SCRIBANTE CONCRETE
SCRIBANTE CONCRETE
Two Decades of Absolute Strength For Scribante Concrete PRODUCTION: Karl Pietersen
As cracks have started to show in South Africa’s construction industry, Scribante Concrete is celebrating 20 years of absolute strength. Now one of the largest privately owned readymix concrete suppliers in the country, this collaborative and quality-focussed business is continuing to realise growth while competitors struggle. Sales Director Eric Fouche tells Enterprise Africa about expansion in Gauteng and new projects that are helping to cement this industry leader as one of the strongest names in the industry. www.enterprise-africa.net / 3
INDUSTRY FOCUS: CONSTRUCTION
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In October 2016, Scribante Concrete was busy with work on the Fourways Mall extension construction project in Gauteng. The company had been realising phenomenal success after expanding out of its home in the Eastern Cape and moving further into Gauteng where construction remained positive despite a wicked decline in the country’s economic performance. By opening a new readymix plant in Wynberg, the company had cemented its position in the area, laying foundations for a growth strategy which would see the Scribante name – already strong in the Eastern Cape and KZN – become first of mind in Johannesburg. Sales Director, Eric Fouche, told Enterprise Africa that the company was aiming to become ‘one of the largest readymix suppliers in the country, blending family values with corporate culture’. Today, that goal has been achieved, and Scribante Concrete continues to grow while others suffer at the hands of a still-weak economy.
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“That family name of Scribante has grown as we’ve grown our national footprint,” he says. “From what we hear from the industry, we are considered a large player at the forefront of the market. We keep the family-feel in terms of our ethos and values, we still service clients on a one-to-one level; but in terms of supply, we are known as one of the biggest in Johannesburg and we compete with the big corporates where we are known as one of the best – we have achieved our goal there.” This is fantastic news for a business operating in an extremely difficult environment. In July, the Construction Industry Development Board’s (CIDB) SMEs conditions survey for the second quarter found that those in the industry thought the situation remained woeful. CIDB Construction Industry Performance Project Manager Ntando Skosana noted: “With the exception of a marginal uptick at the end of 2018, general builder sentiment has trended downwards since the beginning of 2017.”
HUNTER GATHERERS So, what is different about Scribante Concrete? How has the company managed to continue growing in an industry that is widely reported to be moving so slowly it is almost standing still? According to Fouche, Scribante employs a ‘hunter gatherer’ mentality across the entire business, where people go out and look for new opportunities, in new industries, in new geographies, so that the project pipeline remains full. “It has become an integral part of our business and something which have really committed to. We spend a lot of time engaging with our clients about what they want us to price on and what product they need from us, but also on what solutions we can bring so that they can finish faster,” he says. “Where other companies were embattled to produce the figures, we were focussed on renewable energies, expansion in the Johannesburg area, and expansion into social housing – we were looking at different markets
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compared to the trends. Today, those trends have all changed again. We are coming off the Fourways project, which was a massive project with roughly 150,000 cubes of concrete, and we’ve expanded our brand in the Johannesburg area. Where we had two plants, we now have seven in the Johannesburg area. The expansion of those plants has been very good for us as Johannesburg has been our biggest growth node.”
// THESE ARE VERY LARGE, HIGHLYTECHNICAL PROJECTS AND HAVE HELPED US TO CEMENT OUR REPUTATION AS THE LARGEST PRIVATE READYMIX SUPPLIER TO SOUTH AFRICA’S WIND PROJECTS//
Sandton is an important region for Scribante. The wealthy suburb has seen continued project expenditure over the past decade and, in order to take advantage of the development happening in Sandton, Scribante invested into a new plant in Wynberg. The success of this investment has catalysed further development in the region, and Fouche is excited about what the future holds in Johannesburg and the wider Gauteng region. “In terms of Johannesburg, we’ve expanded nicely and we’ve been well-received by the market. We have found a number of clients that didn’t know us before and they are now well-aware of us, or some who knew us for other services but now recognise us as a readymix company. Different sections of our business - be it construction and mining, civils, quarrying, drill and blast and mobile crushing and asphalt, or ready mix – all of our divisions are now known. “The Wynberg plant has actually done so well, we’ve added a second plant, in Centurion, to handle the growth in volumes in Sandton and
the surrounding areas. We’ve also expanded and opened up in the OR Tambo-Pomona area. That supplies a lot of the new projects that are coming out close to OR Tambo International Airport where there is a lot of mega developments set to happen.” Scribante started life in Port Elizabeth more than 15 years ago and has grown to become one of the largest privately owned ready-mix concrete suppliers in South Africa. Brave expansion into Johannesburg has been a key element in the development of this expert business. “Johannesburg is a nice place to do business because of the volumes and we do have a good project pipeline there, but we also ensure we look after our projects and branches that have looked after us over the years. As much as there has been a downward turn in the Eastern Cape and KZN recently, those markets will always be there and we won’t lose sight of our clients that have been with us for a number of years in those areas. In the next five and 10 years in South Africa, those areas are expected to boom, especially around Coega.
