PPC has been in business for close on 129 years and has become a household brand in South Africa. IMIESA talks to Dave Miles, head: Materials Business Unit, PPC, about market gains and growth strategies in this multifaceted segment.
How is PPC responding to the business challenges in the Covid-19 environment? DM Fortunately, we were already well positioned to weather the storm and continue supporting our customers. Of course, we all know that the sudden arrival of Covid19 put the handbrake on projects across the South African industry. Despite this, PPC has continued to forge ahead, thanks to our strategic marketing and forwardthinking approach. Adaptability, flexibility and diversification have been key contributing factors to our success. A prime example is the establishment of our Materials Business Unit around 2010. Ongoing acquisitions form a key part of our expansion strategy. In 2013, for example, we acquired
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Pronto Readymix, as well as Ulula Ash. Then, in 2016, we bought 3Q Readymix. Currently, we operate 27 readymix plants, two ash plants, and four aggregate quarries (two in South Africa and Botswana, respectively). Our South African quarry operations, both situated in Gauteng, comprise Mooiplaas and Laezonia. The latter is the only quarry in Gauteng with an amphibolite deposit. Being a very hard material, amphibolite is the best-in-class material for the roads market.
How has Covid-19 affected PPC Materials and its contributions to infrastructure? Overall, our product lines – namely
Creating new possibilities aggregates, fly ash, readymix and premix – all performed well. In fact, our Ash business had one of its best trading years during 2020, spurred on by a huge demand for bagged cement from the formal and informal home building market. The bulk of cement sold in South Africa has some sort of extender, whether it be slag, fly ash or limestone. Therefore, thanks to increased PPC bagged cement sales, our Ash business boomed. Going forward, we will be expanding the PPC Fly Ash business with new contracts that have been awarded to Ulula. We’ve been very active in supplying large private industrial developments, especially in Gauteng, with some government work. Residential building also started to rebound from May 2020. However, within regions like Limpopo, North West, and Mpumalanga, mining infrastructure developments were postponed in 2020, as mines held back on capital expenditure.
The Aggregates business did exceptionally well, especially in terms of our readymix volumes. Other key sectors like the chemical, metallurgical and agricultural industries performed with mixed results depending on how the pandemic impacted their business operations. Significant growth in construction aggregates during 2021 will be dependent on additional public infrastructure investment, particularly in roads.
How has PPC Materials been able to support SMME builders? To sustain our Materials business
Dave Miles, head: Materials Business Unit, PPC
