This industrial town is located on the banks of the Vaal River. Coal mining forms the backbone of the economy. The town is home to Vanderbijlpark Steel, previously part of the former South African Iron and Steel Corporation (Iscor). It is now part of ArcelorMittal. Around 60 percent of the town's workforce are employed in factories. Vanderbijlpark is twinned with Eindhoven in the Netherlands.
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It was named after Hendrik van der Bijl, an engineer and industrialist. He was called back from the United States by the then Prime Minister, Jan Smuts, to advise the government in the planning of South Africa's industrial development.
The steel works in Vanderbijlpark started in 1947 and the town was proclaimed two years later. It attained municipal status in 1952. Most of the town's houses were built by Iscor between 1947 and 1964 in regimented fashion. The town's image was scarred by the infamy of the Sharpeville and Boipatong Massacres in 1960 and 1992 respectively.
