Automation pivotal to steel industry’s future

Owing to its customers requiring cost-effective, faster and better solutions, capital equipment manufacturer First Cut MD Andrew Poole says automation coupled with innovation is pivotal to the future of companies in the local steel industry. The prospect of automation threatening the livelihood of manual labourers in South Africa is a reality that industries must be sensitive to, says Poole. “If the country is to be competitive globally, the odds are that the owner of a business can upskill his labour and reallocate employees to other positions.”