MAR 2014 ISSUE 19 Embracing People Power Midvaal Municipality DEVELOPING SAVANNA CITY V&A Waterfront CELEBRATING NO.1 SILO One of the most progressive companies in the country, BMW SA recently launched the 2-Series and 4-Series. However, one of the world’s most recognised automobile brands is more than just a manufacturer; it is in fact a committed and engaged corporate citizen. MD, Bodo Donauer explains more… ChianoSky NEW AUDI AMBASSADOR DetNet BUSINESS WITH A BANG
Transcript
MAR2014
ISSUE 19
Embracing People Power
Midvaal Municipality DEVELOPING SAVANNA CITY
V&A WaterfrontCELEBRATING NO.1 SILO
One of the most progressive companies in the country, BMW SA recently launched the 2-Series and 4-Series. However, one of the world’s most recognised automobile brands is more than just a manufacturer; it is in fact a committed and engaged corporate citizen. MD, Bodo Donauer explains more…
ChianoSkyNEW AUDI AMBASSADOR
DetNetBUSINESS WITH A BANG
EDITOR’S PAGE
EDITOR Joe ForshawSUB-EDITOR Harriet PattisonWRITERSColin ChineryTim HandsLauren Grey Roland DouglasChristian JordanRESEARCH DIRECTORChris BolderstonePROJECT MANAGERS James ClarkAjuanne PayneEmily WoodhallHal HutchisonADVERTISING SALESSALES DIRECTOR Andy WilliamsSALES MANAGER Daniel MarshallSALES EXECUTIVE Holly GrahamSALES EXECUTIVE Mark LeonardSTUDIOSTUDIO DIRECTOR Martyn OakleyACCOUNTSMike Molloy, Jane ReederECP LTDMANAGING DIRECTOR David HodgsonOPERATIONS DIRECTOR Chris BolderstoneFINANCE DIRECTOR Scott Warman2a Ardney Rise, Norwich, Norfolk, NR3 3QH, Unitied Kingdom
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One of the most important marketing exercises in the country took place last month - the State of the Nation Address (SONA) from President Zuma. There were a lot of positives raised in the address and Zuma made it clear that the development that the country has witnessed over the last 20 years is something that will continue.
Importantly for the business community, the President stated that agriculture, mining, education, health, energy and infrastructure are all areas of focus for the government and, of course, these are all areas that IndustrySA will continue to cover in the coming year.
“Agriculture is a key job driver and a provider of opportunities for entrepreneurship,” Zuma said. He also reiterated the importance of the mining industry, saying: “It is the biggest earner of foreign exchange in our country. It also contributes about R20 billion directly to the tax revenue” and he emphasised that efforts to stabilise the sector are ongoing.
In the healthcare sector, the government plans to expand the reach of its ARV (Anti-Retroviral) programme, pushing towards enrolling another 4.6 million people, and Zuma said there are signs of high-confidence in the health care system.
As for energy, Zuma said that shale gas will play a part in the future of energy. “The development of petroleum, especially shale gas, will be a game changer for the Karoo region and the South African economy,” he said. “We continue to explore other sources of energy, in line with the Integrated Resource Plan for Energy” he added
Keeping with the theme of positivity, this month we chat to the Mayor of the Midvaal Local Municipality about one of the biggest housing projects the country has ever seen, the Savanna City development. If you are a Mivaal resident with thoughts on the project, tweet us @industry_sa.
22 APEX CORDSET TECHNOLOGIES Leading a surging industry
28 KETO PUMPS Pumping pure business excellence
34 FIRETECH PROJECTSContinually growing across SA
40 V&A WATERFRONT Much praise for No.1 Silo
42 MACE Bolstering green ethics 48 BULLDOG PROJECTS A recipe for success
52 CJP CHEMICALS Witnessing global expansion 56 CONLOG Get smart with Conlog
62 ASSUPOL LIFE Teaming with Masekela
66 R&G SHEET METAL Sparking expansion talks
70 MIDVAAL LOCAL MUNICIPALITY Savanna City: The future of Midvaal
74 HRG RENNIES TRAVEL The heartbeat of business travel
80 MASTER TRUCKING The masters in trucking
84 SASRIA Political risk specialists
88 LOGISTICS SUPPORT SERVICES All-encompassing service
92 BUSCOR Embracing technology
96 CHEM-DRY SA World class solutions
40
PAGE 6 MAR 14
NEWS All that’s happening in South Africa
A home testing kit has been developed at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, to test the microbial quality of tap water to determine if harmful bacteria is present.
Originally developed by Dr Roman Tandlich, a senior lecturer in Pharmacy at Rhodes University, ground breaking modifications have now been made by Dr Catherine Luyt. Born on 20th December 1984, Luyt has proved an inspiration in the science world by making it possible to use the water testing kits in rural areas without the usual requirement of certified laboratories.
The simple design is made up of tin foil, dishwashing liquid and chemicals which include; phosphates, amino acids and sulphates. With the ingredients placed in a small container, with a cost of just R5 to make, it allows the testing to be done with minimal training at home without the need of experts.
The testing method is a simple one by just adding tap water to the mixture. If the contents turn black within a few days then bacteria is present in the water. Although at the moment, the kit does not indicate which bacteria are present, it does mean local authorities are alerted to test local water supplies.
If the results are positive, more advanced and costly tests will need to be completed but Luyt has provided a testing
kit that highlights any potential contamination in local water supplies.
Luyt has continued to make further modifications to the kit which help to decrease the outcome of false positive results which can occur if the testing methods are error prone.
With such affordable ingredients needed to produce the water testing kit, Luyt is hoping it will be on sale soon.
The test is currently being used in schools and in Rhodes University to raise awareness of the risks of tap water and the importance of hygiene.
The ground-breaking home water-testing kit
Venturing “Into the Space” for Scifest 2014The National Science Festival will celebrate its annual Scifest on 12-18th March in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape. Celebrating the theme, “Into the Space!” they are expecting in excess of 65,000 visitors exploring over 500 events covering; astronomy, the human brain, the 50th Anniversary of Canadian Space Agency and architectural visions of the universe.
The festival will include a guest appearance of Barrington Irving Jr, the National Geographic Emerging Explorer, who was the first black person and the youngest, to fly solo around the world. Graduating with a degree in Aeronautical Science from the Florida Memorial University, earning both his private/commercial pilot and certified flight instructor licences, he set up Experience Aviation Inc. in 2005. This scheme introduces young, aspiring people to both aviation and aerospace careers.
With 3 additional festivals running during Scifest; iRhini Township Festival, Scikids and Scifest Africa @ Nelson Mandela Bay Science Centre, it is expected to be a jam-packed week. As well as the return of popular favourites, including the DST Laser Show and the Soap Box Derby;
there are also a few new events joining the line up to look forward to, namely the Paper Aeroplane Competition and Science in the Park.
Catherine Luyt
Barrington Irving
NEWS All that’s happening in South Africa
Instant Messaging remains a high flyerNEWS
MAR 14 PAGE 7
WhatsApp is now being used by more than half of South African urban adults, nearing 10.6 million users, a report by the South African Social Media Landscape 2014 has found. Researched by World Wide Worx and Fuseware, the information comes after Facebook recently acquired WhatsApp for an estimated US$16bn.
Facebook still remains the most popular social media app, with 45% of South Africans in urban areas using the site at the end of 2013. Other social media outlets still fair quite highly with previous favourite, Mxit, being used by 25% of adults and 20% of urban South Africans using Twitter. Although Google+ has a high user rate of 32%, the report shows that it can often be mistaken for the Google search engine app.
South Africa is seeing many up and coming social media apps enter the market; including 2Go, a Cape Town based app with 8% current usage amongst adults and WeChat, a Chinese invention that launched in South Africa mid-2013, now reaching 5% usage. WhatsApp remains the predominately used social media app in urban areas at 61% to outside urban areas at 37%.
While Facebook continues to be used by the younger generation, with 58% of under 25s accessing the app, Mxit remains more popular amongst the over 45s. Both WhatsApp and Facebook continue to be used across all generations but remain less popular with those over 45 years of age.
The Small Business Finance Agency (SEFA) was formed in April 2012 from a merger of a number of small business funding agencies.
Since they began two years ago, SEFA have approved funding of over R1bn for smaller businesses. The Godisa Fund, a R165m partnership between SEFA, Transnet and Anglo-American, will also help to provide funding to small black owned businesses with the view that they will become
suppliers to Transnet and to further encourage expansion of the South African economy and small businesses.
This approval has come after the Government pledged R200bn to expand the South African infrastructure with new capacities for energy, water, transport and social infrastructure. With such plans for expansion, this will ensure support for young entrepreneurs and create new job opportunities in South Africa.
Funding for smaller businesses
The University of Mpumalanga is the first university to be built in South Africa in nearly five decades and the first built by a democratically elected government. Officially opened in October 2013, the start of the academic year began on Wednesday 19th February 2014.
The university currently offers three programmes: a Bachelor
degree in Agriculture, a Bachelor degree in Education and a National Diploma in Hospitality. The university will also be introducing development and staff improvement programmes.
The last university to be built in South Africa, the Rand Afrikaans (now the University of Johannesburg) was built 46 years ago.
On November 28th 2013, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom was released in South African cinemas, a chronicle of Nelson Mandela’s life from his childhood growing up in the rural Mveso, through to his inauguration as South Africa’s first democratically elected President. The film was the end result of years of hard work on the part of the film’s producer, Anant Singh, who first secured the rights to Mandela’s autobiography over 16 years ago, Mandela calling Singh “a producer I respect very much …a man of tremendous ability.”
Indeed, Singh’s ability and entrepreneurial spirit was evident at an early age, born and raised in Durban, Singh began his film career at the age of 18 when he left behind his studies at the University of Durban Westville to buy a 16mm movie rental store. He later moved into video distribution before forming Videovision Entertainment, progressing into film production with 1984’s Place of Weeping, the first anti-apartheid film made entirely in South Africa. Ironically, as a third generation of Indian descent born in South Africa, Singh was classed as a ‘non-white’ citizen and prohibited from watching his
films with any white directors in South Africa’s segregated cinemas due to apartheid laws. It was this struggle against the injustices of the apartheid regime as an activist that informed Singh’s sensibilities and earned the producer a reputation for producing socially conscious films such as Prisoners of Hope, Red Dust and countless others.
Over the last 30 years, Singh has produced over 75 films, working with a host of notable individuals; Whoopi Goldberg on Sarafina, Kathy Bates on The Road to Mecca, Patrick Swayze and Halle Berry on Father Hood and award winning composer Phillip Glass on Faith’s Corner. In addition to this Singh has produced three of the highest grossing South African films of all time: Mr Bones 1, Mr Bones 2 and Mama Jack.
It was Singh’s reputation as a conscientious producer that enabled him to secure the rights to produce Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, beating out strong competition from major Hollywood competition, recounted at mandelamovie.co.za; upon granting Singh the rights to the film, Mandela told him “this is a South African story, and I want you to tell it.” The development process was a lengthy one, taking over 16 years and 34 drafts
Editorial : Liam Kelleher
Anant Singh is a leading figure in South Africa’s film and media industry. His career to date has been significant to say the least and one of his more recent crowning achievements, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, is earning him further recognition, on a global scale. IndustrySA takes a look at the career of this South African visionary.
ENTREPRENEUR
MAR 14 PAGE 9
ENTREPRENEUR
before the film was released in 2013 to critical acclaim.In addition to Singh’s impressively diverse catalogue of
productions, his entrepreneurial talents also led to Videovision, along with Kagiso Trust Investments, acquiring the former SABC radio stations and forming Kagiso Media Limited. Singh served as a director and board member for the company between 1997-2006, implementing strategic direction that diversified the company’s media assets to include new media, audio visual content, broadcasting and information brokering, before resigning from his directorships in 2006.
Singh became a board member of the Los Angeles
based Artists for a New South Africa, served as a board member for the Mandela 46664 concert alongside fellow entrepreneur Richard Branson and was also appointed by President Thabo Mbeki to serve as part of the creative
collective responsible for organizing the 2004 Ten Years of Freedom Celebrations.
Videovision was the driving force behind the formation of Cape Town Studios, the first custom built Hollywood-style, African studio complex housing state of the art equipment, film studios and related facilities covering 200 hectares. The establishment of Cape Town studios in 2010, with Singh as its chairman, has established South Africa as a media contender on a global scale, attracting large scale productions such as Black Sails and Mad Max: Road Warrior.
For Singh, the establishment of Cape Town Studios will cement a legacy as an astounding captain of industry as well as highly notable figure in the world of film. Despite his successes Singh’s approach to the medium he loves remains surprisingly grounded, as he told the New Indian Express in January “I select movies based on stories. If I am able to appreciate it and it is engaging, I go for it. In the initial stages nobody knows who the director will be. One has to choose the movie purely on the story.”
It’s hard to argue against the success of his approach..
“If I am able to appreciate it and it is engaging, I go for it”
Editorial – Joe Forshaw
A pilot production line for the manufacturing of CIGS thin-film solar modules was commissioned in February by South African company, PTiP and their German partner, Singulus Technologies. The 3500m2 semi-commercial facility in Stellenbosch has so far attracted R180 million in investment.
PAGE 10 MAR 14
INNOVATION
South African thin-film solar technology
In January, we spoke to Michael Suttner, creator of the Lightie™, a revolutionary product that has the potential to change the way people illuminate their lives. Suttner explained that a key part of this innovation was the use of flexible solar technology because of its cost effectiveness and operational efficiency.
In February, it was announced that a semi-commercial plant for the production of a South African-developed thin-film solar module technology that offers a more efficient means of converting solar energy into electricity was officially opened in Stellenbosch.
The pilot production line for the manufacturing of thin-film solar modules was launched by Photovoltaic Technology Intellectual Property (PTiP), a technology development and intellectual holding company, in partnership with German engineering company Singulus Technologies.
PTiP, a spin off from the University of Johannesburg, was established in 2005 to facilitate the commercial exploitation of intellectual property (IP) and know-how related to novel and innovative semiconductor process technologies in the field of thin film photovoltaic (PV) technologies.
PTiP CEO, Vivian Alberts, a veteran in the development of the thin-film technology, has been working in the field for many years and is widely regarded as one of the pioneers behind the development of the pilot plant.
He said in a statement: “The commissioning and official opening of this CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide) pilot facility in South Africa confirms the goals of the South African government to support and promote alternative and renewable energies, based on locally developed IP and skills. It is an important step for a successful energy policy in our country.
“The immediate goal is to set-up a commercially viable production plant for CIGS thin-film modules in South Africa in order to supply products with high local content to existing and future PV projects in South Africa. The European Investment Bank already announced its support for the establishment of a PTiP production plant and the mass production of PV modules. With the core production equipment and support from our partner, Singulus, we are able to industrially and efficiently implement our developed process.”
The market for thin-film PV grew at a 60% annual rate from 2002 to 2007 and is still growing rapidly hence the continued global focus on efficient commercialisation of the technology.
Singulus Technologies, a company that develops innovative technologies for efficient production processes while only making use of resources conservatively, provided the engineering technology for the plant and CEO, Stefan Rinck said: “With the vacuum coating, the selenization as well as two work steps in the wet-chemical area, in total we supplied four key process steps for a CIGS line. With our partner PTiP, we intend to continue to successfully implement the additional expansion stages as well.”
There has been significant investment into the plant and according to Engineering News the University of Johannesburg, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), through its Technology Innovation Agency, have together invested R180 million.
With power, in particular electricity, taking up much of the limelight when it comes to South Africa’s energy mix, this is clearly a step in the right direction. With renewables a focus for the government, a system that could help to make solar technology more efficient and cost effective will undoubtedly be welcomed.
So what is the next step for the development of this industry?
Perhaps encouraging the usage of thin-film flexible PV? Or maybe commercialising the output of the pilot plant? This is certainly in the sights Alberts who has indicated that PTiP are already in discussions to build an 18,000m2 plant, capable of producing around a million panels each year.
Singulus Technologies is also excited about the developments and the company said that thin-film modules have fantastic performance, even when compared to established solar technology.
“In contrast to monocrystalline or polycrystalline solar cells, thin-film modules only marginally lose performance amid low light or very high temperatures. This results in the fact that thin-film solar cells produce electricity earlier in the morning hours and later in the evening hours. Furthermore, thin-film solar modules can be used as a design feature for the front or the roof of buildings due to its homogenous surface and better visual appearance,” the company said.
This sort of innovative thinking has the potential to change the way we harness natural energy and utilise it in everyday products and everyday life. As long as the funding is available, this could be the start of a genuine change in the way solar power is viewed on a mass scale..
INNOVATION
MAR 14 PAGE 11
PAGE 12 MAR 14
DESTINATION DIRECTOR
Is SA getting frozen out of winter sports?
Throughout February and March, South Africa has seen some great weather with temperatures averaging in the high 20’s (°C) and with forecasters predicting further sunshine before we enter the warm and dry autumn season. But amidst the sunshine and heat, there has been an important event taking place in Russia in altogether different weather conditions. Yes, of course, it is the Winter Olympics. Hosted in Sochi; in Krasnodar, Russia’s third largest region, this was the 22nd Winter Olympics and South African’s can be forgiven for not realising that this event was in full swing from 6-23 February considering there was in fact no representation for the country and only one competitor from the whole of southern Africa.
Is it that South Africa’s climate doesn’t lend itself to elite winter sports? Or is it because SASOC do not invest enough in winter sports? Whatever the issue, there are places in Africa that you can participate in winter sports and even though skiing and snowboarding are perhaps recognised as more affluent activities, everyone can participate at one of these purpose built facilities.
TIFFINDELL SKI RESORT As the only ski resort in South Africa, Tiffindell holds a strong position in the market place.
Set in the Drakensberg on Ben McDhui, Tiffindell sits at 2720m above sea level and is the highest resort in South Africa.
