In this issue of Sunday Times Manufacturing, we look at innovations – from new technologies to pivoting business models.
Read what the textiles, automotive and tyre industries are doing to grow and recover (pages 10, 27 and 33 respectively) and what innovations are necessary for SA to take full advantage of our position as a top manganese producer in the rapidly growing lithium-ion battery market (page 32).
If you’ve ever slept on a lumpy mattress, you can appreciate how important innovations in this field are (page 38), while smarter diaper tech takes the spotlight on page 52.
While the Forestry Master Plan proposes the allocation of more hectares of land to forestry across Mpumalanga, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape by 2026 (page 22), innovative biorefinery projects are finding ways to extract valuable chemicals from wood pulp, ensuring our resources are used to their full potential.
The food and beverage industry has worked to modernise its supply chains to mitigate the disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic (page 44), while the chemicals industry has stepped up to supply cleaning agents that mitigate the dangers of the virus itself (page 40).
And of course, we can’t expect people to manufacture anything without proper safety precautions, so check out the latest innovations in safety wear on page 46. After all, even in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution, people are the ones building our future.
Anthony Sharpe
Editor
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