PROMMAC
2 / www.enterprise-africa.net
PROMMAC
Success is Part of the Culture at PROMMAC
PRODUCTION: David Napier
Engineering, maintenance and shutdown specialist organisation, PROMMAC, is expanding into the mining industry while realising ongoing growth as a result of being a part of the CG Holdings group, an international service provider to the energy and events industries.
//
In September 2016, Jason English, CEO of South Africa’s PROMMAC – a mechanical contractor specialising in maintenance, shutdown and small project solutions – told Enterprise Africa of his delight at growing the company from a modest R30 million business with around 200 people in 2012 to a R300 million, 2000 employee, international service provider in just four years. The former police officer, turned engineer, turned CEO is a YPO member with an innovative outlook on entrepreneurism. He takes company culture very seriously. He told us of the need to create an environment where employees want to come to work – easier said than done, and not as simple as
increasing pay. Think-rooms, hi-fi corners, bean bags, morning war dances, and creating a sense of fun are all part of the fabric at PROMMAC and English is happy that people often compare the culture within the business more to that of a Silicon Valley tech firm rather than a Secunda-based mechanical engineering, heavy industry business. But culture is not something to be scoffed at, and the proof is in the results for PROMMAC with English reporting a 1000% increase in revenue from 2012 to 2016, and an extremely positive feeling within the business creating a low staff turnover. The success of PROMMAC and its related businesses has fuelled the growth of another organisation, CG Holdings,
the umbrella company of PROMMAC. CG Holdings was established in 2016 to hold shares in a number of operating companies previously directly owned by its directors and senior managers. It is an owner-manager led group, and Jason English is a founding member. Under the CG Holdings banner also sits EC&I (formerly Kumunyack) and AG Electrical in South Africa, Al Laith and Projeco in the Middle East, and Iris Group in Europe. The vision of CG Holdings, similar to PROMMAC, is to ‘be a world-class industrial and event services group and the recognised industry leader in its chosen market segments’. And to do this, culture design remains at the heart of the organisation. Continues on page 52 www.enterprise-africa.net / 3
Choose DROMEX for the leading innovative head-to-toe solutions that will equip you and your team to operate safely in any potentially hazardous environment.
Protecting the lives that inhabit our workplaces doesn’t happen by accident, it involves a detailed assessment of the environment you and your staff will be faced with daily and implementing a sustainable plan that evolves with the needs of your business. Companies that have experienced on-site injuries will know that the expense is not only medical but also in the traumatic effect on productivity. A cost that companies can avoid almost completely by ensuring that their bread-winners are appropriately protected in the course of their role. It’s important to recognise that global business practices have changed. The time where corporates disregarded safety requirements is long gone and we are called not merely to make money but to be three dimensional organisations that hear the heartbeat in the workforce and cultivate a culture of accountability. This evolution means that employees are also no longer willing to accept safety mediocrity, which has been commonplace.
Stel Stylianou is at the helm and, together with his team of experts, dedicated to personally selecting every quality safety item in our range at the best prices so that we’re able to provide PPE that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg but that will save more than a hand or a foot. A process that means we stock EN Certified products from ISO 9002 accredited companies around the world. We have a state-of-the art 35 000m2 warehousing facility, which stores vast quantities of all our products which along with an established logistics network, means we are able to meet our customers’ requirements within 2-3 days. Our extensive experience in the various fields requiring PPE enables us to assist all our customers with technical back-up and selecting the appropriate products for their specific application.
MAKE EVERY WORK ZONE A SAFETY ZONE. At Dromex we believe that all employees are entitled to maximum protection and that employers should never have to compromise on the quality of the protective products they supply. We believe that it is our responsibility to supply products that will deliver on this promise and its not something we take lightly.
Know safety. No injury. Know Dromex.
HEAD OFFICE Unit 1, 1 Blase Road, New Germany, 3610 T. +27 (0)31 713 1960 F. +27 (0)31 705 6508 E-Fax. 0866 844 595 www.enterprise-africa.net / 5 Email. sales@dromex.co.za Web. www.dromex.net
INDUSTRY FOCUS: ENGINEERING
Continued from page 49 At PROMMAC, for example, the installation of motivational activities, such as the aforementioned morning war dancing, creates a culture of involvement but also one of enjoyment. CG Holdings has the intention of creating a pan-company culture. “There have been times when we have made the tough decision to slow growth and focus on getting the culture right,” he told Entrepreneur magazine. “We focus heavily on training that deals with things like the systems, processes and culture of the company. We’ve also created a culture and environment that you won’t necessarily associate with engineering and heavy industries. “CG Holdings has acquired several companies over the last few years, and when it comes to acquisition, managing the culture is far trickier than it is with normal hiring. When you hire a new employee, you can educate them in the ways and culture of the business. When you acquire an entire company, you import not only a large number of new people, but also an existing organisation with its own culture and vision. Because of this, we’ve created a centralised hub that manages all training and other company activities pertaining to culture.
