Isowall

ISOWALL

ISOWALL

Dominant Panel and

Polystyrene Production PRODUCTION: Timothy Reeder

Isowall SA is the leading manufacturer and supplier of the Isowall sandwich panel which is today employed in numerous applications worldwide. Isowall also manufactures and supplies expanded polystyrene and moulded products, as well as insulated doors for cold storage and insulated truck bodies.

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A wholly South Africanowned company, Isowall’s main factory in Pretoria is ably backed up by further facilities in Cape Town, East London and Tema, on the Atlantic coast of Ghana.

Isowall conducts operations not only throughout South Africa, but also into the rest of Africa in such territories as Zambia, Ghana, Sudan, Namibia, Angola and Mozambique.

With the group currently standing as the dominant panel and polystyrene producer in Africa, its overall focus is the manufacture of Isowall sandwich panels and Isolite expanded polystyrene (EPS) and expanded polypropylene (EPP) products for the insulation, construction, packaging, agricultural and automotive markets. Thermal insulation has long been known as the most efficient way to maintain cold temperatures, and consists of

minimising the transmission of heat energy between adjacent spaces.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, even way back at the turn of the century there was more than 3.04 billion gross cubic feet of general refrigerated or cold storage capacity in use, and these facilities are essential for the safe handling and storage of food products and other goods.

Without storage areas that provide a consistent environment and sustain its integrity, many products would not be readily available to consumers as the majority of food products are perishable, meaning they deteriorate rapidly when exposed to an ambient temperature.

Historically, the use of cold, whether through freezing or refrigeration, has been one of the most common methods for food preservation over long periods. It was only in the

twentieth century, however, that cold storage began to be implemented on an industrial scale.

Being able to keep food for long periods has a significant impact both socially and economically, and the properties of expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation board make it an ideal substance for use in walls and roofing systems in the construction of cold storage space, facilities which store food, flowers and other temperature sensitive commodities.

As surface temperatures decrease within these structures, the quality of construction and sustainability required becomes ever more critical, with the performance properties of EPS - constant thermal resistance, dimensional stability, chemical inertness and sustainability making it perfectly suited for use as insulation.

In the second half of the 20th Continues on page 126 www.enterprise-africa.net / 3

//RBS IS PROUD TO BE APPOINTED INSURANCE ADVISORS TO ISOWALL. Construction accounts for a major part of the South African economy. Unlike other emerging markets, the South African construction and infrastructure industry has struggled post 2010 FIFA World Cup with depressed growth. It is the time when industry separate wheat from chaff. A time when companies face courage in adversity.

Insurance is generally considered important and indeed when things go wrong, insurance may be the only viable means of ensuring that a project gets back on track.

The implementation of an effective risk management programme will protect assets, improve stability and long term profitability, safeguard business reputations, reduce insurance claims in addition to insurance premiums and will ultimately guard future opportunities.

At times the magnitude of a risk is indeterminate, but we can determine: • • • •

The proportion of real versus perceived risks The monetary quantification of risks The real import and the impact of a type of risk Contractual Risk

Contractual risk management provides a clear structured approach in addressing responsibilities to insure construction projects. Risk transfer using contractual liability is one of the most important risk management tools available to risk managers and yet can be one of the most complicated and complex to understand. The concern in particular rests within the insurance provisions.

Ideally, the parties, in their contract, will assign the risks and liabilities to the party best suited to manage and minimise the risks. It is crucial that the risks and responsibilities associated with specific projects are clearly allocated within the contract. It ultimately serves as a framework of the law between the parties involved and will establish which party has assumed or negated a particular risk in connection with the project.

Type of Risks Broadly speaking, construction projects face the following type of risks: Business Risks - Construction companies face risks to transformation, health, safety and environmental sustainability, followed by growth and expansion, in addition to compliance with laws and regulations.

Financial Risks – A delay in the completion of a project often leads to increased costs and is more often the simple consequence of underestimating what it will take to finish a project.

Technology Risk - New materials and building techniques are emerging to help meet client demands of faster, cheaper and greener construction projects, these same innovations can potentially lead to unintended consequences.

Project Risk – The construction industry inherently has a higher risk of occupational injuries and diseases due to a potentially hazardous and accident-prone working environment.

Political Risk - Labour unrest have caused many headaches for construction companies in South Africa and SASRIA in particular does not cover loss of income without physical loss or damage to the construction project. Insurers’ appetite for risks such as project standstill caused from riot, strike and lock out without physical damage to the works from a global perspective have diminished over the years due to claims increasing year on year, rendering the risk almost un-insurable.

Construction work itself is exposed to significantly higher risk of damage caused by natural perils such as storms, floods and landslip in addition to facing man-made perils represented by the construction operations themselves. The risks of fire, impact, instability and collapse are also intrinsic to the process.

Mitigation of risks is the all en-compassing requirement. For this reason, insurance needs to be an integrated part of the entire risk management process in construction projects in a practical, proactive and systematic way. Insurance provides a whole range of insurance products to negate the risks and it is available to all parties that comply with the terms and conditions of such insurance.

