Explore how ISG Engineering combines growth in structural steel fabrication and engineering with a commitment to local suppliers and independent businesses in East London.
Growing Without Forgetting Our Roots
Since the employee buyout of ISG Engineering in 2022, the company has experienced significant change, challenges and growth. Becoming an employee-owned business marked the beginning of a new chapter, one that has required the team to adapt, learn and take on new opportunities while continuing to deliver the quality and reliability our customers expect.
Over the past few years, ISG has grown its capabilities, taking on larger and more complex projects and continuing to develop as a structural steel fabrication and engineering business. Growth brings opportunities, but it also brings responsibility. For us, that includes remembering where we started and the people and businesses that have been part of our journey.
Being based in East London has always been an important part of ISG’s identity. While our projects and capabilities have taken us beyond our immediate area, we remain committed to supporting the local business community wherever we can.
Supporting Local Isn’t Always Easy
Supporting local suppliers sounds straightforward, but the reality is more complicated. East London’s industrial sector has faced challenging years, and the number of established suppliers and specialist businesses available locally has reduced. For an engineering and steel fabrication company, that can make sourcing certain materials, products and specialist services locally more difficult.
Our projects must meet specific technical requirements, quality standards and deadlines, so there are occasions when we have no option but to source further afield. Being local cannot come at the expense of quality, reliability or the requirements of the project.
However, when a local supplier can meet those requirements, we believe there is real value in choosing them.
It is a simple principle: if we can source what we need from a quality business in East London or the surrounding area, we would rather support that business than automatically look elsewhere.
Celebrating the Businesses That Keep Going
Despite the challenges facing industry in the region, there are some exceptional small and independent businesses in East London that continue to buck the trend.
These businesses have had to adapt, find new opportunities and remain competitive in a difficult environment. Many are built around a small team of skilled people who take enormous pride in what they do. They may not have the resources or workforce of a large organisation, but that does not mean they lack expertise, professionalism or ambition.
In fact, some of the most valuable supplier relationships are built with businesses where you know exactly who you are dealing with. There is a direct connection between the customer and the person responsible for delivering the service, and that can make a real difference when deadlines are tight and problems need to be resolved.
At ISG, we recognise that journey because we have experienced our own challenges and periods of change. We understand that businesses do not grow without people who are prepared to keep adapting, keep improving and keep showing up.
That is something worth recognising and supporting.
Did You Know?
The strength of a local economy isn’t only measured by its largest companies. It is also built on the many smaller businesses that supply, employ and support them.
In 2025, the Eastern Cape Development Corporation provided finance to 302 micro, small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) and 51 cooperatives across the province. It is a reminder that smaller businesses remain an important part of building jobs, skills and economic activity in the Eastern Cape.
Growing Together
We don’t believe that supporting local businesses means choosing a supplier simply because they are nearby. The fundamentals still matter. We need quality products, reliable service, competitive pricing and suppliers who understand the standards and requirements of an engineering and steel fabrication environment.
But where those qualities exist locally, we believe in building those relationships.
A successful project is rarely the result of one business working alone. Behind the steel leaving our workshop are suppliers, transport companies, specialist contractors and service providers, each contributing something that helps the wider operation run successfully.
Some of the smaller businesses we work with have supported ISG for many years. As our own business has developed, so have some of those relationships. We value that continuity and the trust that develops when businesses work together over time.
For us, growth isn’t simply about making ISG bigger. It is about building a stronger business with strong relationships around it.
Simunye — We Are One
There is a word that sits at the heart of the ISG culture: Simunye, meaning “we are one.”
It reflects the belief that we are stronger when we work together, take responsibility for our part and support one another. While that philosophy is central to our employee-owned business and our team, we believe it also reflects the wider relationships that make our industry work.
Customers, suppliers, contractors and business partners all form part of that bigger picture.
The last few years have demonstrated just how important resilience, adaptability and strong relationships are. ISG is proud of the growth we have achieved since the employee buyout in 2022, but we are equally proud to remain connected to the community and business environment from which we grew.
East London has faced its share of industrial challenges, but there are still businesses here doing excellent work and building their own futures. We are proud to work alongside them whenever we can.
Being a growing engineering and steel fabrication company does not mean forgetting where we started. It means taking what we have learned with us as we move forward.
For ISG, that means continuing to build strong relationships, supporting quality local businesses where possible and recognising that our success is connected to the people and businesses around us.