industrysa issue 18
DESCRIPTION
February's edition of South Africas top Business to Business magazineTRANSCRIPT
FEB2014
ISSUE 18
A New Era for SA Trucking
Hannes Lochner ThIS man haS SEEn IT all
Eqstra Fleet Management GoInG ThE EqSTra mIlE
Volvo Trucks South Africa recently released 15 new truck models into the South African market, reinforcing its position as one of the country’s leading truck manufacturers. Included in the range of new releases were the FH, FM and FMX models. IndustrySA finds out more…
Two-a-Day Group FIrST claSS applES and pEarS
Otis Elevator Company SAlIFTInG pEoplE, To ThE Top
Every month we discover awe-inspiring stories of successful entrepreneurship, world-leading innovation and universal inspiration.
In the future we will bring you further stories of business excellence and highlight the hard work that is going on in South Africa to grow the nations industries into global leaders.
Your success is our inspiration
#BeInspired
EDITOR’S PAGE
Every month we discover awe-inspiring stories of successful entrepreneurship, world-leading innovation and universal inspiration.
In the future we will bring you further stories of business excellence and highlight the hard work that is going on in South Africa to grow the nations industries into global leaders.
Your success is our inspiration
#BeInspired
EDITORIAL EdITor Joe ForshawWRITERScolin chineryTim handslauren Grey roland douglaschristian JordanRESEARCH DIRECTORchris BolderstonePROJECT MANAGERS James clarkajuanne payneJanis Billingtonleslie KempADVERTISING SALESSalES dIrEcTor andy WilliamsSalES manaGEr daniel marshallSalES EXEcUTIVE holly GrahamSalES EXEcUTIVE mark leonardSTUDIOSTUdIo dIrEcTor martyn oakleyoFFIcE manaGEr Tricia planeACCOUNTSmike molloy, Jane reederECP LTDmanaGInG dIrEcTor david hodgsonopEraTIonS dIrEcTor chris BolderstoneFInancE dIrEcTor Scott WarmanFerndale Business centre, 1 Exeter Street, norwich, nr2 4qB
If you would like more information about ways in which IndustrySa can promote your business please call +44 1603 618000 or email [email protected]
East coast promotions ltd does not accept responsibility for omissions or errors. The points of view expressed in articles by attributing writers and/or in advertisements included in this magazine do not necessarily represent those of the publisher. any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this magazine, no legal responsibility will be accepted by the publishers for loss arising from use of information published. all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrievable system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher.
© East coast promotions ltd 2014
Welcome to issue eighteen...
February is the month of love and we embrace this in our latest instalment; learning more about the jewellery and gifting industries and the challenges they have in the build up to one of their yearly peaks – February 14th.
From the jewellery industry, we talk to Caratco and CEO, Tim Watson to understand more about the Forevermark brand of diamonds that Caratco are now distributing – a brand guaranteed to win you plaudits on Valentine’s Day.
From the gifting sector, we chat with Ryan Bacher, founder and MD of Netflorist, the country’s leading florist and flower delivery service. He tells us that Netflorist provides a simple, easy and fast way to send not just flowers but a range of gifts, all over the country, in time for the 14th.
We also hear from two of the country’s top fruit exporters; the Two-a-Day group and Mahela Boerdery, who explain the challenges of operating in the international fruit markets.
Our entrepreneur this month has truly seen it all. Hannes Lochner is a world-renowned wildlife and nature photographer and his work has been recognised at numerous global competitions. He tells us more about getting his shots out there through the development of a new app, in order to connect more with a younger generation.
We also have to congratulate the matric class of 2013, who improved the pass rate to its highest in 20 years. This earned congratulations from President Zuma who said that the result showed SA is on the right path. “Our youth are providing that South Africa has changed for the better, our children have improved opportunities to do better,” he said.
If you know of any inspirational entrepreneurs or innovative companies that deserve our attention, please let us know @industry_sa or www.facebook.com/ECPindustrysa and with your help we can continue to spread the word and promote the visionary forward thinking coming straight out of southern Africa.
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conTEnTS
83 EDITOR’S PAGE February, the month of love!
6 NEWS all that’s happening in South africa
8 ENTREPRENEUR one man who’s seen it all
12 INNOVATIONTwo power houses join forces
14 GADGET BOx clever and kind
16 DAN PATLANSky hanging with ‘The Boss’
conTEnTS
co
mpa
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18 VOLVO TRUCkS SA Using viral marketing to spread the word
26 MTN SA once again, the most valuable brand
34 TWO-A-DAy GROUP World class apples and pears
42 OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANy SA heading north, into africa
50 ROTOLABEL Sa’s label expert
56 EqSTRA FLEET MANAGEMENT Going the ‘Eqstra’ mile
64 HATCH GOBA a match made in heaven 70 MAHELA BOERDERy Superior quality citrus
76 NETFLORIST The brand that started by accident
82 CARATCO now stocking Forevermark diamonds
86 SOUTHERN AIR CONDITIONING one of the coolest around
92 DOPPIO ZERO a truly artisan passion
96 HUDSON & kNIGHT It’s all about sustainability
100 B&M GARMENTS pioneering business in Botswana
104 MAN DIESEL & TURBO SA Engineering power solutions for africa
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nEWS all that’s happening in South africa
Rayal Porcelain Roof and Floor Tile Manufacturing, a Chinese company, is set to triple its workforce in South Africa by 2016 according to the company’s executive director, Yi John Zhu.
To date, the company has invested more than R300 million and employs more than 300 people.
Zhu stated that the company intends to invest more, bolstering production and potentially adding another two or three production lines depending on demand from the market.
Deputy Trade and Industry Minister, Elizabeth Thabethe visited the company’s plant in Bronkhorstspruit in January
and said that the government would assist the company in growing and creating jobs, just as they did when the Chinese business first expressed an interest in South Africa in 2009.
A Chinese boost for SA manufacturing
Marriot stumps up R2bn for Protea Hospitality HoldingsMarriot International is one of the largest hotel groups in the world and officially the largest publicly traded hotel chain in the United States. Last month, the business signed agreements to acquire the three brands and management company of South Africa’s Protea Hospitality Holdings, in a transaction that will make Marriott Africa’s biggest hotel company by number of rooms in operation or under construction.
There are currently 116 Protea hotels with just over
10,000 rooms in seven African countries including SA. When complete, the deal will make Marriott the largest hotel group in the Middle East and Africa region.
“With the Protea Hotels acquisition, our expanded footprint should allow us to become the first choice of Africa’s rapidly growing population of young, sophisticated travelers, and drive loyalty to our Marriott Rewards programme both within Africa and globally,” said Marriott International CEO Arne Sorenson.
© Protea Hotels
The Department of Labour announced this month that effective 1st March 2014 vulnerable farm workers would see an upward wage adjustment.
Minimum wages will go from R11.66 to R12.41
per hour, R525 to R558.60 per week and R2,274.82 to R2,420.41 per month.
These changes are laid out by the Labour Minister and will be effective until the end of February 2015.
Farm workers get wage increase
© DTI
nEWS all that’s happening in South africa
Petra Diamonds makes exceptional find
nEWS
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In January, Petra Diamonds made a fantastic discovery at their infamous Cullinan Mine just 37km from Pretoria. Found was a 29.6-carat blue diamond of exceptional brilliance and rarity.
Petra said in a statement: “The stone is an outstanding vivid blue with extraordinary saturation, tone and clarity, and has the potential to yield a polished stone of great value and importance.
“Blue diamonds are among the rarest and most highly coveted of all diamonds, and the Cullinan mine is the most important source of blues in the world. This stone is one of the most exceptional stones recovered at Cullinan during Petra’s operation of the mine.”
The Cullinan mine is one of the most important diamond mines in the world and has produced some of the most notorious rocks in history including the First and Second Stars of Africa, mounted in the crown jewels.
Petrol prices are set to rise once again as the Department of Energy increases the burden on already cash-strapped consumers.
All grades of petrol are due to increase by 39 cents a litre as of midnight on Feb 4th.
A litre of 95 ULP will cost R13.96 in Gauteng, the highest price motorists have paid and R13.59 at the coast.
The price of diesel (0.05% sulphur) and diesel (0.005% sulphur) will go up by 24.2 cents a litre respectively. Illuminating paraffin wholesale will go up by 12 cents a litre while that of illuminating paraffin (Single Maximum National Retail price) will go up by 16 cents a litre.
The Maximum Retail Price for LPGAS will decrease by 54 cents per kilogram.
Fuel on the up again
SABC Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) Lulama Mokhobo is to leave the organisation at the end of the month according to the organisation.
“The SABC Board and the GCEO have amicably agreed to part ways after a two year stint in the organisation. Ms Mokhobo has committed to continue to serve the organisation diligently as the
GCEO until the 28th of February 2014,” said the SABC.
The reasons for Mokhobo’s departure were personal and confidential.
Communications Minister, Yunus Carrim said: “Obviously, we are concerned about stability at the SABC and urge that the vacant senior posts be filled as soon as possible.”
More uncertainty at SABC
© Petra Diamonds
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EnTrEprEnEUr
Off the tourist trail…
In 2013, South African wildlife photographer Hannes Lochner released his latest book, ‘The Dark Side of the kalahari’, capturing the life of a single female leopard and her struggle to raise cubs in this extremely harsh environment. Camping out in the baron Kalahari Desert, Lochner spent two years exposed to the elements and the end result was a fantastic collection of images, some of the most unique ever seen from this part of the world and this got us thinking, what does it take to become an internationally recognised photographer? We asked the man himself and he told us that photography is a difficult career to get into.
“It’s a very difficult career. You have to be in the right place at the right time and you have to have serious financial support. It’s difficult getting funding if all you have is an idea; you have to be able to show something. It’s a lot easier now that I have published three books in six years but the first hurdle is the most difficult one.”
He always had a curious side and spent a lot of time exploring as a youngster but initially his focus was not on
photography and laid more with adventure, as he explains: “My father was a doctor and when I was young he made me a bangle, like you see on hospital patients, it had my name and phone number on it because I was always getting lost. I was always venturing out and picking up snakes or whatever I could get hold of. I grew up next to a nature reserve in Cape Town so we were out in the open and not confined to city blocks.
“When I finished school, I went into the army,” he says. “After the army, I went to study graphic design at the University of Stellenbosch. While I was doing my degree, I used to river guide on white water rivers in Africa and offer kayak safety training to rafting trips to earn pocket money. I did this permanently for three years when I finished studying and eventually a friend and I packed our bags and decided to visit the world’s white water rivers.”
After extensive travelling, Lochner returned to South Africa and his entrepreneurial spirit began to shine through.
“At that age, there’s always something new that you want to do so we returned to South Africa and I started a rafting company and I did that for years before being bought out by
Editorial :Joe Forshaw
Our entrepreneur for this month is Hannes Lochner, an internationally recognised South African wildlife photographer. He is a shining example of how hard work and dedication to a certain industry can result in an impressive career with numerous worldwide accolades.
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hannES lochnEr
the biggest company in the industry. After that, I was floating around and not really sure what I wanted to get into although I knew that I wanted to do wildlife photography, it had been an interest since my early 20’s.”
Lochner took a big risk and jumped into the photography industry headfirst.
“In 2007, I thought enough is enough; I need to change my life,” he says. “I sold my house, sold everything I owned, packed my bags, got into the car and went into the bush for two years and finished my first publication called ‘The Colours of Southern Africa’. That went very well and sold out very quickly. Then I went to the Kalahari and this formed a big part of my projects over the last five years. I finished two projects there; The Colours of the Kalahari and The Dark Side of the Kalahari.
“For The Dark Side of the Kalahari, I had the privilege of working at night and this was the first time that it had been photographed like this at night. No one had ever got that permit before and I don’t think anyone will get that permit again.”
Any wildlife/nature photographer will tell you that each day
can be a gamble and you can never predict exactly how wild animals are going to behave. Because of this, Lochner says you have to choose your active times carefully.
“It’s a desert; people who drive in there like to sleep late because of the heat so they sometimes don’t see much. If you’re around in the early mornings and late afternoons and you go on game drives at night, then you’ll see why it is such a special place.
“It’s a park for predators and predators are active at night. The only time you’re going to see these animals is early morning or late afternoon and it’s only going to be for a moment. It’s so hot that the animals sleep during the day so, during gate hours, time with them is very limited. The night permit that I got was great because that is when the place comes to life. All the predators, the movement, the action, the interaction between them all; it’s an amazing place,” he says.
To date, The Dark Side of the Kalahari has been extremely well received and has been recognised by international photographic bodies, including the BBC Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, for its uniqueness and technical excellence.
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EnTrEprEnEUr
Lochner suggests that as fun as the experience sounds, it was in fact very hard work: “It was a challenge because we were always tired. We tried to sleep in the day but it was 45 degrees and we were living out of tents. There are not a lot of trees there and at its coolest the tent was 40 degrees so trying to fall asleep was difficult. Then we were working at night and had to deal with the bugs. I probably tasted every bug there is in that whole park. As soon as you put a spotlight on, it’s like a magnet for bugs. You get used to it after a while; you have things crawling in your hair and in your ears. It’s a difficult place to do a long project. People who come for weeks say I’m the luckiest guy in the world and yes I am because I got the permits but I can assure you, it’s an extremely difficult place to work. In the winter its -13 in the mornings and working in an open top vehicle, that is not everyone’s cup of tea. There are always extreme challenges.”
As for the future, Lochner says that there are exciting times ahead and he has a number of entrepreneurial projects on the horizon.
“We’ve applied for some permits in certain parts of Namibia,” he says. “I have to work in areas where there are not too many tourists. I need space and privacy. The first time I went to the Kalahari, it wasn’t that popular with tourists so if there was a lion sighting there might only be two or three cars.
“I like to do projects in places that are inaccessible to people so that they want to see these areas in a book because they can’t
get there. “There are so many places in Africa where I want to do
projects. I’ve done a desert and I’m looking at another desert but it’s completely different to the first one.”
Lochner also hopes that his latest project, an iPad app, will open up a new audience and allow him to connect with potential customers through a different channel.
“You have to be proud of your work,” he says. “I put a lot of time into presentation and design of my books. My girlfriend does all the film-work and she has done a lot of the clips for a new iPad app that comes out soon.
“It’s basically an electronic version of the book but with it comes extra photographs from behind the scenes, stories about the animals, details on how the photograph was taken and the GPS coordinates from where the photograph was taken. It’s very interactive and it’s very cheap.
“It’s a medium through which I hope to cater for the younger market. You will always sell the books that you print but it will be to a different market; you have to adapt to the digital market and this is made up of younger people. It’s easy and quick and environmentally friendly.”
With this willingness to promote himself in new ways and his unwavering commitment to quality, it looks certain that there are many more special moments to come for Lochner.
Prints of his works can be bought online through his website (www.hanneslochner.com) and all of his books are available for
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hannES lochnEr
purchase and Lochner says that these books offer great value.“My books are 2.6kg and they have a protective box so
they are very heavy. It’s expensive to print these books but I always believe in the first impression. If you have something in your hand and it’s not flimsy and lightweight, chances are you won’t put it in the toilet, you’ll go and spend time looking at it properly,” he says.
While Lochner says that he would love to work in different locations around the world, he is still yet to explore much of Africa and plans to take in all that the continent has to offer, or as much as he can, before expanding his horizons.
His story is one of true entrepreneurialism and is proof that if you put in plenty of hard work you will develop expertise and eventually receive rewards for your commitment..
Editorial – Joe Forshaw
Last year, Sasol and GE announced that they had developed an innovation that could revolutionise the way the two businesses look at waste water. With much excitement surrounding the project, IndustrySA takes a closer look to find out more about what prompted the partnership between these two industry giants.
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InnoVaTIon
A giant partnership making all the difference
In November 2013, two of the world’s most prominent energy companies came together to announce the development of a new water technology innovation that will change the way waste water is used for the better.
Sasol and General Electric’s GE Power and Water have jointly developed a new technology that is set to be ready for commercial use in 2015 but is currently being piloted in South Africa.
Currently being developed at Sasol’s research and development campus at the Sasol One site in Sasolburg, the innovation will clean waste water, while also providing biogas as a by-product for power generation.
The technology used in this fantastic project is known as ‘Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor Technology’ or AnMBR and this involves anaerobic micro-organisms that are able to live in environments devoid of oxygen, such as sediment layers on floors of lakes, dams and the ocean.
The idea stems from technology used in various other parts of the business where Sasol uses aerobic microbes to treat gas-to-liquids (GTL) and coal-to-liquids (CTL) effluents in ORYX GTL, Qatar and Synfuels, Secunda facilities.
While the technology has been applied to other waste
water streams, Sasol will be the first to do so in a GTL environment.
The whole idea reinforces South Africa’s position as a global innovation leader and underpins the position of both Sasol and GE in the global creative technology environment.
Both companies are extremely excited about the development and Ernst Obersholster, Sasol Group Executive for International Energy, New Business Development and Technology said in a statement: “This is another exciting technological innovation that will further entrench our position as a world-leader in gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology and synthetic fuels production. While sophisticated water treatment technologies are already employed at Sasol’s major operations, this particular development will enhance our efficiency even further.”
President and CEO for GE South Africa, Tim Schweikert said in the same release: “GE is excited to be partnering with Sasol on this initiative that further outlines our commitment to supporting the sustainable development of South Africa with advanced infrastructure technologies, services and solutions. This partnership demonstrates what the private sector can achieve by working together for the benefit of growing the economy and making the economy competitive.”
Sasol, the world’s biggest producer of motor fuel from
InnoVaTIon
coal, will have exclusive rights to apply this technology to its Fischer-Tropsch (FT) plants, while GE will have the right to market the technology for other industrial uses.
“The organics in waste water generated from our operations have proven to be the ideal food, or substrate, for Anaerobic micro-organisms,” said Thulani Dlamini, Executive Manager Research and Development at Sasol Technology. “We will now continue to explore and develop this technology further with the potential for commercial application to our future GTL facilities.”
Daniele Scenarelli, GE Account Executive for Sasol, said that the innovation will be one that can cross industry borders and the partnership between the two giants marked a new way of doing business. “The new AnMBR is one of the many solutions that can be developed in the petrochemical and refining environment to benefit all other industries,” he said. “This strategic partnership, which was signed in 2010, symbolises a new way of doing business between customers and suppliers. It is a collaborative approach and a mutual commitment to technology development and innovation aimed to accelerate the commercialisation of this new technology.”
One of the by-products from the FT process is an effluent stream rich in organic acids and alcohols. Traditional (aerobic) treatment technologies treat this
effluent by converting the organics to carbon dioxide, a common but often redundant by-product. The benefit of the AnMBR is that the micro-organisms convert these organics into a methane rich bio-gas which can then be used for power generation. This then results in an overall efficiency improvement in the GTL process. By converting the effluents to a valuable product (power) there is a resulting improvement in the GTL value proposition. Another benefit of the AnMBR is that it produces almost 80% less waste biosolids than the previous generation process.
The treatment of GTL derived effluents is complex and challenging. Sasol pioneered the treatment of effluents from the GTL process in Ras Laffan, Qatar, where effluents are treated and recycled for use as irrigation water in the Arabian industrial city of Ras Laffan.
Sasol’s second generation offering, which is currently being designed for the US GTL facility in Tulsa Oklahoma, is the aerobic Membrane Bioreactor (MBR). The AnMBR helps maintain Sasol’s leadership position in this field by converting wastes into value-adding products.
There is huge potential for the commercialisation of this technology and test work has been on-going for the last year with what both companies call “promising results”..
InnoVaTIon
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GadGET BoX
Eco-friendly gadgets?
Can they really work?
‘Eco-friendly’; now there’s a phrase that is banded around on a regular basis these days. But what does it really mean? How often are things actually eco-friendly?
Because the phrase has become so widely popular, the meaning has become somewhat lost and confused but, at its core, eco-friendly means earth friendly or non-harmful to the environment. Of course, there are many stipulations and ideas surrounding what truly makes an eco-friendly product and if you can claim that your product is eco-friendly, you are likely to win a number of fans who have a modern, green mind-set.
At IndustrySA, we love a gadget; anything that makes life a little easier, more fun and more interesting is, in our book, a good thing. Any sort of gadget that incorporates eco-friendly principles, well that’s already a winner, or is it?
There have been a number of gadgets that have hit the market in the past few years, all looking to brand themselves as eco-friendly so we thought we should take a look at a selection of them and see if they are indeed fun, interesting and purposeful.