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INSURING CONSTRUCTION RISKS

BY DESIGN. Construction risk can be divided into four sectors, housing, infrastructure, commercial and industrial construction. Within these sectors there is a wealth of different sized businesses from the self-employed plumber through to major infrastructure groups.

All have individual risks associated with their business activities influencing the need for tailor made insurance.

CALL RBS TODAY ON:

0860 072 765 email | george@rbs.co.za web | www.rbs.co.za

An authorised FSP

INDUSTRY FOCUS: CONSTRUCTION

Continued from page 123 century, due to the growing demand for industrial refrigeration chambers and the expansion of technology, sandwich panels came into being.

The utilisation of these panels was a major breakthrough in the construction and insulation sector, as they bring together a number of advantages within the same product.

Among these are modularity, meaning that they are easy to transport and assemble, as well as being available in a range of core thicknesses and sheet metal cladding for facades. While their characteristics depend on the panel usage, they possess excellent mechanical properties, act as a superb vapour barrier, are highly heat resistant and come at a manageable cost.

Of the Isowall Group range of products, it should come as no surprise that perhaps the flagship is the Isowall Sandwich Panel, which consists of an insulation core with

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facings of flexible materials. They are used in many of the most critical insulated applications, including such facilities as coldrooms, classrooms, distribution centres, freezers and abattoirs. The EPS core panel is by far the most economically sound choice of insulation, extensively used not only due to its insulation properties and high strength to weight ratio, but also to a relatively low weight which makes panel installation a far more easily completed process.

The Isolite division of Isowall is another crucial aspect of the Group as a whole, and produces Expanded Polystyrene for a wide range of uses including insulation, lightweight fillers and semi-rigid cushioning. An incredibly versatile substance, here again we see its excellent thermal properties in play as it provides integral characteristics in applications such as cold rooms, deep freeze facilities, refrigeration,

fermentation tanks, vessels and for pipe and duct lagging. EPS is also used for protective packaging in a variety of industries such as industrial, pharmaceutical and retail, to which it lends itself ideally due to its excellent cushioning properties, heat resistance and limitless design possibilities.

In the construction business too, EPS sheets and boards are used for thermal and sound insulation in walls, roofs and on floors, while loose beads are used as an aggregate in lightweight concrete, plasters and renderings. Among its other uses are in under floor heating systems, drainage boards, permanent formwork, foundation and prefabricated wall systems.

Meanwhile, since EPS remains unaffected by micro-organisms in soil, it is ideal for geothermic insulation beneath roads, around foundations and in embankments where it prevents soil break-up which would otherwise occur as a consequence of freezing.

At present count, the Isowall Group turnover is some R300 million per annum, and the replacement cost of the Group’s fixed assets and properties are approximately R340 million. Isowall Pretoria alone operates from premises of 45,000 m2, having commenced business in Silverton in 1973, with the Group employing some 500 people of whom 300 are based in Pretoria. At the heart of all of this success innovation is the Isowall Group’s Chairman, Peter van Duyn, himself having stood as a key member of the industry for the past 29 years.

In addition to leading the Group, he is actively involved in industry matters and has been a significant influence in the establishment of, and regularly participated in, several of its underpinning bodies. The first of these, EPSASA, is the association representing expanded polystyrene manufacturers, raw material

ISOWALL

suppliers and equipment suppliers in South Africa, an integral industry representative whose mission is to promote and grow the expanded polystyrene market.

Meanwhile, equally important is the Thermal Panel Manufacturers Association (TPMA), which exists to represent the lucrative South African sandwich thermal panel industry on technical, regulatory, quality assurance and product acceptance issues. TPMA Members include 12 of the leading manufacturers of polystyrene, polyurethane, polyisocyanurate and rockwool cored panels, and it remains a vital resource for both producers and users of industry products. As standards developer, TPMA also writes and publishes industry product standards.

As with all companies of Isowall’s ilk, thoughts quickly turn to environmental concerns, and particularly the demands EPS

places upon our natural resources.

Fortunately, there is yet more good news for the Group in this regard. Since expanded polystyrene uses oil and petrochemicals in its manufacture, it does by extension call upon the earth’s natural resources, but when compared to other areas of industry this resource consumption is very small indeed. Total plastics packaging manufacture uses no more than 2% of the world’s oil production, with expanded polystyrene packaging using less than 0.1% of this.

For the sake of comparison, over 86% of the oil consumed is used as a fuel for industry transport and in our homes. The current use of plastics in Europe per capita, meanwhile, is about 30-kg a year, meaning that the amount of oil used for plastics manufacture therefore would only be sufficient for a 300-km car journey.

In addition, expanded polystyrene

does not pose any threat to the ozone layer. It uses pentane as its blowing agent during the production process, and due to its chemical relation to methane, it quickly decomposes in the atmosphere.

Expanded polystyrene packaging is being recycled throughout Europe and South Africa and in many other parts of the world too, while meeting the packaging requirements of many products at a highly effective and competitive price.

ISOWALL 012 804 3564 www.isowall.co.za

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Buffalo Coal / Nautic Africa / Grindrod / SAOTA

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DECEMBER 2017