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OCTOBER 2013

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EDITORIAL Heads of Departments Editor in Chief Daemon Sands daemonsands@littlegatepublishing.com Head of Editorial Don Campbell doncampbell@littlegatepublishing.com Editorial Research Manager Alex Smith alexsmith@littlegatepublishing.com Sales Director James Martin jamesmartin@littlegatepublishing.com Corporate Director Anthony Letchumaman anthonyl@littlegatepublishing.com Lead Designer Alina Sandu studio@littlegatepublishing.com Publisher Stephen Warman stevewarman@littlegatepublishing.com Any enquiries or subscriptions can be sent to info@littlegatepublishing.com ENDEAVOUR MAGAZINE is published by Littlegate Publishing LTD which is a Registered Company in the United Kingdom.

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Copyright © Littlegate Publishing Ltd 2013

A

ll things are not equal in the

Searching for similar companies for

world of business. Business

October, we have touched on the

is not a competitive sport but

companies who are proudly holding

rather an all-out war where the rules

their banners high, those companies

are made to be broken, relationships

with recognizable brands that their

have to be tested under fire and the

employees are proud of and their

rules of engagement are defined only

customers trust. Exactly like an army,

by the bottom line.

soldiers need to be provided for and

However, in this battle the greatest

motivated. A person will only do a

opponent is yourself and standing for

good job when they believe in what

something greater than yourself is so

they’re doing.

important. Like holding a flag during a

Be it Ann Summers, ANSA Polymer

battle, standing for something inspires

or Swakop Mining these companies

people, unites them and brings them

have been hand-picked for their

together. A company must have a flag,

attention to their employees and

an emblem and an identity that speaks

their customers. As is our way, we

for those soldiers engaged in battle

have approached success stories as

for you.

something that has to be highlighted

Yahoo, as a prime example, is a

and pursued the mission of identifying

business that struggled to retain grip

what makes each of these industry

of its customers under the shadow

leaders such important names in their

of the Google empire. One of things

sectors.

that Marissa Mayer, the company’s

Business, as in war, is an on-going

new CEO did when she took the helm

process and a long term battle. Like

in July 2012 was to change the way

any army willing to hold their banners

her employees saw the company. She

high and wave their flags into the face

gave them a banner that represented

of their enemies there will always be

their new approach of innovation and

more wars to be fought, more battles

creative intelligence. She made the

to overcome. The constant through it

company a cool place to work which

all is the motivation of your staff.

created meaningful parallels between

Give them a flag to follow. Give them a

employee and customer and currently

flag to fight for.

Yahoo’s market share has steadily

Be something worth fighting for.

increased. The reputation of the company is greater than ever and the prospects for the future are very, very bright. To win the battle, they inspired and motivated the workforce, their army.

Endeavour Magazine | 3

CONTENTS

FEATURES 30 Kaizen Environmental

Cleaning Up 34 Ansa Polymer

The Word In Packaging 40 G4S Zambia

A Legacy Of Security 46 Safaricom

Being The Best 50 Swiss Deluxe Hotel

The Swiss Standard 56 BAPCO

Defining A Nation 60 Coega Dev Corp

Simunye. Working Together to Succeed 68 MM Integrated Steel Mills

Steel The Best 72 Productive Systems Ltd

Innovation In Production 78 Swakop Uranium

The Best In The Business 84 TSL Group

Following The House Rules 90 Transunion SA

Something You Can’t Go Without 96 Stallion Security

Creating Confidence 100 Osterreicher Lloyd

Steaming Ahead!

106 Busco

Bustling Ahead.

110 Clearwater Mall

The Place To Be

44 Swiss Deluxe Hotel 4 | Endeavour Magazine

30 Kaizen Environmental

78 TSL Group

ARTICLES 6 Jacqueline Gold: Completely Satisfying 10 Charity Money Trees Are Not Bad 12 Ah, Yeah, No I’m Definitely Thirty 14 Send Me A Flyer And I’ll Sell You My House 16 Motorhead Zen:

From wild hogs to beauty and the beast 22 Gadgets 24 Business Headlines

BIZ-TAINMENT 116

120

122

10 Important Ways To Make As Much Money As Possible With Your Music Russell Fox: Forget Tophats and Disappearing Rabbits Book Reviews

66 Productive Systems

Endeavour Magazine | 5

Jacqueline Gold COMPLETELY SATISFYING F

BY DONNIE RUST

rankly, Jacqueline Gold has a lot to answer for. Credited

never academically minded but I did have a great desire to get in to

with changing the face and reputation of an entire brand,

the world of work and earn my own money,” she opens up, “My first job

managing a company run by women, for women and quite

was at Royal Doulton and soon after I moved to Ann Summers where

literally turning an adult themed lingerie and sex toy business into a

I have been ever since, I started as an intern and am now CEO so it’s

highly trusted, respected and relied upon household name. She is an

been quite a journey,”

icon and role model for so many people and a fine example of how to develop a niche product into something extraordinary.

Being the CEO of a reputable high-street retail brand is impressive enough however Ann Summers has gone beyond other national brands by creating something that is almost entirely unique to itself - a promise of satisfaction.

“I went to Baston School in Kent, leaving the school at 16, I was

6 | Endeavour Magazine

As it stands now, considering Ann Summers’ success, it could be erroneously considered a clear idea, perhaps even plug-n-play.

However it has taken clever development and a strong leadership to make it the bedroom name it is now.

“I have always had a drive to succeed and an entrepreneurial nature; growing up I was always looking for opportunities,” Jacqueline tells us, “Within my first few months at Ann Summers I attended an

at home Tupperware party,

I

Jacqueline of

took at-home

the

and was eventually given the go ahead to launch the concept.

saw the potential to use a similar

concept

concept to introduce sex toys

and developed the idea of Ann

“The party plan was proven almost instantly,” Jacqueline recalls,

and lingerie to women in the

Summers Party Plan. With no

“With hundreds of women keen to become party organisers and even

same environment. After all,

formal

Jacqueline

more wanting to attend the parties.” The success of the party plan

what could be safer than talking

presented her concept to the

was the first stage in the development of the Ann Summers brand that

about this with your girlfriends in

all-male board and after initially

we know today and has changed forever the sex lives of women and

your living room?”

meeting resistance from the

men in the UK.

training,

parties

board she demonstrated how the party plan concept was a viable one

Endeavour Magazine | 7

“The great thing for me is that Ann Summers gave me the huge opportunity to develop a business that was needed and was new to the UK market. The entrepreneurial

spark

never

goes and that’s why today I’m still driving the business forward as I know there is so much more we can achieve.”

The Market Place What makes a woman feel more beautiful, more confident and sensual in the bedroom will benefit any man lucky enough to be in there with them. With this in mind a number of Ann Summer’s customers are in fact men, who turn to the store for gifts and ideas on what to do and use to

The entrepreneurial spark never goes and that’s why today I’m still driving the business forward as I know there is so much more we can achieve.”

spice up things in the bedroom, one of the best tried methods

“The retail sector is still

of rekindling some relationships

going through a tough time,” she

and throwing jet fuel on others.

to remain fleet of foot and constantly evolve their offering to stay in business.”

reflects, “We all know that the

“The economic recovery is not going to happen overnight but if

This being said, the obvious

high street is struggling with big

retailers remain focussed on their customers and responding to their

question is if the brand is strong

name retail casualties such as,

needs, then I do feel that the future is looking brighter.”

enough to survive the current

HMV and Comet for example.

One of the things that characterises Jacqueline Gold is a natural

market climate:

This shows that retailers have

instinct for what customers want and the best way to get it to them.

8 | Endeavour Magazine

“Customers are demanding more from retailers now and their expectations about the way they can access our products and shop is changing quickly,. They want and expect to be able to shop through a variety of channels and for this to be a seamless, and fast moving process promising instant gratification.”

Ann Summer’s growth which

core values. So the How is a big

across these different channels

they support and advise each

has continued at an unrelenting

thing.

as completely unified,” Jacqueline

other on a weekly basis.

responds.

process of WOW, which involves

speed, securing itself a lead

“For me it has to be about

The

has

being unique. As a brand you

“Our immediate next focus

me re-tweeting my top three

always been about knowing what

want to stand out from the

is of course Christmas and then

businesses from all the entries

the consumer wanted. Keeping

crowd and have an offering that

Valentine’s Day, two peak trading

each

ahead,

secured

people can immediately identify

times for the business. “We have

much needed exposure for the

the online retail platform of

as being yours. The brands that

some exciting activity planned

businesses and many of the

annsummers.com all the way

aren’t successful always seem to

for both these times and I’m

winners report increased web

back in 1999, a time when many

be those that don’t have a clear

feeling very optimistic about our

traffic and sales as a result of

high street brands were still

product offering or identity

trading performance in these

being a WOW winner. I keep in

weighing up the chances of the

and don’t communicate both

periods and onwards to the rest

touch with all my WOW winners

internet getting big enough to

internally and externally what

of 2014.”

and offer advice and support

justify it.

they want to achieve,” she says,

against

its

competitors

Jacqueline

“In retail it’s about the

“At Ann Summers, we know

multi-

exactly what we want to achieve,

are

we have a brand vision which is

demanding more from retailers

‘To Make Every Woman In the

now and their expectations about

World, Feel Like The Sexiest

the way they can access our

Woman In The World’. Having

products and shop is changing

this very clear vision which

continued growth of channel.

Customers

quickly,” she states, “They want and expect to be able to shop through a variety of channels and for this to be a seamless, and fast moving process promising instant gratification.”

Now, 30 years on Ann Summers is a

multi-channel

retailer with gross annual sales

runs through all aspects of our business allows us to make informed decisions and stay focussed on what we want to achieve as a business.”

“For us the focus is on

Outside Of The Office Not

only

an

business can be a daunting and

influence

in business and the office, Jacqueline also has proven to be a hero for a number of charities that are important to her and close to her heart. In the summer of 2012 she was appointed the Vice President of The Children’s Trust and she has also worked Saying Goodbye RELATE and NAPAC.

Women On Wednesday where

145 UK & Ireland stores and

multi-channel retailer. We have

I support and promote women

7,000 party planners holding

many different ways in which

who have started their own

over 4,000 parties every week.

customers can shop with us and

businesses,”

The

have

it’s important that as a brand the

competition has created a real

increased exponentially and the

customer understand these and

network for these small business

company still holds true to their

sees the process of shopping

owners and I love seeing how

purchases

Also, she acts as a mentor for Dragon Peter Jones’ Enterprise Academy

and

Lord

Sugar’s

new business partner, former Apprentice finalist Susan Ma. Even

with

all

of

this

Jacqueline is also a devoted wife and mother to her four year old daughter Scarlett.

“I’m also a West Ham fan,” she concludes.

campaign called #WOW, or

seamless

online

lonely time.”

“I also run a weekly twitter

becoming

truly

generates

to remember that launching a

turnover of over £150 million,

a

also

as much as I can, it’s important

closely withThe Retail Trust,

What’s Big In 2014 And Beyond?

week,

she

adds,

“The

Endeavour Magazine | 9

WRITTEN BY DAEMON SANDS

CHARITY MONEY TREES ARE

Not Bad

A

couple of weeks ago

too many areas that need our

there was a lot of

help. The world is developing

hunabaloo about how

which is typically good for people

a CEO had become a millionaire

but terrible for the environment

through his charitable business

and across the board there

and how everyone was up-at-

are pockets of desperate need

arms about it, but I think for the

that require our attention. This

most part they’re missing the

is why charities have become

point.

competitive marketers. They all

Ask any business owner

need a bigger share of the small

and they will tell you there is no

amount of money that you are

such thing as a free meal. Every

able to spare if they are going to

free meal is a meal taken from

make even the smallest changes

someone else and while the

and

people at the top may be able

promotion, marketing and staff

to afford to go without there

all require people who need

is someone at the bottom who

to be paid from the money

simply can’t.

generated by the company. In

Charities

are

things

like

advertising,

non-profit

other words, for the charity to

organizations. Many of them

reach more people and make a

put this statement into their

bigger difference they need to

mandates. But the term profit

make more money to cover the

does not cover salaries and

expenses of doing so.

the other expenses that keep a

The

more

successful

a

company running smoothly. It

company is the more profit it

is, afterall, counterproductive to

makes, non-profit organizations

have a business that can’t pay for its employees or its bills as this puts strain on things at home.

Like the economy.

Additionally there are simply

10 | Endeavour Magazine

It’s a painful truth but our ability to work from the kindest of our heart is limited to the fullness of our stomachs.

like charities need to make a profit because that profit is what is sent to their charitable needs.

UNICEF the world’s leading children’s charity employs over

8,311 people full time which even

Let’s say for example that someone from a charitable call centre

if they are receiving a moderate

telephones you in the evening, or someone approaches you on the

salary

the

street with a clipboard and asks for a minute of your time. You may

As for the CEO who makes

necessary costs of the company

part with anything from £5-£10 every month - which even at times of

a good living off of running such

in the high millions before we

inflation most of us could afford even if it meant sacrificing having our

a company, so be it. Perhaps

even consider the profits of said

hair done or less alcohol - and let’s say that of that £10 even the small

he or she actually deserves it?

company. However, there is no

amount of £1 goes to the charity and the rest is used by the company

Perhaps the children on the

denying the important work

to pay for the expenses of the company.

receiving end are grateful for the

each

still

puts

receive it and you can help improve lives.

that UNICEF does nor can we

It is a small amount but what it means is that the person who

money he and his company have

deny that without them millions

spoke with you receives a salary, receives a commission/bonus

clawed from your fingers. If the

of children worldwide would be

and is inspired to call the next person and the next. Let’s say he’s an

fact that people are awarded for

horrifically worse off. They are

absolute genius on the phone and in fact makes £50,000 a year just

their hard work annoys you then

successful and well-known and

through hard work with this organized charity. You might argue that

perhaps you are just not as good

are still an organized charity.

this is unethical but his hard work (and sales is a hard, hard job) has

and righteous person as you

Organized charities have the

guaranteed £50,000 to go to a charity that would not have gone there

would like to believe.

additional benefit of employing

otherwise because lets face it, you had no intention of giving away

people.

your £10 a month in the first place.

Charities

that

use

Whether

they

are

good

people and how they spend

volunteers inevitably fail because

NOTE: more organized charities do not pay their employees such

their salaries is not the point.

people need to be paid and

a high percentage and the percentage that goes directly to the charity

The point is that thanks to this

until there is a global change of

is usually over 50%.

company your small amount of

consciousness that is the world

The other way to look at it is this. You can donate to charities

money creates a positive tide

we live in. It’s a painful truth

through your own volition, which unless you are a specactularly good

that improves the lives of more

but our ability to work from the

person you probably can’t recall the last time you actively sought out a

people you could count.

kindest of our heart is limited

charity that you had not heard about through some form of advertising.

to the fullness of our stomachs.

You can donate by giving your money to someone who doesn’t have

So the companies supporting

an employee number, a company code of ethics supporting him or

a specific charity benefits by

her, guiding their decisions, who will probably pocket the money and

employing people - which add to

lie. Or, and this is important, you can actually pay your money into a

the economy - and the can often

company that works to translate your money into food, supplies and

guarantee an amount of money to

care to a specific charity. You can help keep people employed, you can

reach the charity in the first place.

keep an industry that ensures that the people who need the money

And isn’t that the point?

Endeavour Magazine | 11

AH, YEAH, NO I’M DEFINITELY WRITTEN BY DONNIE RUST

I

’m thirty but I like to act like a twenty year old until I hang around twenty year olds and I’m like, nope I’m thirty.

Thirty

I don’t think it’s necessary

someone suggests something

to wear clothes that necessarily

that I don’t want to do. I’m fit

I know that many readers will agree with this, growing old is

match, I’m not concerned about

enough to do the Sallies at the

not a graduation, you don’t write a test before it and then say, Yup. I’m

the current state of global affairs

Gym (explanation at end of

old. It’s a slow process that you barely notice until you see the first

be it political, social or economic

article), and handsome enough

grey hairs before your thirtieth birthday and you convince yourself it’s

because I’m still young enough

to occasionally cause myself a

not because you’re old it’s because the water in Britain is too heavy, or

to look at the future as a road

momentary pause whenever I

the lifestyles in South Africa are too fast paced. I didn’t think I was old.

rising over a hill and I don’t know

walk past a shop window. I look

No sir. I’m a six foot five South African/Scotsman who made his

where it’s going to go and I am

at growing up as something that

name by playing the guitar on stage in nothing but a pair of boots.

optimistic that wherever it leads

should be avoided as much as

(Google Donnie Rust if you don’t believe me), I have a young girlfriend,

me it’s going to be a place where

possible.

I like cartoons, I like super heroes, I write about superheroes, I’m not

I’m more successful than you and

ready for marriage or a mortgage or children, psychologically I’m an

in a better state than I am now.

of

immature, thirty year old boy!

I get twitchy if I’m stuck indoors

course, and I have noticed that

I look at people who are only a year older than me who have already

for too long not doing anything

people around me have been

hit thirty as if they are long passed their prime while thinking to myself

and want to test all the ways I

getting older while I remain

that I’m not even in my prime yet. I’m not even considering the idea

can get home after a black-out-

Highlandishly unchanged and as

of buying a house, of spending my weekends in a garden, of thinking

drinking-marathon. I still think

a means to deflect their feelings

about the names of my children or saving money for their education.

it’s okay to go on a country wide

of inadequacy they have stopped

I’m still selfish with my time, unable to and unwilling to share it with

hitchhike around Britain to every

asking questions about, “What

anyone unless they’re going to be giving me sex. The same reason why

single county line for no reason

are you doing with your life,” and

I moved out of my parents’ house and exactly the reason why I won’t

than to say “did it” and when I’m

instead are asking, “How many

have kids yet.

bored I still get pissed off when

children do you want?” and “How

12 | Endeavour Magazine

You do become a product your

environment

of

are you enjoying your career?”

I didn’t even realize I had a career!

Disregarding

watching the original unabridged and Lucasfied Star Wars films.

The fads of One Direction

obvious

and the mistake of Justin Bieber

facts of my impending maturity.

the

seem to be here to stay, schools

For example, I used to think I was

are using computers instead

a self sufficient youngster who

of paper pads and HB pencils

was living by himself and should

and it’s apparently taboo to

be congratulated on the fact, I

threaten an annoying child with

was always secretly happy when

physical bodily harm. Oh and

people knocked on the door and

Miley Cyrus has turned into

asked if they could speak to the

something brilliant. These are

decision maker. Now they just

things that, unfortunately, you

make the assumption. And also

cannot possibly ignore. But even

street punters who used to call

the sudden appearance of new-

me Mate, or Bruv now call me

young-things taking my place

“Sir.” And I know it’s respectful

as the new-young-thing doesn’t

but that kind of respectful makes

damper my determination to be

me feel like I’ve been kicked right

young at heart.

in the childhood.

Even that now, instead of

Now, don’t get me wrong,

singing in the shower I make all of

I’m not an idiot, despite what my

my life decisions in there I will not

references may tell you, I know

admit to be an adult.

my age, but I’m talking about how

Until of course I speak to any

old I feel. I don’t feel old which

twenty year old, anywhere, at all

is why it’s such a conundrum

time and then I realize yup, I’m

when I’m faced with youngsters

thirty, I’m an adult and as I wiped

who haven’t grown up watching

your ass when you were a kid you

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,

will wipe mine when I’m old.

Ducktales or Bravestarr who don’t know who The Backstreet Boys are (not that I ever listened to them) or who never enjoyed

Endeavour Magazine | 13

SEND ME A FLYER AND I’ll Sell You My House WRITTEN BY JIM BLYTHE

S

ome

just

I find objectionable about this kind of post. The first is that it raises

arrived. Not the proper

post

has

and dashes my hopes so very quickly. I hear something come through

post consisting of bills,

the letterbox and for reasons I can’t explain I get excited enough to

Amazon parcels and various

stop working and go and see what’s arrived. Mind you I find a pigeon

documents that will end up being

passing the window to be a good enough reason to stop working,

put in a desk or filing cabinet for

I’m just easily distracted like that. I suspect it’s quite common. I sat

you to throw away at some point

explaining something to a colleague once only to discover that he’d

in the next few years when you

spent quite a bit of that time watching a pigeon which had landed on

find them again and realise how

the window ledge and therefore hadn’t listened to a word I‘d said. And

hopelessly out of date they are.

the one time I took my fiancée to a football match she found a pigeon

That sort of post is worthy of

landing at one end of the pitch a worthwhile enough thing to bring

your time and is also arguably

my attention to, with the consequence of me missing a goal being

worthy of the time and effort that

scored at the other end of the pitch. We subsequently agreed that she

went into designing it, making

wouldn’t be coming to the football with me again. This might sound

it, franking it and delivering it.

spiteful on my part but there are far cheaper places she can go to do

It might even be worthy of the

pigeon spotting.

cost that went into it although

So having distracted me from my work and raised my hopes that

you should remember that this

something exciting might have been sent to me this additional and

cost has been added onto the bill

uncalled for post then finds new ways to disappoint. There is a free

that has just come through your

newspaper with an opening headline ‘Cat Hops into Delivery Van’.

letterbox. But anyway, this isn’t

This may sound like a newsworthy scoop, cats not being renowned

that type of post. It’s the other

for their ability to hop but a short examination of the story revealed

type.

that the cat may have walked or even jumped onto the van. There was

There are several things that

14 | Endeavour Magazine

no compelling evidence to support the claim that the cat had hopped

and the journalist seem to have skirted

idea. At least then I could peruse them

around the issue by not mentioning it

at my leisure and choose my meals as I

at all. Still it was a riveting read and well

wander through the house thus proving

worthy of pushing their ‘Man Found

that men can multitask provided the task

Asleep’ story to page 2.

is important enough to warrant it.

