A conference to remember
January 2018
News
At the ninth annual conference of the Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association (MESA) held recently at the Black Eagle conference centre, the theme was manufacturing solutions for the digital revolution: Big MOM, big data, big results. Once again the conference hosted an array of top drawer speakers and delegates who were able to enjoy great networking opportunities as well as keeping up with the latest developments in the field. They were presented with a wide mix of new technologies and new ideas and their practical application in interesting case studies in top companies such as Lonmin, Namibia Breweries, Aerosud and Hulamin. Some examples were the use of digital twinning for proof of concept in an Aerosud project and the deployment of mobile apps and machine learning models to generate an extra R195 000 per annum in revenue on a Lonmin concentrator plant. Sponsors included Esteq, Bytes Technology, Wonderware, Schneider Electric, AM2 Systems, GE, j5 International, GE, iWorx, MES, SAIMC, AdaptIT, OSIsoft and Pimsoft.
From left: Dr Adriana Marais, head of innovation, SAP Africa and adventurer extraordinaire; Kim Roberts, editor, Technews; Daniel Spies, chairman MESA Africa; Hanli Nel, process engineer, DRA; AJ Pelser, head of group MES, Sasol.
The highlight of the conference was the presentation by quantum biology researcher, Dr Adriana Marais, who is on the shortlist to go to Mars on the Mars One project – the adventure of the century. She believes that exploration drives innovation and she had the audience spellbound with her vision of life on Mars and the potential for this project to generate new technologies which could benefit people on earth.
For more information contact Daniel Spies, MESA Africa, +27 (0)83 666 6854, chairman@mesa-africa.org, www.mesa-africa.org
Further reading:
DEKRA Industrial RSA rebrands as Raysonics Industrial
News
DEKRA Industrial RSA has announced the sale of its South African operations to Raysonics Investment, a consortium of highly experienced South African non-destructive testing (NDT) and industrial inspection professionals.
Read more...
Be part of the conversation driving industrial automation in Africa
RX Africa
News
Africa Automation Indaba 2026 brings together the engineers, technologists, policymakers and industry leaders shaping the next phase of industrial development across the continent.
Read more...
The Road to the Indaba: Jessie Ndaba and Africa’s next industrial frontier
RX Africa
News
In this edition of The Road to the Indaba, the spotlight turns to Jessie Ndaba, a dynamic business leader whose work spans manufacturing, innovation and an emerging interest in the space industry, a sector poised to redefine automation at scale.
Read more...
The Road to the Indaba: Jean-Pierre Murray-Kline on automation, inequality and sustainable progress
RX Africa
News
In this edition of The Road to the Indaba, the spotlight turns to Jean-Pierre Murray-Kline, a leading futurist and strategist whose work sits at the intersection of technology, society and sustainability.
Read more...
The Road to the Indaba: Lerato Ditshego on connecting people, ideas and Africa’s automation future
News
In this edition of The Road to the Indaba, the spotlight turns to Lerato Ditshego, the master of ceremonies for the Africa Automation Indaba 2026, whose role will be central to shaping the tone, flow and impact of the two-day programme.
Read more...
The Road to the Indaba: Mitch Ilbury on navigating Africa’s automation future through scenario planning
RX Africa
News
In this edition of The Road to the Indaba, we turn the spotlight to Mitch Ilbury, one of South Africa’s leading futurists and strategic foresight specialists, whose work focuses on helping organisations think clearly about complex and uncertain futures.
Read more...
The Road to the Indaba: Professor Thuli Madonsela and the ethics of Africa’s automation future
RX Africa
News
In this edition of The Road to the Indaba, the spotlight turns to Professor Thuli Madonsela, one of Africa’s most respected voices on ethics, leadership and social justice, and a keynote speaker at the Africa Automation Indaba 2026.
Read more...
The Road to the Indaba: Dr Devon Hagedorn-Hansen on building Africa’s automation talent pipeline
RX Africa
News
In this edition of The Road to the Indaba editorial series, Dr Devon Hagedorn-Hansen, managing director at AMT3D will address one of the most critical enablers of sustainable industrial growth - building Africa’s automation talent pipeline.
Read more...
From the Editor's desk: Under African skies
Technews Publishing (SA Instrumentation & Control)
News
There’s magic happening in the Northern Cape. I’m excited and fascinated by the story of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), just one of South Africa’s many Centres of Excellence. Our radio astronomy
...
Read more...
AfricAI secures continental rights to deploy advanced robotics platforms across Africa
News
AfricAI has signed a multi-year exclusive distribution and deployment agreement with Micropolis Robotics, granting AfricAI sole and exclusive rights to commercialise, deploy and scale Micropolis’s advanced robotics platforms across Africa.
Read more...
printer friendly version