USBCell Rechargeable BatteriesHow often are you left searching for spare batteries? It is a common problem but perhaps not as common as it was five years ago. Nevertheless, batteries are needed in many everyday items; cameras, remote controls, lights, even the common desktop mouse, and we often use batteries that contain toxic chemicals. Rechargeable batteries have, until recently, been a source of frustration because of their inability to hold a lengthy charge but now we have the USBCell from Moxia Energy, a London based company that aims to provide power solutions that are economic and environmentally friendly.
You simply flip the top and plug into any USB socket, no need for any charger or plug socket. It’s quick and easy and there are new, more powerful formats already on the horizon. It’s eco-friendly as it means no more throwing away batteries containing harsh chemicals and potentially only using two or three USBCells for the foreseeable future.
Roland Douglas
Everyone at IndustrySA loves a gadget. In the past we have profiled some of the world’s more unique gadgets, some that are fun and some that are useful. This month we look at some supposedly ‘eco-friendly’ gadgets and put forward four of our favourites which could change the outlook for future gadgets completely.
GadGET BoX
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Eco-FrIEndlY GadGETS
RoboMowerAs robots take over more and more of our daily lives, is there a limit to how much you feel comfortable with them doing? If so, then the RoboMower is probably not for you. This ingenious product is a fully automated grass cutting device. You simply lay a cable around the edges of your lawn and leave the RoboMower to do its thing. It recognises the wires and remains in its dedicated area. It even has a sensor to detect trees, rocks and other obstructions so it continues to cut, despite what may be in its way. It is a speedy machine and uses a Triple-Chamber-Mulching system and 5800-rpm blade to scythe through the grass in no time. Interestingly, it is marketed as eco-friendly as it uses no gas, oil, or produce any harmful emissions and it takes the bore out of a previously laborious process.
Bedol Water ClockPowering electronics with nothing but water? Now this sounds like a great idea for the future and so far we haven’t seen too much progress in this area but the Bedol Water Clock is the first step in what could potentially form a dramatic change in consumer electronic power.
The Water Clock works by converting ions in the water into energy to run the clock. Bedol claims that the clock is ‘the most accurate, environmentally practical, hassle-free chronometer of its kind’. It is simple to run and easy to maintain and the company is pushing the eco-friendly aspect of the design saying:
“No batteries, no chemicals, no electricity – no pollution. You don’t even need to wind it up! Just fill the tank with natural tap water and you’re set for eight to 12 weeks of accurate timekeeping before refreshing.”
Of course, at this stage this product falls into the category of ‘novelty gift’ and the challenge now is to turn the technology into something more and perhaps use it on a larger scale. Even in its current state, this is a remarkable innovation and hopefully something which has a bigger future.
Flexible Solar PanelsThere has been much furore surrounding the use of solar technology. In developed nations, many solar installations have been developed but the price of energy seems to continue to rise. As well as being a ‘clean’ source of energy surely one of the aims of using renewable energy is to reduce the cost to the consumer? Hopefully flexible solar panels will provide a more unique solution to energy problems.
Many companies have produced flexible solar panels with varying voltage and different uses; just last month we looked at The Lightie™ which used a flexible panel to power LED bulbs but perhaps one of the most prominent on the market is produced by American company, Brunton.
The Brunton SolarRoll can be used to charge anything from iPods, cameras, videogames, lights and even car batteries and has an output of either 9w or 14w. It is durable, light and makes use of rollable amorphous thin-film solar cells for effective low-light performance.
This type of solar panel is quick, easy and cheap to produce and can be made with little impact on the environment. Obviously, it uses little energy, just that from sunlight making it an ideal eco-friendly gadget. The next challenge will be to get it used on a wide scale and improve its already impressive efficiency.
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dan paTlanSKY
“It’s music all the way for me”
q: There’s only one place to start – supporting The Boss! How did this come about? Is this going to be one of the most significant shows of your career so far? Do you feel the pressure when preparing for a show like this?
We got a call while in Germany from Big Concerts asking if we would be keen and of course we said yes. It took about a month for a response, but when it came, it was good news. This is definitely a mile stone show for me and I do feel a bit of pressure, but I think I should approach the show like any other and go out and play my best.
q: When we spoke back in June 2012, you said that you were trying to develop your voice and make it a bigger part of your performance. Do you think you have achieved this over the past couple of years?
I think it’s a slow process, but things are looking great going forward.
q: you recently returned from a successful European tour. When we spoke last time, you said that you were desperate to perform in Europe as there is an established market for your genre. Was it all that you expected?
Without a doubt! It’s still 3 army days for us that side but we seemed to achieve some great goals on the last tour. We head back to Germany again in March.
q: Are you still playing with Andy Maritz and Clint Falconer? If so, did they come with you to Europe?
Yes, I am and they joined me on the European tour.
q: Has the success of Wooden Thoughts forced you to change the live show and include more acoustic performances?
Yes, but it’s been a good thing for our show. It makes it a little more interesting.
q: Explain more about the Dan Patlansky Guitar Weekend. Were the events at the end of 2013 a success? Where did the idea for these weekends come from? Is this a unique offering for a recording artist?
It’s a weekend I enjoy because I get to spend time with people and fans that are as passionate about guitars as I am. The idea came about when I thought it would be great to try to breed more guitar culture in South Africa. I think it’s very unique, and an epic experience.
q: Two interesting developments in your career have been the opening of an online store and writing for the Blue Rock Review website. How involved are you in both of these processes and are they enjoyable?
Not really involved with the online store at this point, we have someone running it for us. But the Blue Rock Review project is a lot of fun. The whole point is to give a South
Editorial – Joe Forshaw
In June 2012, IndustrySA spoke to musical genius Dan Patlansky when the South African guitar hero was promoting his album 20 Stones. Since then, Dan has been on a successful European tour and released his first acoustic album, Wooden Thoughts. In January, we caught up with Dan once again to hear about his latest adventure, supporting the one and only Bruce Springsteen in Johannesburg. It’s not often that ‘The Boss’ has supporting acts but he clearly liked what he heard when he tuned into this extraordinary South African blues legend…
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dan paTlanSKY
African’s perspective of being a touring blues musician. Always enjoy writing the blog.
q: What is the situation with your next album? Is it underway? Have you thought about a possible release date?
We are currently in studio and its going great. We are hoping for a worldwide release in March.
q: you seem to be always out on the road. Do you have a busy tour schedule for 2014?
We are starting slow because we’re recording until March. Following that we have European and South African tours on the cards to promote the new album, Dear Silence Thieves...
q: After the release of the next album, you will have had six albums and completed many successful tours. Is there anything you would consider doing away from music or will you always continue to focus on music?
Music is all I know how to do properly, so it’s music all the way for me.
q: Finally, are you still using ‘The Red’ and ‘The Beast’ as your main guitars whilst on stage?
Yes I am. Still find those guitars hard to beat.For more on Dan, head to www.danpatlansky.com or www.totalexposure.co.za, or follow him on Twitter @danpatlansky.
Editorial: Lauren GreyProduction: Chris Bolderstone
In last month’s edition we featured Volvo Trucks SA, following the launch of 15 new truck models into the southern African market. This month, we take an in depth look at these new models, and consider how the Group’s viral marketing campaigns are helping boost sales.
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Viral marketing success
On 15th October 2013, Volvo Trucks SA launched 15 new truck models into the southern African market, reaffirming its commitment to the region and marking “one of the most intensive and exciting periods” in the history of the company.
With operations in the region dating back more than 13 years, Volvo Trucks SA is considered one of South Africa’s leading truck manufacturers, and the company prides itself on its ability to connect with the South African people; providing products and services that suit their everyday needs.
Managing director, Torbjörn Christensson says that understanding Southern Africa’s transport needs is very important to the company as it holds “untold potential” as a
developing region. “We believe that the region holds untold potential and
we are therefore committed to contribute to its successful development by providing products and services that suit southern Africa’s very unique business and operating conditions,” he says.
NEW MODELSIncluded in the vehicle launch was the company’s award-winning FH range, as well as the new FM and FMX ranges, which Christensson says will mark a “new era” in the history of Volvo Trucks.
“With the launch, we now have an almost entirely new product offering for our customers,” he says.
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The launch will also allow the company to expand its footprint across the region and effectively capture the market demand for such vehicles.
Volvo Trucks’ President, Claes Nilsson says that the launch signals “one of the most intensive and exciting periods in the history of Volvo Trucks.
“With the most modern and innovative Volvo line-up ever, we now have an outstanding ability to help customers in all segments to improve productivity and profitability,” he says.
FH RANGEThe launch of Volvo’s FH range in South Africa followed shortly after it was named International Truck of the Year 2014, chosen by a collection of Europe’s leading commercial vehicle
journalists, representing 25 publications.The Volvo FH has been Volvo Trucks’ flagship model for
almost 20 years, accounting for 60% of Volvo Trucks’ total sales, and its new range has been purposefully designed with the driver in mind, providing them with a comfortable, profitable and safe ride.
“The Volvo FH forms the backbone of our product offering and we believe it is also the foundation of Volvo Trucks’ continued market development,” explains Christensson.
“The new Volvo FH range represents the start of a fresh chapter in Volvo Trucks’ history and is therefore an immensely important product platform in which we have invested heavily during the five years of its development.”
According to Christensson, the new FH series “pushes
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the envelope of what a premium truck can offer”; including maximum uptime, leading fuel economy, reliability, ergonomics, superior handling, active and passive safety, as well as a range of time-saving features.
The new Volvo FH is also the first truck range to truly take a step into the information society; smart technological solutions cut fuel consumption and enhanced driving properties reduce transport times and improve safety on the road.
It is also characterised by innovative thinking in every respect. Both passive and active safety has been increased with a new safety cage and warning systems.
In addition, both the driver’s environment and the relaxation area have been optimised to allow the operator to perform at his/her best at all times.
FH: DESIGNED FOR THE DRIVERThroughout the development of the new Volvo FH, up to 3000 drivers from various markets provided input and feedback, prompting a number of “significant changes inside the cab that enhance the driver’s time both on and off the clock”.
The cab has been optimised both for work and leisure time, including a better bed, integrated parking cooler, new lighting and low noise level which Christensson says will “increase the chance of rest and a good night’s sleep, which in turn means drivers are less tired and more alert.”
Furthermore, stalks and controls are arranged in order of priority so that the most important ones are closest to the driver, and the steering wheel now includes a neck tilt function which together allow for a better driving position.
The exterior of the truck also holds a range of new efficiency-
enhancing features; one example is the optional wireless remote, which aids loading and unloading. With this remote control, the driver can stand outside the truck and adjust the air suspension, operate the tail lift and monitor the axle load of both the truck and trailer.
“This system saves the driver a lot of time because he or she doesn’t have to keep jumping in and out of the cab during loading. Not having to repeatedly climb in and out of the cab also benefits safety,” explains Christensson.
From the remote control, the driver can also activate the trucks perimeter lighting or activate the truck’s horn to prevent against break-ins and other safety issues.
Volvo FH owners also form part of an entire ecosystem of support which includes servicing, workshops, intelligent services, driver training and much more, “When you invest in a Volvo FH, you’re investing in a complete modern transport solution” says Christensson.
FH: SAFETy WITHOUT COMPROMISEThe new design of the Volvo FH provides the driver with perfect visibility from inside the cab, with slimmer mirrors and stronger headlights to further improve safety.
Being the safest Volvo Truck ever developed, the new cabs have passed the toughest cab impact tests in the world. Thousands of simulated collision tests and approximately 100 real crash tests have allowed Volvo Trucks’ engineers to develop a safer truck cab.
“We’ve utilised new technology, new materials and everything we’ve learned since our most recent new cab. We’ve used all this to build an even safer truck,” says Christensson.
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“For instance, high-strength materials such as dual-phase steel have been used in collision-absorbing beams and in the doors. The cab too uses the strongest steel available today for body panelling - ultra-high-strength, thermoset, press-moulded boron steel.”
By using these new grades of steel Volvo managed to build a stronger cab without increasing its weight; enhancing safety without compromising on payload capacity.
SIMILARITIESVolvo’s FM and FMX range are very closely related to the taller FH Series, but are designed to be far and away Volvo’s most versatile heavy truck range.
“Firstly, the FM is a highly efficient truck platform that takes especially steering and handling in this industry segment to a whole new level,” explains Christensson.
“Meanwhile, the Volvo FMX is extremely robust and packed with innovative solutions, and is comfortable to drive even in challenging operating conditions.”
While the FM and FMX range is in essence identical to the FH, there is one vital exception; the cab is placed lower down, making it easier to get in and out and making it ideally suited for specialised tasks such as car transport, where part of the load can be placed above the cab.
The lower-placed cab means that interior space in both the FM and FMX Series is less than in the FH, owing to the larger engine compartment cover between the driver and passenger seats.
FM RANGEBased on the same chassis platform as the new Volvo FH, the new Volvo FM offers class-leading handling characteristics. In Southern Africa, the Volvo FM is available as a 4x2 truck-tractor, with sleeper cab, and is powered by a 13-litre diesel engine that delivers 400hp.
With the groundbreaking Volvo Dynamic Steering included
as an optional extra, drivers are able to enjoy effortless control at low speeds and perfect stability at high speeds. Furthermore, the responsive engine and I-Shift transmission make for outstanding driveability.
Inside a Volvo FM cab, drivers are well protected. The new cabs have been developed for maximum strength and rigorously crash-tested. The driving position adds to this, by offering great ergonomics and perfect visibility. The risk of an accident is further reduced, thanks to the improved headlights, with optional dynamic headlights, and several smart active-safety systems.
The new Volvo FM is the all-rounder of the Volvo Trucks range, thanks to its impressive flexibility and transport efficiency.
“With its multiple application areas, the Volvo FM is one of our most important models, and the new version takes a huge step forward in every major area. It embodies our very latest technological advances, progress on and off road is more stable, and the truck is more comfortable and efficient,” says Christensson.
“Most importantly, the new Volvo FM is easy to customise to suit individual transport requirements.”
Improved suspension is another upgrade that contributes to the truck’s excellent road manners. The driving experience in the new Volvo FM benefits from most of the company’s recent innovations, including better roll stability.
Lower weight, new axle configurations, increased chassis flexibility and clear interfaces for bodybuilders, all allow the customer to tailor the perfect truck for the job.
However, whilst the Volvo FM is productive and economical for the customer, it also offers the driver a completely new working environment.
FMx RANGEVolvo FMX has specifically been developed to make driving in construction applications easier and safer; from the robust bumper and advanced steering to the new comfortable rear. In Southern Africa, The FMX Range is available in six model
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derivatives as 6x4 truck-tractors, an 8x4 rigid or a 6x4 rigid.The FMX Series has two engine alternatives: the D13
with its 13-litre engine (power outputs between 400 and 480 horsepower) and the high-tech 11-litre D11 engine (offering 370hp).
One of the most essential qualifications for a construction truck is a high ground clearance, which is why Volvo created the air suspension GRAS-G2 for up to three rear axles, implemented locally on the FMX 440hp 8x4 rigid.
The truck range boasts an array of updates including a totally redesigned cab interior, raised ground-clearance and the optional Volvo Dynamic Steering. All-in-all, the new FMX represents a significant step forward in all of the most important areas within its segment.
The cab of the new Volvo FMX construction truck brings efficient and safe construction work into a new dimension. Volvo Trucks’ designers and engineers have literally reinforced the original model’s robust, self-assured image.
The new Volvo FMX has a cab made of high-tensile steel, which has been tested according to the world’s most stringent safety norms in order to ensure the safest working environment possible. All components in the front structure have been redesigned in order to boost robustness and durability.
“The new FMX bases its personality on its honest, capable image. What you see is exactly what you get. A fully equipped tool, one hundred percent ready for hard work,” said Christensson.
Just as on the Volvo FH and FM, Volvo’s classic iron mark has been moved up to a new position below the windscreen. On the construction truck the iron mark is even larger and the diagonal bar is thicker and colour-coded to match the black
background. A practical handle is integrated into the grille.The bumper has a more muscular design; it is a three-piece
unit, with the upturned middle section flanked by two separate, robust corners that are made of 3mm thick steel. The middle doubles up as a handy step, and is made of an elastic, non-cracking material that handles low-speed impacts better.
Above the bumper there is a towing eye made of cast iron, designed to handle a massive 32 tonnes. The redesigned headlamps with their distinctive, angled lines are made even sturdier and offer enhanced light performance. Their design emphasises the family connections with other new Volvo trucks.
VIRAL MARkETINGIn November 2013, Volvo Trucks announced a 31% increase in the number of trucks delivered around the world, compared to the same month in 2012.
12,332 trucks had been delivered to all markets in 2013, compared to 9446 in 2012, with South America showing the highest demand. The significant increase in deliveries can partly be attributed to the Group’s unique marketing campaigns which have a tendency to go viral.
Since autumn 2012, Volvo Trucks has released six entertaining films to showcase innovations in the five new trucks released during the same period. “The Epic Split”, a film that highlights the precision and stability of Volvo Dynamic Steering, is the biggest success so far.
The film features Jean-Claude Van Damme performing ‘the splits’ between two moving Volvo trucks, with one foot atop the mirror of each truck. The test was set up to demonstrate the stability and precision of Volvo Dynamic Steering.
Volvo Dynamic Steering combines conventional hydraulic power steering with an electronically regulated electric motor fitted to the steering gear. The result is precise steering that gives the truck driver a safer, more comfortable and more enjoyable working environment.
This patented technology is featured in the FH, FM and FMX ranges and since the launch of ‘The Epic Split’ on YouTube in November 2013, the commercial has been viewed more than 59 million times.
“The response is quite overwhelming. Sure, we were hoping for a success, but we didn’t expect it to be this big or come this fast. After all, ‘The Epic Split’ is a truck commercial,” says Per Nilsson, Pr Director for the Volvo Trucks brand.
“The reach is mainly a result of public engagement. We can’t outspend our competitors. Instead, we need to outsmart them. Our communication strategy is one part of that,” he says.
“Our ambition is that the engagement the film has spurred will drive awareness and demand for our trucks. Through a relatively small media investment, we’ve got a massive response. Our strategy has proven to be a very smart and cost efficient way to communicate utilizing the new media landscape.”.
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companY proFIlE VolVo TrUcKS Sa
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Editorial: Christian JordanProduction: Ajuanne Payne
Last year, MTN was once again named the most valuable brand in the country. It was also named as one of the top 500 most valuable brands in the world. In 2014, there will be a continued focus on growth and specifically, the company will look to become a service leader.
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South Africa’s most valuable brand
In August 2013, Brand South Africa and Brand Finance Africa released their annual ‘South Africa’s Top 50 Most Valuable Brands’ list and atop that list sat MTN and Vodacom, demonstrating a clear trend: telecoms is now one of the most important industries in not only South Africa, but across the African continent.
Obviously, the traditional drivers of African growth have been industries surrounding natural resources; mining and mineral processing but in 2014 these industries don’t hold the same clout that they did 20 or 30 years ago. The 00’s and 10’s have been years of huge change; the growth of connectivity in Africa and, importantly, the introduction of mobile internet access and smartphones has changed the face of communication around the continent.
Brand Finance Africa valuation director, Rupert Kemp said that MTN could be seen to “fly the flag for South Africa in business” as the company was the only South African brand to be placed in the top 500 global brands.
Brand South Africa CEO, Miller Matola said that MTN “are not only building value for shareholders but for the 50 million stakeholders they have in South Africa.”
South Africa’s most valuable brand, MTN, has been a huge part of the changing face of communications in Africa
and Zunaid Bulbulia, CEO of MTN SA, says that the company is the perfect place to achieve.
“The great thing about working at MTN is that the stretch goals are almost limitless, both for the company and for us as employees. I can’t honestly say that I have set a specific goal of things to still achieve but I know I am in the right company to continue to achieve.”
He also says that the company enjoys sharing its success with the people that create that success and internal communication is important.
“MTN takes great pride in its accomplishments both locally and abroad. There are several internal communication activities that take place to keep the staff informed of this. We believe that sharing the accomplishments of the organisation with its people is a fundamental part of the success of MTN. It serves to provide further impetus for employees to work hard, work with passion, and give back to the communities through our Foundation initiatives.”