Along with the free newspaper is a

And as for the flyers for dog walkers...

dizzying array of flyers, mostly from low

words almost fail me. Luckily for this

cost retailers keen to tell me about their

article they don’t completely fail me but

latest low cost bargains. Now, I enjoy a

it was touch and go for a minute there. I

bargain as much as the next man but sadly

don’t own a dog and I have no intention

for these flyers they couldn’t compete

of getting one just so that someone else

with the one stand out flyer which was

can walk it for me. I don’t even like dogs;

from an estate agent chain which, they

they’re in my top two phobias.

claimed, had just opened a branch in the

But every day some more flyers

area. This isn’t strictly true; they did in

arrive. I’ve always questioned whether

fact open their branch in the area around

flyering works, especially cold flyering.

three years ago when I first moved into

I accept that once you’ve got someone’s

the area but let’s not quibble a year or

interest then a flyer can be a good

three – accuracy on an advertising flyer

selling tool. But dropping one through

should never be considered a big deal.

someone’s letterbox with no invitation

Although I suppose if we take the flyer

has always seemed to me to be a waste

in the context of human history then we

but I suppose they must work or people

can easily accept an event from the past

wouldn’t do it. But surely no one, ever has

three years to be recent so maybe I’m

ever looked at a flyer and thought “Yeah,

being pedantic. What really stood out for

ok, I’ll sell my house.”

me about this flyer though, was that they wanted me to sell my house.

As I stared at today’s brightly printed, glossy pile of rubbish I thought to myself

My house has a few quirks, most

“Jim,” I thought, “Is this really a good use of

people’s do I’m sure. The plumbing is

our worlds dwindling natural resources?

pretty awful and the garage is falling

Is it really a good use of everyone’s time,

down and that’s just a couple of things for

effort and money?” And as I pondered

starters. But I like my house and it’s the

this I thought, “Well Jim,” I thought, “I

only one I have so I’m only going to sell it

suppose it might be actually because it’s

if there’s a compelling reason to do so. I’ll

creating jobs and moving money around

have spent some time thinking it through

the economy and those things have to be

and working out the costs involved and

considered as positives surely.” “Aha!” I

what else I might get for my money to

thought in return, “That might be a fair

make the stress and hassle worthwhile.

point but does it have to be so rubbish,

I’m not going to do it because someone

so pointless and so distracting? I mean,

sends me a flyer. Especially not a flyer

the flyers don’t even work and I do

that starts with a questionable fact about

have pigeons to watch you know!” This

whether three years ago is “recent” or not.

brilliantly constructed argument silenced

And

then

there’s

the

endless

my other thoughts so I suppose I must be

succession of takeaway menus. I swear

right. Anyway, I’ve got to go, I just thought

I could wallpaper my house with them

that I might sell my house. And I fancy a

which actually might not be such a bad

kebab.

Endeavour Magazine | 15

MOTORHEAD ZEN A ON-THE-ROAD APPROACH BY STEVE WARMAN

From wild hogs to beauty and the beast

“W

hy are you taking that bike again when you have

and enter a form of motorhead-zen. For me it has become less about

a perfectly good car?” my wife asked. She’s right;

the speed and more about relaxing, being out there and just having

of course, I do have a lovely car that I haven’t used

fun.

for about 5 months, as I own a bike.

So together with a likeminded friend of mine, Tony, we decide to

Non-bikers simply don’t understand the attraction of riding and

plan a motorbike trip. The plan was born over a beer and a Smirnoff

it is difficult to explain but I will try. Non-bikers perceive that riding

ice (Tony) to escape from the confines of the United Kingdom with

a motorcycle is cold, possibly wet and dangerous compared to being

five days of travelling Europe. No set destinations, nowhere to stay

in a car. This is true however riding a bike can also turn any ordinary

and no one but ourselves to please. Not much of a plan granted, but a

journey into an adventure. Let me ask you, how often on your way

plan all the same. Bliss.

home in your car have you thought, “I’ll take the long way”, or “oh good traffic ahead?” I do it all the time on my bike.

No matter how many times the cliché is repeated, it holds true: driving a car is like watching a movie but riding a motorcycle is like being in one. When riding a bike there is little contemplation, little

Our friends at Honda offered us the use of their press fleet and we choose the VFR1200 sport cruiser and the CB1000r streetfighter.

We wanted bikes that were a compliment and contrast to each other so one is a torque tourer and the other is a powerful scratcher.

mental noise and as such is a great form of therapy. Everything in the

29/08

world and my life disappears as I concentrate solely on the road ahead

morning in Norfolk, Tony arrives at my house and we hit the road

16 | Endeavour Magazine

As the clock hits 6.00am on a misty and cold August

with the destination of Honda’s Head Quarters in London to pick up

Their company is Ardenne and Eifel Adventures which offers

our press bikes. With 150 miles under our belts we pull into Honda

Nurburgring Motorcycle training, Track action at Spa Francorchamps,

at Heathrow with a warm welcome and hot coffee. Matt Close looks

touring holidays or road cycling and mountain biking. Despite being a

after Honda’s press fleet and shows us around before introducing us

complete stranger my helmet has not even left my head before an ice

to our chosen press bikes. With our luggage secured to the bikes and

cold beer is thrust into my hand. Nothing says warm welcome like an

our bellies filled with a “Honda breakfast” we set off on a slow journey

ice-cold beer.

filtering through the M25 traffic before we hit the M20 where the

A delicious home cooked, sit down meal is enjoyed in their home, a

road clears and we make up time to the Euro tunnel. Once there it’s

shrine to speed and motors, over more beer while Neil, our host, is no

an easy and painless thirty five minutes on the train and then we are

doubt enjoying a glass of straight petrol.

in France.

I have never met anyone who is more of a petrol head and as we

“Stay on the right, Stay on the right,” keeps echoing in my head as

chat all evening about bikes, cars, lawnmowers, it becomes apparent

I leave the train and hit the road. The plan’s to stick to the motorways

that Neil is not just a talker. The Nurburgring is a mecca for all petrol

to get to our overnight stay and within just three hours of riding we

heads and here he is master and an instructor.

arrive in Spa which is in the Ardennes area of Belgium. Pulling into a driveway we’re met by Neil and Anne who are both bikers and they

30/08 It’s a bitter sweet morning as we prepare to leave Neil and

run a renowned bed and breakfast for bikers.

Anne. After a good breakfast we’re met with a hot and sunny morning Endeavour Magazine | 17

as we make our way to the

Nurburgring. Whilst we didn’t

working out to be around every

is generous and comfy and the

Nurburgring in Germany. We’re

take

(honestly

hundred and thirty miles. This

seat to bar distance is perfectly

reviewing the latest bikers Sat

Honda)

Nurburgring

helps keep you alert when

balanced.

Nav by Tom Tom which gives the

we sat down and watched the

doing big distances and stops

usual visual display and verbal

loonies who did. Tony had ridden

your

directions via a speaker velcroed

the ring last year on an open day

numb.

into your helmet and also the

and was happy to watch. It gets

option on route: either via the

a bit manic on a general day with

putting down a lot of miles.

from Japan. If it was my bike I

quickest straight roads or the

bike, cars, vans all pushing for the

winding, wriggly ones.

best lines. Lunch was interesting

VFR1200F

phenomenal.

it’s ugly. Actually, in person, it

the

Honda’s around

backside

from

The

factory

exhaust

in

going

shape and size is a monstrosity

Not that either bikes

of the sort found on most new

are uncomfortable but we were

offerings of the sportier variety

The build quality on the is

would change it but not because

There will be no more main

as we were at a café where little

There’s just no way around

works somehow, balancing front

roads or motorways for us as we

English was spoken. I pointed at

that. It’s beautifully finished and

and rear of the bikes profile,

scratch our way up to Germany

the food the guy had in front of

flawlessly executed. The paint is

while keeping the single-sided

on the winding roads bikers

me and paid. Tony managed to

much-talked about for its mirror-

swingarm in full view. I would

adore. We headed down lanes

get a nice burger whereas I think

like smoothness, and it should be.

change it because it’s quiet,

shrouded with leafy trees and

I had a slab of breaded Hippo-

The paint is gorgeous.

ghostly quiet. The V4 does sound

breaking through into bright

croc-a-pig.

sunshine.

Onboard the VFR the tank

nice,

though,

even

through

Bikes and cars are

To get the best comparison

is slim at the waist which makes

this factory can. It has deeper

everywhere as this weekend is

review of the bikes we swapped

the bike feel deceptively smaller

undertones than the inline 4.

the World Superbikes 2013 at

our rides at each fuel stop,

than its bulk, meanwhile legroom

18 | Endeavour Magazine

Steering’s light. Power is

immense, but isn’t delivered in

bike feels good and isn’t inhibited

the manic style of the Fireblade,

by the seat. This said I find the

just

foam is on the stiff side.

very

linear

and

very

tractable up to about 6000 RPM,

Sometimes referred to as an

when the fury and the sound are

old man’s bike The VFR is, in the

unleashed. The bike seems to

right hands, a weapon that can

have powerband from 6,000 rpm

embarrass any sports bikes.

to redline when the exhaust note

The CB1000 feels much

changes. The sound reminds me

smaller in comparison and, in

of an old air-cooled Porsche 911

fact, Streetfighters tend to be

under power, lovely. Fantastically

closer to the motorcycles we

fast but I don’t get the face-

usually start riding on. Way more

melting surge of the Fireblade.

powerful, heavier and expensive

However, looking at the speedo,

but the body to bike relationship

the numbers seem to climb at the

is pretty close.

same rate, but the overall feeling is just a bit subdued.

Slightly rear-set foot pegs, a tank that the knees can easily

Road handling is superb.

grip, handlebars that need a slight

The bike feels much lighter than

forward rotation of the torso to

it is. Side-to-side transitions

reach comfortably with slightly

are effortless, and the effort

flexed arms and the general feel

required to initiate a turn’s very

of ‘riding’ astride a bike, neither

slight. Stability is also very similar

on top of it nor ‘inside’ it.

in sweepers. The Honda has

This is a high-performance

that rail-like feeling many have

bike, no two ways about that, but

come to appreciate on longish-

not one that necessarily imposes

wheelbase bikes.

itself on the rider. He can choose

Braking is fantastic. There is

the facet he wants to reveal, the

an excellent feel from the front,

devil or the saint. And a simple

which is very progressive. I tested

flick of the wrist can transform it

the ABS intentionally a couple of

from one to the other.

times and it is transparent.

Shifting is positive, totally

The ‘crouching cat’ stance, the brilliantly effective triangular

quiet, and seamless. Up and

head-lamp,

the

massive

down, skipping gears, finding

single-sided swing-arm, those

neutral with a few revs still on

‘sweeping’ spoked wheels and

the clock, I can’t find a flaw. It is

the unusual low-slung exhaust

genuinely that good. The shaft

that comes from the Fireblade

drive seems excellent. I don’t

are all strong visual elements

notice it, and don’t think about

that make for a pretty aggressive

it. That’s probably the highest

yet well-wrapped up look.

compliment I can pay to a shaft-

The brakes too, like the

driven final. The seat’s wide in

engine, are a straight derivative

the seating area and thin at the

of those on the Fireblade but

tank junction so hanging off the

with slightly smaller discs. This

Bikes and cars are everywhere as this weekend is the World Superbikes 2013 at Nurburgring.

Endeavour Magazine | 19

and the fact that the CB is substantially heavier than the ‘Blade make

The CB1000R is not intimidating at all despite those aggressive

the brakes feel just right for the bike’s purpose. Any supersports’

looks (though a hard twist of that throttle does make ‘not intimidating’

brakes, like its performance, can be intimidating and takes skills better

a misnomer) it endears itself to the rider by becoming just what he/

than the ordinary to master. No such issues with the CB’s anchors and

she wants it to be. It responds to its master like a superbly trained

it goes for both front and rear. As a matter of fact, the rear has a better

horse, switching between a leisurely canter and fast gallop with

bite and gives enough feedback for the rider to use it with confidence.

unimaginable ease and seamless fluidity. This is one bike that can

Handling the CB1000R is easy with it being pretty neutral in its

befriend a rider quicker than any and keep that trust for as long as the

turn-ins, the bike leans just so much as the rider wants and feedback

rider desires.

is virtually telepathic. The low-slung engine results in a low center of

The CB1000 is just shy of 140BHP which is plenty to throw this

mass and the fact that the addition of the rider into the equation does

upright around. The front wheel is all too easy to lift off the tarmac

not result in a major shift in it makes the bike very flickable.

and with the high bars and upright riding position it feels very safe and

encourages you to open the taps. A true unmarshalled beast.

We leave Nurburgring and headed to Cochem in the Mosel Valley.

The Mosel is located near Germany’s western border and its valley is peaceful, sleepy, with romantic villages slipped between steep vineyards and the river. Add a sprinkling of castles and lots of friendly Bed and Breakfasts and you get a very friendly region.

We follow the valley which meanders along the river at the foot of the hills. Bikers are everywhere enjoying the gentle riding and sights.

As night draws in we have a quick flick on the Tom Tom to locate the nearest hotel and soon arrive in Kenn north of Trier. The bar below our hotel is crammed so we push our way through and order our food and drinks. We’ve picked a busy night as the TV is on and football is playing: Chelsea verses Bayer Munich in the final of the Uefa Super Cup, excellent.

Just then Chelsea score and I whoop in delight with a bit of a dance to boot. The bar goes quiet and I receive some not so friendly stares. Then in a moment of clarity I realise the whole pub is decked out in Bayer colours and we are still in Germany, oopps!! Thankfully I shut up and Chelsea lose, result!

31/8

We are out of town early while tourists and locals still

dreamed and we set our course for Reims, France through Luxemburg.

The roads are getting better and better, magical hills in glorious bloom, 20 | Endeavour Magazine

mountain passes that stretch on

fuel tanks were almost empty,

motorcyclists. The night’s stay

beautiful motorcycle pushing to

and on, waterfalls and valleys.

which we find with a panic, but it

costs euro 41 for a twin room

make it to the next point. There

I’m transfixed to the point I would

does help us find a station before

which is very cheap and while the

is a celebratory fist punch from

forget I was riding a motorbike

we end up pushing. Riding a top

room is clean and acceptable it

Tony as we split and go our

and dictate the article to myself

of the line motorcycle through

does smell strongly of cigarettes

separate ways home. I walk in to

and sing all sorts of songs really

rural France is my idea of fun,

and feet.

my kitchen like John Wayne into

badly and out of tune.

pushing them through rural

Taken by the completely

France is not.

understated beauty of the small

The next morning we have

the arms of my understanding

painless

and loving wife. Glad to be home.

Tunnel crossing, then hit the

I make no apologies for the

another

quick

and

towns, I am amazed at how few

01/09

The last full day of

M20 and the congestion of the

lack of information on these

cars there are. After leaving the

riding in France, so we’re both up

M25 with an average speed of

wonderful

tight curving roads of Belgium

for a long session in the saddle.

40 mph. We drop the bikes back

through as most of them were

and Luxemburg we enter the

Winding roads through open

to Honda and even offer to keep

a bit of a blur. This was a biking

longer and more sweeping roads

countryside is the order of the

them, well we actually resort to

holiday and that’s exactly what

of rural France.

day. We work our way through

begging but Honda insisted we

we did, we rode an average of 8

We’ve ridden through these

this rural playground under the

give them back. What would it

hours a day and whilst we were

exhilarating roads for miles and

watchful eye of many crucified

have hurt for Honda to let us

stiff when we got off we wanted

miles and not seen a soul. This

Jesus’ at the side of the roads,

keep them?!

Seriously though

more. I would never dream of

again is where the Tom Tom

only stopping for fuel and a short

these bikes are so very different,

getting in my car and driving for 8

comes into its own as you have

food break. I don’t know if it’s

each having so many merits of its

hours and then get out and wish I

a guide helping you ride some of

coincidence however it seems to

own, if they had have said I could

could get back in and drive some

the best roads in Europe talking

get colder the closer to the UK

keep one I would have genuinely

more.

to your ear and not having to

we get.

been unable to choose which

places

we

rode

A huge thanks goes to Honda, Tony Cannell for the company

stop to look at a map. I genuinely

Our final stay is in the

one.

believe that we have ridden some

legendary F1 Hotels that are

Some 2000 miles are clocked

of the most fantastic roads that

dotted all around Europe. These

up on our adventure before I

we would have otherwise have

are renowned to be cheap

get home. For 5 days I was just

missed if we had relied on a map.

accommodation for travellers,

a guy with a sore bum, a painful

Yet it didn’t tell us when our

lorry drivers and cross country

back, a hungry stomach riding a

and the laughs, Ardenne and Eifel Adventure’s Neil and Anne for our only planned bed, Tom Tom, Dainesse, Arai helmets and Oxford luggage.

Let me ask you, how often, on your way home in your car, have you thought, “I’ll take the long way” or “oh good traffic ahead?”; I do it all the time on my bike.

No matter how many times the cliché is repeated, it holds true: driving a car is like watching a movie but riding a motorcycle is like being in one.

Endeavour Magazine | 21

GADGETS

www.sony.co.uk RRP: TBC

Sony Smartwatch

By Don Campbell

R

esolute not to be pushed

confident and downright smug.

SmartWatch and its competitors or compatriots are the first step

out of the smart watch

This little handy device pairs

towards a permanent communication interface between people

race, Sony is pressing on

NFC or Bluetooth 3.0, allows you

and their phones/computers. Unlike a phone that could be left

with its wearable-tech revolution

to read message, access emails,

anywhere, a watch can stay on you for longer which means that you

and have updated the Android-

control music and answer calls..

are contactable anywhere and with GPS they can find out where you

based smartwatch that was

The 1.6-inch, 220x176 display

are. With an increasing number of people suffering from phone-loss

released last year to a lot of

is water- and dust-proof, with a

anxiety the watch will bring a welcomed relief, however it does also

exasperated sighs. Having sold

“four-day battery life”. And it’ll

make it that little harder to achieve privacy.

half a million worldwide since

make you look like Dick Tracey.

then

the Smartwatch 2 looks

There is a concern that the

Bump App

By Jack Slater

A

www.bu.mp Free download

means of transferring images and documents by just

I suppose this could also be used

in an accident, people suffering

bumping your phones together this may seem as a lazy

on the Dating scene too.

from epilepsy or diabetes, who

way of putting together a text message and hitting send

to

may be unable to communicate

however the usefulness of thi particular app shines when you put it

experience a fast expansion

during an attack will be able to

into a business scenario where two business people are exchanging

due to its usefulness in many

BUMP their information across.

business cards. Bump allows you to transfer them by just bumping the

different situations, for example.

phones gently together. The business world is where this app got most

Emergency services can make

of its expansion because it provided a quick and easy way to network

use of the BUMP app to get

at seminars, exchange details and move on without losing your stride.

details from someone involved

22 | Endeavour Magazine

This

app

is

going

Sennheiser Momentum On Ear Headphones

By Stuart Platt

www.sennheiser.com RRP: £259.99

T

he headphone market is one of the few healthily growing

other style-infused headphones.

sound good and feel good for

areas in tech, and it’s largely down to style headphones like

The only issue I found with

a pair of on-ear headphones,

the Sennheiser Momentum On Ear.

the sound is that they don’t

the main issue I have with them

I would say that the Momentum range is designed for a slightly

isolate noise from the outside

is the noise isolation, these

older audience than something like the Beats by Dr. Dre range. You

world. I used these traveling the

headphones do not block out the

underground

world much, if you’re looking for

don’t need to be that trendy to pull them off.

All on-ear headphones cause a slight comfort issue, as their pads rest directly on your ears, with enough force to keep them there, but the Sennheiser Momentum On-ear are certainly among the comfiest in their class but I found after a few hours of wear that my ears were starting to ache.

The sound quality of the headphones was great, while they’re not

from

Liverpool

Street station to St Pancras and really struggled with hearing my music.

entirely neutral, they are exceedingly well balanced. The bass kicks like

The Sennheiser Momentum

a mule when needed, but bass control is far, far better than almost all

On-ear headphones look good,

T

he

new

need to look elsewhere.

If you are looking for a good quality set of headphones for

Would I buy them?

The New Leatherman

By Donnie Rust

a set with good isolation, you’ll

home use I would recommend them

but

otherwise

look

elsewhere.

www.leatherman-store.co.uk RRP: £49.99

Leatherman

everything you need and whether you might use it for opening letters

sticks but every new design is

Multi tool is an upgrade

or cutting off your own arm in an ill-fated hiking trip, this is a useful

tested in the field so nothing is on

from

item to have.

a Leatherman that can’t sustain a

the

famously

versatile and handy Leatherman

Originally used as a tool for shoe makers and saddle makers,

that has been in competition with

leather workers, this tool has always been about usefulness and

the Swiss army knife for a long

application. Frankly if MacGuyver had used one of these instead of

time. Far more application driven

the Swiss Army knife the series would still be running now.

this is an absolute must for every

A personal favourite of many military men, some of these come

man or the simple reason it has

with window shatterers, battery chargers, torch lights and even USB

bit of a beating.

Endeavour Magazine | 23

BUSINESS HEADLINES

A 19 YEAR OLD INVENTS WAY TO CLEAN UP OCEANS IN 5 YEARS WHILE AT SCHOOL. What did you do?

