa-Thema, Denel Technical Academy in Kempton Park, Tshwane South FET College in Pretoria West and South West Gauteng FET College Molapo Campus in Soweto.

The fact that one of our TDM lecturers has been selected for the NIMS Global award confirms that the TDM Powered Programme is world class.

Again Congratulations to Mr. Darryl Ebraim on his outstanding achievement!

Successful TASA Annual General Meeting held in Midrand

On Thursday the 18^th November 2010, about 50 TASA members, stakeholders and other interested parties descended on the head office of the Plastics Federation of South Africa in Midrand for the Annual General Meeting of the Toolmaking Association of South Africa (Gauteng Region).

This well attended meeting clearly illustrated the renewed interest in the TDM industry by industry members and stakeholders alike, fuelled by the activities of the National Tooling Initiative Programme (NTIP) and the Gauteng Tooling Initiative (GTI) over the past year.

The purpose of the meeting was to report back to its constituency and stakeholders on TASA activities and developments over the past year, to put forward plans for 2011 and equally important, to elect office bearers for 2011 in the form of a new chairman and TASA Executive Committee. This Exco also forms the Board of Directors of the Gauteng Tooling Initiative for the next year, in terms of the TASA Constitution and the Articles of Association of the GTI.

Mr Bevan Davis, the outgoing Chairman, presented the Annual Report on the activities of TASA, which was extremely well received by all in attendance. In addition, a corporate video on the activities of TASA as well as a short excerpt on some of the training activities related to the NTIP training of new artisans for the TDM industry was shown.       

Mr Bevan Davis was unanimously re-elected as Chairman, whilst Messrs Ron MacLarty, Peter Hoffman, Peter Phillips, Rudi Leimlehner, and Mickey Scheepers were nominated before the meeting, accepted their nominations and were hence unanimously elected as the Executive Committee of TASA and therefore also as the Board of the GTI. 

During discussions and comments invited from the floor, a number of commentators congratulated the participants in the rejuvenation process of the TDM industry on the success of their efforts so far and wished them well for the future. The support of amongst others the JCCI-Youth was expressed and all possible assistance and support from that quarter was pledged.

         Mr Bevan Davis presenting the Chairman’s address

Despite the early successes, everyone present realised that the rejuvenation process of the TDM industry was still in its infancy. Early indications were extremely positive. A general feeling of positivism for the future of the TDM industry in South Africa and the contribution that it can make to the manufacturing industry and the South African economy at large, was shared by all those present.

The Executive Committee of TASA for 2011

What to do for 2011??

GAUTENG STUDENTS COMPLETE TDM PRE-APPRENTICESHIP ORIENTATION PILOT PROGRAMME

The first group of 40 students who have participated in the 2010 TDM Powered Pre-Apprenticeship Pilot Programme have successfully completed their studies. The pilot programme was introduced at at two training institutions in Gauteng, February 2010.

• Ekurhuleni East FET College (Kwa-Thema Campus)
• South West Gauteng FET College (Soweto)  

South West Gauteng FET College (Soweto) The students successfully completed two semesters of academic and workshop and training at the FET’s. The Final semester of their pre-apprenticeship training was done in industry. A Graduation ceremony will be held for the Students in Feb/March 2011.

The 40 students all qualify to enter the first year apprenticeship program. In Gauteng this apprenticeship program starts on the 7^th February at the Following Campuses’:

1. Soweto
2. Kempton Park
3. Rosslyn
4. Pretoria

A total of 270 Tool and Die Making Apprentices start their studies on Monday 7^th February. 

We wish them all the best with their studies for 2011.

Henk Snyman

TASA Secretary

Gauteng

For more information please refer www.tdmpowered.co.za