COMPANY PROFILE
2013
SGS
Acquisitions give SGS a fully integrated service portfolio
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Acquisitions give SGS a fully integrated service portfolio Editorial – Joe Forshaw Production – Hal Hutchison SGS is thriving in Africa and the company is currently going through an exciting period following the acquisition of the Time Mining Group. Vice President Minerals Africa, Derick Govender, gives IndustrySA an insight into what is driving the success of the company.
When a product is manufactured, it is not simply then just sold straight on to an end consumer. In 2013, all products, for all markets, undergo various tests and trials to ensure they are fit-for-purpose. When it comes to inspection, testing, verification and certification, one company operating globally has made a name for itself by offering best-in-class services. That company is SGS and in South Africa they offer a full range of services to a host of different industries, an important one being the exploration and mining industry. In April, SGS acquired the Johannesburg-based Time Mining Group with a view to expanding the service offering of its Minerals Services line of business. SGS Vice President Minerals Africa, Derick Govender, recently told IndustrySA more about the acquisition and the fantastic services offered by this group. “It’s an extremely exciting time; we are currently busy handling the integration of SGS Time Mining, which brings a new service line to SGS offerings. SGS Time
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Mining specializes in mid-tier mining projects, they provide project management, design, development and operation of small scale projects and we feel that this really compliments the current SGS portfolio. “In Africa, we are the leading provider of minerals services and one of the reasons for that is that we provide integrated services to the major mining houses, such Anglo American Platinum, Newmont Gold, African Barrick AngloGold, Harmony, Goldfields, Sibanye Gold, and now, with SGS Time Mining, new services like project management, design and engineering.”
PIT TO PORT The work of SGS in the exploration and mining industry goes back many years and the integration of SGS Time Mining is just one of the important milestones in an impressive history. “SGS Minerals Services has been active in South Africa for many years” says Govender, “but major growth came
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in 2002 when SGS acquired Lakefield Research Limited. Lakefield Research was a Canadian company with subsidiaries in South Africa, South America and Australia and focussed on providing laboratory and metallurgical services to the exploration and mining industry. In South Africa, the main office was located in Booysens, Johannesburg. This is where the SGS South Africa head office is located now.” “The mining industry is one of SGS’s target markets, however; it is not only minerals services that we provide to the mining industry. We also provide certification of systems and processes, environmental testing and oil, gas and chemical testing for heavy machinery so that we can forecast and pre-empt the maintenance schedule for equipment. “We also offer industrial services to the mining industry where we support our customers in implementing effective scheduling, budgeting, site safety and logistics, plus assist in sourcing quality materials and
personnel. We conduct studies in construction feasibility, risk assessment and management. Our services ensure quality in global supply chains by performing chemical and physical testing of materials. SGS can work with mining companies from the very early stages of a mining project, right through to the building of a plant and export of final product material. This sort of service is invaluable for mining organisations, providing much sought after components such as skilled labour, quality and safety. “In the minerals sector, we provide a host of integrated services which are a competitive advantage for clients. We call it a ‘pit to port’ service. At the early stage, with exploration, we are involved as we can undertake analysis of samples. Thereafter SGS can provide metallurgical services to give an understanding of the extraction requirements of the commodity and then we will provide industrial services to understand the requirements of constructing a new plant. This is a leading edge approach
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to exploration services and SGS is unique in that we have it in the exploration services market. It provides significant value to our clients and is available only at SGS labs globally. “With SGS Time Mining we can now provide design and engineering services to assist with front-end economic assessments and engineering studies that leverage the technical skills and plant experience of our process engineers. “Finally, in base metals, such as copper, iron and manganese, we also provide final commercial services. When a commodity is loaded onto vessels to be shipped off; we do the sampling, inspection and certification thus we are really providing an end-to-end service and all the processes in between,” says Govender.
10 BUSINESS LINES Minerals Services are just one of the business lines for SGS. Globally, SGS has ten different business lines including Government and Institution Services, Minerals Services, Environmental Services, Consumer Testing Services, System and Services Certification,
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Agricultural Services, Industrial Services, Oil, Gas and Chemical Services, Automotive Services and Life Science Services. Govender says that eight of the ten business lines are offered in South Africa with Government and Institution Services and Minerals Services forming the core activities. In different parts of the world, the services offered by SGS vary according to dominant industry sectors. “The exploration and mining industry forms a big part of SGS’s business, especially in Africa and South Africa but our activities are not limited and it depends where you are in the world. Consumer Testing Services are huge on the Asian continent with the testing of manufactured products,” says Govender. The service offerings from SGS are so far-reaching that clients can use the company as a fully integrated solution for their inspection, testing, verification and certification needs from start to finish on a project. “We offer an integrated service portfolio from project development right across the entire stream,” says Govender. “We are able to improve efficiency, set-up
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and successfully operate facilities in remote locations and add overall value for our clients via our integrated service portfolio and this is what gives us a leading competitive edge in the market. “We have a strong base of technical expertise and equipment resources that we can draw on to provide the services a client needs globally.”
