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WHO Africa calls for more monkeypox diagnostics as cases rise

By: Bloomberg 30th June 2022 Better African surveillance and laboratory diagnosis to detect monkeypox is needed to stop a silent spread of the virus, both the World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said. “If you’re able to control the spread of monkeypox from the source,... →

Sasol signs agreement with aircraft company to develop sustainable aviation fuels

By: Rebecca Campbell 23rd June 2022 South African chemicals and energy company Sasol signed, on Wednesday, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with German aircraft manufacturer Deutsche Aircraft, on developing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) technology. The MoU is specifically focused on the development of technologies for green... →

Roche reveals compact molecular diagnostics system

22nd June 2022 Pharmaceuticals and medical diagnostics technology company Roche has unveiled its new compact molecular diagnostics system, which is geared towards improving access to medical diagnostics capabilities across Africa and elsewhere around the world. Darren Parker tells us more. →

Roche reveals compact molecular diagnostics system

Labat says first cannabis clinical trial on use for pain management in South Africa under way

By: Schalk Burger 21st June 2022 JSE-listed cannabis products company Labat says it has started South Africa’s first ethically-approved cannabis clinical trial – the Pharma Ethics Observational Study. The Biodata research project will test whether cannabis can replace opioids in the management of chronic pain. The study will... →

Omnia declares R1.4bn dividend, boasts 123% growth in operating profit

By: Marleny Arnoldi 20th June 2022 JSE-listed chemicals manufacturing group Omnia Holdings experienced favourable market conditions in the agriculture and mining sectors in the financial year ended March 31, including high commodity prices, which helped boost its operating profit by 123% year-on-year to R1.7-billion. The board... →

Incoming Omnia chairperson Tina Eboka

Government, producers and labour welcome WTO vaccine decision

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 20th June 2022 The South African government, local vaccine manufacturers and organised labour have welcomed the agreement secured at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) last week to support the production of Covid-19 vaccines in developing countries. The agreement allows governments to authorise local... →

World Bank approves R7.6bn loan to boost vaccination drive

By: Donna Slater 14th June 2022 Following a request by the South African government for assistance in financing vaccine procurement contracts, the World Bank Group, on June 13, approved a R7.6-billion ($480-million) loan for South Africa’s Covid-19 Emergency Response Project. The project will retroactively finance the... →

The R7.6-billion loan will help accelerate vaccine deployment in South Africa

Online portal launched to guide clients

10th June 2022 Last month, protective powder coating and paint manufacturer AkzoNobel Powder Coatings launched a dedicated site to showcase its functional range of Resicoat powder coatings. AkzoNobel created the new dedicated microsite and resource centre for customers and specifiers of functional powder... →

A photo of the AzkoNobel head office taken from the bottom looking up

HOME PAGE AzkoNobel has launched a dedicated website to showcase its functional range of Resicoat powder coatings

S African coatings event well attended

By: Halima Frost 10th June 2022 This year’s Coatings for Africa 2022 conference, organised by global events organiser DMG Events, was held at the Sandton Convention Centre, in Gauteng, from May 4 to 6. The event was hosted by multinational coatings industry representatives The Coatings Group and supported by industry bodies... →

A man standing at a podium speaking on the topic of coatings and paint development at teh Coatings for Africa 2022 expo held in Sandton last month

HOT TOPIC The Coatings for Africa event was held in Sandton last month after a four year haitus

Push for education in manufacturing

By: Halima Frost 10th June 2022 Owing to a continued lack of understanding of the concept of tribology and its importance, the South African Institute of Tribology (SAIT) remains a firm advocate of the need for tribology education in the manufacturing sector. Tribology is the study of friction and wear, where two surfaces... →

A metal component that can be seen with deep grooves in it caused by frictional wear

WEAR OH WEAR The South African Institute of Tribology explains that tribology is the study of friction and wear, where two surfaces moving over one another cause friction

Company produces over 1Mt of corrosion resistant steel

By: Halima Frost 10th June 2022 Stainless steel manufacturer Columbus Stainless, based in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, says that it has produced more than one-million tons of its 3CR12 chromium-containing corrosion-resistant stainless steel for a variety of applications for local and international clients. 3CR12 is a locally... →

A stainless steel 3CR12 exhaust pipe laying among a group of rusted metal exhaust pipes with a small seedling growing n front of it

SHINING LIGHT The notable corrosion resistance of Columbus Stainless's 3CR12 improve on cost of ownership and product longevity

Company receives a Queen’s Award

10th June 2022 Combustion management solutions provider Autoflame Engineering is delighted to announce that the company has been honoured with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category. →