Although during the summer months much of the snow disappears, in winter the lightest of snowfalls can cover the slopes, making perfect conditions for skiers and snowboarders.
To bolster the snowy conditions, the resort utilises two snow making machines which blast 120,000 litres of water per hour, covering the entire main slope with 20cm of snow within 24 hours. These machines along with the location of the resort, guarantee skiing conditions for at least 100 days of the year.
This resort is multi-functional; perfect for children, beginners, confident snow sports enthusiasts and also, the more adventurous skier. A fun park with rails and jumps has been installed and equipment, lessons, medical assistance and food and beverage services are all easily accessible in the resort.
150 guests can be accommodated at Tiffindell in different classes of heated timber chalets. To get to the resort, which is an estimated nine hours from Johannesburg, 13 hours from
Christian Jordan
Why was there only one southern African competitor taking part in the Winter Olympics when there are two fantastic winter sport resorts located within a few hours’ drive of Johannesburg? Maybe it’s time you got out to Tiffindell or Afriski and got to know the snow.
DESTINATION DIRECTOR
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DESTINATION DIRECTOR
Cape Town, the company recommends taking the route through Rhodes but it is important to phone ahead as the road is often icy or covered in snow!
One of the biggest successes to come out of Tiffindell is Sive Speelman, South Africa’s foremost alpine skier, who was recently denied the chance to compete at the Winter Olympics leaving Zimbabwe’s Luke Steyn as the only competitor from southern Africa.
Sive hails from Barkley East, just a few kilometres from Tiffindell and leaned to ski on the resort slopes. He acts as proof that international competitiveness can be achieved by South Africans in winter sports but participation, coaching, opportunities and funding all need to improve.
AFRISKIAfriski, the only other ski resort in southern Africa, is located in Lesotho in the Maluti Mountains. Similar to Tiffindell, Afriski has long snowy ski slopes in the winter and in the summer months, the resort is used for mountain adventure sports.
Around four and a half hours away from Johannesburg,
Afriski operates as a European ski village and offers guests a full ski-holiday experience. Capable of accommodating up to 250 guests, the resort uses state of the art snow making machines and ski-lifts and this optimises skiing conditions for visitors. The resort also makes use of a Pisten Bully (snow grooming) machine which presses the snow into a smooth surface, perfect for skiing.
The wealthiest of people may head to France, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, America, or maybe even China for a skiing holiday but Afriski is a few hours’ drive rather than a round-the-world flight and with a full set of alpine runs, jumps, race courses and bumboarding classes, the resort offers all that any skier could ask for. It is also set 3050 above sea level making it secluded but convenient.
Tiffindel and Afriski are two of only seven ski resorts in the whole of Africa with the other five located in Algeria and Morocco.
So perhaps there is hope for South Africa’s Winter Olympics programme in the future. Maybe it is time for you to visit one of these more unique holiday locations and maybe your kids could be the future of SA winter sport!.
PAGE 14 MAR 14
CHIANOSKY
ChianoSky: Singing sensation and now, Audi Ambassador
Q: Since we spoke to you in February 2013, it seems that your popularity has gone through the roof! Has your lifestyle changed a lot in the last 12 months?
Last year was a big year for me so my agenda has been busy, but I don’t think my lifestyle has changed much. I still enjoy the same things and play in the same places, but sometimes it can be difficult to do these things without getting recognised. I have made peace with that. I also think that I have gained a lot more respect for fellow artists in the industry as well as the public in the last 12 months.
Q: Following the success of ‘Hungry’, what is the progress on the new album? You told us last year that we could expect some surprises?
For a month or two I did take some time for myself but still wrote. I am now in the process of gathering demos together so we can choose for the album. There will still be surprises as promised; I am in a new stage of my life so I have a new perspective on things. Don’t worry; the album is definitely coming soon.
Q: You have been involved in many major shows and events in the last year. Have you had a particular highlight or standout moment?
I think my standout moment was when I opened for Justin Bieber; it was a new sensation to me and an amazing learning experience. The crowds in both cities were so responsive - hearing them sing ‘Walking Away’ back to me remains a special memory!
Q: From a business perspective, you are now effectively managing the ChianoSky
brand. Is this a daunting or difficult process? You are very active on social media and with the press but is it a challenge to stay in control of the way people perceive you?
It does have its moments! I am learning to match the right emotions to the right situations. I try my best to be an ‘all in one’ as I do know myself better than anyone else and the power is truly in me. I guess some people can change their tune when you don’t respond the way they expect you to, but that’s not something I can control. I know who I am and what I’m responsible for; all I can do is be professional and passionate.
Q: After five nominations at the SAMAs in 2013, do you think you might be able to pick up an award in 2014?
I’m not sure if I will make it in time to pick up another SAMA nomination this year, but I do think this album will attract other awards and opportunities for me when released. My fan base has grown so much and it’s going to be so cool to release my music to thousands of ChianoSky fans. When I released my first album I had to win everyone’s hearts from scratch.
Q: How are you enjoying your new car? The A1 is a real beauty, right?
‘Sweet dreams are made of these’ - I love my new car, I’m obsessed! I think it’s super sleek with a smooth drive. It is well suited to my personality and I think we complement each other very well. It’s my baby.
Q: What does it actually mean to be an Audi Ambassador? What do you have to do?
Audi has collaborated with me as a brand - I have to represent and embrace them through my networks and
Editorial – Joe Forshaw
ChianoSky is one of the country’s brightest young musical talents. She has seen phenomenal success in the last year and since we spoke to her back in February 2013, her music has found a regular place at the top of South Africa’s playlists. This month we speak to ChianoSky again and find out more about her plans for the future and more about her partnership with Audi!
MAR 14 PAGE 15
CHIANOSKY
lifestyle, which obviously will come easy because I get to continue my journey in a fabulous luxury car.
Q: Do you enjoy working with big name brands and being a part of their marketing strategies?
Yes, it’s great to be working with big brands such as Audi, I do think as a young creative though that I can also spice up their world a bit and lend fresh ideas.
Q: Have you met with any of the other Audi Ambassadors? It must be exciting to be associated with such a talented bunch of people?
I don’t think I have met any Audi Ambassadors yet but it is amazing to be one of the few who are chosen. The ambassadors that I know are extremely talented and I am very impressed that Audi has endorsed such a variety of original talent.
Q: Audi say ChianoSky is “progressive in her approach to her music and has an innovative style and personality”. Is this an accurate description?
I think so... It’s certainly encouraging to know that a brand such as Audi has this perspective on me and the feeling is mutual.
Q: If you had to get rid of your A1 and get another Audi, which would you go for?That’s a hard one because right now I’m in such awe of my new Audi A1 it feels like the best Audi for me at this stage of my life, but I also think a white TT would be fun too!
Q: Are you going to be touring anytime soon or will you wait for the release of the next album?
I think a tour after the release of my second album would be best so I could collaborate and celebrate the past records and my new records.
Q: Now that you have achieved considerable success with your music, is there anything you would consider doing away from the music industry?
I think I’ve still got a lot of work to do before I put all my focus elsewhere, but it would be nice to venture into fashion..Phtoto : Tereza Cervinkova
Editorial: Colin RentonProduction: Chris Bolderstone
BMW’s are often described as ‘the ultimate driving machine’ and it is said they are ‘designed for driving pleasure’ but what is it that gains the brand these tags? It is, of course, the people that put these cars together. BMW South Africa invests heavily in its people and their families and Managing Director, Bodo Donauer says that this has been the way for the past four decades.
PAGE 16 MAR 14
COMPANY PROFILE
Yes, we make great cars...But we are, first and foremost, a committed and engaged corporate citizen
When BMW chose South Africa as the base for its first factory outside Germany, only the most optimistic of the company’s managers could have predicted what huge success that decision would bring for the firm – and its new host.
The move to create BMW South Africa was made in 1973 when the firm took over the Rosslyn vehicle assembly plant of Praetor Monterdeers in Pretoria.
Within just three years, with demand soon outstripping supply for its vehicles, BMW had staked its claim as the leading manufacturer of high-performance luxury passenger cars in the country.
And the success has continued apace. The Rosslyn plant now produces more than 80,000 BMW
3 -Series sedans every year and South African-built cars are exported to some of the largest markets in the world, including the USA, Canada, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong
Kong, Singapore and Australia.BMW South Africa now employs some 3,500 people,
2,400 of them at Rosslyn, where there are three shifts that keep the plant running and cars rolling off the line 24 hours-a-day.
The market coverage achieved by BMW South Africa is clear testimony to the skills and dedication of its huge and multi-cultural workforce in creating BMW’s market-leading products, and the expertise and vision of its management.
But there is another factor crucial to BMW’s success in South Africa. The company has totally immersed itself in the country, its communities, their culture and their values and BMW is now seen as a major investor in its people.
The BMW Group was one of the pioneers during the politically instable years of the slow break-up of apartheid. It took specific measures against racial segregation, job discrimination, and unjust compensation. Despite the
occasionally precarious situation, BMW was always able to provide jobs.
Now BMW’s social commitment in schools and high-schools, co-operation with local governments and government agencies have become a permanent part of daily operations.
It’s an ethos that Bodo Donauer, BMW South Africa Managing Director, is rightly proud of.
He says: “For the past 40 years, BMW South Africa has been a major investor in South Africa and its people. The company ensures through its first and second tier suppliers, and its dealer network, that thousands of South Africans are employed and can provide for their families.
“Given the length of time we have been engaged in South Africa, we have certainly employed grandfathers, fathers and sons of the same family!
“This sort of long-term investment leads to real
community upliftment in the process. Our success in this regard has made BMW an integral part of this country’s social fabric; we are first and foremost, a committed and engaged corporate citizen.”
This manifests itself in a variety of Corporate Social Responsibility programmes that are deliberately focused away from marketing and brand building and towards the sustainable development of communities and the people of South Africa.
Mr Donauer adds: “BMW believes in the long-term development and future of the South African economy, and supports more than100 individual Corporate Social Investment projects across the country.
“The company’s CSR projects are rooted in three key areas: HIV and AIDS, Local Community Development and Education, particularly in maths, science, technology and the environment.
BMW SOUTH AFRICA
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COMPANY PROFILE
“Importantly, the emphasis is placed on social investment; not charity. BMW South Africa does not adopt a cheque book approach.
“Instead it contributes to sustainable development, working with employees, their families, the local community and society at large to improve quality of life.
“As one example, the BMW Maths Science and Technology Excellence Project encourages learners to pursue careers in the field of science and technology, while at the same time addressing the skills gap that exists in the country in this critical field.”
Certainly, no way can this project be seen as tokenism from a global corporation towards its host country. The results speak volumes for the validity and value of BMW’s approach.
Donauer says: “Last year the performances of schools in this programme exceeded our expectations once again and have improved on the pass rate from 2012 by more than 13% and 25% for physical science and mathematics respectively.
“More significantly, physical science pass rate was 11% higher than the national average. At the same time, the mathematics pass rate 19% higher than the national average.”
One of the most exciting community projects is the multi-purpose community centre at Soshanguve, known as the
Soshanguve Health and Wellness Centre, which is near the Rosslyn plant and opened in 2005.
Here the residents of Soshanguve receive medical and psychological assistance and are offered continuing education programs.
The centre offers a health service, a computer and technology centre, a training centre and a community garden for growing vegetables.
For the 700,000 residents of Soshanguve, the centre has developed into a counselling centre for all questions relating to HIV / AIDS. One of long-term goals of the project is to further reduce the rate of HIV infection among young people.
Then there’s the Baan Gerda children’s village, home to HIV-infected orphans, giving them the opportunity to lead a normal life.
Here, they live together with HIV-positive foster parents and other children in a house and visit pre-school and school – a prerequisite for their integration into society later on.
The BMW Group has been supporting the project since 2002.
Internally, the company’s Employment Equity Programme supports South African transformation and democracy with its objective to achieve an equitable representation in all occupation levels and categories. The company is BBBEE Level 4 accredited – the highest rating of all OEMs in the Grain Silo
LEATHER - THE ULTIMATE RECYCLED MATERIALEstablished in 1997, GST / Seton AutoLeather is regarded as a pioneer of automotive leather in South Africa, and remains fully committed in creating a sustainable work environment by maximising the use of local raw materials, with leather types including light-embossed, medium-embossed and deep-embossed leathers, available in full or corrected grain, chrome or chrome-free, throughout its operations which in turn supports the local community and beyond.
Seton’s hard work and dedication to becoming a leader in the automotive leathers market was recognised, when the company was awarded the Tannery of the Year Africa 2013 after being judged on our sustainability, green initiatives, production capabilities, product and personnel development, product enhancement and overall business leadership.
ACCREDITATION AND AWARDS
• ISO 9001(General Quality Standards)
• ISO 14001 (Environmental)
• ISO/TS 16949 (Automotive)
• OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety)
local industry.Furthermore, the company’s remuneration strategy
compares competitively with the best remuneration practices on offer in the automotive industry, the national market and the BMW Group internationally.
It’s an impressive list of projects and initiatives that clearly benefits BMW workers and the wider community, but employee/employer relations are not always smooth in South Africa, as was seen in a crippling four-week strike that hit the sector last year.
A three-year wage agreement eventually ended the walk-out and it is hoped that this will bring long-term stability to the South African motor manufacturing industry.
During the strike, and the subsequent three-week strike in the supplier industry, which lost the company around 13,000 cars, Donauer said BMW would ‘not panic’ and remained committed to the company’s existing long-term investments in South Africa.
But he says all sides must be aware of the damage such action can cause to a business operating and competing globally.
Asked if he had seen signs of stability, Donauer says: “It’s far too early to tell. South Africa, unfortunately, has a history of a high number of strike days regardless of long-
term wage agreements. “With concerted commitment from all parties we’re
sure that this will change in the future. It needs to because South African manufacturing is struggling to compete with the productivity offerings of Eastern Europe and China.”
It’s a crucial message to get out there, because it seems there is no stopping the demand for South African-built BMWs.
In 2009, BMW invested R2.2 billion in Plant Rosslyn, allowing it to compete for the production of future models and continue to expand its production capacity to satisfy an eager export market.
As well as this, the company has initiated a dual port export model, using the port of Maputo in Mozambique in conjunction with traditional outlet of Durban to get cars to their overseas customers.
“As the number of BMW vehicles exported from South Africa increases, we have had to look carefully at our export logistics and using Maputo in conjunction with our export supply chain in Durban makes sound business sense,” Donauer says.
“To play on a world stage we need to ensure we are competitive in all elements of the manufacturing process, including supply chain and logistics,” he adds..
Editorial: Christian JordanProduction: James Clark
DetNet, the 50/50 joint venture between AEL Mining Services and Dyno Nobel, has recently released new products into its global markets. With more to come this year, the future is set to be exciting for this pioneering company. Marketing Manager, Andrew Caesar tells IndustrySA more about this highly innovative organisation.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Sparking ground-breaking success
It would be fair to say that DetNet started out with a bang when it adopted its current identity back in 2002. The company, a world leader in the innovative design and industrialisation of electronic initiation systems for detonation missions, was formed after AEL Mining Services purchased Detotech and its Electrodet product and the two businesses were amalgamated.
This was a major development for the industry on a global level and was an important part of the history of DetNet’s two current owners. As a 50/50 joint venture between JSE-listed AECI and Dyno Nobel, a subsidiary of Incitec Pivot Limited, DetNet is represented globally by both AEL Mining Services and Dyno Nobel, thus providing global access and support for all its products.
The company has been involved in a number of firsts including the first 3G HotShot four-wire blast in South Africa and the first four-wire conversion in North America.
Rock blasting has been used for many years in the mining and quarrying industries and its origins date back to 1627 when gunpowder was used instead of mechanical tools in a mine in what was then Hungary (now Slovakia).
Marketing Manager at DetNet, Andrew Caesar says that
although the company operates in global markets, the South African market remains important and looks set to grow.
“Our global reach has us contemplating multiple markets all at once,” he says. “As the mining industry in South Africa becomes more stringent and mining occurs closer to people’s homes the requirement for our product will continue to grow. South Africa is one our most important markets and we believe it will continue to grow.”
FLAGSHIP PROJECTS DetNet products are used primarily in the mining industry and their quality and effectiveness keeps some of the world’s most important mining houses coming back for more.
“The main users of the product are within the mining and quarry markets,” says Caesar. “This includes some of the largest mining houses in the world. Usually, once a mine converts to an electronic initiation system and they see the benefits it can provide to their entire operation, they stick with it. There are customers that have been using our product for many years.”
DetNet products are sold mainly through its channel partners (AEL Mining Services and Dyno Nobel) but each product is intended to suit a specific need. Communication with clients
COMPANY PROFILE
is important and the company’s highly qualified design and engineering teams are able to deliver cutting edge solutions as a result of collaboration with academia, end users and suppliers worldwide.
In South Africa, the company has been involved with some major projects across different industries as Caesar explains: “One of the most high profile projects in South Africa that we were involved in was the tunnelling for the Gautrain in Johannesburg. More recently our Channel Partner AEL Mining Services broke the African record for the largest blast of electronic initiators, blasting more than 4700 detonators at once.”
Two DetNet products were used during construction of the Gautrain. Firstly, to minimize air blast and vibrations, the Smartdet fully programmable electronic initiation system was used for the shaft sinking and secondly, the QuickShot, a pre-programmed electronic initiation system, was used for the tunnelling. During construction, the contractors who managed the tunnelling for the Gautrain project had many limitations to consider including storage constraints, environmental constraints and technical constraints. Because of DetNet’s innovative nature, the company was perfectly suited to assist.
In November 2013, AEL Mining Services set the record for the most amount of DigiShot Plus detonators fired simultaneously. At Kumba Iron Ore’s Kolomela Mine, 4787 detonators were fired in the newly opened Klipbankfontein pit and this was 2100 detonators more than the previous Africa record, set at the same location and just 331 short of the world record of 5118.
