COMPANY PROFILE
2013
foskor
Another year, another Best Employer title for Foskor
COMPANY REPORT
Another year, another Best Employer title for Foskor Editorial – Christian Jordan Production – Hal Hutchison
In times of recession and credit crunches, the commodity market can be a difficult place to operate. The country’s leading phosphate producer, Foskor, has found this but in these challenging times the company continues to gain international praise for its fantastic CSI and employee development schemes. President and CEO, Alfred Pitse, gives IndustrySA an insight into the company in this, its 62nd year of business.
In the past we have featured a select few companies who have managed to become certified by the CRF Institute as a BEST Employer, companies that excel in HR management and are recognised as front runners in the implementation, monitoring and communication of HR policies. Back in October we looked into the business of Foskor, the South African producer of phosphates and phosphoric acid with international exposure. The company, headquartered in Midrand but with a mining operation in Limpopo and an acid division in KwaZulu-Natal, was then celebrating being certified as a BEST Employer for the year 2011/2012. This year, the company has been recognised again, for the second year running, as a BEST Employer and this is a fantastic achievement for the company who are proving that inward investment does not go unnoticed.
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The CRF Institute, based in Holland, was founded in 1991 and is now active in over 45 countries and on five continents and the company undertakes important research into HR strategies and reinforces the role that effective HR practise can have on a business. Foskor has over 1900 employees with the majority residing in the Phalaborwa region and President and CEO, Alfred Pitse, tells IndustrySA that although the current economic climate is making business conditions challenging, the company is unwavering in its support and development of the workforce and local community. He says that working with the community is very important and this fosters development of talented staff members resulting in praise from organisations like the CRF Institute. “For many years Foskor has been involved with community projects,” he says. “We are proud of projects
Foskor
like the Foskor Community Centre in Namakgale and the Foskor Primary School. We are hugely active with CSI (Corporate Social Investment), we own libraries and other facilities and we even used to own bed and breakfasts but as the company has evolved we had to dispose of some of our non-core assets as times are tough but our community involvement remains very important.” Education remains a strong focus with Foskor. Alongside the Foskor Primary School in Namakgale, the company also supports the Kingfisher Private School and Moshate Hotel School in Phalaborwa and the Ntambanana Crèche in Richards Bay. These schools are located on Foskor sites, free of charge, and the company works with the Department of Basic Education to assist with teaching aids and other development programmes. Foskor does not stop its focus on learning and development at early education. The company also
sponsors the University of Zululand’s Science Centre ensuring that Zululand’s communities have access to world-class science and technology apparatus. The company also sponsors a winter school for Grade 12 students in collaboration with the Zululand Sustainable Development Forum.
AUG 13 PAGE 3
COMPANY REPORT The company also embraces science and maths development in young people and fosters the uptake of strong programmes that encourage participation in science and maths. Alongside all of this, Foskor assists many schools with administration activities and supply’s equipment and library services to schools across KZN and Limpopo.
COMMUNITY IMPACT Because of the size of the company, Foskor is bound by law to contribute financially to the communities in which it operates but Pitse suggests that the company like to go beyond its obligation set out by the government. Being a major employer, this is hugely advantageous to the communities in KZN and especially in Limpopo. “As a mine, with the new act surrounding LED (Local Economic Development), every year we have to spend money developing the area in which we operate but over and above that, we have our own budget for CSI,” he says. “If you look at the Foskor business in Phalaborwa, you will see that we are one of the two biggest employers in that region alongside our neighbours PMC (Palabora Mining Company). You cannot underestimate our role in the community especially when it comes to training. Our training scheme is accredited by the Department of Labour. “With BEE enterprise development, we have a budget which we use to develop emerging, local entrepreneurs
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with the basic skills such as complete literacy or bookkeeping. We see our role as more than just an employer.” As stated by the CRF Institute in their report on Foskor: “Foskor Limited has outstanding employee offerings and thus qualified for the exclusive Best Employers certification,” proving that there are opportunities for employees to develop and grow and this is something that is vitally important for the company according to Pitse. “We have succession plans. The first priority for us is to groom our own people and develop them. It is only when we cannot get people internally that we would look elsewhere for employees. The development of our people and their growth in the company is critical for Foskor,” he says.
