Johannesburg, 22 March 2020 – The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) has encouraged manufacturing companies that have gone out of their way to successfully implement the necessary steps to conserve the environment to submit entries for its prestigious Excellence Awards.

SEIFSA Chief Executive Officer  Nyatsumba said  companies have a responsibility to do everything possible to ensure that they not only use the earth’s natural resources in their pursuits of profit, but also that they continuously rehabilitate and restore the environment to its natural form in order to preserve it for the generations to come. He said the  SEIFSA Awards for Excellence, launched in 2015, celebrate companies which take seriously the ecological challenges that confront the world today and put in place essential measures to ensure that the natural environment is conserved.

Mr Nyatsumba said that the Environmental Stewardship Award will go to a company that has successfully implemented greening initiatives in its day-to-day business operations between July 2018 and December 2019.

Other awards that form the seven categories of the SEIFSA Awards for Excellence are:

  • The Most Innovative Company of the Year, which will be awarded to a company that showed the best level of innovation in research and development or production;
  • The Most Transformed Company of the Year Award will be received by a company that showed the highest transformation level in the composition of its Board of Directors, Executive Management and Managerial Team (this award category pits companies employing fewer than 100 people against those of similar size, and companies employing more than 100 companies against others of similar size);
  • The Best CSI Award will be presented to a company whose corporate social investment programme/s had a major impact on the lives of its beneficiaries.
  • The company rated the highest in customer service performance between July 2018 and December 2019 will receive the Customer Service Award of the Year;
  • An award will be made to the company that trained the highest number of artisans between July 2018 and December 2019;
  • The Health and Safety Award of the Year will be awarded to a company with the best legal compliance record in Health and Safety or the lowest Lost-Time Injury Frequency rate within the same period.

Mr Nyatsumba encouraged manufacturers operating in the metals and engineering sector to submit their entries for the seven categories before the deadline date of 28 April 2020.

The Awards are open to all companies in the metals and engineering sector, and not only those that are members of Associations affiliated to SEIFSA. Awards winners will be honoured at a ceremony that will take place at Summer Place in Boksburg on 28 May 2020.

SEIFSA is a National Federation representing 21 independent employer Associations in the metals and engineering industries, with a combined membership of 1600 companies employing around 200 000 employees. The Federation was formed in 1943 and its member companies range from giant steel-making corporations to micro-enterprises employing fewer than 50 people.350