SA Mag - Issue 7

PEOPLE CULTURE TRAVEL PROPERTY BUSINESS WINE SPORT ENTERTAINMENT

ISSUE 07 R40.00

SA after the World Cup

The FNB is no “white elephant” and its success as a venue looks set to continue.

Anglo American Zimele A lasting legacy

Nissan SA A new era as firm eyes higher production

General Mills Inside General Mills SA

Evraz Highveld Reaching maximum potential

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SMEs vital to the economy In last month’s South Africa Magazine I wrote of how the ANC cracked the whip over its feuding factions. I also mentioned how the issue of whether to nationalise our country’s mines seems to have been resolved and why the under-performing sector is looking to improve.

Inside this issue, South Africa Magazine looks at the importance of the small and medium-sized business sector and learns more about what big business is doing to help. Anglo American is certainly doing its bit

Editorial

Acting editor – Susan Miller Deputy editor - Samantha Baden Chief sub-editor - Janine Jorgensen Editorial assistant - Inger Smith Sub editors – Jahn Vannisselroy Janine Kelso Tom Sturrock Alison Grinter Chief writer – Colin Chinery Writers – Ruari McCallion Jane Bordenave Erica Wark

Business

importance of nurturing Small and Medium Enterprises

General manager - Stephen Warman Research manager – Don Campbell Researchers – Andy Williams Elle Watson Chris Bolderstone Dave Hodgson Advertising sales manager – Andy Ellis Sales executive – Jon Jaffrey Sales administrator – Abbey Nightingale

(SMEs) as a means of bolstering this relatively

Accounts

and its enterprise development fund, Zimele, puts up money for start-up ventures and for the expansion of existing ones. “The current economic downturn and lack of job opportunities has further highlighted the

Nick van Rensburg, Anglo American Zimele, managing

Financial controller - Nick Crampton Accounts Margaret Roberts Alexandra Buchlakova

director, tells us.

Production & Design

underdeveloped sector of the South African economy,”

Many entrepreneurs still find it hard to acquire the

Magazine design – Optic Juice Production manager - Jon Cooke Production assistant - Justine Mackay

financing they need, and Zimele bridges the gap.

TNT Publishing

Of course, the World Cup gave our economy a big boost.

Tournament CEO Danny Jordaan promised South Africans that it, and the new facilities, would leave a legacy for generations to come. But is that the case?

Well in the instance of the FNB stadium, the answer is yes! South Africa Magazine learns what post-World Cup life is like for the stadium, renovated specifically for the tournament, and discovers it is no “white elephant”.

We also have several other great articles for you including an interview with one of rugby’s best ever tighthead props, Cobus Visagie.

CEO - Kevin Ellis Chairman - Ken Hurst Publisher - TNT Publishing Ltd South Africa Magazine, Suite 8, The Royal, Bank Plain, Norwich, Norfolk, UK. NR2 4SF TNT Magazine, 14-15 Child’s Place, Earl’s Court, London, UK. SW5 9RX tntmagazine.com

Enquiries

Telephone: 0044 (0)1603 343267 Fax: 0044 (0)1603 283602 emailus@southafricamag.com

Subscriptions

Call: 00441603 283573 subscriptions@southafricamag.com

www.southafricamag.com www.southafricamag.com

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PEOPLE

ISSUE

E CULTUR

07 R40

TRAV EL

PR

BUSIN OPERTY

INE ESS W

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Mills SA GeneralGeneral Mills Inside

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NEWS

All the latest business news from South Africa

CULTURE Into Fashion

Designer Sindiso Khumalo’s all about taking the UK High Street look to SA

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Sport Keeping the Faith

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people The Wordsmith

Rugby icon Cobus Visagie believes it has never been more important to support the Bokke

An interview with Master South African storyteller and award-winning playwright Athol Fugard

s SA Nissan era as firm eye tion A new produc higher

ele erican Zim Anglo Amlegacy A lasting

FEATURES

REGULARS

Contents

ential hveld um pot Evraz Hig g maxim Reachin

22 34 42

ATTFUND & PARKDEV EVRAZ HIGHVELD STADIUM MANAGEMENT SA

50 BMG GROUP 56 NISSAN SA 62 ANGLO AMERICAN ZIMELE 66 OBARO

72 BETAFENCE 78 BRUNEL 82 EVEREADY-KESTREL 88 SUNSPACE 94 DAV RECRUITMENT 98 GENERAL MILLS SA NUCLEAR 102 LESEDI SERVICES DENTAL 106 THE WAREHOUSE

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All the latest business news from South Africa

Government unveils new energy road map

The government has proposed a long-term energy mix with a dwindling role for coal and strong renewable and nuclear energy components in its long-awaited draft of the 2010 integrated resource plan (IRP).

The plan, projected to cost R860 billion, would result in South Africa’s energy mix in 2030 comprising 48 percent coal, 16 percent renewable energy, 14 percent nuclear, 9 percent peaking open cycle gas turbine, 6 percent peaking pump storage, 5 percent

mid-merit gas and 2 percent imported hydroelectricity.

The nuclear build programme would come on stream in 2023 - sufficient time to potentially hold back on the nuclear decision, the IRP noted.

It added that the full extent of the shift towards renewable sources of energy could be demonstrated only over 50 years.

The IRP, approved by the interministerial committee, is now in the public domain for comments.

Mood-boosting plant to be commercialised HGH Pharmaceutical has been handed a permit to commercialise a plant used as a mood elevator by indigenous groups.

The permit, issue by the government, allows Sceletium tortuosum, which has been

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used for centuries in the Western Cape, to be researched and commercialised.

HGH Pharmaceutical believes the plant possesses anti-stress, anti-anxiety and antidepressive capabilities.

New vehicle sales fall

on strike action

New vehicle sales in South Africa slowed in September compared with a booming August, official figures show.

Economists said a cocktail of labour action and a maiden emissions tax levied on the sale of new passenger cars played a significant part.

Statistics released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of

South Africa (Naamsa) showed that new vehicle sales during September were 9.5 percent lower than August 2010.

However, sales are still up on September 2009.

September vehicle sales were 16.6 percent ahead of the same month last year. August sales had recorded the best monthly sales volume since July 2008.

Despite the strike effect and the introduction of the carbon emissions tax, the vehicle market is still buoyant.

September 1 saw the introduction of a carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions tax on the sale of new passenger cars, with the threshold for payment set at 120 g/km – which exempts only a handful of vehicles.

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NEWSINBRIEF South African paper and pulp group Sappi expects “reasonable demand” for its products although high input costs and a strong rand continue hit profits. Its CEO Ralph Boettger said the quarter to the end of September had developed in line with the guidance given in August.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has said South Africa would like to achieve a competitive exchange rate over time. In a written letter to Parliament, Gordhan said: “The government’s efforts ... can be broadly categorised as an emphasis on countercyclical policy, so that there is sufficient policy room in the event of a worsening of economic conditions to respond and enable the exchange rate to cushion the economy against financial volatility.”

BMW South Africa has invested in a 6 500 l/day solar water heating installation, as part of energy efficiency and cleaner production initiatives. The system provides hot water for the main canteen at the company’s plant in Rosslyn.

Namport, the Namibian Ports Authority, is to invest R2.7 billion to upgrade Walvis Bay port over the next three to four years. The port will be upgraded to a capacity of 500,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) a year by the end of 2013 or early in 2014.

The European Investment Bank, the European Union’s financing arm, is to provide a €185 million loan to Tunisia to erect 660 km of high-tension lines, the bank has said. Tunisia has one of the most open economies in North Africa.

Eskom has announced plans to reduce its carbon footprint by investing in solar energy. The utility expects to become a dominant solar energy player and there is plenty of funding available to pay for renewable ventures. Eskom has vowed to invest in renewable energy and more efficient coal technologies to reduce its absolute carbon dioxide emissions from 2025.

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Growth in

world

steel demand to slow in

2011 Growth in global steel demand is expected to slow to 5.3 percent in 2011 but to still hit a record 1.34 billion tons, the World Steel Association said.

The World Steel Association said China would make up 45 percent of global demand in 2011, while India will emerge as the world’s third-biggest steel consumer (after China and the United States).

The predictions came in a report issued at its annual conference in Tokyo.

Copperbelt Energy plans 40MW hydropower project Copperbelt Energy Corporation is planning to build a 40MW hydropower plant in Zambia to further increase its electricity provision capacity.

Corporate development MD Michael Tarney said the independent power company would invest about $120 million on developing the Kabompo Gorge hydropower project by 2015.

A feasibility study has been completed and the power company was negotiating the granting of a concession for the project.

Construction is expected to start within the next two years.

Copperbelt intends to grow its current share of 50 percent of the Zambia’s sector to become a dominant operator for the SAPP region.

Evraz Highveld CEO predicts

return to profit in 2011 JSE-listed steelmaker Evraz Highveld, which suffered an operating loss of R255 million in the six months to June, expects to be back in the black in the first quarter of 2011, CEO Scott MacDonald told South Africa Magazine.

Speaking in this month’s magazine (page 34), MacDonald said that he expected to see a resumption of normalised steel purchasing in the first quarter of next year,

returning the company to profitability.

More than 75 percent of the company’s steel production is

sold domestically with exports possible through the Evraz group’s global sales network, MacDonald added.

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fashion I n t o

Sweetie, sweetie darling! Designer Sindiso Khumalo’s all about taking the UK High Street look to SA and helping

SA designers shine abroad...

words Susan Miller

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Into Fashion CULTURE

D

esigner, fashion fundi and cover girl Sindiso Khumalo can introduce herself ... her blogspot mylondonshopper.net is an “online boutique that brings global fashion trends to the South African doorstep...”

Sindiso, 30, lives in Hackney and aside from being a personal shopper for fashion-hungry South Africans, designs hats, t-shirts and print garments.

SA FAshion week There are a few each year: Earlier this month SAFW explored the relationship between fashion and art in its Winter 2011 Designer Collections in collaboration with Arts on Main in downtown Joburg, home to Black Coffee, winner of the 2010 Designer of Year (Africa) award. 24 of SA top fashion designers including Black Coffee, showcased collections in 12 runway shows.

SAFW Director Lucilla Booyzen said: “The economic realities of the past two years, compelled designers to return to their creative roots.” safashionweek.co.za/

images: Laila Pacheco/TNT Images

Over a coffee in trendy Hoxton, Sindiso explains that she was born in Mochudi village in Botswana after her mom had to leave SA because of the struggle. They returned when Sindi was 13 and she went to St Mary’s DSG in Pretoria. After studying architecture at UCT, she headed to London.

London calling She arrived in 2001, but ‘really arrived’ after reading about celebrated architect David Adjaye (presenter of ‘Building Africa: Architecture of a Continent and Urban Africa’) and applying to work with his company. She fell in love with London’s design and fashion culture.

“David used to work with (artist) Chris Ofili and the work was all about space and creativity – it was an exciting mix of people, too.” Sindi worked there for a year and a half and then, sadly, her father died so she went home.

Arriving back in London in 2003 she spoke to David about her realisation that fashion was her passion – “When I was browsing, it was fashion magazines I would pick up not architectural or design magazines,” she says. www.southafricamag.com 11

IT’s BLACK COFFee Aside from designers like Norwegian Wood from Canada who make conceptual garments and The Swedish Hasbeens who remake old Swedish classics, Sindi is hoping to bring premier SA label Black Coffee to UK attention. It’s been 12 years since BC began and its shown at South African, Berlin, San Francisco and New York Fashion Weeks. Designer Jacques van der Watt’s ethos “embraces contrast and reshapes traditions with an intuitive twist.” Its about putting a distinct face on local fashion… blackcoffee.co.za

With his encouragement she headed off to Donna Karan to work as a ‘retail assistant’… in Bond Street. “It was the best grounding, you had customers spending over £1000 on a dress at a pop, and could see how important it was to pamper them,” she says.

After going into fashion at the ground level, Sindiso decided to do an MA. “I got accepted

by St Martins to do an MA in Design and Textile Futures,” she said.

I didn’t know textiles had futures? “It was about defining new territories in the textile arena – it was also open to designers, architects,” she says.

“It was a conceptual course, one of my fellow students covered the floor in sugar…” she says.

St Martins was about “unlearning everything you’ve learnt”.

After graduating with distinction, “I am very proud of that”, Sindiso went back to SA and joined Woolworths.

Woolies sojourn “Woolies approached me while I was studying”. A year and a half in Cape Town at Woolworth’s head office was 12

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a “big eye-opener, they paid so much attention to detail. I learnt about VMSD.” Sorry? “Visual merchandising and store design; it’s imperative for fashion stores because people visually identify stores by their store design. Like M&S, everyone recognises their green.”

Then it was back to London…

What does living here mean to her? “It gives me perspective, but I am torn as I love South Africa.

“But London is the capital of fashion. I walk along and get so inspired by Londoners.”

Aside from her blogspot, Sindiso prints t-shirts in her Hackney studio, which she shares with other printers, and also makes hats.

“My hats are under the Makhumalo label and I also make print garments. I am working on getting a collection together and my hats are increasingly popular in SA as well as here.”

“My friend Mathale, who works for Elle in Joburg, wore one of my hats to a fashion party and people started asking about it…”

And her t-shirts? “I take my inspiration from Africa’s patterns.”

Into Fashion CULTURE

one-stop shopper How did she get into being a personal shopper for South Africans? “It was Mathale again. I had ordered a pair of knee-length gladiator sandals from Oasis for a holiday. They never arrived so I went and bought some more.

When I got back from holiday, the other pair had arrived. I emailed a few girlfriends and asked if anyone was interested.

“Mathale wrote that she DEFINITELY wanted them…that’s how it started.”

What does she get asked to find the most?

“Hats, shoes at Topshop, suits on Saville Row. I am like the middle (wo)man – I am hoping to formalise a relationship with Top Shop...”

So how does it work? “A South African courier is in charge of the SA side.”

How long do deliveries take?

“Two to three days to Joburg and Cape Town, up to a week to Durban.”

What about sizes? “People send their details and I work out any differences. Some shops are irritating as they make their clothes a size bigger so everybody comes out smaller and vice versa.”

And shoes? “SA is the same as the UK, for clothes it’s the same as the EU.” Who are your most troublesome customers? “Guys are fussier than women.

Most women know if they’re a pear or square shape and don’t EVER want to repeat whatever crazy fashion mistakes they made in the 90s.”

Who are your customers? “Young South Africans, they’re fashion and techno savvy.

From about 26 years up. Most of them have grown up outside apartheid and don’t have all the negative angst that even my generation has.”