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INDUSTRY FOCUS: CONSTRUCTION
There is a lot of industrial, commercial and social housing development that has been planned for these areas,” explains Fouche. In order to stay on top of demand in Gauteng, the company is planning the launch of a further two new plants as anticipation of future major projects begins to ramp up. “We are currently investigating opening two more plants and we hope to have them open by the end of the year. They are exciting new plants which will help our exposure in the greater Gauteng area. They are strategically planned to service our client’s needs as the Johannesburg metro expands outwards with social housing and infrastructure projects like the Gautrain expansion project and the expansion of the OR Tambo aerotropolis,” says Fouche. NOW POURING Scribante Concrete’s current project portfolio looks extremely exciting. With a nice spread across various provinces, the company is making full use of its commercial and mobile capabilities. After major successes with the Fourways Mall, Baywest Mall, and the Grassridge wind farm, Scribante is pushing forward with bigvolume jobs. “We are supplying into the Oyster Bay wind farm at St Francis Bay, we are supplying into Golden Valley near Grahamstown, we are supplying to a wind farm in Copperton in the Northern Cape, we are supplying to the Garob wind farm in the Northern Cape, and there are more which we will be sealing up soon - we are actively pricing on projects all over South Africa. These are very large, highlytechnical projects and have helped us to cement our reputation as the largest private readymix supplier to South Africa’s wind projects.” details Fouche. “A nice growth node for us has been the Zulti South pipeline project coming out of Richards Bay. That has been a key area for us for a long
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time with the mining opportunities that exist. The town has seen a huge slump in terms of economic growth, but there are large projects being announced there now. There is really strong potential growth there for the wider KZN region. “At Steyn City, there is a project underway called Steyn City Centre 1 and we are supplying there now. Estimates suggest people will start occupying in 2023 and there is around 2500 units. We are supplying concrete there as the bases are 1200 cubes and we can supply those bases in around 10 or 11 hours. Previously, they were waiting up to 20 hours for these bases to be poured and, because we can do it faster, the contractors are able to get off site and reduce their overtime charges and costs.” It is the company’s longstanding a perfectly crafted brand that allows it access to these large-scale projects and Fouche explains that a strong brand emanates from a strong and willing employee base. “All of these projects come with their challenges and we have key individuals in the company that have unique abilities that come together to create a really strong business with a common goal. Our people are very passionate about their jobs – they work hard and fight hard, and this is the success of our brand. It’s an old brand that has been around for some time, but our staff keep it strong.” Away from South Africa, the company’s brand is also starting to mature. Scribante has established a presence in Zimbabwe and has already built a strong reputation in Lesotho where it has been present for almost a decade. “We have opened a new plant in Zimbabwe and we believe that the market there is, although very risky right now, full of potential. Harare has a population of around 4.5 million across the city and metropolitan area, and that is roughly the same as Johannesburg,” explains Fouche.
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INDUSTRY FOCUS: CONSTRUCTION
COLLABORATIVE CULTURE 2019 marks 20 years since the establishment of Scribante Concrete. Now a Level 1 BBBEE contributor, with a national footprint, 150 trucks (updated frequently), and 680 employees across the group, Scribante continues to take a collaborative approach to business, always looking to communicate with partners about building the industry. “Communicating with clients about their current projects lets us find out about what previous projects have been successful, what type of projects might be of interest in the future, and where projects are expected to come up. By engaging like this, we learn where the development projects are going, and we help to support companies that have supported us over the years,” says Fouche. “As the industry gets tougher, clients want to build with companies that are able to react faster to the changing climate. We are a familycorporate and we are able to deal with our client’s needs, wants and challenges quickly because we have our feet on the ground. We don’t have
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massive corporate structures, and the challenges that clients bring to us are brought the attention of the right people much faster. Our clients still like to deal with us because we give the personal touch. We understand that our client’s needs are changing and the buyers are becoming very social. The way that we deal with our crossborder African buyers has changed so much. The younger generation like to interact on a social level when
discussing business and we like to make that happen. We like to connect however possible; this is why we are doing an online buying portal, it’s why we are doing a loyalty programme, and it’s why we are introducing new technology on how we communicate. “Our buyers no longer have to call in to find out where the tucks are; technology allows them to see when trucks are leaving, where they are right now, how many cubes it holds and
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// WE ARE A FAMILYCORPORATE AND WE ARE ABLE TO DEAL WITH OUR CLIENT’S NEEDS, WANTS AND CHALLENGES QUICKLY BECAUSE WE HAVE OUR FEET ON THE GROUND// what MPa it is holding. There is a digital signature for everything and that lets the man on the ground plan better. Their job is to put the product into the ground and create a building; they don’t want to worry about the logistics and our challenges.” To celebrate 20 years of quality, and to further connect with its important stakeholders, Scribante Concrete held a racing day in July where 200 people – all clients and partners of the business – were invited to Zwartkops Raceway to experience track laps and super cars while
mingling with the Scribante team. “Scribante is well-known in the racing industry throughout South Africa,” details Fouche, “and we had a number of racing cars on the track for our clients to take a ride with our racing drivers Silvio Scribante, Aldo Scribante, Michael Stevens and Bryn High. “We’ve started a loyalty programme where clients get loyalty points when they purchase products from us and they can use their loyalty points to purchase racing gear and other products.” It is this type of effort that demonstrates both the size and commitment of Scribante when it comes to nurturing mutually beneficial partnerships. When dealing with Scribante Concrete, you know you are working alongside one of the largest privately owned ready-mix concrete suppliers in South Africa and also a business that is invested in the growth of the country and the development of the industry. In the future, Scribante Concrete’s focus will continue to be on going out into the market and finding the opportunities to drive business. Happy
to look at projects of any size, in any location, and with a collaborative approach, this is a company positioned on a strong base for growth. “In terms of our growth, we have been in a challenging market because of the economic downturn and political instability. It has been an interesting and challenging time for Scribante as a group to try and adjust ourselves for this changing market. We have been forced to re-evaluate how we do business going forward so that we can put ourselves in a positive position for when the market turns – which economists are saying is close. There is an expected boom for construction in 2021,” says Fouche. After 20 years, it is now clear: If you are looking for reliable, safe, high-quality, experienced readymix supply that comes with a range of additional services, look no further than Scribante Concrete.
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