West Africa's vast industrial zone
Suame Magazine in Kumasi, Ghana, is one of the biggest industrial areas in Africa. Mechanics fix and rebuild cars in small workshops, but changes brought on by technology are threatening their business.
From old to new
In Suame Magazine, mechanics in over 12,000 small workshops fix cars and machinery with old spare parts, most of which come from Europe. It is so crowded that the Suame Magazine Industrial Development Organization is planning to buy a four-kilometer stretch of land nearby to turn the area into an official industrial zone.
Mercedes dominates
Overhauling the engine of an old truck, mechanics say that heavy-duty machinery from European makers like Mercedes Benz, DAF and MAN is popular because it is cheap to import, easy to fix and durable. American trucks have too many electronic elements and those from China are often of low quality. Vehicles from India and South Korea are becoming more popular.
High productivity
Eric Gyebi, Kwame Acheampong and Osei Kofi Isaac fix fuel pumps for trucks and buses. A World Bank study says workshops in Suame Magazine are more productive than most small businesses in Ghana because they focus on making or repairing one type of product, like fuel pumps or excavators.
Handmade
Nearly everything in Suame Magazine is made by hand, from the smallest component to the largest piece of machinery. Much of Ghana’s formal industry collapsed during an economic crisis in the 1970s, leaving the country dotted with abandoned factories and spurring the growth of small workshops.
Rare opportunities
A worker welds feet onto a bread oven. The owner of this factory started his career as an apprentice in 1997 and has since worked his way up. Suame Magazine is one of the few places in Ghana that offers training and jobs to young people who otherwise have few opportunities to build their career.
Driving growth
Mechanic Narouk Woniah tests an engine he rebuilt in Suame Magazine. Over 70 percent of Ghana’s GDP comes from informal enterprises like this Mercedes-Benz workshop, which has just three employees. In all, the area employs more than 200,000 people.
Informal training
Awudu Alase makes 15 coal-fired stoves, known locally as 'coal pots,' a day. He sells them at a local market for 8 cedi (3 euro) each. Many of the people at Suame Magazine have worked here for up to 50 years without any formal training. They learn their skills as apprentices and develop their own methods of production.
Dangerous conditions
Factories in Suame Magazine have few safety standards or protective equipment. The combination of cramped conditions and obsolete machinery means accidents are common. Many are also exposed to toxic fumes and ultraviolet radiation, which may have serious health consequences.
Locally made equipment
Welding at a workshop that specializes in excavator parts. Owner Nana Opoku Agyemang uses a locally made welding shield. Because the factories are almost completely unregulated, injured workers have no right to compensation.
Manufacturing trials
Here, mechanics fit the lights on an Opel taxi at a workshop that specializes in German cars. In 2013, mechanics at Suame Magazine developed and built a car, the SMATI Turtle 1, in just a few months. The prototype worked, but failed some of the roadworthiness tests.
The electronic threat
For years Joyce Darko has been selling nuts and bolts for cars, trucks and heavy machinery. But her business is threatened. Stevenson Apomasu, president of the Suame Magazine Industrial Development Organization says technology is making many mechanical parts obsolete - along with the mechanics who fix them: "Now cars have moved from manual to computers, which we can't maintain."
Trying to keep pace
Kofi Boache has been making tanker trucks for 20 years. They are used to transport petrol, diesel, water or sewage and each one takes a month to build. The Suame Magazine Industrial Development Organization is trying to keep pace with technology by setting up a training program, but progress is slow. "If we don't take care, Suame is going to collapse," Apomasu said.