What are the most popular shops? “Top Shop and Zara on the high street. And American Apparel too.”

And is there a South African side to the operation? “I work with a consultant in Cape Town, Yang Zhao.”

Sindiso showcases top South African designers on her site – “I am not an agent but

I like to push our designers. Black Coffee is so forward-looking.”

She would like to get a retail space here but the overheads are “enormous”. Plus her website can be quickly updated – and reach global audiences. “I call it a democratic form of shopping that empowers the shopper,” she says.

Where to now? “I want to stay here and see where it takes me. My fiancé, Edward McCann, is British but home is also in South Africa…we’ll see when the kids come along – in my dream world I could commute between the two!”

Visit www.mylondonshopper.blogspot.com or www.facebook.com/pages/ mylondonshopper/ END www.southafricamag.com 13

faith...

K eeping the

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Keeping the Faith SPORT

L

ike all Springbok supporters, Cobus Visagie watched in dismay as South Africa went from champs to chumps during this year’s Tri-Nations competition.

“The form of the Springboks has been a major concern,” the former Bok frontrower, who is now the commercial director at Saracens Rugby Club, sighs. “Rugby has moved on considerably in the last six months because of law changes but the South African players and coaches have not moved with the game. There are serious coaching deficiencies, mainly around the defence, and New Zealand and Australia are also quicker at the breakdown and in their phase play. It’s tough being a Springbok supporter at the moment but I think it’s important that fans keep believing in the team and we ensure the Bok brand remains strong.”

Man with a mission

Rugby icon Cobus Visagie believes it has never been more important to support the Bokke – by joining the Springbok Supporters Club words pierre de villiers

Sikora/TNT Images, Matthew Impey/Saracens

Luckily Visagie is in a unique position to do just that. As the head of the recently relaunched Springbok Supporters Club (SSC), the Bok stalwart has made it his mission to strengthen links between the World Champions and their UK fanbase.

To that end the SSC has planned a series of events during the Springboks’ Grand Slam tour in November including a huge Boktown on the day South Africa play England, access to training sessions and the opportunity for youngsters to be a Bok mascot at test matches.

“I’ve had some very good conversations with SA Rugby and said to them that the Boks need to make themselves available to their supporters,” says Visagie, who, during his playing days for the Boks and Saracens, was regarded by many as the best tighthead prop in the world. “We want to ensure that supporters in the UK not only get tickets to the autumn internationals but also have the opportunity www.southafricamag.com 15

to see the team train, get some autographs and be a mascot. The SSC is catering to a more mature crowd now and to families because the young crowd of South Africans in the UK is shrinking thanks to the demise of the two-year working visa. We are organising events the whole family can enjoy.”

Struggling bokke

This Bok management doesn’t have a game plan… that will have to change

For the Grand Slam tour to be a real green and gold party, the struggling Boks will, of course, have to repay the faith put in them by supporters and play a lot better against the home nations.

Despite the dark cloud hanging over the national team, Visagie believes things can be 16

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turned around quickly if the coaching team learn from their mistakes.

“The coaches need to make sure that their game plan excites the players and that the guys are buying into it,” says the former Bok star. “That is one of the big things that you struggle with during an end of year tour after players have taken part in a Currie Cup campaign.

Every player goes back to his provincial team and, by the time they play for the Boks again, they believe in the playing style at, say, the Bulls, Sharks or Western Province. To make matters worse it just seems to me that this Bok management team doesn’t have a game plan or can’t sell their game plan to the players. That will have to change.”

Keeping the Faith SPORT

VISAGIE FACTFILE Name: Cobus Visagie Age: 36 position: Tighthead prop AT A GLANCE: Visagie won 29 caps for South Africa and joined Saracens in 2003.

He worked seven years for PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Chartered Accountant, whilst playing professional rugby for Western Province and the Stormers from 1997 to 2003.

Visagie is currently Commercial Director at Saracens Rugby Ltd and a Coaching Consultant for Saracens Rugby. He is very active in supporting South African business in the UK.

He played 121 games for Saracens and was voted in the Guinness Premiership team of the season 3 consecutive years.

Visagie disagrees with the school of thought that some of the senior Bok players, including captain John Smit and vice captain Victor Matfield, are too old to perform at the top level and should step down before next year’s World Cup. “Victor Matfield had a good rugby year but has been severely overplayed,” Visagie points out. “If we have any chance of winning the World Cup he has to be part of it. John Smit hasn’t been helped by the fact that, six months ago, he was playing tighthead prop. He tried to pick up weight and maybe that’s impacting on him now.

I just have a general principle of not commenting on somebody that’s played a hundred games for the Boks.

John played his first test with me and Victor Matfield was my roommate when he played his first test. I’ve got a lot respect for them.”

While Visagie believes that some senior players need a rest, the former Bok prop is adamant that the Grand Slam tour is not the right time for stars like Schalk Burger and Bryan Habana to put their feet up.

“The right time to give players a rest is during the Currie Cup,” he says. “It’s one thing to tell a player to rest for a Currie Cup game, it’s another to rest someone for a Super 14 semi-final or final or, especially, an international game. A test match is a test match and they are there to be won by a nation. It stays in the record books for a lifetime and we should bring our best team over. It is important that the Springboks build confidence before next year’s World Cup. But whatever Springbok team comes to the UK, they’ll receive great support from their fans over here.” END www.southafricamag.com 17

Wo r d s m i t h THE

Master South African storyteller and award-winning playwright Athol Fugard. Written by Susan Miller.

Images: TNT Images. Keith Bernstein 18

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The Wordsmith PEOPLE

A

thol Fugard writes compulsively, keeping notebooks in which he jots down possible stories and inspirations. An entry in his Karoo and other stories notebook caught my eye years ago. It was marked December 12, 2000 and written when the playwright was in southern California. It is his memory of a cutting from Die Burger. He could not forget it and was trying to ‘keep his appointment’ with the story. It read: Mother, 3 children die in track suicide. Cape Town. Tuesday.

A mother with a child on her back and two toddlers in her arms stood on the tracks in front of an oncoming train – and when the fiveyear-old child tried to scurry away, she pulled him back before the family was pulverised under the train’s wheels. The bodies of Pumla Lolwana (35), Lindani (2), Andile (3) and Sesanda (5) from the Samora Machel squatter camp remained unclaimed. They died on the railway line between Philippi and Nyanga.

Years later, Fugard is taking The Train Driver to London after a successful run in Cape Town at The Fugard Theatre, a new venue on the outskirts of District Six. I spoke to him about the story, the play and the politics of South Africa.

partial playlist The Blood Knot (1961); Boesman And Lena (1969); The Captain’s Tiger (2000); Coming Home (2009); Hello And Goodbye (1965); The Island (1973); Master Harold And The Boys (1982); My Children!

My Africa! (1989); Nongogo (1959); People Are Living There (1968); The Road To Mecca (1984); Sizwe Banzi is Dead (1972); Statements After An Arrest Under The Immorality Act (1972)

You’re directing The Train Driver in London?

The play opened The Fugard in CT and I directed it there and we are moving that production, because I am proud of that piece of work. It’s got two beautiful actors in it, Sean Taylor and Owen Sejake (pictured), men that I’ve worked with on many occasions. This is very much a personal celebration.

I read your notebook called Karoo and other stories…How long before you wrote The Train Driver?

I recorded pages in my notebook about my attempts to deal with Pumla Lolwana and her three children but that came to nothing – then I tried to deal with it in prose but I realised a year later that, listen, I am ready to write the play that I wanted to write… but it’s not going to be about Pumla Lolwana.

I am by nature an optimist and cannot deal with something as dark as a woman prepared to take her children and her life in an act of suicide. I could deal with the train driver, he’s Roelf Visage, a white man like myself, with the same predujices, the same guilt.

So because it’s not a documentary, I’ve moved it to my beloved Eastern Cape, in a world I know intimately.

What should people get from it?

Well, I got a lot from it. I had to recognise what I as a South African carried around with me still, intact. How much ignorance, how much prejudice there still was in me and how I really needed to confront these issues. And for me it’s pretty urgent, I am 78-years-old – time is limited.

You can’t really come away with any resolutions in this story?

You sense there might have been a different ending – if the gangsters hadn’t come, Roelf would have left Simon, gone back into society with the seed of real potential change in him. www.southafricamag.com 19

It could have been the birth of a new man. I know; I’ve had my rebirths, make no mistake – I am an alcoholic – I haven’t had a drink in about 20 years but I know that it’s still there in me. If you manage to stop, for just one day at a time, and I’ve had 20 years of one days now – it’s an enormous personal revolution and Roelf Visagie is on the brink. If he’d lived it one day at a time, a South African who has got drunk on ignorance and prejudice, he might have emerged as something very different.

In many of your plays, people go on a journey, must you go alone?

Yes, most emphatically. Some of the most important journeys that one can make,

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you have to make by yourself. I think if you look at any of the core teachings of any of the great religions of the world, the final journey to some sort of redemption – only you can make it, you can’t take a passenger with you.

Pumla took her children with her?

She was in freefall, in darkness – I can’t understand it. In my play The Road to Mecca, the real Miss Helen committed suicide but I couldn’t put that in. You have to learn that you blow out the candles one by one – but you stay alive. For Pumla Lolwana to be so hopeless – that is what Roelf realises.

The Wordsmith PEOPLE

The Train Driver is on at the Hampstead Theatre, which promotes new writing.

Do you chat to young playwrights?

Yes, I also enjoy Q&As with the audience. I will be doing that at Hampstead and then I’ve got a visiting Professorship at Oxford University, which involves me being in residence there for a week and giving a lecture and maybe workshops.

If we go back to …Boesman and Lena…would they be better off in the new South Africa?

I think if you went down to the Swartkop mudflats today, you would find a lot of people in the squatter camps – I think of them as cancers or open sores on the South African landscape, you are not going to find many people who are talking about how wonderful life is. In fact, exactly the opposite. I find myself, quite frankly, very, concerned and worried about South Africa at the moment.

We will have to wait and see what happens. The white is now a powerless minority in South Africa. We count for nothing at the polls though I take my hat off to Helen Zille in Cape Town.

You said in an interview in The Guardian that modern playwrights are not addressing political issues?

That is the sense that I have of my country – I shouldn’t have made a global pronouncement – I apologise to all my fellow playwrights outside of South Africa.For that matter a lot of Americans have said to me ‘we don’t think our theatre is addressing the issues’. Look at the lunacy in America – the Tea Party movement, the racism – in exactly the same way as in South Africa – race prejudice is alive and well and living in our beloved South Africa.

You’ve spent your life highlighting injustices – who will carry on?

In the old South Africa it was obvious there was something dangerously wrong with our society – and the call to action was very, very urgent. For young South Africans today there is a beguiling sense that ‘it’s not so bad really’.

That is a disaster because the new SA needs the vigilance of writers and artists and political leaders. Look at this Freedom of Information Bill, it’s a piece of apartheid legislation and if it gets through, then others will follow.

We are certainly trying to be another banana Republic – I can’t believe it.

The Fugard Theatre in Cape Town.

How did that come about?

(Laughs) I was asked about it and I said ‘No… when I am dead’. Eventually my wife and daughter stepped in and said we’re Fugards too, we like that name, so I capitulated.

Do you still keep notebooks?

I am sitting with my notebook. I have a new play, The Blue Iris – Mannie Manim wants to do it in Cape Town. END www.southafricamag.com 21

standing Never

still

22

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Attfund and Parkdev FEATURE

R

Continuing investment during recession can pay off immensely as Ian Armitage learns.

ecessions are periods full of fear: fear for the future, fear for jobs, fear of austerity, fear of tax hikes and fear of investment. However, a recession can actually be the perfect time to invest. The key is to start off with the right mentality and to not panic. Yes they are scary, but recessions also lay the groundwork for opportunities in the future – history teaches us that.

“I agree 100 percent,” says Louis Norval, a founder member and CE of Attfund. “There is a sound argument for businesses to continue investing through difficult periods.”

Attfund has done just that and invested in two massive extensions of premier shopping complexes at a time when most shopping malls and other projects had been put on hold, despite being due for completion when most recessionary pressures will have disappeared.

“I think our strategy will and is paying off,” says Norval. “The first of the two investments was at Clearwater Mall in the affluent northwestern suburbs of Johannesburg, where there is a rapidly expanding residential corridor. The other is Woodlands Boulevard an upmarket shopping destination in the trendy, vibrant quarter of Pretoria East.”

Clearwater Mall was expanded by 24,000 square metres and Woodlands Boulevard had another 29,000 square metres added. Both projects were completed in October 2010.

“Our belief was that it was the ideal time to undertake such expansions,” says Norval. “The cost of development was lower and there were several other benefits.

“The key is that as the economy continues its recovery, the extensions will be complete and both centres should be well positioned to take advantage of the upswing and as a result of their size and variety of tenants, be dominant in their respective catchment areas.”

Attfund was founded in 2002 with a portfolio worth R670 million, which, over the years, has grown to more than R9 billion. It’s a giant. “The fund was formed through the efforts of a group www.southafricamag.com 23

Attfund and Parkdev FEATURE

Attfund is one of SA’s largest privately held property funds, with assets in excess of R9bn.

It owns amongst others the following sought after properties: Woodlands Boulevard, Gauteng, GLA 70,164sq m.

Centurion Mall (25 percent), Gauteng, GLA 109,420sq m.

Atterbury Value Mart, Gauteng, GLA 47,712sq m.

Garden Route Mall, Eastern Cape, GLA 53,557sq m.

Clearwater Mall, Gauteng, 85,197sq m.

CapeGate Precinct, Western Cape, GLA 106,127sq m.

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of individual professionals working together, each with specific expertise in essential fields,” says Norval. “The strategy adopted by Attfund has been to focus on a limited number of high value investments at the top end of the market and the key elements of our success are a well-defined business strategy and a formidable selection criteria.

“When we set out we wanted to focus on few – but high value –shopping centre and corporate office park investments in the upper income market.”

PARKDEV: PROPERTY ASSET MANAGEMENT KINGS As with all Attfund investments, Clearwater and Woodlands are managed by Parkdev, an asset and property management company with extensive expertise and systems to manage retail and commercial real estate.

“Attfund is a property investment vehicle and there are four major shareholders in Attfund,” says Norval, elaborating on the ownership structure of the fund. “You have the Atterbury Group and they own approximately

Ampair Group was founded in the early 1980’s and today is a well established company within three major cities in South Africa with a staff compliment that exceeds 200 staff members.