Morne Stiglingh, Managing Director for Open Pit and Massive Mining at AEL Mining Services said that the aim of the blast was to minimise blast stoppages in the newly established pit and to showcase AEL’s capability of delivering superior products and services. Minimising stoppages positively affects production and subsequently helps clients expose ore quicker. The success of the blast has enabled the mine to change its methodology by having the confidence to fire fewer and larger blasts to minimise mining interruptions.
FIRST CLASS PRODUCTS Obviously, the market that DetNet and its channel partners work in requires a meticulous attention to detail, especially when it comes to the issue of safety.
DETNET
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Manufacturing in South Africa has become a significant driver
of economic growth and is now known as a sector that
can compete on a global playing field. Its ability to stimulate
complimentary activities and create jobs is demonstrated
by Apex Cordset Technologies (Apex), the Gauteng based
manufacturer of moulded plugs, cordsets, wire harnesses and
extension cords.
Founded in 1986 by Konstantinos Gerasis, Apex has seen
exponential growth, now employing over 500 people in its
five manufacturing divisions, namely, Apex Leads, Kosmolink,
Pintek, Evrotek and EDCAP.
Christos Gerasis, Operations Director for Apex, tells
IndustrySA that the company is now looking for expansion
across the board; in its product range, facilities and workforce.
“It is our vision to become the preferred supplier of the
entire range of plug and connector systems globally,” he says.
“Through our research and development, we aim to expand our
product range so as to provide our customers with a complete
one stop solution to their product needs.
“We have earmarked a number of very exciting new projects,
including the construction of a new, 7000m² production facility,
to produce exclusive branded products.
“We are also in the process of improving our training
academy to provide a much needed educational facility. This
will not only improve and empower our current workforce, but
will also assist in providing a steady stream of knowledgeable
employees.”
It is these knowledgeable employees and the company’s
innovative product offering that encourage names like DetNet
to choose Apex for specialised electronic detonator cable wire
harnesses. Apex has worked with DetNet for two decades and
the two companies enjoy a thriving relationship.
“The relationship with DetNet started in 1994 where Apex
began supplying the Electronic Detonator Wire Harness for
the SmartDet Wire Harness. Over the years we have tailored
and enhanced these assemblies allowing DetNet to increase
efficiency and competitiveness, making them market leaders in
their industry,” says Gerasis.
“We have established ourselves in this very competitive
market by being very conscious of our customer’s needs and
being able to deliver the large volumes they require on time
whilst maintaining the highest possible quality.
“Our ability to provide products of the highest quality in a cost
effective and efficient manner as well as our culture of striving
for perfection has allowed us to be selected as a preferred
supplier.”
2014 looks set to be an eventful year for Apex with new
products set for release and a total solution set to be offered to
customers, from design through to manufacture.
“Our customers have expressed the desire to have their own
unique products and designs. We aim to offer this total solution,
from design and development through to manufacture and
supply of these products to our customers.
“In our bid to promote and grow the Apex Cordset
Technologies brand, our innovative design team is constantly
working on current as well as new products designed to make
our everyday lives easier and safer. A number of these products
are in their final stage of testing and approval by various
regulatory authorities, including the SABS.”
Gerasis concludes, saying that the company looks set
to realise its targets for the year albeit through challenging
conditions.
“With the ever growing demand for innovative solutions
compounded by increasing competition and rising costs of
manufacture, we are expecting tough times ahead.
“All things being equal, and with the knowledge gained
through our past experiences, we anticipate achieving our
projected growth target.”
Apex Cordset Technologies has been operating in the electrical accessory industry
for over two decades. By combining speedy turn-around times, innovative products,
creative staff and entrepreneurial ambition, the company has managed to carve out a
position at the front of this high competitive industry.
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Leading a surging industry
“Our products when applied properly can assist mines in meeting a number of the health and safety regulations that are required of them,” explains Caesar. “The very nature of the system provides users with more control and they will know before they initiate the blast exactly what should happen. Our products have been used to improve fragmentation and reduce noise, vibration and fly rock in many applications around the world.”
The current product portfolio is home to the DigiShot, DigiShot Plus, HotShot, SmartShot and ViewShot product lines and the entire range undergoes rigorous testing to ensure technical efficiency and safety.
“Safety is always our number one priority and top of mind
in our design process,” says Caesar. “We work very hard to put physical controls in place that prevent an unintended initiation from happening. We do not see this as a hindrance, but as a necessity to ensure the safety of our users around the world.”
In order to bolster its already comprehensive product offering, DetNet has recently released new products and has plans for more introductions throughout the year. Caesar says that these South African designed products will help the company to stand out in what is a highly competitive market.
“We have just introduced a new seismic product, GeoShot, into the market and will soon be introducing another range, DriftShot, for the underground market.
“We’ve also just launched a new tagger into the market and this will be followed by a new blast controller in the coming year. We are working on a few other products that will be introduced late this year/early next year. These products will really set our range apart from the competition. All of these have been designed, researched and developed here in South Africa.
“Electronic initiation is still a niche market and represents less than 5% of the total initiation systems market worldwide. This makes the industry very competitive and somewhat protectionist. Once a customer understands the true value electronic initiation can bring to their production they rarely go back to shock tube initiation. This increases competitiveness as there are only a few
DETNET
MAR 14 PAGE 25
...continued from page 21
The DriftShot Starter is an electronically initiated detonator intended for the remote firing of detonating cord, generally from the BlastWeb Centralised Blasting System. The detonator is enclosed in a polyethylene bunchblock, into which the detonating cord is inserted. The assembly is a two meter 2-wire cable, yellow in colour. A connector, containing insulation displacement terminals, is on the other end and is connected to the harness wire leading to the firing mechanism.
Built on the proven DigiShot platform, GeoShot provides an electronic solution to our seismic customers’ need for security by using a system-specific, coded command for detonator communication during testing and firing. As a precision electronic initiation system, GeoShot provides excellent data acquisition and reporting. In addition, the GeoShot detonator is produced with robust over–extruded downline wire for additional abrasion resistance plus an easy to deploy coiling configuration which facilitates hole loading efficiency.
“Safety is always our number one priority and top of mind in our design process”
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COMPANY PROFILE
systems available that have proven themselves as reliable.”DetNet works closely with its channel partners on the design
and manufacture of all products and with AEL Mining Services and Dyno Nobel being an important part of the process. The relationship between the three goes back a long way and each player brings something different to the equation providing DetNet global access and support for all its products.
“We manufacture the electronic timing module that goes into detonators,” explains Caesar. “This module is then provided to our channel partners who then assemble the components, designed by DetNet, into a complete detonator.
“DetNet manufacturers the control equipment and designs the software required to safely control the electronic initiation system. The accuracy of electronic initiation provides partners
in the mining industry with the means to optimise blasts. Significant energy is also devoted towards staying ahead of the increasingly stringent regulatory, safety and environmental demands,” he says.
FIRST CLASS PEOPLESome of the adjectives and phrases used to describe DetNet as a company include innovative, explosive, industry leading, knowledgeable, experienced, efficient, accurate, safe and so on and all of these can also be applied to the staff of DetNet.
DetNet employees follow a policy of continued improvement and because the products are utilised in international operations, DetNet staff have to incorporate a vast range of situations into their ideas.
COMPANY PROFILE DETNET
MAR 14 PAGE 27
Port of Ngqura
“Our systems are recognised as one of the highest quality electronic initiation systems available. Working with the range requires our people to consider not only local issues but to think globally about what challenges may be faced by users around the world, working in conditions from a dormant volcano on a tropical island to the frozen tundra of the Northern Hemisphere,” says Caesar
He pays tribute to the workforce saying that DetNet’s
employees are the driving force behind its success.“Our people have been core to our success. Their innovative
approach to solving problems and their dogged determination to find solutions have allowed DetNet to develop industry leading technology.”
Through these people, DetNet hopes to continue to
lead the realisation of electronic initiation systems, and by extending its creative ability in functional design through collaboration with selected partners, the company can continue to set the global benchmark for the control of explosive power.
As the company introduces more products into the market and its channel partners continue to grow and attract more customers, it seems as though there is no stopping DetNet – the message is clear; if you want creative, safe, reliable, innovative and effective solutions surrounding electronic initiation systems then DetNet and its channel partners are the choice for you..
Silcom (PTY) Ltd is a private South African company based in Lyttelton, Centurion. The company manufactures communication cables for the Data, Voice and Electronic detonator markets and is ISO 9001:2008 certifi ed. Silcom operates from a 5000m² factory and employs more than 75 people.
Silcom is proud to work with Detnet to develop and supply quality products
Company Capabilities
• Copper rod breaking
• Tandem Wire Drawing and high speed Insulation
• Pairing and Lay Up of insulated conductors
• Final sheathing and re-spooling
• Extensive mechanical and transmission test facilities
“All of these have been designed, researched and developed here in South Africa”
Editorial: Tim Hands Production: James Clark
Keto Pumps is strengthening its position in the southern African region and is looking to add to its impressive portfolio of major clients in mining and associated industries. By being close to clients and offering world-class technology that is sustainable and durable, the company is becoming recognised as an industry leader. IndustrySA finds out more from General Manager of African Operations, Chris Neil.
PAGE 28 MAR 14
COMPANY PROFILE
Extending life, cutting costs
Formed in 2012, Keto Pumps embodies a merger between Keto Australia and First Africa Pumps, two companies brought together through acquisitions by Scottish private equity company Clyde Blowers Capital.
Today, Keto Mining Pumps and Systems is a designer, manufacturer, and supplier of engineered slurry pumps and solutions, operating across the full spectrum of mining industry activities. Its principal aim is twofold: to reduce the cost of mining for its numerous customers, alongside a commitment to delivering industry leading products and services which continue to meet the technical and commercial challenges of these customers.
“The Keto philosophy is to be close to our customer,” states Chris Neil, General Manager of African Operations for Keto Pumps, “to be able to offer them excellent service and have stock close to a mine, so that if a pump goes down we can provide a part very quickly.
“When we bought Keto Australia and First Africa Pumps, the aim was to put them together because First Africa had a lot of the operational capabilities,” explains Neil, “there is a foundry down in Johannesburg, as well as a facility for the manufacture of polymers and rubbers in Richard’s Bay, both key components in our products.
“Then, on the other hand, Australia had a lot of the advanced technology; they’ve got some really good designs that will give mines up to eight times the amount of life out of a component – clearly very important for the mines that are changing wear parts very frequently. It was therefore very attractive to combine these two companies, based in two of the key mining parts of the world - in Southern Africa and Australia - and we had the combination of advanced engineering and operational capability.”
With its presence in Africa having been strengthened recently via the acquisition of Benex Mining Services, the
company has been allowed to expand its product range and provide rapid response to its customers’ mine sites.
“Our core market is hard ores, within the minerals and mining industry – the stuff that wears out pumps really quickly. Quite a lot of the platinum ores in the Rustenberg area, and a lot of the gold ores as well, are very abrasive and completely eat up pumps. Our technology is particularly good for those really abrasive applications, which means our customers get a product that lasts longer, but also for us in terms of our after-market revenues, it’s a great advantage,” says Neil.
With a principal focus then on processes involving gold, iron, copper, as well as some titanium oxide applications around the Richard’s Bay area, Keto’s expertise extends beyond this sector: “Our products are also used in the subsidiary applications, notably within the refining industry in Africa’s numerous sugar plantations. Essentially, our products are used anywhere
for transporting slurries, anything that is particularly abrasive or where non-clean fluids are having to be pumped,” Neil explains.
Keto’s ability to make pumps more efficient makes it a more attractive proposition than ever in the current climate, when there is such a profound focus on minimising operational expense. “The efficiency with our parts is much higher than the competition, and is sustained over a longer period of time,” explains Neil. “You not only save money on our parts and the labour associated with shutting down a plant, sending in the personnel to disassemble the pump and repair it, but also
KETO PUMPS
MAR 14 PAGE 29
“We look for people with experience, but equally we look for go-getters”
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COMPANY PROFILE
a significant saving will be had on energy costs through the life of the pump. We also offer sealing solutions that use up to 90% less water than alternative seals so we can help there too.”
Perhaps more than ever before, margins are tight and savings must be made wherever possible: “In a lot of the mines at the moment, we’re finding that when the gold, platinum, copper prices were high it was fairly easy to make money – there weren’t the same concerns over efficiency or cash-flows because profits were higher.” Now, by contrast, the move towards OPEX (operating
expense) reduction has proved beneficial for Keto in particular, “because we can go in and offer to manage the pumps assets for a company, or perhaps just supply the parts, but crucially fewer of them will be needed and we’ll use less power. Simply putting in Keto components or Keto kit will bring about a saving, reducing mining costs while maintaining safety.”
This is one issue that simply refuses to go away for Keto, and is where the company is focussing much of its collective effort at present. “OPEX reduction is the big story at the moment. There is a line which is calculated,
COMPANY PROFILE KETO PUMPS
MAR 14 PAGE 31
Port of Ngqura
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Eagle Express provides the following services :
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Richards Bay • Durban • Johannesburg • Pretoria • Cape Town and all over South Africa
and if the mine’s costs go above this then they can’t make money. There are many sites where if the commodity’s price drops even a small amount, they are forced to be put into care and maintenance – so the mine is shut down until it becomes more profitable again. This has further consequences, for example you could look at the $400 million that is lost each year through illegal mining, and so this is where OPEX reduction becomes such an important issue. A mine cannot operate if the costs are higher than its commodity break-even point, and these are issues that Keto is well equipped to deal with.
“Through implementing pumps where the total cost of ownership is reduced - wear parts that last a long time and when they need replaced will be available quickly and at reasonable cost - we can help to make this point a little more comfortable to achieve,” says Neil.
The near future looks set to hold a number of further developments within Keto’s already rising stock. “In recent years it has been more about incremental changes that have improved wear rates in the design of impellers, throat bushes and bearing housings for example. We have modified the hydraulic profiles of our impellers,
changes might not be easily detected, but which result in a flow of slurry that dramatically reduces circulation and concentrated wear areas, and can commonly increase the life of an impeller by two, three or even more times. We have also recently launched our Keramithane material, which is a new extended wear life material, that consists of up to 95% ceramic beads cast into a high wear urethane matrix.
“This material combines the advantages of urethane and ceramic parts without the risks of cracking, and avoids the high purchase cost of traditional ceramics,” explains Neil.
This focus on continual development has long been a feature of Keto’s methodology: “The way we look to get an installation is through our superior technology. A lot of the products that we’re launching are taking some of the technologies that we’ve refined in the Australian market and applying them for the first time in Africa. We see no reason why we should not be selling the best technology globally wherever possible, and we’re investing in systems to support that. We’ve invested in new vehicles, we’re buying new facilities and training up people – we’ll also be investing in future acquisitions,
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COMPANY PROFILE
leading to us growing significantly.” Talking about the future for both Keto Pumps and Clyde
Blowers Capital, Neil says: “It’s quite a simple strategy. Offer superior technology, close to the customer, at a good price - give people no reason to go to some of the bigger players, and make sure that this decision to choose us is justified.
“Initially, we brought together Australian technology and the local element in Africa with operational capability. We’ve continued to develop this technology, and our acquisitions and investments will allow us to continue to grow. Both for us as a private equity company, and especially for African business, it’s a good story and one we can continue to develop through locally sourcing components and training more personnel.”.“The efficiency with our parts is much higher than the competition, and is sustained over a longer period of time”
Editorial: Harriet PattisonProduction: Chris Bolderstone
In May 2013, IndustrySA featured Firetech Projects
and spoke to Sales Manager, Johann Blignaut about
the success of the company and what their plans
were for expanding. This month we revisit Firetech
and find out about their development over the past
12 months.
PAGE 34 MAR 14
COMPANY PROFILE
Continuing success for Firetech Projects
Industry leaders in customised fire and security installations, Firetech was established in 1993 by Stephen Alberts and Hendrik van Wyk. Almost one year on from our first discussion, IndustrySA again speaks to Sales Manager, Johann Blignaut and asks how the last twelve months have been. “Really positive,” he says “we have seen a 3% growth since we last spoke. Generally, this increase in sales happens in our industry towards the end of the year, but we have definitely seen a positive increase during the twelve month period.”
Firetech provide and install access control systems, fire detection and fire suppression systems, CCTV cameras and network/building management systems. In 2013, Blignaut told us that the company was just embarking on a new venture into sprinkler systems and other fire prevention developments. Although at the time security installations represented the bigger part of the business, we asked if there has now been a shift due to this new
prevention development. “With the new development of the fire prevention
sprinkler system, the fire department has improved dramatically in the last six months. Although security is still leading, the new sprinkler system has definitely helped us to increase our fire market and now it almost equals that of the security side,” he says.
MEETING EXPECTATIONS Much of Firetech’s business comes from advertised tenders and consultants and they work closely with the building industry. Many clients are direct customers and because requirements are so variable, the company works with construction firms and expert consultants to ensure that correct products are installed and that specifications are met.
Previously, Blignaut told us that due to the complicated nature of the products used, they place a large emphasis on training and have both a technical division and their
COMPANY PROFILE
own installation team. So with the new installation and development of the water extinguishing system, we asked if a new team had to be recruited or if existing staff were trained. “It was a development of a whole new department so we had to bring in new and experienced people to start the whole division from scratch and get it running.
“The difference between fire detection and fire protection is fairly vast. Fire detection is mainly electronic whereas the protection aspect and sprinkler system is much more mechanical and requires the installation of piping and pumps,” Blignaut explains.
With the inevitable growth of this new development sector, will there be room for more training in the future? “The plan is to continually train new people. With the start of this new division there will certainly be more opportunities to train.” He says.
Historically, a big part of Firetech’s business was maintenance but with the new installation development, has this changed? “Maintenance still represents a large
proportion of our business,” Blignaut says “but it has room for growth and we have the capacity for this.”
