PART OF THE SOLUTION

Motheo Construction Group

Motheo began as a small residential construction company dedicated to providing low cost, high quality housing. Since then the firm has expanded into construction projects across South African infrastructure. However, scratch the surface of this fast growing company and you’ll find it has some surprising beginnings, and demonstrates that strong principles can be great for business.A Surprising Origin

People get into the construction industry for all sorts of reasons, but perhaps one of the strangest, and most inspiring stories of someone entering this business sector is that of Dr Thandi Ndlovu. Dr Ndlovu never started out intending to work in construction. Originally she’d set out to be a doctor, and she did a good job of it too. By 1995 she had acquired a medical degree from the University of Zambia and begun practicing medicine in disadvantaged communities in South Africa. However, as she was treating patients, she noticed a trend.

Motheo Construction director Tim Potter explains: “What

she found was that a large percentage of her patients were coming to her surgery for reasons related to their living conditions. So

she began looking at housing projects alongside her medical practice.”

She started out by applying for government subsidised housing projects. To begin with it was an uphill struggle - her applications invited controversy because although she brought construction professionals onboard, Dr Ndlovu herself had no background in the field. Still, she persevered, and began working with Chris Cudmore and Tim Potter, previously of construction giant Murray and Roberts, on making these housing projects a reality in 1997. By 1998, Ndlovu was looking for long term partners and the three of them formed the company Motheo Cudmore and Potter.

Motheo Construction Group

“In 2001 we collapsed that into a singular entity, forming the Motheo Construction Group,” Potter explains. “From 2001 we’ve been operating as a single entity.”

The company began focusing exclusively on housing projects, inspired by Ndlovu’s ambition to eliminate the housing problems that had led to so many of her patients’ health problems. However, as the company grew, so did its ambitions, and soon the firm was helping to build South Africa’s infrastructure.

“Up until around 2005 we were mainly involved in the

Reconstruction and Development Programme, building social housing and high density rental apartments,” Potter tells us. “Then we migrated into projects of a more general construction nature. Over 2006 and 2007 we began working on office blocks, warehouses and school refurbishments. By 2008 we had got into rail buildings and were responsible for the construction of a new station.”

Strength in DiversityHowever Motheo’s positive impact goes much further

58 Recreation Road - East London - 5201Tel: 043 743 2507/8 - Fax: 043 743 2506

superbolt@telkomsa.net

Super Bolt has been operating successfully for 8 years and it is a BEE company with a small staff contingent that means everyone has a hands on role to play in the company’s success. Super Bolt offers nuts, bolts, studs, anchors, drill bits, rawl bolts, cap screws, wood screws, pop rivets, grinding disks, welding rods and threaded rods to its customers. We pride ourselves on our service delivery.

“There’s always a good reason to work with smaller builders that are local to a project. So when we move into an area we find out what skills are available and take those skills in from external businesses. As well as allowing us to invest in local communities, it also takes off some of the pressure to train up staff directly.” Tim Potter, Director

Motheo Construction Group

At Duro, we have lots to be proud of. We’re proud of our people and

our leadership position in the market. And we are proud of our products,

which are designed to make affordable housing more affordable.

We’re also proud of the relationships we’ve built over the last 60 years,

particularly our association with the Motheo Construction Group.

Together we’re

building prideOne house at a time

than simply building houses for those that need them. The construction firm is also actively pursuing black and female economic empowerment.

The company’s directors are two white men, Potter and Cudmore, and two black women, the company founder and CEO Dr Ndlovu and Lettie Ndhlovu (no relation) who became associated with the firm in 2005.

“The make-up of our shareholders is currently 54% black, female” says Potter. “The plan over time is for the shareholders to approximate the demographic of our country, so over time we expect to see the percentage of white males among the shareholders become diluted.”

This approach can been seen at every level of Motheo Construction, from the directors’ board to its staff, and even its suppliers.