MiSSion StAtEMEnt: Our mission has and always will be to strive for a cost effective and efficient service and support to our clients and there portfolios. For our critical area clients i.e. Computer Centres, Hospitality Industry and Medical Institutions we guarantee a 1 hour response time (location pending).

“The Management and staff of the Ampair Group would like to congratulate the Atterburry Property Fund for their dynamic marketing and growth within the property industry, it has been a pleasure working with them in the past and we look forward to a long prosperous relationship”.

Based on our portfolio we specialise in all facets of heating ventilation and air conditioning in the industry.

Due to modern technology and the ongoing call for buildings to have smaller carbon footprints Ampair has there own onboard Building Management staff who have reduced the running costs within their clients buildings.

Ampair Engineering Division concentrates on the supply and installation of all aspects of the industry, whereas the Ampair Maintenance Division helps prolong the life of there clients equipment and in turn insures that there clients tenants are rewarded with stable conditions within the working environment.

AmpAir Group HeAd office contAct detAils physical Address: 17 Bezuidenhout street, troyeville, Johannesburg postal Address: p.o. Box 34520, Jeppestown, 2043 telephone number: (011) 402-3351/2/3 facsimile number: (011) 402-8031 24/7 contact number: 0860 AmpAir e-mail address: b.f@ampairgp.co.za

Attfund and Parkdev FEATURE

43 percent of Attfund. Then my family trust owns approximately 28 percent. Then you have another partner, Neno Haasbroek, who owns about 4 percent. And then you have got a black empowerment group, which together with Nedbank holds 11 percent.

“The remaining 14 percent is held by approximately 220 shareholders,” he says.

Attfund doesn’t have any employees. The external management company in this case is Parkdev, which does both the asset and 26

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property management of the fund. “Our strength,” Norval continues, “lies in the fact that Parkdev only employs the best people in the industry, people that are very passionate in what they do and treat the investments as if their own.”

Interestingly, Attfund is in the process of preparing for listing on the JSE in 2011 and as part of that process it is “internalising” the Parkdev asset and property management contract. “Effectively, Parkdev will merge the

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Attfund and Parkdev FEATURE

asset and property management contract into Attfund,” says Norval. “As from 1 November, the asset management company and property management will be in house. It will be part of Attfund. It will be a change of strategy and we will restructure Attfund into two different entities: Attfund Retail Limited and Attfund International Limited.

“We are putting all the South African property assets in Attfund Retail and all the

ABOUT CLEARWATER The Clearwater shopping centre has been built as a 85,000 sq m double storey triangle, with an anchor tenant at each point of the triangle. The inner court is where cinema and dining entertainment facilities can be found and is

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Supercare Supercare’s relationship with Parkdev spans more than 6 years when Louis Norval awarded Supercare the cleaning contracts for Woodlands, Centurion and Clearwater Mall. The relationship developed rapidly and Supercare was awarded sole supplier status.

Over the years this unique partnership with Parkdev, driven

by Mareli Vorster, has enabled Supercare to research unique systems for shopping centres and affords them the freedom to continuously test new ideas on sites. This baton has been ably taken over by Brenda Frylinck of late. We wish Louis and his very capable team well for the future!

accessible via each leg of the triangle.

Although the winter climate in this region is sunny and dry, it does get very cold, thanks to its 1,500 metre-high altitude.

So to make the courtyard usable all year round, there is a retractable roof that

encloses the restaurant zone and brings it inside the mall. Named after a stream and waterfall at the nearby Kloofendal Nature Reserve, the newly expanded centre offers its patrons a wonderful combination of tenant mix and lifestyle experience.

Attfund and Parkdev FEATURE

ABOUT WOODLAND Woodlands Boulevard provides 70,000sq m of shopping and lifestyle entertainment, with over 160 tenants offering an upmarket shopping, dining and lifestyle destination. It is designed and positioned to be Pretoria’s upmarket fashion capital.

international and non-core investments into Attfund International.

“The intention is then for Attfund Retail to be listed on the JSE in some shape or form in the first quarter of next year.”

What is the motivation for that? “Generally, if you look worldwide, the trend is that where you have listed property funds, the preference from the shareholder perspective is to have an internally managed company,” Norval answers. “There is a school of thought who believe there could be a conflict between the asset manager and the investment company. The international trend is towards a completely internalised model. Hence we always undertook that, at listing, we would internalise the asset and property management. Neno Haasbroek, together 30

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with Mareli Vorster, Leon Howell and Susjan Wentzel and I are the shareholders in Parkdev.

“To date the primary function of Parkdev has been to act as the asset and property manager for Attfund,” Norval continues.

“Parkdev is selling the management contract to Attfund. Parkdev also, historically, owned 100 percent of the shares in Sycom Property Fund Managers (Pty) Ltd., which is the manager of Sycom Property Fund. Subsequently we have sold the shares in that company Acucap Properties.

“Parkdev also indirectly owns 26 percent in Capital & Regional Plc. and is the coasset manager for the 96,000 sq m Nova Eventis shopping centre in Germany, amongst other things.”

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We kept the World Cup

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Attfund and Parkdev FEATURE

So what will become of Parkdev? Well after internalising the Attfund contract, it will change significantly. It has already started to look at alternative investments and is moving in a very different direction. “Parkdev’s focus,” says Norval, “is moving away from being a pure asset management company to becoming an asset manager and investor. To that extent we are considering investments in various alternative industries.”

INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT As Norval suggested, there is more to Attfund than South Africa. It has witnessed a number of opportunities and has invested in like-minded businesses overseas, hedging operational and currency risks. The aim is to continue that and for Parkdev to do something similar. “To give you an example, Attfund took an interest in New York-listed Simon Group and later, a stake in Deutsche Euroshop, which focuses on quality shopping centres in Germany and neighbouring countries and is listed on the major German exchanges. In 2007, Attfund acquired 22.5 percent of Stenham European Shopping Centre Fund, which owns Nova Eventis shopping centre, one of Europe’s largest shopping malls in Leipzig, Germany.

“We have also set up a fund called Karoo Investment Fund. The Fund’s objective is to deliver attractive total returns from investment in Western European and North American real estate capital markets. The Fund focuses on significant investments in listed and unlisted property funds and has a portfolio with investments in the most attractive investment opportunities in its target markets.

“Parkdev indirectly co-manages Karoo Investment Fund,” Norval says.

The future, it seems, is bright for Attfund and the market is keenly anticipating the listing on the JSE. Parkdev is set for an exciting time as well; it is seeking to expand its asset management capabilities internationally and to find exiting new investments. END 32

www.southafricamag.com

We install and Maintain Top Quality – Electrical Infrastructure in Shopping centres and Businesses Nationally.

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34

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Evraz Highveld FEATURE

R E A C H I N G

maximum potential Ian Armitage talks with Evraz Highveld CEO Scott MacDonald and executive Cathie Lewis about how the company aims to return to profit and reach maximum potential.

www.southafricamag.com 35

Evraz Highveld FEATURE

E

vraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium Limited is South Africa’s second largest steel producer and part of one of the world’s largest vertically integrated steel, mining and vanadium businesses, Evraz Group. On 19 July 2010, the Company’s name changed to Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium Limited, completing the integrated global rebranding strategy of the Evraz Group.

Evraz holds an 85.11 percent stake in Evraz Highveld, which was previously owned by Anglo American, and the company is today a renowned integrated iron-ore miner, and producer of vanadium slag and steel products.

“2006 saw Evraz Group and Credit Suisse purchase Anglo American’s shareholding in Highveld, each acquiring 24.9 percent of the issued share capital. In 2007 Evraz exercised an option to acquire the share capital held

by Credit Suisse and the remaining Anglo American plc shareholding and Highveld became part of the Evraz Group in 2008,” says Scott MacDonald, who was appointed to the position of chief executive officer of Evraz Highveld on 1 March 2010. Prior to joining, he was an executive director in the Corus Group, now Tata Steel. “My background is certainly benefiting me in this exciting new challenge,” MacDonald explains. “I’ve held a number of senior roles within the steel industry and have extensive international experience.”

MacDonald believes in keeping things simple and values loyalty, commitment and accountability, as well as good communication. “What would I like to achieve in terms of a legacy? Well, I look forward to building on the achievements of the past and helping the business to reach its maximum potential.” He has identified, amongst other things, BEE and Transformation, alternative energy sources, productivity and efficiency improvement and the optimisation and development of Highveld’s customer base as “key priorities” and Evraz Highveld is busy tackling those issues. “We are indeed.”

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OUR SERVICES: • Opencast mining of steeply dipping ore bodies • Removal of overburden • Surface blasting design and execution • Rehabilitation and developing box cuts • Particular experience in narrow ore bodies • Capacity to undertake both small projects and those which involve moving in excess of a million cubic metre per month • Consulting services in the mining sector

Evraz Highveld FEATURE

MINING RIGHT CONVERSION Evraz Highveld owns and operates the Mapochs mine and is currently working with the Department of Mineral Resources to convert its old-order mining right to a new-order right. Mapochs produces titaniferous vanadium–bearing magnetite iron-ore.

“We have submitted our mining rights conversion application with the Department of Mineral Resources, having made our submission,” says MacDonald.

“Evraz Highveld has a $230 million black economic empowerment transaction with BEE investment holding company Umnotho weSizwe, as well as the local community through the Mapochs Mine Community Trust,” Cathie Lewis, Evraz Highveld executive adds.

“Mapochs Mine (Pty) Limited, which was created as a special purpose vehicle, is the empowered component,” says Lewis.

Umnotho weSizwe has 23 percent of Mapochs Mine (Pty) Limited, and Mapochs 38

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Mine Community Trust the remaining three percent.

“We haven’t received confirmation from the DMR when our conversion application will be granted with the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA),” says MacDonald. “But we are hopeful the application will be approved in the near future.”

Evraz Highveld believes that the Mapochs mine has sufficient iron-ore for 30 years and is a key part of future plans. “Mining is an important part of what we do because, in effect, we’re vertically integrated, and having an iron-ore mine is a major advantage,” says MacDonald. “Vertical integration is strategically important to both Evraz Highveld and the bigger Evraz group, which has similar mining/steelmaking balances in Russia and the Ukraine.

“The Mapochs mine is unique,” he adds.

“There are not many other people who could use this iron-ore, and the whole iron-steel process was developed around the ore.”

Evraz Highveld FEATURE

RETURNING TO PROFIT? Evraz Highveld posted a R255 million operating loss in the six months to June, but MacDonald expects to be back in the black in the first quarter of 2011.

“At the moment, there is over-supply of steel in the South African market and I can’t see any change to that until next year,” MacDonald says.

“That is my estimate.”

What’s causing this? Well there are several factors, one being that, according to MacDonald, the implementation of South Africa’s major construction projects has been slower than anticipated, weighing on growth of the local steel industry.

Then you have factors like the strong Rand. “We currently sell 75 to 80 percent of our production in the domestic market,” MacDonald says. “In the short-term we have raised exports and have expanded our African markets, especially in Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia.”

South America is another market where he sees opportunities. “The other main one we are looking at is the Middle East,” MacDonald says.

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Evraz Highveld’s theoretical steel output is around one million tonnes and its production for rolling products is approximately 800,000 tonnes. The company’s major products in the vanadium segment are vanadium slag and ferrovanadium. “The slag is a waste product from the steelmaking process and it is transferred from the steelworks to the vanadium plant, where it forms the input of the vanadium business,” says MacDonald. “That gives us a huge competitive advantage.

“We’ve talked about export and the domestic market, and, yes, while demand will be the main driver of a return to profitability for us, we are also looking to the contribution from efficiency and productivity improvements,” he continues. “We are focussed much more on improvements in productivity and efficiency.”

Evraz Highveld, MacDonald says, is also looking closely at the issue of electricity security, including possible cogeneration and energy reduction projects, in light of South Africa’s sharply rising power tariffs. “We could make huge savings in this area.”

South Africa’s electricity tariffs will rise by 25 percent a year between April 2010 and March 2013, which would place major cost pressures on energy intensive businesses like Highveld.

“Our power costs have risen considerably and will continue to rise,” MacDonald says. “So, yes, we are exploring cogeneration, which could help reduce its power costs. We have had quite a lot of discussions with people for co-generation opportunities; it is still a priority. But these things take time.”

The steel market is difficult to predict at the best of times, but MacDonald is optimistic. He sees a return to profit in 2011 but would err on the side of caution.

The World Steel Association recently announced that steel demand growth will decelerate to 5.3 percent next year, following an upwardly revised 13.2 percent demand expansion.

Steel use contracted by 6.6 percent in 2009. “While the company isn’t performing as I would like, I am pleased with how things are going and am very excited by the future,” MacDonald concludes. END www.southafricamag.com 41

Is

there

life

life after

the W orld C up ?

South Africa Magazine learns what post-World Cup life is like for Soccer City.

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Stadium Management South Africa FEATURE

www.southafricamag.com 43

Stadium Management South Africa FEATURE

T

he FNB Stadium, formerly Soccer City, in Soweto is a world-class sport venue as anybody that watched the 2010 FIFA World Cup knows. Renovated specifically for the tournament, it is no “white elephant” and its success as a venue looks set to continue.

The 94,000-capacity stadium, also referred to as “The Calabash”, hosted the opening game of the 2010 World Cup as well as the Final between Spain and the Netherlands, both sell-outs, and both huge successes. But the question following the event was, what would this and the other massive stadiums used, do next?

Stadium Management South Africa already had some answers, having spent months before the tournament began, planning for life after July 11 and securing new contracts.

“The FNB Stadium will now host big sport games like the Soweto Derby between

44

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Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs as well as international football and rugby matches,” says Jacques Grobbelaar, Director of Stadium Management South Africa, which manages the FNB Stadium, Soweto’s Orlando and Dobsonville stadiums, and Rand Stadium in southern Johannesburg. “FNB is a traditional soccer stadium, built in the late 1980s specifically for soccer, on the brink of Soweto, and obviously renovated for the 2010 World Cup. It is a first world stadium, with a super atmosphere.”

In addition to soccer and rugby, worldfamous entertainers are also due to perform at the FNB Stadium in the coming months.

“We have Neil Diamond due to perform early next year,” Grobbelaar confirms. “So, although there are concerns that the World Cup stadiums won’t be used to their full potential, this is not the case with FNB.” Tournament CEO Danny Jordaan promised

www.southafricamag.com 45

South Africans that the new facilities would leave a legacy for generations to come, so news of what Stadium Management South Africa is achieving is welcome.

“To ensure a lasting legacy and the commercial viability of the stadiums, they will be used for both rugby and soccer,” Jordaan said before the World Cup. “This country has also used sports stadiums for major political rallies, concerts and church events. They can, therefore, also be used for outside of sport,” he added.