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COMPANY REPORT
To be certified by the CRF Institute for two years in a row is a special achievement for any company and Pitse says that the company’s management is fully behind its HR Department who has been the driving force behind the certification. “This success was driven by our human capital division with the full support of the management. For any company to be successful you have to be able to attract the best skills in the long-term,” he says. Shanilla Chuturgoon, PR and CSI Manager at Foskor told the CRF Institute researchers: “‘Foskor has a reputation for being one of the largest phosphate producers in the world and I am proud to be part of this dynamic organisation. Working in an environment where I am given the freedom to use my skills and experience suits
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me perfectly. I also believe that hard work, commitment and dedication are key to meeting challenges and rising above adversity,” reinforcing the suggestion of a vibrant workplace.
TOUGH MAKET The current state of the economic climate has not been conducive for prosperous business for some time and we have been told by many different businesses that they have felt the effect of the global economic slowdown. Foskor has seen the prices of their products tumble in the last 12 months and trading has become more and more difficult and with the difficulty stemming from the crash of 2008 which caused disruption across all industries in all parts of the world.
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recognised partner due to its ability to focus on the development, engineering, construction and commission of turnkey installations. drytech international also provide sound and innovative consulting services with technical advice on all areas relating to process and plant / Upgrading of existing plant to higher efficiencies / Supply of equipment / Full turnkey project / Supervision of erection / commissioning / Process development. The final objective is to create the perfect balance between price, specification and performance. This includes criteria such ‘availability’ wear, optimising maintenance, operator interaction, and fuel efficiency.
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COMPANY REPORT
“If you look at the Foskor business in Phalaborwa, you will see that we are one of the two biggest employers in that region”
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foskor “Unfortunately Foskor has been slightly affected by things that are happening globally,” says Pitse. “The last 12 months have been tough because we are in the commodity business and the demand for our product is less than it was. The problems in the global economy, in the Eurozone and India specifically, have had an impact on us. More than 80% of what we produce is for the export market. “Because demand has fallen, the price has softened. What is helping us a bit is the exchange rate because we are export driven. These are tough testing times for us and for all companies. “The market in terms of prices is very low. Take our main product, phosphoric acid. The price four years ago was $2500 per ton but now it’s selling at around $750 per ton so that gives you an indication of how tough times are.” To improve on the current difficult times, Foskor is enlisting the help of advisors in a bid to formulate a plan for the future, a plan which will see the company expand on its current offerings. “We are in the process of appointing one of the international consulting companies to help us build a road map of what we need to do in the medium to long-term,” says Pitse. “We are also beefing up our new business strategy division mainly to look at product diversification
and possibly market diversification.” Despite the difficult climate, Pitse is optimistic about the future. He explains that the company is looking to other parts of the Southern African region for growth. While Foskor dominates the local market, there are plenty of opportunities arising in neighbouring nations. “We are a phosphate producer and we try to satisfy all the local demand for phosphate,” he says. “We want to make sure that our customers here in South Africa do not have to import. continues on page 12 >
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continued from page 9 > “IFA (International Fertilizer Association), the global association of the industry, suggests that, similarly to GDP, the best growth prospects for the market in the whole world are in the SADC region and we as Foskor are best positioned to take advantage of that market.” Phosphate and phosphoric acid are widely used in the production of every day goods and can be used as an additive in foods, medicine and for other scientific purposes. Because of this, Foskor is an important company for the region and Pitse recognises the company has a part to play in food production. “Foskor is government owned; we are aware that we can play a role in terms of food security in the region. There are definitely a lot of opportunities in the SADC region,” he says. It will take some time for the market to recover and when it does it is likely that Foskor will have developed a textbook strategic plan which will see it grow further across the borders of South Africa. Until global demand rises again and the commodity market hits its previous highs, Foskor will look to continue their fruitful inward investment and build on their reputation as one of the country’s best employers. The challenge in this regard is the cost of maintaining such a well-regarded working environment but Pitse remains firmly of the opinion that the company will never neglect the responsibility it has to its employees.
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“We want to be seen as a best employer and this means we do our best to ensure a safe environment for our employees and the communities in which we operate,” he says. “This also costs a lot for us to comply. We are competing with companies in countries where the cost of compliance is not as strict as it is in this country. We understand that we have the responsibility to comply and we know we have to find better ways to be competitive but we cannot abstain from our responsibility.” It is this steadfast commitment to the workforce that has had Foskor recognised as a Best Employer and as long as this focus on employee development remains, it is certain that the company will come through the challenges posed by the stagnant market.
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“The development of our people and their growth in the company is critical for Foskor” AUG 13 PAGE 13
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