AN INSPIRED LEADER Bulbulia takes pride in the business being awarded but he reminds us of that old saying about a business and its people: “This recognition is reflective of the hard work and
commitment of all the employees at MTN. It might seem like a cliché to say that a company is only as good as its people but we at MTN truly believe this. The telecommunications industry is one of the most competitive in the world and the South African marketplace is no different. Without our employees, there would be no awards and we would not be able to achieve the successes we have had to date. By being named one of the top brands in the country shows the MTN leadership (and the staff) that our collective hard work is recognised in the South African market.”
Bulbulia was installed as MTN SA CEO in 2013 following a shuffle of the MTN Group Executive Committee.
With the challenges facing the company, it is easy to see why Bulbulia was selected to steer the ship in 2014. He has over two decades in the telecoms industry and has worked in various roles throughout the company, starting in 1993 when he almost stumbled into the business that would change his life.
He was studying, aged just 24, doing his articles for a Jo’burg based accounting firm when one of his seniors asked him to help with a newly formed company, MTN.
He told techcentral.co.za: “I didn’t really like this ‘articles’ thing and I jumped at the opportunity.”
This made Bulbulia MTN’s second ever employee after
Karel Pienaar who is now Group Chief Strategy Officer. The early days were risky and challenging but thanks to
the founding members; well, we all know where MTN is today.
“Karel was the pioneer who knocked on the door of the ANC to say we needed to compete with Telkom.
“I was here before we even had any customers, when we just had a piece of paper saying we had a licence to operate. It was a bit of a risk because you weren’t sure you were even going to get a pay cheque in those days,” he told techcentral.
Initially, Bulbulia was charged with developing marketing strategies and value propositions to attract customers to the business and away from rivals.
“Besides basic voice, we were doing directory enquiries and other products we wanted to use to differentiate ourselves from our only competitor at the time.”
This was a role that Bulbulia took to as he had plenty of experience in selling thanks to his experience working in his father’s shoe business. “I grew up in the retail trade, selling wares like most Indian people,” he told techcentral.
After two years with the company he moved into the billing department, managing service providers that dealt directly with consumers. “That was my first real commercial role in the business and I did that for 18-24 months.”
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In 1996, the then CEO, Bob Chaphe approached pay-TV operator MultiChoice to buy its cellular service provider, M-Tel, a move which Bulbulia says is one of the most important in the history of MTN.
When the deal was complete, Bulbulia and some of his colleagues were asked to run M-Tel and they quickly discovered that this was an organisation in drastic need of a turnaround strategy. However, this provided a platform for Bulbulia to learn and develop, and he was only too keen to accept the challenge.
“M-Tel was my first real taste of what cellular is really about. I ran call centres, credit vetting, warehouses and logistics. It was the best learning curve ever.
“I learnt things there that will stand me in good stead for the rest of my life. This business works, lives and dies by how you manage your distribution. He who distributes more effectively is the winner in this game,” he told techcentral.
His experiences here led to the offer of his position today from then COO and now President and CEO of MTN, Sifiso Dabengwa. The only condition that Bulbulia applied when accepting the role was that he could remain operationally involved with the business.
“There has been many, what I call ‘higher grade’ challenges over the years. In the early days, it was trying to deal with explosive growth and operational meltdown to the current challenges of transforming the company into one that continues to deliver great shareholder value in a saturated and ultra-competitive market,” he says.
Today, under the leadership of Bulbulia, MTN SA boasts over 20 million subscribers and was recently recognised as one the country’s Top Employers.
TOP EMPLOyERTop Employer awards are only given out to those companies that genuinely demonstrate the highest standard of employee offerings. The Top Employers Institute’s research assesses all critical areas of the human resources environment, certifying organisations that can demonstrate they are continuously optimising employee conditions and leading the way in the development of their people.
The Top Employers Institute said of MTN SA: “Our comprehensive independent research revealed that MTN (Pty) Ltd provides exceptional employee conditions, nurtures and develops talent throughout all levels of the organisation and has demonstrated its leadership status in the HR environment, always striving to optimise its employment practices and to develop its employees.
“The company culture is open and informal, ideas flow freely and there is little hierarchy.”
The company is keen on seeing through its employee offerings and these include: brainstorming sessions, employee
surveys, graduate development programmes, leadership development programmes, home Internet connections, medical aid schemes, pension schemes and sporting events to name just a few.
“While MTN does offer its employees very competitive packages it is but one component of the success of the organisation. Not only does MTN have a great corporate culture to work in but there are a lot of value-added offerings we provide our staff. MTN views each employee as a unique individual and provides in all their needs. As such, the corporate environment allows for significant personal growth and opportunities both in South Africa and abroad,” says Bulbulia.
STAyING SECUREOne of the fundamental challenges that MTN customers and employees are faced with every day is security. Since the sale of smartphones has been booming in the South African market and access to the web has been largely utilised through phones, security has obviously become an issue for providers.
The industry is now so far reaching and so complex that there are many opportunities for underhandedness. Bulbulia recaps on how far the industry and technology has come.
“Given the connectedness of the world today, there certainly has been a fundamental shift in the market. As a way for people, businesses, and companies to engage and interact with one another, telecommunications provide the foundation. Over the past two years, we have seen how mobile devices (both smartphones and tablets) have permeated virtually every facet of our society. It has also changed the African market with people having access to world-class network infrastructure bringing with it increased bandwidth and more competitive data rates. Telecommunications is vital for the empowerment of people - just look at how many entrepreneurs run their businesses from their mobile phones. Without a quality and reliable network, this would not be possible and economic growth would stagnate.”
Criminals in this space are becoming more and more advanced and it is not only data crimes that pose a threat; physical crime is equally as attractive for criminals as phones are now worth a lot of money on the grey market.
Last year, Lily Zondo, GM Risk Management at MTN SA told customers to be wary of theft and keep their personal data to themselves.
“We would like to remind customers to be vigilant about safety and to guard against theft and fraud, not only during the holiday season, but always,” she said.
“Our customers must report stolen or lost devices immediately to the police and contact MTN straight away to deactivate the SIM card. This will ensure that the SIM card cannot be fraudulently utilised for illegal mean.
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These services include end-to-end I.T. outsourcing, high-tech multimedia and social media contact centres, Internet Protocol (IP) voice, radio, unified and mobile communications, structured cabling, LAN-WAN data solutions (BytesNet), Biometric and Identity Management solutions. Increasingly, BytesNet has become a leader in innovative cloud-based solutions to both national and international customers.
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“When customers suspect irregular activity on their phones, alert MTN Customer Operations straight away and remember to never divulge your personal documents or details such bank accounts and ID numbers to anyone.”
Just last month, Zondo had to remind customers to also be aware of scam email and letter campaigns, designed to trick customers into paying money into fraudulent accounts.
“We would like to remind customers to be always cautious about such letters being sent to them. MTN would like to stress that customers who are not sure of the content of the letter is legitimate or not, they must always contact our customer care, collections department, banking query department, billing department or visit their nearest MTN Branded Channel Store to verify the authenticity of the letter,” she said.
“We urge our customers and the public at large to remember to never divulge your personal documents or details such as bank accounts and ID numbers to anyone, even when asked to do so by a letter that seems legitimate.”
As the growth of the smartphone and mobile market continues, the growth of this type of criminality is sure to follow and MTN SA and the entire MTN group are working hard to combat the problem where possible.
THE FUTUREIn 2012, MTN SA predicted that its 2014 market size would reach 80 million. It is perfectly positioned to launch a fresh attack on this burgeoning market and with Bulbulia, through his financial background, leading the company forward, there is little doubt that the company will again be crowned as the most valuable brand in South Africa and further afield.
The importance of innovation and quality customer service
will not die so it is fortunate that MTN SA is certified as one of the most attractive places to work. The creation of this environment has to be partly credited to the leadership and Bulbulia says that this focus on internal improvement will continue and there are a number of things he still wants to achieve.
Importantly, he notes that expansion is not simply about boosting sales figures and revenues. He is keen to point out that the work the company does within its communities counts equally towards expansion prospects.
“Expansion is a core element of what we do but it is not just about the numbers,” he says. “MTN is committed to giving back to the communities in which it operates. To this end, the work it is doing through the MTN SA Foundation has become an integral component to the success (and expansion) of the organisation. Furthermore, we take great pride in developing innovative services and solutions for both our business and consumer customers that reflect their unique needs as well as the markets in which they live. This local understanding is interwoven into our corporate DNA.”
In 2013 he highlighted his desire for MTN SA to become a leading service organisation, not just in telecoms.
“There are two areas of movement I want to create in this organisation,” he told Business Report in August. “There’s a need for us to become the number one service company in South Africa, not just in our industry. I do want us to become synonymous with service. The sustainable benefit of that goes well beyond just being able to grow revenue faster than you are growing costs. It’s about people wanting to do business with MTN and wanting to be a customer of MTN because the experience is so good.
Zunaid Bulbulia
©Flickr, Warrenski
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“I think the multiplier effect it has on your bottom line is phenomenal if you can position yourself and sustain yourself as a top service company.
“We are a company that knows how to manage growth which is exponential. So that is the first bit of movement that I want to create – a very real movement to becoming number one in service.
“The second,” he added “is I want us to be able to sustainably grow faster than our competitors along all the key areas of our business, whether that’s in revenue, in profit, in market share, in brand awareness, in social responsibility, across all the key metrics that make a business successful.
“I will feel we would have created meaningful movement if we are able to sustain over a long period of time consistently beating our competitors across all the key metrics in our business. That’s the challenge I’ve set for myself and for my
team – to find the formula and the way of work that results in that movement.”
Bulbulia also tells us that MTN SA is working hard to meet the connectivity requirements of all consumers and is committed to universal broadband access for everyone.
“MTN believes in providing innovative solutions that address the needs of all the people in the country. We are working with stakeholders in both private and public sectors to ensure that the connectivity requirements of all the citizens are met.
“In addition to developing cost-effective voice and data solutions, MTN is continuously upgrading its network to stay ahead of technology trends. For example, our ongoing efforts to roll out LTE while simultaneously improving 2G, 3G, and HSPA access is indicative of this passion and commitment to provide universal broadband access for all.” .
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In the last six years, Egoli Gas, Johannesburg-based natural gas reticulator has signed several multimillion rand contracts with businesses wanting to implement alternative energy solutions.
Egoli Gas has implemented energy solutions for MTN cellular network provider (14th Avenue, Fairlands has a two-megawatt power generation plant that uses Egoli Gas to produce electricity), Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, ABSA Head Office, and more recently Standard Bank South Africa’s Rosebank business centre. Egoli Gas is committed to helping companies reduce their carbon dioxide emissions.
“We are supporting the objectives of the Government of South Africa and the City of Johannesburg in meeting the growing demand for energy in al spheres of life.” Shepherd Shonhiwa, MD Egoli Gas.
As a prominent of natural gas, Egoli Gas believes the benefits of its product far outweigh those of other types of energy sources, especially as it is one of the safest and most efficient forms of energy. Natural gas requires low maintenance and can be used domestically and commercially, with industrial applications ranging from steam processes to power generation.
Leading the world in clean energy is tri-generation. The system is able to produce three types of energy: electricity, heating and cooling at the same time, resulting in power, hot water, space heating and air conditioning – all from one energy source. Tri-generation facilities retain the heat that is lost from the generator that produces electricity and reuses it to create hot and cold water. An absorption chiller keeps the water at low enough temperatures to reuse as air conditioning.
The benefits of tri-generation:
• Reduces the emission of pollutants• Minimises your carbon footprint• Better use of fossil fuels• More usable energy, less wastage• Cuts peak electrical loads• Tri-generation systems translate into substantial energy savings
Egoli Gas is currently moving into the Sandton and Lakeview (west rand) areas where more companies will be joining the natural gas revolution as the natural alternative.
Editorial: Lauren GreyProduction: Chris Bolderstone
Every year over seven million cartons of Two-a-Day fruit are consumed across five continents. Based in the Elgin Valley, this business has seen fantastic growth over the past 20 years and plans to increase 50% in size in the next decade. IndustrySA talks to MD, Attie van Zyl to find out more…
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Apples and pears, from Elgin to the world
Fruit export is one of the most valuable industry sectors in the South African horticultural environment. We have heard, so many times in the past that European, Asian and Far Eastern markets have developed a strong interest in South African grown fruits. Everything from citrus to bananas to grapes to stone fruits; international markets now place a huge level of demand on South African producers.
Maybe it’s the favourable climate or the quality of the land that help SA’s growers produce high class harvests year after year but one element that definitely contributes to the consistently high level of crop quality is the techniques used by the seasoned professionals in the industry.
Something that we have witnessed when speaking to
growers across the country is that both young farmers and industry veterans have such a vast amount of knowledge when it comes to farming techniques and this must be a driver behind the country’s horticultural expertise.
Our focus this month is on apples and pears and one of the country’s largest producers, the Two-a-Day Group and Managing Director, Attie Van Zyl explains that the company has its sights set firmly on growth.
“We will see growth of roughly 50% over the next eight to ten years,” he says. “That is not just an estimated figure; it’s based on the orchards that have been planted in the last couple of years. It takes four years for an orchard to come into production but it takes seven to eight years to reach full production. Our planned capital programme is around
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R600 million in this period to help cope with this organic growth.
“We are looking to grow in Africa. In 2009, the percentage of our total volume that went to the African market was 5%. In 2013 it was 25%. We will definitely expand this further. If you look at our position geographically, we are situated perfectly to service the African market compared to our competition in the southern hemisphere.”
To bolster this growth in the African market, Two-a-Day, through their marketing company Tru-Cape, have recently invested in a new facility in Gauteng with the sole purpose of servicing markets across the border. Interestingly, the company splits its African markets into three distinct areas
and is looking for growth in all of them.“At the end of 2013, we made an investment in a new
facility in Johannesburg so that we will be able to triple the volumes that we sell over border,” explains Van Zyl.
“We divide the African market into three geographical areas. There is what we call over border, which is Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, the DRC, Zimbabwe and Mozambique and countries just to the north of us. For these markets we will use road transport,” he says. “We have looked at opportunities to build or buy a facility in one of these countries but after looking at all the pros and cons we decided to rather do it in the north of South Africa. We feel that we can increase over border sales significantly. Because of the facility that we have built, we will be able to handle
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“We embrace the science of fruit growing from a technology point of view and that is what is going to help us drive the business forward in the next 20 years”
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much more volumes.“The second area is West Africa which is from Angola
upwards to Nigeria and Ivory Coast and the whole western part of the continent. The taste profile there is very different to our third area, the Eastern part of Africa, which includes Uganda, Kenya and countries in that region.
“In the very north of Africa, countries like Egypt and Libya, we see that as part of our Middle Eastern market.”
The African market is easily accessible from South Africa because of the country’s strong infrastructure set-up and apples and pears are not grown on a mass scale in other parts of the continent. These are just two reasons why the company’s fruit is popular in Africa.
“There are really only three regions in sub-Saharan
Africa where you can grow apples. It’s not like bananas or mangoes which will grow almost anywhere in Africa because of the sub-tropical climate.
“From a logistics point of view, we are well set up to service our customers, either by road or ship. Shipping is only a short leg; it takes just a week or two to get product into the farthest parts of Africa,” says Van Zyl.
Importantly, Two-a-Day is a large scale producer of Golden Delicious apples and Van Zyl says that this is one of the most popular products in the African market.
“You have to consider taste profiles. If you look at where most of our volumes are moving, it’s more of a sweeter taste profile like a Golden Delicious, of which we grow a significant proportion. I would say roughly 25% of our
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Gas At Site (Pty) Ltd, operating since 1990, offers reliable and cost-effective systems for the on-site generation of industrial gases such as nitrogen, oxygen, ozone and hydrogen. The company also specialises in state of the art controlled atmosphere systems for fruit storage.
Users of industrial gas are increasingly adopting on-site generation. Compared to the complex logistics of trucking or shipping-in gases, particularly in remote areas, on-site generation offers improved security of supply and – generally – significantly lower costs.
Gas At Site integrates, installs and supports a wide range of air separation technologies. These technologies enable clients to generate their own gas requirements on-site, in applications ranging for example from tyre manufacture and metals
processing where high purity nitrogen is required, to gold mining and water treatment where on-site oxygen generation can save significantly on production costs. Gas At Site also offers dynamically controlled atmosphere solutions to the fruit storage industry that greatly improve fruit quality, without the normal application of post-harvest chemical treatment.
Helgard Ackermann, Operations Director at Gas At Site says: “Our company leverages 30 years of experience in the gas industry with a philosophy of maximising plant reliability. In addition to ensuring that the plant is designed with the optimum equipment solution, Gas At Site offers service levels that support this philosophy. This ensures that our customers’ gas requirements are always met in the required quantities and at the correct purity levels.”
Gas At Site (Pty) LtdRobust On-site Industrial Gas Solutions Since 1990
total production is Golden Delicious. That is Africa’s number one choice in terms of apples.”
TECHNOLOGyThe amount of technology used by businesses in all industries is always on the rise and in farming and fruit growing this is no different.
Two-a-Day constantly invests in new technology to ensure that their operations are as efficient as possible and in its many years of operation, the company has seen vast changes in the way that technology is used. Even in the past two decades, Van Zyl says that technology has changed dramatically.
“I’ve been with the company for 21 years. I started off in the finance division and I’ve worked in various departments before I became the MD around five years ago.
“We’ve more than doubled our volumes in those 21 years and I think the main thing that has changed is technology. Technology is now a huge driver of the business. The definition of technology is widening; for example, we use mobile devices throughout the business even at orchard level. In the factories, the technology is so different from what we had just ten years ago. Importantly, technology
in the orchards, horticultural technology, has advanced greatly. For example, water usage has become much more efficient.
“We embrace the science of fruit growing from a technology point of view and that is what is going to help us drive the business forward in the next 20 years.”
The two most recent investments for the company have been technological and have surrounded the pack house equipment and the cold storage facilities. Both were implemented to improve efficiency and effectiveness of operations as Van Zyl explains.
“With the pack house technology, the machinery that we had was old and we’ve put in machinery that can do weight sorting, diameter sorting, colour sorting and defect sorting. In the past, the old machines only did weight sorting so this makes a huge difference. This will help us to drive productivity and will also allow for increased accuracy in packing thanks to much more precise weighing technology,” he says.
The new machinery can, remarkably, also sort fruits according to their colour and blemishes, detecting any potential defects such as bruising. Even internal fruit quality such as brix, water core and internal browning can
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be sorted in the future if the need arises.“It takes 70 photos per fruit and they are all HD photos,”
Van Zyl explains. “The machine turns the fruit and turns all the photos into a stream and builds an image of every fruit, looking at colour intensity and blemishes. It is software driven so can pick out bruises or wind marks. It is wonderful technology that will definitely help us a lot.”
The cold storage facility was completed at the end of 2013 and is now helping to keep products in optimum condition right up until they are sent out to customers
around the world. “We’ve made a 10,000 bin, controlled atmosphere
cold store investment and that is now up and running and has increased our controlled atmosphere capacity by roughly 5%. We have also invested in Dynamic Controlled Atmosphere (DCA) technology. This is because the chemical DPA (Diphenylamine), used to keep apples fresh during storage, is banned in continental Europe so we had to invest in DCA so that we can store products during their marketing window.”`
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HISTORy Although only gaining its current identity in 1993, the history of Two-a-Day group goes back a long way. The business has always operated in the style of a traditional cooperative and has always operated out of the Elgin district of the Western Cape.
“The company started in the early 1920’s when three growers came together to do their packing and cold storage as a group. In 1948, Elgin Fruit Packers was founded as an agricultural cooperative and in 1993 it was changed to a private company, the Two-a-Day Group, and that is where we are today,” says Van Zyl.
“The first apple orchards were planted in this area at the turn of the century. By the early 20’s there was a handful of growers who had planted apples and they realised that infrastructure costs were expensive. Instead of each going and building a pack house and cold store, they realised it would be beneficial to do it together.”
The company has dabbled with various different products but overall its attention has remained on its traditional produce.
“The business has always surrounded the production of apples and pears,” says Van Zyl. “At one stage there were also plums and nectarines, in relatively small volumes, but we have always focussed on our primary product and that is
apples and pears. “70% of our product is exported. We are selling in 65
countries.” Under the Two-a-Day umbrella, there are a number
of companies that service various parts of the value chain. Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing is the group’s sales and marketing arm; Elgin Fruit Juices produce apple and pear concentrates for leading brands of fruit juice, cider and baby food, both local and international; APL Cartons was founded to offset the high cost of packaging and has become a major player in the South African packaging industry and Link Supply Chain Management supplies global shipping, logistical and transport services.