But not all are as fortunate as FNB take Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium, for instance. “A company due to take over the management that venue pulled out of the deal after miscalculating the running costs,” says Grobbelaar.

The Sail Stadefrance Operating Company (SSOC) was due to take up a 30-year lease on Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium in November, he says. Cape Town’s residents could now end up paying the bill as the management of the venue transfers to the City in 2011.

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Stadium Management South Africa FEATURE

Stadium Management South Africa’s Portfolio Orlando Stadium Demolished and rebuilt from scratch, the new Orlando Stadium, in Orlando East, Soweto, was one of the training venues for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The stadium houses 40,000 seats, 120 hospitality suites, 2 VIP suites, One VVIP suite, Conference facilities, a Gymnasium, and a 200-seat auditorium.

Dobsonville Stadium Tucked away in the township of Dobsonville is one of Soweto’s famous football stadiums, Dobsonville Stadium. Situated on Main Road, between Montlahla and Majova streets, the stadium underwent refurbishments to the tune of R69 million in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Rand Stadium One of Johannesburg’s oldest stadiums, Rand Stadium, underwent a R76 million revamp in preparation for the World Cup. Located just a few kilometres from the central business district and a stone’s throw from the Turffontein Racecourse, Rand Stadium has a contemporary design and a highly technical nature. A roof covers the 3,000 spectators who can be accommodated in the grandstand and houses a total of 25,000 fans.

The FNB Stadium (National Stadium) Situated off Nasrec Road on the outskirts of Soweto, the 94,000 capacity FNB Stadium hosted the opening ceremony, opening match, four first-round matches, one second-round match, one quarter final and the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

www.southafricamag.com 47

“We have a 10-year plan for Soccer City,” says Grobbelaar. “Our advantage is that Soweto is home to South African football’s biggest teams, the Orlando Pirates and the Kaizer Chiefs.

“FNB is an obvious venue for Bafana Bafana games as well, and we are in talks with international music performers – I mentioned Neil Diamond to you earlier.

“We have been given full responsibility to run the Stadium, which is owned by the City of Johannesburg, and, I think, are doing a great job. We have 50 events booked for the next year – the industry benchmark is 20.

“Perhaps the problem we have is that there are too many events and it will be over utilised, but it is a good position to be in.”

Since hosting 2010 World Cup matches, the FNB Stadium has staged four highattendance soccer and rugby matches, including the Telkom Charity Cup, a TriNations match between the SA Springboks and the New Zealand All Blacks and Bafana Bafana vs Ghana.

“Negotiations are under way with the Golden Lions rugby team to be moved to FNB from Ellis Park,” adds Grobbelaar. “Migration has started taking place between rugby and soccer support; we saw a lot of it at the World Cup, with rugby fans coming to the soccer, and now soccer fans are starting to attend the rugby.

“We obviously hosted the Super 14 Final at Orlando Stadium this year. Everything started with this. The local residents in Soweto went

There is unified support for soccer and rugby in South Africa

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Stadium Management South Africa FEATURE

as far as painting their houses blue and having the Bulls’ logos painted on their houses. They opened their doors to the local support from Pretoria and nobody expected that. This sort of unity can only be achieved through sport and music, in my opinion.

“There is unified support for soccer and rugby in South Africa. We are looking forward to a new breed of supporters.”

The FNB Stadium receives no funding from the City of Johannesburg for maintenance.

Stadium Management South Africa accepted full financial responsibility of the venue and Grobbelaar doesn’t have any concerns about future sustainability. “We know that the stadium will be utilised,” he says. “Stadium Management South Africa is the most dynamic and capable team to manage flagship sport venues and that is exactly why the City of Johannesburg has appointed us as the official management company for the FNB Stadium.”

Grobbelaar says a large percent of the management group’s profit is ploughed into community development projects around Johannesburg, while the rest is held back for future development and maintenance. “We are committed to the community and making sure that our venues are managed in the most dynamic and competent way,” he says.

Stadium Management South Africa recently secured agreements with Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates to use Rand Stadium and Orlando Stadium for their home matches.

“I must say all the venues in our portfolio are well worth a look – they’re unique in their own ways and all great stadia,” Grobbelaar concludes.

To learn more about Stadium Management South Africa and its fabulous sport venues visit www.stadiummanagement.co.za. END www.southafricamag.com 49

W hen only the best will do BMG has been single-minded in its dedication to providing customers with products of the finest quality.

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Bearing Man Group FEATURE

S

ince it was founded in Durban in 1974, Bearing Man Group (BMG) has been, according to its corporate website, “single-minded in its dedication to providing customers with products of the finest quality”. This uncompromising approach has been the foundation of BMG’s growth.

“The group has grown from a oneshop bearings company to Africa’s largest distributor of bearings, seals, power transmission components, gear products, belting and fasteners, hydraulics, electric motors and automotive products,” Ian King, sales and marketing director, says.

BMG has an extensive retail and wholesale branch distribution network, with outlets throughout South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, Botswana and Mozambique.

WINNING FORMULA What makes BMG different to anyone else is its ability to deliver customer’s needs through its entrepreneurial corporate culture. The company strives for excellence in all that it does and is always seeking new opportunities.

But that doesn’t mean BMG doesn’t work hard at building relationships and, in fact, the company has secured the exclusive supply, service and distribution agreements of some of the world’s most respected manufacturers of consumables.

“We have held exclusive and shared rights to numerous brands for many years and continue to build long-term relationships with our suppliers,” says King.

Its intensive sourcing policy ensures that “the best products and leading brands from around the world are supplied to local industry,” he adds.

SUCCESS BMG’s success, according to those that know, can be attributed to its expansion programme, where new products are launched to satisfy market demand. www.southafricamag.com 51

Bearing Man Group FEATURE

A look at the company’s history reveals that it has grown considerably, not only as a result of the formation of many of its own retail and wholesale outlets, but also by the acquisition of strategic independent local distributors.

“It is a policy which works,” says King. “It allows for diversification of its product base to give the company vast synergies and broaden the range available to customers,’ he adds.

BMG ACQUIRES TURNKEY HYDRAULICS KZN A great example of BMG’s policy of acquisition is the recent acquisition of Turnkey Hydraulics - KZN, which the company completed earlier this year.

The deal formalised a 20-year association between the two firms and is full of potential for both companies.

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“This agreement, which formalises the association between BMG Hydraulics and Turnkey Hydraulics, augers well for both companies,” Charles Walters, BMG’s CEO, said in a release at the time. “With the team’s specialist expertise, BMG Hydraulics will have additional muscle to further enhance its product offering and expand its service to a broader customer base.

“The new operation now has the advantage of specialist cylinder and manifold manufacturing, an extensive repair and service facility and a comprehensive product range. These are critical services in the hydraulics sector.”

The acquisition was a big boost to BMG Hydraulics’ branch network, which now consists of Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Secunda and Durban outlets, King adds.

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EMPOWERMENT BMG is also committed to enhancing black empowerment through its South African operations.

The holding company’s BEE partner is aloeCap, which is a 100 percent black owned and managed company. It is held 90 percent by its founder black entrepreneurs and 10 percent by a trust established to benefit previously disadvantaged women.

“BMG is proud to work alongside dynamic business people who are making a positive impact on the South African economy,” the company says.

BMG is also involved in The Business Trust, which is an initiative of a large number of South African companies working in partnership with the Government to help provide sustained improvements in the lives of the underprivileged, targeting tourism development, job creation and crime prevention initiatives. www.southafricamag.com 53

Bearing Man Group FEATURE

BRAND AMBASSADORS BMG has a philosophy to develop staff personally as the company grows, emphasising the need ‘TO LIVE THE BRAND’.

“Our vision is to enhance technical skills and customer service and relationship management across the organisation by training our people using appropriate tuition programmes,” says King.

“Two or three years ago we recognised a shortage of skill within the South African labour market and as a result launched our own academy, which we are putting all staff through, to ensure they have technical expertise throughout the company to maintain our reputation,” he adds. “We have technical specialists in each division advising staff, as well as customers to complement this initial training.”

BMG MILESTONES In 1977 Japanese bearings manufacturer NipponThompson awarded Bearing Man exclusive distribution rights for the IKO range in South Africa.

In 1991, Bearing Man took over the bearings division of Anglovaal’s Steelmetals, which had the sole SA rights to distribute the products of NSK of Japan, the second-largest bearings manufacturer in the world.

Bearing Man acquired Fenner Power Transmission distribution in 1998.

Bearing Man acquired Invicta Bearings in 2000, which serves as a second route to market. To conclude the deal, Bearing Man issued shares to Invicta Holdings, which became its controlling shareholder.

Bearing Man acquired Springset, a fastener business in 2004.

The company delisted in 2005 to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Humulani Investments (Pty) Ltd, a company controlled by Invicta Holdings Ltd. Bearing Man rebrands to form BMG (Bearing Man Group) in 2008.

BMG acquires Goldquest Hydraulics in 2008.

BMG acquires Turnkey Hydraulics in 2010.

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Agents for Stieber Clutches

Affiliation between Sprag Components cc and the Bearing Man Group began more than ten years ago.

This has grown extensively from supplying the Bearing Man Group Branches countrywide to manufacturing for the Power Drives Division.

Sprag Components cc offer technical back-up, design, drawings, manufacture and repair of sprag bearings, freewheels and backstops.

Stockholding of standard units provide immediate delivery for the Bearing Man Group.

Reg No: 1991/017881/23 Vat No: 474 013 2149 57 Eva Road, Fairleads, Benoni, Gauteng, South Africa P.O. Box 16355, Atlasville, 1465, South Africa Tel: +27 (0) 11 742 9600 / +27 (0) 11 965 0394 Fax: +27 (0) 11 965 0330 / +27 (0) 86 647 4299 E-mail: sprag@lantic.net / sales-sprag@lantic.net Website: www.sprag.edx.co.za Member: Mr W Swaffield Cell: +27 (0) 82 553 0717 E-mail: wayneswaffield@lantic.net

BRIGHT FUTURE According to King, BMG is well positioned to maintain and enhance its leading position in the South African engineering consumables sector. That is in no small part due to its quality focus and BMG’s ISO 9001: 2000 certification.

“We aim to provide a one-stop shop to companies across many different industries that involve engineering. We supply product and train all sales staff to advise on customers needs rather than just take orders,” King says.

“We also provide comprehensive aftersales support in terms of technical and engineering advice.

“Our success is due largely to our commitment and diversity, ensuring that we meet and exceed our customers expectations.” END

5 HULBERT ROAD • NEW CENTRE • JOHANNESBURG SOUTH AFRICA TEL: + (2711)4931600 • FAX: +(2711)4933334 E-MAIL: info@bearingcity.co.za

BALL, ROLLER, THRUST, NEEDLE BEARINGS PILLOW BLOCKS, PLUMMER BLOCKS, FLANGE UNITS OIL SEALS, O-RINGS

STOCKIST OF ALL BRANDS OF INDUSTRIAL & AUTOMOTIVE BEARINGS ….

A new era for

N i ssan S A

as firm eyes higher production

Nissan SA is set to continue to play a significant role in our country’s auto market while becoming one of the most productive plants in the Nissan family.

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Nissan South Africa FEATURE

F

or many years, Nissan has supplied quality vehicles to South African consumers. Its vehicles have met the specific needs of the South African market, initially through the importation and local assembly of completely knocked down vehicles, and then by the establishment of manufacturing facilities at Rosslyn, near Pretoria.

“Nissan and its forerunner Datsun have provided transport solutions for South Africans for many years and played a vital role in developing the country’s motor industry,” a Nissan spokesman tells South Africa Magazine.

In 1999, Nissan Motor Company formed a strategic alliance with France’s Renault Group. The Alliance created the fourth largest auto company in the world and Nissan later increased its investment in South Africa when it purchased Sanlam Group’s 37 percent stake in Automakers in 2000 (it eventually brought 98.7 percent).

In 2001, the South African company’s name changed to Nissan SA. Today, it is well placed to play a significant role in South Africa’s auto market.

TARGETING HIGHER OUTPUT Indeed, Nissan SA, which is expected to produce 44,000 vehicles this year, is certainly upping the ante and targeting higher output, increasing its capacity to meet requirements under the new Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP).

The APDP targets local vehicle production of 1.2 million units a year by 2020 and provides volume-based incentives to plants producing 50,000 units a year or more.

In response Nissan SA has launched Shift_NSA, a scheme designed to ensure that it would be able to produce in excess of 50,000 vehicles a year and boost its local market share to in excess of 10 percent. “Only then will we benefit from incentives under the APDP,” says Nissan SA’s recently appointed www.southafricamag.com 57

Nissan South Africa FEATURE

director of manufacturing Neil Craddock.

“The plant has its own sub-programme -Shift_Monozukuri - to encourage greater volume throughput across the various disciplines,” he adds.

Craddock, former manufacturing plant general manager at Nissan SA, says that internal company initiatives are now in line with the APDP’s focus on volumedriven incentives rather than those of its predecessor, the Motor Industry Development Plan (MIDP), which were geared towards exports.

“One of the objectives of the Shift_NSA programme is to increase our capability to make sure we meet the demands that will be placed on us as a result of the higher volumes expected of all motor manufacturers,” says Craddock.

Nissan SA’s domestic sales for the first nine months of the year were 24.7 percent up on the same period last year – six percent better 58

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than the market – and the Nissan brand ranks third overall and second in the commercial vehicle market year to date.

This is an excellent performance, especially in light of recent automotive strikes.

But Nissan is still planning on further expanding into the African and European markets, as well as other regions.

“The export market would be one of the company’s key focus areas going forward, “ says Craddock.

To achieve all this, Nissan has to ensure that its manufacturing facilities are more competitive. “We have to ensure that we are able to produce in excess of 50,000 vehicles, quickly and efficiently, while also ensuring quality.”

A number of system changes are currently being implemented, Craddock says. These will allow for more flexibility to change model mixes, as well as improved inventory management and parts availability.

www.akasiaboltnut.co.za Sales: lisa@akasiaboltnut.co.za Est.1984

Manager: kobus@akasiaboltnut.co.za

Akasia Bolt & Nut supply throughout the whole South Africa. We are located in Rosslyn, Pretoria, Unit 1 & 2 Aquila Park, 180 Van Niekerk street.

We’ve built up all our customers in 26 years through excellent customer service as our motto.

We have been supplying Nissan S.A. the automotive Industry and other affiliated manufacturers, Construction and Mining Industries since 1984 with all Din spec, NES spec, ISO spec and special manufactured fasteners.

To ensure that our customers only receive the best quality our suppliers are all ISO approved manufacturers. Feel free to browse through our product list – if we don’t have it – we’ll try to get it. We stock standard products and we also have specials manufactured to either your sample, specifications or drawings.

TRAINING FOCUS Nissan SA’s internal manufacturing capability is also being addressed through focused training programmes, improved communication and entrenchment of the Gemba Kanri principle in support of standardisation.

Job-specific training of plant personnel from junior to senior level is being carried out in conjunction with Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) – a leader and benchmark within the company, Craddock says.

In-house training is to be complemented with site visits by management to high productive plants like Nissan’s Oppama plant in Japan to “look, see, touch, feel and sense what the possibilities are around what they can actually achieve”, explains Craddock. “We want to make sure that the different levels of the organisation are equipped with the right basket of skills required to do their jobs, so we have high expectations from the programme.”

In order to meet the challenges of cost, quality and timely delivery, standardisation is also being introduced across the board.

“What we’re trying to do now is create standard forums, standard types of 60

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communication, and different mediums of communication to make sure that people constantly get the message and that they are constantly informed of how we’re achieving against those objectives,” says Craddock, who is confident that Nissan SA is becoming one of the most productive plants in the Nissan family. “We’re in a good place right now and where there are any gaps, we are structurally aligned to deal with them. We’re pretty confident we’ll meet any challenges between now and the end of the year and beyond.”

NEW MODELS Nissan SA’s growth is spectacular by any measure: new models have boosted output, and it is - despite the economic problems and general lower demand for vehicles – increasing output.

Close to 2,000 people work at the group’s plants in Rosslyn, where both Nissan and Renault products are manufactured. These include the Tiida, Livina range, NP300 Hardbody and NP200, as well as the Renault Sandero.

Nissan SA plans further expansion to its mix of models to allow for increased production.

Nissan South Africa FEATURE

One of those is the new Pathfinder 3.0 V6 dCi; Nissan has added the latest technologies to this latest generation of Pathfinder – specifically the new V9X engine, which is also a feature of the Navara.

Johan Kleynhans director of sales, marketing and aftersales at Nissan SA says: “The V9X produces peak torque from as low as 1700 rpm to 2000 rpm, while as much as 550Nm is available from a mere 1500rpm. And yet, even more impressive is how it feels and sounds while generating this amazing thrust.

“Developing 170 kW at 3750 rpm and a barrel-chested 550Nm at just 1750 rpm, the new V6 has more than enough muscle to power beyond any obstacle.”

Nissan SA will also play a greater roll in the eco-car category and wants to launch its LEAF – a zero-emission electric car with fast recharging times, seating for five, and some interesting innovations - to the market in 2012.

Don’t get carried away. Before that can happen, and most commentators agree, there needs to be a combined effort between the government and industry to establish an electric vehicle charging network and to increase consumer and market education about the

purchase of environmentally sound cars.

LEAF will be introduced later this year in Japan, the US and Europe, where governments have committed to making the car a viable automotive option, and SA needs to follow suit if we are ever to see the LEAF on our roads. The US, for instance, provides tax rebates for every LEAF manufactured and so does the UK. The LEAF might not be the only eco-car on our roads though, with Optimal Energy’s South African-designed and manufactured Joule electric vehicle set to enter the market in 2013.

Nissan says: “Electric mobility has enormous potential for environmental improvement in urban transport. Replacing a conventional vehicle with an electric one not only drastically reduces noise and air pollution, but also cuts down CO2 emissions by up to 45 percent through the average efficiency of the generation park.”

Nissan has developed numerous technologies based on its green programme.

“If power produced from renewable and nuclear energy sources only was to be used, emissions would be practically zeroed,” Nissan says. END www.southafricamag.com 61

legacy

A lasting

Conceived long before Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) became fashionable, Anglo American Zimele has created numerous sustainable commercially viable enterprises and empowered entrepreneurs to operate in the mainstream economy of South Africa, as Ian Armitage discovers.

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Anglo American Zimele FEATURE

T

he small and medium-sized business sector makes a vital contribution to the economy. It is often said that SMEs play a hugely important role and may even help to tackle budget deficits in places like the UK. Closer to home, in a country with a high unemployment rate - officially at 25.2 percent, but unofficially a lot higher - and with a high poverty factor, with a third of the population on social grants, the importance of small business development and job creation cannot be over-emphasised.

But just what is big business doing to help small business? Anglo American, one of the world’s largest mining companies, with 83,000 permanent employees in South Africa, is showing the way with its enterprise development fund, Anglo American Zimele.

“The current economic downturn and lack of job opportunities has further highlighted the importance of nurturing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as a means of bolstering this relatively underdeveloped sector of the South African economy,” says Nick van Rensburg, Anglo American Zimele, managing director. “Many entrepreneurs still find it hard to acquire the financing they need, as aspiring business owners in townships, peri-urban mining communities and rural-areas are not always considered bankable, owing to a lack of assets or equity.

Therefore, the risk profile for most of these entrepreneurs is much higher than someone who can pledge, for example, their house against a loan. Subsequently, they are at a major disadvantage.

“We bridge the gap by providing financial security to entrepreneurs that they otherwise would not have received,” continues van Rensburg. Zimele puts up money for start-up ventures and for the expansion of existing ones.

“The fund was not created as a reaction to empowerment legislation or the economic downturn, but was set up as part of the Group’s commitment to development in

South Africa, and it has evolved to where it is today over time,” says Lia Vangelatos, chief investment manager of Anglo American Zimele, who has been employed at Anglo American since 1979 and has filled various corporate finance, management accounting, treasury and business development positions.

Indeed, Zimele was established before it was certain South Africa would even make the transition to a democracy. The company had the foresight to decide that when SA did make a turn for the better, it would need a black entrepreneurial class to sustain economic growth.

“Zimele was developed as a way to foster economic growth by having big businesses help in developing small up-andcoming enterprises,” says Vangelatos.

The first route that Anglo American decided to take was by changing the nature of the companies that supplied it, through starting the Supply Chain Fund. Today the Anglo American Group’s procurement from blackempowered suppliers in South Africa stands at around 40 percent of discretionary spend.

“Over the past 21 years three more funds have been added, namely the Anglo American Khula Mining Fund, the Community Fund and the Olwazini Fund. Collectively, Zimele supports almost 800 businesses, which provide 12,950 jobs and collectively contribute billions to the economy,” says Vangelatos. “As we speak R397 million of Anglo American’s money has gone to support SMEs. It is not about corporate social responsibility anymore in terms of donating money. It is basically helping others to break the poverty barrier and linking them into your business.

They are no longer just suppliers or customers – they are part of you. You are building these businesses into your value chain and cost model. www.southafricamag.com 63

Anglo American Zimele FEATURE

“Zimele is a success and its success, and successful evolution, can be attributed to its holistic incubator approach of combined funding with hands-on support, which, over a predetermined time, allows the investee company to ‘stand on its own feet’, and is essential to long-term economic development,” she continues.

“Over the years, Zimele has learnt valuable lessons, achieved successes and witnessed failures long before anyone followed suit, which makes Anglo American a leader in this field.”

Entrepreneurs wanting assistance can expect to get around-the-clock support in all areas related to business, from human resources to corporate governance, from occupational safety advice to basic managerial guidance, Vangelatos says. “This relationship that Zimele shares with its investee businesses means we have a good overview of the business and can advise on what necessary actions should be implemented to avoid pitfalls.”

Besides providing funding and assistance, when necessary, Zimele also takes a seat on the board and a minority holding in the businesses it gets involved with.

“In a situation where we are a member of the board we ensure that when we eventually exit a business, that it is sustainable and that a clear exit strategy is defined in all shareholder agreements with the investee firms,” explains Vangelatos.

Zimele’s performance is impressive by any measure. ”With a loan repayment rate of 90 percent, I believe that we have several advantages over other funding institutions when it comes to funding start-up businesses, even though we invest in those often considered unbankable.

“One major benefit is that we can move quickly if a project appeals to us and meets our evaluation criteria,” Vangelatos says.

“Unlike other funding institutions that have to go through several decision making levels and system processes to get approval, we 64

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need only two or three board members to approve funding.”

She says that the market has to realise that SMEs do need funding. “If an SME gets awarded a tender or if they win a contract they need working capital to be able to service that contract as they only get paid at the end on delivery.

“Once entrepreneurs’ businesses are up and running, other funding institutions are more willing to invest in them, owing to a steady cash flow,” she adds.

“The main goal of Zimele is to generate more jobs, support entrepreneurship and strengthen local economies in South Africa.

The commitment is proven through Anglo American’s pledge to Business Call to Action, a global initiative that challenges companies to tackle poverty and promote growth as part of the Millennium Development Goals.

“Our aim is to create 25,000 new jobs in up to 1,500 businesses over the next seven years.

To ensure that we reach that goal we will have established 12 new enterprise-development hubs in addition to the existing 12, in areas of high unemployment by end of December 2010,” she continues. “During difficult times, such as those that we have seen recently, it is tempting for companies to trim the sustainable development agenda, but this is not a responsible approach to operating and growing a business.”

While many companies are currently providing support with regards to SMEs, not many are providing adequate long-term support together with funding. Zimele is encouraging other companies to employ the same best practice model that it has used successfully to encourage the development of SMEs and ultimately the development of a prosperous South Africa.

“Zimele would be nowhere near as successful as it is if it were not for the people driving it,” Vangelatos concludes. END

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IF YOU CAN PUT RESPONSIBILITY OVER RISK AND RESPECT BEFORE REWARD. IF YOU CAN THINK FORWARD, BY LEARNING FROM THE PAST AND CAN KEEP TRUST ON THE SAME PEDESTAL AS PROFIT. IF YOU CAN ADMIRE FOUNDATIONS AS MUCH AS WHAT’S BUILT UPON THEM. IF YOU SEEK THE BIGGER PICTURE, BY EXAMINING EVERY DETAIL. IF YOU CAN DREAM BIG AND KEEP YOUR EGO SMALL. IF YOU HAVE THE COURAGE TO QUESTION WHAT YOU THINK IS NOT RIGHT, AND CHAMPION WHAT IS. THEN YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT IT TAKES TO WORK FOR ANGLO AMERICAN.

Real Mining. Real People. Real Difference.

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Obaro FEATURE

Q& A

w i t h O b aro D i re c tor Phillip Coetzer Obara’s Philip Coetzer talks to South Africa magazine about the current state of the agricultural industry in this exclusive Q&A.

A

griculture, which includes all economic activities from the provision of farming inputs, farming and value adding, is an important sector in the South African economy despite its small direct share of GDP. Agriculture provides food and fibre to meet basic human needs.

South Africa magazine recently caught up with Obaro’s Phillip Coetzer, 48, and asked him about the company’s role in this vital sector and how it is positioning itself for the future. www.southafricamag.com 67

Obaro FEATURE

How long have you worked for Obaro?

Since February 1985.

Has your role as managing director been helped by previous experience?

The fact that I started off as a receiving clerk in the then co-operative and developed through the ranks helped a lot. It helps to understand the company and its culture.

September 1930. In 1998 the name changed to MGK Operating Company (Pty) Ltd. It divisionalised in 1998 and Obaro is one of the divisions in the group.

Who formed the business?

Farmers in the Brits area formed the company; according to documents 25 farmers applied for membership and bought a share each.

Q& A Do you have a farming background?

Yes. I grew up as a farm boy in the North West province. My father farmed with cattle and maize.

Going back to Obaro, when was it formed?

Obaro’s holding company, MGK Operating Company, was established in 1930. It was in the time of the big recession, agriculture dipped and agricultural product prices plummeted. The farmers came to the conclusion that the only way that consistent prices could be achieved was through the formation of agricultural co-operatives.

The result was the formation of the Magaliesbergse Wheat Co-operative on 17

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What were its original goals and objectives?

To achieve consistent prices for agricultural products, to help farmers achieve their goals and to stabilise their income.

What defines you as a business today?

Obaro still focuses on the farmers. 90 percent of our customers are farmers. The MGK Group mission is to serve the farming community and to help farmers to farm successfully.

Obaro’s main focus is irrigation farming. We established ourselves over many years as a leading supplier to irrigation farming.

Has the remit changed over the years?

No, the reason for our existence is still the same.

A

Proud supplier to Obaro for over 50 years

Aligned with the farmer

www.obaro.co.za

Obaro FEATURE

Are you unique?

Obaro is certainly unique. Firstly, we are a leading supplier to the irrigation farmers in South Africa. Secondly, the relationship with our clients and the open communication channel is something we cherish and must maintain.

Thirdly, our personnel are well trained, professional and experienced in their jobs.

What is the Obaro’s mission statement?

Our statement reads ‘Aligned with the farmer’ and that is very important to us. We must align with our farmers and support them.

Obaro has a very close relationship with clients and our doors are always open to them to speak about their problems, challenges and suggestions.

How do you see the current state of the farming industry?

Grain farming is under pressure due to low prices and over-production on certain products. Vegetable and fruit farmers are under less pressure as far as prices are concerned. Production cost will always be a big factor especially for exporters due to the fact that they compete with overseas farmers, which are subsidised by their local governments.

Low interest rates helped the farmers quite a lot in the previous year.

How has the business been performing?

Q& A What makes you different to the competition?

Obaro’s approach to business and to the farming community differs quite a lot from anything else available on the market. Our Marketing personnel visit farms regularly, support farmers and advise them on topics like how best to use fertilizer or chemicals and seed. Our team of financial advisers also help in planning of different crops and farmers’ cash flow. Irrigation planners also advise farmers on the different products available to suite their specific needs.

What services to you offer farmers?

Obaro has a wide variety of products, which we offer clients such as irrigation components, hardware products, fertilizer, crop protection products, seed, fuel, animal health, horticulture and other agricultural products.

MGK, our holding company, has different divisions, which include Statusfin Financing and Statusfin Insurance that help farmers to finance and insure their crop throughout the duration of the season. They provide additional support.

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The recession had an impact on the business due to the drop in prices. It means we had to reduce prices on certain stock to sell it.

The problems belong in the past now; in the current financial year business is good and we look forward to good results.

What areas are you performing best?

The fertilizer and fuel product ranges of our business are doing quite good at this stage.

How would you review the last 18 months?

They were quite tough due to the recession and the influence on prices. Some fertilizers prices drop by 60-70 percent. The same thing happened with certain chemicals.

This means we had to sell some products below cost to get rid of it.

Despite this problem, we still managed to keep our customers happy and make a reasonable profit.

What big developments are you currently working on?

