Reflecting its ethos of being ‘passionate about excellence’, Malben Engineering, a pioneering industry trailblazer in the ongoing drive towards sustainable manufacturing in the automotive sector and MIBCO (Motor Industry Bargaining Council) member, has recently been announced as the winner of the Environmental Stewardship category in the SEIFSA Awards For Excellence.
A national federation representing 16 independent employer associations in the metal and engineering industries – with a combined membership of over 1 300 companies employing over 170 000 people – SEIFSA created the Awards For Excellence to honour the brightest and best in the metals and engineering sector. The Awards not only recognise the talent within organisations, but also companies which champion excellence in the face of industry challenges.
Malben Engineering, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, is a Level 4 BBBEE supplier of stampings and welding components to local vehicle original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and other sectors such as mining and construction. The company is also South Africa’s first automotive component manufacturer to trial ‘green’, low-carbon steel, and recently scored an impressive 98% in an international Responsible Supply Chain Initiative (RSCI) supply chain audit initiated by Ford – the highest score ever achieved by a local supplier and another ‘first’ in South Africa.
Malben Engineering’s Operational Director Luca Smargiasso, notes that the increasing demand for green steel – and the ultimate decarbonisation of the local steel supply chain – will be game-changers for South Africa’s steel and automotive sectors.
“The SEIFSA Environmental award is dedicated to our founder Amerigo Smargiasso, for his inspirational leadership over the past 5 decades, and to our partners in the green steel venture. These are leading German steel and technology group Salzgitter AG and their local representative United Steel Services, which supplied the green steel; and local value-adding steel processor and merchant Allied Steelrode, which facilitated the sourcing and importation thereof.
“Malben Engineering is proud to be at the forefront of the sustainability evolution in South Africa, and see this award as another demonstration of our passion for supplying world-class product. Through agile decision-making and authentic, people-centric values, we are furthermore passionate about innovation and new technologies,” he says.
As such, environmental and sustainability imperatives remain at the core of the company’s operations.
“We would also like to thank our management and staff for their enthusiastic hard work and dedication in establishing, maintaining and continually improving our quality and environmental management systems. These focus on productivity and efficiency, minimising waste and pollution, optimising natural resources and ensuring that we have the flexibility to adapt to the changing needs of our sector and our customers,” Smargiasso concludes.
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Pam Golding – Pam Golding formed Pam Golding Properties in 1976 and turned it into the largest estate agency in the country. Her company has since gone onto transform the luxury residential landscape in South Africa, especially in Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard.