Enterprise Africa October 2017

AFRICA

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR AFRICA’S INDUSTRY LEADERS

October 2017

www.enterprise-africa.net

TRANSNET PORT TERMINALS

Making SA Ports

World Class Exclusive Interview with

Nozipho Sithole

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

SANSA / Imperial Holdings / Select PPE / Matus

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EDITOR’S LETTER EDITOR Joe Forshaw joe@enterprise-africa.co.za SALES MANAGER Hal Hutchison hal@enterprise-africa.co.za SALES ADMINISTRATOR Emma Neethling sales@enterprise-africa.co.za SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER Sam Hendricks sam@enterprise-africa.co.za PROJECT MANAGER Shaun Cousins shaun@enterprise-africa.co.za PROJECT MANAGER Shannon James shannon@enterprise-africa.co.za PROJECT MANAGER Aarron Chapman aarron@enterprise-africa.co.za PROJECT MANAGER Emily Taylor emily@enterprise-africa.co.za FINANCE MANAGER Emma Smith finance@enterprise-africa.co.za SENIOR DESIGNER Harvey Tarlton harvey@enterprise-africa.co.za CONTRIBUTOR Manelesi Dumasi CONTRIBUTOR Karl Pietersen CONTRIBUTOR David Napier CONTRIBUTOR Timothy Reeder CONTRIBUTOR Colin Chinery CONTRIBUTOR Djamil Benmehidi CONTRIBUTOR Jukka Lethinien

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Chris Bolderstone – General Manager E. chris@cmb-multimedia.com Logo Two

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Fantastic news from some of South Africa’s industry leading organisations in the October edition - expansion is on the agenda. The businesses that have been able to look past the short-term economic plight of the country are those that are going to thrive in the future when significant growth returns to the economy.

Transnet Port Terminals is investing in infrastructure to improve its productivity and efficiency – its first female Chief Executive, Nozipho Sithole talks to Enterprise Africa about her plans for the business. The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) is expanding its reach across the continent and working on developing new partnerships that will greatly benefit the country’s science and technology industries – SANSA CEO, Val Munsami tells us more. Imperial Holdings continues to invest in international businesses, showing that South African organisations are more than capable of taking their ideas offshore and championing ‘brand SA’ – CEO Mark Lamberti tells us about his ideas for growth. Richards Bay Minerals is planning to expand its mining operation and has recently appointed a new MD, Billy Mawasha, who talks to Enterprise Africa about how this important minerals business will grow in the future.

We also talk to Matus, Airvent, Buscor, Select PPE, Big Five Duty Free and Chas Everitt International Property to understand more about how these proudly South African organisations are experiencing significant growth where their competitors are losing market share. One thing that is common among all of these exciting and growing businesses is strong leadership.

Modern leadership seems to be more about a strict people focus – getting the most out of good people and retaining quality for the long-term benefit of the company.

What is your leadership style? Get in touch with us and tell us your story of growth. We’re online @EnterpriseAfri1

Sackville Place, 44-48 Magdalen Street, Norwich, NR3 1JU Administration & Finance +44 1603 559 700 Advertising & Feature Sales +44 1603 559 701 Editorial & Design +44 1603 559 702 E. info@cmb-multimedia.com www.cmb-multimedia.com CMB Multimedia does not accept responsibility for omissions or errors. The points of view expressed in articles by attributing writers and/or in advertisements included in this magazine do not necessarily represent those of the publisher. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this magazine, no legal responsibility will be accepted by the publishers for loss arising from use of information published. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrievable system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher. © CMB Multimedia Ltd 2017

Joe Forshaw EDITOR

GET IN TOUCH +44 (0) 20 8123 7859 joe@enterprise-africa.co.za www.enterprise-africa.net

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06/NEWS: The News Snapshot A round up of some of the latest news stories from around the country

102/EXHIBITION CALENDAR: Key Upcoming Events Across the Country Our regular update to help you keep track of important events and exhibitions taking place across the spectrum of industry sectors

8/TRANSNET: Making SA Ports World Class Transnet Port Terminals Chief Executive, Nozipho Sithole talks to Enterprise Africa about some of the challenges and achievements that are making her tenure as the company’s first female leader a real thrill ride.

8/ 4 / www.enterprise-africa.net

CONTENTS

16/

48/

70/

INDUSTRY FOCUS: AUTOMOTIVE

INDUSTRY FOCUS: RETAIL

16/IMPERIAL HOLDINGS: Split Definitive

70/BIG FIVE DUTY FREE: Constant Evolution Keeps Big Five at the Top

22/BUSCOR: Safe, Reliable and Affordable Buscor Set For Further Improvement

INDUSTRY FOCUS: SCIENCE + TECH 30/SANSA: SA’s Satellite Expertise Among World’s Best

INDUSTRY FOCUS: SAFETY

76/MATUS: Diamond Anniversary Sees Matus taking New Market Share 82/TRUWORTHS: 2017 The First Of The Next 100 For Truworths

INDUSTRY FOCUS: HVAC

40/SELECT PPE: Protecting People Everyday

86/AIRVENT GROUP: Airvent Group Grows From Strength to Strength

INDUSTRY FOCUS: MINING

INDUSTRY FOCUS: ENERGY

48/RICHARDS BAY MINERALS: A Young Leader Comes to Richards Bay

90/PETRO SA: Russian Partnership Offers New Hope For Energy Giant

54/AUMS: Top of the Pile in African Mining

INDUSTRY FOCUS: PROPERTY 60/CHAS EVERITT: Challenging the Status Quo 66/SMSA: SMSA Continues to Pull in the Crowds

INDUSTRY FOCUS: ENGINEERING 94/HI-ALLOY CASTINGS: Reshaping and Rejuvenating a Foundry Mainstay

INDUSTRY FOCUS: MANUFACTURING 98/JURGENS CI:

Business is Booming for Caravan Champions www.enterprise-africa.net / 5

Government Happy With SA’s Economic Recovery

Cabinet has welcomed the positive Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 2.5% in the second quarter of 2017 saying it is cautiously optimistic of South Africa’s economic recovery.

In September, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) released GDP data that showed that the economy grew by 2.5% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter. The growth means that the country has exited a technical recession following a contraction of 0.7% in the first quarter and a 0.3% contraction in the fourth quarter of 2016.

“Cabinet welcomes the positive growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 2.5% in the second quarter of 2017. Although cautiously optimistic, Cabinet is convinced the country is seeing the first positive signs of what is hopefully the start of the country’s economic recovery firmly built on the implementation of the Nine-Point Plan, which aims to grow the South African economy and create muchneeded jobs,” said Cabinet in a statement.

Turning its attention to the Department of Trade and Industry’s Black Industrialist Programme, Cabinet said the programme has to date supported 62 projects.

The projects have attracted R26 billion in private-sector investment and created 19,859 jobs. To support localisation, 21 products and sectors have been designated for local production.

The programme is specifically dedicated to supporting the growth and building the global competitiveness of majority black-owned and managed businesses in the manufacturing sector.

“We now have passed the halfway mark of the first 100. In fact, it is now 62 in terms of approvals. The target is for us to reach 100 by the end of this financial year,” said Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies.

Meanwhile, Operation Phakisa has so far unlocked an estimated R24.6 billion in investment in the oceans economy, with government contributing R15 billion of this amount.

Although the investments are mainly in infrastructure development in ports, marine manufacturing in particular boatbuilding, aquaculture and scientific surveys in the oil and gas sector, several government departments have made substantial contributions to ensure the growth of this sector.

A total of 6517 jobs have been created in the various sectors.

Cabinet has reiterated its call to all sectors of society, particularly government, business and civil society, to build on the positive momentum gained during the second quarter to sustain higher rates of economic growth and development, and to help save jobs.

In addition, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba continues to engage with various sectors on the inclusive economic growth action plan, which is set to inspire confidence in the country.

Minister Gigaba is expected to further unpack the plan when he delivers the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) in Parliament on 18 October 2017.

Cabinet also joined South Africans in celebrating the 5th anniversary of the NDP, which was adopted by Parliament on 12 September 2012. The NDP was adopted as the country’s socio-economic development blueprint to tackle the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality by 2030.

“As the country’s roadmap towards prosperity, the NDP belongs to all South Africans and represents the hopes and aspirations from all sectors of society, for a better South Africa.

“Cabinet calls on all South Africans to rally behind the NDP Vision 2030,” said Cabinet.

6 / www.enterprise-africa.net

NEWS SNAPSHOT

Gigaba Congratulates Standard Bank’s First Black CEO

South Africans behind 2023 RWC bid

Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba has congratulated Sim Tshabalala on his appointment as the sole Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Standard Bank Group Ltd. “As one of the leaders of the so-called Big Four banks, this is truly an affirmation of the capacity of black professionals, and a championing story for transformation in South Africa’s financial sector,” said Minister Gigaba.

Standard Bank announced last month that it had appointed Tshabalala as its sole and its first black Chief Executive. Standard Bank in 2013 appointed Tshabalala and Ben Kruger as joint Chief Executives after long-time head Jacko Maree stepped down.

“Along with the work that is currently ongoing in Parliament to address the slow pace of transformation in the financial sector, Mr Tshabalala’s appointment comes as a step in the right direction,” said Gigaba.

He wished Tshabalala well in his position. He also wished outgoing joint-CEO Kruger well as he steps down from the position.

As the date approaches for the country’s first presentation in a bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup, Cabinet has called on South Africans to support efforts to secure the bid.

“Cabinet wishes to reiterate its strong support for this bid and calls upon South Africans to support this bid that will contribute immensely to social cohesion and nation building and also serve as a catalyst for sport development.”

South Africa has a strong proven record of hosting such events, including the Rugby World Cup tournament in 1995 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In August, Sport and Recreation Minister Thulas Nxesi said a lot of technical work is being done to present a comprehensive and compelling case.

“There will still be stages where [we] have to go and present, that’s why we have put [together] a very solid bid…

Our bid is an economic bid. It must be well researched with information from us as government [and] from the side of SARU [SA Rugby Union],” Minister Nxesi said at a media briefing in Cape Town.

The big host country announcement is expected to be made on 15 November.

KFC – SA’s Favourite Fast Food

A recent study by the Sunday Times researching South Africa’s favourite brands has found that KFC is the country’s most loved fast food offering.

The Sunday Times partners with Kantar TNS to list the country’s favourite brands and polls 3500 people aged 18 and older in metro and non-metro areas.

KFC came top in the fast food category ahead of Nando’s and Debonair’s Pizza. In fourth spot was Steers, with McDonalds (and McCafe) in fifth.

Chicken Licken, Roman’s Pizza, Fish and Chip Co, Something Fishy and Galito’s made up the rest of the top 10.

KFC not only took home the top fast food brand award, but also won the overall grand prix award – meaning it was the favourite brand in the polls (followed by South Korean electronics and smartphone giant Samsung).

In a media release, KFC marketing manager Jacques Cronje said: “The work behind this has been immense. It represents a couple of years of consistent hard work when we started the journey to contemporise the brand and speak to consumers in a new and fresh way. For me as a marketer and for the marketing team at KFC this is wonderful, as it means we are doing the right things – things that are resonating with consumers.”

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TRANSNET PORT TERMINALS

Making SA Ports

World Class

PRODUCTION: David Napier

Transnet Port Terminals Chief Executive, Nozipho Sithole talks to Enterprise Africa about some of the challenges and achievements that are making her tenure as the company’s first female leader a real thrill ride.

INDUSTRY FOCUS: LOGISTICS

//

In July, Transnet released its annual results for the year ending 31 March 2017. CEO Siyabonga Gama held a presentation event where he spoke to colleagues and stakeholders about the company’s successes and failures. Fortunately, there were more success and the speech was largely positive. Highlights included an increase in revenue by 5.3% to R65.5 billion, general freight

business up 4.9% and EBITDA up 5% to R27.6 billion.

These statistics suggest that, despite the bleak economic outlook that has engulfed the country over the past 24 months, Transnet continues to strategize correctly, focussing on the right areas of its business and making sound investments.

In July, Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) – which operates 16 terminal operations across seven South African Ports and is a

vital cog in the country’s import-export business – announced the appointment of Nozipho Sithole as its new Chief Executive, succeeding Karl Socikwa. She was enthused by the Groups results and says that they prove the group’s strategy is correct.

“It does feel like everything is going well. Obviously, when things are going well, we see it in the strength of the order book – our customers are bullish, they’re

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Background Screening is the process of checking the academic, criminal, or credit history of an employee pre- or post-employment. “Over the last five years, MIE has noted a 14% increase in the demand for background screening services in South Africa. This is largely due to organisations recognising the benefits of such solutions by assisting companies in finding top talent and minimising the risk of bad hires. Background Screening should play a vital part in the recruitment process of all organisations to ensure the right person is hired first time.

According to MIE statistics, qualification verification is one of the most requested background screening checks. MIE conducted over 561,000 qualification checks in 2016 – increasing by 17% when compared to 2015. It is very common that a candidate’s educational history is the most likely aspect to contain discrepancies when compared to other background screening checks. MIE statistics show that 15% of qualifications verified was either misrepresented, fraudulent or cancelled.

High levels of unemployment in South Africa, coupled with staff retrenchments contribute to the challenges job-seekers face with finding employment. Desperation to find employment also increases the risk of candidates lying about their academic histories to secure employment.

10 / www.enterprise-africa.net

Over and above vetting potential and existing employees, businesses should also adopt additional solutions to combat procurement fraud.

MIE developed ZoomOut™ to assist companies in identifying potentially corrupt relationships between vendors and employees. In order to root out corrupt supply chain activity, businesses and government departments should take necessary steps to carefully manage and screen their tender processes. By making use of ZoomOut™ companies can identify procurement fraud such as conflict of interest between employees and vendors, tender collusion and irregularities, bid-rigging, financial mismanagement to mention a few.

“A very big focus of MIE currently is commercial vetting. We want companies to see the value of vetting their supplier database. In SA in particular it’s important to know who you are doing business with and whether they are compliant in all aspects of business.”

MIE’s relationship with Transnet goes back over 10 years - offering a total vetting solution to the Group Human Resources division as this forms a vital part of their HR Policy.

Being the market leader in the background screening industry, MIE’s list of clients include JSE listed companies, government departments, municipalities and private businesses. MIE’s vetting solutions form part of these organisations selection and recruitment processes.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: LOGISTICS

//I AM BUOYANT, ESPECIALLY WHEN I SEE THE RESULTS THAT WE ARE GETTING. I SEE THAT EVERYBODY AROUND ME IS ENERGETIC AND KEEN//

NOZIPHO SITHOLE TRANSNET PORT TERMINALS CHIEF EXECUTIVE

currently moving more than a million tons on a weekly basis. The economy is doing better and we are seeing some good results. Post MDS, we are working on a revitalisation strategy – Transnet 4 Point strategy - which sees us move away from infrastructure development post-2019, and start focussing on a ‘one Transnet’ where we use the different expertise across the business units to grow the economy. We are now focussing very hard on the customer service offering and everything is working very well.”

Siyabonga Gama said during his results presentation that ports remains a vital contributor to Transnet and reminded of the challenges faced by the business.

“We do know that there are new ports in Togo, there are new ports in Mauritius; we operate in a competitive environment

12 / www.enterprise-africa.net

and if we are not responsive to what is happening in the market place, someone else is going to eat our lunch and if someone else eats your lunch, soon you will go hungry,” he said.

He called the lack of investment into infrastructure, particularly at the Durban Container Port, ‘unforgiveable’, and reminded of the importance of reliability saying: “If we are going to become a world class transport and logistic giant, we need to make sure that we are reliable, we need to make sure that our customers can say that we are predictable and we need to make sure that the promises we make are promises we can keep.”

Sithole states that the success of Transnet is linked to the overall health of the economy and one is unlikely to perform strongly without contribution

from the other. “We all have an understanding that if we are doing well then the economy does well,” she says.

“There is a general understanding that we have been communicating with all of our employees that we are an enabler of economic growth and when everything is going well, we have had an input and our investments are paying off.”

FIRST LADY Sithole’s appointment to the premier position at TPT attracted attention from commentators as she became the first woman to take the hot seat on July 1st.

The company has a strong transformation policy in place, focussing on the promotion of previously disadvantaged individuals, women and youth among other groups.

TRANSNET PORT TERMINALS

“We continue to make good progress. We need to make sure female representation at all levels continues to grow,” Siyabonga Gama said in July.

In August, Transnet National Ports Authority followed TPT by announcing the appointment of Shulami Qalinge as its first female Chief Executive.

When pressed on what is different about her leadership style, and what differences employees can look forward to through her tenure, Sithole lists a democratic, hands off approach as a key strength.

“I give people that I work with the space in which to execute,” she says. “I give people the vision and the targets and I leave them to work on the how. I allow them to execute their own initiatives and achieve. My second role is to remove stumbling blocks and deliver resources that are required; it could be funding, it could be people, it could be equipment. I know that our people know more about the business that I do so I allow them to come up with ideas and we agree on what should be implemented. Speed of execution, safety, customer service, costeffectiveness and people productivity are the criteria by which we select ideas.”

She is also hotly focussed on continuous improvement. “I prefer not to be autocratic and tell people what to do and how to do things. People stop taking initiative, they stop being innovative with ideas and they are always waiting to be told what to do and I don’t like that. I find this way, the energy is much better. Clearly, managing performance is critical and at this stage we manage some elements on a weekly basis but others on a monthly basis. I like to tell people that this is an operation so everything should be managed on an hour by hour basis.

“I encourage escalation so we can solve problems before they become serious and find ways to improve in the future by understanding root causes.”

A Transnet veteran with 23 years of experience with the SOC, Sithole has worked across various Transnet

businesses and is a member of South Africa’s Institute of Directors.

EQUIPMENT INVESTMENT In August, TPT announced that it had erected the first two of 23 new straddle carriers at Durban Container Terminal’s (DCT) Pier 2. Straddle carriers are employed to move and stack shipping containers at port terminals and intermodal yards. Investment into new straddle carriers comes as part of a wider initiative to improve efficiencies.

TPT is working closely with Transnet Engineering and Kalmar South Africa to install the new diesel-electric straddle carriers and Sithole says that when all 23 are fully operational, productivity at Pier 2 will be vastly improved.

“We have been slightly delayed,” she says, “our expectation was that we would have all 23 by the end of October but there have been some issues. Right now, we have four new straddle carriers and we have a revised schedule which says we will have all 23 by the end of December.

It’s very important as it’s going to make us more efficient and It’s going to increase our productivity. One of the current problems we have is that we have very old equipment which breaks down regularly and is often in need of repair – in fact some of it needs to be scrapped. We will soon be able to handle vessels in a shorter period of time; some global ports can offload 2000 TEUs in 24 hours and that is our benchmark and is why the straddle carriers are important for us.”

TPT GM: Engineering, Josiah Mpofu said: “Our revised approach to maintaining and procuring new equipment has already had a positive impact on improving the agility and reliability of our operations for our clients and stakeholders, which ultimately results in better customer service. The terminal is working tirelessly to ensure that we continuously improve our service delivery.”