We are busy developing a fuel site and branch in Naboomspruit. We are also upgrading some of our existing fuel stations.

A How do you see the industry developing?

In view of the need for food in the world, and especially in Africa, I think agriculture is the sector for the future.

What will the future hold?

The focus will be on water supply and the quality of water. Being an irrigation company we must help to maintain good water quality.

Obaro will become the leading retail supplier to irrigation areas in South Africa.

How will that goal be achieved?

With a good management group, good planning and good relationship with customers we will achieve our goals.

Obaro needs to grow its business therefore we must always be on the lookout for opportunities and make sure we use it in the best possible way.

To learn more about Obaro and how they might help you visit www.obaro.co.za END

CAPE GATE

security T he perimeter

specialist The science of fencing is complex and dynamic says Betafence SA managing director Michael Rodenburg.

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Betafence SA FEATURE

Y

ou could be excused for thinking that a fence is just a fence, nothing more and nothing less. But you’d be wrong. There is much more than meets the eye, the science of fencing is complex and dynamic.

“This is an exciting industry,” says Michael Rodenburg, managing director of Betafence SA, South Africa’s leader in perimeter security.

“Our products are more than just fences and provide increased protection.”

According to Rodenburg, Betafence SA deals, typically, in sophisticated high weldstrength steel fencing systems. “We have evolved from a fencing component company to one that offers a complete integrated solution,” he says.

Betafence SA, a subsidiary of multinational Betafence NV in Belgium, has been growing rapidly, branching out into new business segments, and rolling out a national footprint. “We plan to capture new markets,” Rodenburg explains.

The company has had sustained revenue growth over the past five years, despite the global recession that is now playing out in SA, he comments.

“We have continual innovation,” says Rodenburg. “That is the secret.

“Locally driven research and development enables us to manufacture and supply fully PVC coated fence panels, for instance.

“We operate in the high security, commercial, government and lifestyle estates sectors and the majority of business is from sectors like correctional facilities, telecommunications, infrastructure and transport, public utilities and the specialised securities industries.

“Of course, we’ve benefited from the World Cup as well.”

Betafence won the fencing supply contract to three stadia, namely the Cape Town Stadium, the Moses Mabhida Stadium Precinct, and the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. www.southafricamag.com 73

Betafence SA FEATURE

In Durban, Betafence SA distributor Fenceline played a significant role in ensuring the sucess of the contract.

AN EXTENSIVE OFFERING Betafence SA designs, manufactures, and sells a variety of fencing solutions and also offers access control and detection products for perimeter protection, as well as antipanic gates, turnstiles, gates, and other fencing systems.

The company’s diverse range of products, and the spread into different markets, has cushioned it against the worst of the recession. “There has been a downturn particularly in the estate development market, but this has been offset by increased demand in other areas,” Rodenburg says.

Betafence’s high security mesh deviates bullets, is semi-bomb resistant and has been exhaustively tested, which is another significant factor behind its success.

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The high security mesh is virtually bombproof whilst still maintaining high visibility levels.

This is a crucial factor when used as part of an overall security surveillance system.

Rodenburg says: “Our products are rigorously tested and can withstand the most determined attacks. We provide lasting strength.” In addition, Rodenburg says Betafence SA is producing product that requires less maintenance and material, but is reliable, cost effective and blends in with its environment. “Ongoing adaptation to new market forces is a constant focus,” he explains.

“One of our key strengths is our PVC coated products,” Rodenburg adds. “It is unlike anything South Africa has seen before in this industry.” An Italian-made imported coating machine enables Betafence SA to supply and export locally PVC-coated products. “There are a number of advantages to the product,” says Rodenburg, “ensuring we remain at the forefront of technology.”

Freight Distribution Network CC T/A FDN Transport Services CK1997/025705/23 P.O. BOX 1085 KUILS RIVER 7579 Tel: (021) 905 2060 Fax: (021) 905 2678 Email: info@fdn.co.za

Betafence SA FEATURE

As part of that, Betafence SA is investing in training and development. “Through this we can harness our full potential,” says Rodenburg. “Training and development are imperative.”

Rodenburg summarises the company’s aims as: maintaining a first class, lean and cost-effective factory, investing in skills development, staying at the forefront of technology, growing the business and branching out into new business segments.

“We need to maintain our position as the leader in the market,” Rodenburg says.

“Established in 1998, Betafence South Africa (Pty) Ltd is part of the largest universal perimeter fencing manufacturer and supplier, Betafence NV, the world leader in fencing solutions,” he adds. “We get a lot of benefits from that.

“Our world-class manufacturing and PVC coating facility is based in Paarl and we have

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sales and distribution centres in key SA locations. We supply to all provinces as well as throughout Africa.

“We are currently expanding our product range for the D-I-Y market and bringing in more value-added services,” Rodenburg continues.

Betafence SA’s value-added services include in-house technical expertise, CAD design and architectural specification support, and instant access to worldleading coating technologies. “In the future we want to get more involved in the whole cycle of projects, even looking at financing, helping customers fund a purchase. That is something that is new and we are positive and excited about bringing that to the market,” Rodenburg concludes.

Betafence SA is a certified ISO-9001 company. It is also BEE accredited, with 26 percent shares owned by local PDI investment companies. END

Whatever your line of business, you require a trusted adviser – a financial partner who can walk the road with you. We believe in facing your business challenges head on while supporting you every step of the way with insight and practical advice. Together, we will work towards tomorrow’s financial solutions, today.

Call us today on 021 915 5300 Absa Business banking

-to-Shelf Colin Chinery talks to Syd Rogers, director-owner of Brunel, a contract manufacturer with a concept to shelf service in cosmetics and complementary health.

Š Adam Borkowski/PhotoXpress 78

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Brunel FEATURE

I

n the 10 years since leading Gauteng pharmistry innovators Brunel switched from wholesale distribution to R&D and manufacturing, growth has exceeded 1000 percent. “It’s been phenomenal,” says director-owner Syd Rogers.

Brunel is a contract manufacturer with a concept-to-shelf service in cosmetics and complementary health. Sales - from anti-oxidants and vitamins to skin and hair care - have an impressive global reach and leading brands like Nimue International and Avid are among its burgeoning client and customer base.

The Brunel group is formed across four divisions; a laboratory for pharmaceutical research – no animal testing - a manufacturing facility of complimentary medicines, a plant for cosmetic products, and a factory shop.

Strategic management is focused on the success of its clients – a linked turnover ‘Win Win’ scenario – and a related innovation and product development involving the close collaboration of the first three divisions.

“We pride ourselves on being flexible and talk directly to our customers to ensure they have the products to sell that meets their needs,” says Rogers. “Our in-house research and development ensures that any changes to the product range can be carried out immediately, allowing our clients to keep up to date and ahead of competitors.”

Contract manufacturing, he says, “is a very small industry. So building and establishing a reputation as a reliable contract manufacturer in the cosmetics trade is quite difficult because this can only be done by time.

“There are not a lot of us around, and the big people do contract work for the big boys such as Uniliver, Johnson and Johnson and L’Oreal.

We cater very largely for the smaller people who have their own brand names.

“Talk to any of our customers we supply on a regular basis and they speak very highly of us because we give high quality and service. We are ISA 9001 compliant, and to be awarded this internationally recognised quality management accreditation is quiet an achievement.”

What sets Brunel apart from its competitors? “One factor is the facilities we have. When a new or prospective customer tours our factory and sees how well organised we are, they leave feeling that this is where they want their products manufactured.”

By far Brunel’s biggest customer and client is Nimue International who supply beauty salons, and export to Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and most recently, China. All their products are manufactured in house by Brunel at Edenvale, Gauteng.

Nimue has evolved into a globally recognized brand - primarily amongst leading skin care salons - for innovative formulations and cutting edge technology based on the effective combination of exceptional ingredients with scientifically proven delivery systems.

As a primary leader in the skin care industry Nimue International is renowned for expert understanding of the skin and the effective treatment of various skin conditions.

We pride ourselves on being flexible and talk directly to our customers to ensure they have the products to sell that meets their needs

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Brunel FEATURE

The treatment formulations deliver optimal concentrations of pharmaceutical grade nutrients, cutting edge antioxidants, superior quality phytoceuticals, peptides and other powerful active ingredients where they are needed most – below the skin’s surface to actively improve skin health and appearance.

And Brunel-linked product development - along with the latest scientific ingredient technology - are powering Nimue’s growing market presence.

Avid competes in the personal care – hair, nails, slimming and vitality – and over the counter and household medicines markets, supplying major outlets such as Pick n Pay. The South African hair care market both professional and consumer - is growing in double digits and this strong growth is expected to continue through 2010 and beyond.

Hosting the World Cup may have inspired the country but the economic fundamentals are extremely positive as the economy develops and employment expands. The number of people in image or appearance conscious workplaces - such as consumer service industries, media sector and the professions - is growing strongly.

And the middle classes - in particular the black middle class - are increasing in size and influence.

And an expanding middle class is also evident among South African consumers interested in living healthier lifestyles, gaining a better understanding of nutrition and preventative self-medication.

Supplements and homeopathic remedies have become more affordable to consumers

in recent years as an expanding middle class has led to rising income levels. This market also has a significant high-income consumer group that demands of high-end organic and natural products.

Brunel’s complimentary medicines are sold under its own brand name – Brunel Laboratories – as well as through its major client, Ngomo.

Brunel was established in 1974, primarily as a wholesale distributor of cosmetics and pharmaceutical products such as cough tablets and vitamin tablets, with products made by outside manufacturers.

The cosmetic arm was growing faster than pharmaceuticals, and when facilities became available in the year 2000, Brunel decided to manufacture themselves.

“We have had phenomenal growth, from the year 2000 and up to now, something like 1,000 percent. We started with five or six employees and now have one hundred,” says Rogers, 67.

“Our contract customer base is everincreasing and at a rapid rate. We have landed some very big new contracts, while Nimue has almost doubled its turnover.

“The biggest challenge is to stay on top of the latest trends and remain at the cutting edge of the Market by producing quality products at the right price.

“The major contributing factor in the success of our business is the fact that we deliver on time, and with a quality we consider excellent. A contract manufacturer has got nothing to offer except quality, service and integrity. And we are delivering.” END

The major contributing factor in the success of our business is the fact that we deliver on time, and with a quality we consider excellent

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Eveready-Kestrel FEATURE

W

ith its abundance of wind resources, manufacturing skills and a sophisticated infrastructure, it is obvious South Africa has the potential to become what enthusiasts are calling a “wind powerhouse”.

Earlier this month Silas Zimu, the new South African head of Indian wind turbine maker Suzlon - which is tendering to supply equipment for more than 800 megawatts of wind power in the country - identified the Eastern Cape as the most likely site for a production facility that could eventually supply sub-Saharan Africa.

Wind power is a very efficient form of energy – a lot more so than solar

With electricity price hikes in motion South Africa’s potential for small-scale windgenerated power is winning increasing interest and backing says Leon Gouws, sales and marketing director of brand leader Kestrel.

“I believe that wind has a very important place in South Africa’s energy portfolio,” said Zimu, a former Eskom manager. Suzlon chairman Tulsi Tanti agrees and says South Africa has “huge wind potential” Mention wind power and it’s the Global Big Beasts that come to mind, like the world’s largest offshore wind farm opened last month near south east England’s shoreline that will produce enough electricity to supply the equivalent of more than 200,000 homes a year.

But small-scale wind, or micro wind turbines, are playing an increasing part in people’s energy calculations - not least in price-hike South Africa, where Kestrel of Port Elizabeth is the dominant brand in the domestic market.

“Wind power is a very efficient form of energy and a lot more so than solar. And over the last five years wind power technology has improved markedly,” says Leon Gouws, sales and marketing director.

Export markets – including Britain, mainland Europe, Australia, New Zealand, www.southafricamag.com 83

Eveready-Kestrel FEATURE

North America, the Middle East and the whole of Africa – used to make up 90 percent of Kestrel’s sales. But over the past three months increasing consumer interest in South Africa has driven up domestic share in a rising market to 40 percent. “The South African market is growing sizably,” says Gouws.

Small-scale wind power is defined as wind generation systems with the capacity to produce up to 50 kW of electrical power.

It is attracting householders and others who want to reduce or eliminate their dependence on grid electricity – usually for cost reasons or reduce their carbon footprint.

Another prime market is isolated communities where wind turbines can displace diesel fuel consumption. In remote areas wind turbines have been used for household electricity generation in conjunction with battery storage for many decades.

Grid-connected wind turbines reduce consumption of utility-supplied electricity.

Off-grid system use renewable energy from small wind stored in batteries and backed up by a small diesel system to supplement the wind turbine. Telecommunications is a Kestrel target market, in effect internet gateways powered by a wind turbine that charges a small battery and replacing the need for a connection to the power grid.

In the harsh desert conditions of Namibia location of many Kestrel projects - additional repeater stations and telecommunication towers are needed in the more remote areas – some without access to a power source.

Now Kestrel micro wind turbines are supplying independent power to the towers, more advantageous than noisy and polluting generators, or the costly cables otherwise needed to accommodate a tower’s power requirements.

Water pumping from wind turbines is another major area business along with other off-group type solutions. “Here in South Africa we run off-grid schools and even communities,” says Gouws.

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How much could a homeowner expect to save by switching to micro turbine wind power? “Based on the electricity you pay the return on investment will be between five and seven years. But if it’s a remote site the ROI will be much quicker; from as little as six months to three or four years.”

But with necessary wind conditions not accessible to everyone, how are we to know if it will work for us? “First we would get your location latitude and longitude then draw up an analysis of wind performance in you area. And if it was insufficient we would advise you not to install a wind turbine.

“But in that case you would very likely still have a solar option. Overall in many parts of South Africa wind would be excellent, in others solar, and in some areas wind and solar would provide an excellent combination.

“In the case of water pumping for the farming community I would install and monitor how well it works before payment. If it doesn’t meet the customer’s expectations, Kestrel will remove it. This approach has been very successful.

“We do not see ourselves as being in competition with solar but more a partner.

Although solar is not a part of our manufacturing operation, consumer or telecommunication designs and solutions may well include solar if it is beneficial.”

It is four years since Kestrel, which had been developing since 1999, joined Eveready, South Africa’s only consumer battery manufacturer. As a result Kestrel now trades under the name Eveready Diversified products.

Since then Eveready-Kestrel wind turbines and support system have achieved

Technology has changed significantly and more and more buyers are coming into the market

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Eveready-Kestrel FEATURE

recognition across the globe. And last year Kestrel was recognised as The Proudly South African Innovator of the Year, with its exporting record achieving Best Exporter awards in 2008 and 2009.

