We have just completed our third quarter of the financial year and this StonCor train “kept a-rollin’ all quarter long”!

Each time I watch American Idols (or whatever that show is now called) and listen to the comments of Steven Tyler, a judge on the show, I recall various Aerosmith songs. (Being a tone deaf rocker, I know words from many different songs, but can only sing them in front of my kids – two of the three think I am awesome).

A song I was singing only last week was “Train kept a-rollin” and as is applicable to most of us, I will sing it for all of you: Grant singing ”Well, on a train I met a dame, She was pretty, from New York City, I’m walking down that old fair lane, I’m in heat, I’m in love, But I just couldn’t tell her so, no, no, no I explained to my audience of two, that because this Steven Tyler was afraid to tell a girl he loved her, she got off the train and left him all alone.

So learning from this, I want to THANK everyone at StonCor Africa for a good third quarter! THANK YOU for making this company such a great place to come to each day! I LOVE YOU for your talent and passion so freely given to make StonCor Africa the success it is!!

A tone deaf rocker and proud team player!

Grant Boonzaier

That StonCor Train Keeps Rollin! I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E:

Message from our

MD / Sales Achieve-

ments

1

What is Leadership? 2

The Cathedral / En-

ergy Conservation 3/4

Human Resources /

New Employees 5/6

Long Service Awards

Health & Safety 7

Announcements /

Awards Up For

Grabs

8

CANSA Shave/

Sprayathon

9/

10

Competition /

The Grinch 11

Stonchatter

Sales Achievements Dean Van der Mescht rang

the Sales Achievement

Bell loud and proud in

January 2012 joining the

Millionaires Club after 6

months of joining the

Company.

Well done Dean!

P A G E 2

“If you believe that

you are born for

greater things, it is

time you followed

your true calling.

Greatness is achieved

only when you rise

above the ordinary.

Hard work, sincerity,

and passion can make

your dream to achieve

greatness

come

true.”

What is Leadership? I recently read an article in the

Omnia News letter (same as

our Stonchatter) where they

wrote about leadership and

what a person needs, to be a

good leader. (Article written

by Celeste Appollis).

We are exposed every day to

circumstances where we need

to show leadership qualities -

At home, in traffic and in our

work environment. Leadership

does not mean being the MD

of a company, you could be

the janitor and still demon-

strate true leadership abilities.

These are some basic guide-

lines which will define a good

leader:

It is Never (or almost never)

About You

Leadership is about making the

best decision in the interest of

the common good. Too often

in the workplace, we approach

our work as individuals, fo-

cused on our own needs and

requirements, often at the

expense of the interests of the

team or the group.

The best form of leadership is

not just about working to-

wards a common goal, but it is

about defining the common

goal and leading everyone

towards it.

Knowing When to Shut Up

and Listen and When to Talk

“Count the cost of (your)

words before you utter them,

because the price may be

more than you can afford to

pay.”

Be careful what you say. Si-

lence can be as effective a

form of communication as any.

More importantly by keeping

quiet helps one to rationalize

the issues, to understand the

heart of the problem and to

identify possible solutions.

A Little Bit of Lateral Thinking

Rules and procedures may

sometimes stand in the way of

finding a simple answer, but

the solution is then not to

break the rules, but rather to

understand what the objec-

tives of those rules are and to

use them to find a solution.

NOBODY is Perfect

We all make mistakes! True

leaders however, acknowledge

and take ownership of their

mistakes, apologize and

admit to it—not laying blame -

and they learn from it.

Empathy is what distinguishes

a good leader—the ability to

understand people and what

motivates them or discourages

them and being able to guide

them in fulfilling their poten-

tial.

It’s About Doing the Right

Thing

Lastly, it is about being able to

distinguish between right and

wrong and then acting on what

you know is right in the face of

insurmountable difficulties and

even resistance.

It is about correcting or report-

ing someone when they do or

say something wrong.

Nico Van Eeden

S T O N C H A T T E R

Leaders are not born, they are developed. One

does not need to be an engineer, lawyer or

accountant. All it requires is a special level of

awareness, self-control and empathy

P A G E 3

S T O N C H A T T E R

The Cathedral (New Drum Store)

DEVELOPMENT IN PROGRESS Not only is our Cathedral built on a solid foundation, but so is the heart of our growth. StonCor’s Technical Department brings to the market place, the latest technology , ensuring products are utilized and correctly installed by fully trained teams.

BELOW: Stonclad GS—being power trowelled for perfect flatness and high density resulting in impact and abrasion resistance.

BELOW: Stoncrete SL Self Levelling cementitious underlayment from feather edging to 15mm. This unique cement chemistry offers the installers a 4 hour walk on time, being suitable for overlayment with StonCor’s resin systems in 16 hours. Product is currently under development.

Stonclad UL, truly a gift to the flooring industry:

rapid installation

90 square metres /hour

Initial set in 12 hours

Self levelling, impervious and tough enough to take the 552 tons of raw

materials which will be housed in the “Cathedral” . Stonprime SL—fast set substrate primer and void filler all in one. Product ensures “outgassing” and blow holes are detected prior to final seal.

George Tweedy

P A G E 4

The Cathedral (New Drum Store)

BEFORE AFTER

Electricity costs, as you are aware, are climbing far in excess of general inflation. We anticipate our electricity

bills will increase by R 1 Million in the year ahead—a cost which will be very difficult to simply pass on to our cus-

tomers.