With an annual capacity of 2.1 million TEUs, Pier 2 at Durban is a significant contributor to TPT business and takes more than just machine efficiency to run effectively. People are the heart of the

business and will always play a major role in driving customer service.

“As well as equipment, we are also looking at people, productivity, planning and processes, and these are the main pillars that we use to drive an efficient port. We want continuous communication from our customers so that we can handle demand and the services they expect. We then check our capacity and go back to the customers with detailed analysis of what we can deliver,” says Sithole.

“We are also effected by ‘element’ issues which we must prepare for where possible. For example, we are seeing rain and wind speeds that are much higher than we have seen previously.

This can delay our ability to handle containers but we always strive to recover quickly,” she adds.

Across its operations, at SA’s container terminals at Durban, Ngqura, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, TPT is responsible for commercial handling services of sea-route freight across imports, exports and transhipments in containers, bulk, break-bulk and automotive, and efficiency and productivity are now more vital than ever.

ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY? The port terminal and container industry is one that has faced significant challenges in recent years. Since the 2008 global financial crash, there have been a number of hurdles that businesses in the industry have had to overcome. The readjustment of global trade flows post-2008, weak demand growth, larger vessels, and liner alliances are just a few of the major differences that have surfaced in the past decade, and combined with the uncertain and unstable political and economic environment in South Africa and the recent commodity price crash, it all makes for a challenging business environment for TPT. But in September, following months of negativity, it was announced that South Africa had exited technical recession and the economy had grown by 2.5% in the second quarter of 2017. Cabinet welcomed news of

www.enterprise-africa.net / 13

INDUSTRY FOCUS: LOGISTICS

GDP growth and said it was cautiously optimistic about SA’s economic recovery.

With TPT’s focus on efficiency and productivity, now could be the time for the company to achieve new success.

“For the container business, things are cyclical and we are in the peak season now,” says Sithole. “We’ve just finished the reefer season so from a container point of view we expect demand to taper. For bulk commodities such as coal, manganese, chrome, magnetite, commodity prices are holding and we expect demand to increase and our economists are confident about this. We also expect motor vehicles and automotive business to taper down before growing again in the new year.

“In 2013/14 we saw bulk commodity prices going down and that put a strain on our customers. It gave us a chance to maintain our infrastructure and a chance to train our employees but we are not expecting that to happen again so we are continuing to invest. We are investing in port equipment and, as Transnet, we are extending the space that we use to

14 / www.enterprise-africa.net

spec particularly reefer containers. We are continuing with these investments on the understanding that we will continue to have strong demand but we are mindful of the cyclical nature of our business in certain areas.”

The Chief Executive also reminds us that despite the less than favourable trading conditions, TPT’s Saldanha operation managed to achieve significant milestones and renewed its reputation as SA’s main iron ore export terminal.

“Last year we exported 57 million tons of iron ore from Saldanha bulk terminal. Saldanha bulk terminal is one of our best performers; it’s a multipurpose terminal and we also export manganese and with the growth that we are seeing in manganese, that terminal is doing very well. This year, we expect to be able to export another 58 million tons of iron ore as well as 1.5 million tons of manganese, so it is a star performer,” says Sithole.

COMMUNITY DRIVEN COMPANY Transnet at group level, and through its subsidiaries, is a company that employs around 60,000 people and recognises that the communities in which it operates, across SA and Africa, are imperative to its success. That is why Transnet invests heavily in community upliftment programmes that champion entrepreneurship, skills development and sustainable job creation.

A recent example of success in this regard comes from KZN and small businesses that have benefitted from Transnet assistance in a big way. A total of nine youth and woman-owned rural cooperatives have received machinery from Transnet and forged business opportunities for the benefit of the community.

In July, Sithole and a number of other delegates visited some of the businesses, including Amakhabela cc (one of the most successful), and saluted the success that is ongoing.

“We are very proud,” explains Sithole.

“What we are doing within the communities in which we do business is partnering with our suppliers to create enterprises.

For example, in Pongola we have handed over equipment for the manufacturing of

TRANSNET PORT TERMINALS

nails and in Greytown, we have supplied equipment for the manufacture of toilet paper and other products. This creates opportunities for cooperatives and they can create products for sale in the open market.

Our partners who are manufacturing toilet paper now have contracts with retailers all over South Africa. It’s our small contribution to the making these cooperatives selfsufficient. We hope that in the future they will come to us and ask for help in building export capacity and we will be in a position to provide assistance with connecting these enterprises with our customers in Europe or China or India. Our plan is to unlock manufacturing in South Africa and perhaps help move the economy from a consumption society to one which has a manufacturing base.”

To date, Amakhabela cc has secured a number of important contracts including one with Spar to supply 40 Spar branches in KZN with their in-house branded toilet paper called Twin Twice.

“If we see a depressed economy, that can have a disruptive effect on our core business which is rail so when we service our community we recognise that we need to add to our traditional CSI projects by supporting self-sustaining communities,” says Sithole.

Still looking for proof that Transnet is heavily invested in its communities? The company, at group level, and through its subsidiaries including TPT, was named by the Dutch-based Top Employers Institute as one of South Africa’s 2017 most advanced employers, demonstrating leading edge employee conditions. The Institute’s comprehensive independent research revealed that Transnet Ltd and TPT provides exceptional employee conditions, nurtures and develops talent throughout all levels of the organisation and has demonstrated its leadership status in the HR environment, always striving to optimise its employment practices and to develop its employees.

“We always have to keep ourselves inspired,” says Sithole. “We don’t feel pressure but we do try to keep people energised. The planning process that we are embarking on, which basically cultivates capacity before we commit to

our customers, will be very helpful. The pressure to perform is always there but the role that I take is that we understand the root causes of problems and work on plans that will benefit us. I also like to communicate with our customers as they have been here longer than I have and they have global exposure and they have insight into how other ports operate and that can be helpful. I have no doubt in my mind that we will come through the issues we are faced with right now, particularly improving productivity at our Durban Container Terminal.”

Looking to the future, Nozipho Sithole is optimistic. As the company’s first female Chief Executive she is keen to advance HR startegie so that more women get the chance to excel in what has been described as ‘man’s world’.

“We have to make a difference with training programmes that focus on getting more women into a technical

environment and to help them to gain authentic leadership skills,” she says. And regarding the success of TPT, with many investments starting to pay off, right now is an interesting period for the company.

“I am buoyant, especially when I see the results that we are getting. I see that everybody around me is energetic and keen. I will also be very happy when I hear our customers tell us that we are now delivering the world class services that they would expect from a port terminal so it is an exciting time,” she concludes.

TRANSNET PORT TERMINALS +27 31 308 8300 enquiries@transnet.net www.transnet.net

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IMPERIAL HOLDINGS

Split

Definitive PRODUCTION: Colin Chinery

With an operational split a main focus of CEO Mark Lamberti since taking over the Imperial Holdings helm three years ago, 2018 is now set for the fork in the road. “Groups don’t compete, only subsidiaries do, and our job as a Group is to see how we can help our subsidiaries compete.”

INDUSTRY FOCUS: AUTOMOTIVE

//

Acquisition for short burst lift is conglomerate-type thinking, says Mark Lamberti - “and Imperial Holdings is heading in the opposite direction.”

With a solid 2017 fiscal year - revenue up 1% to R119.5 billion and operating profit 2% to R6.5 billion - the east Johannesburgheadquartered global logistics and vehicles business is set to take a fork in the strategic highway, and potentially split the Group into two autonomous businesses.

Founded in 1948 as a car dealership, current Group operations are Imperial Logistics – a leading logistics provider across entire supply chain in South Africa, from distributing pharmaceuticals and consumer goods in Southern, East and West Africa to inland shipping and industrial contract logistics in Europe - and Motus, the vehicles division that includes importing, dealerships, car rental operations, after-market parts and motor related financial services, operating in subSaharan Africa, the United Kingdom and Australia.

Preparing Imperial for a split has been a main focus of Lamberti’s since taking over as CEO and Executive Director in 2014. Now a decision on a separation will be announced before the publication of the 2018 results in August next year - unless South African political turmoil or a sovereign rating downgrade forces a delay.

STAND-ALONE TIME Currently held together only by Imperial’s balance sheet, separation would allow each business to seek debt and equity independently.

“They should each be listed; they are large enough to stand on their own and our major investors have all confirmed that is the way they feel,” says Lamberti, one South Africa’s top entrepreneurs.

Unsurprisingly the road to the split has been well laid. “Groups don’t

18 / www.enterprise-africa.net

//TODAY THE GROUP IS FAR LESS COMPLEX TO UNDERSTAND, FAR LESS COMPLEX TO MANAGE AND RUN, AND OUR INVESTORS ARE TELLING US, MUCH LESS COMPLEX TO VALUE// compete, only subsidiaries do, and our job as a Group is to see how we can help our subsidiaries compete.

“Operationally oriented, Imperial traditionally was exceptionally capable but a relatively short-term thinking business, one that focused on this month’s or this year’s results.

“What we have succeeded in doing is getting each business to think more deeply about its competitive strategy in its chosen markets, getting people pushing the boat out and thinking what the business is going to look like in two or three years and how it could compete and win.”

FLAVOUR OF THE YEAR And this, says 67-year old Lamberti, “has been very much the flavour of the past year as the two structures fell into place.”

With the new logistics structure functioning from the start of the financial year 2017 and the motor division’s in the second half, the outcome is two distinctly different and focused divisions, each with its own board, CEO, executive committee and strategies.

“Today the group is far less complex to understand, far less complex to manage and run, and our investors are telling us, much less complex to value.”

While each business running at between R50 billion and R70 billion turnover, the issue has always been whether further value could be unlocked by making them directly accessible to investors wanting to get into one and not both.

Lamberti insists separation is

not about creating immediate value.

“Even if the calculations indicate there’s no value unlock, I still think that there’s enormous merit in separating the businesses, each under a dedicated management team accountable to public shareholders. If you were starting with a clean slate you would never say let’s put them together.”

IMPRESSIVE STRING If the short boost buy-up habit leaves him cool, Imperial’s CEO has negotiated an impressive string of 42 sell-offs and more than 15 acquisitions, including last year’s R3 billion purchase of British-based Palletways, a pan-European €136m turnover business (May 2016) delivering eight million pallets annually across 20 countries.

And in August, Lamberti stepped in to acquire another British company, Pentagon Motor Holdings. In 26 years the Midland-based business has grown from a single Vauxhall site to

IMPERIAL HOLDINGS

a leading motor group representing over 40 individual motor dealer franchise points across 21 locations.

It’s a move that opens up operational synergies and enlarged marketing opportunities for Imperial, and at R493m - a sale figure negotiated down post-Brexit vote – Lamberti is well satisfied. “We got it at the right price.

“We see ourselves as being able to add value. And the strategic motivation is that we now have a passenger vehicle business in addition to our substantial commercial vehicle business in the UK, which has grown 12% in revenue and 13% in operating profits. And this - in a developed market - we regard as really exciting growth.”

ELECTRIC SHOCK? The Pentagon take-over has other – and fundamental – implications. In Europe’s car industry the bell has begun tolling for the internal combustion engine.

Britain and France are set to ban

sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2040, Jaguar Land Rover and Volvo have raced to pledge electrification of their future models. One bank is forecasting that all new car sales in Europe will be electric within two decades.

“The switch to electrification will come, and in more developed markets like the UK more rapidly than on the African continent, for obvious reasons.”

Meantime Imperial’s CEO is focussing on “other disruptive technologies such as the way consumers are now buying their cars.

“People are coming into showrooms knowing more about the motor car than the salesman; they have searched out information on the web and understand what they want.

“One implication of this is do we really need these massive cathedrals to motor car retailing which cost a fortune?

Can our showrooms be smaller, can we have shared work-shops, shared admin departments, can we have multifranchise dealerships where the front end is showcasing the brand and the

back-end is all about the work?

“What are the implications for servicing? In our business today 50% of the profit we make out of a motor car comes from after the sale - from service, parts, financial services and so on. So we are asking these kinds of questions as we move from internal combustion to electrification or combinations of them.”

TARGETS ACHIEVED Despite deteriorating trading conditions, currency volatility and an ambitious restructuring programme, Imperial achieved all of the strategic, operational and financial objectives announced at the start of the last financial year, said Lamberti. “We ran the business very well to achieve a satisfactory result concurrent with the massive restructuring of the group.

“One of the things we are most pleased about in the results is that gearing - which had had gone up close to 100% at half year – had been pulled that back to 71%, well within our targeted 60% to 80%

www.enterprise-africa.net / 19

INDUSTRY FOCUS: AUTOMOTIVE

MARK LAMBERTI IMPERIAL HOLDINGS CEO

range. And all of this against the restructuring background.

“The headwinds were there especially in South Africa – and these certainly affected the result, but not the way we ran the business. Imperial has always run a very tight ship and our management at every level turns over every rand 20 times before they spend it.

“We could not have tightened up more, given the tough conditions. What we did do was to increase our customer focus, providing better value in price or service or a combination of each.”

While Imperial’s rapid-fire volley of sales and acquisitions seems to have run its course, Lamberti retains an opportunist watch.

“We have the firepower - roughly 12 billion rand of borrowing capacity - to do a reasonable acquisition, and if something interesting appears on the horizon and passes the strategic and financial tests and other criteria – such

20 / www.enterprise-africa.net

IMPERIAL HOLDINGS

as can we add value, and achieve a return on investor capital 3% higher than our weighted cost of capital - we will certainly go ahead and acquire. But running the business well is ‘Job One’ for 2018.”

THE ECONOMY – THE DO-ABLE AND THE SELF-INFLICTED The South African economy may be out of a technical recession, but analysts are still concerned that GDP growth is not robust enough, with projections for 2017 still below 1%.

Lamberti, a Non-Executive Director at Business Leadership South Africa, is “disappointed but not surprised”, and points to two fundamental causes.

“A large part of the underperformance of the South African economy is due to structural factors.

There are simply too many unemployed and unemployable people, and the burden of keeping those people alive through some kind of social grant plays into the whole economy, as does the lack of productivity.

“It’s a fundamental problem of education and skills development. And it’s a problem South Africa is not going to fix in a few years.

“The other part is avoidable and we never avoided it. And that’s irresponsible politics; politics that has little regard for the interests of the country and more for the inner circle of Zuma allies. That’s a very destructive thing.”

With South Africa’s ruling African National Congress set to pick its new leader in December, the political stakes couldn’t be higher, with the winner likely to go on to become the next President. Lamberti admits to “a certain fear and trepidation.

“It’s not obvious who is going to win. I think the time leading up to that is going to be noisy, and this may rattle confidence or get people postponing purchases of capital goods.” With national motor vehicle sales projected at around 520,000 in calendar 2017, 7-8% lower than last year. “And part of this

will be a function of negative sentiment arising from - to use a euphemistic term - misguided politics.”

GREEN SHOOTS? But Imperial’s CEO sees some recent glimmers of light across the economy.

“There has been a very small decrease in interest rates, followed a few days ago by the announcement of a reduction in inflation – partly due to a fall in food prices - accompanied by up-ticks in consumer credit health.

“There’s a reasonable chance there could be another interest rate reduction, which could give a little bit of a lift. Put these things together with better output in certain commodity areas, and even manufacturing, and all this may suggest there are some green shoots showing. Pleasing, but then I could be wrong.”

Meantime Lamberti’s Imperial measures are reaching fruition. “With the two teams in place, the priority for the current year is to get down and drive the businesses hard, driving growth and returns off a completely different base.

“The job is far from done. I live a life of what I call divine dissatisfaction; I am pleased but never satisfied.”

IMPERIAL HOLDINGS +27 11 372 6500 info@ih.co.za www.imperial.co.za

HEALTH

MEDICAL

PHARMA

RTT PHARMA SOLUTIONS www.rtt.co.za 0861 788 538

Partnering with Imperial Health Sciences to deliver GDP compliant logistics solutions

www.enterprise-africa.net / 21

© MAN TRUCK AND BUS

BUSCOR

Safe, Reliable and Affordable Buscor Set For Further

Improvement

PRODUCTION: David Napier

Buscor is adding seven new bi-articulated buses to its fleet and starting work on a new terminal in Malelane. This is an extremely busy but exciting time for one of Mpumalanga’s leading transportation companies. Executive Chairperson Nora Fakude-Nkuna tells us more about Buscor’s expansion strategy for 2017 and beyond as it looks to tighten its grip on the industry’s pole position.

//

Mpumalanga’s passenger bus operator, Buscor, is welcoming seven new bi-articulated buses to its fleet and Executive Chairperson Nora Fakude-Nkuna is delighted with the feedback received from customers.

“Initially, everybody was sceptical about the buses because when you’re sitting at the back you can’t see the driver, but with the performance of the bus – the comfort and safety – people have started to really appreciate the buses and enjoy the

ride,” she says.

Bi-articulated buses are highcapacity passenger buses, made up of three carriages with two articulation points. They allow for the movement of more people within a single vehicle, improving company efficiencies and lessening Buscor’s environmental impact.

“We started introducing the bi-articulated buses around 20 years ago and we grew from four to 22. I believe that this is the future because

it’s a high-volume vehicle, carrying an increased number of passengers with the same number of buses, and it will help the industry make savings.

“They are used across our operational area in Mpumalanga.

We use them on the longest routes because that is where they work best. The longest route is around 140 km and has only a few stops so these buses offer comfort from departure to destination,” says Fakude-Nkuna.

Ongoing investment into Continues on page 26 www.enterprise-africa.net / 23

PROVIDING BUSCOR WITH BUSES

FOR NOW AND THE FUTURE tel: +27 928 6800 email: man.marketingsa@za.man-mn.com www.mantruckandbus.co.za

//MAN AUTOMOTIVE SOUTH AFRICA MAN Lion’s Explorer Bus Family It’s obvious at first glance that this is a real MAN. Modern but timeless. The successor to the well known Explorer range of bodies, is designed for African conditions to exacting European standards. The body styling is in line with the MAN Lion’s family of City and Intercity buses from Germany.

MAN – Reliable, Affordable, Innovative and Safe With the extensive knowledge gained from introducing thousands of reliable Lion’s Explorer bodies to the South African market since 1999, MAN is continuously improving their range, by keeping the customers needs in mind.

State-of-the-art Driveline You notice it when you start. You feel it when you accelerate. You experience it on every kilometre you drive. MAN’s powerful common rail diesel engines have the torque and economy to match the exceptional reliability. In combination with the various transmissions (manual, automatic and TipMatic) the engines with ratings from 176kW (240hp) to 265kW (360hp) give the MAN HP bus chassis exceptional driving performance. The common rail injection system is quieter and complies with Euro 3 emission standards.

