Facility Set To Boost Skills, Grow Industry After Slump

Valves manufacturer AVK Southern Africa’s new R200-million training academy, in Alrode, Gauteng, will train 1 500 people by the end of the year.

- Victor Moolman

AVK Southern Africa director Patrick Jantjies explains that the company wants to improve the skills of workers in the valves industry to help it grow after the recent commodity slump. Currently, students from the University of Johannesburg, several technical schools and people employed by the valves industry are being trained by AVK.

The facility, launched in September last year, is expected to enable AVK, part of Denmark-based valves manufacturer and supplier AVK Valves, to grow further in the sub-Saharan Africa valves market, where the mining industry accounts for 20% of AVK sales.

“Therefore, the mining industry is a big market for us, which is why we plan to entrench ourselves in industries such as steel, iron-ore, gold, platinum and uranium by providing valves at a competitive price.”

Jantjies says, during the commodity slump, which started in 2015, AVK focused on becoming a strong competitor in these industries, which it believes will experience a “quantum leap” in terms of growth in the near future, with the immediate commodities market increasing, thereby allowing for incremental growth in the valves industry.