{"id":831495,"date":"2025-07-15T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=831495"},"modified":"2025-07-15T12:03:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T10:03:53","slug":"50-year-old-south-african-engineering-company-forced-to-close-its-doors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/831495\/50-year-old-south-african-engineering-company-forced-to-close-its-doors\/","title":{"rendered":"50-year-old South African engineering company forced to close its doors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South African engineering firm Fischer Housing & Engineering has all but ceased operations in the country, with its workforce gutted and little to no hope of recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group started out as a company of eight people when Fischer Engineering was established as a small factory in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha) in 1975.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A second company, called Fischer Housing, was registered later, in 2003.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It specialised in tooling and designing specialist machines, focused on South Africa’s then-burgeoning automotive industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group told the SABC<\/a> it experienced significant growth when it was founded, outgrowing its humble 400 square metre premises in its first two years of operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After moving to a larger 1,200 square metre lot, the company again outgrew its space as demand ramped up, finally moving to a 6,400 square metre factory on a 9,200 square metre property eight years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At its peak, the company employed more people. However, by the time it ceased operations, there were only five people on the books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the company enjoyed significant growth over the years, the sluggish economy over the last decade slowly killed the business, resulting in reduced demand, job losses, and now closure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“By 2012, we employed 215 people, with our main customer base being the automotive industry. Unfortunately, most of our customers decided to replace the parts we supplied with imported goods,” the group said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“That, in turn, forced the company to retrench our staff to where we have five people working here”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to one of the remaining employees, the group ceased operating at the end of June 2025, but there is talk of finding part-time contracts that it hopes will keep it going until at least December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the full shutdown appears inevitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fate of a medium-sized business like Fischer Housing & Engineering is just one of many such businesses in South Africa that have suffered through decades of declining economic growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, the shutdown also heralds the fate of many more businesses to come as South Africa faces deep economic pressure from a 30% tariff on exports to the United States in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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