Omnia to report at least 70% higher HEPS for FY22

By: Marleny Arnoldi 7th June 2022 JSE-listed chemicals manufacturing group Omnia expects to report a year-on-year increase of between 70% and 90% in headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the financial year ended March 31. HEPS are expected to be between R6.39 and R7.14, compared with the R3.76 posted in the prior financial... →

Manufacturing firm welcomes project successes

By: Yvonne Silaule 3rd June 2022 Black industrialist firm Dalisu Holdings believes it will make a notable contribution to South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) with its sulphate purifying factory, in Mkhondo, Mpumalanga. Dalisu produces 99.5% purified sodium sulphate. Its target is to produce about 30 000 t/y of highly... →

ESG trends pose potential for Africa’s chemicals sector

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 23rd May 2022 Global trends indicate that the chemicals sector is increasingly being driven by environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations and that decarbonisation is often a key rationale behind investments and divestments in the sector, except for Africa, where investments understandably lagged... →

Need for fire-related event realised

By: Halima Frost 20th May 2022 Event organisers Specialised Exhibitions’ inaugural Firexpo South Africa 2022 will highlight the services and products of local suppliers in the fire prevention and protection sector to visitors. The event will be hosted from May 31 to June 2 at the Gallagher Convention Centre, in Midrand, Gauteng. →

A picture of two gentlemen shaking hands at a branded stand at an event hosted by event organizer Specialised Exhibitions

FACE TIME The inaugural FireExpo 2022 will be held at the Gallagher Convention Centre and is one of the first in person expo's being held in over two years

Supplier provides innovative cleaning method

By: Cameron Mackay 20th May 2022 Cleaning chemicals supplier O3 Chemicals has developed two cleaning chemicals specifically for heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) equipment, the first of which is called Smart Air, and the second Smart Finish. The chemicals are designed to remove mould and bacteria... →

EFFECTIVE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Previously, facility management companies would have no way of measuring the work done by contractors to meet service level agreements

Fire protection foam dosing system on offer

By: Halima Frost 20th May 2022 Fire protection equipment supplier DoseTech offers its FireDos fire protection foam dosing technology, known as proportioners, to the South African fire prevention and firefighting market. The company explains that foam is the only way to effectively fight certain fire scenarios. →

A large fire fighting nozzle which is fitted with a Dosetech Fire Dos proportioner which mixes air water and foam agent to effectively fight fires.

IN THE MIX Dosetech's Firedos proportioners offer the perfect mix of water air and foam agent to fight fires successfully

When Africans asked for Covid shots, they didn't get them. Now they don't want them

By: Reuters 18th May 2022 It's noisy inside the Mamprobi clinic in Accra as kids clamber over their mothers while they wait to get their measles vaccines. Outside, an area reserved for Covid-19 shots is empty. A health worker leans back in his chair and scrolls on a tablet. One woman, waiting to get her daughter... →

Aspen’s Covid flop bodes ill for Africa’s vaccine making drive

By: Bloomberg 18th May 2022 Africa’s drive to set up a vaccine industry after being left at the back of the queue in the global scramble for Covid-19 shots has stumbled at the first hurdle. As the omicron variant was spreading through South Africa late last year, the continent’s biggest pharmaceutical company was... →

Covid-19 vaccine vials at Aspen's manufacturing plant in South Africa

IFC partners with Rameda to ‘green’ its pharmaceutical business in Egypt

By: Donna Slater 17th May 2022 The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is partnering with Egypt-based pharmaceutical producer Rameda, to support the company’s strategy to “green” its operations and improve its production efficiencies to boost the company’s productivity. Through the partnership, the IFC will help Rameda –... →

Fuchs launches new head office, warehouse in Isando

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 16th May 2022 Independent lubricant manufacturer Fuchs Lubricants South Africa on May 13 officially launched its newly built head office and warehouse in Isando, Johannesburg. The company has invested over R250-million in the expansion at its existing location, noting that this came in the wake of it rapid... →

An image showing the exterior of the Fuchs office building

Photo by Creamer Media's Tasneem Bulbulia
Office exterior

AECI invests R505m in US growth projects

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 16th May 2022 South African chemicals group AECI is investing $31-million, or about R505-million, in two strategic growth projects that are expected to double the profitability of AECI Schirm USA on an ongoing basis moving forward. The investments build on AECI Schirm USA’s growth trajectory of the last two... →

Pfizer’s African Covid shots plan threatened by low demand

By: Bloomberg 12th May 2022 Plans to produce Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine in Cape Town may be scaled back because of waning demand for the shots, according to the head of the company’s South African manufacturing partner. About 100 million doses a year are slated to be packaged and filled at a plant controlled by the BioVac... →