RESPONSE TO FINANCIAL SITUATION While the global economic slowdown still has a strong grip on certain world markets, South Africa has seen varying effects with various businesses often reporting drastically different stories since the global financial crisis in 2008. SGS operates globally, in many different industries and this has meant that it has been impossible to completely avoid the tough economic conditions, but Govender explains that where some activities have slowed, others have gained pace. “Overall, some of our businesses are less active compared to 12 months ago, but some are continuing to increase”. “For example, the energy minerals business, where we provide on-site laboratory services and exploration services for coal producers, has seven on-site facilities and two major commercial labs which process coal samples. Since 2011, their business has grown significantly”
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SGS has ensured it is well prepared for any fluctuations in demand for its services by building close relationships with customers and suppliers. This allows the company to keep its ear to the ground and plan effectively. Despite the tough conditions, SGS’s Minerals Services business is still busy with new on-site projects on the horizon and they are currently busy with 3 new on-site lab builds in Africa. “In West Africa alone, we’ve got two new laboratories that are in the build phase in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.”
THE FUTURE With developments in West Africa providing excitement for SGS, Govender says that these will not be the only developments for the future. Wherever there are opportunities for more business, SGS will investigate and add to their already far-reaching African operations. “It’s very difficult to look into that crystal ball at this time but if you look at the way SGS Minerals Services has grown in South Africa since 2002, it’s been substantial. We are now operating over 50 different locations in Africa, from on-site labs to full commercial labs as well as sampling and inspection services. We are always exploring new opportunities.” “We work closely with our clients to see how we can improve their processes and efficiencies and add value to their output.”
sgs “In Africa, we are operating in almost every country. We are not going to rest on our laurels, where we believe there are opportunities; we will be going in and looking to develop those opportunities.”
PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT SGS is always looking to train, develop and up-skill their massive workforce in Africa. There is emphasis placed on people development and Govender says that the opening of a new training academy in Ghana last year is a testament to SGS’s drive towards organic growth of its people. “Personnel development is massive and is one of our primary operational pillars. “In March 2012, we opened a minerals training academy in Ghana. The objective was to select students from local tertiary institutions and train them in the various aspects of the minerals industry via practical training at the SGS laboratories and theoretical training at the SGS Ghana training centre. “It started very successfully in 2012, when we took on the first cohort of 16 and we are now ready for the second cohort. The academy was opened by Chris Kirk, our CEO, Fred Herren, our COO-Africa, and myself. SGS’s commitment to sustainable development through our people goes right to the top. You cannot have a growing business without the expertise of your valued staff. Your business is only as strong as the people you have.”
role in the transfer of technology to the metallurgical facility in Johannesburg. We constantly have staff coming through from Canada to assist with training and equipment, so it’s a big part of our professional expertise network. This award reflects our combined success as a group,” says Govender. The work of SGS, which sometimes goes unnoticed by end-consumers, is vitally important to so many industries and makes a big difference to many aspects of life as the company’s website details: “From the energy that powers our cars and homes, to the food on our plates and the clothes on our backs, we provide solutions that really make a difference.”
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“Your business is only as strong as the people you have”
CERTIFIED QUALITY In the arena of inspection, testing, verification and certification, the most important element of business has to be quality, after all, if you’re not operating to the highest quality standards then how can you ensure quality for others? “The quality of your work is what defines your business” says Govender. “It is key that we operate at or above standards in all of our laboratories. Our laboratories in Johannesburg, South Africa and Mwanza, Tanzania have a selection of tests successfully audited to the ISO/IEC 17025 requirements. “The base metals testing available at our laboratory in Kalulushi, Zambia now conforms to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard. SGS Time Mining has three laboratories that conform to ISO/IEC 17025 requirements for specific registered tests and is actively pursuing an audit for a fourth. There is a constant drive within SGS to ensure all operations are functioning at the highest level of quality standards” “Our facility in Lakefield, Canada recently received an award for excellence. This facility is one of the premier metallurgical testing facilities globally and plays a vital
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