For most South Africans, 2016 got off to a rocky start and many, including myself, believed that things would deteriorate even further. At the beginning of January, global stock markets plummeted in a paranoid reaction to the slowdown in the Chinese economy. As a result, commodity prices collapsed with the price of crude oil dropping to below $30 per barrel; while copper and iron ore prices plumbed new lows in sympathy. This had a profound effect on some of South Africa’s most established mining houses, which resulted in many new projects being scrapped as companies scrambled to reorganise their operations. Locally, the ‘Three Finance Ministers in Four Days’ affair sent the Rand into free-fall, with the currency reaching R16.84 to the dollar in late January – and then there was Brexit.
However, despite all of the negativity around during the first quarter, things did not in fact get worse; they got better. There are still problems, but it seems as if we the people rallied together and said enough is enough, and mostly, the country is better off because of it.
Here at SA Instrumentation and Control, it has been a busy 12 months with many exciting developments and even a new publication. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) burst onto the scene amidst the blare of marketing trumpets, with tag lines like ‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution’ catching many a seasoned industrialist by surprise. To cut through all this hyperbole, we introduced a new industry guide that received compliments from many of our international peers.
At the SAIMC, Oratile Sematle in his first year as president took the Society a step closer to its goal of having automation inaugurated as the tenth official engineering discipline, as recognised by ECSA (more from Oratile in 'From the President's desk').
In amongst it all, product manager Jane van der Spuy put her formidable organisational skills to good use as a member of the team that brought the EtherCAT Technology Group back to South Africa. This highly popular series of breakfast seminars, sponsored by SA Power and Beckhoff Automation, attracted over 350 automation professionals from around the country to venues in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban (see the report in 'Ethernet on the fly is just faster').
In closure for this year, we wish all our readers and advertisers a happy and restful holiday break. Come back refreshed and ready for the challenges of 2017.
Reinstatement opportunity for ECSA registration
News
In 2023 the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) announced a special opportunity for engineers in South Africa to reinstate their registration status if it had been cancelled. This exclusive offer is available until the end of August 2024.
Read more...Groundbreaking renewable energy skills platform
News
South Africa’s renewable energy sector has taken a significant leap forward with the launch of PowerUp. A South African first, this online platform is designed to equip the country’s workforce with the skills required to meet industry demands.
Read more...Innomotics wins Platinum TITAN Brand Award for Best Corporate Rebranding
News
Innomotics has been awarded with the Platinum TITAN Brand Award for Best Corporate Rebranding. The international jury honoured Innomotics’ efforts to develop a powerful and recognisable brand after the carve-out of Innomotics from the Siemens Group in 2023.
Read more...Unlocking Africa’s hydrogen potential
News
Africa is positioning itself as a frontrunner in the global green energy revolution, with hydrogen emerging as a critical commodity of strategic and national importance across the continent. Namibia is putting ambition into action by having already reached a number of key milestones towards final investment decision on up to five projects.
Read more...Fuchs doubles sales volume
News
An aggressive growth strategy in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa over the last decade has resulted in Fuchs Lubricants South Africa achieving a CAGR of 6% in volume sold since 2015. The result of this is that sales volume has nearly doubled in this time.
Read more...High-quality sensing and automation equipment
News
The Turck Banner Demo Van is showcasing the company’s latest products and solutions.Turck Banner sells directly to end users and OEMs in a broad range of industries and applications.
Read more...From ground to compound: the journey of crude oil Wearcheck
News
You’re in for a ‘crude awakening’ when you download WearCheck’s latest Technical Bulletin. You will be treated to an in-depth explanation of the processes of producing oil, fuel and other petrochemical wonders that power our modern lifestyle.
printer friendly version