SA’s struggling manufacturing sector is taking steps to improve its competitiveness despite negative economic fundamentals.About 70% of respondents in the fourth-quarter survey conducted by industry body the Manufacturing Circle said they had invested in new technologies to improve production facilities.Three quarters said they had already implemented new, innovative and efficient methods that would enhance processes.Discussions with the 72 manufacturers who participated in the survey indicated that funding was being backed by large companies as state funding remained constrained, Nascence Research and Advisory chief economist Xhanti Payi said on Thursday.The company conducted the survey on behalf of the Manufacturing Circle.The investments were happening despite revelations at the end of last year that an allocation of R5bn in the Department of Trade and Industry’s Manufacturing Competitiveness Enhancement Programme had been exhausted.However, investments by South African companies...
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