JOHANNESBURG, 15 OCTOBER 2020 – The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) is pleased to announce the entrants for the sixth edition of the SEIFSA Awards for Excellence.

The Awards, which aim to promote and reward innovation and excellence in the Metals and Engineering (M&E) sector, take place at a time when the world is dealing with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic that broke out in Wuhan, China late last year and has since spread around the world, devastating lives, livelihoods and economies.

In South Africa, many businesses have had to close their doors, unable to survive the lockdown put in place to curb the spread of the virus. However, there are companies that were better placed to adjust to the new normal by recalibrating their businesses – manufacturers that refocused their production lines to making ventilators, or textiles companies that formed dedicated teams to make cloth face masks.

“The agility and innovation that were required to respond to the pandemic is precisely what we, as SEIFSA, seek to celebrate through these Awards,” SEIFSA CEO Kaizer Nyatsumba said.

Mr Nyatsumba said while this year’s entries were related to activities that took place before the pandemic started, the Award entrants had demonstrated the sort of commitment to excellence that would be needed to help drive economic recovery after the pandemic.

The finalists for the 2020 SEIFSA Awards for excellence are:

Most Innovative Company of Year

  • Hencon & Afriveyor Vacuum Technologies
  • Alos Holdings
  • Boikano Industries
  • Elgin Brown and Hammer
  • Mann Makhene Machinery
  • Centurion Systems
  • Sinter Metals
  • Matsway Steel

Health and Safety Award of the Year

  • Babcock Nthuthuko Engineering
  • Kaefer Thermal Contracting Services

Best Corporate Social Responsibility Programme of the Year

  • Beka Schreder

Most Transformed Company of the Year

  • Boardroom Appointments
  • Movidna Services
  • Pamodzi Unique Engineering
  • Trecento

The Artisan Award

  • Kgabo Cars Training & Services

In addition to these Awards categories, SEIFSA will also honour a member company with the CEO’s Award. That Award goes to a company that has fully engaged with SEIFSA and its services for the benefit of its employees.

The Awards will take place in a COVID-19 compliant ceremony on 24 November 2020 at Summer Place in Boksburg.

“We look forward to celebrating the winners of the SEIFSA Awards for Excellence and hope that the winners will inspire other companies to embrace innovation as they seek to find solutions to better serve their customers, employees and the communities in which they operate,” Mr Nyatsumba concluded.