The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Rheinmetall Air Defence AG, Siemens Industry Software Ltd and ESTEQ Industry Solutions (Pty) Ltd recently signed Memorandums of Agreement (MoA) and joined forces to support industry development in South Africa.

These MoAs form part of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) National Industrial Participation Programme (NIPP). The programme seeks to leverage economic benefits and support the development of the South African industry by effectively utilising the instrument of government procurement.

The overall objective of the MoAs is to contribute to the local manufacturing industry’s export growth, based on internationally competitive products, by improving the industry and the CSIR’s product development capabilities. These capabilities can be used to develop new world-class products and to improve existing products for export. The CSIR aims to support the development of small, medium and micro enterprises as component suppliers to share in the economic benefits of participating in the manufacturing value chain and also contributing to Black Economic Empowerment in the country.

"Our mission is to create business success through engineering technology and we are passionate about what we do. I’m excited that we can be involved through the CSIR in growing businesses of the future that will enable economic upliftment at the same time address the severe shortage of engineering skills in our country", emphasised Ryan Earle, ESTEQ Industry Solutions Director.

The CSIR wishes to, through these MoAs, continuously establish, improve, and grow specialised product development capabilities in South Africa by enabling and supporting Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions. The MoAs also aim to create integration platforms across multi-tiered advanced industries, in the form of PLM, multi-enterprise concurrent engineering methodologies, and engineering design integration capabilities spanning engineering disciplines in the product architecture in answer to the latest Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) of the DTI.

The initiative, “Product Life Cycle Management Technology Centre”, is identified as one of the Key Action Programmes (NIPP related) in the just released Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) 2017/18 - 2019/20 of the DTI.

ENDS

For more information, please contact Tendani Tsedu, CSIR Group Manager: Strategic Communication, on 012 841 3417/082 945 1980 or email mtsedu@csir.co.za

About the CSIR

The CSIR is one of the leading R&D, technology and innovation institutions in Africa, with a track record spanning over 70 years. The CSIR undertakes scientific research and technological development in areas identified as national priorities. These are the natural environment, safety and security, health, the built environment, energy, mining and industry. for more information, please visit www.csir.co.za

About ESTEQ

ESTEQ is the local partner supporting the Siemens Industry Software portfiolio. They have had success over many years and a solid reputation in the engineering community they serve. For more information, please visit www.esteq.co.za

About Siemens PLM Software

Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Siemens Digital Factory Division, is a leading global provider of software solutions to drive the digital transformation of industry, creating new opportunities for manufacturers to realize innovation. With headquarters in Plano, Texas, and over 140,000 customers worldwide, Siemens PLM Software works with companies of all sizes to transform the way ideas come to life, the way products are realized, and the way products and assets in operation are used and understood. For more information, please visit www.siemens.com

About Rheinmetall Air Defence

The Rheinmetall Air Defence Group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of multifaceted, automated and highly effective air defence solutions. In the domain of cannon-based air defence technology, the company is the global leader and the sole single-source supplier of fire control systems, automatic cannon, integrated missile launchers and Ahead ammunition. For more information, please visit www.rheinmettall.com