BY KERRY WESTERN

W

hile most of us

would sieve through the water

spent

our

high

and collect plastic in the same

years

way a sifter works on collecting

trying to find ways of wasting

leaves off the surface of the pool.

even more of our time playing

Although it has been cited that it

video games, Boyan Slat figured

could clear up oceans in as little as

out a way to clean up the oceans.

five years after implementation I think it could be a little

Although most people don’t

longer because I feel the main issue would not be getting

realize it or know about it there

the plastic there or even collecting it but dealing with

is such a thing as a ‘Great Pacific

the issue of shipping lines. Which when considering the

Garbage Patch’ or sometimes

distinct improvement this could make to the oceans and

called the “Pacific Trash Vortex”

the animals living therein it is a small hurdle to overcome.

and this is massive island of

“One of the problems with preventive work is that

garbage created by the collection

there isn’t any imagery of these ‘garbage patches’, because

of plastic particles accumulating

the debris is dispersed over millions of square kilometers,”

in the Pacific. Other oceans have

Slat says on his website. “By placing our arrays however,

their own collections of plastic

it will accumulate along the booms, making it suddenly

wastes as well; furthermore,

possible to actually visualize the oceanic garbage

most of the debris in our oceans

patches. We need to stress the importance of recycling,

is made up of plastic materials

and reducing our consumption of plastic packaging.”

school

that accounts for approximately 90% of all the waste debris.

While in school Boyan wrote an essay on the concept which once published caught the attention of a number

Boyan Slat has developed

of prominent marine experts and he has one a number of

a concept, an idea which is

prizes including the Best Technical Design 2012 from the

currently in the long process of

Delft University of Technology.

feasibility studies, planning and

The not for profit organizing The Ocean Cleanup

development that will put this

Foundation has been put into place with the goal of

idea into action. According to

developing the required technology and raising funds to

many experts his is one of the

get it started. It is a simple, “clear” idea that should work

most realistic plans for ocean-

and will no doubt have a tremendously positive effect.

bourne plastic collection.

Also with the amount of recyclable material they will

A massive series of floating

pick up it is conceivable that there could be a profitable

booms and processing platforms

business within the idea of a solar and tide powered

would be linked in a chain that

collection array.

24 | Endeavour Magazine

October books

STAY AT OUR HOTEL FOR

10,000 Instagram Followers PER NIGHT

BY DENNY MCELLIS

U

sually the leaders of producing

cute

and

According to the hotel’s Instagram

account,

gives the guest who shoots the

however,

best picture of the location an

cuddly animals capable

the deal runs out after 50

additional free night, according

of killing you in terrifying ways,

users redeem it which would

to Mashable.

a hotel in Sydney Australia has

guarantee them a minimum of

“There has always been a

offered an innovative method of

fifty thousand Instagram hits

strong, intrinsic link between

establishing itself on the online

advertising their company on a

travel and photography, but

media networks by offering a

popular online network.

the advent of social media and

free night’s stay to people who

So what makes it Instagram-

Instagram has made photo-

have more than 10,000 followers

themed? For one, according to

sharing an even bigger part of

on Instagram.

Mashable, the hotel’s name is

the traveler’s experience,” said

The 1888 Hotel in Sydney

an homage to the year Kodak

Paul Fischman, CEO of 8Hotels,

is the first hotel to offer such

launched the first box and roll

which owns the 1888 Hotel.

an innovative scheme and has

camera.

“People not only want to visit

turned to the Facebook-owned

Inside, the boutique hotel

and stay in beautiful places, they

social network to generate more

is decorated with more than

also want to capture and share it

potential visitors while also

100 Instagram pictures shot

with their friends and networks

triggering an increase in online

by guests. The hotel also holds

as it happens,” Fischman told

viewerships.

a

Mashable.

monthly

competition

that

Turn to page 122

Endeavour Magazine | 25

CHARGING THE INNOVATIONS

BY SIMON TAM

N

orway regularly appears in Endeavour Magazine whenever

to people who wanted a car - but didn’t want everyone to know that

we need an example of a company that has the right way

it was electric.

of approaching innovation and change when it comes to

Secondly, the gift. Tesla Motors have introduced its supercharger

clean energy, sustainable power and the best way to sleep through

network of electric car chargers in Norway where the rate of electric

sunshine at midnight. A country that has become separate from the

car ownership is already quite high in relation to its population size.

rest of the world by their ability to stop and think about how they

By constructing these charging stations it is hoped to make electric

are going to approach something and what could be the best results

vehicle buyers more confident regarding to recharging their cars

of that approach. When compared to many other countries Norway

whenever needed.

stands out like an island of intelligence surrounded by an ocean of “Um…”.

As part of an on going plan to make the adoption of electric vehicles easier, Tesla Motors have promised to place its Supercharger

Connected to a solar powered city, hyper-loop transportation,

networks within the range of all Tesla Model S vehicles so that they

Paypal and a long list of other technologically ambitious projects

will not have to worry about running out of charge. Also, with their

that Tesla Motors have launched a fully electric car in Norway should

new technology what used to take four hours to gain a half change,

come as no surprise.

now can be done between 20-40 minutes.

What is the biggest problem of electric cars? Reliability over long

Superchargers have been installed in Lyngdal, Aurland, Dombås,

distances, cost and appearance. They have become the sort of car that

Gol, Cinderella and Lillehammer Norway is mostly covered by

green-conscious people use to make a statement and are pretty much

Superchargers now.

the modern version of a camper van with flowers on it and a Town and

To give an further detail Model S customers can drive routes such

Country Sign. As such on the grand scale this was never going to be

as the E6 from Trondheim to Oslo, the E18 from Oslo to Kristiansand,

a vehicle that the public would purchase to help drive saves, it would

the E39 from Kristiansand to Stavanger, and Highway7 from Oslo

take an additional step from the manufacturers and this is what Tesla

to Gol for free and with minimal stops. Approximately 90% of the

Motors have done. It would take a gift from them.

Norwegian population lives within 320 km of a Supercharger station,

Firstly the style. The range of Tesla Model S vehicles look breathtaking. It has a sleek, stylized, fast look that would appeal to everyone.

and about 60% of the country’s total land mass is within the same distance of a station.

It also doesn’t look too futuristic which was an error of some of the

THE BIG THING is that the Superchargers are free to use which

original vehicles in the electric range decades ago that did not appeal

gives Tesla Model S owners a great deal of confidence: relatively

26 | Endeavour Magazine

Pre-teen Author McKenzie Wagner Signs TransMedia Group To Publicize Launch of Her Fourth Book ‘The Stones of Horsh’

T

ransMedia Group, have said that 12-year-old fantasy author, McKenzie Wagner will be joining its other pre-teen prodigy clients as the firm prepares to publicize the

fast charging, anywhere in the country and it’s free.

launch of her fourth book, a fantasy novel, “The Stones of Horsh,” the second in her

Benotripia trilogy.

With plans to cover an entire

McKenzie’s father, Robert Wagner, who is also one of her biggest fans, says that she has

country with charging stations

relished reading since she was four years old. When she was only seven, her boundless love

it is going to prove to be very

of books inspired her to write, “The Magic Meadow” and the “Golden Locket.” She completed

costly but historically companies

her second book The Blue Lagoon and the Magic Coin shortly thereafter. McKenzie then

need to give first, they need to

wrote the first book of “Benotripia” entitled, “The Rescue.” Now, the second book of the

disrupt the industries and offer

trilogy, “The Stones of Horsh,” is available for pre-order online.

something

that

a

customer

“McKenzie is a super talented, sweet and inspiring young lady with a true love for

simply cannot say no to. With

writing,” said Dominique Feldman, a mother of two young readers. Feldman will manage

experience in business ideas like

publicity for McKenzie at TransMedia.

Paypal you can see where the sense comes from.

McKenzie wishes to obtain an English degree, teach, become an editor for a major publication, and continue in her pursuit and love of writing. She is an accelerated student and

Tesla Motors have given

currently resides in Utah, with her mom, dad, and her younger brother, Ty. Follow McKenzie

us a gift. The most efficient

on Facebook and visit her website at McKenzieWagnerBooks.com. Visitors can “Like” her

and beautiful looking electric

Facebook page to learn more about McKenzie, upcoming events, her weekly giveaways and

vehicle yet designed and an

more.

infrastructure to keep it going on the road.

Other talented pre-teen clients whom TransMedia has placed in the national media spotlight include 12-year-old Monster truck driver Kaid Jarret “KJ” Olson-Weston, who

I’d be happy to have one of

drives for Uncle Tod Motorsports; and Zach Marks, the 12-year-old inventor of GROM

these in my drive way, wouldn’t

Social, his own version of Facebook for kids, for which TransMedia was pivotal in raising

you?

nearly $2 million in investment, plus national publicity, that led to gromsocial.com taking off like a rocket. McKenzie’s father hopes for similar results for his prolific daughter as TransMedia plans to offer the full range of its services to the prodigious young author.

Endeavour Magazine | 27

FACEBOOK IS DOOMED

BY VIVEK WADHWA // @WADHWA // WWW.WADHWA.COM

W

hen India’s Economic Times asked me to compare

immersive 3D-viewing experience.

Google with Facebook, the comparison struck me

Google already reads my emails before I do, and, by analyzing

as odd. Google is exploring uncharted territory and

what I search for on the Internet and which Web sites I visit, knows

staking its claims to the next trillion-dollar market opportunities.

what I am thinking. It “knows” what other people think about me. If

Facebook is mired in the past and squeezing every penny it can out

my friend and noted futurist Ray Kurzweil succeeds in his mission

of its customers to justify its inflated stock price. Unless it happens

at Google, it will understand my wants and needs too. It will predict

to luck out by buying the right company, it seems to me, Facebook is

what I want to search for, where I want to go to, and what I want to

doomed.

eat. It will understand how my brain thinks and become my personal

I am posting that article here to see whether anyone really disagrees.

I expect that, within a few years, my Tesla electric car will drive by itself, using Google software. Yes, I am talking about the self-driving,

assistant.

Yes, these are technologies that Google will likely deliver during this decade. It is doing the type of research that Xerox PARC was famous for. It is thinking even bigger than Apple.

autonomous vehicles that we have seen in science-fiction movies:

Contrast this with what we can expect from Facebook: more ads,

Google is making these a reality. Its autonomous cars have already

more annoying sponsored posts, more intrusions of privacy. Maybe

driven half a million miles on California roads — without a single

Facebook will continue to jazz up its Timeline and improve its search

accident — and will soon transform transportation in cities all over

capabilities. It will, for sure, buy or copy more hot products such

the world. (I’m not so sure about India, however; only God can tame

as Instagram, Pinterest, and Foursquare. But it won’t develop any

its drivers.)

earth-shattering technologies, because it doesn’t do Google-style

Thanks to Google Fiber, my house may one day have 1000 Gigabit Internet. Google’s Wi-Fi balloons, called Google Loon, could provide

“moonshots” — it just doesn’t have the culture and DNA. It is still the social network that the kid in the dormroom built.

me with connectivity when I go hiking in the mountains. I expect that

Now that Facebook is a public company, it is under intense

a successor to Google Glass will replace my laptop, iPad, and TV;

pressure to justify its inflated stock price. I expect that it will try to

incorporate voice recognition and gestures; and provide me with an

squeeze more revenue out of its existing customers, who, no doubt,

28 | Endeavour Magazine

No One Knows Albert Einstein’s Final Words!

place. Although many different actors have played The

Everyone knows who Einstein is, he has become the very

Doctor, when Matt Smith, who will soon be handing over

definition of intelligence and is perhaps the most famous

the mantle, began his role, bowtie sales shot through the

scientist of all time. A German physicist and pacifist of

roof! The retro academic-style look increased bowtie

worldwide renown he is considered by many to be the

sales by over 94% directly after the first premiere.

father of modern physics. Interestingly, as famous as he was no one will ever know his last words!

UPS Pays Over £100 Million In Parking Fines

Knowing that he was soon to leave this world Einstein

Known for delivering packages consistently when

refused surgery stating, “I want to go when I want. It is

people aren’t even there, UPS also receives on average

tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share,

15,000 parking tickets a month just in New York City!

it is time to go. I will do it elegantly.” He survived until the

In most of New York’s narrow streets, there are no legal

next morning when he passed away at 76. However, just

spots to park and so many UPS trucks have to resort

before he passed, he spoke several words in German, yet

to parking illegally alongside curbs. They simply have

his nurse knew only English…

no other choice; they have demanding schedules that involve delivering hundreds of packages to corporations

Dr. Who, Time Lord And Fashion Guru?

such as Goldman and Citibank in the city.

The longest running science fiction series of all time

This does equate to paying more than $102 million in

is Doctor Who, it’s a British show featuring a time

fines.

traveling alien doctor. First premiered in 1963 it is still

UPS spokesperson Diane Hatcher said, “We receive by

running today.

far more parking fines in New York City than anywhere

One of the gimmicks that has kept the series fresh is that

else in the world. Simply stated, we don’t have the same

the titular character The Doctor, regenerates every time

level of difficulty with finding available parking spaces or

he dies allowing an entirely different actor to take his

loading zones anywhere else.”

will become more frustrated with the ads and privacy intrusions. They

it

immigration

Facebook for many of the

will eventually abandon it for private social networks or the next big

advocacy group, FWD.US. It

same reasons. But Google has

thing. Facebook could go the way of AOL and Myspace.

started supporting questionable

managed to avoid this: despite

causes advocated by politicians

its intrusions on privacy and its

on the extreme right. Despite

monopolistic market shares in

being

proponent

some areas, its customers don’t

(now worth close to three billion dollars) for, and has committed an

of immigration reform, in my

express hatred of it. The goodwill

additional 1% of its profits to, philanthropic endeavors. It has been

Washington

it has built carries it a long way.

donating the shares to the community and using the philanthropic

blasted Facebook for this. I

fund to engineer solutions to the global problems of health, poverty,

quoted

legendary

venture

could hardly be more different.

food, and energy. A group called Google for Entrepreneurs mentors

capitalist

Vinod

Khosla

You can look to Facebook as a

and support entrepreneurs in different parts of the world. The group

questioning

whether

FWD.

classic example of what not to do

has been working with my team at Singularity University and Stanford

US would “prostitute climate

when you achieve success, and

to help women entrepreneurs.

destruction & other values to

to Google as a model for staying

get a few engineers hired & get

ahead.

You can also see the difference between Facebook and Google in their corporate social responsibility and how they are perceived.

When Google went public, it set aside three million shares

Google has been doing all this since its early days. It has built tremendous goodwill with developers and local communities.

launched

a

its

staunch Post

column

I

So Google and Facebook

immigration reform”.

Facebook continually makes the mistake of alienating its own

Microsoft was hated when

customers by misusing their information, and is increasingly losing

it achieved big success, and

goodwill. As well, it has not done much philanthropy or community

its

outreach — just a few initiatives that it has hyped to get positive press.

behavior and arrogance toward

It is beginning to support causes such as immigration and Internet

its own customers earned it

accessibility, but is fumbling because it lacks sensibility and sensitivity.

the dubious nickname “the evil

Facebook took intense fire from Silicon Valley, for example, when

empire”. Facebook users dislike

monopolistic,

self-serving

Endeavour Magazine | 29

KAIZEN ENVIRONMENTAL 001 868 299 0009 WWW.KAIZEN-TT.COM

30 | Endeavour Magazine

CLEANING UP WRITTEN BY DON CAMPBELL

Kaizen International INC of Calgary, is the parent company of Kaizen Environmental Services Trinidad Limited, which is registered in Trinidad and Tobago and has been operating in the area since 1995 and has been instrumental in several major environmental projects across the country. They completed the largest environmental reclamation project in the region, the Brighton Oilfield remediation programme which is now the La Brea Industrial Estate. We spoke to Anjani Pardassie regarding this.

Endeavour Magazine | 31

KAIZEN ENVIRONMENTAL

“Kaizen operates the only commercial full service Waste Treatment Facility for oilfield and industrial waste on the island,” Anjani tells us, “We do through a contract with LABIDCO, which is the subsidiary company of the National Energy Corporation.”

Quote

T

he NEC is a company we have featured before in Endeavour

so famous in the first place.

Magazine, a company who chooses their partners very

Within the body of Kaizen there are four main operating divisions

carefully and this lends a significant weight to the reputation

for the Trinidad operations that include, Analytical Services Division,

of Kaizen.

Trinidad and Tobago is a luscious and fertile island land currently

Projects Division, Waste Services Division and Product Sales and Rental.

is the midst of a business boom, where every industry from mining,

To get a complete perspective of what Kaizen does you have to

to agriculture, to entertainment is having their time in the spotlight.

have a look at these four pillars, what they all have in common is the

With such strong international attention there is a real concern to

level of excellence, professionalism and experience which creates a

protect the natural heritage of the islands, which is what made them

the highest possible standard for the industry. Which is one of the reasons why Kaizen are the word on environmental activities in the region.

“Kaizen’s Analytical Division is committed to providing its customers with services of the highest quality. The laboratory operates a rigorous quality assurance and quality control programme. It also upholds the environmental responsible as all effluent is monitored and all used samples such as chemical reagents and waste Is carefully segregated and disposed of at the Kaizen Waste Treatment Facility at La Brea, Trinidad,” Anjani explains.

Heavy chemicals like Boron can seep into the earth and enter the water table, by first establishing the significance of the toxicity they can move onto the next pillar and take applicable action to avoid poisoning and contamination.

Their

PROJECTservices

Division,

executes

environmental

consulting and contracting services in the form of project works.

The kaizen team of environmental professionals provides a diverse range of air quality, environmental assessment, site remediation and reclamation, environmental sampling, testing and monitoring and everything else.

Maintaining a 24/7 call out, Hazwoper trained, emergency response team every situation can be responded as fast as possible to any chemical or petroleum spill to lessen the impact to the environment.

The WASTEservices division of Kaizen provides comprehensive waste management services to the industrial, petrochemical and energy sectors and the remaining community at large of Trinidad and Tobago. Specifically working within waste disposal, management and 32 | Endeavour Magazine

order to prevent pollution by

appropriate measures to protect

The Labidco/kaizen waste treatment facility provides the most

the use of processes, practices,

and promote the health and

comprehensive industrial and oilfield waste disposal services in

materials or products that avoid,

safety of its employees and

Trinidad and Tobago and is one of the keystone measures that

reduce or control pollution.

to ensure operations carry on

spill response services.

Kaizen have that identifies them as a leader in this field. Labidco

“All our services are designed

offers remediation services, including land farming and stabilization;

to meet local, regional and

destruction services such as incineration, destruction and disposal,

international

she

educated and trained to perform

fluorescent bulb disposal, lab and medical waste disposal, chemical

says, “Kaizen has in place a

their job competently, efficiently

blending and recycling and a number of speciality services including

well-defined

and safely.

transportation and containment.

adherence

Standards,” Quality to

System;

smoothly.

In addition, all staff are

International

Reliability and accountability

“Having identified a need for specific equipment in the industry

Standards enables us to attain

go hand in hand and Kaizen

and to ensure that we never find themselves without what we need,”

our corporate objectives to

has entered into a programme

Anjani reveals, “Kaizen’s EnviroProductions Division provides three

produce the highest quality

of self and third party audits

distinct levels of environmental equipment and service. Sensing

services possible.”

of its operations and systems

and monitoring equipment for rental or purchase and a complete selection of portable and fixed gas detection systems and leading brand of monitors to be used in the household to detect everything from noise to gas and dust.”

Kaizen, are committed to conducting its operations in a manner that

to ensure that its commitment

Staff And Customers

to continuous improvement is realized. This goes in hand with

Protecting their employees,

eliminates or reduces the risk of negative impact to the environment,

property

and

meeting or exceeding existing environmental laws, regulations, rules

public

and all other requirements applicable to the organization. As far as

accidents resulting from any

is practicable, the company monitors and improves its operations in

of its operations, Kaizen take

from

the

general

incidents

and

their commitment to people. Be them customers or employees.

“Kaizen, means continuous improvement.

We

epitomise

that,” Anjani concludes.

Endeavour Magazine | 33

ANSA POLYMER 001 868 388 2258 WWW.ANSAMCAL.COM

34 | Endeavour Magazine

THE WORD IN

Packaging WRITTEN BY DON CAMPBELL

Ansa Polymer, a division of Ansa Mcal Limited, is the leading supplier of quality plastic packaging solutions for a wide range of applications manufacturing packaging products such as garbage bags, industrial film (plain & printed), injection moulded crates, buckets, blow moulded and PET plastic bottles. The company was formed in 1996 by merging the assets of Carib Plastics and Polymer (Caribbean) Limited. In 2006 Ansa Polymer also acquired the assets of Reed Monza (Trinidad) Limited. We spoke with their Marketing Director Solomon Rodney.

Endeavour Magazine | 35

ANSA POLYMER

“We have an on-going mission which drives us,” Solomon opens up, “It is to become a company driven by value with a reliable technological edge continuously enhancing ourselves through outstanding returns on investments, with a focus on our employees and customers”

ounded in 1996 as a producer of Flexible and Rigid Plastic

F

To do this Ansa Polymer has invested a great deal of time and

Packaging Solutions; Ansa Polymer now supplies every island

money in their facilities and training to create safe and healthy

in the Caribbean Region as well as Guyana and Suriname on

working environment for the staff. The aim of this is to maintain our

the South American mainland. Ansa Polymer’s Production Facilities

Number 1 position as the region’s premier plastic packaging solutions

and Offices are located in Arima, east Trinidad.

provider.

“Our core activities are Plain and Printed plastic packaging,

It is likely that this goal will be achieved since Ansa Polymer is

including roll-stock and bags, HDPE and PET bottles beer crates,

a part of the region’s foremost conglomerate. Ansa Mcal Ltd is the

basins and construction bucket,” Solomon describes, “Our current

parent company of Ansa Polymer, one of the giants of the Caribbean

production capacity for Film is 3.5 million lbs. per year; Bottling 50

and based in Port of Spain, Trinidad with business operations spanning

million units per year and Injection Moulding is 7.5 million units per

the manufacturing, brewing, insurance, finance, real estate, media,

year.”

shipping, trading/ distribution, automotive and industrial equipment

Employees

retailing sectors and has a diverse workforce of approximately six thousand staff generating annual revenues in excess of TT$5 Billion.