The company makes a conscious effort to use local suppliers and where possible, local products. Having previously worked with international brands such as Bosch and Samsung for maintenance and installation, Firetech use local sales agents and distribution outlets. Are they still able to work with these local agents despite their growth? “We really don’t need to deal with international suppliers, we make sure we talk to the suppliers locally and only deal with them.” Blignaut explains. “The amount of local products we use has not changed but we continue to use a lot of local knowledge. This information, especially in software production, has serious development for our industry.”
Responsible for installations at a number of government facilities, educational facilities, banking institutions and shopping malls and with recent projects that include the installation of security systems at the
FIRETECH PROJECTS
MAR 14 PAGE 35
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COMPANY PROFILE
Civitas Building in Pretoria and the Central Government Offices in Pretoria, we ask Blignaut whether there are further opportunities for growth in the company with recruitment of more employees and more projects and whether they are looking to grow geographically within the industry. “Despite the competition, there are still huge opportunities for further growth. Building projects are continually happening across South Africa, so for us, there are possibilities for growth within these new projects” he says. “Currently there are not as many opportunities to continue to grow internationally but we would like to increase our work opportunities into Africa.”
EXPANSIONDespite the economic slowdown in South Africa in 2008, Firetech remain undeterred and with little impact seen to business, they are still looking to expand, “We continue to operate internationally and in the last three months, we have landed a contract to install a fire detection system in a new shopping mall in Ghana.”
With further expansion and exciting new projects such as these, if Firetech were to secure more business, would they open any more offices or remain working from South Africa? “Although we have been asked to join in joint ventures on many occasions, we try to avoid opening any
COMPANY PROFILE HATCH GOBA
MAR 14 PAGE 37
Port of Ngqura
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new offices. With our type of work we don’t really get involved with builders who would normally be there for a number of years on a project because we are never there for that long. Most of our workers stay on South African ground and operate from there” Blignaut explains.
Are there further opportunities at Firetech to expand into other industries? “Mining is definitely an industry we are not involved in but we have considered. We have no immediate plans to venture into any new industries but as a company, we are constantly reviewing mining as there are certainly many potential developments” Blignaut says. Would this present further opportunities within the fire and security departments? “As far as we can see, mining security is certainly an industry opportunity for us due to the strikes and discontentment, so it is something we are looking at as a company.”
Firetech has seen some evident growth over the past twelve months, especially with their new sprinkler system and fire protection department. With talks of expansion into
Africa and further growth within the installation industry expected in the coming months, it’s no wonder Firetech remain one of the top five installation companies in the country..“With the new development and department of the fire prevention sprinkler system, the fire department has improved dramatically in the last six months”
COMPANY PROFILE HATCH GOBA
MAR 14 PAGE 39
Port of Ngqura
Editorial: Harriet PattisonProduction: Chris Bolderstone
Attracting more than 23 million visitors to its restaurants, shopping destinations, museums and historic harbour, it’s no wonder the V&A Waterfront is South Africa’s most visited destination and the selected site for the exciting No.1 Silo development.
PAGE 40 MAR 14
COMPANY PROFILE
A big green success for No.1 Silo
Located in Cape Town, the V&A Waterfront stands as one of South Africa’s most significant landmarks.
In June 1858 serious winter storms wrecked over 30 vessels. As a consequence, Lloyd’s of London refused to cover ships wintering in Table Bay. On a sunny September 17th, 1860 Midshipman HRH Prince Alfred, Queen Victoria’s second son, tipped the first load of stone to start construction of the breakwater for Cape Town’s first harbour.
In November 1988, Victoria and Alfred Waterfront (Pty) Ltd (V&AW) was established as a wholly-owned subsidiary by Transnet Ltd to redevelop the historic docklands around Victoria and Alfred Basins as a mixed-use area with a focus on retail, tourism and residential development, with the continued operation of a working harbour. It was sold to Growthpoint and the PIC in the largest South African property transaction to date in 2011.
Situated between Robben Island and Table Mountain and set against a backdrop of sea and mountain views, it offers a variety of shopping and entertainment options to visitors, intermingled with office locations, hotels (such as the historical Breakwater Lodge - once a 19th-century prison) and luxury apartments in the residential marina.
It houses the Nelson Mandela Gateway which offers boat trips to Robben Island, the Two Oceans Aquarium and Chavonnes Battery museum as well as the V&A’s very own Amphitheatre with free live shows and entertainment. The SAS Somerset is used as a museum and moored within the inner basin.
THE NO.1 SILO DEVELOPMENTThe V&A Waterfront is a truly mixed-use destination. It is also unique in the fact that it is the developer, and has rights to still develop approximately 200,000m² of bulk. The first of these developments, a commercial head office
for a large financial institution, was announced shortly after the change of ownership- No. 1 Silo. IndustrySA speaks to David Green, V&A Waterfront CEO and asks why the area is such a special location for the No.1 Silo development. “The V&A Waterfront is one of the most sought after business addresses in South Africa.” Green adds that the aim was “to develop a bespoke building encapsulating the V&A’s vision for a 21st century corporate headquarters office within the historic context of the working harbour.”
Construction of No.1 Silo began in 2011. It is South Africa’s largest ‘green’ office building and the first commercial building of this scale to receive the 6-Star Green Star rating in Cape Town. When you consider the size of the project, you realise how impressive and significant this accolade really is. Completed in July 2013, Green explains this has now “positioned the V&A Waterfront as leaders in sustainable development.”
CHALLENGES ALONG THE WAYA construction project of this size will of course present challenges. “Working within a historical context, the building needed to be unique, exciting and thought provoking, but at the same time respectful, responsible and appropriate to its context... a difficult balancing act at times.” Anya van der Merwe from Van der Merwe Miszewski Architecture, tells us. Perhaps the biggest challenge, however was “managing a complex engineering project within a living, working, public, heritage and tourist environment - with all the logistical, communication and technological challenges that the site presented” Green explains; because it was essential that “engagement and communication to all neighbours, owners, public and stakeholders throughout the project was achieved successfully.”
Mace Management, Project Managers of the construction, was there to ensure that the V&A site
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remained “a living, working, public, heritage and tourist environment.” Andy Robertson, at Mace, tells us that a number of points had to be considered throughout the development to ensure this: “Firstly, the removal of contaminated soils, secondly ensuring that all car parks, pedestrian accesses, roadways and bus routes remained open at all times and also the successful removal and re instatement of heritage items (track sheds, tipplers, cyclone, accumulator pitons and rams).”
Asked why being a ‘green’ building was so important to the V&A Waterfront CEO, David Green explains that “sustainable development and green operations are fundamental to the V&A Waterfront’s overall development strategy.” To help implement this, “environmental and sustainability measures and initiatives are at the forefront of all our business practices” says Green. “This is core to our business ethos and ensures we remain the benchmark for world class waterfront developments.”
A GREEN STAR RATINGThe Green Star rating, which was first established
in 2008 by the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA), aims to evaluate the potential environmental performance of buildings. Brian Wilkinson, CEO of the GBCSA, explains that a “6-Star Green Star SA rating signifies ‘world leadership’ and further affirms the V&A Waterfront’s bold leadership and continued commitment to environmental sustainability in the development of this iconic precinct.”
In order to achieve such a prestigious rating, a ‘green’ building should be energy efficient and environmentally friendly and the design, construction and operational elements must help to eliminate any negative impact on the environment. Green explains that “the aim of a
“The V&A Waterfront is one of the most sought after business addresses in South Africa”
continues on page 46...
Grain Silo
MACECOMPANY PROFILE
The No.1 Silo office building at the V&A Waterfront is only the second building in South Africa to be awarded a 6-star Green rating from the Green Building Council of South Africa. Mace Management Services can add the project to a growing list of successful projects in southern Africa and they are understandably proud of the development.
Building for the future in Cape Town
There are some major construction projects going on around
South Africa, as we have discussed in past issues and as we
will see in our upcoming issues. These types of project are
important for economic development and whilst they help
develop the country’s construction reputation on a global scale,
they also bring beauty and magnificence to local residents;
something which is unequivocally welcomed.
The No.1 and 2 Silo projects at the V&A Waterfront
(V&AW) managed to achieve attractiveness while remaining
environmentally friendly and Rory King, Associate Director
at Mace, project managers for the development, says that a
‘green’ building was the intention from the beginning.
“From the outset of the No. 1 Silo project, the client V&AW
and their tenant stated their Green Star SA ambitions, setting a
minimum goal of 4-star,” he says. “By the sod turning ceremony
in September 2011 they had committed to achieving a 5-star
rating so to achieve a 6-star rating in the end was a significant
achievement for the team who had adopted rigorous green
construction and sustainable design principles, and the efficient
use of natural and energy resources for the value it offers in
terms of life cycle costing.
“To achieve these outstanding results is a reflection of the
commitment of the whole team to find a better way of designing
and constructing the development, and having the insight to see
these ideas through.”
Mace, well known for its international consultancy and
construction offerings, achieved such great success with No.1
and 2 Silo projects (both of which saw practical completion in
Aug2013) and has since gained more business in Cape Town as
King explains: “Mace has been awarded a further appointment
with the V&AW. The next phase of development comprises the
extension of the super, two level deep basement by a further
1000 car parking spaces, all perimeter utility and road upgrades,
and the redevelopment of the historic Grain Silo complex to
house the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA).”
There were significant challenges with the Silo projects and
King suggests that the development was one of the more
testing the company has faced in SA.
“While Mace has been involved with similar regeneration
projects overseas, this was certainly the most technically
challenging project the team in South Africa has had to deal
with,” he says.
“The challenges presented by the excavation, retention,
sealing against sea water ingress, piling and underpinning prior
to the initial ground slabs being poured were enormous, and all
within an existing working harbour environment.”
But nevertheless, Mace succeeded with much aplomb and
will continue to look for ‘green’ ideas to the industry as Nick
Demain, Director Sub-Saharan Africa explains:
“We believe that sustainability is a sensitive balance between
commercial success and a responsibility to society and the
environment so it is core to our future business growth.
“This approach can be witnessed in our work and business
culture where we follow a sustainability framework across our
organisation, the environment, our people, our clients, our
supply chain and the communities we work within.”
In South Africa alone, opportunities continue to present
themselves and Demain says that clients can benefit from
Mace’s integrated service offering across consultancy and
construction, which can be applied to property or infrastructure
challenges, no matter what their size or complexity. “Also by
combining our local, on-the-ground knowledge with our global
experiences, clients can take advantage of our shared insights
and best practices for the betterment of their project,” he says.
So what is on the horizon for Mace in SA? Demain explains
that projects across a range of industries are already in the
planning stages.
“We have various commercial, hotel and leisure, and mixed-
use projects in the pipeline in both South Africa and across the
African continent.
“In the infrastructure sector we are pursuing opportunities
in transport, aviation, oil and gas and mining. Beyond that we
are also looking at residential schemes to insure we maintain a
diverse portfolio and expertise that lends itself to most sectors,”
he says, confirming that this company is one to watch in SA
construction in the coming years.
Raising the bar in green building excellence
Mace works with a number of major clients in both North and sub-Saharan Africa, supporting their needs to deliver projects and programmes to the requisite high standards.
Acting as project manager and principal agent, Mace delivered No. 1 & 2 Silo, part of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront development, from feasibility through to construction and completion.
With green technology sitting at the core of the design, the project received the Green Building Council South Africa 6-star Green Star rating for best practice in green design – making it one of South Africa’s first buildings to achieve such a high technological accolade.
In continuing the success of No. 1 & 2 Silo, V&A Waterfront has appointed Mace as project manager and principal agent for the next phase of development, which is comprised of the Grain Silo building and building No’s 3, 4 and 5 Silo.
For further information please contact:
Nick DemainDirector sub-Saharan Africa t +27 (0)10 591 0222
No. 1 Silo, Cape Town, South Africa
PAGE 44 MAR 14
COMPANY PROFILE
Raising the bar in green building excellence
Mace works with a number of major clients in both North and sub-Saharan Africa, supporting their needs to deliver projects and programmes to the requisite high standards.
Acting as project manager and principal agent, Mace delivered No. 1 & 2 Silo, part of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront development, from feasibility through to construction and completion.
With green technology sitting at the core of the design, the project received the Green Building Council South Africa 6-star Green Star rating for best practice in green design – making it one of South Africa’s first buildings to achieve such a high technological accolade.
In continuing the success of No. 1 & 2 Silo, V&A Waterfront has appointed Mace as project manager and principal agent for the next phase of development, which is comprised of the Grain Silo building and building No’s 3, 4 and 5 Silo.
For further information please contact:
Nick DemainDirector sub-Saharan Africa t +27 (0)10 591 0222
No. 1 Silo, Cape Town, South Africa
COMPANY PROFILE V&A WATERFRONT GOBA
MAR 14 PAGE 45
Port of Ngqura
Raising the bar in green building excellence
Mace works with a number of major clients in both North and sub-Saharan Africa, supporting their needs to deliver projects and programmes to the requisite high standards.
Acting as project manager and principal agent, Mace delivered No. 1 & 2 Silo, part of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront development, from feasibility through to construction and completion.
With green technology sitting at the core of the design, the project received the Green Building Council South Africa 6-star Green Star rating for best practice in green design – making it one of South Africa’s first buildings to achieve such a high technological accolade.
In continuing the success of No. 1 & 2 Silo, V&A Waterfront has appointed Mace as project manager and principal agent for the next phase of development, which is comprised of the Grain Silo building and building No’s 3, 4 and 5 Silo.
For further information please contact:
Nick DemainDirector sub-Saharan Africa t +27 (0)10 591 0222
No. 1 Silo, Cape Town, South Africa
PAGE 46 MAR 14
COMPANY PROFILE
green building is to use resources more efficiently and to address climate change whilst creating healthier and more productive environments for people to live and work in.”
Secondly, a ‘green star’ building must help to promote a healthier environment, address climate change and use its resources as efficiently as possible. For the V&A Waterfront, Green reports that throughout the construction of No.1 Silo there was “a rigorous approach to green construction and sustainable design principles and the efficient use of natural and energy resources.”
WHAT ARE THE ‘GREEN’ CREDENTIALS?The No.1 Silo development became internationally recognised for having 70% of its construction waste recycled. In materials, it used 60% less concrete and ensured the timber and paints used were from environmentally friendly
sources. Green explains that due to the unique harbour-side position of No. 1 Silo, it allowed them “to use the sea water displacement system which had a knock-on effect on other green features such as the re-use of portable water.” Sensors are in place to reduce light emissions, ensuring they are only on when they need to be and energy efficient frequency ballasts are used for florescent fittings. Heat produced from the IT room now helps to generate warmth in the reception area and there is a private roof garden to enjoy the stunning views and a small herb garden provides ingredients for use in the building’s kitchen. There is just one tenant, Allan Gray, who previously occupied two buildings on the property but “had been looking for a suitable site on the property where they could be sufficiently accommodated.”
The V&A Waterfront has also been the recipient of many other ‘green’ awards. In 2012 it was upgraded to a gold level of the Heritage Environmental Rating Programme and also received two prestigious awards for energy efficiency:
...continued from page 42
No.1 Silo Main Atrium
the Eskom 2012 ETA Award in the Commercial Category and the Energy Efficiency Forum Award for Commercial Buildings.
There is no doubting the success of the No.1 Silo development, not only for the V&A Waterfront but for South Africa too. According to the findings of an impact study which was carried out for the V&A Waterfront, Green tells us how “the total number of direct and indirect jobs in the province as a result of the Waterfront’s existence increased from 22,766 in 2002 to 33,136 in 2012. The total direct as well as indirect jobs throughout South Africa created by the V&A Waterfront increased from 33,522 in 2002 to 47,909 in 2012.”
NO.2 SILOWith the continued success of No.1 Silo, a residential element has now been introduced with No.2 Silo. With
22,000m² between the two of them, No.1 Silo won the category for the Office Development in South Africa in 2013 at the International Property Awards.
No2 Silo was awarded a 4 star Green Star SA rating for design. It was the first residential building to be assessed using a new rating tool. It comprises of 31 apartments over an impressive seven floors; creating stunning views across the harbour. With the first owners having moved in from August last year, it appears that ‘green’ success for the V&A Waterfront is just getting started..
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MAR 14 PAGE 47
“The aim of a green building is to use resources more efficiently and to address climate change whilst creating healthier and more productive environments for people to live and work in”
No.1 Silo Typical Open Plan
Editorial: Harriet PattisonProduction: Chris Bolderstone
With many large construction operations under their belt, Bulldog Projects have proven that industry knowledge and sufficient staff training is integral in the ‘pursuit of excellence’.
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Bulldog Projects: A recipe for success?
Founded in May 2004 by CEO Mike Book, Bulldog Projects are already one of the leading corrosion protection companies in South Africa, supplying superior quality coating applications to a range of industries that include commercial, rail, oil and gas, mining and infrastructure.
IndustrySA speaks to Bulldog’s Charlene Bossert and asks what she attributes the company’s early success to: “Our pursuit of excellence is a commitment and not a badge of achievement. We continuously strive to work better and more efficiently, without compromising on quality.” As established contractors, working on projects across Africa, Bulldog also offer clients services including abrasive blasting, roof coating, tape wrapping and pipe joint repairs, to name but a few.
Bossert explains: “Bulldog Projects has been in existence since 1 May 2004, but already our team and our
infrastructure have grown to such an extent that we can confidently say that we are one of the leading corrosion protection companies in Southern Africa.
‘A dynamic company in the corrosion protection industry’, Bulldog is able to successfully complete projects of any size by ensuring three key elements are maintained: Skills and training of employees and management, an outstanding health and safety record and a vast collection of speciality equipment.