The exciting models in the MAN HB chassis range: • HB2-240 18.240 BB FOCR 4x2 chassis with Voith Automatic transmission • HB3-360 18.360 LL FOCR 4x2 chassis with TipMatic transmission • HB4-360 26.360 LL FOCNR 6x2 chassis with TipMatic transmission • HB4T-360 26.360 LL FOCNR Bustrain (6x2 prime mover) with TipMatic transmission The body models available: • MAN Lion’s Explorer 12.5m bodywork with MAN HB2 and HB3 chassis • MAN Lion’s Explorer 13.9m bodywork on MAN HB4 chassis • MAN Lion’s Explorer 22m Bus Train bodywork on MAN HB4 chassis The MAN Lion’s Explorer body range incorporates: Innovative modular designs resulting in customization options which meet our customers’ individual requirements Highest safety standards, complying with all the SABS compulsory standards relating to safety, including body roll-over structural strength, seat strength and anchorage, as well as emergency exit requirements are incorporated H7 (High intensity) headlights with LED running strips are fitted as standard to all Lion’s Explorer bodies, enhancing safety and night-driving capability Stylish Design With its attractive appearance and styling, the Lion’s Explorer creates a striking all-round impression. Its design is futuristic, retaining the allimportant values of safety and comfort for driver and passengers alike. A curve rubber-glazed windscreen and curved rear–view mirrors allow the driver greater peripheral vision and reduce the glare. The front grille design improves airflow for cooling and allows easy access for daily maintenance checks. The body exterior rear panel in uncluttered allowing ‘travelling billboard’ revenue generating possibilities.

Safety First The wider pneumatically operated passenger door has large glass panels for improved driver curb-side visibility and styling. The entrance has adequate passenger handrails and non-slip flooring which will help improve passenger boarding and alighting from the bus. An out-swing step can also be fitted to reduce the first step eight to 300mm (optional extra). All doors are interlinked to the park brake as an additional safety feature.

In addition to the EBS 5 braking system, a retarder or intarder (depending on the chassis model) is standard fitment on all MAN HB bus chassis, ensuring that all the chassis braking safety standards are exceeded.

Travelling in Comfort The passenger saloon area combines comfort, safety and functional design. Panoramic windows and the use of attractive practical interior finishing materials, create a bright and friendly atmosphere. The many seating options and styles available from our list of recommended suppliers enhance the interior comfort and appearance. The driver’s workstation, with it attractive design, is in a class of its own. The controls are logically arranged and within easy reach of the driver, focussing on the central LCD display which incorporates all servicing and diagnostic information. The driver’s seat and steering wheel are pneumatically adjustable ensuring the ultimate in driver comfort.

MAN is the preferred bus supplier to Buscor and has partnered with Mpumalanga’s leading bus operator for more than a decade. Buscor’s Executive Chairperson, Nora Fakude-Nkuna is proud of the partnership saying: “We are very pleased to have developed our strong partnership with MAN Automotive SA and that helps us source parts quickly and easily. Our workshops and mechanics are accredited by MAN meaning that we work to their international standards. “…we replace 10% of our fleet per annum, which is around 42 buses, and MAN is busy with that order right now.” www.mantruckandbus.co.za

26 / www.enterprise-africa.net

BUSCOR

//WE ARE VERY PLEASED TO HAVE DEVELOPED OUR STRONG PARTNERSHIP WITH MAN AUTOMOTIVE SA AND THAT HELPS US SOURCE PARTS QUICKLY AND EASILY// Continues from page 23 the fleet is a hallmark of Buscor’s strategy. Being technologically advanced, efficient, reliable and, above all, safe is key to the company’s continuing development.

“These are very exciting times, and very exciting for our passengers.

Everything we do is for the comfort and safety of our passengers.”

Founded in 1980 after the amalgamation of Matsebula Bus Service and Stick Nyalunga (two local family-run bus service providers), Buscor has been focusing on commuter bus services in Mpumalanga’s Lowveld region and coach services across sub-Saharan Africa through its Protours division.

With more than 450 buses (the largest bus train fleet in Africa), ferrying more than 35 million passengers across more than 35 million km of road each year, the company is recognised as an industry leader and Fakude-Nkuna puts this down to strong partnerships and robust planning.

BUILDING TOGETHER “Standardisation sets us apart from our competitors,” explains Fakude-Nkuna.

“We are very pleased to have developed our strong partnership with MAN Automotive SA and that helps us source parts quickly and easily. Our workshops and mechanics are accredited by MAN meaning that we work to their international standards.”

When Buscor initially tabled the plans for the introduction of biarticulated and train buses, all of the design work was completed in-house, and the initial construction was undertaken in Buscor workshops. MAN came onboard and added considerable global expertise to the operation.

“It is a very strong partnership. We

were delighted when they bought into our ideas and agreed to manufacturer the chassis’,” says Fakude-Nkuna.

“MAN is our only bus supplier apart from a few on the private hire and charter side of the business – all of our commuter buses come from MAN. Initially, when we came up with the idea, our engineering department built the first four buses and we had them homologated, tested and registered.

MAN then looked at the performance of those prototypes and they realised there was an opportunity. They had bi-articulated buses in their portfolio, but they were rear-engine buses used in Europe and elsewhere. Ours was different as it was a front engine bus designed to run on a dust road. They agreed to develop the first six, and then we grew to ten and added more each year. These seven new buses will bring us to 29 in total.”

The new bi-articulate buses will be delivered in the next few weeks and will represent the final additions to the fleet for 2017. “Usually, we only take delivery of new buses up until September, but with the bi-articulate buses, we allow until November because we recognise that these are not easy buses to build,” says FakudeNkuna. “It’s not only the seven biarticulate buses; all in all, we replace 10% of our fleet per annum, which is around 42 buses and MAN is busy with that order right now.”

Popular with customers and managers, and lauded by the manufacturers; are Buscor’s biarticulates well-received by the company’s vast team of drivers? “Oh yes,” says Fakude-Nkuna. “We have a number of ladies driving the buses and they claim it drives better than the train bus. They say it turns easier

and drives better. We don’t allow a driver to exceed 80 km/h, making it safer. The drivers really adore these buses – if it were only up to them, we’d be ordering a lot more biarticulated buses!”

NEW TERMINAL Over the years, Buscor’s reach has grown across the province and its services now extend from Hazyview in the north to Barberton in the south, and from Ngodwana in the west to Komatipoort in the east. In total, Mpumalanga covers more than 75,000 km2 and many of the rural towns and villages rely on Buscor for commuter services, heading to Nelspruit and communities bordering the Kruger Park for employment opportunities.

Movement of the large numbers experienced through Buscor terminals requires safe, modern and reliable facilities and so the company is preparing to complete a full overhaul of the terminus at Malelane. The company’s terminals at White River and Nelspruit were successfully upgraded in 2016 and 2014 respectively.

“We have three main depots at White River, Nelspruit and Malelane,” details Fakude-Nkuna. “White River and Nelspruit have world-class terminals but Malelane is still older and that is where we are busy developing now.

We’re undertaking all the environmental impact studies and looking at rezoning the land to ensure we gain all the necessary legal permissions.

“It will be a tremendous improvement. I wouldn’t call what we have now a real terminal but when complete, it is likely to be better than the quality facility we have at White River.

“We aim to have operations starting in January following the holiday period.

Depending on the contractors, we are aiming to move in by the end of November,” she adds.

The build of the new terminal will create jobs and opportunities for local people and companies, and will help

www.enterprise-africa.net / 27

INDUSTRY FOCUS: AUTOMOTIVE

// 180,000 Passengers per day

Buscor provide a punctual service, which it says ‘plays a major role in the total efficiency of the economy’.

NORA FAKUDE-NKUNA

Executive Chairperson 28 / www.enterprise-africa.net

BRIGHT FUTURE Effective future planning has and will position Buscor strongly for the future, whatever that may hold. Earlier in the year, economists were extremely concerned as South Africa slipped into technical recession, but in August it was announced that the economy had grown by 2.5% in the second quarter representing an end to the recessionary period. Fakude-Nkuna points out that planning for the long-term combined with the scale that the business has managed to achieve has helped shield it from economic headwinds.

“We can feel the pinch like most businesses do,” she says. “However, we

have been proactive in our planning as we knew this time would come.

This has helped us to be stable during these trying times. When we started we had only a few buses carrying 65 passengers. Now, our smallest bus carries 80 passengers and we’ve introduced train buses which allow us to save on fuel, maintenance and engine parts. We have one of the largest fleets of train buses on the continent and now we have introduced the bi-articulated because they help add capacity without adding more staff. These plans have helped us mitigate against the prevailing economic situation. Today, we are transporting around 180,000 passengers per day and we are committed to efficiency and forward planning.”

And with Mpumalanga just last month acting as host province for SA’s

BUSCOR

© MAN TRUCK AND BUS

Tourism Month, there is a hope that more South African’s will choose the province for domestic vacations – with mountains, canyons, waterfalls, wildlife and of course, the Kruger National Park, it has everything any tourist could wish for.

“We operate in very rural areas and so we have to think on our feet but we do have a plan that works for us and we continue to perform much better than our peers,” says Fakude-Nkuna.

We are moving towards installing free Wi-Fi to our buses. We started with a pilot project using just four buses at the Nelspruit terminal. This initiative is bridging the gap and making internet accessible to people living in underdeveloped communities. The Wi-Fi will be totally free to the user at all times.

We hope the passengers will utilise the technology during all their bus trips.

We believe by the end of the current financial year all our buses will be fitted with Wi-Fi.” She concludes by listing just a few of the company’s achievements from recent years that are reasons for Buscor to be proud and for customers to be confident.

“We are the first commuter company to introduce a bus for disabled passengers; we’ve installed a system to help blind passengers stay safe onboard; we’ve just finished retrofitting a number of buses with a new kneeling mechanism; we are busy putting together a team to head out to Germany, Sweden and Poland to see what the world is doing and research what is relevant for us; and we are adding seven new bi-articulates and a new terminal so this is a very exciting time.

“We see growth in communities; there’s new suburbs growing all the time and new areas of labour growth. We’re eyeing subtle growth without provoking attention of our competitors. On the luxury coaches side, we are aggressively growing.

With Protours, we started with Centurion, then Cape Town then Port Elizabeth and now Durban – our buses will continue to move through the SADC region and we are very happy about that.”

BUSCOR 013-753 6000 buscor@buscor.co.za www.buscor.co.za

www.enterprise-africa.net / 29

SANSA

SA’s Satellite Expertise

Among World’s Best PRODUCTION: Karl Pietersen

Dr Valanathan Munsami, CEO of South Africa’s National Space Agency, tells Enterprise Africa more about the development of a new SA satellite set for launch in 2019. He also details more about the organisations collaborative approach to business on the continent, and the way SANSA is developing human capital to drive further innovation, in service of humanity.

INDUSTRY FOCUS: SPACE

//

The role of South Africa’s National Space Agency (SANSA) is growing all the time. Its influence across the continent is also expanding. Key in its focus is the use of satellites for a range of activities from imaging, research and communications to internet provision, weather monitoring and education.

Currently, South Africa tracks a number of satellites in orbit and is set to launch another in 2019. EO-Sat 1 will be a specialist Earth Observation satellite and will form part of the important and eagerly awaited African Resource Management Constellation (ARMC), a joint effort between South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Algeria.

“We are looking to have the satellite ready for early-2019 and we hope to have it launched and operational later in 2019,” SANSA CEO, Dr Val Munsami tells Enterprise Africa. “It’s proceeding well at the moment. It’s a 450-kg satellite with a 2.5 m resolution. The development of the satellite costs around R700 million but there are many other associated costs which are excluded from that figure – the cost of launching, the cost of data retrieval, the telemetry cost of interfacing with the satellite, for example.”

He is proud of the lengthy process, and the large amount of work that

32 / www.enterprise-africa.net

has gone into the satellite thus far, particularly the development and localisation of satellite systems and subsystems. “It’s a completely South African design and there is a lot of innovation happening and intellectual property being developed with the design that has never been done before in terms of how we are approaching the satellite build,” he says. “Other satellites are built from the inside out but we are taking a completely different approach.

We are assembling the satellite on a flat panel and then building it up and folding it shut, and this allows us to work on different subsystems of the satellite at the same time.

“Construction is underway in the Western Cape where we have a full satellite assembly, integration and testing facility. We had a space programme during the previous apartheid regime and all of those facilities still remain.

There is some revamping being done on these facilities to get them to a useable state for satellite development, and much of that work is underway.

Currently, we are putting in new optical testing facilities so that we can test all of the functionality and specifications of the optics for the satellite and for use in future satellite missions.”

EO-Sat 1’s main application will

come in the form of imaging for research and decision making purposes.

“Effectively, what the satellite is collecting is a reflection of the sun’s rays off the earth’s surface. The reflection that the satellite receives is way beyond what a human can see. It can detect signals well into the infrared and ultraviolet visible parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.

There is information in the infrared part of the spectrum that we cannot visibly see. For example, if we are studying vegetation cover, we are able to detect how much water is in the plant and if a plant is infected with a disease in the infrared part of the spectrum. You can even characterise the type of plant you’re looking at based on the signal properties received,” explains Munsami.

“It also allows us to see if there is change in the land cover. For example, if you’re monitoring a specific water body over a period of time and you suddenly detect a change in the signal characteristics then that means that there is a change in the water, perhaps a waterborne disease. Even urban uses are now being recognised, such as the monitoring of housing development, or the positioning of voting stations based on population density – all of this information comes from satellite imagery. We’re using satellite data to

EMPOWERING OUR FUTURE SPACE INNOVATORS The French South African Institute of Technology offers postgraduate programmes in Satellite Systems Engineering at Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Its engineers and students produced TshepisoSAT – Africa’s first nanosatellite – launched in 2013, and are currently developing its next generation satellite, ZACUBE-2. In response to the Government’s Operation Phakisa, we envisage using a constellation of nanosatellites for Maritime Domain Awareness. As such, the Africa Space Innovation Centre at F’SATI is the African leader in the development of nanosatellite technologies, services and skills for applications such as space weather, ship tracking and disaster monitoring and response.

We offer these bespoke communications systems for CubeSats: • VHF/UHF Telemetry Transceiver • UHF/UHF Telemetry Transceiver • S-Band Transmitter and Antenna • X-Band Transmitter and Antenna • Software Defined Radio For more information about our academic, research, commercial and community engagement programmes, log on to our website or simply scan the QR code with your smartphone.

Contact: Ian van Zyl +27 21 959 6925 vanzyli@cput.ac.za

+27 21 959 6767 info@cput.ac.za www.cput.ac.za ATHLONE

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www.facebook.com/cput.ac.za @cput @wearecput CAPE TOWN

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creat i n g f u t u res MOWBRAY

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: SPACE

impact on socio economic issues such as how we manage our natural resources and protect our environment.”

Munsami also highlights the impact that SANSA has on government programmes, such as Operation Phakisa.

“The big focus right now in South Africa is the ocean economy as we have realised we are not maximising the potential that the oceans have for our economic development and benefit,” he says. “With Oceans Phakisa, we are developing a CubeSat satellite to automatically identify ships on the ocean in our economic zones based on their transponder signals and we will complement that with synthetic aperture radar data. This will allow us to detect fishing patterns and any oil spills from shipping vessels. We can also sense the water temperature, salinity, wind speed, etc. To improve this service, we will require new satellite technology

34 / www.enterprise-africa.net

and the prototype we are developing will be launched early next year. If the technology proves successful, we will develop and launch a constellation of satellites in the near future that will serve the needs of the African continent.”

As various satellite projects gather pace, we are reminded of just how far SANSA has come in six short years.

Founded in 2011, SANSA has been the government’s vehicle for space-related activity with the goal of ‘converging and optimising resources and maximising the benefits of space services and applications to society’. With centres in Pretoria, Hartebeesthoek and Hermanus, SANSA’s national presence helps it achieve a new vision of ‘being the leading innovator of space science and technology solutions for the African continent and beyond’.

But Munsami is keen to point out that SANSA’s influence extends far

beyond South Africa’s borders and his focus on driving collaboration in Africa and around the world will undoubtedly help accelerate the role of the agency in the future.

A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH Currently, Africa is enjoying a boom in space activities; new agencies have been established, new ideas are being discussed and technology being developed given the growing reliance on satellite applications and services.

Earlier this year, Ethiopia announced plans to launch a satellite in three to five years to help better predict weather conditions. In 2013‚ the Kenyan government reported it had found two aquifers that could supply the country with water for 70 years through a satellite. Nigeria aims to put an astronaut in space by 2030 and has used satellites to assist in locating

SANSA

Boko Haram insurgents. Ghana recently launched their first CubeSat developed in partnerships with Japan.

SANSA is very much an African operation and it looks set to strike up some important partnerships in the near future.

“We have made it known that our work is for the entire African continent and we will make our data available to our African partners,” reiterates Munsami.

“We have been working to develop an African Space Programme and currently we are part of the ARMC and the idea is to have several satellites to increase the temporal resolution over Africa. The more satellites we have, the more data we can collect. There is overwhelming support for satellite missions in Africa.

“We are looking at signing off on a BRICS space cooperation framework so that we can initiate a BRICS constellation. Firstly, we will use existing

satellites in a virtual constellation and see how that works before we start to design and build a set of new satellites for a physical constellation. From an international perspective, we’re seeing a lot more support and collaboration coming through.

“When looking at the African space programme, we had a meeting in Nairobi last year where each of the different national agencies committed an expert to a technical task force. I Chair the group that drafted the African Space Policy and African Space Strategy, which was approved last year by the African Union Heads of State, so there is considerable momentum being developed. We’re looking at linking partnerships with the Egyptian, Nigerian and Gabon space agencies, and a satellite co-development plan with Algeria and we believe Africa is a big playing field with lots happening,” he says.

He also reports that the discussions surrounding an African space programme have been largely positive, including an international meeting earlier in the year where more than 550 people turned up for a Plenary Session focused on the African space program to express interest and to voice their support. Also, at this meeting, a number of the African countries came together and created the idea of developing a Committee of African space Agencies on the continent. We have seen this model succeed in other regions, for example the Asia Pacific Space Co-operation Organisation, where national agencies come together to pool their efforts.”

LEADING IN AFRICA Munsami is clear that Africa needs to find its own direction when it comes to space initiatives, and he is not keen on foreign entities converging into the

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: SPACE

African market and unilaterally dictating the sector. South Africa is very much the continental leader when it comes to the direction of the continents space movement and it utilises its long history (dating back to the 1950s) of space industry involvement to cement its leadership position at the cutting edge of this sector.

“From an African perspective, we do provide leadership and we are constantly seeking ways to see how we can make our information available to other African countries,” he says.

“On the African continent, we are definitely the strongest from a national space agency perspective.

We are the only African country that designs, builds and operates satellites; every other African country that owns a satellite has procured it from abroad with some attempt at building local capacity. Some components for the international satellite markets are now built here. With EO Sat 1, there is new technology that we have designed and we are realising more than 50% savings in certain instances by designing and manufacturing these ourselves.

“We are the only country in Africa that has a presence in Antarctica. Any disturbances happening in outer space get mapped along the magnetic field lines and the signals are received at the polar caps and so it’s a natural laboratory for space physics research.