Industrial software professionals engage during technical streams at conference

By: Schalk Burger 11th May 2022 The Industry Software Solutions and Support (IS3) X-Change User Conference, aimed at providing the attending industrial software professionals with technical overviews and insights into industrial automation solutions and processes, saw the professionals get detailed updates on various industrial... →

Aspen to slash Covid vaccine capacity within 6 weeks if no orders - CEO

By: Reuters 5th May 2022 Aspen Pharmacare will switch about half of its Covid-19 vaccine production capacity onto other products if demand doesn't pick up within six weeks, its CEO warned, as South Africa's president and health officials urged more Africans to take up the shots. Aspen completed a deal in March to... →

Africa CDC urges Covid-19 vaccine buyers to order from S Africa's Aspen

By: Reuters 5th May 2022 Africa's top public health body urged all those purchasing Covid-19 vaccines for the continent to place orders with South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare, saying the market was key to developing vaccine manufacturing on the continent. The Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said it was... →

Aspen Covid-19 vaccine plant risks closure after no orders-executive

By: Reuters 3rd May 2022 Africa's first Covid-19 vaccination plant, touted last year as a trailblazer for an under-vaccinated continent frustrated by sluggish Western handouts, risks shutting down after receiving not a single order, a company executive said on Saturday. South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare negotiated a... →

Sasol opens 2023 engineering, science degree bursary programme

By: Schalk Burger 29th April 2022 Chemical and energy multinational Sasol says applications for its corporate bursary programme for the 2023 academic year are now open to high-performing mathematics and science learners currently in Grade 12, who are invited to apply for an all-inclusive bursary to study engineering and science... →

UPL proposes releasing contaminated water into South African sea

By: Bloomberg 29th April 2022 UPL has proposed releasing water contaminated by a pesticides spill in the eastern South African city of Durban into the sea or municipal sewers. While the Indian agro-chemical firm said experts it contracted have since late 2021 deemed the water fit for disposal using these methods, the city... →

Ramaphosa stresses urgency of African countries cooperating to manufacture Covid-19 vaccines

By: Thabi Madiba 28th April 2022 President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday explained that it was urgent that African countries cooperate to manufacture their own vaccines, and strengthen their own health systems so that these vaccines reach the people who need them most. Ramaphosa was speaking during the official talks on the... →

Photo by GCIS
President Cyril Ramaphosa

Sasol benefits from higher prices, warns of impact of KZN floods on Q4 production

By: Marleny Arnoldi 25th April 2022 JSE-listed petrochemicals giant Sasol says its financial performance for the nine months ended March 31 was underpinned by a favourable macroeconomic environment, with a higher crude oil price, refining margins and chemicals prices. The higher price were driven by prevailing geopolitical... →

I-DAIR hub to boost digital health innovation locally

By: Tracy Hancock 22nd April 2022 While South Africa is leading the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in Southern Africa, the level of technological advancement in the local medical sector is low, with only some innovation and recognition of its positive use cases. It is hoped that the establishment of an International Digital... →

LEADING THE WAY UJ has positioned itself as a Fourth Industrial Revolution-focused university and has been appointed as the lead of the International Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence Research Collaborative hub in South Africa

Pesticides, batteries and lubricants producer responsibility consultation process starts

By: Schalk Burger 20th April 2022 Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy has started a consultation process with regard to the requirement of the pesticides, batteries and lubricant oils sectors to implement extended producer responsibility (EPR) measures. “All producers of the identified products must... →

Sasol donates R7.5m towards flood relief efforts in KwaZulu-Natal

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 19th April 2022 Integrated chemicals company Sasol is donating R7.5-million to support emergency relief efforts in KwaZulu-Natal, following the floods that have resulted in considerable loss of life and damage to property and infrastructure. Sasol human resources and stakeholder relations executive VP Charlotte... →

New revolutionary glaucoma treatment developed in South Africa

By: Darren Parker 13th April 2022 South African medical innovation company Liqid Medical has designed a novel ocular implant called the OptiShunt that uses a simple concept to revolutionise the treatment of glaucoma. The development of the OptiShunt was funded and supported by the Health Unit of the Technology Innovation Agency... →

Sasol joins consortium to pursue carbon dioxide conversion to aviation fuel

By: Donna Slater 13th April 2022 Chemicals and energy company Sasol has joined an international consortium of industrial and academic project partners, known as Concrete Chemicals, in an effort to combine its technical knowledge with cement producer Cemex and renewable energy company Enertrag. Concrete Chemicals is focussed on... →

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Anton Paar’s Refractometer series: Abbemat 3X00. High-tech in a nutshell

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