Bulldog pride themselves on their health and safety record, ensuring they operate in a clean and forthcoming workplace. This ethos is implemented throughout staff training, which of course, is essential in construction. Bulldog Projects ensure they provide the best for their employees as Bossert explains: “Training in the company is vital, especially in our industry”. It is imperative “for all employees to understand and have the best knowledge of their role in the company” which in turn, helps Bulldog
provide the best quality of work for their clients. Mike Book has been in the corrosion industry since
1972 and the CEO of Bulldog Projects and Duplex Coatings has an unrivalled knowledge of both technical and contracting aspects relating to the industry and an impressive history of completing high profile constructions across Africa. His experience is used in many areas, including facilitating clients to overcome complex issues regarding corrosion protection, saving time and money for all parties involved.
STAFF TRAINING IndustrySA asks Book whether his wealth of experience and expansive knowledge of the business is also put into practise when training employees: “Having a young dynamic team I have the pleasure in extending my knowledge to our younger generation and share experiences with them on projects I have run over the
years.” He says. “I am grateful that I am able to teach the younger
generation about all the technicalities in corrosion protection.”
Bossert explains that with the training at Bulldog provided, they have proven results of employees who have worked their way up within the company. Russell Muller, who started working with Book in 1990 at Sasol as a painter, is now the site manager at Bulldog’s Mapleton works, processing around 2500T per month to various contracts in Africa. Another example is Chaipa Tekere, who started as a general labourer and today, is a well-respected Supervisor amongst the workforce.
With confident, professional and reliable employees, Bulldog have had many opportunities to work on challenging, yet extremely stimulating projects. One of these being the Copper Cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the company completed
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rehabilitating and maintenance painting including sandblasting and all corrosion protection. They have also been involved in the rehabilitation of the Hydro Electric Power Plant in Nseke.
A relationship with each client is essential to the business in order to sustain company confidence, encourage future projects and repeat business. As main operators in steel and concrete construction, Bossert explains that most of Bulldog’s business involves, “working on high profile projects in power generation, oil and gas, mining and water infrastructure.” Despite a very competitive industry, Bulldog Projects consider themselves in the “top five” and hope to become the industry leaders in supplying superior coating applications and in the promotion of a clean and safe environment in
the future. The success and growth of Bulldog Projects is
evident in many of its completed noteworthy projects which include: Natal Portland Cement (3500 tonnes), the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (3800 tonnes) and Pilansberg Platinum (2500 tonnes). The company has many accreditations, including associate members of the Southern African Institute of Steel Construction and of the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE). Book also serves as an executive member of the Hot Dip Galvanizing Association of Southern Africa, regularly contributing technical articles to their publications.
THE FUTUREAlthough we are seeing a downturn in the construction industry in South Africa, Bossert tells us that the company find themselves “moving into the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique and Namibia.” As industries grow onto the continent, IndustrySA asks Bossert if Bulldog will continue to grow with them or if they will start looking towards Africa for growth opportunities: “Bulldog currently works on major projects throughout Africa; therefore Bulldog will definitely continue to grow
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“We continuously strive to work better and more efficiently, without compromising on quality”
With over 23 years of experience and outlets in all major cities, Storm Machinery continues to be a leading supplier of abrasive sandblasting and spray painting equipment in South Africa
COMPANY PROFILE
within the industry because Africa is the real source of growth in modern times.”
With many large developments behind them, we ask Bossert what the real key to successful business is: “The key to anyone’s business is to work as a team and go the extra mile for our clients. It is also important to have the correct equipment and have the staff that know and understand how to use the equipment. We have an effective operations team which understands the clients’ needs. We also have the physical resources with experienced managers.”
With such substantial industry growth since 2004, it seems that Bulldog Projects understand the true recipe for success..
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HEMPEL was founded in 1915 and is today one of the world’s leading suppliers of marine and industrial paints. The Group has since grown to become a world-wide enterprise comprising 3 main and 5 regional research and development facilities, 20 manufacturing plants, 49 sales o� ces and more than 150 stock points strategically located around world
HEMPEL produces protective coatings for the Marine, Protective, Container, Yacht and Decorative markets. From buildings, bridges and windmills and to pipelines, containers and ships, our coatings protect man-made structures from the corrosive forces of nature and, we believe, make them more attractive.
“The key to anyone’s business is to work as a team and go the extra mile for our clients”
Editorial: Christian JordanProduction: James Clark
CJP Chemicals is seeking expansion. This innovative company, that has probably had an impact on your life through the products you use, has opened a new office in China and is now looking to India, South America and the rest of Africa to further develop its already sterling reputation.
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Quality products + competitive pricing + world class service x global expansion = CJP Chemicals
Leading importer, stockist and distributor of chemical raw materials and ingredients, CJP Chemicals has set its eyes firmly on growth over the coming years after taking a bold move for the industry and opening an office in China. The company, which services just about every major industry in South Africa, is also looking to Africa for growth in what is set to be a busy 2014.
Alan Timms, manager of CJP Chemicals Paints and Coatings division, tells IndustrySA that the opening of the Chinese office has had a dramatic impact on business.
“More and more of the commodity raw materials have their origination in China and having someone who can speak Mandarin or Chinese to a Chinese customer is far more significant than having someone typing out an email in English.
“The Chinese office has also allowed us to move from dealing with trading houses to deal directly with manufacturing houses. Also, if we require pre-shipment testing, auditing of plant, assistance with arranging shipment or anything similar, we have people on the ground who understand how the system works in China and we can make the most efficient decision possible. We’ve seen significant benefit from this,” explains Timms.
“Most Chinese manufacturers, unless they’re dealing with a Chinese person, prefer to deal with trading houses. This is
because sometimes they don’t understand how another country operates and generally they prefer not to operate on trading terms. Our Chinese office has allowed us to liaise directly with manufacturing houses and negotiate trading terms which is hugely beneficial,” he says.
Clearly, there are major benefits to be had from operating in China, not least the cost efficiencies that we hear about so often. But other emerging markets, namely India and South America, are also beginning to look like attractive propositions for CJP Chemicals.
“If you want to be a serious player in the South African industrial raw material market going forward, you would need to have a set-up in China and soon in India, and that is our next port of call,” explains Timms.
“That’s probably one or two years off just now and we are also in early talks with potential partners in South America as that is a rapidly growing potential source of raw materials.”
BONDED TO THE INDUSTRYCJP Chemicals history dates back over 25 years. “There has been a lot of change but it all goes back to a family owned business. It was established in ’86 as a family distribution business primarily for the food manufacturing industry,” says Timms.
“In 2006, there was a management buyout where senior
COMPANY PROFILE
managers took up share options with an investment bank. In 2013, there was a second management buyout because the investment bank changed,” he adds.
Timms explains that since the business started there have been two main changes. Firstly, the company’s emphasis has changed from commodities to specialised products. Secondly, the number of industries in which the company operates has increased dramatically. “We’ve gone from a food and personal care company to one which covers almost the entire spectrum industries, from lubricants and oils to paint coatings, adhesives, general industry, household care and many more.
“In the last four years we’ve taken on new customers because we’ve made that move from a commodity/raw materials base to offer more specialised products,” says Timms.
The company’s growth over the years has forced the development of a solid national footprint with offices in Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth and the head office located in Johannesburg. Business is split regionally although some customers deal on a national basis with national pricing structures because of the size of their operations.
Because of the growth in the amount of industries serviced, the company now has specific divisions looking after certain sectors. This has presented opportunities but Timms says that core markets remain vitally important.
“It’s only in the last five to ten years that we have looked to
expand our services out of food and personal care as a result of our strengths in that market.
“We now have specialist teams focussing on specific sectors of the market. My division is only two years old so there is a fair amount of growth opportunity in South Africa but we have to ensure that in our pursuit of new business we don’t lose our foothold in our dominant markets,” he says.
TOXIC ECONOMYOne of the main challenges that CJP has faced over the past few years has been the challenging economic conditions. Considering the ‘import export’ nature of the company, the economic climate and the unsteady currency have had noteworthy effects on business.
“We’ve significantly changed our business model to accommodate the changes in the business environment. Some of the people we used to deal with are no longer in business, generally trading terms have become more difficult to leverage and the extension of credit has also become an issue,” explains Timms.
“Our domestic stock holding policy has had to change significantly. Our customer base was previously prepared to hold two or three months stock but now a lot of those customers will operate on a just-in-time basis. Because of this we’ve had to do one of two things; either sit on a higher stock
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holding or be prepared to ship more regularly.”Further disruption has come with companies who need to
liquidate their stock holding more quickly, causing an overall decline in pricing as Timms explains: “Smaller companies have needed to convert inventory to capital and have therefore been prepared to reduce their prices and that has been disruptive in the market place.
“However, the situation has presented opportunities. With the instability in the Rand, if you can offer people longer-term stable pricing, customers remain interested.”
INTEGRATING GROWTHEven with the difficulties in the economy, there are mumblings of a global recovery and CJP Chemicals will embrace this with plans for growth in the next two to three years. As mentioned, China, India and South America all represent solid opportunities but Timms is also excited by prospects on the African continent and what the company can offer, especially in regard to a turn-key solution for raw material supply.
“A major growth strategy for us is outside SA,” he says. “More and more of our customers are now looking outside of SA. We are doing JV deals with customers as they move into Africa. We then offer logistical and supply chain solutions. As the economy has tightened, people are focussing more on their core business and that is usually not managing a supply chain of raw materials so we can offer assistance there.”
As this growth strategy is realised, physical growth will follow and this in itself represents another challenge for the company
– skilled people.“The skills shortage in technical fields is arguably still South
Africa’s biggest challenge,” says Timms.Ideally, a company like CJP Chemicals will need people with
a strong education, technical background, industry experience and perhaps an eye for sales but today, it is common practice for skilled people to leave the industry for a competing sector or international market. However, Timms says that an internal training programme can help to up-skill recruits; then the challenge is to retain them.
“Your skillset comes more from experience rather than from what you learn at university and a lot of the courses in SA are more theory based rather than industry based. Because of this, we will tend to look for people with a qualification, preferably a chemistry qualification, and we then have an internal training programme specific to a certain area of the business and we use our partners to help train that individual in a certain area.
“We have a good relationship with the technical colleges and universities so we take people from there but unfortunately there is a lot of poaching that goes on.”
Nevertheless, the company remains on a steady growth path and with its ventures in China and, potentially, India and South America providing healthy prospects for the future, it seems as though this is not a company that will be overcome by challenges, quite the contrary; in fact CJP Chemicals is perfectly positioned to develop whilst maintaining its focus on providing quality products, competitive pricing and world class service..
With its extensive range of services enabling consumers to pay for their electricity service in advance of consumption, Conlog has, for more than 20 years, been leading the prepayment industry, working to ensure that energy consumption remains expertly measured and regulated. Through its three core aspects of revenue management, metering, and the associated support services, Conlog now looks to continue its heritage of innovation by working within the ever-evolving ‘Smart’ technology industry, and offering services which cater to those with this technology at their fingertips.
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Second to none in prepaid solutions
A world leader in the electrical prepayment industry, Conlog’s services are today sold worldwide, throughout Africa, South America, Asia and Eastern Europe, with its revenue management systems implemented within over 70 utilities. The company boasts the world’s largest product range, offering everything from meters and vending through to training and support. Now employing some 300 personnel from its headquarters on the South African east coast, it is able to operate 24 hours each day, seven days per week, in order to continuously enable payment for electricity supply, one of the most significant challenges faced by the majority of utilities around the world.
Conlog was founded in 1965 as an electronics design company, with a history of continuously providing innovative solutions to challenges
experienced by millions each day. With its beginnings predominantly in the industrial sector, the 1980s saw Conlog’s move into the field of electrical prepayment, which is where it places its principal focus today. The shareholding structure now comprises 40% ownership by Parmtro Investments, and 60% by the global Schneider Electric group, which maintains the day-to-day management of the company. Through this shareholding Conlog is able to access a network of offices in over 100 countries, as well as reap all the benefits of a global conglomerate.
General Manager, Dudley Miller explains the company’s involvement with Conlog; “This company was acquired by Schneider Electric in 2000, and prior to 2000 it was a very diverse company, offering services from industrial process control through to water and electricity metering.
“In July of 2000, we took ownership of the
electrical metering side of the business, and since then we’ve been mainly issuing the prepaid metering – that has the most synergy with Schneider Electric, a major player in the energy management field globally.”
The holistic service provided by Conlog addresses a fundamental sustainability issue faced by many utilities. Clearly, if consumers do not pay for their electricity, the utility is financially crippled and unable either to maintain the existing infrastructure, or perhaps more critically, to expand the network. As a consequence, these devices have come a long way from the very basic forms seen at their initial launch in the late 1980s, states Miller: “These meters just continue to become smarter and smarter as they evolve. They are becoming more than a prepayment method: it’s now possible to produce data both ways – from the consumer to the utility and also vice-versa.
This is obviously where we find the strongest link with Schneider in terms of energy management, and thus why we can look to develop these yet further in conjunction. Conlog has a lot of potential to exploit further synergies with Schneider, particularly as cities get smarter and homes become more and more well connected. Our meter can become part of that infrastructure of connectivity, with much more rapid evolution to come to build on that of the past 14 years.”
The “rapid evolution” of which Miller speaks could just as easily be applied to that of the smart technology within today’s society, with these devices growing both more prominent and complex seemingly every day. “What we are going to try and do is stay in step with the evolution of these so-called ‘smart cities’, as well as the smart devices used within the smart homes of the near future, and therefore
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look to integrate with all the connectivity between these various devices. Even Google is showing huge interest in this concept of the smart home, given its recent and well-publicised acquisition of Nest. It has been an express trip to get us to where we are today
from our humble beginnings, and it’s certainly going to continue to be.”
Testament to the rapidity with which Conlog continues to grow is the statistic showing that, each day; almost 3000 households have a Conlog prepaid electricity meter installed in their home. This gives the company the world’s largest installed base of over eight million prepaid meters, and is a trend that shows no signs of slowing down, as Miller describes the potential still to be tapped within South Africa.
“Particularly in places the size of Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg and Pretoria, for example, clearly these are cities which are becoming more and more well-connected – everyone is walking around with a smart-phone and people are getting used to having the web at their fingertips,” he says.
“This, clearly, is helping to see a rise in the use of easy pay facilities – nobody goes to a bank any more – and so this large scale development is giving citizens the devices that will facilitate the usage of
“Our evolution will definitely be towards smartness”
COMPANY PROFILE HATCH GOBA
MAR 14 PAGE 59
Port of Ngqura
services like ours. We’ve seen a very definite move by the bigger and more advanced utilities towards smarter devices within the home, to allow these citizens to pay online, to have information available, and to be able to manage their usage and energy consumption a lot more effectively.”
This embracing of new technologies, and exploiting the possibilities this presents, forms the basis of Conlog’s future development plans. “Our evolution will definitely be towards smartness,” states Miller, “and within the next two or three years I feel that we need to be able to offer an attractive solution, which fits in with the group’s strategy, which is focussed on the smart home idea. There will be many needs which arise from this concept, and we can certainly profit with a huge expertise in measurement, and a long history within the industry.”
With more and more of these devices now becoming wireless, Conlog is perfectly placed to capitalise on the evolution of this technology and assure its places as world leader in the field for the foreseeable future, as Miller explains. “In previous years, you would fit everything associated
with a smart home system via hard-wiring. It is unimaginable today to destroy a whole infrastructure when this can all be done wirelessly.
“Once again, here we can use our deep competency in order to become a major player in supplying the components which will run these homes of the future, particularly in terms of measurement and everything related to energy consumption and management.
“We picture ourselves supplying the hardware and all those associated devices necessary for controlling the energy in this wireless fashion.”
The possibility of this is very much in existence - much more than a mere idealistic vision. “We see ourselves, one day soon, offering the market a comprehensive wireless smart system. We will work in collaboration with other experts in those areas where even more expertise is required than just our own, and develop the solutions this new technology requires.”.
“…here we can use our deep competency in order to become a major player in supplying the components which will run these homes of the future”
COMPANY PROFILE
MAR 14 PAGE 61
Port of Ngqura
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Editorial: Colin ChineryProduction: Ajuanne Payne
Respected market leader in the low and middle income groups, Assupol Life last year became a public company, committed to its heritage and core principles and now reaching out to new and wider sectors. It is a strategy which, in the words of its CEO Bridget Mokwena-Halala, is set to make “the colourful and successful history of Assupol even better.”
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COMPANY PROFILE
Head start in life
Hosting the Hugh Masekela Heritage Festival in the heart of Soweto last year, Assupol was honouring a South African legend and also celebrating a national heritage of which the iconic insurer itself has long been a part. Masekela, a brand ambassador for Assupol, has been part of the company’s advertising campaigns over the last two years.
For 100 years Assupol Life has been providing insurance products to the police force, and since the late 80’s to all South Africans.
Its products include life, disability, accident, and funeral cover – a lead product - savings, retirement and investment policies. Some 90% of its 520,000 individual life policies are Black, previously disadvantaged and mostly from lower and middle income segments.
“Assupol is a proudly South African company with our roots firmly in South Africa,” says its CEO Bridget Mokwena-Halala. “We sell products designed for South Africans, by South Africans, and we pride ourselves in knowing what our people need.
“In Assupol we have a slogan – ‘Proud to Serve Those Who Serve’ - and just as Hugh Masekela, we have gone back to where we come from. And because we know the people and their needs, we have been hugely successful in serving those needs.”
Last year the centenarian South African financial institution - part of the holding Assupol Group - completed a demutualisation process that began in 2010, converting into a public company with share capital. It was a move that has benefited both policy holders and Assupol.
“It was very important for us to do this because we are performing extremely well on the sales side. And the more policies we sell the greater liability the company has to carry.
“If we want to raise capital to expand our operations there was no way we could approach policy holders and ask them to capitalise the company. So we had to de-mutualise in order to get shareholders to come on board and provide the capital required.
REWARDING SUCCESS“Even if we did exceptionally well, policy holders would have never benefited aside from when they submitted a claim. Some 300,000 policy holders qualified for free shares, and it was encouraging to see people who had contributed to the company’s growth getting a monetary reward for their commitment and loyalty.”