“We also have expertise that we have not yet fully leveraged, like radar technology which we have 60 years’ experience with in the country, but haven’t exploited this for space-borne platforms and no other African country can offer this. In fact, we are currently conceptualising a synthetic aperture radar prototype mission, which will bring unique innovations to this segment of the space sector.”

Importantly, SANSA is among the world leaders in space weather monitoring, particularly relating to solar flares. Solar flares are giant explosions on the surface of the sun that occur when twisted magnetic

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field lines suddenly snap and release massive amounts of electromagnetic energy and plasma. Monitoring these events is critical to life on earth as they can impact on communication systems, power grids, navigation systems, mobile phones and internet connectivity. SANSA is host to the only Space Weather Regional Warning Centre for Africa, which operates as part of the International Space Environment Service. Utilising data from space weather satellites and SANSA’s ground based instruments located across Southern Africa, the Space Science unit within SANSA conducts real-time monitoring and forecasting of space weather phenomena and provides a range of services to a host of clients in differing industry sectors.

“We are the only African country that has an internationally recognised space weather centre and it recently detected the biggest solar storm in the last decade,” details Munsami. “Solar storms like this bring excessive radiation from the sun and it has the potential to knock out power grids and satellites.” As a result of this storm, there were some high frequency (HF) radio blackouts, but humans were unaffected thanks to the protection provided by the earth’s magnetic field and the advanced warning provided by the satellites.

HUMAN CAPITAL Of course, as a state-owned business and one heavily involved in the science and technology sphere, SANSA is a driver of employment creation.

However, the work of SANSA requires a unique skillset hence the agency is committed to investing in training and development to ensure crucial roles are filled with the appropriate experts.

Again, SANSA’s work in this regard goes beyond South Africa’s borders and includes the whole continent where at least 40% of the students we train are from the continent.

“We have a bursary and scholarship programme at SANSA that is proving very successful,” explains

SANSA

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: SCIENCE + TECH

Munsami. “We issue bursaries and scholarships to Honours, Masters and PhD students in science and engineering and right now we have around 80 scholarships in action. A lot of our staff teach and we like to bring together our students and staff at various points throughout the year so that they can share their ideas and research agendas.

“We also have a programme on the satellite engineering side with the Cape Peninsula University of Technology where they are putting post-graduate students through special CubeSat courses as a joint initiative between South Africa and France. They will spend time working and studying in both countries and will graduate with either a dual-Masters or dual-Doctorate degree from South Africa and France.

“We are currently in discussion with the African Union to establish a pan-African University Space Science Institute. It will be hosted in South Africa and the idea is to bring students from across Africa and to train them in various areas of space science and technology and when they return home they can contribute to their own

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national space programmes,” he adds.

The vision is for SANSA to create a long-term, sustainable supply of human capital and assets that can contribute to the immediate and future focuses of the agency and the African continent. “We are investing in human capital and we hope that in the next three or four years we will see a strong critical mass of students coming through with a deep scientific and technological knowledge that we can draw from.”

SA FUTURE IN SPACE The coming years will be of vital importance in South Africa’s journey towards becoming a bigger player in the global space sector. Technology is now more advanced than ever before and utilising it to gain a foothold in an industry that offers so much opportunity is vital. The South African Council for Space Affairs (SACSA), a space regulatory body, is working on a new legal framework for South Africa to advance the local space industry as much as possible.

“At a very senior level, there has been a lot of emphasis placed on

space activity,” highlights Munsami.

“The Minister of Science and Technology is highly supportive of the space sector and she is certainly our project champion on the satellite development programme. We are in discussions with the Department of Trade and Industry, together with the Department of Science and Technology, and we have agreed that we need to put together a space industry development framework to support our local industry. Just recently, we took part in a workshop with other government entities and have supported the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services who are drafting a national telecommunications strategy, which is looking at South Africa’s telecoms need. We are seeing increased interest in the space sector and that is a result of the successes we’ve had over the years.”

Development of satellite technology on the ground, and putting many more satellites in orbit, is a serious endeavour for SANSA and something which will receive a lot of attention in the future. “We currently

SANSA

track over 4000 satellite passes per year, provide launch support and in orbit satellite testing for the global space market. Given our leadership in this segment of the global space value chain, we have been earmarked as the hosts for SpaceOps 2020, a premier international conference for satellite operators.”

Global navigation satellite services could benefit the local industry dramatically, as we explore this as a new area of interest in South Africa. “We are looking at using global navigation satellites and augmenting their signals for accurate positioning and timing applications. There was a prototyping exercise done in the SADC region which proved very successful, so what SANSA is now looking at is how can we make such a system operational with our SADC partners,”

Meet the CEO DR VALANATHAN MUNSAMI

says Munsami. “We’re looking at a satellite augmentation system that can further improve the accuracy of navigation systems. For example, you can’t use navigation services, such as GPS, for landing an aircraft because the signal error is too large so you need to augment the signal to make it as accurate as possible.”

The CEO is also keen to ensure the agency is working as efficiently as possible and living its mission with a growing focus on working with local and other African partners.

“I wanted to look at whether we’re meeting our mandate or not and we’ve come up with a new five-year strategic framework which has been approved by our board and is being reviewed by the Department of Science and Technology. The new five-year strategic framework looks at

//

“I started my career in teaching physics at university, and my first research job came coincidently within one of the institutions in SANSA - back then it was the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory and I was involved in space physics research.

“I then joined the Department of Trade and Industry and I was responsible for looking at the space sector under the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Space secretariat. Specifically, I was looking at the import/export control of missile delivery systems and nuclear technology, and the development of the space sector.

“After the DTI, I moved to the National Research Foundation and I was responsible for implementing bilateral and multilateral agreements in science and technology with other countries. The DST would essentially sign off these bilateral and multilateral agreements but the implementation would happen at agency level

areas that might have been neglected in the first six years of our existence, such as telecommunication and navigation applications.”

This means SANSA’s influence and reach is certain to grow. Its collaborative approach to business will benefit the continent in a big way, and its ideas and expertise is now essential in an ever-changing world. Next for Munsami is to “get the agency ready to embrace the new strategic focus which involves a continental outlook.”

SANSA 012 844-0500 @SANSA7 www.sansa.org.za

through the National Research Foundation.

“Then, I joined the DST with a focus on space technology and moved up the ladder in that department before coming to SANSA.” Dr Munsami currently Chairs the African Union Space Working Group, which developed the African Space Policy and Strategy that was approved by the African Heads of State in January 2016. As the Chief Specialist for Astronomy, during his employment at the DST, Dr Munsami was involved in the development of a National Multi-Wavelength Astronomy Strategy and the SKA Readiness Strategy.

Dr Munsami’s academic background includes a BSc in Physics & Mathematics, BSc Honours in Physics, and a PhD in Physics from the University of KwaZulu Natal. Dr Munsami has completed a Program in Business Leadership (PBL) and subsequently obtained his Masters in Business Leadership (MBL) through the University of South Africa.

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SELECT PPE

Protecting

People

Everyday PRODUCTION: Djamil Benmehidi

When a company rises quickly to become an industry leader so dominant as Select PPE, it is difficult not to sit up and take notice. Since it was first established in 1998 – just 19 years ago, Select PPE has emerged to become Southern Africa’s leading distributor of personal protective equipment (PPE) through its dedication to staying ahead of the curve and excellent service.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: SAFETY

SELECT PPE FINANCE DIRECTOR ERIKA STOLS

//

For those who earn a living in rugged, rough-and-tumble industries like the mining and heavy industry sectors, for example, or any other hazardous workplace environment, the risk of serious injury or even death is very real and ever-present.

Today, employers are under greater pressure than ever before to not only provide high-quality personal protective equipment to their staff, so as to ensure their safety, but also implement the systems and internal processes needed to distribute equipment, monitor its issue and return, and ensure that the client companies are health and safety compliant.

Since it first opened its doors for business in 1998, Select PPE has been the go-to name in the PPE sector, and has emerged to become the region’s leading distributor of PPE. A commitment to customer service excellence and expert knowledge on all facets of PPE, and all appropriate legislation and health and safety

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compliance has led the company to achieve great things in a short space of time. Suffice to say Select PPE’s effect on the industry in which it operates has been transformational.

“20 years ago, Derrick Morris – the first owner of Select PPE – was managing sport stores on the mines where he realised the gap and the need for PPE,” says Finance Director, Erika Stols. She continues: “There was so much abuse of PPE systems and process and no record, so he started the managing of the PPE Onsite stores on behalf of the customer. A record keeping process whereby if PPE is issued to the end-user or the user, then he’d keep record of it. That’s how, in essence, Select PPE started.

“It started with hard copy paperwork, where we’d keep record on how many items of PPE were issued to any end-user on a specific site, be it a mining site, manufacturing, plant, construction – it doesn’t matter which industry. Overtime has evolved further

to the extent that we have developed an in-house database and distribution system, created by our long-standing onsite developer. It’s a fantastic system.”

“We have a code of practice or now known as an Issuing protocol, where it’s determined for instance if you are an underground worker – they need gloves, hard hat, ear protectors, mask, boots, and it is all registered on our system when PPE is issued. So, when an employee swipes their employee card, our one-of-a-kind system (fully copyrighted to Select PPE) either allows you to take the PPE kit you are entitled to the issuing protocol or no, sorry – you have already taken your equipment last week and are outside your IP. An requisition is issued that needs to be authorised by visiting the Head of Department. Select PPE is currently launching our ppe.365.net system, all of which will happen online – we have plans in place to manage the approval process where an end user is outside his IP by using apps. You won’t see people

SELECT PPE

running around with slips anymore!”

This innovative and fully automated stock control IT system has proved to be a resounding success, and has generated cost savings for Select PPE’s customers, including long standing relationships with large blue-chip clients, including various large companies within Africa OGP, manufacturing, agricultural and mining sectors. Not that Select’s ambitions are restricted to the local areas.

The 2016 launch of the company’s new logo was symbolic for the company, in that its inclusion of a silhouette of the African continent is indicative of its ambitious drive to further penetrate new countries and markets. Starting with Zambia and Botswana, this Africa growth strategy will then see the company grow up through Africa in-line with Select PPE’s BP2020 strategy - an ambitious and expansive idea that will see the company

diversify its business model and become a distributor of its own range of personal protection equipment.

Stols elaborates on this further, saying: “We’ve opened a number of retail outlets – we’ve got seven now, which are all doing really well. We aim to have 20 open by next year, and we are on course to achieve this.

“We’ve also started our consignment store business this year, where we will be present into a client’s premises/shop and put up a branded shelf in that shop. Through this, our clients can sell stock on our branded shelfs and walk-in customers can purchase PPE equipment as they need it. The launch name for these ‘shops in shops’ is Safe@work - entirely branded and trademarked by Select PPE. We will invoice these consignment customers each month for the cost of goods and stock that has been sold to

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their customers.

“In 2017 Select PPE launched our range of inhouse protective equipment brands called Pride, Force, and Storm.” While Select PPE’s new retail outlets and expanded operations are impressive, it is this decision to become a manufacturer of its own range of personal protection equipment which will truly help take the company to the next level.

With the support of a manufacturing partner, who was selected carefully after a two-year selection and planning phase, Select PPE aims to drive its protective equipment product ranges to the top of the industry, to become a market leading supplier of products as well as a distributor. Thus far, all feedback from potential clients suggests that is new product ranges will be very well Continues on page 47

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: SAFETY

The Jonsson Workwear brand has become one that is close to the hearts of millions of Africans, providing them with a diverse range of quality workwear that empowers them to perform to the best of their ability every day.

We believe, first and foremost, that we are here to serve. Giving our customers a superior service and products of the highest quality is what we pride ourselves on. We are the manufacturers and distributors of our garments which enables us to maintain excellent quality, hold sufficient stock levels and offer short lead times.

For the past 20 years Jonsson Workwear has worked closely with its partners to provide innovative workwear solutions. We have chosen key distributors with whom we collaborate in diverse industries and environments and the mining industry is no different.

Our partnership with Select PPE was established over 10 years ago and continues to grow as the wearer becomes more discerning about the garments they choose. Working together with Select PPE, we are able to get Jonsson Workwear products to those who need them and together we can provide a service of which we are very proud.

At Jonsson Workwear, we are inspired to make a difference and to serve by providing the people of Africa with world class garments made with pride and purpose.

For more information about the full range of Jonsson Workwear available via Select PPE, please visit our website www.jonssonworkwear.com

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SELECT PPE

Continues from page 43 received: “We’ve created three different ranges to meet the budgets and needs of all potential clients. The Storm product range is for your high-end, discerning customers that need specialist items; the best equipment, like your blue-chip steel manufacturers, people that use a lot of chemicals, and so on. That’s the Storm range, a premium selection of products aimed at a smaller consumer segment at the top of the market. However, this range will naturally be limited in size,” Stols explains.

She continues: “Our Pride range on the other hand is our intermediate range, and it has been very well received by the market. Pride will be a more value conscious product that is synonymous with strength, value, and comfort, and aimed at the far larger mid-market consumer segment.

“The Force range is an entry level option that caters to lower budgets without compromising on safety. Its more for the agricultural sector, such as your small farm owners, for example, that needs equipment and overalls for their workers but who can’t afford the most expensive kit. We’ve just started to receive our first stock order for the Force range.”

Understandably, there is great optimism about the company’s forthcoming entry into this new area of business. Certainly, there is a feeling among the senior management team that this expansion has capped what has been a very successful few years for the business.

It is no secret that the South African economy has endured a difficult period of stagnation and poor business confidence, because of many political and economic difficulties, not least the dire commodities crash that all but collapsed the global mining sector. It is therefore telling that even despite the challenging conditions that existed around the company, Select PPE hasn’t merely survived but thrived, having posted double-digit growth rates, year-on-year.

In the words of Stols, “Select PPE has always been a survivor.” The company’s 420 highly trained professional staff from every department, be it warehousing, logistics, or procurement, as well as its senior

management team, are actively engaged in the company’s success.

Stols reiterates “Select PPE are headed by a transformational CEO – Peet Pieterse, whom came through the ranks from an entry level manager to leading the whole Select PPE Africa team. His vision and ‘no nonsense attitude’ is well known and are supported by his Senior Team. His ‘we will not compromises’ are: Complete solution offering, selling a service of managing the safety of our customers employees; build a formidable reputation and longstanding customer networks;attribute our success to the high-quality of service, reaction time to the markets, endurance in poor economic cycles and the ability to deliver tailored PPE management systems to our customers; continuously evaluate the market trends and product innovation;service offerings designed to communicate our focus on our customers and employees; be flexible, fast and

innovative with regards to changes required to meet our clients’ needs and accomplish goals, cost savings, legislative requirements and KPI’s; and embrace change, honour our communities wherein we work, strongly believe in education and skills transfer initiatives.”

These are heady times for a company which has seemingly perfected the business of protecting workers into a fine art form. Economic crashes, mining strikes, and political discord have failed to halt Select PPE’s ascent – one can only wonder what the company will achieve in thriving conditions?

SELECT PPE 011 296 3600 marketing@selectppe.co.za www.selectppe.co.za

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RICHARDS BAY MINERALS

A Young Leader // Comes to

Richards Bay PRODUCTION: Colin Chinery

Richards Bay Minerals, a world major in heavy mineral sands extraction and refining, is South Africa’s largest mineral sands producer. The company has a new Managing Director; World Economic Forum’s 2017 Young Global Leader Billy Mawasha. He talks to Enterprise Africa about his plans, principles and priorities.

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With 45 mineworkers killed so far this year and 73 in 2016, occupational health and safety remains a major concern in South African mines. Achieving ‘zero harm’ looks like taking far longer than hoped or anticipated.

But from KwaZulu-Natal’s Richards Bay Minerals comes a decidedly encouraging trend. The Rio Tinto company continues to operate safely and successfully, and in June completed five million injury free hours for the first time in its 40-year history.

“The organisation has done excellent work in reaching the five million figure for the first time, and it’s a great achievement,” says RBM’s recently appointed Managing Director, Billy Mawasha.

“Since this figure was reached we have had some challenges which we are working through in terms of injuries. Safety is a major focus for us; the number one in everything we do. It’s one of our core values and a key to where we get to.”

WORLD LEADER Formed in 1976 to mine the vast mineral rich sands of the northern KwaZulu-Natal province, RBM is a world leader in heavy mineral sands extraction and refining, and South Africa’s largest mineral sands producer and beneficiation company.

Producing predominantly high purity iron, the gemstone zircon, rutile, a form of titanium dioxide deployed in the manufacture of refractory ceramics, titania slag, used in paint, paper and plastics, and titanium dioxide feedstock.

RBM uses a system of ponds and floating dredges to mine the ore body, where heavy valuable minerals such as rutile, zircon and ilmenite, the most important ore of titanium (titanium alloy applications are found in high-tech airplanes, missiles, space vehicles and even surgical implants). These

are recovered from the sand, with the heavy mineral concentrate transported to the mineral separation plant.

RBM is currently producing two million tons of products annually, contributing 50% of KwaZuluNatal’s mining sector and 3.3% of the national mining sector output.

At any one time, no fewer than 20 large ocean-going vessels are either at anchorage in Richards Bay – South Africa’s largest industrial harbour - or on the high seas, transporting RBM’s products to customer markets across the globe.

STRAIN AND STABILITY Like its peers, Rio Tinto came under significant strain when commodity prices started falling in 2014 and 2015, ending a year-long boom.

A wide-ranging restructuring programme followed, with equity raised, debt cut and dividend slashed.

“If you look internally at Rio, everyone knows that it went through a process of fixing the balance sheet with the result that a lot of focus over

the last two or three years has been on cost cutting, tightening and aligning the business and increasing efficiencies and remaining a tier one business. That is our asset, and we need to keep the cost pressures down to retain our tier one asset,” explains Mawasha.

A former UCT electrical engineering graduate, Mawasha joined RBM from Anglo American’s Kumba Iron Ore where he was Executive Head of Operations and Integration, following on from a career path that included working for the De Beers Group and AngloGold Ashanti.

His personal credentials are striking. Last year he was named by the South African Financial Mail as a top black leader of the future, and this June was awarded the title of Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

ZULTI SOUTH Ambitious for Richards Bay Minerals and the local communities it serves, he takes control at a time when RBM is preparing to embark on a

new mining project, Zulti South.

Located along a 20km strip of coastline south of the town, this will extend considerably the life of the company’s mining operations.

With deposits of minerals at RBM’s 40-year-old Zulti North mine running down – operations are set to continue there up until 2030 - the plan is for Zulti South to come online in phases to maintain production levels of 200 million tons a year.

Zulti North currently employs 2000 permanent and 2000 contract employees, and Zulti South is expected not only to maintain these jobs through relocation, but also create several hundred more. Go ahead for the project follows the signing of a land use agreement with the Dube and Mkhwanazi traditional authorities representing the host communities that live on the land.