“All of the companies are partly owned by the Two-a-Day Group,” says Van Zyl. “However, each company has a board and a Managing Director. Our input into those companies comes from our shareholding and our board positions.
“The objective of all of these companies is exactly the same – to maximise the bottom line of the growers.
“If there is ever a conflict of interest between our companies we just ask, ‘what is going to be best for the grower’s bottom line?’ That is the reason for the existence of all of these companies.”
The distinctive business model has proven to be a
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success over the years and the focus on the growers’ bottom line is a factor that has seen Two-a-Day become one of the successful companies in its industry.
“I would think that most years we are in the top two biggest companies in our industry,” says Van Zyl. “Our business model is unique, it is a typical cooperative model but we run it as a commercial company. The main difference in this model is that the whole business belongs 100% to the growers and the growers take control of the value chain. This allows them to take control of their own destiny. Any savings in the value and supply chain is passed on back to the growers.”
FUTURE PLANSAlongside expansion of its physical footprint in South Africa and the growth in markets in Africa, Two-a-Day will be looking to open up new markets around the world and develop its impressive product portfolio.
One market in particular that has been a target for some time is China – the world’s most populous country with over 1.3 billion inhabitants.
“The one market that we don’t have access to
currently is China. We’ve been struggling for close to 15 years now to supply our apples and pears in China,” say Van Zyl.
“Apple production in China counts for 45% of the world’s apple production and South Africa counts for perhaps 2% so we are a small part of total global figures. The Chinese taste profile is very specific so we won’t be able to sell all varieties there and this means China will not be a massive part of our global footprint initially but I see no reason why it cannot grow to perhaps 5-10% of our global footprint.”
As far as new products go, Van Zyl suggests that there will be some new releases for the market but apples and pears will still form the primary offering with innovations coming through in the form of new packaging.
“There will be new products but they will still be apples and pears,” he says. “There will be new packaging and we are busy experimenting with different packing types. It is easy for us to do this as we have a carton manufacturing company with an R&D department that focusses very heavily on innovation.
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“Within our horticultural department we have an applied R&D division which comes up with ideas that we can apply in the orchards in a relatively short time frame.”
Thanks to investment like this we are undoubtedly going to see the Two-a-Day business grow over the next decade. The company’s focus on technological advancement and efficiency is just one of the reasons that the company continues to hold a position at the forefront of the fruit export market.
Van Zyl concludes by saying that the company will embrace technology and because of this, become more efficient and this will be of huge benefit to the growers.
“As a grower, to be sustainable, you have to be able to increase your production significantly on existing hectares. If we are able to that, and I’m sure we are by embracing technology, then our growers will be sustainable for at least the next 20 years.
“Our business model, the fact that we embrace technology across our different divisions, our global reach and our adherence to world class standards are really the keys to our success.”.
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Editorial: Roland DouglasProduction: James Clark
Otis South Africa is one of the country’s leading names when it comes to elevators and escalators. Managing Director, Faizal Ally tells IndustrySA more about what makes this organisation a top performer.
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A top to bottom focus on quality service
The Burj khalifa in Dubai is the tallest building in the world. It stands at over 2700 feet tall and took over five years to construct. From the ground to the 160th floor, there are 2909 steps – a daunting prospect, even for the fittest of those who scale this mega structure.
Fortunately, thanks to Otis Elevator Company, there is an alternative to the seemingly never ending staircase. The company installed double-deck elevators, some of the fastest in the world, so that guests can avoid the challenge of nearly 3000 steps.
Faizal Ally, Managing Director Otis South Africa, while managing the Otis UAE organisation, oversaw the installation in Dubai and remembers it as one of his proudest career achievements.
“From a physical structure point of view, it’s really an amazing building.
“For that project we did many things for the first time and they all seem fine on the drawing board but when it comes to actually putting them in the building, there were some engineering challenges.
“We had to deal with a diverse group of people from all around the world; Australians, Japanese, Americans and others; they were all coming up with solutions to various
problems so managing their diversity was a real challenge but exciting as well,” he says.
Faizal knows Otis inside out. He has been with the company for 32 years and has worked around the world developing an all-encompassing understanding of this industry leading organisation.
“I started off as an apprentice” he says “and I worked my way through nearly every level in the organisation, including running a manufacturing facility, and whilst I was moving through the ranks I studied to get my degrees. I then went on a short term assignment in the UK, doing project management work, before going on a longer term assignment in the Middle East, based in Dubai.”
OTIS SOUTH AFRICA In the major cities of the world, land has become so expensive that it makes sense to build upwards to ensure you are making the most of your space and increasing cost efficiency. Take New York for example; the city’s skyline has become infamous for its impressive architecture and buildings that reach way up offering fantastic views across the city. This is of course to maximise the space that is available, especially on the relatively small island that is Manhattan.
In South Africa, the commercial hubs like Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth have all experienced construction booms and are home to huge structures, some of the biggest in Africa. The skylines of these cities will potentially change soon as new projects are constantly being pushed thanks to private sector development and the government’s investment in infrastructure. The city of Johannesburg is currently looking into high density high-rise village projects which, if approved, could transform the skyline of Johannesburg in coming years. There are also a number of proposals under consideration in Cape Town and Sandton for major new structures. Obviously, this type of investment brings with it benefits across many industries, not just construction and of course, as more and more high-rise buildings emerge, there is a need for transport solutions so that the eventual occupants of the buildings can get from bottom to top, with no sweat.
Otis South Africa is an important part of the global group and has a long and deep history.
“South Africa reports into our UTC Building and Industrial System France headquarters and serves as the gateway for the whole Southern African region. Otis SA as part of the global organisation, import our products
from recognised Otis manufacturing facilities around the world,” says Faizal.
“Otis prides itself on providing the most technologically advanced and green products. Greener products are of course one of the prerequisites in the South African market today. We also maintain a consistent approach towards process improvement internally, and focus on excellent service delivery to the customer.
“We were involved in a number of high-rise buildings throughout South Africa, and have been involved in setting out the maintenance strategy for many major buildings in the country. We worked with many iconic buildings from a maintenance perspective in places such as Sandton and we also worked on many large shopping complexes around the country. We set a strategy around providing products and services for an expanding retail market,” he says.
GOOD TIMES The past few years have been years of much success for Otis in South Africa. Since the global economic slowdown in 2008, which had detrimental effects on many businesses, Otis has managed to continue gaining significant new contracts and has received numerous awards for customer satisfaction.
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The XO-508 Escalator, ideal for use in retail, commercial and hotel applications
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2010 was a particular prosperous year for the company after gaining a lot of work with the FIFA World Cup stadiums and achieving a Diamond Arrow Award from PMR Africa, recognising the company’s customer service excellence.
“2010 was a good year for Otis, but we have had many stand-out years. We have maintained a positive status with PMR, receiving a Diamond Arrow award in 2010, a Gold Arrow in 2011, and again Diamond Arrow awards in 2012 and 2013.
“We have continued to win major contracts throughout this period, with some of our recent wins and installations including the Bay West Mall in P.E., Standard Bank head office in Rosebank, 15 Alice Road Sandton, 70 Grayston, replacement of existing units in Johannesburg Park Station and Menlyn Shopping Centre, Tygerberg Hospital, Blue Route mall and a recent award of the Horizon View in Mozambique – a prestige mixed use building in Maputo,” he adds.
In 2012, credit solutions provider Coface South Africa told Engineering News that whilst building confidence among contractors, materials manufacturers and quantity surveyors had increased marginally over 2010 and 2011, the immediate outlook for the South African construction
industry remained challenging. However, Otis managed to come through the difficult period unscathed and the company has managed to operate sustainably, even with the global economy still in a particularly fragile state. Faizal puts this down to a focus on quality and service and a vast array of business activities, not just work on new buildings.
“In the post World Cup period, we have seen development slow down on new building and as such the new installations but there has been growth on the existing building side. There are many companies doing a lot of upgrade work. The maintenance and repair business has remained fairly stable throughout this period,” explains Faizal.
This on-going success, according to Faizal, is in part down to continued investment from the South African government into various infrastructure projects. This has not only galvanised the private sector, it has also bought in work from the public sector with many government buildings needing upgrades and installations.
“We have certainly seen benefits from the government’s investment, with upgrades to the lifts and escalators in many government buildings and healthcare facilities as part of overall healthcare and parastatal upgrades.”
As well as the government, Otis has many big name
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Durban47 Jeffels Road, ProspectonTel +27 31 913 6300Email: [email protected]
Johannesburg26 Pomona Road,Pomona, Kempton ParkTel +27 11 976 7000Email: [email protected]
Cape TownCnr Mobile & Madrid, Airport IndustriaCape Town Tel +27 (0) 21 386 6700 Email: [email protected]
clients in South Africa; in fact, it would be difficult to find another company that services as many national brands as Otis.
“We work with property companies like Growthpoint Properties, Redefine Properties, JHI, Investec Properties, Liberty Properties and Old Mutual to name a few. From a government perspective National and Provincial Departments of Public Works and Eskom and ACSA are key customers. FNB, Standard Bank, Netcare and Telkom are Otis customers. On the retail side, groups like Edcon, Woolworths and Foschini are customers and of course we work closely with facilities management companies like Drake and Scull, and a broad range of construction companies,” explains Faizal.
STRONG HISTORyPerhaps one of the key drivers behind its success, Otis has a long and impressive history, both globally and in South Africa.
Its roots go back to the aforementioned New York City and the innovator and entrepreneur, Elisha Otis who invented a safety elevator for his employer in 1852. The following year, he sold his first three elevators for US$300 each and then saw a slump in sales until 1855 which saw a
pickup in business. In 1861, Elisha Otis died in the diphtheria epidemic and
the business was left to his two sons who turned it into a multi-million dollar organisation.
Since day one, it has been the safety of the Otis elevator which has stood it apart from the crowd and Elisha Otis himself used the equipment’s impressive safety record to market the brand. Interestingly, his business card from 1853 stated: “Otis’ Life-Saving Steam Elevators are so constructed that if the rope breaks the platform cannot fall. Twelve men killed in this city (Yonkers, N.Y.) within four years with the old-kind, and not one killed or hurt with Otis’ Excelsior Elevators.”
In South Africa, Otis started out in 1903 and began manufacturing in 1948 under the name Waygood-Otis (South Africa) Ltd. In 1957, the business became Otis Elevator Company Ltd and then changed identity again in ’98 becoming Otis (Pty) Ltd when United Technology Corporation (UTC) bought out the minority Otis shares.
“We remain today a part of the global UTC group, which also incorporates companies like Chubb, Carrier, Sikorsky Helicopters, Pratt and Whitney and Hamilton Sunstrand,” explains Faizal.
On a global level, Otis has provided elevators to eight of
Otis technicians working on an elevator modernisation project
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the ten World’s Tallest Buildings in the past 100 years. In South Africa, the company has over 500 employees, with over 300 technicians around the country.
The company now holds the vision of being the recognised leader in service excellence among all companies, not just elevator companies, worldwide.
As with many global organisations, Otis has placed a large emphasis on the developing economies of Africa and business in Southern Africa is managed by the regional head office in Gauteng.
“Otis maintains a strong focus in Africa. The Southern parts of Africa (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique, Malawi and Namibia) report into the South African organisation. The more Northern countries are handled by our Paris Head Office, and Otis has offices in Kenya, Egypt and Morocco. We have plans of expanding sales of our products throughout the continent,” explains Faizal.
THE FUTURE As with many companies, in many industries, the future for Otis is green. Obviously, the company is expanding its global footprint to remain in line with global demand but a key element of that expansion is a focus on green issues and environmental awareness.
To meet increasing demand and maintain leadership in key global markets, Otis has announced the opening of three new state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities around the world, with locations in Sao Paolo, Brazil; Bangalore, India; and Florence, South Carolina. This global focus has positioned Otis as an industry leader and led to the development of key new research facilities, such as the
high-rise centre of excellence in Shanghai.Daryl Marvin, Otis Director of Innovation said last year:
“As countries like Brazil, Russia, India and China build the mega cities of the future, Otis will be in their markets to anticipate their needs and exceed their expectations for technology and service.”
When it comes to technology, Otis is leading the way in environmental awareness. The company has recently rolled out a campaign which emphasises its commitment to environmentally friendly solutions.
‘The Way to Green’ campaign focusses on continually driving the company, and its customers, forward with green thinking on a global scale. It aims to encourage environmental awareness in everything that the company does.
Pedro Baranda, President of Otis Elevator Company said last year: “After 160 years, Otis is just getting started. We are meeting the challenge of building elevators for today’s skyscrapers with tomorrow’s technology, all the while with an unwavering commitment to safety, quality and ingenuity.”
In South Africa, the focus on green technology was demonstrated when the company introduced the Gen2 range of products, a range of ‘smarter technologies that help save space, money, energy and the planet’.
“Otis continuously invests in research and development. Our latest product introduction was the Gen2 Switch which was launched during 2013. Further product introductions are likely to be announced throughout 2014,” says Faizal.
He explains that green thinking now encompasses
The Otis compass Destination Management system to reduce landing and in-car waiting times
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all parts of the business from manufacturing and initial installation to maintenance and modernisation.
“Our manufacturing facilities are strongly focused on reducing environmental impacts through waste reduction, less energy and water use and more efficient manufacturing but more than this, our products are making significant differences in energy usage in our customer’s buildings,” he says.
“Our ReGen drive (part of our Gen2 elevator range) utilises the potential energy created by the movement of lift cabins (down with a heavy load, or up with a light load), and converts this to real electricity, powering it back into the building power grids for use in other building systems.
“This isn’t just available for new lifts, but can be installed on existing lifts and escalators as well. The ReGen drive means an energy reduction of up to 70% against lifts with a traditional non-regenerative drive. Otis has also recently introduced the Gen2 Switch – the world’s first hybrid elevator. It uses the ReGen drive to store the electricity in batteries, which can then be used in standard elevator operation saving significant amounts of electricity, and has the advantage of standard operations while power outages occur. The Gen2 Switch is also solar compatible and can be linked with solar systems to allow for use with
sustainable energy options.”Faizal explains that technology has come such a long
way in the last 30 years and now modern components are often just a third of the size that they were on more traditional machines.
“A machine manufactured in the 80’s consumed a significantly large amount of energy to turn the motor and the gearbox and the sheave. Back then, a machine could carry 1000kgs with a sheave dimension of 750mm. Today, we have a machine that can move the same weight at the same speed with a 100mm sheave. Of course, this means less material for manufacture.
“Also, we now use a gearless machine system which is not sent through heavy motors and a gearbox; it’s a direct permanent-magnet machine which consumes a third of the electricity of a traditional machine.”
Obviously, these green attributes are selling points for Otis products and can have an impact on a buildings environmental credentials.
“If you look at green assessments on buildings; the primary advantage when gaining points on the elevator side is through energy savings,” he says.
“It has brought us many orders, particularly on high-profile, prestigious buildings which are expected to meet
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strict green compliance requirements.”Otis is also busy developing systems which move away
from using polluting oils and lubricants. The company already introduced systems which use significantly reduced amounts of lubricant with the goal of eventually utilising systems that use no harmful oils whatsoever.
kEy TO SUCCESS?The drivers behind the success of Otis, not just in South Africa but globally, stretch right back to 1852 and Elisha Otis himself. From the very beginning he was focussed on service excellence and quality products.
Today, Otis lives by those values but the difference is it’s not just one man. There are over 60,000 Otis employees around the world and through them the company delivers its premium service. Needless to say, there is clearly heavy investment that goes on with regards to people development.
“Over the years, the drivers behind our success have been ongoing product innovation with increased safety features on our products; service excellence and our commitment to continuous internal improvement,” explains Faizal.
“Equally our focus on safety, both of our own employees and the public who ride Otis escalators and elevators is of consummate importance to us, and we ensure our people maintain safety throughout.
“We run a strong program aimed at all levels of our company, stressing the importance of great customer service and training our teams regularly.
“Every Otis employee plays a role in maintaining the quality our customers expect. Through our rigorous
ACE (Achieving Competitive Excellence) program, our employees strive for better quality every day using the tools of continuous improvement methodology to improve productivity, quality, cost-effectiveness and customer satisfaction. With ACE, every function at Otis, from engineering to sales and service, measures its performance and sets goals for improvement. We’re relentless about improving our performance,” he says.
There are huge opportunities for Otis employees and Faizal firmly believes that with the right application, anyone can work their way up the company ladder.
“Otis is very good at helping people develop. You’ll find that many Otis employees have been with the company for over 20 years and that is one of the strengths of the company.
“We are very serious about people development because in the industry in South Africa, there is a huge shortage of technicians and we have invested in the training centre and training programmes and aligned ourselves with the skills development act and with merSETA to help develop young technicians.
Faizal Ally – Managing Director Otis Southern Africa
“Otis prides itself on providing the most technologically advanced and green products. Greener products are of course one of the prerequisites in the South African market today”
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“We will hire people from college, put them through a learnership programme and qualify them as lift technicians. Because of the skill shortage, we are increasing the amount of people that we are training and we now see many people set their sights on further development.
“For example, we had a very good female mechanic in Cape Town. She qualified and did a great job as a mechanic. After she qualified, she studied general management and we promoted her last year to take over a very important role in an estimating function for all our maintenance contracts. We have a path set out for her and she is doing exceptionally well but this is just one example.
“Of the nine people that report directly to me, four have come right through the ranks and the others are functional specialists like finance people.
“This is a huge benefit. An elevator is a complex piece of equipment and the customer wants the confidence that whoever they are talking to has the know-how and ability to fix problems or provide solutions and if you have the background this becomes a lot easier,” explains Faizal.
Of course, the company has a wider reaching impact than just its employees and its customers. Otis South Africa works closely with Johannesburg Child Welfare, offering
annual sponsorship so that the NGO can continue to offer its fantastic services. Otis also service elevators of many needy organisations and takes on many disabled learners as part of its training drive.
It is this emphasis on constant development; of people, products and services; that allows Otis to maintain its position at the forefront of the market in South Africa and with the African continent the number one region on the planet in terms of growth potential, it seems as though there will be many opportunities for the company to continue expanding and continue demonstrating why it is one of the most trusted names in the industry..
MP Elevator Services provides the following services:
• Installations of new li� equipment
• Upgrading and modernization of old li� equipment
• Repairs and maintenance to all makes of elevators and escalators
• Refurbishment of li� interiors
Cell: 076 216 1200, Fax: 086 613 3978, Email: [email protected] Box 1578, Carletonville, 2500
MP ELEVATOR SERVICES cc2003/110319/23
“An elevator is a complex piece of equipment and the customer wants the confidence that whoever they are talking to has the know-how and ability to fix problems or provide solutions”
Editorial: Colin Chinery Production: Ajuanne Payne
Silent salesperson, informer, hazard cone
and instructor – few industrial components
are as multi-tasked as a powerful product
label. And with a brand defined by world
quality products, advanced technology,
and principled, customer-orientated
strategies, Cape Town based Rotolabel,
says Sales Director Grant Watson, is ready
to extend its footprint on the African
continent.
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The power of a great label
A label, like a job interviewee, has one chance to impress, and in a fiercely competitive market, leading top-end self-adhesive label manufacturer Rotolabel is delivering world quality products on the back of a principled, customer-orientated strategy.
Founded in 1982, Cape Town-based Rotolabel specialises in high quality flexo, digital and rotary letterpress printing, hot foil stamping and rotary silk screening - technologies that can personalise each label, providing a unique marketing and promotional tool.
“We are major suppliers to many markets, with a very strong presence in the food, wine personal
care, pharma, hygiene and track n trace industries, building a reputation for total commitment, and dedicated service to our clients,” says Sales Director Grant Watson.
When major retail brand Woolworths launched a new range of cooking oils, dessert sauces, syrups and glazes as part of a new product line, ‘Cooks’ Essentials’, Rotolabel was immediately approached to produce the labels for this premium product range.
WORLD CLASS Rotolabel is renowned for producing superior print quality labels at competitive prices. “We have strived
to stay at the forefront of technology, enabling us to produce labels that sets a client’s product out from among the rest.
“We have invested in of state-of-the-art finishing offering; digital, hot and cold foiling, silkscreen and high-build, varnishing and laminating. Everything you could wish for in designing a world-class label,” says Watson.
