Scaw Metals is a leading South African manufacturer and supplier of steel products, with a long-standing role in supporting the country’s industrial and infrastructure development.
Scaw was founded in 1924 in Johannesburg and expanded rapidly, relocating to its current site in Germiston in 1939, from where it has built steelmaking, rolling, and foundry capabilities. By the mid-20th century, Scaw had become a key player in heavy industry, particularly in supplying cast steel components for railways across Southern Africa. Its growth mirrored the rise of mining, rail, and infrastructure development. Scaw’s history reflects a broader story of industrialisation, transformation, and adaptation, with the shift from a local manufacturer in the 1920s to a key player in Africa’s steel industry with an increasing focus on efficiency, recycling, and lower-carbon production.
Scaw is an electric arc furnace (EAF) based steel producer, and the majority of its production uses recycled steel scrap, but its melt shop also uses direct reduced iron (DRI) from rotary kilns. At its Germiston plant, it produces 650,000 tonnes of liquid steel each year, which is transformed into a range of products. Scaw supplies sectors such as mining, rail, construction, energy, and engineering.
Scaw’s manufacturing footprint is concentrated in South Africa, with additional international operations in Australia and a smaller presence in Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. It employs around 2500 people and is part of the larger Barnes Group, which has operations in both the up and downstream sections of the steel market value chain.