Zulti South phase one - which includes setting up new dry mining infrastructure in the Port Durnford area - could come on stream in the next few months, with a heavy

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: MINING

minerals hourly extraction rate of 2500 tons. Phase two is set to start operations in 2021 at a lower production level of 1250 tons an hour.

“The project is at the stage of final feasibility, and I hope we will be ready to start on it early next

year. This is our main key project, one that will extend the life of RBM’s operations until 2037. Aside from this, our focus is to continue to put ‘stay in business’ capital into RBM to maintain continuity of our life,” says Mawasha.

CHANGING YEARS In his 17 fast-track years in the industry, Mawasha singles out the rapacious Chinese demand for raw materials as the biggest emerging factor in the sector, followed by technology and the increasing

//ROCKWELL AUTOMATION IT ALL COMES TOGETHER: LEVERAGING THE CONNECTED MINE When thinking about an Industry 4.0 roll-out strategy, there’s a widely held view that large-scale investments in new control and automation technologies will underpin its realisation. Yet, astonishingly, less than 1% of all available data generated by devices within the current industrial space ends up being converted into actionable information.

Unless plant equipment is exceptionally antiquated, the challenge, therefore, is not about investing in newer products, but in optimising utilisation of existing products through smarter engineering.

It’s about implementing a system that efficiently aggregates real-time data to create some level of analytics and usable information, and ensuring this information reaches a level high enough in the organisation so that executive decisions can be made based on empirically accurate, transparent, real-time equipment and process statuses.

It is this level of operational and organisational intelligence – a Connected Mine – that will enable companies to improve the performance and profitability of their enterprise by utilising existing assets and new infrastructure. Through smarter engineering, managers can: i) gain greater predictability of their business performance; ii) make better capital investment decisions, and the ability to rank those choices; and iii) implement the most effective and least adverse cost-cutting initiatives possible, when required. These are important considerations for any mining company.

Leveraging information for greater predictability At an operational level, predictive maintenance that averts a shortfall in production or allows contingency plans to be made – such as short-term stockpiling – can mitigate any negative impact and allow better predictability at an organisational level.

For CEOs and shareholders, this means that performance and target guidance can be closer to actual profitability for the period. It allows guidance to be more flexible, both to market factors, and to internal business mechanisms.

Enhanced accuracy as to the predictability of production and profitability means more skittish results presentations to shareholders can be avoided – a valuable advantage for any listed company, and real value that they can add to their shareholders in turn.

Leveraging information to make better investment decisions

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Sound capital investment decisions around where to spend, how much to spend, and how to rank this spend need to be based on accurate information received directly from your mining operations. Without accurate, indisputable empirical information derived from your processes, there’s more guesswork; more subjectivities and anecdotal input; and more luck involved in making these big decisions.

For a diversified miner with a range of operations across a range of minerals and perhaps multiple geographies, it becomes a question of not just where to invest capital, but how to rank capital, to prioritise investments, that becomes critical.

Mine-wide control architectures that quantify the status of your systems are the most accurate basis upon which to make sound capital investment decisions.

Leveraging information to ensure better cost-cutting initiatives Aggregating data into a level of analytics that highlights where in your operation you can cut costs while limiting any adverse effects on productivity; the amount you can cut by; for how long you can cut costs for; as well as how to rank cost-cutting avenues, minimises guesswork, and ensures companies don’t cut expenses they’d have been better off leaving alone.

This kind of analytics is also critical in helping miners become leaner by trimming inefficient or wasteful processes and expenditures and gaining maximum value from their assets.

Conclusion: South Africa’s well developed, mature mining environment means that there’s a high level of sophisticated control equipment being used across the industry. Our objective is to help mining companies make the best business decisions they can by utilising the data provided by their control equipment to the fullest extent.

www.rockwellautomation.co.za

Barry Elliott Managing Director, Rockwell Automation Sub-Saharan Africa

© Rio Tinto 2017

BUSINESS PROFILE

RICHARDS BAY MINERALS MD BILLY MAWASHA

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RICHARDS BAY MINERALS

attention given to health and safety.

“Safety has been a very big change since the early 2000s, and companies have been working hard to reduce deaths in the mines. RBM believes safety and health are indivisible, and our vision is to create an injury and illness-free workplace. For us safety is about people, and we are determined to succeed in this.”

Another development, and one close to his heart, is the increasing emphasis on personal welfare and social advancement.

Mawasha is passionate about education and the development of others, serving on the Board of Symphonia for SA, a national NPO with a bold vision to ensure quality education for all children in South Africa.

Last year, he was named in the South African Financial Mail ‘Little Black Book’, as one of the country’s top black leaders who want to lead South Africa to greater things.

It is a mindset in accord with that of his new employer. RBM’s growth stimulates employment, infrastructural development, and encourages the uptake of skills within the local workforce. Since it began operations in 1976, it has ploughed millions of Rand into the community through corporate social investment initiatives across diverse sectors such as health, education and agriculture.

And this year RBM has been named by Netherlands-based Top Employers Institute as a ‘ Top Employer for 2017’.

This recognises organisations across the globe that successfully demonstrate exceptional HR environment and employee offerings.

RBM’S SUCCESS FORMULA Companies are scored on their ability to attract, develop

and nurture talent, as well as continuously improving employment practices. But what, as a player in a crucial and demanding completive sector, sets RBM apart from its rivals?

“Number one is that we are a safe and reliable supplier. Secondly, we have a portion of our stream which we call HiTi, which has a slightly higher titanium than the market. We currently own a small percentage of this market and the fact that we have the ability to develop it is important.

“Another factor is that we have been here for 40 years and have established close relationships, a further key element on our side.

Lastly, between us and our sister Rio companies, we are able to satisfy the needs of our customers.

“Our history too is important.

We remain a key contributor to the KwaZulu-Natal economy and also the South African economy. You can see from the numbers and the money we go through that we are an important role player nationally.

And this also separates us.”

Looking ahead to the next three years, he says RBM’s goals are broadly similar to those most businesses are chasing. “From our side, it is really positioning the business for the long-term. Number one is a key step change for safety.

I think the business has done well in terms of where we are in safety, but with safety you can never rest.

So this is the first thing we will be looking at to achieve.

EQUAL TO WORLD BESTS “The second is what I call operation excellence; how do we make our operations equal to the best in the world? And here we have opportunities from both a technology and productivity perspective.

“We will also be looking

at costs to see how we remain cost competitive in light of all the headwinds that all mining businesses face. Finally, it will be about people. How do we produce and continue to grow as people in a way that benefits the business here and globally.

“We have got very good people in our business, and part of what we will be looking to do is to see how we can promote them faster.

So these are the four priorities I have; safety, operational excellence, people and costs.”

Being selected as a Young Global Leader has been a humbling honour and privilege, says RBM’s new MD. “I am grateful for the opportunity to work with the World Economic Forum and other YGLs and role players to continue to make an impact in the world.

“What I hope to achieve most is collaboration on projects that make an impact.”

RICHARDS BAY MINERALS +27 35 901 3111 communication@rbm.co.za www.rbm.co.za

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AFRICAN UNDERGROUND MINING SERVICES

Top of the Pile in

African Mining PRODUCTION: Timothy Reeder

Possessing the largest company-owned fleet of mechanised equipment in the world, Ghana-based African Underground Mining Services (AUMS) is a full service underground mining contractor. Backed by a team of operators highly skilled in the art of employing its technology safely, its expertise has led to the award of numerous notable mining contracts across Africa.

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A track record of exceeding productivity targets without compromising safety has helped to position African Underground Mining Services at the forefront of one of Africa’s most highly competitive sectors. It vows to only invest in the latest and best mining technology and personnel and employ world-class practices and is, in its own words, “confident we can outperform traditional owner-operator underground mining operations tonne-for-tonne, improving the overall profitability of mining projects.”

To facilitate this performance it holds an extensive, flexible fleet of mechanised, high-speed machinery, enabling rapid mobilisation to site and provide a highly efficient and safe

operating environment. The option to make use of this top of the line equipment means that clients are not, as a result, required to finance and maintain their own fleet, in turn reducing risk and capital outlay. Throw into the bargain African Underground Mining Services’s teams of highly trained and experienced machine operators, with the technical capability and safety values to deliver maximum productivity without compromising safety, and it is easy to see why so many clients have made AUMS their mining contractor of choice.

The company’s operations are split into two distinct divisions, namely underground mining and mine management. Within both is a comprehensive range of services, from

consulting and feasibility management right through to mine development and production. The high speed mechanised equipment and experienced personnel at its disposal combine to deliver what it strongly believes to be the best, most comprehensive underground mining service in Africa. AUMS’s specialist skills are copious, spanning narrow vein mining - both handheld and mechanised - through to high-speed horizontal development.

AUMS offers a similarly broad range of contracting services, encompassing the full spectrum of requirements for any project. By way of example, its joint venture partners’ years of expertise in the management and operation of jumbo development projects enables it to offer the Continues on page 58 www.enterprise-africa.net / 55

Feel at Home in the Middle of Nowhere Feeding, housing, serving and caring for the well-being of hundreds of people working on major projects, remotely based in West & Central Africa: that’s what we do at FEA.

Quality Catering Services Providing South Africa with: • • • • •

Catering Hotel management Leisure Logistics Fire Safety

• • • • •

Gardening Access Control Medical Maintenance Other services

www.fea-catering.com Pierre ZGHAIB - Managing Director - Tel : +223.66.750.130 - E-mail : pierrez@fea-catering.com

INDUSTRY FOCUS: MINING

Continues from page 55 highest standards in high-speed decline access mining. This technique is increasingly being proven as the optimal solution for many mines in Africa, as the rapid development of the decline enables early access to and mining of underground reserves. A large fleet of underground mechanised equipment gives AUMS leading technical capability in decline mining, as does engaging the best operators in the industry, to deliver the highest productivity and quality of finished product.

African Underground Mining Service has worked in Africa on both new and existing projects with some of the biggest resource companies in the world. It has striven tirelessly to construct a reputation centred around working closely with clients to develop tailored project solutions, which will ultimately optimise productivity and profitability. The company’s underground work in Africa began in 2007, since which time it has been involved with some crucial projects in the likes of Mali, Burkina Faso, Tanzania and Ghana.

It is in Ghana that AUMS is perhaps currently most active, performing underground development and diamond drilling at both the Bibiani and Subika operations, as well as production at the latter.

The Bibiani gold project is an underground mine located in the western region of Ghana, whose mineral concessions are located approximately 80km south-west of Kumasi, the capital city of the Ashanti Region. The gold mine is found within a series of fine-grained graded turbidites - referring to the geologic deposit of a turbidity current containing localised interbeds of fine to medium-grained turbiditic sandstones. The Bibiani gold mine is estimated to contain likely ore reserves in the region of 5.4 million tonnes (Mt), which would give rise to 640,000oz of gold.

Mensin Gold Bibiani Limited

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(MGBL), a subsidiary of Resolute Mining, has been the owner of the project since its transfer from Noble Mineral Resources in June 2014.

An estimated 100,000 tons of ore is expected to be mined each month, which includes approximately 25,000t of waste and a total rock movement of 125,000t. Ore from the mine will then be processed at the existing plant at the site, where it will be primarily crushed and delivered to the reclaim stockpile. Frontend loaders (FEL) will be used as a final step to reclaim the stockpiled crushed ore and feed this into the one million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) milling circuit.

This project is expected to produce up to 1.2 Mtpa of underground ore, alongside approximately 100,000oz of gold a year over its initial five year operating lifetime. Between September 2015 and February 2016, AUMS’s 23-strong team completed thousands of kilometres of drilling through the old workings of the Bibiani gold mine, forming part of an extensive feasibility study to better delineate the underground resource. At its conclusion, Resolute Mining MD and CEO John Welborn commented that, “Bibiani is a key growth asset for the company, and the completion of the feasibility study and the establishment of our first ore reserve at the project is an important milestone.

“We are delighted with the results of the study which demonstrate a viable development plan for Bibiani, competitive costs, and excellent upside potential.

“The feasibility study is a major improvement on the scoping study completed a year ago and demonstrates the potential for even better results. In the current environment of rising gold prices Bibiani offers the company an increasingly attractive growth opportunity. Further successful exploration to upgrade and extend

the ore body will boost project economics, extend the mine life and further enhance value.”

Located in Kenyasi in Ghana’s Brong-Ahafo Region, and representing second of AUMS’s primary African concerns, the Subika underground mine is being developed by Newmont Ghana Gold. African Underground Mining Services found itself heavily involved in developing the project into a state-of-the-art production mine, after the successful completion of Stage 2 exploration works. The current Scope of works explains the need of 200 AUMS personnel, calling as it does for 48,000m of development, 1.2Mt of Production, 164,000m of diamond drilling, 5000m of vertical development and

AFRICAN UNDERGOUND MINING SERVICES

installation of underground conveying and crushing infrastructure to sustain a 2.0 Mtpa production rate.

African Underground Mining Services was awarded the Subika underground mining contract at Newmont Ghana Gold’s Ahafo complex in Ghana in April this year.

The five-year contract entails the supply of all underground mining services for the Subika underground mine – including development and production activities, diamond drilling and associated services. It comes with an estimated value of US$280 million, and this expansion of Newmont Ghana Gold’s Ahafo location aims to extend profitable production at the existing operation by building a new underground mine

and expanding plant capacity by more than 50%.

The Subika underground mine is expected to produce 1.8 Moz of gold over an 11-year mine life, while the mill expansion is geared toward increasing capacity to nearly 10 Mt by adding a crusher, grinding mill and leach tanks to the circuit. This combination is expected to entail much improved margins while also supporting profitable production at Ahafo through to at least 2029.

The Subika expansion project team is progressing the project ahead of schedule and is actively looking at innovative ways to advance the project to be Newmont’s first underground mine in Africa. “We are building on strong performance

and solid infrastructure by investing in the next generation of profitable production at Ahafo,” summated Gary Goldberg, President and Chief Executive Officer.

“The Subika Underground mine will also create a platform to support even longer-term growth. Recent exploration results demonstrate considerable upside within the Subika deposit and adjacent Apensu Deeps deposit.”

AFRICAN UNDERGROUND MINING SERVICES +223 20 214 242 enquiries@aumsgh.com www.aumsgh.com

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CHAS EVERITT INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY GROUP

Challenging the

Status Quo PRODUCTION: Djamil Benmehidi

The reaction of the Chas Everitt International property group to the toxic cocktail of threats that has throttled South Africa’s economic growth in recent years is proof if any was needed that adversity really does breed dynamism and ingenuity.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: PROPERTY

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CHAS AND BERRY EVERITT

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Over the course of its 37-year history, the Chas Everitt International property group has become a leading player in South Africa’s real estate industry, with a substantial national footprint, more than 1300 sales agents and staff. It also has global marketing reach as the SA representative of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE), an international real estate network that spans six continents and connects 565 firms and 130,000 sales associates who facilitate more than 1.1m real estate transactions each year.

In addition, the group works tirelessly to uphold an exceptional standard of customer service and provide memorable real estate experiences that enable it to create strong bonds of trust with all the property buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants it serves.

Indeed, while it is outwardly very different to the small family business established by Charles and Tilla Everitt in 1980, it remains true to that business’s original family values of hard work, ethical business practice and innovation.

“It is these values that have enabled the company, and later the group as a whole, to survive the many challenges that have confronted the SA real estate industry in the past four decades,” says current group CEO Berry Everitt. “We have been able to grow despite having to contend with several recessions, major social-political upheavals, and an increasing body of legislation and industry regulation. As a result, we have also had many reasons to celebrate, and have learnt where our focus needs to be when the country is going through tough times as it is at the moment.

“So although the residential market has shrunk over the past year, our sales have actually increased because we’ve grown our market share by continuing

It is not about how much technology you have – it is how you use it Technology is essential to repeat and referral business in the Real Estate Industry.

Real Estate is a relationship business and Agents who understand this use a CRM tool and are typically the top earners.

They know that a CRM will; > Help them make more money > Nurture Relationships > Automate their marketing for consistency > Get more referrals Top agents say that Referral and Repeat business contribute up to 39% of their earnings so it is proven that using a CRM will help you nurture and retain relationships way beyond a single transaction sales approach.

In 2015, we started working with the leadership team at Chas Everitt to create a purpose-built CRM for the Real Estate Industry. The result was MYCE, which stands for My Customer Engagement. MYCE is all about enabling Agents to grow

Pre-populated CRM

Follow-up Management

their database and turn a contact into a relationship, nurture those relationships on an ongoing basis to retain the customer so that you can increase your chance of getting repeat and referral business.

With technology being introduced to us daily we sometimes sit back and wait for the next disrupter that will potentially put Real Estate Agents out of a job. Well if that were the truth then why do the NAR’s stats show that 87% of buyers purchased their house using an Agent, showing an increase from 69% in 2001.

communication, then, when the opportunity arises to do business, you are already top of mind. That being said, let’s look at what this really looks like in real life.

Let’s use an example of two suburbs with 10000 homeowners It would take an agent over a year, doing 25 calls a day, to contact each homeowner once.

This is not a sustainable way to build relationships and therefore using MYCE is essential to sustaining repeat and referral business in Real Estate.

Technology is not changing how customer relationships work it is simply making it easier to do more business.

Chantelle Fraser

CRM’s are used to track communication with past and current customers and record your followups so that you are in constant

CEO & Founder of MYCE Mobile 071 300 9435 Email chantelle@dracore.biz Tel: +27 (0) 10 595 3571 www.myce.co.za

POPI Compliance Module

Email Template Builder

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: PROPERTY

BERRY EVERITT CHAS EVERITT CEO

to absorb top agents and independent agencies into our operations.

“And we plan to increase our market share by a further 1% over the next 12 months, and boost revenue by at least another R100m. This means that we need to recruit another 187 estate agents and add about R1.8bn to our annual turnover, but we believe it’s quite achievable.

The pursuit of such an aggressive growth strategy at a time when the South African economy is in such difficulty might appear a little over-ambitious, especially considering the real estate market’s vulnerability to diminishing credit flows and the threat of rising interest rates. But, as always, the devil is in the detail, and by concentrating primarily on the luxury property market and going global with this focus through LeadingRE and its luxury property brand Luxury Portfolio

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International® the group is already achieving “phenomenal” results, he says. “Being part of LeadingRE has been incredibly beneficial, particularly with regards to luxury real estate. It has enabled us to market our offerings to a global audience of highnet-worth individuals (HNWIs) more than any of our competitors, and to position ourselves very strongly in the luxury sector. It’s been a great complement to the Chas Everitt International brand.”

As for the foreign demand for luxury property in SA, Everitt says that while interest among UK and European buyers has declined over the past few years due to the very slow economic recovery in those regions post-2008, there has been a surge of demand among HNWI buyers from the rest of Africa and the Far East.

“The economies of China, India, Malaysia and Indonesia especially continue to show strong

CHAS EVERITT INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY GROUP

growth, and HNWIs in these areas are increasingly seeking foreign property investment opportunities.