With the option of retaining these shares or selling, all but 12,000 sold. “Selling, and thereby accessing cash, has been one of the benefits of demutualisation.” says Ms Mokwena-Halala, mother of two and a former police officer who joined the company 18 years ago initially as a part-time agent to augment her small salary.
“More than 80% of those policy holders were Black, so when we talk about empowerment then we have empowered a lot of people. And we are seeing the spin-off of the shares we have paid out, with many clients referring their family members to us.”
Established in 1913 as a burial society for members of the South African police, correctional services and other
government employees, Assupol Life has grown to cater for the general public, becoming the leader in tailor-made insurance products for the low and middle income groups.
“We have been in the market for over 100 years, understand it, and research, develop and design products that our clients want and need. We also carry the flag in the assistance business group scheme arena, where we have around 310 groups with over one million policy holders covering more than 3.5 million lives, making us the leader in this market.”
Pretoria-based Assupol, says Ms Mokwena-Halala, has always been proud of its track record and providing value for money. “We have been fair in our dealings with our clients, transparent in our selling process and - most importantly - we have always looked for reasons to pay claims.
“In terms of turn-around times, we consider ourselves as leaders. We were first to introduce the 48 hour turn-around, and this is now the market norm. In fact 78% of the claims we received in the first half of the current
ASSUPOL LIFE
MAR 14 PAGE 63
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COMPANY PROFILE
financial year were paid within seven to eight hours.”
COMPETITIVE EDGEAssupol’s products says its CEO, are both straightforward and understandable. “We have a saying within the company that we need to look for reasons to pay. And this has given us a very good competitive edge. Brokers are telling us that in a highly competitive market they are more comfortable to write our products because of the turn-around time.”
Phasing in with one big step - demutualisation – was another; a major branch refurbishment and staff upskilling programme. “The new look Assupol offices have been an inspiration to our employees.
“And the message to our clients is that we want them to feel comfortable and ‘at home’, and by empowering our people, improving the client service experience at our 80 branches.”
And multi- skilling is having multiple spin offs. “Our employees are valued, the time and skills invested in them providing both personal growth and enhanced service delivery to our clients. Ultimately this will lead to a 360 degree investment, benefitting all parties; employee, client and company.”
Looking ahead to the next three years Assupol’s CEO says product enhancement and diversification will be the focus areas. “As a niche insurer we have done very well
in our core market and we plan to extend our services to other markets. We believe we have the winning recipe that will make us succeed.
“While I’m proud to say that our products operate in the lower to middle income sector, they are suitable for all. In terms of markets we are very strong in Government department - a focus area - and now we want to diversify to others beyond our big four, also targeting parastatals such as Eskom and Telkom.
“The economic conditions are tough, but we have been through tough conditions in the past and performed well, and we believe there is growth in South Africa and a need,” a view sharply borne out by the 2013 Gap study commissioned by the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) showing that South Africans remain critically underinsured.
LIFE AFTER DEATH“In Black communities a funeral policy is very important, and this is the reason why the majority of our clients choose to take out a funeral policy before considering other types. But our approach is quite different because we need to encourage them that there is life after death.
“There are policies you can take to supplement the retirement benefit for example, and with a 42% growth in Life Cover sales, it shows our efforts to educate the client are bearing fruit.”
COMPANY PROFILE ASSUPOL LIFE
MAR 14 PAGE 65
The 100 year history of Assupol, says Ms Mokwena-Halala, is “inspirational. Our employees draw energy from our history, they are proud of our journey and have adopted our future as a joint project where we will partner in making the colourful and successful history of Assupol even better.”
It is a theme echoing Hugh Masekela ‘sixties hit, ‘Promise of a Future.’ “We are very proud and excited about our relationship with Bra Hugh. It’s a match made in heaven, a perfect fit. Not only do we believe in the same things, we also believe in the power of our heritage.
“And where we come from will also determine where we go.”.
“We sell products designed for South Africans, by South Africans, and we pride ourselves in knowing what our people need”
Bridget Mokwena-Halala
Editorial: Lauren GreyProduction: Chris Bolderstone
One of South Africa’s biggest metal fabricators, R&G Sheetmetal has invested R25M in upgrading and replacing its machines over the past four years, Managing Director, Geoff Lass tells IndustrySA why investing in modern technology is so important to his business.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Expansion onthe horizon
In March 2013 it was reported that a staggering one million tons of steel had been imported into South Africa over the course of just one year, indicating that the country’s steel industry was performing far below potential, since the imported steel was not cheaper than that available locally.
Since then, the industry has faced other significant challenges which have threatened to exasperate the situation, such as mining and transport strikes and the fire which crippled ArcelorMittal South Africa’s Vanderbijlpark facility on 9th February 2013.
However, despite all of these challenges, industry leader R&G Sheetmetal has out-performed many of its local competitors and increased productivity by 150% over the past year.
Founded in 1987, the company is one of the largest sheet metal concerns in South Africa, specialising in sheet metal fabrication, powder coating, tooling, ridgidizing and tube bending. It manufactures for a wide range of industries including Electrical, Locomotive, Banking and Signage and has recently branched out in the field of CNC machining and turning.
ONE-STOP SHOPR&G Sheetmetal Managing Director, Geoff Lass says that the company was established 27 years ago in order to satisfy the demand for sheet metal required by his previous company.
“At the time I was working for a company which operated in a different industry. We were buying sheet metal products but the suppliers were not necessarily able to meet our requirements, so it seemed sensible to set up our own company, and it grew from there.”
R&G Sheetmetal has since become one of the most diversified companies in its industry after Lass sold 47.5% of the company to his employees six years ago. It also boasts a large portfolio of services, rendering it a one-stop shop, capable of completing the most complex jobs in-house.
“We are very proud to say we are a one-stop shop; we have a large number of related skills and can offer a diverse range of services to our customers.”
One of the company’s biggest projects to date is with the Medupi and Kusile power stations, in which it is providing all of the ducting. Previous ventures include the first domestic terminal constructed at Johannesburg airport.
COMPANY PROFILE
TECHNOLOGY As a leader in the sheet metal fabrication industry, it is important for R&G Sheetmetal to keep up-to-date with advances in technology, which is why the company recently made a R25M investment on its machines.
“We have spent R25M over the last four years to ensure that we are using the best possible machinery with the most advanced technology. This investment has had a huge impact on the business as it has allowed us to increase our productivity,” explains Lass.
The company now boasts some of the most advanced fabrication machinery in Southern Africa, including laser cutters, 25 ton presses, and robotic welding arms. This technology allows the company to get through large volumes of work, whilst maintaining the highest standards of production.
Modern technology also makes a difference to the client, as it means that both the cost and time of production is minimized, allowing for more affordable prices and quicker service delivery.
R&G Sheetmetal also boasts its own range of CNC machines. This allows its engineering department to
machine at close tolerances whilst maintaining high levels of production. Doing this enables R&G to specialise in bulk production of even more specialised products with minimum samples or prototypes.
Furthermore, the CNC machines enable R&G to do 3D machining, as well as to design and produce tools for its in-house needs, and for the needs of its clients.
“We have replaced all of our old machines with modern machines, and since doing this we have increased our productivity up to 150% in some areas,” explains Lass. “We have also very recently commissioned a new laser, which cuts up to ten times faster than our previous machine.”
To accompany the laser and further increase productivity and lower outgoing costs, R&G has installed a nitrogen generating plant, allowing the company to produce its own nitrogen.
“We have just recently put in a nitrogen generating plant for our laser so that we can make our own nitrogen and that’s saving us between R40-50,000 a month.”
R&G SHEETMETAL
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MAN Vs MACHINEAs technology has become increasingly more advanced over the past decade, machines have come to replace man in
many instances, particularly industry; machines work faster, they never tire and in many cases they never have to stop.
However, Lass says that although the steel industry relies on machines to carry out most of the intricate jobs and heavy duty work, they will never replace human hands.
“We rely heavily on the use of machines, but machines
that work faster mean that there is a lot more finishing and transportation involved, so we have actually employed more people since installing the new machines.
“We have four robot welders, whereas three years ago we only had one. That means, however, we need more grinders, assemblers and so on. So the technology has actually led to more job creation.”
For R&G Sheetmetal, keeping up-to-date with modern technology not only increases its productivity, but it ensures that the company retains its leadership position in the market.
“There are a few companies in the market, but it is a huge industry and by keeping up with advances in technology we are able to keep our share of the market, or even increase it.”
EXPANSION PLANSR&G Sheetmetal’s next major development is to expand its premises in order to facilitate the company’s growth, “Since this time last year our turnover has increased by 30-40%, and I foresee it growing again over the next two years. Therefore we need to ensure we can keep up to date with growing demand,” says Lass..
“…by keeping up with advances in technology we are able to keep our share of the market, or even increase it”
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Editorial: Colin Chinery Production: James Clark
Affordable housing, sustainable jobs, quality
of life; vital elements of the South African
dream set to be realised in Savanna City, the
R24 billion lifestyle housing development in
Midvaal. With work on the ten year project
now under way, Midvaal’s Mayor Bongani
Baloyi talks to IndustrySA about the
achievement and the potential.
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Savannacity of tomorrowhas it all
For South Africa ‘Affordable Housing’ is not a niche market. It is the market. And 35 km south of Johannesburg, 1500 hectares of earth are now being dug, moved, heaped and levelled; the first stirrings of Savanna City, the largest privately-initiated urban lifestyle developments of its kind in the country.
With the aim of placing suburban home ownership in the hands of middle and lower income groups, Savanna City will take nine years to complete and provide 18,400 integrated, mixed income housing units.
Demand in the affordable housing sector is high. With an estimated one million homes still needed, only 20,000 units are being developed each year. And that’s without taking future demand into account according to Marius Marais CEO of FNB Housing Finance.
And for households’ earnings between R3 500 and R9000 it’s a story of nil supply. So with over 30% of the homes to be fully subsidised and the rest GAP, bonded and rental, mixed income Savanna City’s response to the crisis that won’t go away is impressive.
Incorporating schools, churches, clinics, parks and retail/commercial sites, it’s a development with all the necessary
amenities for a quality lifestyle. And in what is hailed as a unique feature, Savanna City puts the community at the heart of the development by providing spaces where families can meet and play.
But the R24 billion development by Basil Read and Old Mutual’s Housing Impact Fund of South Africa – with further funding by the National Government and the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements – will impact well beyond the residential.
MASSIVE BENEFITSThe benefits for the Midvaal economy as well as the greater Gauteng region will be enormous; a total economic impact of R28.4 billion during construction and the creation of 54,900 jobs. The post-construction total economic benefits are put at R12.7 billion.
With Savanna City expected to almost double Midvaal’s population in a decade and provide more than 12,000 sustainable jobs, Midvaal Mayor, Bongani Baloyi has pledged Midvaal Municipal authority’s support to the initiative.
Emphasising the knock-on economic benefits, he cites recent investments into the area, including Sedibeng Brewery’s
COMPANY PROFILE
canning line and Paramount Trailers’ new facility as examples of its commitment to economic growth and ability to create new jobs for the growing population.
The Heineken bottling plant near Meyerton and the Ferrero Roche factory are other major private sector investments attracted by Midvaal municipality’s pro-business mind-set.
As a result Midvaal has been able to create more jobs for more of its people than anywhere else in Gauteng. Over the past ten years the municipality has achieved an annual 15% economic growth. And at 10%, the current jobless rate compares favourably with the national 25%.
Skills training – a perennial national issue – is a crucial element in the post–construction job creation agenda. “In terms of the urban management plan we know that before people can do anything, we need to train them,” says the 26 year old Mayor. “And we need them to train up to the next level and in doing so empower our local people.”
A training partnership has been set up with 15 local contractors and the municipality is working closely with the Construction Industry Development Board. “We need to see our contractors graduating and moving up levels so they
can employ more people. And if you look where jobs can be created in local government, it’s in infrastructure upgrades.”
Why was Midvaal selected as the location for this major initiative? “There’s a large need for housing, especially for the GAP market - those earning between R3500 and R15,000 - a market the banks are not too keen on supporting. And the fact that we had a prime spot here was an obvious advantage, a location perfect in terms of centrality and transport.
QUALITY OF LIFE – AND BUSINESS FRIENDLY“Another factor is the political stability of the area. Midvaal is also known for the good quality of its life and a business friendly environment.”
Unsurprisingly, ‘green’ is an important concept in vision Savanna. “It’s a principal we have given up front and has been accommodated very well. An important point is that there are people living in that space and if you don’t address the green aspect then there is a problem
“Many people here commute to Johannesburg. You can still find your village type of living and yet you are still just 18 minutes from the city centre. We don’t want to lose this
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comparative advantage.”The keys for attracting large scale investment are clear, says
the Mayor. “The most important as a municipality is to get the basics right. The second is to ensure that there is a stability and continuity of both senior management and politicians.
“This, along with a conducive environment, is crucial for investors. If they want to speak with the Mayor, they shouldn’t have to wait for days. Simply pick up the phone and call the Mayor or Municipal Manager if there’s an issue they feel needs to be urgently addressed.
“We understand that the faster we turn around with a decision the quicker they can be on the ground, doing what they should be doing. As a result we have reduced our turn-around times for decision making. We understand our role as a local government and in turn stay out of their space.”
Positive dialogue is encouraged by the municipality says Mayor Baloyi: “And where it facilitates progress, compromise. With the interests of the municipality very much in mind, issues need to be balanced out. Instead of a blanket ‘No’, we say, ‘how can we accommodate you and you accommodate us’? This is an approach that has stood us shoulders above the rest.”
HUB POTENTIAL?But while new jobs will be created, Savanna City will not assume the role of a small hub. “We don’t think we will ever compete with Johannesburg or Pretoria. With growth in
Johannesburg now restricted we see ourselves as becoming an entrepôt for what Johannesburg is doing. Our role is in support of what the north is doing, not competing with it.”
Aside from its housing and employment transformations, the Mayor stresses what for him will be the project’s transcending achievement.
“This development defeats the old apartheid spatial planning whereby people were separated in communities along racial lines. Instead lower income groups, black or white will be residing, and for me this is the most important point - over and above the economic spins offs and jobs created. Building an integrated community is what I want to do.
“We are working hard to make sure the project is a success; financially viable and delivered on time. And for my part I can’t wait for the time when we will be cutting the ribbon, handing over the first keys to the first houses built, and saying - ‘We have made it!’”.“Midvaal is also known for the good quality of its life and a business friendly environment”
COMPANY PROFILE HATCH GOBA
MAR 14 PAGE 73
Port of Ngqura
Editorial: Harriet Pattison Production: Chris Bolderstone
Spanning six successful decades and with numerous travel innovations, it’s no wonder HRG Rennies Travel are one of South Africa’s most well respected award winning online travel management companies.
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Industry leaders through collaboration and innovation
When you need a solution to your business travel problems it makes sense to go to one of the best. IndustrySA speaks to Bronwyn Philipps, Managing Director at HRG Rennies Travel and asks how the company has become one of the industry leaders in an increasingly competitive market. “Our core business is to provide strategic travel management services to the corporate market both locally and across the globe. We provide travel management solutions that meet a varied range of customers’ needs, across many markets, whether they choose to trade traditionally or online. To do this successfully, we constantly listen closely to what our clients need, and we don’t make assumptions - our innovation is driven by asking the critical questions, are we relevant, are we providing value?”
After its formation in 1954 Rennies Travel experienced vibrant growth. In 1990’s, the Southern African network,
including Namibia, Malawi and Zimbabwe, became part of Rennies Travel. At the time, no competitor had fully owned offices in Africa outside SA and today HRG Rennies, now part of the Bidvest Group, is one of the biggest corporate travel management companies in South Africa with over 60 branches and a strong global affiliation with The Hogg Robinson Group, expanding its reach to over 120 countries through this partnership.
Today HRG Rennies Travel offers many benefits for organisations that require travel management that meets global standards in best practice.
CLIENTS AND CUSTOMERSPhilipps explains: “The corporate market constitutes over 80% of our client base and we manage the travel programmes of both small and large organisations, across a broad range of all industries. In excess of 60% of our key client base has traded with us for 10 years or
more; some for several decades, and we have consistently maintained a 97% retention rate across our client base.” It’s no wonder then that in both 2012 and 2013 the business was named winner in the category of Best Travel Management Company Africa.
The commitment to client centric solutions has seen the business creating industry specific business streams in order to provide specialist niche services to their various client sectors that they service. Examples of this include solutions aimed at the Financial and Professional Services industry, Government and foreign entities, Marine and Logistics clients and various multi-national brands who require a 24/7 global contact centre to support their global footprints. The company also offers in-house emergency travel services and was the first travel management company to introduce this for its customers.
With such success over the past six decades, we ask what the future targets are for the company and if they
hope to offer any new services to ensure their success continues. “We are constantly transforming our company to reflect the varied needs of our dynamic clients and market. To do this, we don’t just anticipate - we determine and pre-empt smarter ways to do things. Then we apply our resources and our influence to deliver on these commitments” says Philipps.
“Our target is certainly to grow our turnover in the business but also to increase our influence in the wider landscape of the South African travel industry and economy. We aim to leverage our partnerships to extend our service solutions and position ourselves as the leading online travel management company on the continent. It is important to remember that this is a service industry and it will always be about having the right people - it’s about listening to the client and getting the service mix right, so that we can provide the solutions they seek. We do face a
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critical skills shortage in the industry in SA and attracting talent will continue to be a challenge which we have to master.”
Philipps explains: “Like every industry in the world though, technology has impacted the travel space and our business in a big way and has revolutionised our industry,” she says.
ONLINE TRAVEL BOOKINGWith technology innovation being such a key factor in business, Philipps says that: “The move to booking travel online saw us introducing a complete online solution over a decade ago”. The company were also market leaders in establishing an in-house virtual e-centre to provide support to the online solution. “We have introduced a number of innovative and technology driven products and services which make business travel more convenient for our clients, properly handles and analyses data and creates new channels of interaction in the way the clients need,” says Philipps.