“Employees are, naturally, very important to us and we aim to

“As a group we focus heavily on human and team development

develop and retain competence and motivation throughout our staff

with an emphasis on culture enhancement. We are also course ISO

contingent of two hundred and fifty six professionals,”

9001 accredited.”

36 | Endeavour Magazine

Call us: 1-868-674-3371 Endeavour Magazine | 37

ANSA POLYMER

Customers

In

For any service or solutions based company the drive to attract and retain their customers defines

how

the

company

approaches its business. Ansa Polymer approaches the safeguarding of their customers and clients in a strategic and tactful manner

which

allows

them

to develop and enhance the relationship they share. needs into specific actions via Marketing,

industry

meeting

concept to solution, not only does this provide us with information

customer deadlines and quality

on how to improve via their feedback but also ensures that we can

expectations

maintain a reputation for quality products and quality service.”

are

inextricably

linked to customer satisfaction” Many companies develop themselves into an entity only interested on the front dealings, neglecting the importance of attitude and approach. sell

a

product/service

They and

assume the customer will return.

However, today the aftersales support is the nugget that keeps

“We translate our customer weekly

our

the customer returning.

“After sales service is critical

Logistical

to the value we offer,” Solomon

and Operational planning focus

insists, “We have developed

meetings,”

communication

Solomon

explains,

and

inter-

The Competition One thing is certain; today’s market place has created an environment suited to the fiercest competition. For a business to remain marketable and successful, and to ensure longevity, they must stay competitive in every area of operation.

“We have a number of strategies in place to keep us ahead of the competition that cover a wide range of areas,” Solomon explains, “For example we have invested substantially into plant machinery to offer higher quality products, improve our price points and reduce lead times. You cannot produce the best without the best equipment, people and processes”

New Developments For 2013/2014

“This allows us to determine our

company marketing and quality

The investment in machinery to keep ahead of the competition

next series of steps given the

teams to ensure we keep in step

is definitely one of the driving factors for Ansa Polymer leading into

complexities of our business.

with the customer from the

the future and has a significant knock on effect including enhanced

38 | Endeavour Magazine

employee training and future

in class then we must develop on

career developments. As product

the most modern technological

quality continues to increase

platform in combination with

so too will the reputation of the

world class employees. This we

business

increasing

believe will lead to increased

customer draw and the need to

thereby,

market-share and mind-share of

employ more trained staff with

our customers and enhance our

opportunities to develop their

market leadership.”

lives.

“We’re

continuing

the

investment upgrade in the Film Division, sweeping a general upgrade of company facilities and complete the upgrade of the Blow Moulding Division,” he explains, “This project included months and

of

financial,

operational

market research

to determine best in class equipment and technology. We believe if we are to be the best

Unique Scale Service Limited began its operations

We also provide preventative maintenance and

30 years ago with the vision of becoming the leader

monthly contracts to all our customers and the

in providing weighing products and services to our

benefits derive from these are as follows: •

Reduce down time

end users throughout Trinidad and Tobago and the

•

Improve profit by weight control

Caribbean.

•

Customized inspection programs

•

Emergency services

•

Calibration certification preparation

•

Lower contract prices.

With Our Mission Statement being to provide the widest range of reliable weighing instruments, systems and support services to satisfy our customers throughout the Caribbean and Lain

Unique Scale Service Ltd has a very large customer base relating to the following industries:

America, Unique Scales have provided quality,

•

Manufacturing

testing, servicing and calibration services for all

•

Food Production

different types of weighing equipments, e.g. truck

•

Chemical Production

•

Petro Chemical Industry

•

Pharmaceutical Industry

•

Bio-Tech Industry

scales, floor scales, drum filling systems, batching systems and software packages to mention a few.

Endeavour Magazine | 39

G4S ZAMBIA 260 211 244832 WWW.ZM.G4S.COM

40 | Endeavour Magazine

“G4S is a truly unique company – we are bigger, more diverse and involved in more fascinating, cutting-edge projects than many people would imagine,” Sacha opens up with.

G4S was first incorporated in Zambia in 1968; making them one of the oldest security companies in Zambia and setting a testament for security.

A LEGACY OF SECURITY WRITTEN BY JACK SLATER

Endeavour Magazine | 41

G4S ZAMBIA

When the company was first incorporated they were primarily a Manned Security service provider. However due to an ever changing security environment and the vast range of client needs they had embrace and make use of new innovations in the security world and employ cutting edge technology to provide their clients with robust and effective electronic security solutions.

“We have also enhanced our Manned Security product and offer the market Cash solutions services,” Sacha Makulu.

G

4S Zambia has a vast product and service portfolio and

exposure to threat and risk.

provides the Zambian market with an array of security

“We also provide Commercial, Residential, Corporate, and

solutions under their core product lines which are Manned

Retail sector based Rapid Response Services. This includes Panic,

Security, Security Systems and Cash Solutions.

“Our expertise and in Cash services enables us to meet a wide

range of customer needs. Amongst them being fitness sorting of notes

Volumetric and Intruder Alarms,” Sacha says, “We have strong capacity and expertise in Closed Circuit Television (CCTV), Access and Egress Control systems.”

for use in ATM machines; counterfeit detection and removal; and

With Manned Security, the core product of this division is fully

redistribution of cash to bank branches, ATMs, and retail customers,”

trained and equipped Security Officers to commercial, corporate,

he tells us.

diplomatic and residential clients. Under G4S’ Manned Security

They also provide cash consulting services on cash management strategy, secure document facilities with high security, and various

division they also conduct Threat and Risk Assessments, Site Security Surveys and Contract Security management.

aspects of cash cycle efficiencies such as ATM management services,

“Based on requirement we provide experienced personnel with

including cash forecasting, cash transportation and reconciliation,

global experience. Our capacity extends to products and services

first-line ATM maintenance, retail cash management services and

as diverse as Journey Management, Investigation services, Event

insurance of currency, gems, precious metals, and other valuables.

Security management, and the supply of trained officers to provide

“We serve various financial institutions in the country,” he adds.

G4S have a strong capacity in the supply and installation of cutting edge security systems aimed at protecting their clients, their assets

stock management and even receptionist duties,” he says.

Employees

and safeguarding their commercial concerns. Whatever the case may

“One of our values at G4S is ‘’Best People,”’ Sacha tells us,

be they provide a safe operational environment and mitigate their

explaining the focuses that make the company what it is, “As a

“Based on requirement we provide experienced personnel with global experience. Our capacity extends to products and services as diverse as Journey Management, Investigation services, Event Security management, and the supply of trained officers to provide stock management and even receptionist duties.”

42 | Endeavour Magazine

Endeavour Magazine | 43

G4S ZAMBIA

Chita Lodge has been designed and built around an African wildlife theme and it provides affordable top of the range accommodation. From wrought iron animals in the garden to lovely African décor, Chita Lodge is a home away from home.

It is conveniently located in the quiet residential area of Olympia Park, just behind Manda Hill. Arcade shopping Mall is also a few minutes away, so Chita Lodge is a good option for those “out of towners ” who want to come to Lusaka to shop. For the businessman, it is an easy fifteen minutes drive from Lusaka (Kenneth Kaunda ) International Airport and a ten minute drive to the center of town.

business we believe that our

their function.

biggest asset is our people and

given opportunities to attend

we continually invest in our staff.

professional

We offer career opportunities

conferences

and personal development that

in their fields for professional

allows our people to unlock

networking

their full potential, to express

diversification.

themselves and to reap the rewards of their success.”

“G4S

conventions, and and Zambia

workshops knowledge invests

significantly in our employees,”

G4S endeavour to ensure

Sacha stipulates, “Both inside and

that all operational employees are

outside the work environment

given appropriate pre-placement

and this includes sport such as

training that suits their function

social soccer on weekends.”

and follow up with refreshers to enhance their competence

Clients

and ensure that they remain

G4S Zambia’s strategy is

current in terms of their skill set.

based on quality throughout

They also recognize the fact that

their operation. They do not

knowledge is dynamic and there

adopt a one size fits all approach,

is a need to keep employees up-

instead their security solutions

to-date with current trends in

are custom made to meet each

WWW.CHITA.CO.ZM Cell:+260 0979 562176 Phone: +260 211 293779 Fax: +260 211 290814 44 | Endeavour Magazine

Employees are

of their individual client’s unique and specific security requirements.

“Our contracts are governed by Service Level Agreements and Key Performance Indicators are measured on a routine basis,” Sacha explains, “And this enables us to continually measure our performance against our clients expected output. When gaps are identified they are quickly resolved. “ G4S regards their customers as their partners and their role in this partnership is to provide them with a safe operational environment and minimise exposure to risk thus allowing the valued customers to focus on their core business.

“We have put in place the necessary support infrastructure to ensure that clients have clearly defined communication channels and all areas of concern that may arise are resolved,” Sacha says, “ Where there are lapses management is always focused and efforts are made to fix all problems as quickly as possible.”

Looking To The Future “We have a number of exciting products being introduced into the Zambian market,” Sacha tells us enthusiastically, “Under our Cash business unit we have a product called Deposita which we believe will revolutionise the way retailers do their banking. The product is based on an Automated Banking Machine (ABM).”

The Deposita machine is quick and accurate and recognises bank notes regardless of their direction on insertion. It reliably identifies denomination and detects the authenticity of the notes, providing secure onsite storage of cash because of its inbuilt locking system and alarms which ensure protection against theft and vandalism; deposits are identifiable by cashier and shift.

“On the Security systems front we also provide our clients with electronic Remote Site Security solutions based on a Video Alarm system which has the capability of acting in place of the traditional Manned Security Officer,” Unlike traditional alarms, the Remote Site Security solution makes use of Motion Sensors linked to cameras that take a 10 second video clips every time the built in Sensor detects movement. The unit then transmits the video clips to G4S’ National Control Centre for verification and priority response. This solution does this in real time, thus allowing for a reaction while a potential crime is still in progress.

Interventions include either the dispatch of a response unit to the scene or the release of pepper gas remotely depending on the level of threat.

“We believe this will mark an improvement for Zambia as a whole,” he says, “As G4S we believe that these innovative products consolidate our position as market leaders in Zambia. As a business we continually look for solutions that add value to our clients and provide them with latest technology, products that not only secure their environment and assets but also improve their bottom line,” Sacha concludes.

Endeavour Magazine | 45

SAFARICOM 00254 722 003272 WWW.SAFARICOM.CO.KE

46 | Endeavour Magazine

BEING The Best WRITTEN BY JACK SLATER

What began life as a department of Kenya Posts & Telecommunications Corporation is now one of the largest integrated communications companies in Kenya providing voice and data through different network infrastructures and connecting the populace of this African nation. Communications Manager, Chris Muthama was on hand to discuss how Safaricom plans to continue to improve people’s lives.

Launched in 1993 Safaricom Limited was incorporated on 3 April 1997 under the Companies Act as a private limited liability company. Later it converted into a public company with limited liability on 16 May 2002.

Endeavour Magazine | 47

SAFARICOM

By virtue of the 60% shareholding held by the Government of Kenya which mean that under the State Corporations Act, Safaricom was a state corporation. It wasn’t until 2008 when the a quarter of those shares became public that the Government lost controlling shares in the business and Safaricom became their own machine to operate.

“Now independent, we operate solely in Kenya and our headquarters are located at Safaricom House in Nairobi,” Chris tells us.

Quote

S

afaricom is an integrated communications company, providing voice and data communications services to consumers, businesses and public sector clients. “Voice, or talk time is

defined as offering a range of prepaid and postpaid voice plans, which are often bundled with SMS and/or data services. They offer a wide variety of SMS messaging services, including SMS and MMS, ‘call back’ SMS notifications for missed calls and ‘please call me’ messages.

“DATA is becoming the kings sceptre of importance,” Chris explains, “And we offer high speed data connectivity and corporate connectivity through fixed and mobile broadband,”

Financial Services Extending financial inclusion to Kenyans who lack access to formal

Focus On Customers

customers; their shareholders; their business partners; their

“Our customers are vital to the sustainability of Safaricom,” Chris

states,

“They

provide

feedback on our products and services and drive us to develop innovative

solutions.

What

appears to matter most to them is Customer experience, relevance and affordability, network quality and better value offerings.”

Strategies are in place to

bank services, M-PESA is a fast, safe and affordable mobile money

ensure

transfer method. M-Shwari, their financial endeavour has 1.2 million

needs are always at the core of

active customers and to suit these a range of devices such as mobile

what it’s doing. They endeavour

handsets, mobile broadband modems, routers, tablets, notebooks

to communicate honestly, offer

and laptop computers are available.

simple and relevant products,

that

the

customer’s

Focus On Employees

and deliver on their promises

Something that can never be ignored and is such a key to any

to the customer with speed and

company’s success is the focus that a company places on their staff.

consistency. Create direct and

Safaricom employ a total of 3,600 people, 2,600 of them being

indirect value for all of their

permanent staff and are very much place on a pedestal in the company.

stakeholders

through

their

“Our employees are the face of Safaricom and ambassadors for

business operations and they

the company. They continue to drive innovation and ensure that we

also contribute indirect value to

achieve our company objectives,” Chris describes, “Our employees

society.

are also active participants in our Corporate Social Investment (CSI) agenda and we constantly offer training and refresher courses on Safaricom products and services via different channels.”

“We will provide a great place to work and grow, where both individual accomplishments and team effort will be rewarded. We will provide opportunities for personal empowerment and career growth in an atmosphere of trust, honesty and openness.”

48 | Endeavour Magazine

New Developments for 2013/2014 and Beyond Safaricom’s

intent

is

to

transform lives; the lives of their

staff and the communities they serve This

includes

maintaining

and enhancing the networking quality,

something

that

proven

unreliable

in

has

Africa.

Nevertheless, the modernisation of their legacy radio network equipment improve

is voice

necessary call

to

quality,

decrease the number of dropped calls, reduce congestion and

enhance data performance. This is the starting point for further

improved customer experience

innovation that will develop products and services and make a deeper

and

financial inclusion possible.

environment for developers to

For over 12 Years, Aviat

provide relevant local content.

Networks has supported

All services offered by Safaricom are provided through different

providing

an

enabling

the

Safaricom in building a

our business and fundamental to our ability to deliver a satisfactory

driver for deepening financial

reliable and intelligent

service to our customers.

inclusion through expanding our

microwave backhaul

“Improving on our network reliability, availability and capacity

distribution network and with

network to support

will include increasing the population coverage of our 2G and 3G

it accessibility; reducing system

its mobile network.

networks,” Chris details, “Completing network modernization in six

downtimes

Today Aviat Networks

key cities and the roll-out of fibre to at least 40% of sites in Nairobi

growing retail and e-commerce

is trusted in the

with particular focus on the Central Business District area in the next

payments,” Chris illustrates, “We

majority of Safaricom’s

year.” (2014)

also aim at ensuring geographical

Microwave Network,

system redundancy for M-PESA,

thanks to its best in class

and have begun the 18 month

microwave portfolio and

“Innovation is central to achieving our strategic objectives,” he tells

program to locate a new M-PESA

personalized services,

us, “Retaining our competitive edge and ensuring that we continue to

system in Kenya. We are helping

and is recognized as a

grow. While innovation encompasses our processes and procedures,

to deepen financial inclusion

truly committed partner,

our focus is on developing transformational products and services.”

not only through developing

safeguarding Safaricom’s

Some Safaricoms innovations are social, and directly improve

transformative financial inclusion

future with Next

the lives of Kenyans, some are financial. With the “Best Network

solutions.” Achieving this is easy

Generation microwave

in Kenya” initiative they aim to democratize data through faster

when you’re focussed on being

networking solutions.

speeds, value based pricing of data, lower priced 3G smartphones,

the best network in Kenya.

network infrastructures and network quality is an essential aspect of

Importance Of Innovation

“M-PESA

will

be

substantially

and

Endeavour Magazine | 49

SWISS DELUXE HOTEL 0041 43 243 71 40 WWW.SWISSDELUXEHOTEL.COM WWW.PALACE.CH

50 | Endeavour Magazine

The winter season is only a few months away and when it comes to winter leisure there is only one group worth looking to. The Swiss standard comes with it a level of luxury and excellence that is unparalleled the world over. It is a cultural significance and an obsession with extreme levels of perfection.

Centuries of refining has developed a benchmark appeal for anything Swiss, a unique approach and a certain reliability and trust that have become the hallmark slogan for this country. I spoke with the Head of Media Relations Stefan Mathys regarding this year’s winter projects and the 100th year anniversary of one of the best loved hotels in the world the family owned, celebrity destination, Gstaad Palace.

THE Swiss STANDARD WRITTEN BY DON CAMPBELL

Endeavour Magazine | 51

SWISS DELUXE HOTEL

There really is only one name in winter sports and holidays in winter, Swiss Deluxe Hotels. This unique group of 38 Swiss five-star hotels unites the prestigious titles of the Swiss luxury hotel industry.

The hotels are exclusive in the quality they offer, in the pride and prestige they radiate and in the personal touch which characterizes their excellent service.

T

here really is only one name in winter sports and holidays in

The Middle East,” Stefan indicates, “Which is new territory for us and

winter, Swiss Deluxe Hotels. This unique group of 38 Swiss

has influenced a shift in our approach. Altogether there is a recorded

five-star hotels unites the prestigious titles of the Swiss luxury

annual total of over eight hundred and fifty thousand overnight stays.”

hotel industry. The hotels are exclusive in the quality they offer, in

“And, with an average annual investment volume of CHF 300

the pride and prestige they radiate and in the personal touch which

million, Swiss Deluxe Hotels continues to provide every exclusive

characterizes their excellent service.

amenity in the superior quality that has always epitomized the Swiss

Since 1934 Swiss Deluxe Hotel Group has centralized and

luxury hotel industry.” Stefan.

coordinated the top hotels in Switzerland, ensuring that through the

The Swiss preoccupation with excellence is something we take for

offering and quality of these establishments that the standard of the

granted. Their enviable reputation is seen in all facets of the culture

industry as a whole remains of the highest echelon. Synonymous with

and landscape, with the tradition of first class hospitality, breath

exclusive quality and superior standards it is the standard of personal

taking natural beauty and the rich array of cultural attractions, this

service that is unique. Over 4500 members of staff are dedicated to

country has long been a magnet for the most discerning of visitors.

the comfort and wellbeing of guests who are also indelibly accustomed to luxury in service.

But, Swiss Deluxe Hotels were the first to introduce “Standards of Excellence” in 1993, which has 850 different criteria. All services are

“Service Excellence is not only one of our guiding principles,” says

covered with this mode of performance from the concierge through

SDH Chairman Jan E. Brucker during a recent interview, “It is also an

to room service, which are tested and evaluated. The devil is in the

essential element behind all we think and do.”

details and even things like language and mannerisms in addressing

These high standards are also appreciated by guests, who delight

guests and eye contact are covered.

in the exclusive ambiance of the hotels. As one third of the visiting

With an average annual investment volume of CHF 300 million,

guests are Swiss themselves, with the remaining being made up of

Swiss Deluxe Hotels illustrates that the group will continue to provide

international guests from the USA and Germany travelling either on

every exclusive amenity in the superior quality that has always

holiday or on business.

epitomized their hotel industry.

“We are also experiencing a growing pull from Asia, Brazil and

It is precisely this attention to the smallest but crucial details that

“Service Excellence is not only one of our guiding principles. It is also an essential element behind all we think and do.”

52 | Endeavour Magazine

Come and discover our unique fresh chocolate at our nearest Läderach Chocolate Boutiques: Zurich Bahnhofstrasse 106 Zurich, ShopVille (at Main Station, 2nd basement floor), Passage LÜwenstrasse Shopping Mall Glatt, Neue Winterthurerstrasse 99, Glattzentrum/Wallisellen

www.laederach.com

SWISS DELUXE HOTEL

makes a stay at a Swiss Deluxe

9200 beds which account for approximately 40% of the five-star beds

“Gstaad

Palace

reputation

for

in Switzerland and a total employee contingent 5500 the training the

has been opened in stages to ensure that everyone is on the same

forward thinking hotel,” Stefan

hotel, the antiques, precious

page when it comes to knowing what the guest wants. This brings us

emphasizes, “They have always

works of art and the opulent

smoothly to our main focus of this article, one of the oldest and best

been the first to refurbish,

contemporary

loved hotels in the group.

restructure

Hotel one to treasure.

“The

grandeur

of

comfort

will

satisfy a guest’s taste for luxury,” Stefan illustrates, “But it is the way in which they are treated

and

being

has

a

a

incorporate

the traditional air of grandiose

The Gstaad Palace This is the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Royal Hotel

luxury with modern technology to accommodate for all the needs of our wide and varied clientele.”

by the staff that will have them

Winter & Gstaad Palace.

returning every year.”

Swiss hills and valleys, has survived through two world wars, played

In 2003 they made a number

sanctuary to refugees and war veterans and smoothly and evenly

of updates to the forty five

combined history and tradition with modern technology and comforts.

year old bar, the grill room and

It is estimated that since the Gstaad Palace has been owned by

the Sans Cravate Restaurant

“As there is a growing influx

the Scherz family, approximately 100 million Swiss francs have been

to transform them into the

of visitors from Asia and further

spent on enlargements and improvements, in addition to normal

gastronomic centre of the hotel

abroad,” Stefan says, “We have

maintenance and upkeep.

where a grill-rotisserie took

It is here that an interesting development

has

occurred

regarding the staff:

This baquiville, surrounded by rolling

had to train our staff in the

Construction began in 1911 and lasted two years in preparation

centre stage, watched over by

proper etiquette expected from

for the grand opening in 1913 where guests from around the world

the masterful GaultMillau award

these cultures and find the best

over marvelled at the hotel that was very modern for the period with

winning chefs working with open

manners in which to introduce

its hundred and fifty rooms, fifty private bathrooms and a building

fire. The new Bar du Grill became

them to ours.”

benefitting from electrical lighting throughout. It even had six

a highly popular destination in

telephone booths.

itself for cocktails and lounge

With 4500 rooms and suites,

54 | Endeavour Magazine

meals. There’s still live music and dancing and for those seeking something simpler they can visit Italian restaurant Gildo’s name after the Gstaad Palaces first Maitre d Hôtel.