6 / www.enterprise-africa.net
We don’t allow the various companies to do their own thing. That helps to manage the culture as the company grows and expands, since it ensures that everyone’s on the same page,” he added. And, again, the results speak for themselves. “Today PROMMAC is back at the top of its game having been awarded the prestigious Service Provider of the year for 2017 by Sasol for both their Secunda and Sasolburg chemical complexes,” he said. PROMMAC’s specific focus includes safety management, quality management, resources management, planning management, project management, industrial plant maintenance, industrial plant shutdowns and turnarounds, brownfield projects, and specialised onsite services. “We are steadily evolving as a leader in the provision of mechanical and project management services to the power and energy industry. Our steady growth in the provision of maintenance, shutdown, commissioning and project solutions has seen PROMMAC challenging as a leading brand in an industry dominated by major public companies,” explains English. “Our dedicated team of managers and skilled resources continually carry out multi-discipline activities in both the
// WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING OUR JOURNEY WITH OUR EXISTING CLIENTS AND LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH FUTURE CLIENTS TO PROVIDE SUSTAINABLE TAILOR MADE SOLUTIONS THAT BENEFIT BOTH OUR BUSINESSES AND CREATE VALUE THROUGHOUT THE VALUE CHAIN // brownfield and greenfield environments, which vary in difficulty and size, and we have developed a unique culture that understands the pressure requirements of our clients. “We look forward to continuing our journey with our existing clients and look
PROMMAC
forward to working with future clients to provide sustainable tailor made solutions that benefit both our businesses and create value throughout the value chain.” All of this success is a product of PROMMAC’s culture and, as such, the company has instilled culture development as a key focus in its vision – ‘To build a family cultured business which is recognised as the leading provider of innovative specialised mechanical services and turnkey project management solutions to the petrochemical, mining and energy sectors of Africa’. POWERFUL GROWTH Traditionally a servant of the oil and gas and energy industries, an obvious and organic way to expand was for PROMMAC to move into mining, and in January 2017 the company did just that. Through the end of 2016 and the oil and commodity price crash, PROMMAC continued to grow. Moving to new offices and breaking into new sectors has proved important for the business. “2016 was a year of many firsts for PROMMAC, with our constant efforts to break into the mining space finally paying dividends as we were awarded our first shutdown contract in this sector with a large Blue Chip client, which was finished
on time without any injuries,” details English. “Another first was the awarding of our first major construction project in a brownfields environment by Sasol group technology, as well as our first shutdown contract in the Vaal Triangle region. 2016 was also the year in which we executed the largest shutdown in the group’s history and has also been the year in which we have recorded our lowest recordable case ratio in history at just 0.1 for PROMMAC and 0.0 for all other group companies. “2016 was also the year we landed a new client in Madagascar in which we will be supporting our first shutdown contract in this region and was also the year we opened our new offices in the Middle East. “I am also pleased to highlight the numerous awards that we were given starting with the C3 safety recognition, ammonia shut down safety recognition, the nitric acid facility safety recognition and the operational excellence award for the ammonia projects to name just a few. These awards are testament to the team’s commitment and dedication towards delivering an injury free operation.” In South Africa, PROMMAC’s sister company, EC&I (Electrical, Control & Instrumentation), previously known as
Kumunyack, officially announced its change of identity just last month. The hope is that the new identity will help market the business. “Having outgrown its former name and branding, the EC&I leadership team feel that this strategic change better reflects the company’s service offerings and prepares the company for future growth,” the company says. EC&I’s key service include installation of medium and low voltage switchgear, transformers, motor control centres, distribution boards and ups systems, installation of DCS, plc control systems, marshalling equipment and much more. Now is an exciting time for PROMMAC, and for CG Holdings. The business looks set to continue creating jobs, continue delivering quality service for customers, and continue on its journey towards the industry leading position in all of its chosen sectors. Leadership of course plays a major part in the success, and English will continue to work hard at creating winning culture. PROMMAC is a success story that is now an example to be followed.
WWW.PROMMAC.COM
www.enterprise-africa.net / 7
AFRICA
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR AFRICA’S INDUSTRY LEADERS
Published by CMB Multimedia Chris Bolderstone – General Manager E. chris@cmb-multimedia.com Sackville Place, 44-48 Magdalen Street, Norwich, NR3 1JU T. +44 (0) 20 8123 7859 E. info@cmb-multimedia.com www.cmb-multimedia.com
February 2018
www.enterprise-africa.net
SAOTA
CMB Multimedia 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. © CMB Multimedia Ltd 2017
Architect Designer Technologists Developing
New Key Regions ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
Buffalo Coal / Nautic Africa / Grindrod / SAOTA
AS FEAT UR ED IN
ENTERPRISE AFRICA
FEBR UAR Y 2018