TN MOLEFE CONSTRUCTION
TN MOLEFE CONSTRUCTION
The Home Of Engineers
And Development PRODUCTION:
Djamil Benmehidi
In a marketplace so competitive and starved of capital as South Africa’s construction sector, it is telling that TN Molefe Construction is not only surviving but thriving. Through its hard-earned and thoroughly deserved reputation for excellence, the company is recognised as one of the country’s most highly-regarded civil engineering and construction specialists. Having watched the company grow from a plucky start-up into the first-choice government contractor it is today, Managing Director, Anne Ndaba reveals the keys to its success. 2 / www.enterprise-africa.net
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INDUSTRY FOCUS: CONSTRUCTION
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As any seasoned business leader worth their salt will attest, if a year is a long time in business, then a decade is an entire lifetime. When Negi Molefe, founder of TN Molefe Construction and its parent company, TN Molefe Holdings first opened the company’s doors for business, the South African construction sector was still riding the crest of a powerful economic boom. Cranes could seemingly be seen clustered on the skyline of every major city, as cityscapes changed and modernised before the eyes of South Africans. Today, however, with an economy that is in the doldrums, the country’s construction sector is an unforgiving and competitive place, low on confidence, and characterised by razor thin margins and low returns. And yet while industry heavyweights like Group Five and Aveng have seen their order books shrink by 18% and 13% respectively when compared to the same stage last year, TN Molefe Construction has remained largely unscathed. In fact, one might even go one step further and say contrary to the country’s economic
difficulties, the outlook with regards to the present and future is positive. “The construction industry is definitely facing challenges, and we can feel the pinch. However, I think we see the infrastructure challenges that South Africa has – there are a number of roads where there have been serious accidents, which have required major work, rehabilitation, and expansion – we are positive that because of the pressure on the government to spend on infrastructure that there remains great opportunity within this area on these projects,” explains Anne Ndaba. She continues: “Though we are in the process of expanding into the private sector, so as to ensure we tap more of this market, civil engineering and construction contracts remains our specialist field.” Having celebrated its 10th anniversary just last month, there is much for Anne and the company to be proud of in terms of what the company has achieved since 2007. Be it the construction or rehabilitation of roads and pavements, water and sewerage facilities and pipework,
TN MOLEFE CONSTRUCTION MD ANNE NDABA
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storm water infrastructure, or earthworks, TN Molefe Construction has excelled in going above and beyond in terms of meeting client expectations, ensuring that projects are completed on-time and often under budget. This is thanks to the astute leadership of Negi Molefe, a man with over 18-years industry experience, and Anne, who since joining the group in 2004 has risen through the ranks from assistant to division leader. Additionally, TN Molefe Construction also boasts a professional team made up of 100 permanent and part-time staff, among whom can be found some of the best technical and leadership talent in the sector, and a turnkey business model that covers all design-build aspects of a client’s construction project from start to finish. Anne elaborates on this, saying: “The engineers and designers work together in-house over the course of the construction project, which means clients don’t need to first advertise separately for a designer and then separately for a company to do the construction side of things – through doing everything here at TN Molefe Construction we kill two birds with one stone.” The award of a contract by Limpopo Roads Agency for the rehabilitation of road D2244 close to Phalaborwa Town is the perfect example of this. Having very recently had its designs approved by the municipality, work is now underway on establishing the site – the prep work which will allow the company to move in and get started. So too is the successful near completion of one of TN Molefe Construction’s biggest projects yet, an ongoing three-year rehabilitation contract which saw the company provide invaluable services to the Department of Sanitation. On this, Anne tells Enterprise
TN MOLEFE CONSTRUCTION
Africa: “The project we have with the Department of Water and Sanitation is a three-year appointment for the provision of emergency services. Under this umbrella we were appointed 11 for projects valued at R178 million.” She continues: “If you break it down, eight out of eleven of those projects are complete while work is ongoing on the remaining ones. It was the rehabilitation and refurbishment of different waste water treatment plants, with an example being the big challenge of rehabilitating treatment plants polluting the Vaal River. It’s all part of the civil engineering scope. We’ve done many projects on the pipework of sewer lines – such projects are part and parcel of what we do. “This appointment and its many projects have been a great success, but there is still work to do. We have completed many of the projects, but there are still projects outstanding. As a measure of our success, we’ve found that some projects have been extended – they’ve reappointed us, and each time there is emergency work to be done the Department of Water and Sanitation they issue us a purchase order. So far, we’ve received two purchase orders for the work as an extension to the works that we’ve been appointed for, and we’ve delivered significant improvements to the quality of grey water.” Thanks to its standing as the go-to contractor for a number of government ministries and municipalities, the company’s present is in safe hands. And following its entry into a mentorship and technical partnership scheme with construction industry giant, Stefanutti Stocks, under the Voluntary Rebuild Program (VRP), so too is its future. As part of this very advanced mentorship, Stefanutti Stocks will work with TN Molefe Construction at close range, so as
to help it grow and develop to the extent that the company is able to compete with them after a period of around seven-years. So, the question is what next for the company. It would appear consolidation and organic growth are top of the agenda. In the past year, TN Molefe Construction has invested R10 million in the acquisition of stock and equipment that is used during the execution of civil engineering projects. She concludes by saying: “For now, most of our projects are from the state but we’re trying to expand, and the coming years will see us move more into the private market as well. We’ve not yet won private sector contracts from this campaign but we will penetrate this market. And then there’s our plans for expansion further into Africa, which
will see us greatly increase our footprint.” Over the past decade, Anne has seen the company change beyond all recognition into the upwardly mobile and exciting company it is today. And going by what’s in the pipeline, it would be unwise to bet against it taking similarly great strides over the decade to come.
TN MOLEFE CONSTRUCTION (011) 794 7823 info@molefe.co.za www.molefe.co.za
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Issue No.61
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JEGIE PADMANATHAN:
People Are The Power
of Bidvest Prestige ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
CCI South Africa / Thebe Tourism Group / RPP Developments / ALG Estates
A S F E AT U R E D I N
ENTERPRISE AFRICA
AUGUST 2017