Acquired six year ago by Bidvest, and operating as the Bidpaper labelling division, Rotolabel is set to extend its Africa mark still further.
“In the past four years some R40 million has been invested in equipment and acquisitions, and over the last two our expansion has been massive,” says
Watson.“We have also taken over the management
of Lithotech of Johannesburg - now known as Rotolabel Johannesburg - and last June Rotolabel Cape Town acquired CCL Stellenbosch to further segment their position in the wine market.”
Sustained investment in technology along with committed and dedicated customer service means that Rotolabel offers solutions ranging from high-quality full-colour product identification labels to the supply of specialised equipment - such as bar-code printers and scanners, tagging systems and labelling software programmes.
“Almost anyone can deliver good quality once,
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but Rotolabel is all about consistent quality and service. We try and take the hassle out of printing and our model is built partly on being as convenient as possible.”
Does he see labelling as an extension of the client’s own branding? “At the end of the day the label is an intricate part of our customers’ products. We produce a high quality label, and with the designer
having a massive impact we must ensure we have the right capabilities to deliver the designer’s expectations.”
Exacting market expectations too have to be met – and these are ever-increasing. “The biggest change
is in demand. Looking back you could set three to four weeks lead times and customers were happy. Now in the label business anything more than two weeks is too long, and quality expectations have also gone up a lot.
“Typically lead times are two weeks - and for some major retailers one week or even days have become the norm. Delivering to these new customer expectations can be extremely challenging, since they require productive capacity and the capability of being both lean and extremely flexible. And as we all know, capacity comes at a cost.
“These short lead times are very evident in the food and wine market where time is critical and often products are fresh and therefore cannot wait.”
COLOSSAL yEARAcquisitions and the process of integrating new people and new presses into the business have meant that the last six months have not been easy, says Watson. “Inevitably they have been extremely demanding on management resources. But 2014 is going to be a colossal year.
“But you can’t just chase sales; you’ve got to chase
“Almost anyone can deliver good quality once, but Rotolabel is all about consistent quality and service”
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SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH
Label InnovationAt UPM Raflatac, we work closely with converters
and brand owners to provide innovative, high quality and sustainable self-adhesive labels.
UPM Raflatac’s labelstock products are designed to meet the needs of demanding applications in a vast array of end-uses. Whilst each product is designed
to offer excellent printability, convertibility and durability, a key driver in all UPM Raflatac’s product
development is sustainability.
In developing new products and services, we value responsible sourcing and FSC® and PEFC™
chain of custody. We also strive for production process efficiency, recycling waste, and
optimizing logistics.
www.upmraflatac.com
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companY proFIlE
the right sales. If you don’t, you get involved in a price battle, and from then on it’s a downward spiral. And I’ve seen this a lot in the South African label market, with some guys getting carried away chasing the vanity of volume.
“Our goal is to be preferred supplier in our market segments not only in South Africa but elsewhere in Africa and we are looking at making acquisitions.”
And wherever Rotolabel plants its imprint, it will be driven by its distinctive core values; world quality products, advanced technology, and principled, customer-orientated strategies.
“You must always be looking at your customers, understanding what they want and adapting to their changes. You must invest continually in technology and be ever leaner and responsive to the market. People are very important – I know that’s a cliché – and - this is critical - to be successful you’ve got to be confident and believe in the value you are offering.”
And with new advances- printing directly on a pack for example - what future does he see on the label of his industry?
“As printing and technology push the boundaries especially with digital, you can now print direct on to products with a lot better quality and much shorter runs. This is always going to be a threat to labels, but I think a long term threat.”
SIMPLy – THE BESTMeantime Rotolabel plans to expand into other
markets in particular the oil,chemical and definitely grow our pharmaceutical sector too, where we have both the expertise and the facilities. We have moved into wrap- around and shrink, and I see a huge opportunity for us there.”
Shrinking is not a term you would associate with this sector brand leader, nor the SD. So what drives Grant Watson, sixteen years a Rotolabel man?
“Being successful. I’m very competitive and I like to be the best. Success can be measured in a number of ways of course, financial being one.
“But financial success as such doesn’t drive me at all - it’s being the label company that people out there want to deal with and being the best that we can be.”.
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“Our goal is to be preferred supplier in our market segments not only in South Africa but elsewhere in Africa and we are looking at making acquisitions”
CARTONAL, an Italian based Company, has been operating in international markets for almost 30 years in the fi eld of fl exible packaging and special papers for use in industrial,
food, and printing applications.Thanks to a wealth of experience combined with years of
working together with its customers, CARTONAL is always able to provide the best possible solution to satisfy all
requirements: no matter how small or large they may be.Food packaging world: CARTONAL has a wide range of
products tested on the international market for every kind of use.
Our materials can be printed and used in food, bakery, fast food, freeze-dried, frozen, pet food industry and any other
type of food packaging.For more details about CARTONAL activities, please check
our website:
www.cartonal.comCARTONAL is represented in South Africa by Southern Tides.
For details on Southern Tides please contact us at:33a Peter Place, Sandton, Johannesburg, 2152.
Tel: +27 (11) 463 2256Fax: +27 (11) 463 1796
Email: [email protected]
SOUTHERN TIDES, a proudly South African company, has been in the specialised paper and fl exible packing
industry since 2005. Over the past 10 years we have gained experience in a variety of specialised products, logistics and have built a
wide customer base in a number of industries throughout South Africa and Africa.
Editorial: Colin ChineryProduction: James Clark
Five years ago Eqstra Fleet Management made an operational leap – differentiating into a services business still underpinned by leasing. As a result a client is given a focussed perspective; one fleet, one view, one control, one invoice. “If you don’t have a full sight of all of your costs there’s no way you can control them. And when that happens you don’t really have management,” says Managing Director Murray Price. IndustrySA reports.
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Fleet management goes the Eqstra mile
Corporate fleets have many drivers, with the most efficient being masterminded by a solo co-ordinator. Today in South Africa the undisputed fleet management leader is Eqstra Fleet Management, pioneer of the one-stop fleet management platform of services which include finance, maintenance, insurance, accident management, vehicle rental, vehicle tracking and most importantly managing driver behaviour and risks to limit accidents and reduce costs.
For most of its 30 year operational history Eqstra Fleet Management operated in the conventional vehicle leasing niche. But five years ago it made an operational leap – the first in South Africa - by differentiating into a services business still underpinned by leasing.
“We wanted to show our customers the benefits through cost analysis of a single access into a multi-platform of services versus the cost of dealing with independent suppliers in the
chain. Many fleet operators miss this - they don’t see it as a direct cost,” says Managing Director, Murray Price.
DRIVING DOWN COSTSFrom the start Eqstra Fleet Management - based in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban - has grown its managed offering which now also includes; online procurement, stand- alone maintenance management, stand- alone accident management, and license and fines administration. Each service is offered as a separate to non-leasing larger fleet operators who can choose from this basket of services to manage and drive down costs.
Major clients include; South African Breweries, the South African Revenue Services and the City of Johannesburg. And of some 60,000 vehicles under management, 17,000- 18,000 are under lease, with the rest signed up for related services including telematics or
tracking solutions. “As an all-inclusive fleet management company our
focus is on leveraging customer- beneficial technology,” says Price.
“When we come in and engage with a customer we take his current costs and undertake a ROI model to show what he will pay for our services and the return he will make. And that’s quite a unique approach.
“We provide customised solutions, our own warranties, insurance and front-end accident management. We cover the whole spectrum and our focus with clients is all about ROI.”
This all-inclusive offering is the main reason behind Eqstra’s growth in the last five years. “When we set up our strategy, fleet management in South Africa was very similar to the UK where a leasing arrangement would be an operating rental or an operating rental with maintenance
added.“But this wasn’t really adding value to the market. A
typical client would still have to go to a third party for telematics or tracking, to another for insurance and yet another for accident management and so on. Invariably, most corporates ended up with eight or more suppliers delivering a single fleet solution.
“Our thinking was that if we could bring all these services in-house it would put them on a single integrated platform, delivering for the client an end to end, one-stop solution.
“As a result you would have one view of your fleet in terms of total cost of ownership; one fleet, one view, one control, one invoice. We believe this is the only way to manage a fleet, because if you don’t have a full sight of all of your costs there’s no way you can control them. And when that happens you don’t really have management.”
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kEEP ON TRACkINGA key component of Eqstra’s growth is GPS Tracking Solutions which it has brought to the market with outstanding success. GPS controls real time speed, enabling fleets to prevent speeding and the associated fines and administration. In some cases the cost benefit can be as high as 20% in terms of both fuel and accidents says Price.
When GPS was incorporated into Eqstra Fleet Management the company had between two and three thousand units on South African roads. Since then Eqstra has grown this to 18,000.
“Market research we’ve been doing shows that most large fleet operators are starting to say the same - they are looking for one integrated solution. And while GPS is fairly small in the telematics industry, GPS is tailored for the corporate fleet and specifically to communicate and to provide data to us as a business.”
The GPS system combines tracking information with fuel and maintenance data. And as Price says, “this is where we really get the value added benefit for our client.
“Here’s an example. When a client takes a GPS system, fuel card and the leasing from us we are able to manage that vehicle by the kilometre. We can say to the client that his total cost of operation per km is X per vehicle. We can control speeding – GPS is the only tracking system in the world able
to limit speed on a vehicle according to speed zones. We are even able to benchmark a specific vehicles cost to other clients vehicles, to assist our clients in becoming the cost leader in their respective sector.
“We can also manage the driver far more effectively on behalf of the company. If the tracking system shows a particular driver is prone to consistent speeding we can see if it is reducing fuel efficiency. By taking a maintenance intervention analysis we can see whether brake pads and tyres are wearing faster as a result of driver behaviour.
“We believe it’s 40% vehicle, 60% driver. That’s why a lot of our investment and effort is spent on managing driver behaviour as much as making sure you’ve got the right vehicle
“As an all-inclusive fleet management company our focus is on leveraging customer- beneficial technology”
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hookliftssafelift 12000
…enhancing your success
600sa providing lifting solutions for South Africa`s Waste and Electrical demands.
600SA’s product range is well suited for municipalities day-to-day requirements. As one of Eqstra Fleet Management’s supplier, 600SA provides a total solution to trucking and lifting equipment.
tel: +27 (0) 11 573 2329 | eMail: [email protected] | WeB: www.eiegroup.co.za
socage aerialplatforM
Waste coMpactors skiploadersfassi cranes
paGE 60 FEB 14
companY proFIlE
for the application“We are able to advise the client that if the driver persists in
driving this way, maintenance costs will go up, fuel costs will be far higher than they should be, and ultimately the driver is a risk for an accident. In effect we are able to intervene pro-actively before an accident happens.”
By integrating all services in a single system, Eqstra have created a “win-win situation” says Price. “Some 60% of our income is now derived from value-added products and 40% from the core leasing. And obviously it takes a little bit of risk away from our side since quite a lot of vehicle risk is invested upfront and it takes four to five years to recover your cash.”
Eqstra is now at the point of being a sector thought leader, sharing information, case studies, insights and best practice. “If we don’t share this information we are not going to have impact.
“Last year we interviewed 60 companies in South Africa about their fleet strategies and what they would like to see in a Murray Price
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McCarthy Commercial BoksburgP.O. Box 10502, Fonteinriet, 1464, Cnr Dormehl & 14th Ave, AnderboltBoksburg North, 1464Tel : 011 916 7100
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service offering and published these findings.“Now we have just produced our first white paper for
2014 on fuel pricing and projected fuel pricing. Fuel prices fluctuate of course, and clients were asking us ‘what do I put in my budget for fuel expenditure next year’? Very few people have the time to do a statistical analysis and deliver guidance, so we see this as part of our service offering.
CLIENT UNDERSTANDING “And through GPS we will reduce that cost, by for example, advising on which vehicles are more fuel efficient and greener. Our relationship with major auto manufacturers enables bulk buying, the benefits of which are passed on to the client, and since vehicles emit a lot of emissions we see our role in advising and guiding not
only from the perspective of costs but also environmental friendliness.”
Eqstra, says Price, has developed into a client understanding model, revealing what the vehicle does for the client and managing its costs.
“In effect we are an IT business that performs the very best fleet management, not a fleet management business that happens to do IT. And without such a system in this business, you are dead in the water.”.
For more on Eqstra Fleet
Management, follow this link: http://
videos.blinktower.com/medias/
SoUThErn aIr condITIonInG
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Contact DetailsCnr Main Reef Road and Homestead Avenue, Germiston, Ext. 11, 79167Senderwood 2145, | Latitude: -26.19542 Longitude: 28.18259
Tel: (011) 822-3360/1 | (011) 822-1452/62 | (011) 822-3303 | (011) 822-3867Fax: (011) 822-1317 | (011) 822-7330
stablished in 1984, Fred’s Auto Body is the premier automotive body repair company in the Germiston region.
We carry a three-year workmanship warrantee and a lifetime paint warrantee on all repairs.
Our state-of-the-art, 2000m² premises has ample parking and 24 hour towing facility.
We have managed to gain 12 motor manufacturer approvals from VW, Ford, Hyundai, Seat, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, GM, GM Niche, Kia and Audi.
We are proud members of the Retail Motor Industry (RMI) and Sambra.
We are recognised by all of the major insurers and have strong relationships with many corporate companies.
Our facility recycles all of its waste and we use a Waterbourne Paint System to ensure environmental friendliness.
“A QUALITY ASSURED” REPAIRER CK/1988030784/23 | VAT 4110103613
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Editorial: Joe ForshawProduction: Chris Bolderstone
The merger between Hatch and Goba, which was finalised in April 2013, has bought renewed optimism to one of the country’s most prominent engineering consultancy firms. IndustrySA takes a look at the company’s success so far and we also look at what is on the horizon for the company that is recognised as an industry leader.
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A match made in heaven
We first looked at the business of Hatch Goba back in October 2012, just before the company underwent a change in structure. Back then, the business was known simply as Goba (Pty) Ltd and specialised in consulting engineering and project management. This was before the merger with Hatch, an international organisation who supplies engineering, project and construction management services, process and business consulting and operational services to the mining, metallurgical, energy and infrastructure industries.
At the time, the merger was under scrutiny from the country’s competition commission but in April 2013 the two firms, under their single new identity Hatch Goba, announced that the merger had been successful and that the entity would operate as part of the global Hatch group.
When we first featured the company, it was their commitment to service excellence (which stemmed from a hardworking, committed workforce) that really set them apart from the rest; that and their unrivalled experience, working on some of the country’s largest engineering projects.
In 2014, the company is looking to continue offering its expertise in the four areas that it knows best: Transportation
(including major roads, highways, airports and bridges), Water and Wastewater, Mining, and Industrial Infrastructure. Of course, since joining forces with Hatch, the company has boosted its regional presence and expanded its client base. As a result, Hatch Goba is now able to provide a more comprehensive service to the mining and metals, energy and infrastructure sectors while ensuring that insight into world-class project management practices is combined with a deep level of understanding of the local environment to produce excellence for both public and private sector clients.
Obviously, both parties have responded in a positive manner since the merger and Hatch Goba Chairman and co-founder of Goba, Trueman Goba said in a statement: “In the public sector, Hatch Goba is now able to offer a differentiated service to those clients who need to fulfil the recommendations of the National Planning Commission and the National Development Plan which are key to the growth that South Africa needs.”
Hatch Goba Managing Director, Rory Kirk was keen to point out that a strong emphasis would remain with employees saying: “Having worked together on a number of projects over the last six years, Hatch and Goba have developed a strong relationship with a good cultural fit. Hatch Goba will have a
companY proFIlE
combined workforce of over 1500 personnel in South Africa and will continue to give priority to developmental programmes and career opportunities for its employees. What’s more, ongoing investment in developing local staff will ensure that the specialist skills base in both engineering and large-scale project delivery, which is greatly needed in South Africa, continues to grow.”
The relationship between Hatch and Goba before the merger was one of longstanding mutual benefit. The companies worked together on the Transnet capital expansion programme (TCP) and then began official merger talks back in 2011. Kirk says that both companies are extremely excited about the future and hope that they can contribute to a growing economy.
“It has been a journey that has been travelled with vision, integrity, fairness and excitement and we look forward to what the future holds. We are committed to support the development and implementation of efficient projects, which Southern Africa needs in order to grow the economy. What’s more, our mission is to bring ‘smart’ solutions to our clients by bringing to the fore broader skills and global experience,” he said in the statement.
RAILWAyWithin their transportation sector, Hatch Goba has worked on many projects that contribute to the country’s important logistics industry. Whether it’s rail or road, the company has the relevant experience and can offer state-of-the-art service.
Previously completed projects include; the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, the Umgeni Interchange, the King Shaka International Airport, the T15 Upgrade, the HMG TCP joint venture, the National Stations Precinct Project and numerous other road construction or upgrade projects.
One of the most recent projects that the company has been involved with is the Iron Ore Line shutdown for Kumba Iron Ore – part of the Anglo American group. The project has involved two existing railway lines being relocated to provide access to a new ore body and waste dump areas at its Sishen mine, about 600 km from Johannesburg in the Northern Cape.
Hatch Goba has been responsible for the construction of a 76m long, 8x8 diameter tunnel that had to cross underneath the existing operational iron ore line. Making the challenge even more sizeable was the fact that the line could only be closed for ten days as part of an annual shutdown but this was a problem that was successfully navigated by the Hatch Goba team.
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“The big risk was that we had to do the job on a compressed schedule. There was very little float should something go wrong,” said Flip Gous, the senior Hatch project manager for the railway supply-line project in a report.
The importance of the project was recognised at group level and Hatch’s global director, rail and transportation, Henk Bester said in the company’s 2013 Infrastructure Report that progress on the second phase of the project was on-going throughout 2013 with close attention to detail.
“We set up weekly planning meetings to deal with the reality of the remote location and plan for possible challenges,” he said.
The first phase of the project was completed in 2011 and that involved removing the existing surface line, drilling and blasting through surface material and removing the material where a new trench would be created.
FULL PROJECT MANAGEMENT Clearly, there are many aspects of the Hatch Goba business which make it a success but one area in particular has received much praise is the company’s long term focus on project management.
From start to finish, on both small and large projects, the Hatch Goba team is committed to taking full responsibility for clients’ projects, so much so that the company has developed a unique project delivery methodology which it calls
the ‘Project Lifecycle Process’ (PLP). This sees support offered to the client throughout the entire lifecycle of a project.
The PLP methodology is based on a phased approach to project delivery called ‘Front End Loading’ (FEL). The basis of this idea is that the initial phases of the project can have an increased impact on the successful outcome of a project with each phase acting as a building block for the next.
Hatch Goba project manager, Jan Breytenbach says that this approach allows for a focus on consistency across all projects.
“The main benefit of the PLP process is that it has a consistent project delivery approach, as each project is managed according to this process. This results in a constant focus on client value, quality of work, sustainability solutions and workplace safety by ensuring that engineering, procurement, safety and industrial relations are developed from day one,” he said in a statement.
The first phase in FEL practice is a conceptual phase. “We assist the client in identifying various concepts which could feasibly meet the project imperative so that these may be taken forward to the next phase for further development and elimination,” explains Breytenbach. “The next phase is the prefeasibility phase during which the identified concepts are further developed into a finally-selected preferred option that the client would take forward into execution. These initial phases are vital to ensure that no possible solution is overlooked
Linda Masinga & Associates (LMA) was established with the aim of providing specialist service in the Development Planning and Project Management � elds. Experience accumulated over the years by LMA’s individual team members in the categories of development with other highly reputable consulting � rms places LMA in a better position to deliver e� ciently without compromising the end product.
This is a winning formula for LMA, in ensuring skills transfer. It is against this background that we see ourselves providing specialist service to ensure that our clients not only receive value for money, but that they bene� t from our ‘one stop responsibility’ approach.
Our mission is to accelerate the development process by delivering e� ciently and providing service excellence to our clients. We strive to build and maintain an impeccable reputation in the development � eld.
PROJECT & CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT• Implementing Agents for Housing Projects
• Development Planning Projects
• Sewer Treatment Plant Upgrades
• Pump Stations Refurbishment Projects
• Sewer Rehabilitation Projects
• Water Extraction Projects
• Traffi c & Transportation Projects
• Stormwater Upgrades & Rehabilitation
• Economic Development Projects
OTHER SERVICES• Development Facilitation
• Social Impact & Needs Assessment
• Development Training & Capacity Building
• Layout Planning & Housing
• Transportation Planning
• Rezoning & Special Consent Applications
• Preparation of Business Plans
• Preparation of Facilities Management Plans
• Marketing & Branding
71 Helen Joseph Road (Davenport Road), Glenwood
Durban, 4001
PO Box 70036, Overport, 4067
TEL: (031) 202 0573/4 | FAX: (031) 202 0572
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and only that concept that best satisfies the project objectives is taken forward for implementation.