IN 2007, after a construction period of fifteen months, the existing Palace Spa was extended by 1,300 m2 to feature an authentic and luxurious decor, breath taking views and state of the art facilities for an extraordinary wellness centre. Along with this project an additional underground garage with fifty four spaces for the employees was built underneath the tennis courts.

“After a century the Gstaad Palace is still family owned by the Scherz family who are directors,” Stefan explains, “This has created a home grown legacy which has attracted the attention of many celebrities including the notoriously discerning comedian and actor Peter Sellers.”

The current plans are to further develop their tourist draw aimed at the winter season of course with a promotion including ski-school lessons for every five nights staying at the hotel. On-going renovations and investments in the hotel will boost the wireless technology and security to coincide with the unparalleled comfort. And as far as the location is concerned, you can view their real-time webcam on their website to see a full 360 degree view of the surrounding area.

“Flawless quality, that’s what people expect,” Stefan concludes.

“After a century the Gstaad Palace is still family owned by the Scherz family who are directors,. This has created a home grown legacy which has attracted the attention of many celebrities including the notoriously discerning comedian and actor Peter Sellers.”

Endeavour Magazine | 55

BAPCO 00973 1775 3273 WWW.BAPCO.NET

56 | Endeavour Magazine

BAPCO (Bahrain Petroleum Company) is a whole owned government entity of Bahrain, engaged in the oil industry sectors including exploration and prospecting for oil, drilling, production, refining, distribution and sales. We spoke with the Manager of Supply and Marine, Khalid EBrahim Buhazza.

Oil is one of Bahrain’s main resources and has been since the 1930s and had since then made the country, which is also known for its mild winters and hot humid summers, a highly modernized and functional country. BAPCO owns a 250,000 barrel-a-day refinery, storage facilities for more than 14 million barrels, a marketing terminal and a marine terminal for its petroleum products.

DEFINING

A Nation WRITTEN BY SIMON TAM

Endeavour Magazine | 57

BAPCO

“Oil was discovered in Bahrain in 1932, the first such find on the Arabian side of the Gulf,” Khalid opens up, “And in many way this has defined Bahrain to the international community and since the late 20th century there have been attempts to diversify our economy and become less dependent on oil by investing in the banking and tourism sectors.

However, Bahrain is still an oil rich nation.”

W

ith a catalogue of customers for the crude oil and

Field and the remainder is pumped from Saudi Arabia in pipelines

refined products based in the Middle East, India, the Far

extending 27 kilometres over land and a further 27 kilometres under

East, South East Asia and Africa about 95% of refined

the sea before reaching the northwest of Bahrain.

products are exported beyond their boarders. In this regard BAPCO’s

Marketing: BAPCO exports crude oil to world markets and sells

main push is to collaborate and engage in all aspects of the petroleum

the refined petroleum products locally and internationally. It also

and related industries, with the aim of maximizing contribution to the

supplies and sells aviation fuel at the Bahrain International Airport

national economy.

through its affiliate, The Bahrain Aviation Fuelling Company (BAFCO),

Handling such a vital resource to the country BAPCO have pledged

in which the company is a 60% shareholder. They also provide the full

themselves to be the pinnacle example of a business. Creating value

requirements of natural gas to the power generating plants and other

for their shareholders, customers and employees and constantly

industries in the country.

driving for excellence have become the watchwords of their day.

Training & Development: delivering an ambitious human resource

“Our values define us,” Khalid explains, “We must all keep a

development programme to ensure that the skills of its workforce

business attitude, a deep respect for each other, a willingness for

match the technological and business demands of this new century,

teamwork, integrity, innovation and personal accountability. Like this

BAPCO supports over 150 students in higher education across

the individual may strengthen himself and thereby strengthen his

Bahrain and abroad. The Training and Development Department

company.”

ensures that the present and future employees are at the level required to support the company’s future endeavours and ambitions.

Hands On Approach

“One of our key areas is quality management which we have taken

Today the oil industry is one of the most competitive sectors in the

very seriously,” he tells us, “This ensures our internal and external

world and it does not forgive errors so to promote excellence, BAPCO

customers have high quality products that conform to the agreed

have taken the stance of separating the focusses of the company into

specifications and applicable regulatory requirements. Our Quality

different segments to offer a strong hands on approach.

Management System meets all ISO 9001 requirements and meet all

Exploration & Development: BAPCO carries out extensive studies on a continuous basis to explore, making use of the latest technology, techniques and methods, for new oil and gas reserves and to obtain more accurate data on the existing reserves.

standards along the manufacturing process.”

The Lube Based Oil Plant Project The winner of the Bahrain MEED Quality Awards for Projects, the

Drilling & Production: To maintain production from Bahrain Field

$314 million Bahrain Bapco Lube Base Oil Plant has been operational

at the optimum levels, advanced drilling techniques are applied to new

since March 2012 and is one of the primary focusses for BAPCO. And

wells as well as working over existing wells. As a result of increased

for good reason.

demand by the growing industrial base in Bahrain, BAPCO have

Mr. Kyung-Tae Kim, Vice President of Samsung Engineering was

expanded their gas facilities to increase the natural gas production

quoted on saying that the Lube Base Oil Plant was one of the largest

capacity.

of its type in the world and that the opening of the Lube Base Oil Plant

Refining: The Bahrain Refinery, which is one of the largest in the

provided a fresh impetus to business investments in the Kingdom of

Middle East and the oldest in the GCC refines over 250,000 barrels of

Bahrain, setting a new benchmark for the use of technology in the oil

crude every day. About one-sixth of this crude originates from Bahrain

and gas industry. It also boosted local employment, hiring 3000 new

58 | Endeavour Magazine

workers for the development phase, including 200 Bahraini nationals.

The production capacity of the Lube Base Oil Plant is 400,000 tonnes a year of Very High Viscosity Index (VHVI), Group III Lubricant

A Community Company At Heart

Base Oils, which are products that are in increasing demand in Europe

An integrated oil company,

and North America to meet the requirements of the next generation

BAPCO is committed to the

of lubricant performance and environmental standards. The

protection of the environment

manufacture of Group III lubricant base oils from the hydrocracker

and to the health and safety

bottoms stream using catalytic iso-dewaxing technology had been

of its employees, contractors,

found to be financially attractive to Bahrain.

customers and the surrounding community, believing that these

Sulfur Recovery And Modification Project Scheduled for completion in early 2014, the Sulfur Recover and Modication Project of Bahrain’s Refinery’s #3 Sulfur Recovery Unit contract has been awarded to a Technip France and the new project will be expected to ensure that #3SRU is capable of safely burning sour water stripper off gas and become a viable spare for the new #4SRU. Vaseem Khan, senior vice-president of Technip in the Middle East, said, “Technip has a vast experience in managing complex brownfield EPC projects and is, therefore, best suited to execute this contract, with an aggressive fast-track schedule regarding ready for start-up and commissioning phases.”

are integral parts of its business and culture. Bahrain is rich in it’s natural heritage, the archipelago playing home to more than three hundred species of bird, mammals

and

sealife

which

BAPCO is heavily involved in protecting and relocating where necessary.

“We are a modern country but that does not mean we want to lose our natural heritage.”

Endeavour Magazine | 59

COEGA DEV CORP 0027 41 403 0400 WWW.COEGA.CO.ZA

60 | Endeavour Magazine

Simunye.

WORKING TOGETHER TO SUCCEED

WRITTEN BY JACK SLATER

In a relatively short time, the CDC, as custodians of a major development project, has managed to build on significant achievements year-on-year. There are now a number of noteworthy investors – including major foreign direct investors – moving into the Coega IDZ, a purpose-built industrial area equipped with world-class infrastructure to attract and retain local and international investment.

Endeavour Magazine | 61

COEGA DEV CORP

Currently, the Coega IDZ is home to 22 operational investors. A further R7.5-billion in investment is in the implementation stage.

Projects in the negotiation stage are valued at R8.1-billion and those under feasibility account for R116.3-billion. Four investors are currently in the construction phase and it is likely that, by the end of 2014, the Coega IDZ will boast 27 operational investors with a number of additional investors under construction by that time.

I

n terms of timelines, from 1999 to 2002 the IDZ underwent a

the future and plan an industrial future for the Nelson Mandela Bay

formalization process which included rezoning, EIA’s and meeting

Municipality. The CDC is already well on the way to achieving that

other regulatory requirements. At that point, what is now the

goal in the short time it has been operational.

IDZ was an expanse of land that was not particularly suitable for

The Coega IDZ is demarcated into 14 zones and is specifically

agricultural activity and fell outside of the old Nelson Mandela Bay

designed along the cluster model, linking related industries and their

[Port Elizabeth] municipal boundaries and, as such, did not have any

supply chains in close proximity to one another to maximise efficiency

municipal services in place. The construction phase ran from 2002-

and minimise turnaround times. The Coega IDZ boasts the following

2005 when the bulk municipal services were put in place.

clusters:

The IDZ attracted its first investor (Dynamic Commodities) in

• Commercial and logistics;

2007 and another five investors that year. It is reasonable then, that

• Automotive and auto components;

the measurement of investment must be from the point of attraction

• Light industry;

of the first investor. Since then, 22 investors have become operational

• Training/academic;

in the IDZ and a growing number of investors are in the pipeline. This

• Metals and metallurgy;

is in spite of several challenges, including the European debt crisis

• Chemicals;

and electricity shortages, delaying committed projects in the wake of

• Energy;

funding scarcities and reduced commitments from power suppliers.

• Agro-processing (aquaculture, food packaging

The Coega IDZ’s development trajectory should not be evaluated

and food processing);

against the short time it has been operational, it should be measured

• Mari-culture and coastal; and

in decades, which was the instruction from the national department

• Airport and air logistics.

of trade and industry (the dti) at the onset – to look 50-75 years into

The IDZ attracted its first investor (Dynamic Commodities) in 2007 and another five investors that year.

62 | Endeavour Magazine

Endeavour Magazine | 63

COEGA DEV CORP

The Coega IDZ has world-class, purpose-built infrastructure to

and Health in the Eastern Cape

competencies

suit every investor’s needs. When the IDZ was built, it was established

and the Department of Education

performance excellence.

on the plug-and-play model to cut out long construction periods

in KwaZulu-Natal, where it is able

and connectivity issues. As a result, once the investor has finished

to put specialist skills – and the

staff training and development

construction of its own building, it’s all systems go.

experience of establishing the

is

IDZ – into action across the two

purpose

provinces to ensure that critical

the

infrastructure is delivered to

to develop its talent pool to

communities.

meet the required critical skills

Principle Business Activities The CDC’s principal mandate is to attract and retain investment

in an effort to both share its knowledge capital and drive socioeconomic development in the Eastern Cape, while simultaneously

significant

set

aside is

to

budget

for for

annually.

The

ensure

that

organisation

continues

and leadership competencies

in the Coega IDZ but the CDC expanded its service offering in 2009 to a number of public sector clients, mainly government departments,

A

necessary

to carry out and deliver the

The Staff

strategy of the organisation.

The CDC is a knowledge-

include the development of

This was possible since the CDC boasts one of the highest

organisation with its competitive

core technical skills, as well as

concentrations of highly qualified and experienced staff in the

advantage dependent on the

leadership

province and arguably ranks favourably with the best of the best in its

dynamic capabilities of its human

skills. In addition to individual

class nationally including a range of engineering professionals, project

capital.

talent

study programmes, the CDC

managers and quantity surveyors. The Coega project was founded by

management is the primary focus

coordinates corporate employee

and continues to be managed by these specialists. The wealth of in-

of its human capital strategy

development

house skills has resulted in it managing major infrastructure projects

hence the competency model

project management (PMBoK

on behalf of the Departments of Roads and Public Works, Education

focuses on critical organisational

and Prince 2). This enables staff

64 | Endeavour Magazine

based

professional

Training programmes supported

service

diversifying income streams through project management fees.

Consequently,

and

management

programmes

in

and interns to attain their and targeted high potential employees to participate in targeted executive training programmes.

The CDC also has a thriving intern programme which continues to contribute positively towards skills development and employment creation for unemployed talented graduates of the Eastern Cape, thereby improving their chances of attaining employment in the highly competitive labour market.

The CDC has built up a thriving corporate social investment (CSI) programme dedicated to pursuing socio-economic transformation, cognisant of the provincial and societal challenges which hamper real development in the Eastern Cape. As a result, the CDC’s CSI initiatives are geared to meet certain strategic shortfalls by focusing on education, training and human development specifically.

The Customers The Coega IDZ already offers the best of the best and is South Africa’s premier investment destination. This is built into the IDZ offering, which is uniquely geared to ensure competitiveness and

A significant budget for staff training and development is set aside annually. The purpose is to ensure that the organisation continues to develop its talent pool to meet the required critical skills and leadership competencies to carry out and deliver the strategy of the organisation.

quality – not only in terms of services but also infrastructure and spatial planning to enhance IDZ investors’ competitiveness and supply chain linkages and integration, while lowering the costs of doing business and maximizing incentive support.

Endeavour Magazine | 65

COEGA DEV CORP

The IDZ offers these key features: • Clustering for synergy and supply chain integration; • Facilitation of access to government incentives (local, provincial and national).

The suite of incentives includes but is not limited to one-time and/ or recurring grants for:

o Skills development;

o Export marketing (new market development);

o Job creation (national and provincial grants can be accessed concurrently);

o Foreign investment (compensated for the qualifying costs of moving new

o Investing/re-investing in productive assets; and

o Black business development.

machinery and equipment (excluding vehicles) from abroad);

• Customized solutions for investors, e.g. serviced sites, fit-for purpose buildings; • The IDZ is served by two ports, and characterised by a close distance to the deep water Port of Ngqura, which is in Zone 1 of the Coega IDZ; • Facilities for skills development (with personnel to provide customised solutions); • Custom-controlled areas; • Environmental assistance (where applicable); • Advanced infrastructure; • Plug and play approach; • Marketing and other value-added services; and • ICT services base infrastructure: infrastructure which allows for the connectivity of voice /data/ internet and video services up to the tenants’ premises. Provision of shared broadband Internet connectivity by Coega Communication. Primary (disk) and Secondary (backup) file based storage provision.

66 | Endeavour Magazine

2013/2014 And Beyond

with the inclusion of the direct,

wind towers per year.

indirect and induced impact.

The developmental impacts

The impact on the Eastern Cape

can be viewed in the context

Also, lobbying for key priority projects remains an active part

Provincial GDP is 0.16 per cent

of the enabling infrastructure

of the CDC’s goals to attract major investment into the Coega IDZ.

with the total number of jobs

that unlocks the wind tower

These include:

created during the construction

manufacturing

A number of investors are being courted in pursuit of the annual target of signing eight new investors.

facility.

This

1.

An oil refinery, Project Mthombo, led by PetroSA;

and operational phases sitting

is pivotal, particularly for the

2.

Renewable energy projects; and

at 1951, of which 23 per cent

Coega IDZ and the integrated

Combined Cycle Gas Turbine power station.

will be as a result of operational

distribution

activity. The benefits to the local

deep-water port, logistics, and

economy will penetrate beyond

freight transport solutions) that

the local skilled jobs and training

links to downstream industry

to include logistics opportunities

creation for enterprises and

and

chain

service providers. The CDC

3.

When Will The Current DCD Wind Tower Factory Project Be Completed?

The wind tower manufacturing facility is a joint initiative between

additional

value thus

channel

(Ngqura

the DCD Group, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and

opportunities,

creating

believes that DCD’s investment

the CDC. DCD Wind Towers officially started construction work

a new industry in the Eastern

will assist in complementing the

on its R300-million, 23 000m2 wind tower manufacturing facility in

Cape. The facility is expected

overall strategy of the national

March 2013. The macro-economic impact of the total investment

to create close to 200 jobs, and

government

within IDZ will be R239-million for construction and operation,

produce between 110 and 120

primary energy sources.

to

diversify

its

The Coega IDZ already offers the best of the best and is South Africa’s premier investment destination. This is built into the IDZ offering, which is uniquely geared to ensure competitiveness and quality – not only in terms of services but also infrastructure and spatial planning to enhance IDZ investors’ competitiveness and supply chain linkages and integration, while lowering the costs of doing business and maximizing incentive support.

Endeavour Magazine | 67

MM INTEGRATED STEEL MILLS 00256 753 773 300 WWW.MMISTEELSUGANDA.COM

68 | Endeavour Magazine

WRITTEN BY JACK SLATER

STEEL THE

Best

In a country keen to join the international level for production and manufacturing of steel, and once regarded as the industrial heartbeat of Uganda, Jinja could have a new lease of life with the emergence of MM Integrated Steel Uganda Limited, one of the leading manufacturers of steel in the region. In fact Uganda’s first steel coating manufacturing plant is going strength to strength thanks to a £50 million investment into establishing itself in Jinja as a state of the art manufacturing plant.

We spoke with CEO Narendra Jain about it all.

Endeavour Magazine | 69

MM INTEGRATED STEEL MILLS

“This is the first plant of its kind in Uganda,” Narendra tells us, “There are no other plants here doing these processes which gives us an advantageous lead. All other sheet metal providers are importing galvanised and colour coils, but we are able to produce them here, which makes it much more cost effective.”

Quote

S

et to produce 50, 000 metric tons of steel products a year including iron bars, iron sheets and storage tanks the plant directly employs 1,800 people and the company has been

earmarked for an additional investment of $600million in the next five-years which will no doubt further increase the number of employees.

“The factory is no ordinary establishment. It’s large in all measure.

It consumes 5 mega watts of power at over Shs 210million per month, tapped from the Madhvani feed to the national greed. The 3 kilometre line was non-existent so MMI had to connect it. They use Shs10million worth of water from National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) and are currently employing 220 workers,” said Narendra.

The employees have all been brought in from local areas and training has been made a priority to ensure that every person involved in the project is functioning at their best. All eyes are on them and they need to impress.

Rejuvenating The Economy Amerlia Kyambade, the Minister for Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, toured the factory earlier this year and acknowledged the management as heroes for recharging economic activity in the area and the country as a whole.

“I would like to commend the proprietors of this steel mill for the contribution towards the economic development of our country and I hope that we as Ugandans shall gain more in terms of revenue collection and employment,” said the minister, adding that her ministry was in plans of drafting policies through the stake holder’s consultations to help local industries grow.

70 | Endeavour Magazine

Clearing + Forwarding +Transport + Insurance Brokerage

Diversification In Tough Economies As a family run business, MMI began its story in Tanzania 17 years ago and while its main focus is steel, the company believes a diversified approach is best and have set a footing into other industry sectors including hotels, carbonated drinks, plastics and paints.

The steel business began growing in Africa when they invested $50 million in a new manufacturing facility in Lusaka, Zambia, which became operational in 2010. The Ugandan plant followed and by

The one stop house for a complete logistical solution

the end of 2014 another new plant will be established in Nacala, Mozambique.

Their strategy was to establish facilities in what are essentially new and ripe markets. So, while the Ugandan business will primarily sell 60-65% of its products to the domestic market, it is exporting the rest to the regional countries including Eastern Congo Rwanda, Burundi in the hoping of establishing connections and trade routes in the South Sudan markets..

Narendra said, “In terms of the finished product and the quality we are aiming to be the best in the industry and because we are producing everything in-house we are able to meet customer’s specific requirements, whereas in the past they may have had to wait two or three months for their product to be imported, which was

Offices in Mombasa, Mariakani, Nairobi (Kenya) & Kampala ( Uganda) +254 41 2230498 | +254 41 2230375 +254 735 511164 | +254 723 244444

much more expensive for them,”

Networking, Networking, Networking MMI Uganda have already set up a nationwide network of distributors and dealers as part of their long term strategy.

“The person on the ground is who we are mostly selling our product to; the local contractor or people who are building their own houses through our distributors and stockists. Large corporations aren’t our target market so our distribution chain has grown fast in the last year,” Narendra explains, “With our network touching on every corner of the country the people of Uganda have taken to our products which has boosted our belief that we have made the right decisions.”

Forward Thinking And Opportunistic Forward thinking, despite it not being a part of it’s corporate policy as is the case in many international businesses, MMI have taken to make the new factory as state-of-the-art as possible and as sustainable as possible, “Where ever there are green issues we take care of them,” Narendra says.

Along with expansion of the steel business, the parent company is also considering expanding its hotel and other businesses to Uganda which is proven to be a hotbed for business development and fertile soil for new investments and ideas.

“Our parent company operates some of the best hotels in Tanzania and we are looking at that as part of our diversification into Uganda.

We’ve also started building an iron mining plant in conjunction with the Tanzanian government,” concludes Narendra.

Endeavour Magazine | 71

PRODUCTIVE SYSTEMS LTD 0027 12 661 1250 PROSYS@IAFRICA.COM

72 | Endeavour Magazine

WRITTEN BY DON CAMPBELL

INNOVATION In Production It is all in the presentation. Today the name of the game in any industry is high quality and top end service. If you want to stay in the game and ahead of the competition then you had better make sure that you are firing on all cylinders and that you can provide the whole package.

Endeavour Magazine | 73

PRODUCTIVE SYSTEMS LTD

Founded in 1989 as a CC and registered as a pty(Ltd) in 1994 Productive Systems (Pty)Ltd have seen the landscape of their homeland South Africa shift and change politically, economically and socially and yet are still the leader in their innings. I caught up with Marketing Director Stefan Schonfeldt to find out how.