Andre and Gerhard will be looking at ways to make our plant more energy efficient, but we need everyone to

help reduce our electricity consumption by changing our behavior as regards turning off lights, air conditioners,

heaters and geysers when not in use.

Please will you each look at your own work area and lead this initiative by TURNING OFF POWER where not re-

quired and asking others whether they need the lights / air conditioners etc to be on if you don't believe it neces-

sary.

Thank you

Grant Boonzaier

ENERGY CONSERVATION

Good for our country, our business and all of us at StonCor Africa!

S T O N C H A T T E R

P A G E 5

Human Resources

S T O N C H A T T E R

New Employees

Brian Weliso

Load

Coordinator

Barry Howell

Fibergrate

Administrator

Wow 2012 is flying past and it is hard to believe we are already in the third month of this year. One of the challenges we are currently looking at is new ways and means (systems and processes) of ensuring that our employees stay abreast of the latest changes and updates with regards to the StonCor policies and procedures all the time. To this end you are hereby informed that the Company policies are available on the HR-shared drive but in addition, it is our endeavor to have a booklet printed and distributed to all employees by the end of June 2012. This will provide easy and first hand, on the spot access to essential information required to resolve daily re-occurring issues as quickly as possible. Moving on to the skills development, the assigned committee has made marked and noticeable good progress on the workplace skills training requirement essential for improved skills and the development of our staff where the need is identified. In addition, an internal training module of the factory, raw material and laboratory processes will also soon be available followed by a roll out process to all affected employees. This will also benefit all employees in that an insight will be available on how the StonCor products are being produced from design through to manufacturing and sales to the customer. Also worth mentioning again is the fact that our Employee Equity Meetings are now being conducted on a regular basis and commensurately all discriminatory issues should be directed to the EE Committee for resolution in aid of StonCor Africa’s aim to ensure that all employees are treated fairly and discrimination eradicated.

Diana Van Niekerk

VISIT TO STONCOR

NAMIBIA

Above: Diana with

Caren Grobler & Joel

Amalwa

P A G E 6

“Hire the

best people

you can find.

Create an

atmosphere

that will

keep them.

Then let

them do

their jobs”

S T O N C H A T T E R

New Employees

Phillip

Ramataga

Filler

Sibusiso

Mthembu

Filler

Benson

Mchunu

Filler

Dumisane

Cossa

Filler

Kagiso

Mokgosi

Checker

Emmanuel

Ndebele

Junior

Machine

Operator

Clement

Buthelezi

Filler

Kabelo

Sekwati

Filler

P A G E 7

Long Service Awards

Liam

Kruger

5 Years

Patricia

Tunce

5 Years

Victor

Motsumi

25 Years

Maria

Mohale

5 Years

Health & Safety Prevent Fires Before They Happen

Follow these good safety practices and prevent fires in your workplace. * Inspect your work area daily * Be an observer and stay alert. * Housekeeping, Housekeeping, Housekeeping. * Report any situation you think is dangerous . * Report unusual parcels and packages . * If it is hot it can cause a fire . * Don't use cell phones near gas or vapours . * Check the labels of chemicals before using or handling them . * Ensure that your fire extinguishers are checked, maintained and serviced regularly. * Make sure emergency signs, including a list of phone numbers to contact in emergencies are posted. * Make sure electrical appliances are not close to water.

Avoid the pushing and shoving of panic stricken employees Gerhard Smith

S T O N C H A T T E R

P A G E 8

Announcements “A Family is a

little

world

created

by Love”

Congrats Tam & Jonno on the birth of baby Trent - 14/12/2011

Congrats Thinus & Karin on the birth of baby Stephan -12/12/2011

Henko & Theresa tied the knot on 10/12/2011—Well Done!

George & Andrea tied the knot on 19/12/2011—Well Done!

Congrats Jerry & Idah on the birth of baby Shudufhadzo — 12/01/2012

S T O N C H A T T E R

As you are all aware, the title of National Salesman of the Year is but two months away, so guys

(and gals) give it your all!!! This prestigious award could be yours.

An additional award is now up for grabs—best performing ”Sales Region of the Year”.

AWARDS UP FOR GRABS

STONCOR SHAVATHON/SPRAYATHON

P A G E 9

The staff of StonCor Africa

participated in the National CANSA

sprayathon/shavathon. A great big

THANK YOU to all who contributed

& participated. A total of R1600.00

was raised for the charity.

CANSA SHAVATHON

STONCOR SHAVATHON/SPRAYATHON

P A G E 1 0

Congratulations Gavin on your appointment as Distribution Manager

Happy 50th Birthday Diana

P A G E 1 1

COMPETITION

BIG BOY

BIG FISH

Guess the combined weight of both Armand and the FISH in this photo and win a case of beer / cool drink.

COMPETITION RULES

Only StonCor Africa staff may participate. One entry per staff member. Only official entry forms will be accepted. Entries to be placed in the marked entry box out-

side Michelle Schell’s office (branches via priority mail marked for Michelle S attention).

Competition ends close of business on 25 April 2012. Winner will be announced on 26 April 2012.

ENTRY FORM

NAME & SURNAME: ____________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT ____________________________________________________ WEIGHT ____________________________________________________

We hope you enjoy receiving the Stonchatter edition each quarter. Its purpose is to keep all employees up to date with the happenings and events within the company and its staff. Being a Company newsletter, all contribution are most welcome for consideration from anyone regardless of position and location. Please submit your contributions /photos to us at least one month prior to publication. The next edition will be end June 2012—Looking forward to receiving your input.

The Grinch