“In the FEL 3 phase, the project execution plan, clearly specifying all construction management details is developed, cost estimates are refined and the execution schedules are developed.”
The final phase in the process involves actual implementation and of course, everything is done to meet strict engineering details and plans that were developed in the previous phases. This phase takes the project all the way from detailed engineering and contract procurement, to the final construction of facilities, commissioning, hand over and operational support.
It is not just the final phases where Hatch Goba becomes more active in the process. Breytenbach says that the company is involved, offering expert advice and guidance, right from the outset.
“We do not simply construct a facility for the client to take over. We assist the client with operational readiness, and are also closely involved with the first stages of operating the facility once built. Thereafter Hatch Goba provides operational support throughout the lifetime of the project,” he says.
As you would expect, every project comes with unique requirements and Hatch Goba prepare themselves for this by
undertaking specific training. “When a project is being established, a parallel training
programme framework is set up for the benefit of all employees that are involved,” says Breytenbach, and this is of course a huge benefit to both the company and the employee and their community.
Such an all-encompassing approach to project management puts Hatch Goba in an extremely strong position to offer services for future projects.
“Hatch Goba boasts more than 50 years of industry experience, with global expertise in the EPCM field, and a proven track record on numerous projects across many sectors,” says Breytenbach.
ExPANSION IN AFRICABefore the merger, Goba was very active in Africa but its activities were mainly located in South Africa – its home. Hatch is renowned for its global presence but of course has had great successes in Africa. Since the historic merger, Hatch Goba has undertaken numerous projects beyond the borders of South Africa and it seems as though the focus for the company may be strengthening on the continent, especially when it comes to the mining and metals sectors.
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Is this because of the challenges in the global economic climate? Possibly, but more likely is the fact that the mining and metals industries in Africa are constantly changing and in some cases the risk can outweigh the rewards.
“For the first time, Hatch Goba is busy with more work outside of South Africa’s borders than inside. The amount of work available has decreased significantly with many of the mining majors moving their attention to projects north of our borders,” explained Director of Mining and Metals for Africa, Lister Sinclair in May.
“The one fundamental change that has been established within Hatch Goba is that our future workload for the foreseeable future will come from outside of South Africa.”
Consider skills shortages, political uncertainty, nationalism, labour unrest and the lack of infrastructure in certain areas;
all of these factors contribute to the large risks that are involved with investments in the mining and metals industry. Although in South Africa these factors present themselves on a less frequent basis, they still have to form part of any major investment decision.
Looking back to 2012 and to the end of 2013, Sinclair says that despite the overall softening of commodity prices near the end of the year, Hatch Goba still had a good year and is currently working on four execution mining and metals projects in Africa. He adds that the company is closely following developments in commodities such as gold and iron ore in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Mauritania, as well as copper and zinc deposits in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Sinclair says that business for Hatch globally has been on the increase and this should lead to a pickup in Africa.
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“Hatch globally is starting to see an uptick in work, especially in areas such as Australia and North America. With many clients starting to revisit capital projects that have previously been put on the back burner; we hope that Africa will follow suit which will materialise in more work,” he said in a statement.
So, since the merger, things seem to be moving very nicely for Hatch Goba. The company’s 1500 employees continue to produce excellence in all areas and their expertise is always growing. The global knowledge that has been bought to the table from the Hatch side of the marriage helps to bring new practices and principles into consideration but one thing remains certain; the fact that the company offers an all-inclusive service, participating in projects from inception through to completion, means that relationships will continue to be built and reinforced. After all, if there’s one thing that any customer wants it’s value for money.
This is a company that is set to grow and who would bet against another giant merger within the next decade? Trueman Goba himself summed up the situation in South Africa for the company very well when he spoke to Voicesofsouthafrica.com, saying: “This is a developing society. We should only get better, we can only increase our achievements in education, improve the employment rates and infrastructure. We should only improve in all respects from where we are. The opportunities for us in Africa are big.” .
Audit Tax Advisory . .
Nandi Drive Interchange
Editorial: Lauren GreyProduction: James Clark
Situated in the Letsitele Valley in the Mopani district of Limpopo, Mahela Boerdery first cultivated citrus fruits in 1950, and has since grown to become the largest producer of Star Ruby grapefruit in South Africa. IndustrySA speaks to Managing Director, Barend Vorster to find out the secret to its success.
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Superior quality citrus
Mahela Boerdery (Pty) Ltd was first established in 1942 by the late BJ Vorster, who originally used the land to farm potatoes, tomatoes and rice for the local market.
However, in 1950 Vorster began cultivating the land ready for his first batch of citrus fruits, and was soon given the name “Mahela” by the local people, meaning “quick, no non-sense”. The variety of citrus fruits that he grew at the Mahela farm soon expanded and Vorster began exporting them to various countries around the world.
Presently, the farm is run by the third generation of Vorsters, with father Edward, together with his sons Barend, Pieter, Eddie and Francois managing the widely diversified operations which take place.
SUPERIOR qUALITy CITRUSMahela Boerdery has several brands under which it markets its produce, with three brands alone for the marketing of its citrus fruits; Mala Mala Citrus, Makulu Citrus and Mahela Citrus.
Managing Director, Barend Vorster says that the company produces enough high-quality citrus fruit to be able to market it with three different brands.
“We produce 60,000 tons of fruit per annum, and are one of the largest citrus producers in the whole of South Africa. This allows us to market our citrus fruits with three high-quality brands, which prove that we are proud of our product to market in our own brand.”
Annually, Mahela produces close to three million cartons of citrus fruits in the Letsitele and Hoedspruit areas, and every carton of quality produced citrus
is done in accordance to Global Gap international standards.
Current production consists mainly of citrus fruits such as Valencia oranges, Star Ruby grapefruits, Midknight, Turkey Valencia and Delta Valencia, but diversification into bananas, avocadoes, macadamia nuts, litchis and mangoes have recently been undertaken with great success.
“The reason we focus on Valencia oranges,” explains Vorster, “is because this particular area of farmland in Letsitele Valley produces them with such superior quality, and we are known for our superior quality produce.
“The Star Ruby grapefruit also grows extremely well in this area. In the beginning, when the Star Ruby was released from the US, they did not realise it would
grow so well here, but we are now producing the highest quality of anywhere in the world.
The production of citrus fruit at Mahela is mainly geared towards the export market, with a small percentage going to local markets and for processing into fruit juices, as Vorster explains.
“We supply worldwide to about 42 countries, including Russia, Europe, The United Kingdom, Japan and many more. We also supply fruit into African markets.
“Any fruit that is left over and doesn’t go to export we send to local processing plants to be used as juice concentrate; we have a stake in a juice plant.”
Mahela Boerdery can also boast as being one of only two citrus nurseries in Limpopo having accredited citrus nursery status, the Letsitele Nursery, which
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adheres to the strict requirements of the South African Citrus Improvement Scheme. The nursery supplies young citrus trees commercially.
HIGH-TECHAccording to Vorster, many factors contribute to the superior quality of Mahela’s fruit including growing conditions, packaging and technology, and for Mahela, the best way to ensure that fruit was being packed correctly, was to have an on-site pack house.
“We achieve a much better result in quality consistency because we have our own state-of-the-art pack house; it allows us to oversee and control the process right from picking the fruit to packaging it.
“We are also involved in a co-operative which owns its own carton manufacturing plant. We initiated the co-operative many years ago, and we are now co-owners of the plant which supplies boxes for Mahela and other farms.”
Mahela Boerdery also boasts some of the most sophisticated technology in the industry, required to produce citrus on such a massive scale.
“We make use of the best technology available and consult with the professionals to make sure we are
using the best equipment to optimise product quality. However, we do try to be economically productive and work closely with nature to ensure we are not damaging our natural environment, which is very important to us as farmers.”
FAMILy MATTERSMore than just being a family business, Mahela invests time in each of its employees, from fruit pickers to senior management, nobody gets left behind.
“I think it is very important that you invest in your employees,” says Vorster, “these are the people doing the job, if you don’t have trust and faith in them you will not go forward as a business.
“We believe in supporting our people and in order for us to grow as a business we need to ensure we train our staff so that we have the best team to do the job, and I believe we have that.”
Vorster recalls an example of how he himself invested in one individual because he recognised great potential.
“I personally identified one of the children on the farm who used to play with my children, I took him through school and we subsidised him at university.
Managing Director Barend Vorster
Managing Director Barend Vorster
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“He has been employed with us for two years now, and we intend to invest in him further as a company because he could go on to do great things for us. That is just one positive example of how we invest not only in our staff, but their families too.”
Mahela employs over 1100 seasonal workers, with 500 permanently employed at any given time.
On-going training for their employees, including the use of computers, forms an important part of the company’s vision to provide a better standard of living for all of its employees.
Some of the profits from the products sold on the international market have been used to build two schools on the farm and the children of workers at other farms in the area also attend classes here.
Several crèches have been established on the various business units, boasting properly trained personnel. Training, skills development, life skills training and adult literacy classes are among the aspects covered by the farm’s on-going education programs initiatives.
GAME BREEDINGIn addition to the commitment to its employees, Mahela is also committed to conservation and is
involved in a game breeding project which started in 1998.
The project, known as B. J. Vorster Game, involves rare sable antelope and included in the gene pool is the highly sought-after Western Zambian specie.
The Sable Breeding Project together with the University of Pretoria also developed a vaccine for the Sable antelope against the disease Theileria.
With sable antelope fetching premium prices at game auctions, the sable project is an important component of future game farming operations.
Buffalo have also been introduced as part of Mahela’s game farming portfolio, but the pride of Mahela’s game farming interests is an African wild dog conservation project.
In cooperation with the Wild Dog Action Group and the De Wildt Cheetah Project, we work to protect the species of wild dog that occur in the area, with excess animals being donated to other reserves in South Africa.
“Conservation is very important to us; it is very close to our hearts. Everything we do we try to do economically to minimise the damage on our natural environment. After all, we rely on the natural
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environment to grow the superior quality of fruit,” says Vorster.
GOING FORWARDBusiness wouldn’t be business without coming up against a few hurdles along the way, and very recently the EU has been drawing up plans to ban South African imports of citrus fruit.
“There are always challenges in business; in this industry we have no choice but to be price takers rather than price makers, because there is so much competition. This hasn’t stopped us in the past though, and I doubt it will stop us in the future,” says Vorster.
Going forward, Vorster says that business will run as normal with all the new challenges, and Mahela will continue to produce superior quality citrus for the export market. We have the expertise to supply what the market want. He also says that the company is looking to grow its avocado and banana business.
“We are open for business and will produce any variation of fruit which has high enough demand and that we can grow at the same superior quality as our citrus.
“And we may start investigating sugar cane and mandarin types in the future.
“Family businesses are strong businesses and we will withstand more generations to come.”.
“Everything we do we try to do economically to minimise the damage on our natural environment. After all, we rely on the natural environment to grow the superior quality of fruit”
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Editorial: Lauren GreyProduction: Ajuanne Payne
Valentine’s Day is the busiest and most challenging day of the year for online flower delivery service, NetFlorist, with over ten times its average daily deliveries due on just one day. IndustrySA speaks to Managing Director, Ryan Bacher to find out how the company copes with the sudden influx of orders.
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Helping you say it better
There are just two words, that when spoken in front of a man, will make him break into a cold sweat; Valentine’s Day. Traditionally, February 14th is a day to celebrate love and togetherness with the simple exchange of a dozen red roses, but over recent years Valentine’s Day has become more of a challenge; a day for women to really test their partner’s affections.
Luckily, for all of the forgetful, uninspired men in the world, NetFlorist is on hand to provide a wide range of flowers, floral hampers and gifts, promising to keep any man “out of the dog house” on Valentine’s Day!
TWIST OF FATEFollowing an interesting start-up in 1999, NetFlorist is now South Africa’s leading florist and flower delivery service, with a wide range of gifts to match.
The company is focussed on growing its global market share in floral and gifting, and partners with globally focused
software and service companies to ensure that it remains at the cutting edge of the industry.
However, Managing Director, Ryan Bacher says that the vision for NetFlorist wasn’t to achieve nationwide success; the company was actually set up as a dummy website with no intention to go live on the internet.
“At the time of the company’s beginnings I was working for an internet service provider, and one of our bigger clients asked us to build their ecommerce website. Unfortunately at that time, ecommerce in South Africa was very new and we didn’t know much about it.
“Instead of backing away from the proposal, we told the client that we were very happy to build their website, but first we wanted to build one of our own so that we understood the process and were familiar with the way it worked. They were happy for us to do that and that is where NetFlorist started.
“It was never our intention to have a business that sold flowers and gifts in a sustainable way. Our intention was to build a website which we could learn from and eventually close
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down, then go back to the client and say ‘yes we know exactly what we are doing now’.”
After successfully building their first ecommerce website, Bacher and his team found that there was a gap in the market for NetFlorist’s services, and decided to launch the website as an independent business, with Bacher taking over as Managing Director.
“We now have two physical stores in Johannesburg, and we have played with the idea of building more, but we are much more excited about the online space. Our physical stores contribute a very small percentage to our revenue; the vast majority of our revenue comes from our online presence.”
TARGET MARkETNetFlorist’s product range is vast, and covers anything from bouquets of roses and potted plants to jewellery and perfume, with many, many more in between.
However, Bacher says that as a percentage flowers make up 70% of the company’s product range, something that is set to
change in the near future.“We focus equally on all of our products but our flower
department had a massive head start; our expectation over the next five years as we intend to grow is to reach a 50/50 split between flowers and gifts because we believe gifts are a fast developing category.”
As for the company’s target market, the percentage is pretty evenly split between corporate customers and consumers, “We have a large corporate sales division to tailor for our corporate customers who use our website to send flowers and gifts to its employees and partners.
“For example, the message on the card may read ‘Get well soon from all of us at…’ So the corporate market makes up for half of our business.”
To ensure it is providing customers with the highest quality service, NetFlorist sources many of its products locally or from within the African continent, as Bacher explains.
“We buy a lot of our flowers locally and from other African countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia, which are two of the
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biggest flower exporters in the world. “Most of the gifts we buy are local but not necessarily
local brands. So although we stock international brands such as Ferero Rocha, we buy them from local agents within South Africa.”
MARkETING STRATEGIESThe vastness of the internet has, over the years, provided companies with endless possibilities and allowed them to reach consumers from much further afield.
However, with the average person spending less than one minute browsing a webpage, marketing a product or service to such a vast audience with so much choice at their disposal is challenging.
NetFlorist has therefore taken a more unique, tongue and cheek approach to marketing, which sees the company poking fun at the consumer and ultimately getting their attention.
“Advertising and marketing strategies can be wasted on the internet because of its sheer size, so we have a tongue and cheek approach to our marketing, we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We like to make our marketing memorable, rather than just state what we sell and for what price,” says Bacher.
One of the company’s marketing campaigns for Valentine’s Day this year pokes fun at the idea of women being ‘one of the world’s greatest unsolved puzzles’, but that NetFlorist has the solution to solve that puzzle.
“…there is a rather simple explanation in the form of an equation which might just rival Einstein’s Theory of Relativity; perhaps not quite in terms of its complexity, but rather because of its sheer brilliance which uncovers a truth, which has, for centuries eluded the male gender.”
The equation, as one might have guessed, is that “You + a gift from NetFlorist.co.za = Happy Significant Other.”
No flashy advert, no celebrity endorsement, just good humour with a high-quality brand to back it up, which Bacher says has worked extremely well in favour of the NetFlorist brand.
“We poke a bit of fun at people and we find that as a result of our unique marketing strategy the NetFlorist brand is actually bigger than our business.”
VALENTINES DAyFebruary 14th is a busy day for many florists, confectionary outlets and restaurants around the world, but for NetFlorist it
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If its worth saying . . .It’s worth saying with flowers
South Africa’s biggest flower market
cnr Vickers St & Fig Place (was Marjorie), City Deep, Johannesburg Telephone: (011) 613 4011 Fax: (011) 623 1974
email: [email protected] Web: www.multiflora.co.za
MULTIFLORA - Johannesburg: cnr Marjorie & Vickers sts., City Deep. P.O.Box 86060, City Deep 2049. Tel: (011) 613-4011 Fax: (011) 623-1974 Website: www.multiflora.co.za e-mail: [email protected] DIRECT - Tel: (011) 613-7351 /2/3 Fax: (011) 613-1373 Cell: 083-608-7627 e-mail: [email protected]
GRANDIFLORA - Johannesburg: cnr Marjorie & Vickers sts., City Deep. P.O.Box 86060, City Deep 2049. Tel: (011) 613-3526 Fax: (011) 613-6892 Website: www.grandiflora.co.za e-mail: [email protected]
Celebrating Life’s Special Occasions!
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is the busiest and most challenging day on its entire calendar.As an online flower deliver service, many customers choose
NetFlorist to surprise their loved ones at home or at work, and on Valentine’s Day the company delivers over ten times the amount of flowers and gifts than any other day of the year.
“Valentine’s Day can be a real challenge because you are simply taking the work load of an average day and multiplying that by ten. It’s not like Christmas where the rush tends to be staggered over one or two weeks; Valentine’s Day is just one day, and everyone wants their flowers delivered fresh and on time.
“Some people will be well prepared and make their orders early, so we know in advance how much work we will have, but others leave it right until the last minute. It’s extremely busy for us, and operationally it is challenging, but our goal is to make sure we deliver all our roses on time. It is also a significant revenue source for us.”
Fortunately for customers, NetFlorist’s operations have been carefully crafted over 14 years and the company has exactly what it takes to handle extremely busy periods.
“We don’t use any ‘off the shelf’ packages when it comes to technology, we have built everything from scratch and carefully crafted it over the years to suit our needs.
“Standard inventory packages are available for most retailers but they don’t work for us because we’ve got a particular product. So we haven’t had a choice, we have had to build everything we need, there really was no option.”
Although building the business from scratch has been a difficult and time-consuming process, it has been extremely rewarding for NetFlorist and contributed hugely to its success, as it is able to offer customers a new, more reliable shopping experience.
MANDELA’S FUNERALThe company’s innovative packages for processing orders and ensuring the smooth running of operations has contributed to
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its success over the years, and very recently the company was honoured with the responsibility of providing the flowers for Mandela’s memorial.
As South Africa observed a national 10 days of mourning, the task to provide the flowers for each event during this time was a mammoth task, but one in which NetFlorist was both prepared and privileged to do.
“We won the contract to supply all of the flowers for Madiba’s memorial, funeral and burial. There were seven or eight different parts to the contract and all of them were exclusive to us from a floral point of view” explains Bacher.
“We had the most extraordinary and unique experience, and were honoured to be a part of celebrating the greatest person we have ever produced as a country.
“As a company we felt privileged to be part of what turned out to be a global celebration of Mandela’s life and legacy. We knew Mandela was loved all around the world, but as South African’s I don’t think we realised just how far reaching his impact was, it was truly astonishing.”
FUTURE PLANSGoing forward, the NetFlorist brand is set to expand even further, as the company is looking to extend its range of products, particularly in the confectionary market.
“We have been investing our time on an extension of our brand, covering confectionary in a big way. We have already started to deliver cakes, cookies and other confectionary goods, so that will be a major focus for us going forward, and we are very excited about it” says Bacher.
The company is also investing a lot of time and effort to ensure that it is producing the highest quality product available on the market, by assessing its operations such as cold storage, transport and delivery methods.
“On the floral side we are investing a lot of energy into the freshness of the product to ensure that our flowers are fresher than any of our competitors.
“We may already have the freshest produce on the market, but we want to consolidate that and make sure that from an operational side we are doing all we can to ensure freshness. We will be looking at areas such as storage, transport and delivery and assessing whether we can make any improvements.”.
Ryan Bacher
Editorial: Lauren GreyProduction: Ajuanne Payne
Renowned for its exceptional quality and expertise in the diamond industry, South Africa’s Caratco was selected as the first exclusive authorised jeweller for De Beers’ Forevermark diamond. CEO, Tim Watson tells IndustrySA why he is “delighted” to be in partnership with the international mining group, and why a Forevermark diamond, really is forever.
