Vanderbijlpark

Vanderbijlpark is home to Vanderbijlpark Steel, previously part of the South African Iron and Steel Corporation (ISCOR), which subsequently became a subsidiary of the global company ArcelorMittal. With neighbouring cities Vereeniging and Sasolburg, it forms the Vaal Triangle, historically a major industrial region of South Africa. It is situated in the local municipality of Emfuleni and district municipality of Sedibeng. The peri-urban black townships Boipatong, Muvango, Bophelong, Sebokeng, Evaton, Tshepiso and Sharpeville are close to the city. In 1920, Dr HJ van der Bijl, a young South African electrical engineer working in the United States at the time, was called back to South Africa by the then prime minister Jan Smuts to advise the government in the planning of South Africa's industrial development. Van der Bijl oversaw the Iron and Steel Corporation's first plant at Pretoria, but with the increased demand after World War II, 100 km was bought to construct a large steel works and establish a model town. The steelworks began operating in 1947 and the town was proclaimed in 1942. The town attained municipal status on 29 October 1952 when Governor General Dr EG Jansen opened ISCOR's second steel works.