Planning with purpose

As Columbus Stainless operations and material flow planner, Rato Mtsweni is helping to keep production moving as she manages material allocation and production scheduling from the caster to the packing stations. She is currently completing a BCom Honours in Operations Management.

A major P6 system outage in 2023 tested her ability to perform under pressure, as the plant switched to manual, paper-based scheduling. The experience reinforced the importance of adaptability while maintaining safety, quality and customer requirements.

Mtsweni's proudest achievement is graduating her BCom in Supply Chain and Operations Management cum laude while balancing the demands of being a wife, mother and full-time shift worker.

Inspired by Naspers South Africa CEO Phuti Mahanyele-Dabengwa, she believes resilience, continuous growth and disciplined execution are the foundations of strong leadership, encouraging other women to stand confidently in male-dominated industries and let excellence speak for itself.

Engineering better solutions

As a Product Development Engineer at Columbus Stainless, Kaitlyn Govender develops and optimises stainless steel grades, designing manufacturing processes that meet customer requirements and international standards. A BEng Metallurgical Engineering graduate from the University of Pretoria, she is driven by continuous improvement and innovation.

Early in her career, Govender encountered resistance from experienced operators while introducing a new processing method. The experience taught her that resilience, collaboration and evidence-based decision-making are essential to earning trust and driving change.

Her proudest achievement is developing an annealing practice that achieved a 100% pass rate for a specific material, bringing multiple teams together to solve a complex technical challenge.

Inspired by mining entrepreneur Daphne Mashile-Nkosi, Govender believes women should embrace both technical excellence and empathetic leadership, creating opportunities for others while leaving every product, process and interaction better than they found it.

Building global relationships

Busi Malinga manages strategic customer accounts across Central Europe, the UK and Australia for Columbus Stainless, where she oversees negotiations, sales forecasting, payments, claims and on-time deliveries while aligning customer demand with production.

Holding a National Diploma in Internal Auditing, Malinga successfully transitioned from managing domestic distributors to international markets, gaining valuable experience in navigating global supply chains, diverse regulations and customer expectations. The move reinforced her belief that adaptability, continuous learning and strong relationships are essential to success.

Away from work, Malinga is equally proud of completing the Comrades Marathon four times while balancing the demands of being a working mother, a reflection of the resilience and discipline that underpin her career.

Inspired by author and speaker Sara Jakes, Malinga encourages women to embrace challenges, remain authentic and never allow their gender to define their potential, believing success comes through consistency, confidence and perseverance.

Driving innovation through collaboration

Chemical engineer Anné Goosen helps ensure the metallurgical quality of stainless steel processed through Columbus's Vertical Bright Annealing line and Skin-Pass 2. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering and is passionate about improving processes through innovation.

One of her biggest professional lessons came while leading the development of new material types at Columbus. Faced with resistance to changing traditional methods, she realised successful change depends on earning buy-in by explaining the "why" and listening to employees' concerns before implementing the "how".

Goosen admires General Motors CEO Mary Barra for demonstrating how technical expertise and visionary leadership can transform heavy industry.

Guided by the philosophy of controlling the controllable, she encourages women to trust their expertise and embrace their unique leadership styles. She believes empathy, resilience and diverse perspectives are essential to helping South African manufacturing innovate and remain globally competitive.