The LeadingRE network and marketing channels – including Juwai, which is China’s biggest website for buyers of overseas property – enable us to showcase our luxury real estate and lifestyle offerings directly to this audience.”

Closer to home, he says, the group continues to focus on getting the basics right. “For example, we have just installed a cutting-edge IT system to increase efficiency and improve the effectiveness of ourinternal processes.

It is already being rolled out to all our agents and will enable us toplug in all our CRM interactions while enhancing our database, procurement and business management processes.“This is the fourth time that we’ve implemented new systems like this in 12 years, and we’ve learned many lessons from the previous rollouts, so it has all gone very smoothly The team have taken to it very well. Almost intuitively, in fact.”

So now the question is what’s next for the group? More of the same, according to Everitt who is eager to maintain the current upward trajectory with a view not only to further income growth but also to creating many more meaningful employment opportunities.

“Unemployment is the Number One problem in our currect economic situation and as a thriving group, Chas Everitt International believes it has a responsibility to take on, develop, and empower more people to earn a decent living.

“As a business person in South Africa, I definitely have a role to play in creating employment and growing the economy – and as a group we’re not waiting for or even expecting the government or the economy, or international markets to help us. It is our own energy and ingenuity that is going to create a need for more employees to serve a growing number of customers.

“We want to train and develop new agents and we want to make a difference in the lives of poor people who have waited in vain for their lives to improve since 1994. As a real estate group we would specifically like to see millions more people being enabled to buy their own homes and begin to build a financial future for themselves and their families.”

In the immediate future the group is also going to keep investing in internal training and development. “I want to make sure that our agents are the most knowledgeable in terms of their product,the relevant legislation and the specific markets and property environments in which they work, so that they can always provide informed guidance and support to our customers. This is a major way in which we can differentiate ourselves.

“Meanwhile we remain very

much a glass half-full group, in spite of the political difficulties and challenging economic conditions that exist in South Africa at the moment because we view such times as huge opportunities for growth.

We have the ability and the will to innovate and adapt, and we believe this will be the key to even greater success in the coming months.”

CHAS EVERITT INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY GROUP +27 11 801 2500 @ChasEveritt www.chaseveritt.co.za

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STADIUM MANAGEMENT SOUTH AFRICA

SMSA Continues to Pull

in the Crowds PRODUCTION: Timothy Reeder

Stadium Management South Africa (SMSA) is a multi-award winning and internationally decorated business, that continues to earn recognition in South Africa and beyond. It manages the FNB, historic Orlando, Dobsonville and Rand flagship stadiums in the Metropolitan of Johannesburg, and possesses collectively more than 60 years of experience in the events, master planning, construction, sports and venue management industries.

www.enterprise-africa.net / 67

INDUSTRY FOCUS: PROPERTY

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SMSA independently funds the commercial business of its multi-purpose, adaptable venues which are capable of hosting world-class events in the sports and entertainment industries, as well as conferences and political rallies.

Management of these multi-million Rand venues entails the provision of services in various industries, including finance and commerce, via sponsorship, advertising, retail, stakeholder return and investment, operations and facilities management and event planning.

Russell Tindale, formerly Commercial Strategic Manager of SAIL and currently of Group Africa Marketing, described a company which is, “extremely dedicated to ensuring that any and all events taking place under their auspices are a resounding success. The team is focused in making commercial success in each element of its business.” Accordingly, 2017 has seen a continuation of Stadium Management South Africa’s excellence being acknowledged across the spectrum of its operations.

Such was the fervour at the FNB Stadium for the 2016 Carling Black Label Champion Cup, it has been shortlisted for the highly sought-after fan experience of the year award. SMSA is up against noteworthy events which include football fan experiences at Liverpool and Glasgow Celtic, and basketball franchises Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz. The Stadium Business Awards recognise leadership, innovation and achievement in the delivery, operation and management of sports facilities globally. A further nomination for SMSA this year is in the Business Triumph and European (EBA) Awards for outstanding achievements in the field of corporate social responsibility, international relations, economics, politics, science and social activities. In recent months SMSA has received the Arch of Europe

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Trophy, and placed in the platinum category in the 2017 IAE Award, with the company internationally recognised as a driving force for quality and excellence.

The most recent Rugby World Cup in England underlined the power of the sport to inspire interest and secure profitability, setting new standards commercially and in global viewing figures and tournament attendance numbers. If successful in its bid, South Africa 2023 would be the most profitable in the tournament’s history, with South Africa’s Bid Book projecting a record 2.9 million tickets to be sold and culminating in the biggest ever world cup final in stadium attendance.

South Africa already ranks among the most enticing tourist destinations globally, and the bid places primary importance on South Africans and their ability to experience the sixweek rugby festival.

With the country’s people having demonstrated their undeniable and infectious love of sport during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, South African Rugby Union’s Chief Executive Jurie Roux spoke of the important economic benefits which a South Africa-based competition would bring. “We (in South Africa) are able to produce the tournament at 50% of the cost of any of the European bids. If you look at price parity, we are one third of Europe. In other words, a tourist will be able to come to South Africa for three weeks for the equivalent cost of one week in Europe.”

South Africa has a strong proven record of hosting such events, including the Rugby World Cup tournament in 1995 as well as the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Last month, Sport and Recreation Minister Thulas Nxesi said a lot of technical work is being done before a high-level South African delegation will make its bid presentation in London. “There will still be stages where [we] have to go

and present, that’s why we have put [together] a very solid bid… Our bid is an economic bid. It must be well researched with information from us as government [and] from the side of SARU [SA Rugby Union],” Minister Nxesi said at a media briefing in Cape Town.

Despite repeatedly showing itself to be a country with an unquenchable thirst for sport, a lament currently often heard in South Africa surrounds the lack of soccer fans attending matches in the highest tier of the South African game, namely its Premier Soccer League (PSL). This is not a new phenomenon, with Sports editor for Times Media Group Digital Mninawa Ntloko stating: “It has been happening for many moons now.” Reputations of weekly domestic matches have been dogged by reports of poor safety, insufficient seating and parking, lack of family-friendliness, excessive drinking and expensive food stalls.

SMSA would of course reap the benefits of a successful Rugby World Cup bid, and its wealth of experience is also helping soccer to turn the corner towards increased popularity.

Mickey Modisane, Public Relations Officer of Orlando Pirates Football Club, gave his own personal testimony to the quality of service SMSA offers. “Since the revamp of Soccer City, the current stadium management has been excellent in relation to working with us at Orlando Pirates Football Club. From a public relations perspective to our hospitality team, technical team and all our areas of operations we have always worked extremely well and relationships have been great.”

This was a sentiment echoed in recent years by Professor Ronnie Schloss of the Premier Soccer League: “On behalf of the Premier Soccer League, I wish to thank you and your team for helping to make 2013/2014 season a resounding success.

Whether it was at FNB, Orlando or

STADIUM MANAGEMENT SOUTH AFRICA

Dobsonville Stadiums the team was always there to help and go the extra mile to assist in making the event a safe and enjoyable occasion.”

Having established itself as the leading stadium management company in South Africa due to a sustainable, profitable and successful business model following the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, SMSA will place a greater focus moving forward on the consulting side of its business. The team at its core receives constant requests from various sports organisers as well as local, provincial and national government bodies across the globe to consult and assist with their business plans and help them achieve similar successes and growth.

Stadium Management Consulting strives to deliver solutions that allow its clients to maximise opportunities

for their venues or events, by leveraging all available channels to produce clear and tangible benefits.

Behind its operations is a team of highly qualified, experienced and knowledgeable individuals capable of producing results and solutions for either the short-term or long-term, through an extensive list of service offerings for clients in all corners of the globe. As Siyanda Mnukwa, Director of Sports and Recreation and Community Development of the City of Johannesburg concludes, SMSA provides the ideal partner whatever the end goal.

“Never invest in any kind of relationship with a company that is not willing to work on itself just a little every day,” he begins. “A company that takes no interest in self-improvement, personal development and growth will also

not be inclined to make much of an effort in building a truly meaningful connection with the other partner.

A relationship with only one partner willing to do the work ceases to be a relationship. The partnership between the City of Johannesburg and Stadium Management South Africa can only be described as an anathema to this. SMSA has evolved as a company, has contributed to community development, provides a service to the city and still searches for meaningful contributions and opportunities.”

SMSA 0861 STADIUM enquiries@stadiummanagement.co.za www.stadiummanagement.co.za

PROUD SUPPORTERS OF STADIUM MANAGEMENT SA Servest is an award winning landscaping and turf construction and maintenance business. We offer world class turf playing surfaces for sport facilities, golf courses, athletic stadiums, soccer and rugby fields, netball and tennis courts, bowling greens and cricket pitches.

Our key projects include the prestigious Metropolitan Golf Course and a number of the 2010 Soccer World Cup stadiums including the Orlando Stadium in Soweto the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, the Peter Mokaba

Stadium in Polokwane and the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.

We have a national infrastructure and offer our clients a turnkey service which includes design and layout, bulk earthworks, final shaping, grassing and irrigation.

Using the latest technology and leveraging our European partnerships we ensure that our clients get an unrivalled product which is certified by FIFA and the International Hockey Federation (FIH)

www.servest.co.za Servest Connect 0860 22 55 84

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BIG FIVE DUTY FREE

Constant Evolution Keeps

Big Five at the Top

PRODUCTION: Timothy Reeder

Offering an extensive variety of products ranging from imported and local liquor to a wide selection of cosmetics, perfume and tobacco, Big Five Duty Free stores operate exclusively at O.R. Tambo, Cape Town and King Shaka International Airports.

Husband and wife management team Chris and Marina Harilaou took us through the latest developments at the company and its action plan to keep Big Five at the top of the duty-free game.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: RETAIL

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Big Five Duty Free has long been regarded as one of the main selling points of the airport commerce experience in SA, offering competitive pricing alongside comfortable and convenient shopping to make it the very definition of a one stop shop. It is not enough these days to simply deliver a range of products, even one as exhaustive as Big Five’s, and for this reason it pairs this with extensively trained personnel who boast endless product knowledge, and who, additionally, speak a number of languages, keenly waiting to be of service. This remains of paramount importance, according to the Harilaous.

“Training on product, skills, emotional intelligence, team work and communication is a focus for us.

It is vitally important and thus we don’t really overthink the expense this entails. If we can continue to invest in our team then we shall as the results are always beneficial.

We also find that the South African legislation on skills development is supportive and encouraging of any company who totally commits to uplifting their staff. So, for us it’s a winning formula and it’s a huge

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pleasure to invest in a team that grow from strength to strength.

“Our training is extensive.

We obviously do the more usual trainings such as brand and team work training; and that’s great and necessary. However, we have gone onto a few more interesting things, like the basic language training we now offer, as well as confidence and self-esteem training. We have also introduced weekly breathing and meditation breaks lead by a Pilates instructor in an attempt to alleviate the stress experienced by employees.” The overarching aim of such a pastoral approach is, in management’s words, “to build a strong, confident and capable team but also to create individuals who, if they choose to leave Big Five are an asset to any company they may join and who will grow to enable a strong South African economy.”

Amidst the continuing uncertainty at South African Airways and a general trend of the consumer away from extravagant spending, it might be natural to assume a certain drop in the volume of business for Big Five in recent times. Not so, according to Chris Harilaou. “We have not

been particularly affected by the South African Airways situation,” he clarifies, “as there are bigger airlines which are filling these gaps all the time. If anything, we have seen extra flights coming in from other airlines in all our airports. Important to note is that the general footfall has not grown significantly but nor has it dropped. The reason for this, we believe, is that South Africa has become slightly more expensive for the cash strapped consumer due to the strength of the local South African Rand.”

However, in spite of a sustained volume of custom, Big Five has not been able to rest on its laurels by any stretch, with the ever-looming threat of financial uncertainty to also contend with. “The past 12 months have seen South Africa formally being categorised as in recession,” Marina Harilaou states. “Only last month did our Reserve Bank state we are now out of the recession but only by a few percentage points. The flux around the strength and weakness in the South African Rand creates an environment where stability in import/export and retail in general is very challenging.

INDUSTRY FOCUS: RETAIL

“There are definitely repercussions owing to the weak economy, and these certainly stretch beyond travel retail into all sectors of the economy.”

This has impacted upon Big Five’s ability to keep up the consistent double-digit year-onyear growth it had consistently achieved in recent years. “We have at the moment just fallen short of the double-digit growth figure,” explains Chris Harilaou, “however this can be directly related to the weakness and strength of the Rand.

A strong Rand affects the spend of our consumers. They have less in their pockets once the exchange is done. However, in terms of quantity of units now vs last year we do see that there has been marginally greater uptake by the consumer.”

Indeed, it would appear that it is exactly Big Five Duty Free’s

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positioning in the market that is helping to shield it from any potential drawbacks of the volatile economy, offering to consumers as it does something of a haven of competitive prices and allencompassing selection, meaning it is able to continuing to flourish within its field. Long known as a trendsetter within the industry, the company was again making waves with the launch of a new e-commerce portal linked to South Africa’s O.R. Tambo airport.

The concept allows visitors departing from International Departures at O.R. Tambo International Airport to make duty free purchases online and collect their items at the airport on departure. Big Five, the largest duty-free retailer operating at the airport, is heavily involved in its stance as the launch partner for the

portal, which means its customers now have the opportunity and the means to make their confectionary, alcohol, perfume and cosmetics purchases online way ahead of departure.

This comes as Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) releases an extremely positive set of results for the year to date, highlighting within them nonaeronautical revenue as an area of particular strength. This is a boost which Big Five has felt keenly itself, and allowed the company to put in place such fresh initiatives, as Marina Harilaou outlines. “We have put in place a variety of avenues to increase revenue, to offer a wide and competitive range of products as well as offering products unique to our country,” she explains. “At times like this we find creative thinking, marketing and a little bit

BIG FIVE DUTY FREE

of diversification help you to grow.”

Harilaou feels that this is particularly clearly shown in Big Five’s own country of operation.

“South Africans are superbly innovative,” she continues, “and we constantly look for good local product to offer where we can. This year was all about the artisanal gins being manufactured in SA. If you haven’t tried them you should - superb in quality, taste, branding and in the heritage that is so unique to our country.”

Big Five Duty Free’s business also looks set to continue to burgeon thanks to the South African government’s sustained commitment to push tourism as a key growth industry. South Africa is a mainstay among the world’s top tourist destinations, and an ongoing focus on the development of the industry can only be beneficial to

a company such as Big Five. Chris Harilaou details the further steps he feels can be taken to solidify and even grow its present standing.

“We do expect an increase in traffic through our stores,” he states, “but the caveat is that [South Africa] also needs to be seen as a value for money destination.

It’s a balancing act when the currency moves between too many spectrums too fast, and we also need to acknowledge that the economic global world is itself in a challenging space; Brexit has affected our British consumers for example as the Pound trades weaker than seen in recent years.

“Studies show that the new trend is to save for a special destination rather than purchase outlandish consumer goods. The flip side of that is that people are consciously saving for that special

trip: South Africa must be correctly positioned to fulfil that offering.”

Marina Harilaou concludes by telling us that Big Five’s investment in the near future will be focussed on its trio of present locations. “We will invest in our current stores. Our focus is on the three international airports operated by ACSA and, for now, that is where it will remain.

However, we will invest in those current operations with new concepts and brands and bring it all together to create an updated shopping experience.”

BIG FIVE DUTY FREE +27 11 390 2670

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MATUS

Diamond Anniversary Sees Matus taking

New Market Share PRODUCTION: David Napier

In the year of its 75th anniversary, Matus has introduced new products to the market and is busy developing a strategy to grow significantly in the coming years. CEO, Greg Young tells us more about the company’s success.

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“You’re going to wake up in the morning and let things get you down, or you’re going to wake up and tackle the world with rigour,” says Matus CEO, Greg Young. Looking back over the past 12-months, he explains that the economic environment has remained challenging, but Matus - South Africa’s leading supplier/distributor of tools, hardware and related equipment – has managed to avoid any slowdown thanks to a renewed focus on customer service and sales, and the introduction of important new brands in the company’s portfolio.

“We have a good ethos and

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motivation for success in the company and I think the tough times sort the men from the boys,” he says. “We’re investing carefully in difficult times with the belief that we’ll come out with good returns.

When the market turns, things will move very quickly for us.

“In March, we held a massive trade show at an exhibition centre in Johannesburg where we exhibited all of the products that are exclusive to us as well as many products of our suppliers who came and supported us. We only invited our customers over three days, and on the first day which was for VIPs we had around 500 people, on the final two days we had around 1500

customers each day.

“We launched a number of new products; a new brand of hand tools called Kendo; and extended range of automotive tools from Groz; and we launched a new range of power tool accessories called Blu-Mol. It was a fantastic event and the feedback we received from customers was that this is one of the best they’ve ever attended.”

Held at Kyalami Exhibition and Conference Centre, the event allowed Matus to reinforce its name in the industry, and remind its suppliers and customers that it boasts 75 years at the industry’s helm.

During the event, in the year of

INDUSTRY FOCUS: RETAIL

MATUS CEO GREG YOUNG

its diamond jubilee, Young compared the company to a diamond. He said it had been ‘formed over a long period of time, under high heat and pressure, which is what makes it so strong’.

“Just as diamonds are classified and valued according to the 4C’s of Carat, Clarity, Colour and Cut, we at Matus measure ourselves against our own 4C’s. These are our Commitment, Customer focus, Choice of products and Competitiveness.”

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INDUSTRY LEADING Matus works towards the vision of being the supplier/distributor of choice for tools, hardware and related equipment to the DIY and industrial markets across the markets in which it plays. It promises to supply ‘hardworking brands’ and ‘work smart for you’. 12-months ago, Young told Enterprise Africa that Matus employees come to work for “more than just collecting a salary” and

thanks to this ethos, the business has managed to achieve its vision. “We’re definitely seeing great success in that area,” he says.

“We’ve invested in additional sales people and product managers for specific brands. Each of them is responsible for a specific brand or a range of smaller brands, and that specific focus that we’ve created has really helped drive sales. We’ve seen significant success with one of our

MATUS

exclusive brands, Hitachi Power Tools, where we’ve had phenomenal growth through our focussed approach,” details Young.

This positivity has helped the company to achieve other long-term goals, such as expanding its footprint in Africa. A long-held target for Young and Matus, African expansion is not easy for any business but with determination and strong relationship building skills, the company has managed to achieve success.

“We’re currently doing well in Botswana and Namibia, we have limited exposure in Zimbabwe, and we have seen nice growth in Zambia over the past year,” enthuses Young.

“We just recently picked up a nice order from a customer in Mozambique so that is looking positive. Beyond these countries, we are yet to venture. We still believe there is lot more to achieve in places like Botswana and we are looking at partners who can help us move our products into the smaller, more rural towns.”

The growth of brand awareness with African customers was highlighted recently when Matus attended the popular automotive trade show, Automechanika, at Nasrec expo centre in Johannesburg in September. “We had a lot of interest from African organisations looking for products and opportunities so we’re hoping that will pay dividends,” says Young.