THE RED STAMP CLUBAnother example of leading through innovation is the launch in 2012 of the companies Red Stamp Club program, With over 700 members to date, Philipps tells IndustrySA how they worked with all stakeholders – the corporate, the traveller and the guesthouses and B&B’s to understand the needs in this growing market sector.
This program has helped to improve booking, invoice and payment processes, and offers member B&B’s valuable support at various levels. The company has also placed strong focus on training and development of the SMME tourism sector as part of the initiative. The Red Stamp Club is unique in that “it also offers the corporate company a credible platform from which to influence their BBBEE objectives and the South African SMME landscape in a positive way; a real win-win,” says Philipps.
It is clear that HRG Rennies focus their business on the requirements and specifications of their customers. With continuing changes in travel and accessibility, is it easy to stay at the top of such a competitive market? “While we do
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consider ourselves industry leaders, clients and travellers today have more choice than ever before when procuring travel services. To be the partner of choice we continuously ensure that we have the right mix of knowledgeable people, sound technology and credible, meaningful partner relationships” explains Philipps.
She goes on to attribute the company’s continuing success as industry leaders to “collaboration and creating customised solutions that support client objectives and also redefine our value proposition on an on-going basis.
Staying ahead means that in all ways we need to strive to get smarter at what we do, boldly embracing change. Our most vibrant affiliations are with clients who are equally driven to finding new ways to entrench their brands as industry leaders – that is when we are at our best.”
She adds: “We are in it to stay, and we partner with those who support our commitment to a sustainable solution.”
A CLEANER CLIMATE PARTNERSHIPWith so much emphasis and competition for a ‘green’ business status, Philipps explains that for HRG Rennies Travel: “Our own activities do not pose a
serious environmental or ecological threat, but we are committed to respecting and protecting the environment so we are working towards being a carbon neutral company.”
The company’s partnership with Cleaner Climate helps to deliver a greener travel solution and is now at the core of the organisation’s ethos. They have helped to reduce their impact in a number of ways which include, producing corporate materials in electronic format to save waste and encourage recycled materials. In each HRG Rennies branch, they have ‘Green Guru’s’ which create awareness to reduce energy consumption and promote the recycling of office materials. Lastly, through their partnership with Cleaner Climate, they have devised an innovative scheme to measure how much carbon is used each time you travel. With the accumulated ‘carbon credits’, HRG Rennies donate these to an environmentally friendly cause. The idea behind this is to encourage their clients and partners to follow along the same ‘green’ principles and ultimately, create more awareness to help reduce carbon emissions globally.
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HRG Rennies has been recognised as one of the Top 500 best managed companies in South Africa. But does such an impressive accolade have much impact on the employees and how the company is run on a day-to-day basis? “We have a vibrant staff engagement communication strategy” says Philipps. “Our research and on-going interaction with our people at all levels tells us that brand pride runs high and that we are the chosen employer of choice in the industry – attracting outstanding talent. This translates into the delivery of high service standards to meet the expectations of a diverse and dynamic client base who hold our people accountable for our brand promise of EXPECT MORE.”
So with 60 years of ever increasing success for HRG Rennies, what can this achievement be attributed to? “Collaboration and innovation” says Philipps. “We work closely with all our stakeholders to continuously transform our organisation to meet the needs of the market. Our promise to deliver more than expected to our clients and our shareholders is what drives our culture – we do this by unleashing the talent within our people, leveraging our powerful business partnerships,
and creating an environment that fosters innovation at all levels.
“Our energy and agility has seen our brand revitalised in the market – we have taken what we know works, after decades of experience, and we have applied it to creating exciting new value propositions. This ongoing and relentless endeavour is underpinned by our commitment to transparency, accountability, integrity, and service excellence.”
With such impressive targets and commitments flowing through the company, it is clear that HRG Rennies Travel will continue to represent as industry leaders in corporate travel management for many years yet..“Our core business is to provide strategic travel management services to the corporate market both locally and across the globe”
Editorial: Roland DouglasProduction: James Clark
Rustenburg based Master Trucking believe that a satisfied customer is a lifelong investment. To ensure customer satisfaction, the company offers a vast range of services, designed to meet all of transportation needs. General Manager, Stefan Coetzee tells IndustrySA about the ups and downs of the industry and why the company is recognised as an industry leader.
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The masters in trucking
The transportation industry was dealt a difficult hand at the start of the year when the Department of Energy announced a hike in fuel prices. The price of diesel saw a steep rise of around 32 cents per litre and then in February, to the annoyance of the industry and motorists in general, the price was again pushed up by around 24 cents per litre.
Obviously, rising fuel prices are not something new; prices around the world have been on an upward trend for many years but even though they are often expected, their impact can be detrimental.
When Master Trucking started in business in 1992, the diesel price was low; in some cases lower than R1 per litre. But today the price has rocketed; combine this with the effects of the global economic slowdown of 2008 and you have a challenging business landscape but this expert transportation company has managed to navigate the
tough conditions by focussing on its core business and sticking to its values.
Stefan Coetzee, General Manager at Master Trucking says that the fuel price hikes affect all industries but nevertheless, the company has managed to achieve significant growth since its inception 22 years ago.
“At the moment, the transport industry is tough because of the global economic conditions and the strikes in the mining industry,” he says. “Then there is the diesel price; there was an increase at the start of the year and at the start of February. Our fuel price is almost R14 per litre at the moment and I don’t see it going down. It causes a problem not just for us but for all transport companies and all industries.
“More expensive fuel makes transport expensive which in turn makes food expensive. Everything gets transported so everything gets expensive.”
Stefan and father, Flip, a veteran of the transport
industry, started the company to develop a one-stop transport coordination service. In 2005, they were joined by BEE partner, Nono Mogasoa who heads up marketing and is a shareholder in Master Trucking. Because of the increase in business, the company has seen fast growth and is now one of South Africa’s most highly reputable asset based logistics providers, servicing South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, and Namibia.
“As you gain more contracts, inevitably, you need more trucks hence we have seen growth in our fleet. We now have around 70 trucks and around 250 employees,” Stefan explains.
AT HOME IN MINING A core part of Master Trucking’s business comes from the mining industry and the company has vast experience moving coal and chrome.
“We have numerous clients in the mining industry and
they use us to move their products and raw materials,” says Stefan.
“We transport a lot of chrome from mines onto the trains and we also truck it over long distances to Richard’s Bay. We also take raw materials from many different locations and get them to factories in Johannesburg. We also transport coal from the coal fields, Richard’s Bay and Durban back towards Rustenburg.”
Of course, this and the other activities that Master Trucking undertakes daily, requires a reliable, safe, efficient fleet of vehicles and Stefan says that when new trucks are purchased, they are fully maintained, even when their maintenance contract expires.
“We buy new trucks and they come with a maintenance contract so we can service them at any dealership country-wide. We do have our own workshop where we service our older trucks and our trailers.”
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This is all part of a company-wide drive towards guaranteeing compliance with the stringent regulations put in place by the government and bodies like ISO.
“We always ensure that we have all of systems and processes in place as we are audited every year,” he says. “If our systems are out of line, they won’t certify us.
“We are capable of handling abnormal loads but of course we stick to all the parameters that are put in place by the government surrounding health and safety.”
Backing up the compliance push, all employees are exposed to ISO System coaching and monitoring, admin work and all legal activities, business and risk assessments and truck maintenance. This is part of on-going development of the workforce, something which Master Trucking, a Level 4 BEE contributor, takes very seriously.
“We train our people through a separate company that is part of Master Trucking called Master Training Consultants. This company can also provide training on the mines. We offer basic mine inductions, first aid training and advanced driver training as well.
“Another business in our portfolio is Pienaars Rivier Plant Hire, a Level 2 BEE contributor, Black Owned Company and they do plant and equipment hire for local work. Each of the companies has their own identity
but the form part of the same group and has the same directors,” says Stefan.
Along with these two offerings and the local, long distance and cross border haulage, Master Trucking also offers a loading and packing of export containers service to provide a turn-key transport solution for customers.
THE FUTURE As for growth and expansion, Stefan admits that the company is constantly looking for new opportunities but until appropriate chances arise, the company will continue to service its current client base with integrity, efficiency and excellence.
“We are always trying to diversify and we will always look for work that we are not currently doing but until we find relevant opportunities we will continue to service our customers to the best of our ability,” he says.
“I think there are more than enough opportunities in South Africa and the neighbouring countries. Doing work farther north in Africa can be difficult so we would rather concentrate on what is happening closer to home.”
Further down the line, Stefan says he would like to see the company stay in Coetzee family hands but, of course, nothing is certain in business.
“At the moment it’s myself, my brother and my father. I think that this makes things that little bit easier. The plan is to keep the company in the family in the future but you never know what will happen.”
The company has the vision to, ‘through innovation, be the preferred service provider in the Southern African transport industry’ and while it continues to show unwavering dedication to staff, provide top-class service to its customers and demonstrate continuous improvement in all areas, it looks set to achieve that vision sooner rather than later..
MASTER TRUCKING
MAR 14 PAGE 83
Port of Ngqura
Trailer Spares – all makes and models
Reline brakes shoes and brake drums
Clutches/electrical components
Air bags and accessories
014 594 5019/20
Agents for BPW Axles, Jost and Ferrodo
“We are always trying to diversify and we will always look for work that we are not currently doing”
Editorial: Christian Jordan Production: Ajuanne Payne
IndustrySA talks to Sasria Managing Director, Cedric Masondo who explains more about the company’s plans for the future and how business has changed since this interesting company was formed in 1979.
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An altogether different insurance offering
When you think of the insurance industry, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Perhaps car insurance? House insurance? Life cover or corporate cover? All everyday products that every business person will have dealt with at one point or another.
But what happens when something completely unexpected happens? Something that is not covered by regular insurers? Not a hurricane or hailstorm but something that can be equally as destructive. How about a political uprising? Or maybe a street riot, a strike or even a terrorist attack?
Most insurers will not cover this type of risk and this is where you need a specialist; a company with over 30 years’ experience in the market place. Enter Sasria, the company with the vision of ‘protecting the assets of all South Africans against extraordinary risks’.
Managing Director, Cedric Masondo tells IndustrySA that it was exactly this type of extraordinary risks that prompted the formation of the company back in 1979.
“The company was born after the 1976 riots,” he says. “As a result of those riots, almost all insurance companies were not prepared to write political risk. Most companies put in exclusions that if there was any damage caused by riots, holders would not be covered.
“People in South Africa were scared because their
property was at risk and insurance companies may not respond.”
The government at the time and SAIA (South African Insurance Association) formed a company to take care of this risk. Masondo says that the aim was solely to write this political risk that no one else was prepared to write but in the years after inception, the company’s service offering has grown.
“Over the years the company has grown, especially through the 80’s, which was a difficult time for political unrest, and through the 90’s with the new government in 94, the cover was extended so we were no longer just providing cover for political risk. We were now also providing cover for any riot, including political riots, labour strikes, civil unrest and even terrorism.”
STATE OWNEDSasria is fully owned by its only shareholder, the South African government. In 1999 the company was commercialised and began operating as a fully-fledged insurance company as Masondo explains: “In the late 90’s there was a debate as to who really owned Sasria. As a section 21 company, no one really owned Sasria. Originally, no one really put too much cash in and after many years the government remained the re-insurer of last resort.
COMPANY PROFILE
“At that point there was a surplus in capital and around R11 billion was paid back to the government for the debt that was caused insuring the apartheid years. Since 1999 we have reported to the national treasury.”
At the turn of the millennium, Sasria’s market place changed and the company began to see more and more non-political claims. “We no longer had the issue of political parties fighting with each other which was obviously good but we were seeing more and more claims as a result of social economic problems,” says Masondo.
“The last three years has seen a change in claims. We used to get around 200 claims each year but there has been a spike. We have seen a huge increase in claims following violent protests and destruction of property. But, this has resulted in an increase in people’s awareness of Sasria.”
This increase in awareness of the brand has been particularly helpful for the company as it has looks to expand.
“We’ve looked at expansion in two areas; geographical expansion and gaining more clients,” says Masondo. “We are governed by a mandate so we can’t just write any business. We are restricted by an act of parliament to only write special risk so you will never find Sasria writing the normal type business.
“There are enough insurance companies who are well
equipped to write this type of business. We want to expand within our mandate and write more business.”
Masondo says that there are a number of potential customers still obtainable for Sasria and two industries in particular have recently formed the focus of the company’s marketing.
“During the farming strikes two years ago, we realised that a lot of farmers were not buying Sasria so there was an aggressive campaign on our side to encourage business in that area. What we’ve also found is that black SME’s do not buy Sasria mainly because they don’t buy insurance at all and this is strange because these can be the main victims. This will be another area of focus for us going forward. It’s part of our social responsibility to provide cover to everyone.”
When it comes to geographical expansion, outside of South Africa, Masondo admits this is a difficult prospect but not something that Sasria will rule out.
“You are moving in unknown territories with different risk. Of course, we have to inform our shareholder, the government, and get their approval,” he says.
“If we do expand into Africa it will be mainly following South African companies. If a customer wants to go and do business anywhere in Africa, we will make sure they are fully protected.
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“We do want to grow and we do have a plan for the next five years. We are busy finalising the strategy with our shareholder. We want to improve in terms of efficiency and make sure contribute to the development of people.”
STRONG PERFORMANCE As Sasria grows, the hope is that the company can continue with the sound financial performance that it has displayed over the past few years, despite the challenging economic
conditions. “We are doing well in terms of the top line, we are
attracting more premiums and we have managed to not increase the rate. Our intention is to maintain the low rate but write more business,” explains Masondo. “In short, we are doing quite well but not as well as in the early 2000’s, mainly due to situations in the economy. However, we are financially sound and have a strong balance sheet and we can deal with big claims.”
“I’ve been with Sasria for over five years. I joined in 2009 as an executive. At that
time the company was going through a transformation and we didn’t even have an
underwriting department so my role was to establish that department.
“Two years later I was appointed as MD. I have been in the industry for more than
20 years, working for
companies like Alexander
Forbes, Allianz and Excel
so I’ve been around,
especially in the short
term sector.
“In the last three years
we’ve transformed from
a small company to a
medium company.”
Cedric Masondo
COMPANY PROFILE SASRIA SOC LTD
MAR 14 PAGE 87
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The global economic recession, which hit hard in 2008, did not impact majorly on Sasria and the company has witnessed significant growth.
“In the past five years we’ve enjoyed around a 10% increase in premiums year on year so the economic slowdown didn’t impact on us too much. We also picked up a lot of business as a result of the 2010 FIFA World Cup but where the global slowdown has hit us has been with social economic problems; more people are unemployed, strikes tend to be longer and more disruptive whereas prior to 2007, very few strikes were destructive,” says Masondo.
Nevertheless, Sasria continues to work with a wide-ranging, highly powerful range of clients. This includes the likes of Eskom and Telkom; anything from individual clients through to big corporates.
The company’s strong performance spans both its financial figures and its business culture. There is a solid commitment to people development and when it comes to CSI, the company focuses on the advancement of young people.
“We contribute 4% of our net profit to CSI projects,” Masondo explains. “As a state owned company we appreciate the principals of the National Development
Programme. Because of this, all of our projects are aimed at youth and education. We don’t benefit directly and we believe if more companies contributed like this, we would not have a skills problem. We are proud of what we have achieved so far.”
Sasria is right to be proud. What it has achieved since its inception is remarkable; a testament to the insurance industry and with the ambitious plans that the company has in place for the coming years, no one could bet against this innovative organisation achieving its vision. .“We’ve looked at expansion in two areas; geographical expansion and gaining more clients”
Editorial: Tim Hands Production: James Clark
Logistics Support Services believe your supply chain is a key enabler of success hence this Namibian company looks to get your supply chain working harder for your business. The company has a wide-ranging selection of services on offer and Operations Manager, Quintin Simon tells IndustrySA that not many companies can offer the portfolio that LSS has at its disposal.
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The holistic approach to logistics
With its revolutionary holistic approach to supply chain solutions, Logistic Support Services (LSS) has crafted its very own optimised methods that integrate projects, vessel agencies, clearing and forwarding, transportation, and warehousing systems and processes. Specialising in the offshore, gas and repair service industry, LSS seeks to link supply chains to business strategies, ensuring a company has the right operations, resources and capabilities to implement its strategy and realise its central vision.
Quintin Simon, Operations Manager at LSS, details the extent of the expertise on offer from the company, with its operations teams well established in the Namibian and international shipping industry for many years.
“Most businesses will concentrate on two key areas – clearing and forwarding in and out of the vessels, and
then the normal imports and exports, such as ships’ spares for the vessels. We, as LSS, have got our own department dedicated to ships’ agents, one dedicated to clearing and forwarding imports and exports, as well as a department which focuses on procurement – on technical food stores, on servicing of life equipment.”
That’s not all the company can look after, as he goes on to explain: “Our own set of buses cater for the transport of the crew, and we even take care of the work visas for the country. These are personnel that work specifically within this department that only concentrates on that segment of the company, dedicating themselves to that area.” Being able to offer such a complete service results in a huge range of benefits, not least in the turn-around time of a given project.
“We also have, in house, our own trucks and forklifts. So, when we have to deliver or collect spares, or collect
purchased goods, we don’t have to rent in the necessary equipment – it’s all there ready for us,” he says.
It is, to a certain extent, the all-encompassing nature of what LSS can offer which has turned the heads of considerable names and drawn them to entrust the company with their business.