“A

t the start we were focussed on doing automation of

that is home to the whole company from administration to design, to

any kind,” Stefan opens up, “But since 1994 the focus

manufacturing.

has shifted to predominantly the plastics industry and in

“Deadlines and targets are very important,” he points out, “We

particular to the blow moulding down-stream automation for empty

have our own designed database that keeps track of each and every

plastic bottles; PVC, HDPE and PET as well as plastic caps.”

part manufactured. During the design process each part of a project

And there is certainly the demand for their products with exports

is allocated a part number and this part is tracked throughout the

arriving at all corners of the globe including places like New Zealand,

manufacturing process, each step in the manufacturing cycle up to

Australia, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai Saudi Arabia, Lebanon,

delivery to the assembly team. This system allow us to keep track of

Cyprus, Belgium and Panama. They have also established a very firm

each part in order to stay within delivery target dates.”

footprint within their home African continent. Considering each

One of the main focuses is by offering a turn-key system

customer’s individual needs and preferences it is a telling suggestion

that excludes the need for third party involvement allowing their

that Productive Systems Ltd is one of the busiest companies in their

customers the freedom and trust to use their products without any

field.

complications.

The core activity of the company is the design, manufacturing, installing and commissioning of production lines with the focus on their key areas.

Employees

“Currently our focus is still on the blow moulding industry and

“Currently we have forty people employed,” Stefan says proudly,

injection moulding,” Stefan explains, “We have also expanded in

“And every one of them is worth their weight in gold. We have a

automating the food and beverage industry.”

database in place that tracks parts and also includes the performance

Operating from their base in Centurion, on the outskirts of

of the employee through this process.”

Johannesburg in the Gauteng Province, they have set themselves

Internal training programs in the different departments

deep within the economic hub of South Africa. From here, an

from assembling of machinery, designing as well as electrical and

extensive in-house organization runs within their 3,000sq.m facility

programming training is offered as norm, Stefan indicates, training

“We believe in supplying our customers with machinery that improves their production output.”

74 | Endeavour Magazine

Endeavour Magazine | 75

PRODUCTIVE SYSTEMS LTD

is more important now than ever before. With this in mind Productive

Systems

makes

The Customers “We believe in supplying our customers with machinery that improves their production output,” Stefan declares, “Ensuring them

use of students from the local

return on investment. Due to the fact that we service a wide range

technicons and colleges to offer

of customers that require a variety of machinery we experience

the opportunity for them to gain

different automation solutions that we are able to “cross reference” in

valuable practical training and

order to offer our customers proven but unique solutions.”

the equipment to perform 100%.”

“Our strategy is simple,” he continues, “And that is to innovate.

Our

slogan

is

“productivity

through innovation” and that is what we stand by. On each and

A wide range of equipment is also available that allows them to

every machine we manufacture

“Our business is of such

often supply their customers with complete lines whereas they might

we implement improvements

nature

have had to source equipment from two or more different suppliers

through our experience from the

where the “shifting the blame” scenario could make the efficiency of

last similar project. So although

the line less reliable.

we do have standard equipment,

experience. a

machines for months but expect

employed

that

the

already

persons

have

the

required qualifications and this is a pre-requisite,” he points

Speaking with Stefan it’s clear that they pride themselves for their

there would always be slight

offerings

aftersales service believing that this is essential to the equipment

changes and improvements that

are specialised and requires

they supply. Maintenance Contracts are offered to all customers that

are implemented.”

highly

are catered specifically to their requirements and to the amount and

out,

“Our

product

skilled

persons.

We

however do internal training to

type of equipment they have.

An example of this is their success in Saudi Arabia where they

have

competed

with

give new employees a better

“We always use this example – If your car needs to go for a service

understanding of what we do and

every 15,000km and you drive your car 100km/hour 24hours per day

suppliers from the USA, Europe

how we do it.”

you need to service your car every 6.25 days. Our machinery runs 24

and from local suppliers and

hours 7 days a week and often the customers do not service these

although their machinery is

76 | Endeavour Magazine

not the most economically priced they get repeat business as their solution is more flexible, yet better equipped to handle the customers production and individual needs.

2013/2014 And Beyond One example of future developments: “We have traditionally offered our customers a bagging machine that is semi-automatic, in other words where the operator hooked a pre-formed bag onto bag clamps manually,” he describes, “We are currently developing a system that makes a bag from a plastic roll, that bags the bottles and seals the bag automatically.”

Additionally there is a shift of focus in their domestic market to expand their product offerings to the food and beverage industry and

The Leading

Manufacturer of Conveyor Components

and Modular Conveyor Chains

in South Africa

they are exploring new markets into South America, Middle East and Africa as their believe these markets are developing their industries in which they are focussing their business.

“The above will open new customers for us allowing us to offer them our collective experiences for a better automation solution.

On all of this we have invested substantial time, money and staff into these growth points and are firmly dedicated in their success,” Stefan concludes.

nusaf.co.za +27 (11) 885 2523 - Johannesburg +27 (21) 905 1700 - Cape Town +27 (31) 468 7204 - Durban

Endeavour Magazine | 77

SWAKOP URANIUM 002 646 1419 600/651 WWW.SWAKOPURANIUM.COM.NA

78 | Endeavour Magazine

BEING THE Best In The Business WITH THE BEST NAME WRITTEN BY DAEMON SANDS

The Husab Project was officially kicked off on 18 April 2013 with a ground-breaking ceremony on the mine

Endeavour Magazine | 79

SWAKOP URANIUM

Swakop Uranium was established in 2006 to explore, evaluate, develop and produce uranium oxide (U3O8) as a source of fuel conversion for low- cost, environmentally-friendly, nuclear power.

The Husab Project which was officially kicked off on 18th April 2013 is set to be their main vehicle for their future success. We spoke with Corporate Director Grant Marais about it.

T

here is a lot of interest surrounded the Husab Project which is by far the largest ventue Swakop Uranium has undertaken.

“The 8 km uranium mineralisation on the Swakop Uranium

Exclusive Prospecting Licence (EPL) area has been confirmed as the

SECURITY WITH INTEGRITY

highest-grade, granite-hosted uranium deposit in Namibia and one of the world’s most significant discoveries in decades,” Grant tells us, “The mine has a potential life of more than 20 years, with uranium reserves

OMEGA

of at least 280 million tonnes. There are furthermore opportunities to increase the reserve base by adding the defined resources at Zones 3

S e c u r i t y S e r v i c e s to 5, and through building on promising exploration results.”

Omega is setting the standard by moving away from a one-dimensional service towards focusing on integrated security solutions that entail the combination of a well diversified service offering.

Please visit our website or get in touch to find out more.

Husab mine is located near the town of Swakopmund in the Erongo region in western-central Namibia and once in full production, Husab, which has the potential to produce 15 million pounds (6 800 tonnes) of uranium oxide per annum, will be the second-largest uranium mine in the world. This is a mammoth discovery as the the world’s largest uranium mine, McArthur River in Canada, can produce up to 18 million pounds per annum.

Employees “Given the potential of the Husab site,” Grant explains, “Swakop Uranium is poised to become a substantial contributor to the

T: +264 (0) 61 418400 F: +264 (0) 61 256105 johanv@omegasol.com www.omegasol.com

Namibian economy and its local communities.”

No argument there. With a spot price of US$ 65/lb, a production rate of 15,5 million pounds per annum and an exchange rate of N$10 to the US dollar, Swakop Uranium will have an annual turnover of US$1-billion. Furthermore, it will contribute 5% to the Namibian

80 | Endeavour Magazine

Gross Domestic Product, 20% to the country’s merchandise exports

“Swakop Uranium also helped to acquire land from the

and generate up to N$1 700-million per year in Government revenue.

Swakopmund Municipality for a new school that will open its doors

“The project will also create more than 6 000 temporary jobs

in Swakopmund in 2015,” Grant goes on to tell us, “Close on five

during construction and about 1 800 permanent operational job

hundred hungry minds, waiting to absorb new knowledge, will now

opportunities,” Grant adds, “This will increase the number of people

have a chance to benefit from some of the best education in the area.”

employed in the mining sector by approximately seventeen percent,”

While the major contracts on the project will be with international

According to a socio-economic study done on the Husab Project,

companies, Swakop Uranium remains committed to encouraging

eight to ten spin-off jobs will be created per permanent employee,

spend with Namibian companies through a variety of means. In

which means that through the affiliated industries including

parallel with the construction of the Husab mine, the Swakop Uranium

logistics, packaging, equipment manufacturing, hardware, software,

management team in Namibia have pledged to assemble and train the

recruitment and health and safety to name but a few, up to 16 000

operational team to ensure that the company is ready to operate the

permanent jobs will be created by and as a result of the Husab Project.

mine once construction is completed and the mine is commissioned.

Even more impressively, Swakop Uranium has furthermore committed itself to social and empowerment aspects such as local

The Owners

procurement where possible, local recruitment, involvement in

Grant explains that until April 2012, Swakop Uranium was a

social responsibility programmes, training, education and sound

100% subsidiary of Extract Resources, an Australian company listed

environmental management practices.

on the Australian, Canadian and Namibian stock exchanges. During

The Swakop Uranium Foundation manifests its commitment

April 2012, Taurus Minerals Limited of Hong Kong became the new

to supporting the Erongo region and Namibia. The Foundation has,

owners following a successful takeover of Extract Resource who have

among others, provided funding to Ellie’s Vegetable and Flower

delisted since then.

Garden, based in the town of Arandis near the Husab mine; and

Taurus, an entity owned by China General Nuclear Power

pledged support towards the construction of a girls’ dormitory at the

Company (CGNPC) Uranium Resources Co. Ltd. and the China-Africa

Tears of Hope orphanage in Swakopmund.

Development Fund, have been pursuing Swakop Uranium’s Husab

HPJV

HUSAB PROJECT JOINT VENTURE

Endeavour Magazine | 81

SWAKOP URANIUM

orebody since 2011, first by successfully launching a takeover bid

also commissioned environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies

for Extract’s majority shareholder, Kalahari Minerals plc, hich owned

on both the mine and the linear infrastructure, the latter of which

43% of Extract. This was followed by a US$2,2-billion takeover offer

comprised the roads to the mine, as well as the water pipeline, the

for Extract, which the Extract independent directors recommended

power lines and the telecommunication network.”

their shareholders to accept.

CGNPC’s investment in Swakop Uranium not only marked the biggest in Namibia since the country’s independence, but also by far the single biggest investment by China in Africa. More than US$ 100-million (N$1-billion) was spent to get the project to the construction phase and a further US$2-billion (N$20-billion) will be required to bring the Husab Project to fruition.

In November 2012, the Namibian state-owned mining company, Epangelo, and Swakop Uranium finalised an agreement for the subscription of a 10% stake in Swakop Uranium in a deal valued at N$1,882-billion (US$226-million). At the signing ceremony, Mr Zheng Keping, CEO of Swakop Uranium, said the Husab Project has been brought to this stage of development in record time by a dedicated and professional management team, engineers and staff.

“We are proud to confirm that more than N$1-billion has already been spent to get the project to its current state. Our budgets estimate a further N$20-billion will be required to bring the project to fruition,” he said.

Environmental Protection Swakop Uranium operates within the Namib Naukluft National Park and takes considerable care to preserve the fragile ecosystem that exists on the Husab site and along the infrastructure routes to site. The drought-tolerant Camelthorns (Vachellia erioloba) and Welwitschias provide potentially useful long-term records of changes in the desert climate. Although reading the growth rings of old trees (dendochronology) can give much information regarding climate and climatic trends during a time when these were not yet scientifically recorded, this is not as easy to do on the soft-stemmed Welwitschia as on the extremely hard-wooded Camelthorn.

Swakop Uranium supported a study to analyse the oldest part of the Camelthorns, the centre or heartwood, to have the material carbon-dated. Making use of Radiocarbon or carbon 14 dating of dead plant tissue is an excellent way to measure their age and therefor determine the scale and extent of the area’s age and diversity. The Namibian MET approved the project and issued a research permit

Husab Project “The geological reasoning behind The Husab Project,” Grant explains, “Is that similar rock formations to those hosting the Rössing Mine to the north were interpreted to be concealed beneath the desert plain in the northern part of Swakop Uranium’s EPL area.”

The discovery holes were drilled in late 2007; the chemical assay results for the three discovery holes were returned from the

and core samples were sent to a radiocarbon dating laboratory in the United States. Each sampled tree was carefully documented and the drilled holes filled with polyurethane foam before being sealed with silicone. The results were unexpected and very interesting and scientific papers are currently being published.

Conclusion

laboratory in early 2008 and released to the market in February 2008.

Cementing its place as one of the largest resource drilling projects

“These results prompted, Extract Resources who were Swakop

globally, Swakop Uranium has completed almost 800 000 metres (or

Uranium’s majority shareholders at the time, to commission a

800 km) of combined reverse circulation and diamond core drilling

definitive feasibility study (DFS), which formally commenced in April

from April 2006 when the drilling programme started. The Husab

2009. The DFS process involved more than 20 specialist international

mine, is set to make Swakop Uranium one of the household names

consulting groups who spent many thousands of hours on the study.

in the industry and the commissioning activities are planned to start

The DFS results were released to the market in April 2011. Extract

towards the end of 2015.

82 | Endeavour Magazine

Endeavour Magazine | 83

TSL GROUP 001 868 628 9330 WWW.THETSLGROUP.COM

84 | Endeavour Magazine

WRITTEN BY JACK SLATER

FOLLOWING THE House Rules

“There are six pillars to TSL Group that have fashioned the way we conduct our business,” Nicholas opens up with, “These cover Network Infrastructure, Data Center Services, Enterprise and SME Solutions, Payment Solutions, Print Services and Core Values.”

Endeavour Magazine | 85

TSL GROUP

In a nutshell, the TSL Group provide a broad range of information technology services to customers. Founded in 1979, they provide hardware, software, networking, consulting, project management, and a full range of technology solutions to meet the diverse needs of their clients. Offering networking and network security, encoding cards systems and services, point of sale terminals, digital court recording solutions, network forensic auditing services to integrated human resource solutions. We caught up with Chief Executive Officer, Nicholas Galt to discuss the core values of his company.

O

ne of the biggest

want access to their applications

changes

the

and data any time, any place on

modern

of

business

and any device,” Nicholas says,

landscape is the migration of

“The reach of the end user has

users moving further away from

gone beyond the walls of the

the corporate office and partners

organization and with our strong

having access to applications and

foundation in networking and

data. Network security, network

the alignment we have to our key

analysis and network design have

strategic partners allows us to

become key to the survival of an

provide our customers with an

optimal and healthy corporate

accessibility between user and

network. And it falls down to

application/data.”

companies such as the TSL

Ultimately, the heart of the IT

Group to provide the expertise

super-industry has transformed

and the partners to plan, design,

from one that was geared

manage and analyze the network

towards

to ensure the adaptation to the

one that is now agile and has to

ever changing requirements is a

keep up with the ever changing

smooth and supported one.

needs of both the users and the

“The users of the future 86 | Endeavour Magazine

business.

data

processing

to

Endeavour Magazine | 87

TSL GROUP

“From data design to deployment using technologies such as

stop shop they’ve increased their

and card personalization systems

virtualization,” Nicholas says, “The TSL Group can assist with this new

pull of clients looking for plug and

and on the Acquiring side we

transformation to ensure that your business improves it’s competitive

play solutions.

provide both Front End and Back

advantage.”

“We

align

our

people,

end systems,” Nicholas tells us.

With the centralizing of key data and applications within the

technology, services and strategic

There is still a high number

confines of the data centre, and with standards (such as TIA-942)

alliances to your business goals,”

of printing needs required by

being applied, The TSL Group has become one of the key go-to-

Nicholas elaborates, “And, we

the clients of TSL Group, being

companies can assist in the evolution, creation or migration of

partner with our clients to

one of the very last things that

existing data centres to one that is geared towards being adaptive

provide

customer

will fall by the wayside after the

and responsive.

solutions that accelerate their

digital revolution takes over.

success.”

From Managed Print Services

“Our certified professionals coupled with our best of breed

complete

TSL Group have been the

to outsourced printing, The TSL

leading provider for over 15

Group provide the widest range

With the proliferation of data that is created within each

years in the development of

of printing solutions to all types

organization, application and data management are key strategies

Payment Solutions in the English

of industries.

that have emerged as a result. The TSL Group have structured

and Dutch speaking areas of the

“For most persons in the

themselves to be offer the support companies require by providing

Caribbean and this encompasses

workplace printing is still an

solutions in infrastructure design, implementation, email and

both

integral part of their daily

collaboration, application consolidation and virtualization, time and

systems for the Financial Sector.

function,”

attendance, accounting applications and payroll outsourcing or in-

“On the Issuing side we

“Despite

house data-mining and reporting. Positioning themselves as a one

provide both data preparation

partners allow us to continuously provide successful implementations,” Nicholas points out.

88 | Endeavour Magazine

Issuing

and

Acquiring

Nicholas this,

little

explains, or

no

attention is given to this critical

area. We can make recommendations that will result in savings and increased efficiencies, we also provide print solutions for Data Centres, Commercial Printers, Engineers, Architects, and Graphic Artists.”

The TSL Group stands out against a landscape of other service providers in their area by their attention to their core values, the final segment in their six pillars. These identify them as a key partner to finding long standing solutions and the development of business, someone you can trust and rely upon.

While watchwords like Integrity, Fairness, Innovation, Resolution and Empathy may be thrown around to impress potential clients and partners the TSL Group have enforced them as a series of house rules which all employees and partners have to adhere to. This has created a force to be reckoned with in their industry and left an enviable impression upon their clients.

“We do business and treat clients and situations in an open and honest manner and endeavour to understand how our actions impact others and to increase participation through consultation and effective discourse in order to provide an uplifting experience of all who interact with us.” Nicholas concludes.

VERIFONE. THE INDUSTRY LEADER FOR THIRT Y YEARS. A P P A R E N T LY, T I M E D O E S N ’ T CHANGE EVERYTHING. VeriFone offers advantages no one else can, beginning with a proven track record of reliability, innovation and service. With a focus on future-ready technology, VeriFone consistently meets market demands. Fully secure. Completely reliable. Stable pricing. All backed by solid, consistent support. And with roots this strong, VeriFone’s continued leadership and growth can be counted on for many years to come.

Rely on VeriFone, the global leader in secure, electronic payment solutions for 30 years. © 2013 VeriFone, Inc. All rights reserved.

www.verifone.com

Endeavour Magazine | 89

TRANSUNION SA 27 11 214 6000 WWW.TRANSUNION.CO.ZA

90 | Endeavour Magazine

TransUnion is a global leader in credit and information management and with more than 100 years of local experience is also Africa’s leading provider of integrated credit-related solutions for both consumers and commercial businesses.

TransUnion’s South Africa operations maintain histories on more than 8 million consumers and support 500 000 credit active businesses, enhancing business efficiencies and empowering the economy. With more than 800 associates throughout the region, TransUnion specializes in bringing together comprehensive data intelligence and advanced analytics and decisioning, enabling both consumers and businesses to achieve their financial objectives. Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Chicago, TransUnion has employees in more than 30 countries.

SOMETHING YOU CAN’T GO Without WRITTEN BY DAEMON SANDS

Endeavour Magazine | 91

TRANSUNION SA

South African consumer credit health has “deteriorated” says TransUnion Credit Bureau’s CEO Geoff Miller, “Our index was influenced by two factors: the number of consumer loan accounts that have lapsed - meaning 90 days in arrears - grew by five percent year on year. In addition, we are seeing a rise in the use of credit cards on year over year basis with utilisation increasing eight percent in 2012.”

Quote

A

s a leader in credit and information management, TransUnion creates advantages for millions of people in South Africa and around the world by gathering, analysing

and delivering information.

For businesses, TransUnion helps improve efficiency, manage risk, reduce costs and increase revenue by delivering comprehensive data and advanced analytics, while for consumers, TransUnion provides the tools, resources and education to help manage their credit health and achieve their financial goals.

One of TransUnion’s core values is serving as a good corporate citizen and they are committed to supporting community organizations worldwide that share our vision of empowering individuals with educational initiatives on personal credit issues and the prevention, detection and resolution of credit fraud and identity theft.

Measuring Consumer Credit Health The SA Consumer Credit Index is compiled by TransUnion with technical support from ETM Analytics, and is released quarterly, usually in February, May, August and November. This is an indicator of consumer credit health, measured through Loan repayment records, use of revolving credit, an estimated household cash flow and the relative cost of servicing outstanding debt The indicator combines actual consumer borrowing and repayment behaviour with key macroeconomic variables impacting household finances. Its unique approach is to capture data about real world action, compared with the traditional method of capturing survey responses.

92 | Endeavour Magazine

With the right information you can increase the value of existing customers and understand the most profitable markets in your industry. At TransUnion, they combine credit information and advanced analytics to help identify and make the most of profitable opportunities. Their marketing models and analytic tools along with high-quality risk data and performance behaviour are able to help improve targeting, campaign execution and measurement throughout the customer credit lifecycle.

Here are some of the ways that TransUnion can help a customer reach the most profitable opportunities with customer segmentation and more targeted strategies:

Risk Management The choices that are made about risk affect the everyday running of business. TransUnion’s comprehensive information sources, sophisticated analytic and decision services, as well as monitoring and consulting services are put in place to help the customer manage risk more effectively with business customers or consumers.

The idea is simple: Make better, more profitable decisions. Reduce exposure at every stage of the customer credit lifecycle. Streamline your application processes and improve debtor management.