Kestrel now provides a full range of small wind turbine solutions in the 600w, 800w, 1kW and 3kW range. And because of their robust construction and unique engineering, Kestrel turbines have proven to be the product of choice for telecommunications, off-grid, grid connected and water pumping solutions.

Safety and optimum operational performance are other brand attributes.

“Kestrel turbines by their design cannot overspeed,” says Gouws. “Overspeeding brings two problems: a machine will tear itself apart and break, and secondly if the generator is spinning too fast the voltage can become so high that it can damage both itself and down line components”

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In these excessive wind conditions competitor machines respond by either shutting down or adjusting their rotor to the side of the wind and slowing down.

“It’s a very basic way of preventing the machine overspeeding but so much energy generation is lost. It means every time the wind gusts the machine turns out of the wind to slow down and energy output reduces again, which can happen constantly.”

Kestrel turbines however include a feature only seen on the large wind power generators – pitch control. “This means the machine is always looking into the wind and therefore producing maximum output.

A Kestrel machine is practically indestructible because of the pitch control. It will not overspeed.

And because of this, compared to one of our biggest competitors in the US, a Kestrel machine provides double the output, a very big advantage.”

The potential for wind power in South Africa is “massive,” says Gouws, “but at present the Government is not taking advantage.

From a renewable point of view, and especially wind, either large scale or small, South Africa is doing little compared with the rest of Africa. There is still a lot of work to be done on supplying energy into the grid.

“People can be sceptical about wind, but technology has changed significantly and more and more buyers are coming into the market.

“Give it two years in South Africa and electricity prices will have gone up by another 25 percent, then another 25 percent. At that point the ROI on a micro turbine will be down to three years. And with this very good return on their capital investment more and more people will be installing.” END

With this very good return on their capital investment, more and more people will be installing

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D R I V I N G S A H I G H TE C H I NTO

O R B IT South Africa’s space technology is winning increasing international praise. SunSpace CEO Bart Cilliers tells Colin Chinery what is happening out on this exciting New Frontier.

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Sunspace FEATURE

I

t’s South Africa’s New Frontier, the near-Earth region of space where the nation is gaining increasing international reputation as a technology leader.

South Africa is looking skywards, and the anticipated economic returns for the country are tangible, exciting and potentially vast.

Orbiting some 550km above the earth is micro satellite SumbandilaSat, launched in Kazakhstan last year, commissioned by the Department of Science and Technology and implemented by SunSpace, commercial spin-off of the satellite development research programme at the University of Stellenbosch. And Sumbandila - a Venda word for team leader – “paves the way for bigger and better things,” says Naledi Pandor, Minister of Science and Technology.

From its high resolution cameras, images are being streamed to the Satellite Applications Centre at Hartbeeshoek outside Pretoria. The practical applications range from the management of natural disasters, to agriculture, mapping of infrastructure and land use, and the measurement of sea levels.

The demand for satellite images is growing and with it international recognition of South Africa’s increasing capability in building small, cheaper-to-launch - and so increasingly popular - microsatellites.

“Very few countries actually have expertise in small satellite technology right now, and South Africa is one of these,” says Lerothodi Leeuw, South African

astrophysicist at NASA’s Ames Research Centre, California. “They really have a niche at this point.”

And with the imminent launch of the South African National Space Agency, the programme is moving into higher orbit.

Its mandate - to promote peaceful use of space, accelerate industrial development of space technology, and foster research and international cooperation in space science and engineering.

SunSpace, provider of high-performance small and medium-sized satellites – a second of which is in orbit - and related systems and solutions to the local and international aerospace market, will be a key player.

As well as designing, developing and manufacturing SumbandilaSat, the company has undertaken a number of space programmes, some with the developing world.

“We want to be a leader in our field of small, high performance Earth satellites. That’s what we are about,” says SunSpace CEO Bart Cilliers. “One of our objectives is to make space ventures more accessible. The European Space Agency (ESA) and American space programmes tend to be extremely costly and take a very long time periods before the assets are in space.

“But by substantially lowering the cost while providing comparable performance – similar to the shift from mainframe computers to laptops - we believe this will enable a lot of other applications to be developed. We see quite a big market here and feel we are a leader in this field.”

The benefit for South Africa is in telling the investment world that we can really do the highest form of technology successfully

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Sunspace FEATURE

SunSpace’s current programme includes the multi-satellite African Resource Management Constellation Agreement between Kenya, Nigeria, Algeria and South Africa, each country being responsible for its own satellite and using the space resources for regional development. The South African satellite is expected to be contracted by the end of this year.

Another agreement, this time between India, Brazil and South Africa – IBSA – and scheduled for launching next year, is regarded as a satellite cooperation flagship project.

“In particular the Brazilians are very interested in the South Atlantic magnetic anomaly which causes a lot of problems for Earth observation,” says Bart Cilliers. South Africa will build the satellite bus, with the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory contributing an instrument.

“We also have international clients interested in particular satellites, essentially Earth observation, but I’m not at liberty to give details.”

SunSpace has its origins in the SunSat satellite programme of the Stellenbosch University. It was South Africa’s first satellite developed completely by a local South African team of engineers, and the same team today forms the core of SunSpace.

We want to be a leader in our field of small, high performance Earth satellites. That’s what we are about

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South Africa’s space agenda goes back to the military space programme of the 1980s, terminated in 1994. “Under the Apartheid Government South Africa was forced to undertake many things or go without,” says Cilliers. “As a result a micro infrastructure was established in the industry in all kinds of high technology spheres. Without that base Sunspace would not have been able to do what we do.”

The company itself resulted from a 1988 initiative to establish a post-graduate research group in satellite systems. Eight years later the satellite SunSat was launched by the American space agency, NASA. Success brought approaches from foreign clients, and in this developing situation it was decided to establish in the year 2000 a commercial enterprise - SunSpace.

“What is unique about space,” says Cilliers, 65, “is that it attracts media attention and is generally regarded as the

pinnacle of technological development.

“So South Africa successfully designing, building and launching a satellite and operating it in space makes a huge statement.

Not only about the competences in SunSpace but also the supporting infrastructure which has to be there to make it possible.

“Many other technological things do not really inspire young people, but space seems to have this mystery attached to it. So we are confident this will act as an inspiration for many young South Africans to follow technical engineering careers as opposed to accounting, the legal profession or what have you.”

The technical and engineering expertise to innovate and build a competitive industry and boost the economy, is essential to the future of South Africa, says Cilliers.

“And you can’t do this with lawyers and doctors and financial people. You obviously need their services, but the guys who www.southafricamag.com 91

Sunspace FEATURE

actually get the job done are the engineers and scientists.”

He cites the US experience. “At the end of the day how many of their population was employed on the Moon programme?

But thousands upon thousands went into technical careers, and the American economy just took off.

“We feel it’s very essential to have that, and make a very bold statement so that young people realise that this is what can happen.

“We have some Black engineers working for us. One is a Black girl, Jessie Ndaba, who came out of Soweto from poor parents, made it into engineering, and today is doing substantial satellite work. Jessie is a role model for others in under-privileged situations, showing them it can really be done.”

But in South Africa as elsewhere, space research and development has its vociferous critics. “What on earth is the benefit to the poor and the downtrodden of deep 92

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space research?” asks physicist Harold Annegarn, a professor at the University of Johannesburg. Bart Cilliers is emphatic.

“You have to have a balance. Yes you must attend to urgent social requirements, but unless you invest in the permanent solution of the problem - which is growing your economy and competence and competiveness internationally you are never going to solve the problem.

“The dilemma for any developing country is that you have to draw a hard line somewhere and say, ‘I’m going to invest in my future, and while I’m not neglecting the urgent social needs, I must do this thing as well otherwise I’m never going to get out of the mess I’m in.’”

Last month SunSpace shadow minister of science and technology Marian Shinn attacked a deal which should see the Government taking a 60 percent share in the company, arguing that investment should come from the private sector.

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“Marion Shinn made a very big mistake in assuming that this was a lot of money for a space programme,” says Cilliers. “In fact it is tiny. And you can’t find any space company anywhere in the world - including the US - that can make it on their own.

“The benefit for South Africa is in telling the investment world out there that we can really do the highest form of technology successfully.

This will have a positive impact on our standing across all kinds of ratings for investment in this country. You know

in some parts of the world even South Africa is regarded as a place where you can find an elephant and lions walking down the road!”

The African Continent, he says, is experiencing the onset of the birth pangs of the African Renaissance.

“As a technology leader to be reckoned with, SunSpace plans to play a key role in facilitating the emergence of African Space technology and credibility.

“We believe that we can help to prove that the best future for Africa lies in African technology from African soil for African prosperity.” END

As a technology leader to be reckoned with, SunSpace plans to play a key role in facilitating the emergence of African Space technology and credibility

www.southafricamag.com 93

H ow

to

find

talented employees Colin Chinery talks with Annette Kinnear about shaping a position around talent, not squeezing talent into a position

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DAV Recruitment FEATURE

T

he skills shortage in South Africa has always been chronic. It goes through periods of becoming more acute and then returns to being chronic.

This is the assessment of leading sharpend observer, Annette Kinnear, Managing Director of DAV Recruitment, author of ‘Your Career, Your Life’, and hailed as a “superb leader and astute business woman.”

Currently South Africa has an acute shortage of highly qualified financial people, and among hard skills areas such as mechanical and electrical engineering, says Kinnear.

“The key for any company is to be open to forming a position around talent rather than trying to find talent and then squeeze them into a position. I think a lot of companies are awakening to this.”

DAV is its 35th year, the last 11 as part of Adcorp Holdings. Its founder Ingrid Kast is still CEO, and sector excellence awards arrive at its Joburg headquarters with the regularity of executive CVs: among the latest, ‘Best Recruitment Consultancy for Specialised Skills’ and ‘Best Training Programme in SA.’ With Gauteng accounting for 75 percent of national GDP, Johannesburg is seen as the natural head office location. “This is where recruitment is really happening, and so our main focus is here,” says Kineear, 48.

130 work here with another 30 in its Cape Town Office. When Kinnear joined in 1988 there were five employees, since when “we have grown organically, adding new divisions and expanding staff with year on year growth.”

Her own contribution is described by Ingrid Kast as “20 extraordinary years”, leaving “a

lasting legacy that has been instrumental in making our company what it is today.”

Kinnear says DAV is a recruitment consultancy that tries to lead in terms of excellence in the service of its clients and candidates. “At all times we serve them and not ourselves.

“Now that may sound ideological but this is what we have always pursued and as a result we have become very successful. But we don’t chase success, we concentrate on trying to do the right thing.”

DAV is influential in executive search, the financial market, IT and engineering. There is a specialist division in foreign language speakers notably the German market - and a strong office support division for the placement of secretaries, PAs and clerical positions.

“One of our advantages is that we have a very strong core of people, senior consultants and team leaders. Our industry, because it is so competitive, is notorious for large staff turnover.”

Within the recruitment sector, says Kinnear, for every four people that join and grow through the first two months of training and working at the desk, typically only one remains. “In our company it’s the other way round – out of four, three remain.”

In house training is a major key here. “This has always been our strength and goes back to our CEO Ingrid Kast. Training is fundamental to our success.

“We are constantly monitoring other countries in the industry for whatever is good, new and excellent. We have access to very good material which makes our training very interesting, and we bring trainers to us and

If South Africa doesn’t get serious about education and skills development all the gains in the 16 years since democracy will go down the tube

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DAV Recruitment FEATURE

send some of our people to trainers in the UK, Australia, the US or wherever.

“We make sure we stay abreast of developments and set aside a very big training budget even during the recession - when for many companies this is the first area to be cut.

The world is changing and so is recruitment.”

For a largely unregulated sector with traditionally low levels of entry, the recession has had what Annette Kinnear describes as “something of a cleansing effect”.

“Many small companies are up and coming all the time but over the last year and a half due to the recession a lot of the smaller recruitment operators are going out of business. The people and companies that remain are those proving an excellent service.”

But why should a company not recruit directly or though its HR department?

“You would be limited in terms of exposure to talent, and with the skills shortage background this is something everyone involved in recruitment must understand.

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“We really depend on a very, very strong network of people. Those that are openly available in the market and can be reached through advertising or a career site make up a pool certainly, but it is one to which everyone has access.

“Everyone wants that great talent that you want. If you are looking for something very special - a calibre person - then you must work with a professional recruitment consultancy because in a skill shortage situation the really good people are working and you need to know how and where to find them. They will never ever ever put their CV on a career site, but they might be available and looking and talking to somebody about it.

“And there’s no cost involved, you only pay once you’ve engaged the person and then you get a guarantee. So you can’t lose by talking to a professional recruitment person and I can’t see anyone would not want to do that. And if you want to have a recruitment experience you’ve never had before then

contact us. We will give you that experience of a lifetime and one not comparable to run of the mill agencies.”

Meantime for South African business the skills shortage remains a paramount issue. “If South Africa doesn’t get serious about education and skills development all the gains in the 16 years since democracy will go down the tube,” says Gareth Stokes of the financial and advisory news and information portal, FA News.

“We cannot condone a situation where more than 50 percent of Grade 1’s fail to make it to their final year. Nor can we accept the abysmal matriculation pass rate achieved by the provinces in 2009.”

Annette Kinnear agrees. “We need many many more people coming through our universities studying and qualifying in those areas and disciplines needed in the country.” And she takes issue with those who reject this view.

“We need an across the board realisation of just how chronic the skills shortage is

rather than going into denial. That’s not going to help anybody.

“The skills shortage is well known among business people, but if you want to bring in a skill from overseas it has become very, very complicated to get the necessary permits.

You can get them but can be a very long, tedious and sometimes inefficient process.

If this could be opened up a little and made more user-friendly and accessible, then in the long run it would help rather than harm the country.

“People here are very entrepreneurial, with lots of ambition, ideas and a great love of independence. There’s a very positive spirit here. South Africa is a very positive country and not much can get us down.

Potentially it is ripe.

“We have a great country, a strong country. If we pull together and each of us does his or her part, and we as a nation make up our minds to do it, we can reach fantastic heights.” END www.southafricamag.com 97

s l l i M l a ca r i e fr n A e GS o u t h Ins

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i de

General Mills FEATURE

W

Ian Armitage talks with Leigh Mervitz, brand manager at General Mills South Africa.

hile South Africa produces many products of world-class quality, it is also a major importer. Its food industry is a reflection of this – diverse and dynamic. Given this, it is little wonder that General Mills came calling in1993 General Mills, the world’s sixth largest food company, doesn’t need much introduction; it manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide and also supplies branded and unbranded food products to the Foodservice and commercial baking industries.