BACKED BY BIDVEST In 2016, Matus was acquired by Bidvest and this has helped the company to drive new business in a big way. The fresh approach to business has helped rejuvenate the company and instil confidence throughout the business.

“We are now a Bidvest company and Bidvest has a strong decentralised approach to business and a strong entrepreneurial spirit,” explain young.

“This has driven our sales and marketing people, and helped them to be more focussed. We try and create the atmosphere of ‘whether it’s your product range or your sales territory, that’s your business – what are you doing to grow that business?’ and trying to turn our business to a number of small businesses so that our people take ownership and have accountability.

“Just by having the Bidvest name behind the business, it’s a very well-

respected name, and it gives both suppliers and customers a lot of comfort,” he says.

The last 12-months have seen a number of changes at Matus, but business has not slowed while changes have been embedded. “We have grown our retail market share. We’ve had success with Hitachi Power Tools through Builders Warehouse, and in general across all the retail fronts we’ve taken market share. Retail in South Africa at the moment faces an extremely tough trading environment, but even in these tough times we are taking market share,” Young enthuses.

He puts the increase in market share down to customer service and the additional focus that Matus has been putting on sales. “Since being acquired

by Bidvest, we feel we’re now in a long-term home and everyone has their focus, 100%, on the customer.”

//JUST BY HAVING THE BIDVEST NAME BEHIND THE BUSINESS, IT’S A VERY WELL-RESPECTED NAME, AND IT GIVES BOTH SUPPLIERS AND CUSTOMERS A LOT OF COMFORT//

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: RETAIL

BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE Despite the ongoing success that Matus has achieved, this innovative organisation is keen to always build on its strong platform and bring new, inventive offerings to customers. “We need to improve our digital offering,” says Young. “We have recently updated our website and have plans for brand specific websites. We are proud of our product portal, tradecounter.co.za, a website where any end-user can find information about products and where they can be purchased. The company is very keen on developing this site with a view of turning it into a platform through which re-sellers and end

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users could receive training around the products they need, developing a strong, industry-wide knowledge base.

We haven’t developed tradecounter. co.za much this year,” admits Young. “The focus has been to launch the physical products but we are now working on getting the back-end and all the data for all the products updated so that we can refresh tradecounter. It is operating in the background and within the next six-months, we want to have that portal looking a whole lot more user-friendly and complete with our entire range.”

Tradecounter is not a transactional website. For transactions, Matus offers a B2B portal called Rapidtrade. Rapidtrade

allows customers to create orders, place quotes, view monthly specials and track updates of orders. In addition to Rapidtrade Matus has developed a EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) interface with one of its larger customers and anticipates growing the number of customers ordering via EDI. When fully updated, tradecounter will offer another space in which Matus can communicate with its widespread customer base. This will be vital if the company is to achieve its target for the future which include doubling market share and doubling revenue.

Currently, Matus’ sales sit at around R1 billion per annum but Young

MATUS

//WE’RE NOT RELYING ON THE ECONOMY TO GROW FOR US TO GROW – WE STILL BELIEVE THAT WE ARE ABLE TO TAKE MARKET SHARE, EVEN IN A DORMANT ECONOMY// wants this to increase significantly.

“We certainly have ambitious targets.

To achieve these, we would require a change in the economy. We are looking at five years for doubling turnover. I know we have big ambitious goals, but there’s no reason why we shouldn’t aspire to reach big achievements.”

His outlook for the future is positive and Young is looking past the current

short-term poor economic situation, to turn, to aid the company’s growth. But even if there are further disruptions in South Africa’s economic climate, Matus is well-placed to maintain its growth trajectory.

“For us, the economy is still very flat when it comes to manufacturing and construction. In December, when the President of the ANC is replaced, we hope to

see more confidence and certainty, and we hope that this will encourage the consumer and industry to start spending money.

Despite this, Matus doesn’t have a dominant market share and we’re not relying on the economy to grow for us to grow – we still believe that we are able to take market share, even in a dormant economy,”Young concludes, with his typical ‘tackle the world with rigour’ character.

MATUS +27(11) 681 9100 info@matus.co.za www.matus.co.za

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© TRUWORTHS

TRUWORTHS

2017 The First Of The

Next 100 For Truworths

PRODUCTION: David Napier

In the year of its 100-year anniversary, Truworths is remembering what has made it one of South Africa’s greatest fashion businesses while looking to the future and planning for success in its next century.

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South Africa’s Truworths has been a constant in the ever-changing apparel retail market for 100 years. Selling fashion items under a number of different brands, the Cape Townbased company has endured through economic, social and political change in South Africa, delighting customers with a high-quality, well-priced, thoroughly researched product offering. Planning for the future, Truworths has developed a business philosophy which will see it better serve its target market of the ‘youthful fashionable South African’. Truworths

aims to “entice them into the most exciting, visually appealing real and virtual retail environments where they can shop effortlessly for an innovative and adventurous blend of colour, fabric, quality, fashion styling and value and of international standard”.

After being launched in 1917 in Cape Town as The Alliance Trading Company, the business was named Truworths Fashion House in 1935.

Over the next 45 years, the business displayed impressive growth and created a national footprint before investing into new brands and international expansion. Today,

Truworths has more than 600 stores in South Africa and more than 40 across the rest of the continent; it has a presence in international markets, including London; and it is recognised

by Brand Finance Africa as one of the top 30 most valuable brands in the country. The company is listed on the stock exchange and employs an estimated 11,000 people – this is truly a South African fashion institution.

But times are tough for retailers; uncertainty in markets stemming from the 2008 GFC, and a lack of confidence in SA following the economic downgrades and period of

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: RETAIL

//I DO THINK OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS TRUWORTHS INTERNATIONAL WILL BECOME MUCH LARGER IN AFRICA// technical recession has resulted in a tight industry, where many players vie for market share.

Just last month, the JSE reported weaker sales figures with apparel retailers making slight losses in the markets. Some analysts have questioned the company’s ability to remain relevant with the youth of today, some have suggested that Truworths reliability on credit sales could be an issue, and some asked if Truworths has the ability to compete with global fast fashion competitors such as H&M and Cotton On. But CEO Michael Mark is bullish about the future, citing opportunities in Africa in particular as chances for the company to expand its presence.

“I do think over the next 10 years

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Truworths International will become much larger in Africa.

“Despite the difficulties we are all having in Africa, I do think that eventually, when the time is right and the opportunity presents itself, we will acquire more businesses that are bolt-on or match our own,” he told Business Live.

GOOD LOOKING RESULTS Truworths brands include Earthaddict, LTD, Identity, Daniel Hechter, Inwear, Ginger Mary, Zeta, UZZI, Naartjie, Earthchild, and Office.

Through these brands, Truworths managed to post reasonably strong results for the period ending June 2017. Despite negative feeling in the industry and pessimism from

market commentators, the company posted an increase in group retail sales of 8.6%, 8.3% growth in cash generated from operations (to R3 billion), and 8.3% growth in net asset value per share. Across the Group, all published financial targets were achieved, world-class e-commerce operations were implemented, and exciting new loyalty programmes were rolled out.

Truworths also acquired home interiors business Loads of Living allowing the company to access new markets, and it stated that global economic prospects are improving, making for an optimistic outlook for the business.

“Goldman Sachs expects global economic growth to accelerate, with world GDP expanding at a pace slightly faster than in 2016 but with risks to the downside.

“The UK economy has been more resilient than expected following the Brexit referendum, with 2% above

TRUWORTHS

GDP growth in H2 2016 and only a moderate slowdown year to date,” the company stated.

“Retail sales exceeded R18 billion and operating profit reached R4.2 billion, with operating metrics among the highest of fashion retail companies worldwide,” it added.

South Africa officially exited a period of technical recession following growth of 2.5% in 2017’s second quarter. With Mark citing pressure on consumer spending in the recessionary environment as one of the main drawbacks for the business in the last financial year, Truworths will welcome the news that the economy is set to recover.

Now that the acquisition of Office is complete, and that business has been fully integrated, the prospects for growing a mass online offering are exciting.

100 YEARS AND YEAR 001 Key in the marketing strategy of Truworths surrounding its 100-year anniversary is the delivery of the message that the business is proud of its past but is firmly looking towards the future. The business is keen to point out that 2017 is the 100th anniversary, it is also the first year of the next 100.

The official video advertisement released by Truworths states: “100 years of fashion - we love fashion more than ever but fashion isn’t about now, it’s about tomorrow, so we’re celebrating what we want to become. The next 100 years of fashion; it starts now.”

This ambitious, forward thinking mind-set has contributed to the company’s award-winning strategy.

This year, Truworths has picked up recognition in a number of competitions including the Sunday Times Generation Next Awards Coolest South African Fashion Brand 2017 where Identity came in first place, UZZI came in second place,

and LTD came in fourth place. In the category of Coolest Clothing Store 2017, Identity came in at seventh place and Truworths came in eighth place. These follow on from a number of awards collected over the past few years, including the notable recognition from EY in its Excellence in Integrated Reporting Awards 2016.

Talking about its future ambitions, the company states: “2017 is even more significant as it also marks the first of our next 100 years. As a high fashion retailer, we always look to the seasons ahead, to identify the latest international style trends that will continue to set up apart and ensure Truworths remains synonymous with high quality fashion, aspirational brands and unrivalled service.”

This South African giant of the

fashion world looks set for a bright future. While times have been tough, and a constantly changing market has made for challenging times, Truworths has always sustained and always delivered for its customers, and that is the most important aspect in business growth. Here’s to the next 100 years.

TRUWORTHS +27 21 460 2300 services@truworths.co.za www.truworths.co.za

Powerful Data.

Intelligent Insights.

Congratulations to Truworths on

100

years in business www.compuscan.co.za

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AIRVENT GROUP

Airvent Group Grows From

Strength to Strength PRODUCTION: Manelesi Dumasi

Cape Town’s Airvent Group, one of the country’s leading HVAC businesses, is continuing to realise progress as it aims to build its footprint around South Africa. Having recently opened a new branch in George to attack the southern market, the group is now well positioned to offer a one-stop shop solution for domestic and commercial clients of any size.

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In September 2016, Enterprise Africa learned more about Cape Town-based Airvent Cape, one of the country’s leading HVAC organisations.

Back then, Airvent was realising tremendous success, despite being forced to operate in a flat market brought about by recessionary pressure and economic instability.

12-months on, the economic environment remains uncertain but Airvent continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, achieving success that others could only dream of.

Having recently completed a number of high-profile projects, with more to come online soon, and with a strong pipeline for the future, the Airvent management is thinking about its next move in expanding the business across the entire nation.

“Ideally, we want to be recognised as one of the top players in South Africa,” says Airvent Group CEO, Mark Rogers. “Right now, our turnover sits at around R220 million and in the next three years we want to get to R500 million. It’s a steep target but with everyone aligned, it’s completely possible.”

Founded in 2001, Airvent has grown from a small team selling and installing

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air conditioning units for homes in Cape Town to a diversified group of companies offering a turnkey solution for both the domestic and commercial markets in all nine provinces.

In order to tighten its grip on the national market and spread its footprint as widely as possible, Airvent recently opened a new branch in George. This new business will fit into the Airvent Group and will supply the widest range of air-conditioning products while delivering first-class service to the region.

“At the beginning of September, we opened a branch in George called Airvent Southern Cape,” details Rogers.

“The business is aimed at Port Elizabeth, Oudtshoorn, Mossel Bay, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, George and a radius of around 200km from George. It’s an individual business that’s part of the group and we’ve elevated one of our staff members to become a shareholder and Director in that business. It has potential to grow nicely as we need to be growing nationally, and we’re growing from Cape Town to George and then possibly up to Durban as we already have a presence in

Johannesburg. We want to expand up the coast first and then move inland.

“We’ve met up with a lot of engineers in that area and its hugely helpful that they know our name in the industry and I look forward to our progress in that area.”

BIG PROJECTS Last year, Airvent was busy with a number of big projects including installation of airconditioning units as part of the SKA build, a large shopping centre contract in George, a number of installations on Northern Cape solar farms, a large shopping centre in Nelspruit, and a number of prominent residential developments in Cape Town to name just a few. 2017 has seen the company continue in this vein with successful completion of last year’s projects creating an appetite for further success within the company.

“We’re involved in a number of projects right now,” says Rogers. “We’re busy with quite a few upmarket apartment buildings in Cape Town; we’re busy with Bantry Hills Apartments which is along the Atlantic seaboard, we’re also busy with the AURUM apartments, which is also in that region.

INDUSTRY FOCUS: HVAC

Bantry Hills Apartments is a R12 million contract and AURUM Apartments is a R8 million project. They’re very prestigious apartment blocks and were very proud to be involved with them. Haw and Inglis are building Bantry Hills, and AURUM is a JV between Murray & Roberts and METLE Construction.”

The company completed its fitting at the George Eden Meander Lifestyle Centre earlier this year, but continues work in Nelspruit through Airvent Johannesburg.

Another exciting project with the City of Cape Town is ongoing which is particularly interesting for Airvent. “We’re complete in George. We’re still busy working in Nelspruit; we’re hitting the final stages and our completion date is set for the end of October. It’s been a very successful project to date and all of the professionals on site are very happy with the work we’ve done,” says Rogers. “In Cape Town, we’re busy with a large contract for the government which is

the Water and Sanitation building in Bellville.

That is a R30 million project and we’re proud to be associated with the project and the builders, Group 5. It’s a green building so it’s very energy efficient and we’re involved in making sure our products meet the standard of the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA). It’s stringent and fastpaced; we have around 60 technicians on site and we’re making good progress.”

Airvent’s involvement with these big projects has allowed it to achieve a long-held vision bolster its credibility with the country’s big-name construction firms.

“That is our aim and it’s going quite well – we have a nice even spread among them,” admits Rogers.

The Airvent group of companies places honesty, hard work and trust at the heart of everything it does. By sticking to these values, it guarantees customers remarkable products and services. This is why its project pipeline was ‘the biggest it had ever been’

last year, and continues to grow this year. “It is very healthy,” says Rogers. “We’ve secured work on the contracts side of our business for the next six months and we’ve achieved status as the top Daikan dealer in South Africa. We’re also among the top dealers in the Western Cape for Samsung and LG and those partnerships absolutely help our growth – they’re great partners to have and they help us win more work.”

Cape Town remains the core market for Airvent, but its presence is certainly growing.

Last year, Airvent was reasonably new to the Johannesburg market but was quickly gaining understanding and foothold. In 2017, that progress has continued however a slight change in strategy has been implemented.

“The market in Johannesburg remains very different to Cape Town,” says Rogers.

“We’ve changed our structure a lot and we are now not focussing on the domestic market. We are only focussed on the

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C O N D I T I O N I N G

AIRVENT GROUP

commercial market, specifically tender based projects where we can be very competitive. We are busy with two projects alongside the one in Nelspruit and both are fairly large projects. We are working on a fit out at SAB which is a R3.5 million contract.

We continue to quote and we see that the business has turned and is now a big contributor to the group.”

Another growing part of the business that is starting to become very lucrative and important for Airvent is the Heatpumps and Solar division - one of the market leaders in the design and supply of heat pumps and solar water heating systems.

“Our solar and heat pump business is growing very nicely and with the price of electricity going up, we tend to find people becoming more and more interested in getting energy efficiency for their buildings and that’s good for us,” explains Rogers.

BOOMING Following on much the same as 2016, Airvent has seen business boom in 2017 and in a market where confidence in the economy is weak, investment is slow, and construction firms are struggling, Rogers suggests that the nature of Airvent’s turnkey offering is behind the company’s success.

“Our business has evolved over the last couple of years. What we have is a diversified group of companies and what we’re finding is that our clients like the integrated offering that we can deliver.

We offer more of an energy solution for their house or building rather than just airconditioning. We’re now offering products that offer the best air-conditioning, but they’re also linked to the heating of water for the property and generally, with this type of system, it becomes a long-term efficient system for a client. When we integrate our companies, we find that we do tend to close more deals based on the fact that we’re offering a one-stop solution,” he says.

Also, the company’s core geographic market in Cape Town is potentially inline for a sustained period of investment and upgrade, meaning many opportunities for industry leading businesses who have a

proven track record of success.

“Cape Town is different to the rest of the country and we are very lucky down here,” Rogers laughs. “The market is extremely buoyant on the commercial and domestic sides, and there are also a lot of people that are moving to the Western Cape and that fuels our domestic market.

Most of our business is in Cape Town but we are doing well in Johannesburg so we have been lucky. The future in Cape Town also looks exciting as there are plans for massive expansion on the outskirts of the city where there is talk of R20 billion-worth of development and that shows us that there is a very nice pipeline to come.”

With an eye on the future, and keeping in mind his target for doubling turnover, Rogers and the Airvent management have reorganised the group to ensure that all parties are moving in the same direction.

This reshuffle has seen the group’s focus streamlined and all separate divisions united

in a vision for countrywide growth through the delivery of first class service. With infrastructure development remaining a key priority for SA’s government, the future is likely to hold many opportunities for Airvent and the growth of its offering looks set to continue in a strong way.

“It’s grown dramatically over the years but that comes with its challenges.

I’m extremely happy with where we are at the moment. We have reorganised the business so everyone, across all divisions, has one drive and one direction so that we can grow dramatically over the next few years,” Rogers concludes.

AIRVENT GROUP 021 001 3728 mark@airventhq.co.za www.airventgroup.co.za

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HI-ALLOY CASTINGS

Reshaping and Rejuvenating a

Foundry Mainstay

PRODUCTION: Timothy Reeder

Since 1979, East Rand-based Hi-Alloy Castings has been manufacturing castings for a range of industries, serving clients across the minerals processing, milling, crushing and heavy-clay brick manufacturing industries. Today, a change in ownership and significant re-investment in equipment and people is helping restore former glories and propel Hi-Alloy to new heights.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: ENGINEERING

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Hi-Alloy operates from a 10,000 m2 plant on Balfour avenue in Benoni, east of Johannesburg, where it is equipped with four melting furnaces, providing approximately 12 tons per day casting capacity, focusing primarily on Hi-chrome iron to nickel and iron-molybdenum-based alloys. It also has its own in-house pattern shop, three continuous resin-moulding lines, its own heat treatment department with several top-hat furnaces and, a 14-bay fettling department, and its own core making facility. From a design perspective, Hi-Alloy has an in-house design department, working with the latest Magma simulation software. Hi-Alloy has grown to now employ a staff compliment of 137 people.

“We are a ferrous foundry, and one which focuses primarily on high chrome and alloyed steel castings,” Hi-Alloy Castings Managing Director Daryl Meyer tells us. “Most of our products then enter into the mining industry as components into the minerals processing industry as slurry pumps, mill liners, dense medium cyclones etc.

“We supply products exclusively into the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) market, so our main customers are big industry players, focused in the mining sector. We will provide parts to them, which they then assemble and distribute across the world through their global sourcing centres.”