Endeavour Magazine | 93

TRANSUNION SA

Specialised solutions are available as well. For example, their Cheque Guarantee Service reduces risk at retail point of sale and they assist insurance companies to make consistent risk assessments before underwriting and lowering the cost of writing business. Their healthcare solutions enable healthcare services, providers and professionals to achieve greater efficiencies and make more informed financial decisions.

Fraud and Identity Management

Collections Management

outsourcing

solutions

as

is

needed.

As an example, businesses in the financial industry rely on collections to keep their operations flowing. Collecting more efficiently and profitably is a step that every business needs to ascend and companies

TransUnion

Analytic

Decision

Services

develop

customised

scoring

including

generic

solutions,

can

and also

scores for collections that are offered directly to customers.

Automobile Information Solutions

Protecting business and customers by taking the right measures

have to find a way to improve

at the right time is something every CEO or Managing Director has to

the flexibility and efficiency

take seriously. This can be accomplished by knowing the customers

of the processes and locate

and verifying their identities at the start of a transaction, thereby

debtors more effectively. To this

reducing the risks to the business while strengthening relationships

end, TransUnion’s Collections

themselves into every corner and

and building confidence in the brand.

Services give an end-to-end

niche of the industry, TransUnion

solution spanning the debtor

Auto Information Solutions is the

lifecycle.

only provider of current market

Improve profitability, reduce losses and reduce operational costs at every stage of your customer credit lifecycle.

Having

fully

integrated

Identifying fraud more efficiently at every stage of the customer

Working with the client they

values of used vehicles in South

credit lifecycle requires accurate and timely information and

can customize the solutions

Africa. Any and every vehicle

TransUnion use industry-specific solutions that includes sharing

to the client’s requirements,

buyer will attest the importance

information across businesses in an industry that helps all of them

integrating debtor management

of this information when buying

detect fraud quickly and proactively.

and

and selling vehicles.

94 | Endeavour Magazine

business

process

We maintain over 13 million vehicle profiles to access and verify a vehicle’s details and existence, and deliver a suite of solutions built on current, accurate and reliable vehicle data; advanced technology; and our proven expertise in managing e-business applications and processes.

Finally Ultimately, all of the services functioning from TransUnion help companies manage risk more effectively, increase their revenue and profits, streamline their business processes, and identify and manage fraud more efficiently.

In a country so determined to stand upon the same pedestal as the world’s other power houses and institutions yet so hindered by a history of corruption and under handedness by the so called leaders, TransUnion are that one nut and bolt of legitimacy, professionalism and certainty that cannot be ignored.

As a market leader in South Africa, we help businesses make objective decisions throughout the customer credit lifecycle that will have a positive and above all meaningful impact on where there business go.

With the right information you can increase the value of existing customers and understand the most profitable markets in your industry. At TransUnion, they combine credit information and advanced analytics to help identify and make the most of profitable opportunities. Their marketing models and analytic tools along with high-quality risk data and performance behaviour are able to help improve targeting, campaign execution and measurement throughout the customer credit lifecycle.

Endeavour Magazine | 95

Not only known for their remarkable high-level of personnel security but also for a continuous determination to be the best. Stallion Security have become the name in private security aiming to forestall the rise of crime and personal danger in a country known for both by promoting trust and comfort for their clients.

Stallion was formed in 1991, when a gap in the market for a service orientated guarding company was identified by Founder and CE Clive Zulberg. The incredible success of Stallion Security has been based on two core principles, namely service excellence and a happy, motivated and disciplined work force. Marketing and Sales Director, Tiziana Hayward, tells us how they’re achieving what some South Africans used to think was impossible.

STALLION SECURITY 27 11 533 8862 WWW.STALLION.CO.ZA

96 | Endeavour Magazine

CREATING CONFIDENCE

WRITTEN BY NEIL FREIDMAN

Endeavour Magazine | 97

STALLION SECURITY

“The vision, upon which the Stallion Group has been built on began with its inception as a guarding company in 1991,” she begins, “Our key objective at the time was to provide our clients with the peace of mind that comes with knowing that they had entrusted their security to a group of people who were relentlessly committed to delivering upon and surpassing their promises. “

T

oday the group has a powerful South African story to tell, one

crime and theft that the police alone have failed to contain and

which reflects a transformation in the truest sense, Stallion

manage. This has created an opportunity for private security firms

Security recognizes that change begins from within and as

to rise up and promote the anecdote of “Prevention is better than

they grew to provide a holistic spectrum of responses to the country’s

cure.” In doing this however, it’s the security personnel who are put

growing security needs, they provided ongoing opportunities for their

in the direct line of fire and while guarding us while we sleep it is them

people, irrespective of colour or creed, to develop their competencies

who provide the barrier between us and the crime we do not want to

and rise to positions in the organization that enabled them to play

experience.

essential roles as meaningful players in the economic mainstream of the security industry.

“We pride ourselves in “Creating Confidence” with our clients,”

Embracing transformation “Stallion Security has a Learning Centre that provides only the

says Tiziana, “And build relationships on foundations of exceptional

highest standard training,” reveals Tiziana, “The centre boasts a

service. These principles have been entrenched in our company from

dedicated group of professional education, training and development

day one and have allowed us to quickly become a market leader in the

practitioners who provide learning opportunities utilizing approved

security industry.”

facilitation and assessment programs.”

The key to accomplishing this is clearly found in the manner that

The Stallion learning centre provides accredited training in

Stallion Secure assures the client, through their actions and not just

computer literacy, driving skills, life skills and distance learning

their intentions that they are a company passionate and serious

programmes through UNISA for industry specific qualifications and

about security. One that cares about their employees and clients and

embraces and instills not only a culture of learning and development

a company that has service excellence ingrained in its daily running

but reinforces the ethos of “ Service excellence through discipline,

and are proud of the level of security they offer in their niche industry.

dedication and development”

Summary of Stallion Security business activities, include a wide

Making full use of their employees who have the day-today visual

range of services including guarding, electronic security, armed

and hands on experience of what is happening in their industry the

response, investigations, special operations and a state of the art

Learning Centre have several methods of communicating suggestions

command center, they also, currently, have branches in all the major

and necessary changes. For example, they have a Grafitti Wall, which

centers and satellite branches country wide.

is simply a way people can write their thoughts and suggestions. These

The People Behind The Shield

are accessed on a weekly basis and provide the material needed for the company’s natural evolution.

Especially when it comes to security, the key to Stallion Security’s

“We are the future,” Tiziana reveals is a slogan that the employees,

success has to come from the people in the uniforms doing the

the staff follow. And that part of the training is to create the individual

protecting. Tiziana was very keen to highlight the important and

desire for self improvement and betterment. The job is a dangerous

irreplaceable role that these men and women perform.

one and can be performed well by people who are mentally alert,

South Africa is a country gripped by social pressures, cultural

physical able and benefitting from a good awareness. The ability to

hostilities and political unrest which translates into a level of violent

predict where trouble may arise and to know how to stop it before it

98 | Endeavour Magazine

becomes a situation really is what defines an employee.

On the flipside of this, Stallion Security has one of the most reputable approaches to their customers and clients: “Client satisfaction is the yard stick by which we measure our success,” she mandates, “We recruit, train and re-train our staff. This allows up to supply a high caliber security officer. We have a service level agreement with penalties and this shows that we put our money where our mouth is. We have created a scorecard where our clients can rate our service, which allows us to be on top of things more efficiently.”

She adds: “We are a pro-active company not a re-active one. “ On being a pro-active company, what are the plans for the remainder of 2013 and going into the new year? It is no secret for example that their current focus is capitalizing upon the growth they

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have enjoyed into Africa as they now have branches in Botswana, Ghana, Namibia and Lesotho. Countries that are embroiled in similar cultural, religious and political tensions as South Africa.

“In looking towards the future, our vision is to take our services into the rest of the continent, where once again the Stallion group will be powered by the constructive and decisive actions that have enabled the group to stand as a beacon of quality, leadership and integrity,” Tiziana concludes.

Endeavour Magazine | 99

OSTERREICHER LLOYD 357 25 662555 WWW.CY.OELSM.COM

100 | Endeavour Magazine

The glorious history of Österreichischer Lloyd (ÖL) began with this motto, “Vorwärts” which means “Steaming ahead!” in 1836. By the turn of the century they were one of the biggest shipping companies in the world however with the demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, ÖL ceased to exist and was re-born shortly after the Second World War as a ship-owning company.

In 1991, the two Managing Partners Mag. Hans-Georg Wurmböck and Capt. Eberhard Koch, established a ship management subsidiary, both for in-house as well as third party vessels. In July 2008, Capt. Koch took the helm and underwent strong, steady and healthy evolution to concentrate purely on Ownership and successfully focus on a particular market segment. With this transition, was born a new company name: Österreichischer Lloyd Seereederei (Cyprus) Ltd WRITTEN BY DAEMON SANDS

Steaming AHEAD!

Endeavour Magazine | 101

OSTERREICHER LLOYD

“As shipping became even more competitive, ÖL was very proud to introduce its proven expertise and comprehensive range of services within the maritime sector utilising the internationally favourable Maritime Centre of Cyprus with a “white” flag of excellence,” Capt.

Koch explains.

E

xpansion occurred throughout 2008, 2009 and 2010 with each vessel deployed under long-term t ime charter agreements or pool-arrangements seeded through the

support from existing relationships OL Shipping enjoyed with first class worldwide Principals, Charterers, Bankers, Suppliers and Associates.

“The operation of owned vessels ensures availing working capital facilities for our own ships,” Capt. Koch explains, “And at the same time has increased market power in terms of supply of more flexible tonnage toward shippers and forwarders. Our fleet proudly fly the Cyprus Flag and exclusively accommodate the excellent skills of the existing MED CREW LTD seafarer pool onboard the vessels.”

And what is the current state of the industry? Cyprus is still an attractive international business destination, where resident shipowners are able to conclude ship financing in the future. This has always been enticing and attractively offered by other European major banks. OL Shipping is always open, willing, ready and able whenever this financial opportunity presents itself locally.

“OELSR, remains firmly on Cypriot soil and very content in steaming its vessels ahead around global seas,” Capt. Koch affirms, “The high quality standards of the Cyprus Flag, the peripheral services provided in combination with a number of fiscal, economic and benefits offered continue to make Cyprus the ideal choice.”

Cyprus is and will remain the gateway portal to shipping activities

102 | Endeavour Magazine

Reliable

Support

in Europe and, in fact, throughout the world and takes pleasure in accommodating a most favourable tonnage tax scheme sanctioned by the EU for shipowners and shipping related activities.

“The

Cyprus

Shipping

Chamber

and

Cyprus

With

Exceptional

Value-added Services

Maritime

Administration, to name only two,” Capt. Koch advocates, “Are also to be applauded for their professionalism, high standard of capabilities and competence and their effortlessly strong valuable contribution.

Cyprus also endears a sense of safety and security in comparison to other countries and importantly offers a common language, English, and the benefits of a healthy beautiful island.”

Fortunately, the economic climate is now less cloudy and prospects worldwide, particularly including Europe, are of late, more

10 Bukit Batok Cresent #10-05B The Spire Singapore 658079 +65 6515 3205 // ops@gtl.com.sg

favourable. Encouraging, is the fact that 2013 will see a reduction in the introduction of new tonnage and simultaneously, second-hand values are increasing and cash buyers are sitting in Greece and the Far East.

Nevertheless, it is clear that it will take a little while longer for the unprecedented growth in tonnage to be absorbed and for a healthy return on investment to materialise. As shipowners, OL Shipping cannot avoid this tough situation.

“As Managers of the vessels, we will strive to maintain the continued financial strength by retaining the quality of vessels despite

Endeavour Magazine | 103

OSTERREICHER LLOYD

the fact that Shipowners are left to contend with the ever increasing

in charter rates for smaller ships

expense to the Owner, and not

liabilities imposed upon them under the International Convention.”

has been that the past two years

without their hiccups.” Capt.

has seen the most aged and fuel

Koch.

Intra-Asia Trade Set for Rapid Growth.

Asia will almost certainly have to look to its own economic strength in the years ahead. In shipping terms, that is likely to lead to a sharp rise in Intra-Asian trades. According to reports from Dubai, and several other reliable sources, Intra-Asian trade is likely to quadruple just seven years from now. A report published last year by United

inefficient units scrapped with

Such investment on trained

some tightness in supply arising

and competent crew improves

as a consequence.

the company’s ships performance and

And Of The Employees?

Overseas Bank of Singapore indicated that the global economy will increase by 73% between 2010 and 2020 with Asian trade flows among the key drivers.

“We our

strongly

colleagues

urge from

all Top

ranks to continuously partake in

according to the recent global marine trends 2013. All reports are

appropriately related theoretical

clearly seeing an Eastward drift as far as shipping is concerned.

and practical courses, seminars presentations

and

take

in that part of the world are so much more underdeveloped than the

advantage, whenever possible, of

Western world but are catching up pretty quickly.”

the increasing and overwhelming

This year’s trade from China and the Association of South East

technological nautical, marine,

Asian nations region and between Asian countries themselves is

administrative,

expected to grow and this should allow rates to harden further as the

advancements, despite of course

peak shipping season approaches. Another factor adding to the lift

the so-called burden of initial

104 | Endeavour Magazine

The

positive results yielded tenfold in

Management and down the

and

efficiency.

experience, has definitely shown

After all, Intra-Asian trade accounts for 53% of overall Asian trade

“There is no question about that,” Capt. Koch adds, “The economies

indeed

computer,

the long term.

“We are very proud of our main assets, being a pool of approximately 250 seafarers, all of whom have long-term and repeated employment records with us and 14 land based employees,

whose

average

length of employment is 14 years.”

And Of The Clients?

Oesterreichischer

Lloyd

provides tailored services to meet the unique circumstances of each client and value added customised services are proffered in conjunction with their core services and the nucleus of success has been due to encompassing private like-minded partners without utilising KG financing systems.

“We all want to reduce our overheads, with the ever increasing raw material costs and new environmentally challenging international and national regulations for E-shipping,” Capt. Koch says, “A major focus and advantage is the operation of owned vessels to avail the working capital facilities for our own ships. “ Capt. Koch says that investing in new technology can save considerable money and energy which is of great importance to pass on such advantages to OL Shipping’s clients and investors alike.

“Our efficient and conscientious teams both onboard and ashore are one of our most valuable assets, and are fully conversant with technological maritime market developments which subsequently result in considerable savings passed on to all our Partners.”

Where Does The Success Come From?

“We are very proud of our main assets, being a pool of approximately 250 seafarers, all of whom have long-term and repeated employment records with us and 14 land based employees, whose average length of employment is 14 years.”

“I would like to mention that the overall size of Oesterreichischer Lloyd within the Global Shipping industry plays significant role in terms of the future,” Capt. Koch opens up, “We are continuously seeking for a future strategic partner in order to further strengthen our business activities.”

The ultimate success is definitely a combination of several aspects; strategic solid financial and commercial development incorporating stringent cost control, supply management and slow, steady progress.

Development of onboard and shore based personnel practical and theoretical skills, utilisation of their already existing multitude of skills, knowledge and experience and a continuous learning process – “We are never too old to learn new things.”

The Company has accumulated a diverse knowledge and experience with all types of seagoing transport including Container Ships, MPP’s, Bulk Carriers, Reefer Vessels, Chemical / Oil Tankers, Cruise Vessels, PCC’s while being more focused and specialised in the MPP segment.

In certain specific shipping sectors, we are approaching the end of the crisis, seeing second-hand values and new-building prices increasing and we have seen American Hedge Funds and private equity stepping into the shipping arena to a considerable extent.

For the future of the company, my daughter, Nicole- Madeleine, age 25 is presently studying Maritime Economics at the University of Hamburg and certainly keen to follow in her father’s footsteps and join the ranks of Shipowning / Shipmanagement.

Oesterreichischer Lloyd continues “Vorwärts” / “Steaming ahead!” Capt. Koch concludes.

Endeavour Magazine | 105

BUSCO 27 11964 1182 WWW.BUSCO.CO.ZA

106 | Endeavour Magazine

Public transportation in South Africa has made many boundful improvements over the last two decades, fully transforming itself upon a tide a safety changes, audits and standardizations. This also created a unique opportunity by creating an urgent need for a uniquely designed and manufactured bus body work to meet the changing needs of bus operators and passengers. This is what BUSCO responded to.

And, after carefully researching the bus industries demands they accumulated all the necessary information from all the parties concerned, and were able to start the design and development of the stylish Predator bodywork. Providing a low cost and high efficient replacement for the older model. Willie Van Zyl, Managing Member of BUSCO was on hand to explain how.

WRITTEN BY JACK SLATER

BUSTLING AHEAD.

HOW Relationships MAKE AN INDUSTRY

Endeavour Magazine | 107

BUSCO

“I have been involved in the bus marketing and total manufacturing since 1974 was always part of BUSAF in South Africa,” Willie van Zyl, member of BUSCO tells us, “In 1996 I resigned from BUSAF as Executive Director and started Busco Marketing. BUSAF (DORBYL) entered into an exclusive contract with me to handle all sales and marketing were we could invoice complete buses from Busco or out of BUSAF. This has proved to be an excellent arrangement.”

T

he relationships developed are crucial in any industry and

plant seven kilometres away and the steelwork comes from a number

even more so when an industry is still in its infancy as is the

of chosen suppliers,”

case with transport industry in South Africa. Over the past

forty years the companies that have been working hard to develop an industry of an international standard have been held back by a

Employment And Customers “At our Bapsfontein main plant we employ sixty four people, and

number of “cowboy” businesses that have created an unfortunate

at the B&J Plant we have fourteen, if you add the paint shop people

drag. This has changed recently and the total of the transport industry

we have a total of 84 personnel to manufacture 10 to 12 units per

has grown to a highly lucrative and marketable sector. The common

month,”

factor is the importance of relationships that are dependable and like-

Sourcing staff from both experienced pools of professionals

minded to help further develop and grow businesses like BUSCO into

and local communities BUSCO has recognized the importance of

the future.

providing their employees with the best tools to work with and the

“In 2006 BUSAF did an empowerment deal with the soccer player

safest environment to work in. Approaching projects as a team they

Jomo Sono to take over BUSAF,” Willie reveals, “Mark Tiedemann, my

can accomplish anything that their clients ask of them. Additionally

partner and I registered a company that had 20% share in Busaf while

Willie has long seen the benefits of making use of professionals and

Busco still handled all of the sales and marketing. A year later we got

outsourcing certain areas.

rid of Jomo Sono as he had no interest in the business. Unfortunately

“We contract the electrical work out to Auto Electron that have

we had new partners that I was not comfortable with and at the end of

a permanent staff of four auto electricians on site,” Willie says, “The

2007 we called up our 20% share and once this was finalized we gave

Parcel racks, forced ventilation systems, heaters etc. we contract out

BUSAF our contractual 6 months’ notice.”

to Coolcab the do the work as required in our plant.”

“We started fresh in April 2008 with our own new factory and

“By doing this we are about customize our manufacturing

developed the “PREDATOR” bus body. At this stage we’ve been going

assembly of bus bodies to meet the required customer specification

for just over five years and have 392 units on the road,”

to the finest detail,”

With almost four hundred units on the road, it eliminates the possibility that chance has played any role in the success of BUSCO and puts the credit squarely on the decisions made on behalf of the company’s leader.

“I did the manufacturing a little differently than what we did before,” he explains, “Using a selection of my own suppliers including the likes of Auto Electron,” I use B&J Engineering that is from our 108 | Endeavour Magazine

A Look At The Industry At The Moment “Due to the financial instability in South Africa and worldwide and the variation in manufacturing requirements we took a decision to manufacture ten to twelve units per month to maintain a steady flow without the ups and downs,” Willie specifies, “We also do the chassis range from a commuter body to high specification semi luxury. This

being said, we do not manufacture 5 star coaches.”

With the philosophy of not trying to be the biggest but instead focussing on being the best value for money BUSCO have endeavoured to develop extremely good relations with their staff, supply chain and their customer base.

“At this stage in five and half years in we are doing 80% repetitive/ return business with customers we have already supplied units to,” Willie says proudly, “We are also the preferred supplier to many operators, mining houses like ESKOM and EXXARO where the customer have strong engineering teams and unique requirements.”

For The Future Currently the climate for development, reinvestment and growth is subdued however, it is always important to have an eye on where things are going and big-win-success is often the grace of businesses with a long term plan and strategy.

“We have the benefit of owning some land that once the world and the South Africa economy improves enough that we see a constant growth we will build a new plant and a total business park here in Bapsfontein where were we can provide for some of our suppliers a mini business unit and bring about an even stronger efficiency,” Willie concludes.

Autolectron is the manufacturer and supplier of automotive harnesses, control systems & vehicle monitor systems and suppliers of the Multiplex system, for the transport and mining industries

Congratulations to Willie & Mark on your success so far, and all the best for the future – All at Spheros S.A.

Autolectron is proud to be associated with the South African Bus Manufactures

T: F: E: W:

+27 (0)11 824 3359 +27 (0)11 824 3355 sales@autolectron.co.za autolectron.co.za

Spheros South Africa has been sole supplier of air conditioning equipment to Busco for a number of years already, and supports the units in the field with 23 agents countrywide and cross border.

Spheros South Africa +27 (11) 4222720 +27 (21) 7037725 www.spheros.co.za Endeavour Magazine | 109

Autolectron QP.indd 1

10/10/2013 Spheros 15:57QP.indd 1

15/10/2013 15:50

Clearwater Mall is the prime shopping destination in the western suburbs of Johannesburg situate in a rapidly expanding residential corridor. Malls have been around for a long time and taps directly into the human predication to community and collaboration. Combining retail outlets, entertainment venues and restaurants together malls have the responsibility to their tenants to draw in as many people as possible.

