magazine
e s s e n t i a l
...essentially your business
F E A T U R E
Building A Better Future
www.brtsima.co.za
www.brtsima.co.za
Building A A Better Future BrTsima Construction Pty Ltd began back in 2003 as a Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) subsidiary of construction giant Basil Read. Over the last twelve years, the company has grown into a celebrated firm of its own, and is making a serious impact in the construction industry.
1
n entirely black-owned and managed building and construction firm, BrTsima has tackled a good many projects since its first contract with the Limpopo Road Agency in 2003. Today, the company prides itself on the quality of its construction services, and has been commended within the industry for its professionalism and dedication. “We actually became involved with the company in 2009 when I negotiated an empowerment programme with Basil Read's then-CEO Marius Heyns, with the aim of helping our company to grow in
the industry,” begins Ndendwa. “Back then, it was a subsidiary of Basil Read, and we owned 80% of the company. Now we own 100%. In fact, as it is now, our enterprise development is not even done by Basil Read, it's being done by Group Five,” he says. “Since 2009, we have grown into a Grade 8CEPE and 7GBPE construction company, and we've done a number of projects across South Africa.”
quality and reliability in the industry.
In addition to completing several large projects last year — including the new Trompsburg district hospital in 2014, in joint venture with Basil Read — BrTsima has been busy building a reputation for
Ndendwa attributes the firm's success to its ability to work as a team, as well as its ongoing dedication to quality — both of which are core values for BrTsima.
magazine
e s s e n t i a l
“We won the Govan Mbeki award for Best Quality Housing in Mpumalanga, and a Master Builder Association's award when we were building the hospital with Basil Read,” recalls Ndendwa. “I also personally won the SMME Infrastructure Development Businessman of the Year Award from Black Business Quarterly in 2014.”
“The market generally has had a strange
2
feeling towards black-owned firms. There's a feeling that if you work with a blackowned firm you're going to be compromising on quality,” explains Ndendwa. “We didn't just want to meet standards. We wanted to exceed the expectations and break that stereotype.” The process of doing so has not been too difficult, he tells us. “It's something that we've adopted as a second nature. Also, our teamwork helps us a great deal.” While many construction firms in South Africa are currently struggling with recruiting and retaining talent, BrTsima's dedication to quality has allowed them to avoid such trouble altogether. The firm's training programs make it possible for them to ensure a consistent supply of qualified workers — providing employment in a time when the country desperately
3
“
We're a construction company, so developing workers is much easier for us. You don't develop contractors in a boardroom with an air conditioner, you take them to the site where you've got projects, and you develop them there, and they are good people,”
needs it, and also avoiding the workforce issues that the skills shortage has caused for so many other South African firms. “The problem for some companies is that they are not prepared to invest in their people,” explains Ndendwa. “If you invest in your people, you can build a very good company — but if you would rather look for ready-made people, then you'll have a problem. A lot of people are unemployed and unqualified, but these people can be fully trained and developed to become very good workmen,” he continues.
is certainly busy, Ndendwa tells us they could always be busier. “We've got the Twhala Road project in Pietermaritzburg coming to an end in June, and we've got the housing project in Peddie coming to an end in April. Then we've got the construction of Taleni Senior Primary School — big, precast structures — coming to an end in another three to four months,” he says. “All of our development happens when we have real projects going on. We don't have as many projects lined up as we'd like to, but it's still looking good.”
“We're a construction company, so developing workers is much easier for us. You don't develop contractors in a boardroom with an air conditioner, you take them to the site where you've got projects, and you develop them there, and they are good people,” he says. “There are a number of people that want to be contractors, and want to sit in one of these comfortable restaurants and drink red wine, but that is not a real contractor. A real contractor has got helmet and boots and is working right on site.” In addition to training workers themselves, BrTsima maintains its high quality standards by nurturing strong relationships with its suppliers. “Suppliers are very important because they're the people that make you look good,” says Ndendwa. “If the guy says he'll deliver the bricks tomorrow, he needs to deliver them tomorrow — if he delivers in ten weeks time, we're going to be very behind. So we make sure our relationship with our suppliers is good, particularly in terms of communication and reliability.” Several of the firm's biggest projects are coming to an end this year. While BrTsima 5
Mr. Bafana Ndendwa Chief Executive Officer
magazine
e s s e n t i a l
www.essentialbusinessmag.com
Share your story Send your success story to: production@essentialbusinessmag.com magazine
e s s e n t i a l
Contact Details Contact our office Physical Address 2nd Floor, Section 41, Stellinryk Building Constantia Square Office Park 526 16th Road Midrand 1682 Tel: 011 315 9574 / 5 Fax: 011 315 9576 Email: admin@brtsima.co.za
magazine
e s s e n t i a l
...essentially your business
www.essentialbusiness.com