This effectively gives Hi-Alloy its global footprint, as Meyer explains. “Our customer base is primarily in South Africa, although we do also have one or two customers in Australia. Our products, however, are distributed throughout the mining sector globally. This means that we see it used a huge amount in Africa and Australia; even into the Far East and Russia. Our parts find their way all across the world through our customers’ brands which are themselves situated far and wide.”

Hi-Alloy is undergoing something of a transformational period in its relatively long lifetime, which, as Meyer explains, is attributable to a number of important

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developments. “The business has been an operational foundry since the mid80s,” he says, “but my partner, Frans Smit and I came in and took up shareholding two years ago, so despite its long operational lifetime, it is currently under fairly new management.

“Since that time, we have put two new one tonne induction furnaces into the business, but as well as this there is a lot of other investment being committed to Hi-Alloy Castings.

“We have earmarked this primarily to enable us to install a whole new sand reclamation plant as well as a brand-new compressor system. As we speak, there is a lot of investment going into this business and this will continue over the coming months.”

Recent IDC funding has allowed the business to fast track its investment programme in equipment upgrades, which will increase efficiencies, focus on EHS compliance and grow and secure jobs into the future.

“The new sand reclamation plant has been specced, and is on order as we speak. New compressors and increased overhead craneage capacity will be installed within in the next few weeks.

The plant as a whole really is an ‘old lady’ - it has been here for many years and simply needed a little TLC and some investment to sort out, which we are now well-positioned to be able to do.”

It is not only the investment itself that will allow Hi-Alloy to achieve the growth that it desires, but the confirmation too that what it is doing is in line with even the most demanding expectations. “The IDC process is a very rigorous one to go through, but at the end of the day, we believe that it is about South African business owners creating jobs through sustainable, well run businesses. The saving and creation of jobs is what the IDC really centres its mandate around, so we are very pleased to have received their support.”

Also crucial to garnering the IDC’s support is a demonstration of a business’s commitment to Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE).

This is another area in which Meyer feels Hi-Alloy is ahead of the game. “We came into the business and realised that one of the reasons that a lot of foundries have floundered in the last ten years has been a failure to take their BEE responsibility seriously; if you want to do business successfully in South Africa then this is not an option, but an imperative. We are Level Three on the new legislation, and so from a BEE-rating perspective we know believe that we are one of the best rated foundries in South Africa.

“We have also assembled a new management team, which is a combination of some exceptional foundry experience and experienced management from outside of this industry. The combination of these people is changing the way that we manage our business and changing the way that we present ourselves to our customers, new and existing.”

The acquisition of Hi-Alloy came about following a very careful strategic consideration, Meyer explains. “Both Frans and I came out of very strong corporate backgrounds in South Africa business, and considered this investment very strategically before deciding to invest in this industry. We chose this for a number of very strategic reasons; for starters, we felt that the mining industry had probably gone through the worst slump that it had suffered in recent memory and were confident that it could emerge, and we are seeing exactly this happen now.

“Additionally, the South African foundry industry had been through a particularly tough time, with a lot of consolidation and closures during this period. This meant that those which were left standing were left to operate in a market which was significantly less competitive than had been the case previously. There were opportunities there, as a result for a foundry that was run well to really flourish.

“The government had also started shifting a lot of its own focus toward support for the metals industry, in large part from a job preservation and creation

HI-ALLOY CASTINGS

perspective. The volatility of the Rand as an emerging markets currency has also made it economically far less attractive for local customers to consistently import castings from the far east. These various factors came together for us to conclude that this industry would be the good place for us to invest, and so two years ago we took up 40% ownership of HiAlloy with management control.

“Hi-Alloy has always had a reputation for being a well-run, technical foundry,” he continues. “We have staff possessing hugely impressive competences, who have been in the industry for many years, who from a technical perspective are among the best in their field. Neither Frans nor I are metallurgists by trade, but alongside us we have one of the most highly respected foundry metallurgists in Anton Britz on our executive team, which serves to exemplify this focus.

“From this perspective therefore Hi-Alloy was a very alluring proposition for us, but it just needed to have its strategy to be redefined and the business to be re-configured in terms of its management structure, cost base and operational focus and value proposition.”

This is exactly what Meyer and the new management have set about doing, and to already good effect, as he concludes. “In these last two years we have gone through a lot of restructuring, adding much more capacity on the manufacturing side and embarked on a campaign specifically designed to attract larger blue-chip companies back into our customer portfolio, whilst not losing focus on our loyal existing customers who have supported the business through thick and thin.

“We wanted to focus on the big multinationals, because that is what we understand. As a consequence, our top

RECORDS

line has grown by approximately 35% over the last two years. This growth in itself has put pressure on the business, but through the loyal support of our wonderful customers, Hi-Alloy is well on track to achieve its budgeted targets for this year. It has been a massive learning curve for us entering this Industry, but with a superb team of experience and passion around us, and a customer base that is always willing to work with us to find solutions, we have no doubt that HiAlloy Castings is once again a major force in the South African foundry industry.”

HI-ALLOY CASTINGS +27 11 421 5874 www.hialloycastings.co.za

Industrial (Pty) Ltd

• ABRASIVES • TOOLS • OVERALLS Contact number: 081 467 7695 Cell number: 083 234 9936 SHANNON Email: shannon@recordsind.co.za / sales1@recordsind.co.za

• GLOVES • SAFETY SHOES • AND MORE!

Address: 10 Howe Circle Sunnyridge Germiston South Africa 1401 Website: www.recordsindustrial.co.za

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PETROSA

Russian Partnership Offers New Hope

For Energy Giant PRODUCTION: Manelesi Dumasi

PetroSA has signed an exploration agreement with Russia’s Rosgeo.

The pair will explore for valuable oil and gas resources off the South Coast of the Cape. This could be a solution to a longstanding problem of feeding the company’s hungry Mossel Bay GTL.

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After a turbulent few years for South Africa’s national oil company, PetroSA, positivity began to flow in September after a deal was inked with Russia’s Rosgeo.

The exploration company is part of the wider Rosgeologia, a Russian multiindustry geological holding company, which offers a full range of geological exploration services, from regional surveys to stratigraphic drilling and subsoil monitoring.

Following leadership uncertainty,

corruption allegations, questions of financial mismanagement, and the infamous Project Ikhwezi, PetroSA welcomed the R5.2 billion commitment from Rosgeo, which will see the pair extract gas off the south coast. This will feed into the company’s GTL (gas-toliquids) refinery at Mossel Bay where unique GTL Fischer-Tropsch technology is used to create ultra-clean, low-sulphur, low-aromatic synthetic fuels and high-value products converted from natural methane-rich

gas and condensate.

Rosgeo will carry out more than 4000 square miles of 3D seismic operations and over 13,000 miles of gravity-magnetic exploration works, as well as drilling of exploratory wells in blocks 9 and 11a off the south coast of South Africa. Estimates suggest that the region could hold mass reserves and the businesses are expecting four million cubic metres of gas daily.

Signed when the companies came together at the 9th Annual Brics Summit

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: ENERGY

in Xiamen, China, the ministers of energy for both Russia and South Africa were present.

“The signed agreement is aimed at developing bilateral relations and will strengthen the company’s presence in the African market,” said Roman Panov, Rosgeo CEO. Luvo Makasi, the Chairman of the Central Energy Fund (PetroSA’s key shareholder) said: “South Africa’s oil and gas potential remains largely unexplored. This exploration effort presents significant upside to both the country and PetroSA. The upside for PetroSA is the possible expansion of our depleting gas resources. Discovery of hydrocarbons on our shores has the potential to bring significant revenues to the country and prove the country’s oil and gas prospectivity.”

PetroSA’s interim Chairperson added: “A find in block 9 and 11a would result in much desired exploration activity of our onshore and offshore oil and gas potential. The country and PetroSA will benefit greatly from the find. From the perspective of PetroSA it will result in cheaper feed into the Mossel Bay refinery.” “добро пожаловать” (welcome) is very much the message coming from PetroSA as it looks to secure finances following the announcement of a R14 billion losses after its last failed attempt at solo offshore drilling.

Although not all details of the arrangement are currently clear, some reports suggest that any gas produced from ‘block 9’ could be 65% owned by Russian parties and South Africa would be forced to purchase the gas – an idea that has attracted criticism.

However, Russian-South African business relations are enjoying a fruitful period. Exports from SA to Russia are strong, following a successful trade visit back in September. The two countries worked closely on a successful nuclear power construction bid (which was later shelved following a court ruling) which would see Russia’s Rosatom help South Africa build new nuclear power stations;

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both nations now enjoy restriction free travel, and President Zuma has invited President Putin to visit later this year, cementing the ties that Russia desires following a period of sanction-hit economic sloth.

The Russian factor could become very important for PetroSA which is currently implementing a ‘business turnaround plan’ and desperately needs to source new input for its GTL refinery which is seeing a mass drying up of current feedstocks.

“PetroSA wishes to assure South Africans and our various stakeholders that as the Board and its employees we are committed to the sustainability, turnaround and long-term growth of the company. We are confident that the shareholder will give the necessary support, where appropriate, to ensure that we return the company to its former glory,” the company said earlier this year.

Away from international deals and future proofing, PetroSA remains a key contributor to the South African economy and continues to commit financial and operational resources to the upskilling and development of people, and the developing of communities. In its 2016 annual report, the company stated that it had ploughed R21 million into community development, R20.9 million into health, R10.4 million into education alongside a number of other projects.

A fantastic example of the good work being done by PetroSA in this regard came in August when the company announced it had donated R4 million for the complete reconstruction of the Maseleni Junior Secondary School, at Ntsetshe Village, Dutywa, in the Eastern Cape. The previously dilapidated and rundown facilities at the school were replaced and upgraded with modern offerings including an all-new administration block, three modern classrooms and ablution facilities. The 130 students at the school received their new facilities from Minister of Energy, Ms

Mmamoloko Kubayi.

“As PetroSA, we are totally committed, despite our challenges, to ensuring that we play a meaningful role in developing historically disadvantaged communities. We could not stand by and watch, while the children of Ntsetshe Village were being educated in a mud structure,” said PetroSA’s Acting Group CEO, Kholly Zono.

“We had to step in to ensure decency and respectability was restored for the learners and educators,” he added.

This is just one of the exciting projects which has shown the potential of PetroSA to effect positive change in South Africa. The company has invested R356 million in similar projects since its inception.

Recent initiatives include, investing R1.5 million towards the modernisation and refurbishment of 21 Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres; the construction of a R6 million state-of-the-art youth centre in Great Brak, Mossel Bay; construction of a R14 million Integrated Energy Centre (IeC) at Qamata, near Cofimvaba among others.

With the exciting news of Russian investment and an ongoing focus on CSI, now is an important period for PetroSA and one which will define its future as South Africa’s national oil company with an African influence.

As a highly innovative operation, with a long history in South Africa, it is imperative that this operation succeeds and with a viable business turnaround strategy underway, the hope is that this significant business will be returned to former glories sooner rather than later.

PETROSA +27 21 929 3000 www.petrosa.co.za

JURGENS CI

Business is Booming for

Caravan Champions PRODUCTION: Timothy Reeder

With 42 shops now strategically placed across the country, and even having expanded its footprint into Namibia, Jurgens Ci is South Africa’s oldest and largest manufacturer of caravans and Campworld the country’s biggest supplier of caravans, trailers and camping accessories. Its recent sale will breathe further life into an already established giant of this burgeoning industry, for whom camping really is a lifestyle.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: MANUFACTURING

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South Africa has on offer a raft of superb campsites, hundreds of options whether on the banks of a river, nestled in the mountains or within walking distance of the beach. The Mazhou Campsite located at the Mapungubwe National Park is just one example, surrounded by the breathtaking scenery of this World Heritage Site; equally the nine coastal camping sites spread out along Namaqua National Park’s 40km of pristine west coast shoreline showcase the very best that the country has to offer to any outdoor holidaymaker.

The sustained resurgence of the previously humble pursuit of camping, joined in recent years by its arguably more upmarket and glamorous cousin, ‘glamping’, shows no signs of halting. Increasingly, the ease of travel coupled with an ever-growing focus on the part of the South African government on tourism as a key growth market today makes it among the most viable options for a low-cost, lowhassle break. South Africans are famed for a love of being outdoors, and as a destination with such unique national parks and wildlife offerings it makes perfect sense that they would do their utmost to use it to its full extent.

Indeed, StatsSA’s tourist

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accommodation report bears out clearly the notion that both locals and visitors to the country are never happier than when taking to the wild to feel the breeze on their faces and some sun on their backs, while enjoying a well-earned a break. Its tourist accommodation report in March 2016 evidenced the highest year-on-year growth in income for caravan parks and camping sites, an increase recorded at 31.4%.

This was followed by the Other category which includes lodges, bed-and-breakfast establishments, self-catering establishments and establishments not elsewhere classified which itself showed an impressive 18.7% growth rate.

Added to the obvious attraction of South Africa’s peerless surroundings are more blunt economic factors, given that outdoor camping and caravan stays are more likely to emerge as more affordable than their arguably more luxurious counterparts - such as hotels and guesthouses - an important consideration given the current economic climates locals face due to the Rand value. What is more, the freedom implicit in outdoor holidays mean that there is complete freedom to plan and enjoy an escape entirely suited to

individual tastes and experiences.

This is where Jurgens Ci, Southern Africa’s largest supplier of caravans, trailers and camping accessories, is perfectly placed to step in and assist in the execution of the ideal trip. Established more than 60 years ago, it holds some 90% of the local caravan market, in addition to an export operation which sees it send locally manufactured caravan kits to Australia for assembly and sale. The company has additionally grown to be renowned for the quality and engineering of its on- and offroad trailers, the latter of which incorporates the Jurgens Safari 4×4 range, as well as for its specialist conversions of purpose-specific vehicles.

“You can count on us for unmatched expertise and experience,” summates Jurgens Ci. “Our network of dealers throughout South Africa and Namibia, and our exports to Australia, Holland and New Zealand combine to allow us to offer a full range of products, after-sales service and sales of parts and accessories.

“We offer you four worldclass caravan brands as well as specialised units that meet the demanding needs of off-road enthusiasts and 4x4 travellers.”

Jurgens was founded in 1952

by Geert ‘Oubaas’ Jurgens and his sons, Dirk and Rieks, who emigrated to South Africa from the Netherlands in 1950. The company currently produces over 1700 new caravans a year, with an extensive dealer network in South Africa and Namibia. Alongside this Jurgens Ci also exports units to Australia, where it has a production facility, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

Campworld, the retail brand under which Jurgens Ci distributes its products locally, has become one of the most iconic and ubiquitous sights in many neighbourhoods throughout the country.

JURGENS CI

The sites are characterised by a bold corporate look and a rewarding shopping experience, while dealerships have been upgrading their sites of late to incorporate the retail shops as well as caravan and trailer sales, all under the Campworld banner. In addition to caravans and trailers, the outlets also market camping equipment and accessories, including products from the Howling Moon range that include tents, awnings and covers.

The Campworld shops work closely with suppliers to obtain new ideas and equipment, while development and innovation are two ongoing concerns in order to satisfy the evolving needs of existing and new clients. Its goal is to satisfy clients through all the different stage of life, as

they progress from singletons to newlyweds, and then on to larger families and pensioners.

Owned by Imperial Holdings since 2007, Jurgens Ci was the subject in February this year of a sale to Diamondis Pty Ltd, seeing it take charge of Jurgens Ci Pty Ltd, Jurgens Australia Pty Ltd and Prestige Safari Centre Pty Ltd, as well as owning and operating four Campworld dealers and two Safari Centre stores. Jurgens Ci management described its confidence and excitement about the new acquisition, looking ahead to the new ideas, growth and expansion opportunities which will open up in the wake of this sale.

The new owner is a South African investor headed up by Paul Kyriacou, himself a South African entrepreneur, who has interests

in retail supermarkets, a caravan dealership, other manufacturing business and property. According to Bradley Salters, Managing Director of Jurgens, the sale is, “an exciting development for Jurgens Ci, as a new investor will bring along new ideas.” Already renowned for being one step ahead of with the latest international trends and needs in the market, this move looks set to ensure that Jurgens retains its status as the king of the road.

JURGENS CI inad@jurgens-ci.co.za www.campworld.co.za

AMADA (UK) JOHANNESBURG BRANCH POST NET SUITE 15 PRIVATE BAG X10020, EDENVALE 225 ALBERT AMON ROAD MILLENNIUM BUSINESS PARK MEADOWDALE EXT 7

TEL +27 11 453 5459 FAX +27 11 453 5442 EMAIL rickferreira@amadajhb.co.za barry@amadajhb.co.za

PROUD TO BE A STRATEGIC SUPPLIER TO JURGENS-Ci

PRODUCERS AND SUPPLIERS OF

C.N.C TURRET PUNCH PRESSES, CNC FIBER LASER CUTTING MACHINES, C.N.C PRESS BRAKES, N.C. MECHANICAL SHEARS, BANDSAWS, AUTOMATED OPERATIONAL, LOADING AND UNLOADING SYSTEMS TOOLING, SOFTWARE AND AFTER SALES SERVICE

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EXHIBITION CALENDAR

KEY UPCOMING EVENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY Our regular update to help you keep track of important events and exhibitions taking place across the spectrum of industry sectors.

THE DIGITAL EDUCATION SHOW AFRICA 2017 Sandton Convention Centre OCT 03 - 04 FTTH COUNCIL AFRICA CONFERENCE Cape Town ICC OCT 03 - 05 MEDLAB EAST AFRICA Visa Oshwal Convention Center, Nairobi OCT 03 - 05 PAPER MIDDLE EAST Cairo International Convention & Exhibition Centre OCT 24 – 26 MEDIC WEST AFRICA The Landmark Events Centre, Lagos OCT 11 – 13

FTTH COUNCIL AFRICA CONFERENCE OCT 03 | CAPE TOWN The FTTH Council Africa conference is the one stop for all things high speed broadband. Over two and a half days discussions vary from Smart Cities to funding models.

We invite speakers from all over the world representing a wide range of disciplines. The sessions are carefully curated to help you connect the dots between the widespread topics.

The aim is to stimulate conversation on issues that affect us all, and educate in areas where we may not have a full grasp.

THE DIGITAL EDUCATION SHOW AFRICA 2017 OCT 03 | JOHANNESBURG EduTECH Africa will take place in South Africa in October 2017. With thousands of visitors in attendance at our 2015 and 2016 events,

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EduTECH Africa is the symbol of just how much potential Africa holds for technology, innovation and implementation in the classroom.

PAPER MIDDLE EAST OCT 24 | CAIRO Paper Middle East Exhibition is the premiere event for Middle East & North Africa’s pulp, paper, tissue, paper board making and products industries.

PAPER-ME will continue to serve as your trusted business partner in Africa and Middle East to make sure your company accomplishes its goals, thrive, and expand your business in the MENA. Experience our success yourself and be part of PAPER-ME 2017 to increase your profits, develop business network, meet paper industry key players, capture market share and gain media exposure.