It’s the final quarter of 2025 − a year that has flown by. It seems like just yesterday we were saying goodbye to 2024. The world seems to have had its own set of challenges throughout 2025, such as war in Gaza, Ukraine and Russia, global tariffs by the USA, and what seems to be, the ever-rising Chinese market putting pressure on traditional European and American OEMs, all with a trickle-down effect on South Africa.
With instability, the economists seem to take refuge in commodities, specifically gold, which we saw reach an all-time high. Hopefully, a rallying of mineral prices should promote mining in South Africa, and possible regeneration of various mineral-related projects and expansions. Hopefully, the South African government can see the value in mineral beneficiation technology and keep processing plants, such as Arcelor Mittal, active for years to come.
It has been sad to see the closure of the Goodyear plant in Kariega citing cheaper imports − the end of an era. Unfortunately, it is not only the employees of the company that are without work, but also a larger supply chain of engineered goods that also feels the pain of a large manufacturer shutting down.
Globally there has been a reduction in the need for low-skilled workers, with Amazon retrenching 14 000 employees, and similar cuts are expected from large firms that are embracing AI technology to fulfil medial tasks. Therefore, there should be a drive globally to upskill individuals to ensure sustainable employment in the future.
SAFPA Council has been investigating the role of education within the fluid power sector, a topic that has been on every council meeting agenda for more than the past 10 years. Unfortunately, it seems that the avenues that we investigated previously, such as a SAQA-recognised NQF fluid power qualification, will not be a possibility in the near future. After many interactions with the SAQA body and countless hours spent by council members to have the training material and modulates registered, it just seems as if there is not enough uptake by students to keep this registration going. Therefore, the council has decided to not pursue the registration of a NQF qualification for now, until there is more demand for a course of this nature or the SAQA body makes it easier for courses to be registered and moderated in the future.
However, SAFPA has been looking at more specific training around industry standards, such as ISO, SANS and EN numbers, to offer members a more compliance-based training on how to go about offering products and services within the fluid power industry in line with international and local standards and best practices. Complying with these standards should ensure your product and service offering meets with safety protocols, codes and quality standards, therefore raising the level of competence within the fluid power industry.
An ongoing project is pressure vessels and local SANS and PER compliance. The council has been meeting with the head of the SABS pressure vessel council and discussing topics around various components that are subject to pressure equipment regulations in South Africa. Many areas that were considered to be grey areas of compliance have been discussed at length. The final goal from these meetings is twofold. The first is to supply the membership bodies with a summary of the compliance of components in the fluid power industry, and the processes and standards to be followed with regard to these products. Secondly, the Pressure Equipment Regulation guidance notes are due for issue within 2026. The council’s feedback to SABS will allow them to include various descriptive bodies to ensure there is no misunderstanding of the regulations going forward.
We also have some upcoming SAFPA events in the pipeline, the Soccer Day and the Cycle Race. These events are always well attended, and we look forward to seeing you all there.
Have a safe and relaxing festive season.
Dustin Pereira
| Tel: | +27 11 061 5000 |
| Fax: | 086 589 2158 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.safpa.org.za |
| Articles: | More information and articles about SA Fluid Power Association (SAFPA) |
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