“The major players within the oil and gas industry are people like SubSea 7, Global Offshore, Seacor Marine, and then on the international dredging side you have the likes of Jan Der Nul and Boskalis. There are also the agents for Maersk Drilling and Maersk Supply, both of which are becoming big, big players within the offshore industry. These all make use of our full portfolio of services,” details Simon, “while we also have a group of companies affiliated with LSS. These also provide services within the oil and gas industry, all the way from load testing right through to diesel purifying, recycling and plant rental. All of that is utilised by these
companies, and what we need to ensure is that when a client brings us this business, we can provide all the services he needs.”
Testament to the comprehensiveness of the service provided by LSS was its ability to successfully fend off any threat resulting from the economic frailties of recent years, which saw a massive downturn in outgoings by all the big-name companies.
“There was a lot of slowdown that we saw, so where clients might once have spent X amount of dollars when they brought their vessels over, this was skimmed down to the absolute minimum. But, what helped us was that
LOGISTICS SUPPORT SERVICES
MAR 14 PAGE 89
“We look for people with experience, but equally we look for go-getters”
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we still had a constant flow of clients coming in, because offshore vessels have to be serviced either every two or five years, while the bigger clients have even more stringent specifications to be adhered to.
“Clearly this was a benefit for us, because these clients were needing to keep their vessel at a certain standard in order to remain in a certain class and carry on getting work, so, although the amount of money that the client was spending on a dry docking was drastically reduced, we still had that flow of vessels coming in and out,” Simon explains.
It is a revolutionary approach that LSS has worked to create since its relatively recent inception (2008), and it matches this with a forward-thinking and locally-focussed policy of recruitment. “We look for people with experience, but equally we look for go-getters,” explains Simon. “It’s very important, especially in the Namibian economy with the country only having been independent for 11 or 12 years, to offer development within the company. We tend to appoint people who don’t have the money or the luxuries to go off and study for the
relevant industries and start them on a training process. We then develop them into a ship’s agent or a clearing or fording agent – something down that route.”
There is a balance here between the need of experienced, older heads and a more dynamic, raw set of skills: “When it comes to key positions and we’re looking to appoint management we will look for experience within the industry, but for those mid-level or starting positions we look to develop as much as possible.”
As a company, LSS is now perfectly placed to begin looking towards its future, with seemingly boundless opportunities available given the foundations it has constructed.
“We’ll be looking to integrate the entirety of our group of companies into that specific project”
COMPANY PROFILE HATCH GOBA
MAR 14 PAGE 91
Port of Ngqura
Metrotech is focused on providing mass, pressure, � ow and temperature calibration and metrology services to laboratories, industry, government,
non-governmental organizations and other clients in Namibia and Africa.
Our scope of work includes: mass metrology, temperature metrology, pressure metrology, � ow metrology, load testing, pressure testing, bollard pull
and infra-red thermography, and instrumentation testing and repair.
PO Box 1416; Corner of John Newman and 2nd Street East,Synchroli� Industrial Area, Walvis Bay,
Namibia, Africa
New Metrotech Calibration Services (PTY) Ltd will be open 10th of March 2014 in
Cape Town, for all load test needs
“Within our group of companies is one called iLogistics, which is mainly shore-based, around mining. They are busy with the tender process to provide project management on the logistical point of view of the Kudu gas project. We’ll be looking to integrate the entirety of our group of companies into that specific project, to see where we can assist with it – be that with steel supply, weight lifts - so we’ve got the onshore side very much covered too now, within a different segment of our group of companies.”
This, of course, could not be achieved by the company without an integration into the community around it, something LSS has accomplished fully as it looks to continue its expansion.
“We feel it is imperative to have a very good relationship with the government, especially on the customs and immigration side, but LSS has also had a big impact on the local economy. It’s a very small, close community – there are only about 65,000 people within it – so we strive for a relationship whereby we all assist each other where we can. In contrast to the larger towns elsewhere with 30 or 40 suppliers all vying for the same business, we work together and make the very best of
this smaller, more localised set-up, and the community feel it engenders as we all continue to work towards these bigger projects.”.
Editorial: Joe Forshaw Production: Chris Bolderstone
Buscor’s operations affect the lives of thousands of commuters every day. The company is continually investing in new technology and ensuring its fleet is safe, reliable and accessible for everyone. IndustrySA looks at the latest developments within this, one of Mpumalanga’s
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Safety comes first for Buscor
The transport industry in South Africa has seen significant changes over the past few years. There have been major technological advancements, increased competition entering the market place and of course, challenges with labour issues.
Buscor, leading passenger bus company operating mainly in the Lowveld region of Mpumalanga Province, has witnessed it all. We discovered this back in May 2013 when we explored Buscor’s investment into bi-articulated buses and innovative ticketing technology following a change of ownership back in 2012.
This month IndustrySA takes a second look at the Buscor business to find out how the company is continuing its important investments into technological advancement and how it has managed to navigate difficult times that have crippled other transport organisations.
In November last year, following the company’s investment into 40 new bi-articulated buses, or ‘bus
trains’ back in 2011, Buscor announced that it would also begin using a number of buses designed for easy access so that users with disabilities could easily access transport.
The buses capabilities were demonstrated at Buscor’s headquarters in Nelspruit. The event was attended by MEC Dikeledi Mahlangu; South Africa’s first lady, Nompumelelo Zuma; the Deputy Minister of Transport, Sindisiwe Chikunga; a representative from the Office for the Status of Disabled People, Robert Masambo; Buscor Executive Chairperson, Nora Fakude- Nkuna; and Councillors from the Mbombela Local Municipality and Ehlanzeni District Municipality.
What makes the buses different is the technology that has been installed to offer easy access to passengers who use wheel chairs or who are less able to board.
The buses are equipped with hydraulically-operated wheelchair lifts and dedicated wheelchair docking stations and are able to drop down next to the curb so
COMPANY PROFILE
that elderly or pregnant people do not have to climb aboard.
MAN Truck and Bus SA is the company that has supplied the MAN HB4 Lion’s Explorer bus-trains and the company is understandably proud of the safety and comfort that was bought to Mpumalanga travellers.
INTERVENINGNora Fakude-Nkuna, Buscor Executive Chairperson, who has been vocal of the company’s urgent need for wheelchair friendly buses said: “I have to single out MAN for responding immediately to our call for buses suitably equipped for today’s event which marks the beginning of the road to inclusion for Mpumalanga’s disabled community.
“People with disabilities in South Africa have been sidelined for too long but Buscor has taken a stand to break this cycle of exclusion. No longer will bus commuters with disabilities be handled like bags of
mielie meel. We are intervening as of today.” Bruce Dickson, CEO, MAN Truck and Bus South
Africa said: “The wheelchair lifts on the buses are fitted to a dedicated entrance situated at the rear side of the bus-train prime-mover, which allows wheelchair occupants to board the bus with ease to make their way to a convenient, safe and comfortable bay inside the bus.
“MAN’s bus and coach division is South Africa’s only one-stop bus chassis and body shop where bus operators can get vehicles designed to meet their needs with absolute efficiency and cost effectiveness. Our ability to satisfy our customers is mirrored by our passenger transit partners like Buscor who likewise is totally committed to satisfying its customers with safe, reliable and affordable commuter bus services.”
A PASSION FOR SAFETYBuscor’s strapline, ‘passenger safety is our passion’ is at the core of its investment into the new vehicles. Last time
BUSCOR
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we discussed the business of Buscor we discovered how MAN Truck and Bus SA had developed the bi-articulated bus-trains in South African environments to ensure their suitability. Systems were tested in Olifantsfontein and the cooling system was developed in Pinetown to ensure it could cope with South African conditions, especially in the Lowveld’s sub-tropical climate.
Tiago Dias, Key Accounts Manager at MAN Bus and Coach South Africa said: “The HB4 Lion’s Explorer is the ideal prime-mover for bus-train applications, particularly in semi-rural areas where gravel roads predominate. Equipped with air suspension, the HB4 gives passengers a comfortable ride. The Euro 3 MAN common-rail diesel engine is both fuel-efficient and quiet. Padded passenger seats, all with seatbelts add to the comfort and safety levels in the bus.”
“Other safety features include roll over protection, emergency exit compliance and seat anchorage, ensuring that our buses not only comply with SABS safety requirements but also surpass them.”
Safety forms part of Buscor’s vision, a vision which is shared by the Department of Transport, to have a world class transport system for Mpumalanga Province, planned with the community, industry and labour which is integrated, reliable, affordable and safe.
Clearly, with over 136,000 passengers transported every day, this focus on safety is held in the highest regard.
The relationship between Buscor and MAN stretches back to the early 1980s and today, the fleet is made up entirely of MAN articulated, bi-articulated and rigid commuter buses.
Sibusiso Magakula gets a lift into the new Buscor wheelchair friendly MAN
HB4 Lions Explorer
COMPANY PROFILE HATCH GOBA
MAR 14 PAGE 95
Port of Ngqura
INDUSTRIAL ACTIONIn the second quarter of 2013, bus drivers nationwide went on strike with the view of not coming back to work until at least a double digit pay increase had been thrashed out by the unions and company managers.
Of course, this had a detrimental effect on commuters but after three weeks the strike ended with unions agreeing a 9.5% pay increase in the initial six months following the strike and a further 0.5% in the six months thereafter. “We are happy to inform the South African public that an agreement has been reached between the union and the employer organisations after much negotiation,” Gary Wilson, General Secretary of the South African Roads Bargaining Council said at the time.
The strike had an impact on Buscor but the company managed to ease the frustration of some of its clients by offering free transport in the days following the strike.
“We felt that it was Buscor’s responsibility to provide this to our commuters, to apologise for the great inconvenience they were put through during the strike action,” said Fakude-Nkuna.
With customers now realising the high-level service
that they are used to it seems that Buscor is perfectly positioned to expand and grow into the future.
Fortunately for clients, the ownership is more than happy to invest in innovative technology and this will keep the company at the forefront of the market. Taking advantage of its relationship with MAN, Buscor will look to continue to grow its fleet and transport more and more people around Mpumalanga whilst always remaining loyal to its target of providing safe, reliable and affordable transportation to the community..“Other safety features include roll over protection, emergency exit compliance and seat anchorage, ensuring that our buses not only comply with SABS safety requirements but also surpass them”
Editorial: Roland DouglasProduction: Chris Bolderstone
Chem-Dry SA has seen exceptional growth over the past few years. With a comprehensive product portfolio and the company’s global Master Franchisee, Casper Steenkamp, its strong growth looks set to continue.
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Isn’t it time you called in the specialists?
As you sit in your home or office, perhaps the last thing you would ever think about is the cleanliness of your carpets. Some top business executives of the day struggle to keep their desk tidy, let alone the carpets around their premises. But why is this? Surely it’s not such a difficult task? But what about if you run a hotel that takes up thousands of square meters of space? Some hotels have function rooms that are over 7000m². Where would you even start on a cleaning job like that?
Well, the answer is less complicated that you may think. All you have to do is call Chem-Dry, the largest carpet cleaning organisation in the world and in South Africa.
Chem-Dry, established in the USA in 1977 by Robert Harris, came to South Africa in 1993. Based in St Francis Bay in the Eastern Cape, the company has 60 franchises spread all over Southern Africa.
Today, the group is owned by Devere International, a holding company based in Logan, Utah and Nashville, Tennessee and has expanded dramatically around the world through a franchise network system. Currently in the midst of global expansion, Chem-Dry’s 3500 franchises in over 35 countries service 10,000 locations daily and the company is now recognised as the world’s leading carpet, rug and upholstery cleaner.
In the South African market place, Chem-Dry SA offers ‘carpet, upholstery and tile and stone cleaning, plus a wide range of affordable services which will add beauty and value to your home or business facility’. Heading up Chem-Dry SA is Master Franchisee Casper Steenkamp. After joining the company in 2010, Steenkamp has overseen aggressive growth of the Chem-Dry brand in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
COMPANY PROFILE
Isn’t it time you called in the specialists?
SOUTH AFRICAN MASTERIn October 2013, Steenkamp attended Devere’s International Convention in Nashville and was named Chem-Dry’s Master Franchisee of the Year. The convention brought together business partners who have helped Chem-Dry expand across more than 40 countries but it was Steenkamp who went home with the coveted title.
“I knew of the existence of the award, but was very surprised when, amidst a very competitive field, Chem-Dry SA was named master franchisee,” Steenkamp admitted.
“I’m very proud that my small but ambitious South African team has achieved the growth, over a relatively short period, that has resulted in this recognition.”
Joe Manuszak, Director of International Development at Chem-Dry said: “Casper is a perfect example of the type of business partner that Chem-Dry seeks out -
smart, savvy and eager to help entrepreneurs start their own businesses using Chem-Dry’s patented equipment and cleaning solutions.”
WORLD CLASS SOLUTIONS Chem-Dry’s product list is the envy of the industry. It all stems from the initial work of founder, Robert Harris who developed a revolutionary carbonated solution that not only cleaned beautifully, but was also safe and non-toxic. His research stretched into years and years of studying the chemical properties of cleaning formulas and years of backbreaking experiments which required much trial and error - cleaning areas of dirty carpets with one formula and then another.
The company uses all-natural, green-certified cleaning solutions and patented equipment to clean a wide array of floor surfaces and the range is available for both the residential and commercial markets.
CHEM-DRY SA
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COMPANY PROFILE
Southern Africa’s 57 Chem-Dry franchisees take advantage of the world class innovations that make up the product range and the company states: “Our research facility in Utah, USA is constantly developing products that keep pace with new innovations in the carpet industry. We are thus able to offer solutions to carpet and upholstery cleaning problems that would not be available to other carpet cleaning organisations.”
Importantly, Chem-Dry products use a patented system, The Natural®, which helps to bolster the company’s green credentials. The company says: “The system employs a combination of heat and carbonation to help breakdown dirt deeply embedded in carpet or upholstery fibres. Millions of tiny effervescent bubbles lift the dirt to the surface, allowing it to be easily cleaned away rather than becoming further embedded into the fabric.”
What this means is that less water is used, no detergents and phosphates are used and carpets remain cleaner for longer meaning less energy used.
The full product range is made up of Spot Remover; for water based spots, Stain Extinguisher; for water based spots, Grease and Oil Remover; for oil based spots, Carpet Deodoriser; to freshen up your carpets, Fabric Protector; to re protect areas on your upholstery or to protect small items and Dust Mite
Anti Allergen; excellent for those who have allergies.
THE SPECIALISTSChem-Dry franchisees around the world receive many benefits, all designed to build a specialist service for clients. Franchisees can provide advice, assistance, ongoing maintenance, personal guidance, product sales and a whole host of other services and all of their industry knowledge comes from a unique and constantly growing training course. This course covers all industry sectors and Chem-Dry SA is able to cater for residential, commercial, healthcare and industrial sectors. “Hotels, guest houses, doctor’s rooms, hospitals, restaurants, banks, and various other businesses are regular Chem-Dry users,” the company says.
When you choose to work with Chem-Dry, you can be sure that you are contributing to BEE. “We currently have a number of Franchises that are owned by previously disadvantaged South Africans. All Franchisees qualify for category 4 BEE status. Chem-Dry still has Franchises available in areas like Soweto, Mamelodi, Springs, Klerksdorp, Newcastle, Richards Bay and Welkom and this is a wonderful opportunity for previously disadvantaged South Africans to make their mark in the industry.”
It is the product knowledge, innovative nature, committed people and industry leading results that sets Chem-Dry apart from the rest. So what advice would they give to existing and
COMPANY PROFILE CHEM-DRY SA
MAR 14 PAGE 99
Port of Ngqura
Thank you for your interest in my company. Here is a brief outline of what I can offer you.
• All Corporate branding on clothing, pens bags, stationary, gifts, folders, lanyards, badges, mugs, cooler bags, key rings and much much more.
• Manufacturing of clothing, including all sports clothing and accessories.
• Golf day prizes and give aways.
• Corporate clothing from T-shirts, golf shirts, lounge shirts, jackets, sweaters, pants, caps for Ladies and Gents and so on.
• Corporate gifts ranging from pens, bags, cooler bags, watches, mugs, desk top accessories, umbrella’s, keyrings, novelties and many more.
All branding is done in-house and includes:
EmbroideryScreen printingPad printingBroad format printingBannersFlags
Please feel free to contact me for advice and prices on any goods or visit our website
potential customers?“Most residential customers are advised to clean their carpets
at least twice a year, however commercial customers, depending on what industry they are in, might need monthly cleaning especially in high traffic areas.
“Carpeting and Upholstery is expensive to purchase and if one implements a comprehensive cleaning program and uses a cleaning company that does not leave surfactants or soaps in your carpet, the chances of having clean and healthy carpets for many many years without replacing them, is very good,” the company says.
Clearly, the investment in your floor is something which needs to be protected. Whether you are a residential customer or a corporate client, Chem-Dry SA has the perfect solution to help you maintain pristine carpets, rugs and upholstery. Make sure you don’t leave it until it’s too late; stay on top of your carpets and your customers will feel welcome, every time they visit. .“I’m very proud that my small but ambitious South African team has achieved the growth, over a relatively short period, that has resulted in this recognition”
Dan Tarantin (CEO, Chem-Dry International), Casper Steenkamp (Owner Chem-Dry SA) and Joe Manuszak (Chem-Dry, Director of International Development)
The Wilderness Expansion Project is managed and run by For Wildlife.
Non Profit Trust Nr IT 343/2012
Public Benefit Organisation Number 93 040 739
The Wilderness Expansion Project is an ambitious initiative aimed at growing and protecting wil-derness spaces, relevant to conservation. The Project is as much a humanitarian initiative as it is of conservation, and was set up specifically to address relevant BB-BEE credibility for South Afri-can companies. The Wilderness Expansion Project thus promotes conservation and sustainability in the form of humanitarian resources and infrastructure.
Priority Partners still needed: Vehicle (4x4 bakkie) – Telecoms
Your complete CSI SolutionSouth Africa’s only 100% BB-BEE wildlife conservation project All contributions are 100% relevant for your company’s finan-cial year end and BEE Audits
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