Ismail Dockrat, the CEO of Denel Aerostructures, says the local aerospace sector is on the threshold of an exciting period of sustained growth. "Denel has proven capabilities developed over decades in the fields of aerospace design, industrialisation and manufacturing. Our Kempton Park campus can form the core of a future aerospace hub for Africa."
Michael Kgobe, the CEO of Denel Aviation, says the development of an aerotropolis - or airport city - as envisaged by the Ekurhuleni Metro and the Gauteng provincial government will further stimulate growth in the aerospace industry.
"Aerospace and aviation have strong multiplier effects on the surrounding economies. Each job in the industry creates at least four others downstream in the economy. It also generates growth in niche industries in the manufacturing sectors - many of them small and medium-sized enterprises - and strengthens the country's advanced technology capacity and human capital base," says Kgobe.
Dockrat says targeted investment in the aerospace industry will inevitably lead to a surge in the advanced manufacturing sector of the country. This has immense potential to stimulate innovation, create employment and become a force for wealth creation.
"Denel Aerostructures intends to be at the forefront of this new and exciting phase of South Africa's industrialisation process. Already the company is part of the global trend to use composite materials for high-tech manufacturing, moving away from metallic structures towards advanced materials which offer superior properties such as durability, hardness, elasticity and high strength-to-weight ratios," Dockrat says.
"As a proudly South African company we are committed to make a meaningful contribution to meet the country's national developmental priorities. Among these are skills and supplier development, growing the strategic technology base and creating skilled jobs that bring downstream benefits to broader society," he says.
Kgobe says current trends indicate that the African aviation industry is going to grow in leaps and bounds over the next two decades. The expected increase in both the passenger and air freight sectors will be accompanied by a similar demand for world-class maintenance and repair services.
Denel Aviation - the company which designed and manufactured the Rooivalk combat support helicopter - is well-placed to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul services to a wide range of helicopters and fixed wing aircraft flying in Africa.
"We have the skills, the know-how and the capacity to meet the aviation engineering needs of any country in Africa. We offer potential clients the benefits of distance, reduced costs, knowledge of local conditions and products that have been thoroughly tested in operational circumstances," says Kgobe.
