A MULTI-MILLION RAND MANUFACTURING FACILITY BE LAUNCHED IN CAPE TOWN

A MULTI-MILLION RAND MANUFACTURING FACILITY BE LAUNCHED IN CAPE TOWN

SMA Solar Technology South Africa, the market leader for solar inverters will be officially launching their multimillion rand manufacturing facility in Cape Town on Friday, 12 December.

The facility includes a production line and quality test centre for Sunny Central inverters, warehousing as well as the African branch of the renowned SMA Solar Academy training centre.  This investment builds on SMA’s presence in South African since 2012 when the company first opened a sales and service office in Centurion, Gauteng. 

SMA made the decision to invest in local manufacturing capacity in response to the roll out of the South African Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Programme, where 1484 MW of solar PV projects have procured. By establishing this facility, SMA recognises the market potential for solar power energy generation in Africa and the opportunity to use South Africa as a base for the African continent. 

The opening of this facility welcomed by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) as part of its drive to expand the capabilities of the South African manufacturing industry and to increase the country’s industrial base.  The Green Economy has identified as a key focus area in the Department’s Industrial Policy Action Plan, and provides significant opportunities for job creation and economic growth.  This is the third renewable energy manufacturing facility, supported by the dti, to open in the last 4 months.

The Minister of the dti, Dr Rob Davies said that Trade and Investment South Africa (TISA), a division of the dti has facilitated investments to the value of R3- billion in the manufacturing of equipment and components for the renewable energy industry since 2013/2014 Financial Year.

“Investment in the Green Economy therefore contributed significantly to TISA’s 2013/14 investment pipeline of R60-billion. The current pipeline for the 2014/15 financial year is at R27-billion with a significant contribution from the Green Economy (R10bn),” said Davies.

Mr Thorsten Ronge, Managing Director of SMA South Africa said that they chose to set up their manufacturing base in Cape Town as it is close to the existing solar supply chain.  He specifically referred to the support received from the dti and TISA in particular and lauded all levels of the South African Government for their role in the success of this project.

The opening of SMA’s state of the art production facility in Cape Town once again highlights the attractiveness of South Africa as an investment destination and will contribute further to establishing the country as a hub for renewable energy and other green economy industries. the dti is proud to have supported this investment through various measures, including the reduction of red tape and advice and support on local content requirements.