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Diamonds are forever
Derived from the ancient Greek word “adámas” meaning “unbreakable”, diamonds are symbolic of love; representing a lifelong commitment between two people. It is for this reason that the precious gemstone has stood the test of time, and will continue to do so for many years to come.
Experts in harnessing the natural beauty of a diamond, South African jewellery company Caratco is renowned for its unmatched expertise in the gem industry, with three resident generations of gemmologists on hand to offer exceptional value and professionalism.
Established almost 30 years ago, Caratco started out as a small wholesale company but has since grown to be one of the largest diamond companies in South Africa.
CEO Tim Watson, says he started the business after his previous employment was terminated, “I started
the business in 1985, before that I was a gemmologist for an investment company which unfortunately went into liquidation.
“At that time I had two young children and had to find a way of making a living. Caratco started as a small wholesale business, but it quickly expanded into many different directions such as jewellery manufacturing and niche retail.”
Although the business took off in a different direction from how Watson first imagined, he says that wholesale still makes up for approximately half of the company’s total revenue in terms of sales.
SHOWROOMSCaratco specialises in many facets of the diamond industry, including wholesale, retail and on-site manufacturing at its showrooms in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
“Our two Jewel Africa showrooms in South Africa
both have on-site jewellery manufacturing. This is an important service because it gives us the edge over our competitors; we are able to manufacture and set a diamond whilst the customer waits, which is a very attractive service to have.”
The sheer size of the company’s showrooms and its unique facilities means that Jewel Africa can accommodate large international groups for educational opportunities, such as talks on diamond cutting and the re-manufacturing of gemstones.
FOREVERMARkCaratco currently has four brands in its portfolio, including South Africa Ideal Cut, Dora and Sitara, however the company’s most prestigious brand is Forevermark, the diamond brand from the De Beers group of companies.
In February 2012, Caratco’s retail outlet Jewel Africa was chosen as the first exclusive authorised
Forevermark jeweller in South Africa, and Watson says the response to the Forevermark brand has been excellent across the country.
“…we entered into discussions with De Beers because they were looking to expand the Forevermark brand in South Africa at the time, and they gave us an exclusive distributorship based on our track record and enthusiasm for the brand.
“The response to the Forevermark brand has been excellent, sales in 2011/12 were up in excess of 50% and we are looking towards further growth this year, it has been very positive and we have had great success” says Watson.
The Forevermark brand brings together 120 years of diamond expertise within the De Beers group, with each diamond inscribed with a promise; a promise that it is beautiful, rare and has been responsibly sourced.
Less than one percent of the world’s diamonds are
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eligible to be inscribed as Forevermark, making them truly rare. Each one must be at least 0.14 carats in size, of a clarity standard SI2 or above, of a very good cut or higher and colour L or higher.
Forevermark diamonds also come from a small number of carefully selected mines that are committed to the highest business, social and environmental standards. These standards apply at every stage of a Forevermark diamond’s journey; when they are cut and polished and set into beautiful jewellery.
However, Watson says that not everyone understood what the Forevermark brand stood for to begin with, “It took some time, South African retailers were initially hesitant about the brand, but as more and more people are becoming aware of the underpinning values of a Forevermark diamond, so the brand is growing across the country.”
CONSUMER AWARENESSWatson says that the Forevermark promise comes at a time where more people are becoming aware of the social and environmental implications of mining, and
consumers are looking to purchase jewellery that has been ethically sourced.
“I have noticed increasing demand from consumers to know that the product that they are purchasing benefits the community and is environmentally friendly. Mining has received some negative publicity in the last decade, so the Forevermark promise is very important for the brand.”
As an exclusive distributor of Forevermark diamonds, Caratco is able to appoint retailers who meet the strict criteria set out by the brand, in terms of ethical trading and position in the market. There are currently fourteen stores listed on the Forevermark website as official South African stockists of the Forevermark brand.
“We wholesale to these stores and they retail the product, either in Jewellery or in loose diamonds, whichever suits them at the time. We also have our own retail opportunities, and sell the diamonds at our two showrooms, Jewel Africa in Johannesburg and in Cape Town.
“We aren’t trying to push the brand too hard, we want the brand to grow by demand rather than try to hard sell into retailers, and I think we are achieving this.”.
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Editorial: Roland DouglasProduction: Ajuanne Payne
Southern Air Conditioning is Western Cape’s largest air conditioning contractor. Founded in 1971, the company has built up years of first class experience. IndustrySA speaks to Director, Mark Botha to find out more about the company’s plans for continued growth.
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The Western Cape’s coolest company
In today’s modern building projects, especially structures looking to attract large amounts of people, customer comfort is often the first thing to be discussed at planning meetings. Of course, a buildings external aesthetic appeal is of huge importance but internally there are also a number of factors that have to be taken into account. Everything is designed with customer comfort in mind and one of the most important considerations in any building that houses people is temperature – too hot and people will complain and leave, too cold and people will not want to come back.
While this may sound obvious, solutions to temperature issues are far from easy. There are also health and safety concerns that have to be addressed. How many times have you heard people complain about the lack of air conditioning in hotel rooms or the noise
and environmental impact that these systems have? Many modern systems are designed with ingenious systems that make the most of airflow and ensure that minimal detrimental effects on the environment are realised.
Take the Eastgate Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe. This structure (providing 5,600 m² of retail space and 26,000 m² of office space) was designed to be ventilated and cooled by entirely natural means. Then there is the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. This mega structure (2.5 million ft² shopping centre) utilises traditional air conditioning systems but heating the enormous space has been met with an altogether more creative solution. The mall uses solar radiation through skylights, lighting fixture heat and people heat. The skylights let in light which is converted into heat, like a giant green house, and the lighting fixtures give off heat, which is typically considered waste energy, but is
an important part of heating the building. The people inside generate a lot of heat too. In fact, the guests generate enough heat during peak winter hours that the air conditioning system runs on high to keep the mall comfortable.
In South Africa, the major shopping centres and other high profile buildings, such as the V&A Waterfront, Canal Walk, Cavendish Square, Mountain Mill, SHG House and Stellenbosch Square, have all required complicated and high-tech air conditioning systems to ensure the comfort of customers and they all turned to one of the country’s industry leaders in this sector, Southern Air Conditioning (SAC).
SAC was established over 40 years ago and specialises in the design, supply, installation and maintenance of air conditioning and ventilation systems. The company’s focus on service excellence has gained it a reputation
as ‘the Western Cape’s largest and most successful air conditioning contractor’.
Director, Mark Botha tells IndustrySA that following on from a list of high-profile completed projects, the company is busy with a number of major new developments, notably the Baywest and Motlosana malls in Port Elizabeth and Klerksdorp respectively.
“We are busy with a project called Eikestad Mall and the V&A Waterfront, we’ve just finished a project refitting the Media24 building on the Foreshore and we’ve recently finished a number of other local and regional shopping centres.
“Another big project for us is the Motlosana Mall in Klerksdorp, a project from the same developer as the Baywest Mall,” he says.
When complete in early 2015, the R1.7billion Baywest Mall will cover 80,000m² and will be the one of the
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largest shopping centres in the Eastern Cape. “The construction has started and we are due to be on site with the builder in FEBuary,” explains Botha.
“The products and brands that we use are different for each project and are very much project dependent. On the Motlosana and Baywest projects we predominantly use HPI (Heat Pump International) equipment and Dunham Bush equipment.
“These are some of the flagship projects for the company, some of the biggest we’ve undertaken in terms of value,” he says.
yEARS OF STRENGTHOne of the aims for SAC in the coming months and years is growth. The company is well set for expansion as it has a strong, longstanding, experienced employee base, many of whom have worked for SAC for a number of years.
“The business was founded in 1971. The current owners are the second generation owners of the company; we bought out from the original owners between ten and 15 years ago. It’s still the same philosophy, in the same premises; we have looked to continue and grow on the success,” says Botha.
“Our projects are very labour intensive. We try to be as automated as we can when it comes to manufacturing but
the site installation is very labour intensive. “On all of our projects we use our own people who
have been with us for a number of years. We retired an employee earlier this year who had been here for 41 years. Most of our staff stay with us and this means we don’t have to hire and fire and we try and keep people employed all the time.”
It is because of the emphasis that the company places on its employees that they are recognised as one of the best in the business. Botha explains, as we have heard from many businesses in the past, that happy people equals happy product and happy product equals happy customer.
“The staff are very happy because they are well looked after and because we look after them we get a good result at the end of the project. Because we get a good result, we are first in line for the next project and the cycle continues.
“We do a lot of training and spend a lot money in this sector. Most of the labour force and artisan training is done via an initiative that has been set up by SARACCA (South African Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors’ Association) and other engineering staff are mentored within the company and sent on whatever courses are needed.”
SAC supplied and installed air conditioning in Cape Town’s Canal Walk
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Based in South Africa, we manufacture world class Therm-O-Pac package and air handling units for use in centralised air conditioning systems. At our factory in Lansdowne we employ design engineers who design units exactly to customer specifi cation. Heat Pump is one of the largest suppliers of Air Handlers and Package Units in South Africa and numbers as its clients all the major contractors in the country. We also supply units to countries to the north of us such as Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Kenya.
Air handlers from 500L/sec to 24m3/sec can be supplied as can package units from 18kW - 450kW. Included in the package unit range are theater units, designed and fabricated to the most exacting standards and designed to maintain temperatures within the operating theater environment to within 0,5ºC.
Heat Pump is a certifi ed member of RAMSA (Refrigerated and Air Conditioning Manufacturers and Suppliers Association).
Heat Pump Head Offi ce
Tel: 021 691-3562Fax: 021 691-3729
Kwa Zulu Natal Unit 23Wareing ParkWareing RdPinetown
Tel: +27 31 701 1277Fax: +27 31 707 0731Mobile: 083 390 9894Email: [email protected]
Western CapePeter Turnbull and AssociatesT/A Aircon Sales12 Fern CloseConstantia7800
Tel: +27 21 794 2617 Email: [email protected]
Gauteng / Mpumalanga / BotswanaAndré van der Sandt
Cell: 082 367 2297Fax: 086 775 4604
Agents
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Of course, with this sort of training and development comes opportunities for career expansion and this keeps employees hungry. Botha explains that there are many examples within the SAC business where employees have started at the bottom and worked their way up.
“There are absolutely opportunities for development. We have many people working for us now who joined us a school leavers and labourers and are now supervisors and foremen.”
AFRICAN ExPANSIONSAC is based in Motague Gardens, Cape Town and has completed major projects all over the Western Cape, and further across the country. The company has worked with some of the country’s largest and most reputable contractors including NMC, Murray and Roberts, WBHO, Group 5, Grinaker LTA and Power Construction.
When operating on projects outside of the Western Cape, SAC likes to take members of their experienced team to lead local contractors so that they can maintain their extremely high service standards.
“We take our core artisans and supervisors from Cape Town but we often employ a lot of local labour when we go away on projects. In Port Elizabeth, for the Baywest
project, we will employ a lot of local people there,” says Botha.
This is obviously has a fantastic impact on the communities in which SAC operate.
“It’s not just individuals in the community; we have an impact on the local suppliers of materials, equipment and everything we need for the job,” he says.
In the near future, operating in more remote locations, especially on the continent, will become easier for SAC as the company has recently invested in some new technology that will allow for onsite duct manufacturing – previously a prolonged and complicated part of the process.
“We’ve just spent a huge amount of money on a mobile workshop which we can put up on a building site and manufacture all of our ducting, which is the time consuming part of our job,” explains Botha.
“We will save a huge amount of time and transport costs and we can take this workshop anywhere in Africa. We’re self-sufficient; we’ve got our own generators and as long as we have a satellite connection we can make the workshop operate. With the infrastructure we have put in place we could look at expansion into anywhere in Africa, but it is not something we are considering at this stage.
“It’s nice that people have the ambition to do jobs faster
CAPE
We’re proud to be associated with Southern Airconditioning!As part of the ever-growing national Fourways Airconditioning group, we at Fourways Aircon Cape are proud to be part of Southern Air Conditioning’s success as they expand their current operations within South Africa and beyond. Sales of our range of top-quality Samsung airconditioners and Eco Heating systems, as well as our popular Alliance airconditioners and Heat Pumps are also on the up-and-up throughout Southern Africa, and we look forward to a continued mutually beneficent partnership with Southern Airconditioning in the years to come!
68A Lauda Road, Killarney Gardens 7441Tel: (021) 556 8292 . Fax: (021) 556 8294www.samsungair.co.za www.allianceair.co.za www.allianceheatpumps.co.za
companY proFIlE
and faster and you have to stay on top of technology.”Of course, installing first class systems is only part of the
job for SAC. When installation is complete, the company’s 12 month maintenance program begins. Both the Baywest and Motlosana mall projects and the other contracts on the horizon for SAC will have 12 month guarantee and maintenance options to ensure on-going quality.
“We have one or two long term projects in the pipeline and all of our contracts include a 12 month maintenance and guarantee option so, with Baywest for example, for at least the first year we will look after the project and if it is
successful we will hope to look after it going forward.”With the government investing in infrastructure
projects and many private companies investing in large scale industrial projects, now is a good time for SAC. With a long list of successful projects, SAC boast a staff a huge amount of experience and a commitment to fantastic service. With the demand for air conditioning not likely to wain anytime soon, it looks like SAC has an exciting future.
Botha concludes by saying: “We are very proud of our installations and we like to maintain them.”.
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Air conditioning refers to the process of altering the condition of air in order to cool, heat or disinfect.
There are often academic arguments surrounding the historical origin of air conditioning but the widely accepted theories suggest that in ancient Egypt reeds were hung in windows and were moistened with trickling water. The evaporation of water cooled the air blowing through the window, though this process also made the air more humid (also beneficial in a dry desert climate). In Ancient Rome, water from aqueducts was circulated through
the walls of certain houses to cool them. Other techniques in medieval Persia involved the use of cisterns and wind towers to cool buildings during the hot season.
Modern air conditioning emerged from advances in chemistry during the 19th century, and the first large-scale electrical air conditioning was invented and used in 1902 by Willis Haviland Carrier. The introduction of residential air conditioning in the 1920s helped enable the great migration to the Sun Belt in the US.
SSD Controls specializes in the sales, engineering, installation and maintenance of energy e� cient building control products and building management systems (BMS).
We are a complete solutions provider and are able to design and implement control solutions for any building that requires automation, whether for heating, cooling, ventilation, humidi� cation, de-humidi� cation or pressure control.We are proud suppliers and installers of Honeywell, Centraline, Alerton and Tridium.
Physical address:
Unit 8 Cavi CourtKillarney Gardens Cape Town
Postal address:
P.O. Box 50098West Beach Cape Town7449
Contact numbers:
Tel: 021 557 2056
Fax number: 086 684 8369
Web: www.ssdcontrols.co.za
Email:
Admin: [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
CAPE
We’re proud to be associated with Southern Airconditioning!As part of the ever-growing national Fourways Airconditioning group, we at Fourways Aircon Cape are proud to be part of Southern Air Conditioning’s success as they expand their current operations within South Africa and beyond. Sales of our range of top-quality Samsung airconditioners and Eco Heating systems, as well as our popular Alliance airconditioners and Heat Pumps are also on the up-and-up throughout Southern Africa, and we look forward to a continued mutually beneficent partnership with Southern Airconditioning in the years to come!
68A Lauda Road, Killarney Gardens 7441Tel: (021) 556 8292 . Fax: (021) 556 8294www.samsungair.co.za www.allianceair.co.za www.allianceheatpumps.co.za
Editorial: Christian JordanProduction: Ajuanne Payne
From its beginnings over ten years ago as a street café and bakery, Doppio Zero has grown into a company boasting nine outlets for its unique blend of fresh produce, coffee and delicious food. Shaped by a belief in the goodness of quality, it strives to continually revisit and freshen up its menus with seasonal ingredients and new ideas. Owner, Paul Christie takes us through the factors behind the restaurant’s huge success, and the projects set to keep it at the forefront of the market.
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A truly artisan passion
Doppio Zero was brought into being in March 2002, with the business starting out of its original home in Greenside. It was a corner street style bakery and café, serving up its speciality breakfasts, thin-crust gourmet pizzas and Mediterranean café-style wares.
“At that time, the concept of the bakery, or café-style restaurant, was still largely unheard of,” details Doppio Zero owner Paul Christie, “and as the ‘new kids on the block’ we received a lot of publicity, so the process was extremely successful.”
Doppio Zero has, over the proceeding decade, expanded its dealings to nine restaurants through a mixture of franchise, corporate and joint venture partnerships, with its first international venture set to
open in Alexandria, Egypt, in the very near future.Doppio Zero has very much kept its sense of being
strongly tied to the neighbourhoods in which its restaurants operate, with its feel of a local business having helped its remarkable expansion since its beginnings.
“We’ve always benefited a lot from word of mouth marketing,” explains Christie, “so we do a lot of community marketing – our market is very much our local community, and we do only a very limited amount of national brand marketing.”
Doppio Zero’s commitment to its social responsibility runs a lot deeper than merely spreading its understandably excellent reputation, too. “We work on a community basis,” explains Christie. “We talk to
our communities, and one big social initiative of ours involves supporting schools and young, disadvantaged people. As well as the obvious social benefits this has, it also adds greatly to our PR value as well.”
As Doppio Zero expands, however, its owner is looking at the wider picture. “We’re definitely looking at a bigger marketing strategy for both of our brands. As we are getting bigger, more money can be added to the marketing pot, allowing us to take it to the next level. “
The opening of Doppio Zero’s first restaurant in Egypt underlines the extent of this scope. “That is planned for the end of February. There is a fairly sizeable market in Egypt, and the Middle East, so this is very exciting for us. It’s our first foray out of
the country, and since then we’ve received a number of requests to take our brand outside of the country. However, a big challenge for us in this respect is that we rely heavily on our central bakeries, so we need to set up our restaurants with full function. Ours is a perishable product, and so we have to be able to bake them on site.”
Christie hopes that the increasing prevalence of American brands, and the growing popularity of casual dining, will see Doppio Zero achieve a similar level of popularity in Egypt. “A lot of it is the same stuff, so we are hoping to top the market a little bit, as a slightly different, Italian-based offering, with enough differentiation to make inroads into the market.”
It is Doppio Zero’s unfailing commitment to
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keeping its produce fresh and innovative that keeps it at the forefront of what is an undeniably crowded market.
“We have a lot of competition here in South Africa, and there are literally only a handful of restaurants which have been there for over 50 years, because this is a fickle place. We don’t have a massive market, and we’re very aware of change. We have been fortunate recently, in the sense that the market has been fairly lazy and we haven’t seen so many big shake ups. Now,
though, there are a lot of independent restaurants opening up – they’re smaller, sexier, owner-run places, and this segment of small restaurants represents probably our biggest competition.”
This has in turn prompted a shift in Doppio Zero’s first choice of restaurant location; “Whereas before, when we could take cheap locations and end up almost starting a revival in the section as the first cool restaurant in an area, nowadays our most successful restaurants are in and around shopping centres. From a franchising view, this is a lot more secure, so we’re looking now at this kind of site as we move forward.”
Doppio Zero has always been a company to place a huge emphasis on quality, and this extends right through the ingredients it employs in creating its wares. “We use local ingredients, largely because they are cost effective. We are now differentiating
“At that time, the con-cept of the bakery, or café-style restaurant, was still largely unheard of”
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Situated in Johannesburg, Unitex Corporate is a manufacturer and wholesaler of men’s and ladies � ne quality garments and accessories.
The company calls some of the country’s leading retail chains, government departments and corporate companies its clients and produces its high quality product range from its S.A.B.S approved production plant.
When dealing with the Unitex team you will receive a personal service from dynamic, passionate and drivenentrepreneurial managers who have over 40 years’ experience in the clothing industry.
Unitex Corporate can help you to create an image and a culture that everyone at your company can be proud of.
A professional company identity is proven to have a motivating e� ect on employees.
With an in-house design and embroidery team, Unitex Corporate can make branding simple.
The product range will cater for any industry from warehouse personnel to board room level including all sporting, promotional and recreational events.
