New factory. New floor. New machines. Funded. | Metal Press case study
How Metal Press turned an ambitious expansion into an approved DTIC Manufacturing Support Programme grant, and how we've kept it on track from first draft to first claim.
Metal Press, November 2026. One of the new machines in full production on the floor that was still being laid when the DTIC first came to visit.
Where it started: Mechanical Technologies
Before there was Metal Press, there was Mechanical Technologies.
From 4 Arbeid Avenue in Strydom Park, Randburg, Mechanical Technologies designs and builds the tools that South African manufacturers depend on: stamping dies, progressive power press tools, single-stage, form and blank tools, jigs, fixtures, prototypes and precision engineering components. Their in-house design team works from 2D and 3D drawings through to CAD, their toolmakers build it, and their refurbishment team brings worn machines back to life.
Their work ends up in computers, electrical goods, vehicles, domestic appliances, commercial shelving and garden furniture. More than 7,000 projects completed, with customers across Africa and as far as the USA.
[PHOTOS TO ADD: Mechanical Technologies factory floor, toolmakers at work, finished dies and press tools]
From a small toolroom to a serious manufacturer
In 2011 our team helped Mechanical Technologies secure DTIC support for its growth. Since then the business has grown and built a full toolroom with over 50 CNC machines.
That's what the right incentive, at the right time, can do for a manufacturer. And it's why, when the group was ready to launch Metal Press, they called us again.
Mechanical Technologies builds the tools. Metal Press puts them to work.
Big plans, one window
Metal Press makes precision metal stampings, and in 2025 they were ready to grow. New leased premises. A brand new factory floor. A line of new press machines.
Metal Press is a new company, set up in 2024, but it comes from a team with a proven track record.
From its workshop in Randburg, Metal Press makes precision stamped metal parts for construction, roofing, engineering and hardware: collation clips, fence clips, ball retainers and more. Owner Rudi Leimlehner is a qualified tool, jig and die maker with 30 years on the shop floor.
The next step was bigger: a new clip-lock roof bracket system that uses about 30% less material without losing strength. Contractors and roll-forming operators can't get enough of these brackets, and Metal Press set out to make 60,000 to 100,000 a month, right here in South Africa.
The DTIC's Manufacturing Support Programme can carry a real share of that cost. But there's a catch most manufacturers only find out about too late: you have to apply before you spend, and every document has to stand up to the DTIC's scrutiny. Get the timing wrong and the money is off the table.
That's where we came in.
Phase 1: Building an application that gets approved
We took the whole application off Metal Press's hands so the team could focus on the move.
A full business plan telling the story of the expansion, the market and the jobs it supports
The application form and supporting schedule, with every projection, asset and supplier figure checked line by line against the source documents
Supplier forms collected and submitted, and every DTIC request answered
The DTIC issued the project reference in December 2025.
The curveball
In January 2026 the DTIC wanted to come out for a site inspection. The timing could not have been worse: the new floor was being laid and the machines were stored off-site. To an inspector, an empty factory can look like a project that isn't real.
We got ahead of it. We laid out exactly where the project stood, agreed the purpose and scope of the visit with the DTIC, and made sure the empty floor told the right story: a factory being built, not a factory that wasn't there.
April 2026: application approved.
Phase 2: Turning approval into money in the bank
Approval is only half the job. The grant is paid out through claims, and the DTIC checks every one closely. This is where a lot of approved projects stall.
First claim prepared and submitted on 17 July 2026, acknowledged by the DTIC six days later
Every follow-up request from the DTIC answered, from the factual findings report to updated financial information
Metal Press prepared for the DTIC's on-site claim inspection in October 2026
The detail that protects the claim
Here's one most businesses miss. A new floor in a leased building only counts towards an MSP claim if it's capitalised in the books as a leasehold improvement. Expense it as repairs and maintenance, and that spend can fall away.
We flagged it early, worked with Metal Press's accountants to get the treatment right, and prepared the supporting annexure for the lessee and landlord to sign. Small detail. Big difference.
What the grant makes possible
High-volume production: new press lines, tooling and finishing equipment
A new product to market: the lighter clip-lock roof bracket system, made locally
More jobs: a team planned to grow from 3 to 8, with six press-shop operators
Regional reach: shorter lead times than imports, and a path into Botswana and Zambia
Where they are now
MSP application approved
First claim submitted and acknowledged
DTIC claim inspection held on site
New press machines running on the new factory floor
Three lessons for every manufacturer
Apply before you buy. Machinery bought before your application goes in usually won't qualify.
Get the accounting right. Improvements to leased premises must be capitalised to count.
Approval isn't the finish line. Claims, queries and inspections need the same care as the application.
Your expansion could be next
Planning new equipment, new premises or a bigger factory? Talk to us before you commit to the spend. We'll tell you straight whether the DTIC can help and what it takes to get there.
Comments