OVERVIEW
Engineering Renewable energy projects are coming on stream. SECTOR INSIGHT Bosch Holdings celebrated an anniversary in 2021.
Bosch Ulwazi has been certified by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) as a certified training academy. Credit: Bosch Holdings
B
osch Holdings celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2021. Having started with the design of the sugar terminal in the Port of Durban, the group now has eight companies and offices in Kenya, Brazil and the UK. Head office is in Durban. Bosch Projects does consulting engineering and project management in a range of sectors but has retained the company’s historic ties with the sugar industry, designing and supplying specialist production equipment. Other companies cover training, technology services and financial advisory. Aveng reported its first profit in seven years in 2021. One of South Africa’s biggest engineering companies, Aveng managed to turn the corner through the activities of its mining division in South Africa and its Australasian company, McConnell Dowell. Several of the country’s other big companies went into business rescue, including Group Five, Basil Read and Esor. These companies delisted from the JSE but although Covid-19 upset the plans for business rescue, that option continued to be preferred into 2021, rather than liquidation. Like Aveng, Murray & Roberts and WBHO rely heavily on offshore contracts for revenue. Murray & Roberts has completed its transition from being a South African company focussing on contracting to a multinational engineering and construction group with a focus on natural resources markets. The CEO of Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) has called for a united front to help the sector fight its corner. Chris Campbell noted in a Mail & Guardian article in 2021 that the country has “countless industry bodies” including, but not limited to, ECSA, SAICE, SABTACO, NSBE and SAIEE. Campbell referenced an earlier overarching body, the South African Forum
SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2022
62
for Engineering (SAFE) as a model. Such a body would be able to take an industry-wide position on issues such as Cuban engineers working on South Africa’s water system, a contentious issue that was in the spotlight in 2021. The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) regulates the industry through professional registration and the standardisation of tertiary qualifications. South Africa is the only African member of the International Engineering Alliance (IEA). An Investment and Infrastructure Office has been created in the Presidency. It is headed by the former Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa. In 2020, 51 infrastructure projects with a total investment value of more than R340-billion were gazetted and hopes are high that this initiative will provide a boost for engineering firms. A study carried out by KMPG found that spending on infrastructure resulted in additional economic activity worth R26-billion and created 92 000 direct jobs. The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Pro c u re m e n t Pro gr a m m e (REIPPPP) has created an entirely