The range includes• Jerseys- Acrylic and Lambswool• Shirts / Blouses/ Pit Shirts• Golf Shirts / T-Shirts• Sweatshirts / Track Suits• Jackets / Suits• Trousers / Slacks / Skirts• Caps / Beanies / Scarves / Ties• Aprons / Work Wear / Security Uniforms
11 Mooi Street Johannesburg South AfricaP O Box 260028 Excom 2023
Tel: (27-11) 334 4550 Fax: (27-11) 334 0996 Cell: (27-82) 435 9855Email: [email protected]: www.unitex.co.za
CORPORATE CLOTHING MANUFACTURERS
our menu through our suppliers – for instance we have a pig farmer who has traceable, hormone-free pigs, so she makes our bacon and our sausages. We have a stoneground flour supplier in Cape Town that supplies our flour, and we import our branded Doppio flour from Italy because it’s a very select type that can’t be found here. This use of smaller, local farmers and suppliers is becoming a lot more relevant to our operations, and we’re becoming a lot more aware of supporting our local guys.”
This view to a more locally-sourced, sustainable method of operating also supports Doppio Zero’s vision to push its business even further forward; “We place a lot of value on training, and people development - getting our employees upskilled. We would rather pay skilled people more, have fewer of them, and manage people more effectively.” When pressed on the key to the company’s success thus far, and the elements which would ensure this continuing success into the future, Christie is unequivocal in his response. “Innovation and hospitality - making people feel like they are part of the family. We always have to keep driving innovation, and never stand still. Definitely these are the biggest aspects of our success.”.
Editorial: Tim HandsProduction: Leslie kemp
For 60 years now Sime Darby Hudson and knight has been helping to develop sustainable futures, through its comprehensive line of frying, baking and bulk products. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sime Darby Berhad, the world’s largest listed palm oil originator, and seeks to ensure a bright future for fats and oils through its blend of safety consciousness, innovation and sustainability.
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A sustainable future for fats and oils
Hudson and knight, specialist in fats and oils, was brought into being in 1955 by the Lever brothers, in the port city of Durban. It has spent the intervening years committed to developing sustainable futures, with the company evolving from its origins as a cash business selling soap, cooking oil and white margarine to today’s position as an authority in specialised oils and fats, supplying food service and industrial food manufacturers.
A major producer of fats and oils for the South African market, Sime Darby Hudson and Knight is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sime Darby Berhad, the world’s largest listed palm oil originator. The Sime Darby Group has a comprehensive range of business activities, and these
are overseen in 19 countries by its 27,000 employees. In addition to its original plantations business, Sime Darby is also a major player in motor vehicle distribution, heavy equipment distribution, property development, engineering services and energy industries.
Sime Darby Plantation is the plantation and agri-business arm of the Sime Darby Group, and is involved in oil palm and rubber plantation management cultivation and downstream activities, agribusiness and food. It was the merger of Sime Darby Berhad, Golden Hope Plantations Berhad and Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad in 2007 that has seen Sime Darby Plantation establish itself as one of the world’s largest palm oil producers.
Hudson and Knight’s product range is perhaps best
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characterised by two of its frying products – the Crispa Gold Premium and Crispa Palm brands, used extensively in the foodservice industry to prepare crispy and delicious fried foods. Renowned for its reliability, long frying life, consistency and great taste, both products are available in sunflower and palm oil variants, and can boast being triple refined to remove impurities, free of trans-fatty acids and cholesterol, and both halal and kosher. Its range also incorporates baking products, a category where Hudson and Knight again excels, spanning margarines, pastry fats and shortenings. Flex in particular, a general-purpose puff pastry margarine produced from a blend of palm oils, has been shown to be ideal for the manufacturing of puff pastry and pies. It has a unique formulation, which offers the
baker a cost-effective alternative for producing good quality product, while for those of a more savoury persuasion, the Breadcap innovation is a specialised shortening, designed specifically for use in industrial bakeries which produce bread, rolls, biscuits and premixes.
The end of 2012 saw Hudson and Knight reinforce its long-recognised commitment to safety and risk management, with the implementation of ApplyIT’s IntelliPERMIT at its Boksburg facility, with the aim of improving compliance with safety regulations on site. The plant in question is a state-of-the-art refinery with flexible blending capabilities, used primarily in the production of premium bakery fats, frying oils and bulk industrial fats for the food manufacturing industry.
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A computerised permit-to-work system, IntelliPERMIT is designed to control how permits and isolations within an operating plant are prepared, authorised, issued and managed. In addition, the solution is able to ensure that compliance to safety procedures on any site is unfailingly assured, by checking that all safety precautions are adhered to and hazards correctly identified, as Hudson and Knight plant engineer Rodney Ndonyane explains, “If the integrity of a permit is in question, the risk of unsafe work practices increases.”
Clearly, the high-pressure, large scale nature of Hudson and Knight’s operations means that such a risk of unsafe practice is absolutely unimaginable. Fortunately, its implementation of these measures has afforded a considerable improvement in what was already an exemplary awareness surrounding safety, as Ndonyane states, “IntelliPERMIT has raised the level of safety awareness and preparedness of every shift worker on site by providing detailed risk information and enforcing site safety rules. Communication has improved, correct information is passed from one shift to the next, and at any one time management can see what jobs are underway anywhere on the plant.
“By eliminating incorrect job preparation procedures, we have significantly reduced the risk of accidents or near-misses at the plant.”
This is undeniably a hazardous work environment, a feature simply unavoidable of any such successful, large-scale producer as this. Among the potential risks are high pressure steam lines, ammonia refrigeration, the hydrogenation plant and confined space entry, all of which necessitate tight controls and an identification of anything that may be lacking, before accidents can occur. This is IntelliPERMIT’s bread and butter, as it were, with the system specifically designed to identify
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“By eliminating incorrect job preparation procedures, we have significantly reduced the risk of accidents or near-misses at the plant”
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safety risks and ensure that personnel on site are correctly trained and equipped for their tasks. Permits, which allow access to the many tasks undertaken daily at these plants, are issued only when employees have been seen to be fully compliant with a comprehensive list of authorisations, with the necessary personal protective equipment and having implemented all the correct safety measures. This is an invaluable way in which management can delegate responsibilities in a manner not possible before, with safe work procedures and rules enforced and a high visibility of work in progress.
Particularly for a company of such great influence, there is an ever-increasing focus today on the creation of sustainable supply lines and green practices - those which impact to the minimum degree possible on the environment. With this concern at the forefront of its collective mind, Sime Darby Hudson and Knight has partnered with Woolworths, in order to become the first palm oil supplier to be Round table of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified.
The company has also, crucially, undertaken to support Woolworths in their journey, and as a result, seeks to encourage other oil companies to follow
in its forward-thinking footsteps. Gareth Thomas, Sales and Marketing Manager of Sime Darby Hudson and Knight, recognises the responsibility of such a large manufacturer with regard to this question of sustainability; “Consumer pressure in South Africa is becoming increasingly apparent when it comes to the sustainability of palm oil,” which neatly sums up the two principal aspects of this newly-penned commitment.
With the popularity of Sime Darby Hudson and Knight’s wares increasing by the day, it is in the interests of both the environment, and the company itself, to show this level of dedication to the sustainability of these products. That the company has signed up to this vital commitment will result in the prevention of rainforest destruction in Indonesia and Malaysia, and at the same time protect the habitats of some of our most beloved species, such as the orang-utan and the Sumatran tiger. Crucially, it also means that Hudson and Knight’s products are guaranteed a place on supermarket shelves across the country for a long time yet, allowing the fats and oils specialist to continue to sculpt its sustainable futures across the African continent..
Editorial: Christian JordanProduction: James Clark
B&M Garments opened in Botswana in 2000. Since then, the company has become a major supplier to the South African clothing industry and gained some high-profile clients. MD, Krishna Chinniah tells IndustrySA more about this challenging industry.
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Quality clothing, straight from Botswana
When producing something that requires quality, an eye for detail and, eventually, becomes part of your portfolio, you need a supplier that can be relied on; a supplier that can work to your schedule and fit into your way of doing things. Take the clothing industry for example; when a big name brand outsources its manufacture, there are strict requirements that have to be met or that manufacturer will not gain that order again.
Your manufacturing partner becomes almost an extension of your business and if their product is lacking then your product is lacking, hence the need for a reliable partner who you can trust.
Our manufacturing focus for this month comes from Botswana and B&M Garments, a clothing manufacturer with a long history in the industry. The company is now vertically integrated and Managing Director, Krishna Chinniah tells IndustrySA that even though times have been tough, the
business is now performing well with some major South African brands trusting B&M to produce their merchandise.
“Since 2008 we have focussed on the regional market which is South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana,” says Chinniah. “Today, Mr Price is one of our biggest customers. We also work with Style/Beaver Canoe, Exact, Fashion Express, Keedo and the Foschini Group. We also have some corporate customers in South Africa.
“One of our biggest advantages is that we are vertically integrated. We import our cotton yarn and make our own cloth. This allows us to be slightly more competitive than the rest,” he says.
“One of our other great advantages is that we are right next to South Africa so we have a shorter lead time compared to others. This has been one of our main marketing tools for the South African market.
“We don’t compete on all types of goods. Our price is too expensive for large volume orders so we like to offer small orders with more added value that can get to the shop quickly.
With orders from China or India, you’re looking at a three to six month lead time but with us and the flexibility that we have, you could change colours and still get the delivery through in four weeks.”
INTERNATIONAL HISTORy B&M Garments has a long history and has worked for some of the biggest and most well-known names in the industry. However, following the global recession of 2008, the business was forced to re-evaluate its strategy and subsequently chose to focus on more local markets.
“Originally we are from Mauritius,” explains Chinniah. “In the late 90’s there was a textile boom in Mauritius and buyers were looking for more capacity. At that time we were working for European buyers, specifically H&M. At the time, there was not enough labour in Mauritius so we looked at either Madagascar or Botswana as two alternatives. Labour was available in both these locations.
“In the end we chose Botswana as the government was
offering labour subsidies, so for every job that was created, they would offer financial assistance hence we opened our factory in Botswana in 2000.
“Our relationship with H&M continued until 2007 and the start of the recession. This put a lot of pressure onto prices and we could not meet the price expectations and price targets of some of the European buyers,” he says.
“We had another European buyer, Bonprix from Germany, part of the Otto Group and at the beginning of 2007 everything was booming but it all came to a standstill in 2008 when the recession hit hard.
“When we lost our European customers, we restructured the company and said ‘forget Europe, forget USA, we have a huge market next door – South Africa’. It was very difficult in the beginning but we slowly built it up.”
EFFECTIVE TRANSPORTATIONClearly, choosing South Africa as a target market creates many opportunities for a Botswana based company. The
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facilities are closer, there is more flexibility and the lead times tumble thanks to B&M’s effective transport department.
“Transport in Africa is very expensive and this forms a big part of our costs.
“Working with South African retailers, all goods have to be transported into depots. For example, with Mr Price, all goods have to go through Durban. With Foschini, all goods have to go through Cape Town,” explains Chinniah.
“We have our own trucks and this was one of our major investments. Having your own trucks gives you much more flexibility in your transport and logistics arrangements.
“We take all our goods in our trucks to Johannesburg when we hand the goods over to a South African transporter and they will take the goods to Durban or Cape Town.”
Equally as important as timely deliveries, B&M represents its client’s brands so a focus on quality control is important. “A customer will give us their label to go onto the t-shirts so we are responsible for their brand,” says Chinniah.
Even though this places a lot of pressure on B&M, you get the sense that Chinniah is not fazed; after all the company has years of experience working with huge brands from around the world. Having said that, Chinniah does report that textiles is a tough industry but he would be willing to invest should the correct opportunity present itself.
“Textiles is a very difficult and complicated business. There
are a number of factors that are beyond your control; for example, the Rand moving the way it is puts pressure on our prices and operations.
“We can predict a very good year for 2014 in terms of our order book being full but the Rand depreciating will affect cash flow,” he says.
“When expanding you have to be very careful. You have to think twice before making decisions on expansion in textiles. You have to look at what you have and maximise what you can use. Our expansion will probably come through us developing more product lines.
“Investment into new equipment will come and it depends on the demands from our customers. If our customers require something new or there is an opportunity in a market to add to our turnover then we will always consider investing.”
GROWTHB&M Garments produce currently finds its home mainly in South Africa (70%), Zimbabwe (20%) and Botswana (10%). However, while the current economic climate doesn’t lend itself to trading in European markets because of the weakness of the Rand, Europe certainly does offer vast opportunities for a company like B&M. And with Chinniah, and his years of experience, at the helm you would suspect that any growth opportunity would be well thought out and planned meticulously.
“I have a chemical engineering degree,” he says. “I worked in the UK for seven years and then moved back to Mauritius. There were not many opportunities for a chemical engineer so I had to join the textile industry. I started as a quality assurance manager and then moved into production management.”
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“In the late 90’s there was a textile boom in Mauritius and buyers were looking for more capacity”
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Manufacturers & Suppliers of SABS Approved Sewing ThreadsCoats is the world’s leading industrial thread business, and the second largest supplier of zips to global brands.
Coats Industrial Division provides thread, yarn, zips and trims for industrial customers in apparel, footwear and sewn product markets.
Coats well-known brands and company-wide understanding of our customers and consumers mean our products and services meet current and future needs.
Our strong relationships with business partners and consumers, coupled with the deep expertise of our people, builds trust and certainty.
Our pioneering history and innovative culture ensure we continue leading the way around the world: providing complementary and value added products and services to the apparel and footwear industries; applying innovative techniques to develop technical products in new areas such as aramids, tracer threads and fi bre optics.
We have an unrivalled panel of sewing and yarn application experts dedicated to providing you with technical assistance, advice and training.
Head Offi ceKelly Road ,P O Box 14
Hammarsdale 3700KwaZulu-Natal
Telephone -+27317362171Fax +27317363200
Sales DepotsDurban +27311010926/933Cape Town +27215078080
Johannesburg +27313343384Port Elizabeth +27437265326East London +27800003608
Commercial HeadsExports Bully Moodley +27824163885
Apparel Gavin Fritz +27834473600 [email protected]
Speciality Ashley Naidoo [email protected]
Clearly, the markets over the borders have tremendous potential. In the local market in Botswana, there are only 1.6 million people. South Africa has 50 million people and Zimbabwe has 12 million people hence much more opportunity for expansion.
To date, B&M has invested around P20 million in its operations in Botswana and with global economic conditions now beginning to look more favourable, it seems as though B&M has a bright future in southern Africa, and potentially further afield..“If our customers require something new or there is an opportunity in a market to add to our turnover then we will always consider investing”
Editorial: Christian JordanProduction: Ajuanne Payne
MAN Diesel and Turbo is relatively new to the South African market but since its formation in 2010 the company has proven it has the expertise to deal with the complex demands of the power sector in South Africa and Africa as a whole.
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Powering Africa
MAN is probably one of the most recognisable names in the engineering sphere. With roots going back as far as 1758, it is safe to say that the MAN business is well versed when it comes to industrial engineering.
The name, MAN, was taken by the company in 1908 when German company, Vereinigte Maschinenfabrik Augsburg und Maschinenbaugesellschaft Nürnberg A.G., Augsburg (United Machine Works Augsburg and Nuremberg Ltd) was renamed Maschinenfabrik Augsburg Nürnberg AG, or in short, MAN.
The company was famous for its involvement with the development of the first ever diesel engine, very early steam engines and early railways and throughout the 1900’s, MAN continued to unveil bigger and better projects, always more powerful, more efficient and more advanced than the last.
Of course, when you hear the phrase ‘German engineering’, you automatically think of high quality products and part of that association probably comes from the involvement of innovative companies like MAN.
Today, MAN is recognised as ‘one of Europe’s leading commercial vehicle, engine and mechanical
engineering companies, generating annual revenue of around €15.8 billion and employing a workforce of approximately 54,300 worldwide. MAN is a supplier of trucks, buses, diesel engines, turbomachinery and turnkey power plants, with all corporate divisions holding leading market positions’.
In South Africa, MAN has a strong presence both in the market for truck and bus manufacture and also in the market for engines and power supply. MAN Truck and Bus opened in South Africa in 1962 when two German entrepreneurs, Meyer and Hiller, built the current assembly plant. In 1974, the company was renamed MAN Truck and Bus and the growth of the MAN name in South Africa began.
Our focus for this month, MAN Diesel and Turbo, opened in South Africa as two separate divisions – MAN Diesel and MAN Turbo in 2001 and 2009 respectively. After the two merged in 2010, the new company reported turnover of over R230 million with its workforce now sitting at around 160 people and a general focus placed on training and empowering employees.
Whilst the South African operation still forms part of the global MAN Diesel and Turbo operation, the
local arm of the business is recognised as an industry leader with a product range and skill set that leaves no stone unturned.
The company is the world market leader in large diesel engines for use in ships and power stations and is one of the three leading suppliers of turbo machines. Products include diesel and gas engines for power generation and propulsion; complete power packs (plug and play containers), turbochargers; auxiliary equipment (such as plate coolers); oil, water and fuel pumps; purifiers and automation systems.
Primary business activities in diesel are drive propulsion systems for ships, power generation on ships or in power stations, drive for pumps and compression of air. In the turbo division, it is compression of air and process gases, gas exploration, transport and storage as well as power generation.
AFRICAN GROWTHIt is no secret that the African economy is continuously growing and is providing huge opportunities for companies with the right expertise.
According to auditing firm Ernst and Young’s 2013 Competitive Survey, projected GDP growth
for the period 2012-2017 in the nations of Malawi, Mozambique, Angola, Ethiopia and Zambia is set to be higher than that of any of the other African nations and MAN Diesel and Turbo have noted this and at the end of 2012, the company clinched a deal through its Danish sister company for the provision of 49 MAN GenSets in Angola.
The project for ENE, the Angola national Electricity Utility, saw MAN Diesel and Turbo work closely with WinEnergy, a Portuguese engineering company whose core business is based on solutions development and the commercialisation of turnkey equipment and systems in the areas of energy and environment.
The 49 MAN GenSets were installed into seven of the country’s power plants, starting in Cunene in the south. The project gave the company the chance to further demonstrate the capabilities of its MAN PrimServ division, the after sales sector of the MAN Diesel and Turbo business. MAN PrimServ already has a strong presence in the region, servicing several offshore customers in Angola’s booming hydrocarbon sector.
In Africa, one of the initial projects that the
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Diesel engine assembly in Augsburg
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company was involved with since the joining of the Diesel and Turbo divisions was the development of two dual-fuel, large-bore diesel engines of type 18V51/60DF, including the electromechanical equipment for generating electricity in Libreville, Gabon. Since then, the company has supplied power generation equipment to African countries including; Egypt, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Madagascar and the Cape Verde Islands.
The most recent developments in Africa come in Niger in January when MAN Diesel and Turbo received orders for four 18V48/60TS engines, which are to be installed in a new 80 MW power plant in Niamey.
“The orders are important references in most interesting growth markets. Growth in energy demand is set to remain strong on the African continent in the years to come and we want to continue to be involved in our capacity as an equipment supplier,” Dr René Umlauft, CEO of MAN Diesel and Turbo said in a statement.
POWERFUL CAPABILITIESWith the development of Medupi and Kuseli power stations and a number of other energy projects around South Africa, there are huge opportunities available for a company like MAN Diesel and Turbo.
In 2013, the company demonstrated its capabilities when it worked on power stations in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. In November the company received an order from the United Cement Industrial Company to build a power plant in Saudi Arabia. Five MAN 20V32/44CR
engines will provide electricity for a new cement works 160 kilometres to the south of Jeddah, near the Red Sea.
“We believe there is tremendous potential in the domain of local power plant solutions for independent energy generation in particular, for example for cement or steel works. The United Cement Industrial Company is a new client for us and one we have convinced with our technical concept,” Umlauft explained in a statement.
In March, the company supplied a total of 14 18V48/60 engines for two new power plants in Lebanon which will produce electricity for the state-owned supply company Électricité du Liban.
“There is a great need in Lebanon to expand energy production. This makes the country highly interesting for our Power Plants division,” said Umlauft.
In South Africa, there has been much talk of a huge infrastructure drive which will see shipping activity increase; there have also been reports of numerous potential power station developments in the coal, nuclear and renewable sectors. Then there is mining; the major miners are always looking for flexible but strong power solutions and industries such as government, agriculture, construction and engineering will always need reliable energy solutions from a seasoned provider.
As the global economic climate recovers from its slowdown, it seems as though MAN Diesel and Turbo South Africa is perfectly positioned to service the whole continent as power requirements continue to increase..
Crankshaft for a four stroke large engine
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