History:
The first industry to become established in Vaal Triangle dates back to 1882 when building bricks were first made from the clay deposits near the coal workings in the town of Vereeniging. A fireclay found under the coal seams led to the erection of a factory to produce fireclay bricks, the first bricks being produced in 1891. In 1903 the company began manufacturing salt glazed earthenware pipes and fittings for sewer reticulation. This company was at one time one of the major manufacturers of refractory products in South Africa.
In 1911, Horace Wright purchased 15000 ton of scrap iron and together with Sammy Marks formed the Union Steel Corporation of South Africa. The site chosen for the steelworks was on the banks of the Vaal River and in September 1913, the first steel ingot was cast and rolled. This was the beginning of Mark’s dream to establish a steel industry on the African sub continent. This steel cooperation transformed Vereeniging from a colliery village into a major center for steel and engineering industries.
Union Steel Corporation of South Africa survived the depression following the end of the war and the steel crisis in 1927. The corporation began to manufacture new production lines in the world wide depression of the early 1930’s and went on to become one of the world’s leading manufacturers of hollow-drill steel. Stewart and Lloyds, the tube making company, came to Vereeniging in 1927 and together with Union Steel Corporation of South Africa became the primary industries that attracted many ancillary industries. A few years prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, McKinnon Chain and African Cables were established in Peacehaven, Vereeniging. During World War II, the global conflict created a new and more pressing need for steel. By 1943, construction began on establishing Iscor’s (now Mittal Steel SA) second fully integrated steel mill at Vanderbijlpark and within a few years, the desolate Vanderbijlpark landscape was transformed into one of the world’s most modern steel works.
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