As Potter says, “Companies in Africa are measured against a scorecard. Our score is based on several pillars - one of those pillars is employment equity, another is procurement. That scorecard is really identifying what you’re doing from a staffing and a procurement perspective. We’ve been rated a level three BEE contributor, but we’re aiming to go from three to two to one.”

At the end of the day however, Motheo’s first priority is to be the best at what they do. The aim is to make sure the firm has the best possible staff, and the capacity to provide high quality work within budget and to deadline. Motheo avoids putting people in positions of responsibility just to fill quotas, and instead it is investing in training up a new generation of qualified, diverse young managers who will

take the company into the future.In situations where Motheo doesn’t have the necessary

skills available in-house, the company invests in local businesses to bring the right people into their projects.

“We contract in different ways. There’s always a good reason to work with smaller builders that are local to a project. So when we move into an area we find out what skills are available and take those skills in from external businesses. As well as allowing us to invest in local communities, it also takes off some of the pressure to train up staff directly,” Potter says. “We’ve built up several strategic alliances with various enterprises, creating ongoing relationships between companies.”

All of this work is building towards one goal:“The key thing is to make sure we are delivering a quality

product timeously,” Potter continues. “We work hard to match our economic empowerment with an excellent track record. Around the company there are about 15 key young black individuals who are being groomed for future management. We’re aiming to fast track their experience so they can take on more and more management responsibility.”

By providing young black workers with the technical and commercial understanding and experience needed to run the business, Motheo is putting them in a position to take on high profile roles in their own right.

Building OpportunityIt’s the company’s professional and highly competent

approach to its work that has allowed it to push its

Motheo Construction Group

empowerment agenda so effectively. The firm has shown a knack for bringing turnkey construction projects to market, carefully judging whether the economic climate is right before moving into a new operation. Motheo Construction’s core skills lie in building and project management, and these are the skills it has pushed to expand the business over the last 14 years. Two thirds of its projects are still in the housing sector - the company has recently taken on a massive housing development in Newcastle consisting of over 1,300 units - while projects for schools, hospitals and infrastructure projects continuing to expand. But Motheo isn’t ready to stop there.

“There’s a big move on in South Africa to go over to alternative energy,” Potter says. “There are more and more projects for solar farms, wind farms and other clean sources of energy, so we’re looking to get involved in that.”

However at the end of the day, Motheo is still primarily a company of principle. Its core goal is to work for the betterment of its country, and the construction sector as a whole.

“One of the issues that everyone is dealing with now is that internally there is a war going on in South Africa with corruption,” Potter admits. “You see regular examples of corruption, but currently people are standing up to it. We’d like to be numbered with those who are trying to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.”

That pretty much sums Motheo Construction up in one sentence, because if this company is anything, it’s part of the solution.

www.incledon.co.za

Leading Suppliers of

Ed

HL L

L

A

­ Infrastructure /Civils

­ Municipal

­ Agriculture

­ Irrigation

­ Industrial &

Engineering

vicr ine gS

South Africa

Quality & Reliability

Germiston: Tel: 011 323 0800 * Fax: 011 323 0982Port Elizabeth: Tel: 041 404 1800 * Fax: 041 486 2719

Established in 1955, Duro enjoys the reputation of being one of the country’s leading building and construction suppliers. With a Johannesburg-based head office and branches across South Africa, as well as Botswana and Namibia, Duro is known for manufacturing quality products, ranging from such (should it be ‘steel?) window and door frames, to roll-up doors, awnings, paint supplies and do-it-yourself products. Now under new directors, and building on the solid foundations that helped make the brand what it is today, Duro is looking forward to generating renewed success with a new perspective and inspiration.

Incledon has been in South Africa since 1906. The company services the Engineering, Civil, Municipal, Mining, Plumbing, Merchant, Agricultural and Irrigation markets with a comprehensive range of various Pipes, Fittings, Flanges, Pipe Couplings, Valves, Pipe Tools, Pumps & Irrigation. Incledon is well re-presented throughout South Africa, with 16 branch outlets

Motheo Construction Groupwww.motheogroup.co.za+27 11 789 8440

Written by Chris Farnell

www.littlegatepublishing.com