Its global product line includes ready-toeat cereals, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, and frozen pizza snacks, as well as super premium ice cream products.

“General Mills strives to hold the number one or number two position in virtually every category in which it competes,” says Leigh Mervitz, brand manager at General Mills South Africa.

General Mills South Africa forms part of General Mills’ high growth international division, with a firm commitment to building strong brands, she adds.

“We have a number of strong brands and there are also many Foodservice and bakery items available,” Mervitz explains.

South African consumers can find Old El Paso Mexican foods, Pillsbury baking mixes and Häagen-Dazs ice cream in their grocery aisles.

“The South African business started in 1993, but it was the launch of the bakeries and Foodservice business in 1995 that introduced Pillsbury to the market,” Mervitz says. “Today Pillsbury is a trusted quality and innovation leader in the premium baking and dessert mixes category in South Africa.”

SA consumers enjoy an array of international General Mills brands.

“General Mills is one of the world’s leading food companies,” Mervitz explains. “We are committed to providing the Foodservice and retail industry with the best from start to finish www.southafricamag.com 99

General Mills FEATURE

in terms of quality products, customer service, technical support and training.”

Its innovative, tasty products, combined with the convenience and ease of preparation have made General Mills a preferred supplier and leader in the South African Foodservice market, she says.

“We cater for a variety of customers including garage forecourts and bakeries.

“The vision for General Mills South Africa is to be the innovation leader to the SA market, offering unique brands.

“We are seeing General Mills South Africa as an important spring board into southern Africa.”

THE BIPOLAR CONSUMER The food sector is a dynamic place to be, especially in South Africa, where competition is strong and consumer’s needs and tastes are never static. “SA is a bipolar market,” says Mervitz. “You have two-tiers: you have to serve the mass of the population and the affluent market, while meeting the challenges of increasing commodity prices and sustainability issues.”

South Africa is the biggest economy in Africa but it has a population of around 49 million people, of whom 25 percent are unemployed. Less than half of the workingage population has jobs.

“South Africa is a challenging and diverse market,” says Mervitz. “Our consumers are always evolving, as you would expect in a rapidly-transforming nation.

“The challenge for the SA food industry is that it needs to reach all extremes, consumers at all levels.”

South African retailers have been under pressure in recent years as consumers battle unemployment and high debt levels, forcing them to cut back on spending, Mervitz adds.

This had a knock-on effect in the foodservice division. “It has,” says Mervitz.

“We sell into forecourts and our products are largely unbranded. We have to be able to show 100 www.southafricamag.com

those channels that we have superior product, a product they can sell onto consumers.

“We have to give added value to their stores.” General Mills South Africa has initiated a programme to improve its business offering called ‘Holistic Margin Management’. “This programme aims to strengthen the company’s focus on consumer needs while managing in-put costs and taking out inefficiencies and waste so that manufacturer, retail customer and consumer benefit,” Mervitz says.

ETHICAL & RESPONSIBLE Across the globe, General Mills is guided by a set of strong values, values evidently present in its SA operations. Its values are, to quote its corporate website, “the source of our strength, and the heart of who we are.

Our values guide us to be involved in our communities and to affect positive change.”

General Mills has high standards and is committed to corporate social responsibility.

A great of example of this is that in April, General Mills’ staff ditched their laptops and gathered at the Alexandra Disability Movement (ADM) centre for a day of painting, gardening and general cleaning.

“The day was organised by our human resources manager,” says Mervitz. “We have a long relationship with the Alexandra Disability Movement. The ADM plays an important role for disabled youth and their families, and it is the only facility of its kind in Alexandra.

In operation since 1998, the centre offers childcare, boarding facilities, and a school. It is designed to take care of and help educate children with special needs between the ages of two and 18.”

General Mills provides financial support to the centre by paying teachers’ monthly salaries, capital injections for infrastructure.

The company also provides nutritious food and snacks for the children and volunteerism of time and skills by General Mills’s staff at the centre.

“We are also committed to the environment,” Mervitz adds. “We take our role in this field very seriously and are committed to our communities and our world. We strive to reduce our impact on the environment.”

BUILDING THE BRAND General Mills South Africa is doing much to strengthen its brand and launched the South African version of its world-famous Pillsbury Bake-Off competition in November last year.

The finals took place this July at the South African Chefs Association’s state-of-the-art kitchens in Johannesburg.

“By introducing the Pillsbury Bake-Off to the foodservice industry, we are showing that Pillsbury serves both retail and foodservice needs,” says Mervitz.

Special guests included Stephen Billingham, president of the South African Chef Association, and Craig Leathwhite, managing director of General Mills South Africa.

Judges Philippe Frydman and Kabelo Segone (as well as Mervitz) awarded points

based on taste, appearance, creativity and consumer appeal.

It was Mervitz’s hope that chefs and operators could leave the Pillsbury BakeOff with an understanding that you can ‘make Pillsbury your own’. “Our product is highly versatile and efficient in any kitchen, providing many opportunities for experimentation,” she explains.

The competition was a great success and proved Mervitz’s point that making Pillsbury your own “ensures a quick, convenient solution for creating new and innovative products that are sure to win.”

So what’s next for the firm? “Our vision is for General Mills South Africa to be the innovation leader to the South African food market, offering unique preferred brands that provide value-added solutions to our customers and consumers. We enjoy a strong position in key markets in South Africa and I see General Mills extending that leadership and expanding across Southern Africa,” Mervitz concludes. END www.southafricamag.com 101

future A

NUCLEAR

Nuclear energy will play a significant role in SA’s energy future, says Eric McDonald, managing director (Operations), at Lesedi Nuclear Services.

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Lesedi Nuclear Services FEATURE

A

s anybody familiar with the South African electricity industry will know, the sector needs capital investment to keep up with demand growth-efficiency. It has faced many challenges in recent years and, with the economy growing faster than expected in the face of the downturn, electricity capacity is coming under increasing pressure.

The government has recently proposed a long-term energy mix, with a smaller role for coal and strong renewable and nuclear energy components, in its long-awaited draft of the 2010 integrated resource plan (IRP).

The plan would result in South Africa’s energy mix in 2030 comprising 48 percent coal, 16 percent renewable energy, 14 percent nuclear, 9 percent peaking open cycle gas turbine, 6 percent peaking pump storage, 5 percent mid-merit gas and 2 percent imported hydroelectricity.

The nuclear build programme would come on stream in 2023.

“Electricity consumption has been growing rapidly and this is, of course, no big secret, Eskom has been struggling to meet the growing demand,” says Lesedi Nuclear Services’ managing director (operations) Eric McDonald.

“In 2008, the government basically took control and suspended Eskom’s expansion plans while it tried to convince private companies to build power plants. At the same time, regional electricity demand exceeded supply capacity and it resulted in a five-day shutdown of most mines in the country, early in 2008. In December of that year, South Africa halted plans to build a second nuclear plant, as the global financial crisis tightened credit markets.

Eskom subsequently cut several expansion programmes because of a lack of funding.

However, Eskom had, earlier committed to invest in building new coal and gas turbine plants to address the crisis. We were involved in building 14 150-megawatt gas turbines for the Open Cycle Gas Turbine Project. We actually had two contracts: the EPC with Eskom, where we did the full design for the balance of the plant; after which we also had a project with Siemens, where we erected the turbines under their supervision. It was the first new build power station since the 1980s.

“But more needs to be done; by 2025 the plan is to double SA’s generating capacity to 80GWe,” adds McDonald.

“This is great news for the likes of Lesedi, which was initially founded to provide technical resources for the nuclear power industry. We are obviously a subsidiary to AREVA, which offers customers technological solutions for nuclear power generation, electricity transmission and distribution. That puts us at a great advantage. We are well-placed to capitalise on South Africa’s nuclear and energy potential.”

The IRP, approved by the interministerial committee, is now in the public domain for comments.

Koeberg, the country’s only nuclear plant, started operations in 1984 and is located about 30 kilometres north of Cape Town in Western Cape province, not far from Lesedi’s HQ.

We are wellplaced to capitalise on South Africa’s nuclear and energy potential

DEMAND GROWTH Lesedi is proudly South African and believes in the future of the country. “We are indeed,” says McDonald. “We have invested in developing a variety of business support skills for different levels of our employees in order to ensure high standards of delivery.” www.southafricamag.com 103

Lesedi Nuclear Services FEATURE

One scheme is the Engineers in Training (EIT) programme. “We recruit recent graduates whom we put through an 18-month training and mentorship programme,” says McDonald.

“It is part of our development programme, and it is typically the type of initiative that we have got in place to develop our people.”

Lesedi is committed to providing work and skills transfer opportunities within the company. Initiatives such as EIT provide graduates with a solid foundation within an industry that can be challenging to develop in.

“This is a ‘real-life’ training mentorship programme,” McDonald explains. “There aren’t many areas of exposure for people within the nuclear environment here in SA. So it offers a good platform for us to have these people trained in the right environment. It also involves sending some of them abroad on an AREVA project, which enables them to apply their knowledge in a given project’s day-to-day activities. This also ensures that when bigger projects kick 104 www.southafricamag.com

in, we have the required human resources to utilise.

“Our success and competitive edge lies in our employees, their commitment, innovation and contribution. We are committed to uplifting and developing our resources in SA. For us to play a significant role in the energy market going forward, we need to develop the capabilities within the company and to put ourselves ahead of the pack for when projects come up, ready with resources in-house, added to the access that we have to additional resources from AREVA, when required.

“Readily available in-house resources put us in a good position for when tenders get put out,” says McDonald.

BEE Lesedi is a Black Empowerment Enterprise and its skills development policy supports and subscribes to current legislation (the Employment Equity Act, the Broad Based

Black Economic Empowerment Act No. 53 of 2003, and the Codes of Good Practice).

“We want to become the company of choice in the nuclear industry, but we also want to empower and build an industry here in SA; this has been one of our goals since when we started,” explains McDonald.

“Black ownership, control and executive management, employment equity, skills development, preferential procurement, enterprise development and corporate social investment are some of the ways that black empowerment is achieved.”

Lesedi’s history dates back to 1999 when Lesedi Engineering, a start-up BEE company, was formed. In 2001, Lesedi Engineering and Intens - another engineering services company amalgamated to form Lesedi Nuclear Services. The company later sold 45 percent equity to AREVA. In 2006, Lesedi became a subsidiary of AREVA, when the French firm acquired a further 6

percent in the firm, giving it a 51 percent majority stake.

“We are basically a Project Management and Design Engineering company,” says McDonald. “We provide integrated engineering solutions for all phases of a project, from initial design data and feasibility studies, through conceptual and detailed design, to planning, construction, start-up and commissioning, handover and operational support.”

Lesedi’s integration into AREVA has been beneficial for both companies. “The integration has enabled Lesedi to access crucial international nuclear expertise, in exchange for which we have offered AREVA a well-prepared platform for its localisation initiatives,” says McDonald. “Today we are probably the biggest black empowerment nuclear services company in the country.

We certainly want to maintain that; and we certainly want to play a significant role in the nuclear world going forward.” END www.southafricamag.com 105

T he war against

The Dental Warehouse is fighting a war against caries and looking to improve SA’s oral hygiene.

106 www.southafricamag.com

The Dental Warehouse FEATURE

S

outh Africa has poor oral hygiene and more than 90 percent of the population suffer dental caries and require dental treatment.

This is due to the fact that the majority (some 80 percent) of the country’s oral health practitioners practice in the private sector, leaving a small number of practitioners to cater for the majority of the population. Budgetary constraints, as well as the fact that the majority of the population are unable to afford dental treatment or insurance, means there is a rising incidence of oral disease among the disadvantaged, underserved and urbanising communities.

However, there are some attempting to change this.

“The Dental Warehouse has been an player in the South African dental market for over two decades,” explains joint managing director Melanie Savvides, who has been with the Sandton-based firm for 20 years. “Our staff across the country are committed to providing high quality products and service; we are experts in the field with many years experience in the industry, trained at all levels to support the needs of our customers.”

The Dental Warehouse’s mission is to supply quality dental products at the best prices possible.

“We are a marketer, distributor and importer of dental consumables. In the early years, we handled equipment and laboratory items as a one-stop dental shop. Today, we deal only in dental consumables, supplying quality dental products at competitive prices,” says Eric Serebro, co-joint managing director.

As a result of the current world economy, trading conditions have been tough over the last 18 months, but the South African Government’s policies regarding the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme are expected to significantly boost the South African dental products market by creating greater access to dental treatments. www.southafricamag.com 107

The Dental Warehouse FEATURE

The initiative will not only improve basic dental services, but also brighten the prospects of dental product traders.

“The Government has pledged a certain percentage of its healthcare budget to oral care and has been conducting oral health campaigns to create awareness about the importance of oral health,” says Melanie Savvides, the other co-managing director.

“We developing new strategies.

Dental Warehouse is focusing on the promotion of products, which prevent tooth decay for example, she 108 www.southafricamag.com

says. “Amorphous Calcium Phosphates remineralise enamel thus preventing tooth decay. It prevents sensitivity and removes white spots after orthodontics.

“We are actively working on the wider use of toothpaste containing the active ingredients, Olaflur and Dectaflur (Fluorides), which exhibit the superior anticariogenic effects of the amine fluorides. They increase the fluoride uptake on the tooth surface and protect the whole tooth, including the areas particularly at risk such as fissures and interdental areas,

working not only during brushing but also between brushing.

“The public needs to understand that they must be selective about the toothpaste they use. It should be a high quality product with anticaries properties.

“We believe oral diseases are largely preventable, so top priority will also be given to oral health education and that is our major focus. For instance, we are involved in a scheme encouraging mothers to develop healthy oral hygiene habits in children from a very young age and we think it is important

for pregnant women to ensure they are eating all the right foods and taking the correct supplements to assist their unborn child’s teeth to mineralise.

“We generally look to educate customers, offering practical oral health advice, bearing in mind that prevention is better than cure.”

“We work with reputable manufacturers,” adds Serebro. “All have modern, up-todate facilities. We believe that dental care is a critical issue and while cost is a factor, dental care should not be compromised.

Patients should insist that the best quality products are used for their treatments.”

“Quality control by careful selection of products is key to our success,” continues Savvides. “Excellent quality, together with the competitive prices, gives us a competitive advantage. Our main goal is to continue to foster high quality relationships with customers, suppliers and staff.

“We are a well-established company and can adapt rapidly to market changes.” END www.southafricamag.com 109

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