To become the gleaming place-to-be for shoppers and youngsters around their location. Clearwaters Mall has for a long time stood out as one of the emblems of South African shopping culture and has undergone tremendous rennovations and developments since its opening in 2004 to keep with and ahead of the times and we spoke with Regional Executive Yvette Van Der Merwe from owner company Hyprop Investments regarding the story of this much loved and much visited shopping hub.

CLEARWATER MALL 27 1128 85260 WWW.CLEARWATERMALL.CO.ZA

110 | Endeavour Magazine

THE PLACE TO BE

WRITTEN BY DON CAMPBELL

Endeavour Magazine | 111

CLEARWATER MALL

First a quick look at the business behind Clearwater Mall, Hyprop Investments is a R23 billion listed REIT with 11 prime shopping centres across South Africa with over 700,000m2 of lettable area available. Clearwater Mall opened phase 1 in November 2004 and phase 2 in October 2010 with a GLA (gross lettable area) of 86,031m2.

“C

learwater

Mall

Operationally

has a welcoming

Mall

appeal that makes

for

Clearwaters

utilise cleaning,

companies security,

air

use of the famous South African

conditioning

sunshine,” Yvette details for us,

waste

maintenance,

“With a convenient layout and

management, landscaping, lift

a retractable roof in the food

and

court it provides an al fresco

camera equipment maintenance,

feel with trees and landscaping

fire

for shoppers to enjow. Natural

generator

stone, wood, glass and raw

counter monitoring, architects,

cement were used to enhance

structural engineers, mechanical

the natural look of the mall.”

engineers, roofing specialists,

management, escalator

parking

maintenance,

equipment

servicing,

servicing,

foot

smoke detection maintenance,

What Goes On Behind The Scenes “The core activity of the mall is to let retail space to retailers to ensure we satisfy the needs of our shoppers in terms of tenant mix,” Yvette specifies, “International retailers entering the South African market as well as new and upcoming

112 | Endeavour Magazine

electricians, contractors

plumbers for

and general

maintenance. A lot of work happens behind the scenes that people visiting the mall have no idea about and should not ever be required to see.

The Staff Of The Mall

local brands are targeted to

Clearwater Mall has 21

differentiate the tenant mix of

permanent staff members and

our competitors.”

Hyprop

has

strict

company

policies and procedures on their training and conduct. An ethics hotline is in place and is managed by Hyprops appointed auditors.

Some of the staff training that has been conducted includes training on HIV/Aids awareness, sexual harassment in the workplace and wellness training from a social responsibility point of view.

“From a skills development point of view our handymen have been sent on basic maintenance training, our admin staff have done training on minute taking, Microsoft Office, and business writing.”

Yvette explains.

Nobody is exempt from the ongoing training, for example Vicky Vlock, The General Manager of Clearwaters Mall, is currently doing an advanced course in property leadership to further develop her already impressive catalogue of skills. Additional training has also been given to their marketing team on social media platforms to further the SEO footprint of the mall.

“Training is important for Hyprop and every year staff members are encouraged to enhance their skills,” Yvette says, “Individual staff development is very important and it is the company’s priority to grow skills and knowledge internally before going out to market for expertise.”

For ultimate people counting performance, this essential building block for your business combines toughness and reliability with the latest aesthetics and functionality.

HeadCount Systems: +27 33 260 2700 | info@headcountsystems.co.za Endeavour Magazine | 113

CLEARWATER MALL

Tenants And Visitors When it comes to the experience of the mall neither Hyprop nor the management of Clearwater Malls will accept anything but the best. A good reputation alone may not grow the value of a mall but a bad reputation can certainly damage it. With this in mind everything is carefully evaluated when it comes to the activities of the tenants who are the mall’s primary face-to-the-shopper.

“We are very selective with the type of tenants we place in the mall, ensuring that only retailers with quality products are secured,” Yvette details, “Should we receive complaints regarding the service

any complaints they have a guest

of the competition and Yvette

relations officers and a policy

had this to say.

to actively request feedback

“Our key focus areas are to

from customers about their

ensure that our Tenant Mix in

experiences.

terms of offering, comparative

“Very importantly we focus

shopping, quality, value and

on customer loyalty programs

variety is always a notch above

and competitions that reward

our competitors,” she says, “New,

customers for purchasing at our

current and exciting international

shopping centre,” Yvette adds.

brands are constantly being sourced and our tenants are

or quality of products of our stores from customers, we deal with it immediately ensuring that the complaint reaches the owner of the business and we do follow ups with the Tenants and the aggrieved

required to do regular upgrades

Competition

of their stores to ensure that all

South Africa has a very

stores are in keeping with the

strong shopping culture and in

high aesthetic standards of the

It doesn’t do to skrimp on the little things because they’re sure

the country there are a plethora

mall.”

to be noticed. Clearwater Malls go to a great deal of effort to ensure

of shopping malls offering a

that their mall is a clean, safe and secure environment. Providing

range of different shopping

their shoppers with an excellent Tenant mix and ensure that their

experiences and entertainments,

“The centre has available bulk

shopping experience is as convenient, comfortable and enjoyable

with this in mind it takes a

should we wish to extend the size

as possible. To assist shoppers, answering queries and dealing with

strategic approach to keep ahead

of the centre and this may be in

shoppers to ensure that their complaints are resolved and that they are satisfied with the outcome.”

What’s Next?

Tel no: 0861Darton / Fax no: 0880117921760 /Email: Dartonplumbing@telkomsa.net / Web address www.dartonplumbers.com

Darton Plumbers are able to cover all plumbing and drainage emergencies, and complete surveys, Repair Burst pipes (all sizes) as well as various maintenance repairs such as replacing geysers, thermostats, elements, valves, etc... We now also do leak detection and CCTV camera inspections with reports, Ground penetrating Radar and Correlation. We have drain cleaning machines that clear pipes with roots inside and various other blockages such as sludge and fat. We have been working in the plumbing industry for the past 22 years. All our staff that we employ are qualified and experienced Plumbers. We have extensive experience in The Plumbing industry regarding Drain Cleaning, Leak detection and problem solving of difficult and challenging jobs such as 110mm burst pipes, sub-soil drainage and much more. We have experience working on many buildings. Some of the companies that we have worked for include Clear Water Mall. With our high tech equipment we are able to cater for all the needs of the Mall. This is from the smallest plumbing repair to Problem solving on a large scale. There is no plumbing problem to big or too small. We pride ourselves in our speedy service and all our work is guaranteed.

Tel no: 0861 SMART / Fax no: 0880117921760/ Emal: support@smartleakdetection.co.za / Web address: www.smartleakdetection.co.za

It takes a mixture of a specialist water leak detection service and quality water leak detection equipment to detect a hidden leak. With our state-of-the-art equipment and water leak detection services combined with our plumbing repair service, we have saved homeowners, commercial building owners and landlords billions of Liters of water leaking away. By utilizing our methods, not only are we saving water, but saving property owners millions of Rand’s in costly property damage and destruction but water damage insurance claims as well. Smart Leak Detection has just incorporated the JD7 Bullet and we are now able to locate leaks on Larger scale areas and Municipal mains without cutting water supply, therefore minimizing interruptions of the water usage. Other technology that we are using are Thermal Cameras, CCTV cameras, Accoustic Methods, Correlators and Stethaphones. We are a leak detection company that can not only find the leak but repair it as well.

114 | Endeavour Darton HP{.indd 1 Magazine

15/10/2013 16:02

the pipeline for the long term

mall but keeping them on a solid

future,” Yvette says, “We are

footing from which they can

also looking to expand one of

launch new projects, products

our anchor tenants and possibly

and initiatives to keep in the lead

create additional parking in the

of the industry.

more short term future.”

There exciting within

have new the

“By

been

creating

additional

some

parking to improve convenience

developments

to our customers even further.

mall

interior:

We

have

also

invested

a

International retailers Mango

substantial amount of money in

will be opening before the end

upgrading our parking equipment

of the year and Tom Taylor has

and

just opened on the upper level

equipment and our bathrooms

of Clearwater Mall. Fossil will

have just been revamped,” Yvette

be opening before the end of the

concludes.

year and they have just opened

security

surveillance

“We are very selective with the type of tenants we place in the mall, ensuring that only retailers with quality products are secured.”

the first Coco Bubble Tea and Yankee Candle in the country.

All of these developments are bound to have exponential influence on the future of the

Endeavour Magazine | 115

10 IMPORTANT

WAYS TO MAKE AS MUCH MONEY AS POSSIBLE WITH YOUR MUSIC

It’s not uncommon for artists and performers to limit what they believe they are allowed to do.

I

t is now down to the musicians to handle the admin of their professional careers. So here are ten important steps that you should do right away.

1. Register With The Right People/ Organisations.

We featured the UK’s PRS for Music and PPL in our October 2012 issue and even then it was still enlightening to know just how much these two organizations do for the music industry. PRS for Music (formerly the Performing Rights Society and MCPS) and PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited) collect royalties on behalf of songwriters, publishers and composers, performers and the rightholders who distribute them. This is how the big names make their money. Royalties for whenever you music is played. www.prsformusic.com www.ppluk.com Basically, they are responsible to make sure that whenever your music is played, by you or by others that you get your money.

116 | Endeavour Magazine

2. Get ISRC Codes On Everything You Record

4. Set Up Your Own Gigs It’s not uncommon for artists and performers to limit what

The ‘International Standard Recording Code’ is a data tag that

they believe they are allowed to do. Whether you’re a musician,

can be embed into your songs at the mastering stage allowing the

comedian or writer you absolutely have to be brazen (even

organisations to identity who owns the music played (see PRS

arrogant?) enough to put up your own show.

and PPL) and therefor make it easier for you to get paid. www.usisrc.org

Nothing will give you a better insight into being a professional musician/comedian than producing. Producing a show, arranging a set, organizing tickets, selling tickets- this will give you a deeper

3. Sell Direct To Your Fans Whenever You Can Still one of the best ways to promote yourself is through

understanding of your industry than anything else and it will also take you ahead of your peers.

between you and your fan that they will use often. Also you keep

5. (Back to selling music) If You Are Selling Via Itunes, Use An ‘Affiliate Link’

a 100% of your profit margin without having to give any away

Generating extra cash on purchased of your music on iTunes

which is important to consider when dealing with agents who

is easy when you make use of an iTunes “affiliate link”. Remember

can take up to 50% of the royalties.

iTunes is set up to help musicians make the progression to

the personal touch. Selling CDs directly to fans creates a bridge

This can be done online as well, which means you’ll need a

professional artist. An affiliate link is a unique URL that takes

dedicated website (Wordpress.com/ webs.com / shopify.com all

people to your record on iTunes, not only helping you but iTunes

offer free sites)

as well and they’ll reward you with a 5% commission on the sale.

www.wordpress.com

So grab one and get it on everything you use to promote yourself-

www.webs.com www.shopify.com

email, social networking, Twitter etc etc. www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/resources/documentation/itunesapp-store-affiliate-program.html

Endeavour Magazine | 117

5. Does Your Gumf Lead People To Where They Can Buy Your Music Never rely on people having the motivation to go out and find where to purchase your music. Thousands of bands and musicians miss the opportunity to sell music purely because they don’t have the most important information on their marketing material. Where to buy the music.

Imagine if you put a Youtube

on how many CDs you have and how much you sell them for, you could make some money.

Make Your CDs Presentable.

If you expect people to support your music and buy your CD make it worth their while by making sure the CD is packaged and presented well. A good professional job can be sorted easily and quickly and you’ll be amazed at how quickly your CDs will be replaced with money if they look good.

video together and it went

7. Do PRS Know Your Gig Set List?

viral- either through hard work or luck- and you get millions of views but because you don’t tell people where they can

If you are a UK

immediately get hold of your

musician and you are

song you miss out on all the

gigging a lot, it makes

potential sales that quantity

sense to let the PRS

could result in.

know

It doesn’t have to be a lot,

what

material

original

you

are

just a line saying BUY OUR

playing at your gigs.

MUSIC HERE: and a link.

Because, believe it or not, you’ll get some

6. Be Assumptive, Sell CDs At Gigs Assumption

is

dosh for it and if it’s you material you have a right to be paid for it.

important

in sales and in music it’s the same, follow a simple rule, “If they applaud they want to buy CD,” so have some for them to buy.

8. Sell Other Stuff – Or Enhance Your Current Musical Offering

Not to be too blunt, but if you’re expecting them to be

Don’t forget that if you are so lucky as to actually have a music

so moved by your music that they’ll rush home, go to the

fanbase, you have a chance to flog ‘other’ stuff to it. T-shirts,

computer, sign into iTunes and buy you’re music, you’re

mugs, thongs, face bandanas, pocket pouches- whatever it is, the

being naïve. One, they won’t remember your name and two

stranger the better.

they won’t remember what you did.

Especially at gigs where there are more than one band or musician playing you will be lost in the listings. Finish

Tip: get postcards done online of you and your band, buy some stamps and let people buy a postcard and send it to a friend saying FROM THE GIG.

your set and anyone who applauds you go directly to them

This adds value to your existing music products by creating

afterwards and ask if they would, “Care to help support my

substance. For example, get into the habit of signing any CD you

music and buy a CD?”

sell as it gives that person something others do not.

You will be surprised at how well this works. Depending

118 | Endeavour Magazine

9. Get On Shazam If someone is listening to you perform and they like what they hear they’ll have the Shazam App on their phone, they listen to the song your playing and- if you’re on there- they’ll get taken to a place where they can buy it or at least find more of your stuff.

If you’re not on Shazam, it won’t work and you’ll be forgotten. They like it, they get the chance to buy it, they buy it and you make money. Simple. www.shazam.com

10. Get Your Music Everywhere This may take getting on the phone, meeting new people who are big decision makers and networking like crazy but it’s worth it if you want to make money from what you love. But you have to get your music everywhere: elevator music, gym music, phone hold music, radio, television, Youtube, whenever you hear a song find out where it is and find out how to get there. This is so important and will be the difference from being just a gigger and a professional.

This is also one of the biggest steps that you have to do yourself, or you have to pay someone else to do it, but if they have the contacts and you have the music then you can do it and trust me it will ultimately be easier than you think.

Just get started, make a to-do list and get to it. And seriously, don’t forget those ISRC codes.

Endeavour Magazine | 119

Russell Fox

BY TYLER HARRISON

FORGET TOPHATS AND DISAPPEARING RABBITS

A

new wave of magic has

Certainly something that takes

entered the circle and

some guts, and when did you

I was lucky enough to

decide you wanted to be a full

interview South Africa’s fastest

time professional?

rising showcase magician and

“I was one of those guys who

entertainer Russell Fox, the

got sucked into this world, like

man who has amazed audiences

rubbish to a vacuum cleaner, for

around the world. Having just

lack of a better term, it didn’t

returned from performing in

take me very long in actual fact

India, I caught up with him long

about three months later I left

distance, and we had a much

my career in food and started

longer chat than what we’ve

busking. And funny enough in

captured below!

that first month of busking I tripled what I was earning as a

My world was so engulfed and fascinated with the art that I pretty much ate, slept and lived magic!

Follow Russell Fox on Twitter: @Magician_Insane Website: www.russellfox.co.za For all Bookings please contact: carol@magicianinsane.com Tel – 0027 21 825 5885

120 | Endeavour Magazine

Hi Russell, thanks so much for

chef. My world was so engulfed

taking the time to speak with me,

and fascinated with the art that

I know you’re busy so let’s jump

I pretty much ate, slept and

straight in. How did you first get

lived magic! Busking was a great

introduced to magic?

experience for me, it taught

“Hi Tyler, well I was working

me many things like drawing a

at a theme park in Cape Town

crowd, adapting to any situation,

in the food industry and there

thinking on my feet.”

was a magician who roamed the venue performing effects on the

As you are immersed into the

street. Every opportunity I got I

industry, what your thoughts

would follow him and watch him

about it?

perform. I eventually got to know

“The

industry

is

most

him and he introduced me to the

definitely a hard one to be in,

world of magic. He still performs

there are so many factors to

now and is a busker. He was a

take into account when working

huge inspiration, and was very

as a magician full time and most

inspired by his confidence to

critics don’t understand this. In

just rock up somewhere with no

the 15 years I’ve been working in

money in his pocket, and make

the industry I’ve seen many guys

a living performing magic to

come and go, trying to make a

people on the street. “

career out of magic and only then

do they discover just how hard it is and eventually they fade into

And what about the Insanity

have quite a few exciting projects

the background. I find that biggest challenge and I think perhaps

show that you’re putting

coming up that you won’t want to

more in SA than other countries perhaps, is that magicians over

together?

miss! So watch this space!”

here don’t do a huge amount of work together. Industries thrive

“My

show

INSANITY

when collaboration happens and people work together on projects

Spectacular is a project I’ve been

Fantastic, to finish up what

to make things happen, banging heads together and overcoming

working on for a good number

advice would you give to aspiring

obstacles that fall in their path. I love collaborating and working

of years now, hashing out ideas

magicians and performers out

with other entertainers, and have a strong passion for growing

in my mind in terms of a journey

there?

the art of magic. But, without a doubt, I believe magic is a thriving

rather than just a show.

industry and it shows through television, the movie industry etc. It’s

entire

pretty

learnt that you have to stay

been here for a while and it won’t go away. For me though magic

much taking my audience on a

creative and build an emotional

is about an experience, I love tapping into people’s emotions and

journey of the mind with various

connection with the people

performing something that they will never forget be it close up in

genres of magic and putting this

you’re performing to, but most

front of them, or through a performance on stage. I also love the

together in terms of show has

importantly keep things fresh

fact that every show is different.”

been the biggest challenge, but

and be creative. Gone are the

an exciting one. There are so

days of ‘cheesy’ tuxedo magic,

Can you give the readers a brief description of your Mayhem Show,

many beautiful aspects to magic

audiences love a unique approach

and how it came about?

that I’m very much a lover of

to magic. Give a bit of yourself

and my heart was to share them

to

comedian Brent Niemandt and Wayne Mckay started working on

in a show.

In regards to me

driven and have lots of ambition

about a year ago. Brent had been booking me to do shows with

launching the INSANITY I’m not

and determination to succeed.

him for a number of years and at one of these events we shared

too sure yet, the Mayhem tour is

Never give up, even if times are

the stage with Wayne and the chemistry just happened. After that

my main focus right now and I’m

tough. I’ve had moments in my

we all sat down and started working on a show together. The really

enjoying this part of my journey

career when times have been

exciting part about the project is having three worlds collided being

sharing the stage with two other

very tough, but you have to stay

our acts are so different and marrying them together with comedy

incredible South African artists.

motivated and passionate about

and magic.”

Aside from the Insanity Show, I

your craft.”

“The Mayhem tour is a collaborative project that myself, the

experience

is

The

“In

my

every

experience

performance,

I’ve

stay

Endeavour Magazine | 121

BOOK REVIEWS

“A book as controversially prominent and relevant as one can imagine. Containing something within the pages that strikes much deeper than one can appreciate until you’re turning them,” Daemon Sands, Editor.

Banned in China, this controversial and politically charged novel tells the story of the search for an entire month erased from official Chinese history.

Beijing, sometime in the near future: a month has gone missing from official records. No one has any memory of it, and no one could care less—except for a small circle of friends, who will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of the sinister cheerfulness and amnesia that have possessed the Chinese nation. When they kidnap a high-ranking official and force him to reveal all, what they learn—not only about their leaders, but also about their own people—stuns them to the

The Fat Years

By Koonchung Chan http://amzn.to/wJRrwH

core. It is a message that will astound the world.

A kind of Brave New World reflecting the China of our times, The Fat Years is a complex novel of ideas that reveals all too chillingly the machinations of the postmodern totalitarian state, and sets in sharp

NA

HI BANNED IN C

122 | Endeavour Magazine

relief the importance of remembering the past to protect the future.

Inferno

By Dan Brown http://amzn.to/13JCtSO

I’ll be honest Inferno was

paced and more enjoyable. I

was released on May 14, 2013

an improvement for me on Da

trust that this is a sign that he

by Doubleday and was number

Vinci’s Code and Angels and

improves with each novel.

one on the New York Times Best

Demons which are two books

Inferno is a 2013 mystery thriller

renowned

and Combined Print & E-book

because a book is translatable

American author Dan Brown

fiction for the first ten weeks of

into a successful book does not

and the fourth book in his Robert

its release, and also remained on

make the book well written or

Langdon series, following Angels

the list of E-book fiction for the

engaging. However, I found

& Demons, The Da Vinci Code

first thirteen weeks of its release.

Inferno

and The Lost Symbol. The book

considerably

faster

novel

by

Seller list for hardcover fiction

I believe that prove that just

King Solomon’s Mines

By Rider Haggard http://bit.ly/184SGH1 Everyone has read King Solomon’s Mines at some point in their lives or at very least has seen something inspired by this founder of the “Lost World” genre. Written in a matter of sixteen weeks by Sir H Rider Haggard in 1885, and drawing on his experiences within the country during his time as a 19year old in the Anglo-Zulu War an interesting fact is that when he lived in Britain he lived in Norfolk not a mile away from our chief editor.

A hundred and twenty eight years after the book was first published it illustrates a world none of us would recognize, one where there were blank areas on the map filled only with what people’s imaginations could create and where the main character, Allan Quartermain, wishes to spend his time hunting and killing lions for their skins and culling elephants for their tusks. It reveals that even then there was a purpensity for over-indulgence.

Written in a first person narrative, taken from the journals of Quartermain the story carried and carries the reader into the depths of the unknown into a world that people knew to exist but did not have the bravery themselves to explore. Even today, when we can map every inch of the world via satellite King Solomons Mines offers a first-hand experience that transports you into a different age, a different culture.

One thing, I would suggest don’t buy this on Kindle, treat yourself to the book because you can’t read a Kindle in the jungle.

Endeavour Magazine | 123

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