PEOPLE CULTURE TRAVEL PROPERTY BUSINESS WINE SPORT ENTERTAINMENT
ISSUE 31 R40.00
next Tsebo’s
frontier As companies seek to expand their African operations, they need a platform of reliable infrastructure to operate from
Into Africa
Excellent opportunities in Africa for electrical and instrumentation specialist B&W
Big shake-up at Altech Autopage Cellular
Altech Autopage Cellular integrates with sister company Altech Technology Concepts
Highway to heaven
A look at Intercape’s G7 luxury double-decker coaches
Who wants to be an entrepreneur?
Reality TV show the Big Break Legacy on its way back to SABC2
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THE NExT FRONTIER More and more business leaders, businesses and corporations are focusing on Africa to get the growth that they no longer enjoy in the more developed European and American markets. And it’s clear to see why. The African continent has enjoyed its best growth decade on record and is one of the world’s fastest growing regions, with six of the 10 fastest growing economies. Since 2009, Angola, Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia and DRC have been top investment destinations and now the likes of Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Madagascar, Gabon, Cameroon, Mozambique Liberia and the Congo are attracting a lot of attention. But if you want to invest in Africa, you need to have a long investment horizon and you must understand the risks. In this month’s magazine we talk to a number of companies, including Tsebo Outsourcing Group, Vanguard and Intercape, looking to expand into Africa. They discuss their hopes, dreams and expectations, but all warn of potential pitfalls. This month we also look forward to the new series of the Big Break Legacy, discuss the plight of the rhino, and we bring you all the latest business and lifestyle news. Of course we’ve got all the business profiles you have come to expect from one of South Africa’s leading b2b magazines.
EDITORIAL
Editor Ian Armitage Sub editor Marie Toms Editorial Assistant Clare durrant Writer Susan Miller
BUSINESS
Advertising Sales Manager Andy Williams Sales Matt Syder donovan Smith Eddie Clinton Researchers Elle Watson Sandra Parr Stuart Platt Tom Lloyd Sales administrator daniel George
ACCOUNTS
Financial Administrator Suzanne Welsh
PRODUCTION & DESIGN Magazine design Optic Juice
Production manager Jon Cooke Images: Getty, Thinkstock News: NZPA, AAP, SAPA
DIGITAL & IT
Head of digital marketing & development Syed Ahmad
TNT PUBLISHING
CEO Kevin Ellis Chairman Ken hurst Commercial david Alstin Publisher TNT Multimedia Ltd TNT Multimedia Limited, Unit 209, 16 Brune Street, London E1 7NJ tntmagazine.com
ENQUIRIES
Telephone: +44 (0) 1603 343502 fax: +44 (0) 1603 283602 andy.williams@tntmultimedia.com
Enjoy the magazine!
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Ian Armitage Editor
www.southafricamag.com
Call: +44 (0) 1603 343502 andy.williams@tntmultimedia.com
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Contents 06 14 18
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NEWS All the latest news from south Africa
ENTERTAINMENT Who wants to be an entrepreneur With reality TV show the Big Break Legacy on its way back to sABC2, south Africa Magazine caught up with season one winner Graham Rowe
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LITERATURE Rhino poaching: What’s the solution? Clive Walker (and wife), co-author of ‘The Rhino Keepers’, on what could be done to save the rhino
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COVER Tsebo Outsourcing Group Clive smith, Ceo of Tsebo outsourcing Group (Tsebo), explains how the group is expanding into Africa
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FOCUS TSEBO Food fellas Dr Chris Jardine is bringing ‘sexy’ back to Tsebo Catering solutions A sparkling future A look at Tsebo Cleaning services, a leader in contract cleaning The best in FM solutions Facilities management is a cornerstone of the operations at Drake & scull Energy efficiency: The business case Companies have begun adopting energy saving technologies as a matter of good business practice, Tsebo energy solution’s William Gould says FOCUS ENERGY Shedding light on Namibia The Namibian economy is steadily growing and so is the demand for electricity, representing a challenge for power utility NamPower Driving forward elegant Fuel’s Rocco strydom talks to south Africa Magazine
90 98 102 106
Local knowledge, global strength Interview with south African Bunkering & Trading’s (sABT) Andre Baard FOCUS TECHNOLOGY Shake-up at Altech Autopage Cellular Jse-listed Altech subsidiary Altech Autopage Cellular integrates with sister company Altech Technology Concepts FOCUS INDUSTRY Making light of heavy work Vanguard is a dominant player in abnormal transport, heavy lift and plant relocation in Africa FOCUS INFRASTRUCTURE Into Africa There are excellent opportunities in Africa for electrical and instrumentation specialist B&W FOCUS TRAVEL Highway to heaven earlier this year Intercape became the first in the industry in south Africa to introduce G7 luxury double-decker coaches FOCUS AUTOMOTIVE Springing into action The automotive industry is a world of opportunity for those with the right experience and capability says supreme spring’s Mark Barley FOCUS CONSTRUCTION SA’s first 5-star ‘As Built’ green building Absa Towers West is the new Absa Headquarters and flagship building of the group FOCUS FINANCE A raving Success? success Brokers (Pty) Limited is the heartbeat of the success Financial services Group
All the latest news from South Africa Strike season
AngloGold strike ends,
fires 12,000 miners AngloGold Ashanti, the world’s third-largest bullion producer, has fired 12,000 striking mineworkers after they ignored an ultimatum to return to work by 12h00 on Wednesday October 24. “Unfortunately, about 12,000 workers remain on the unprotected strike, primarily at AngloGold Ashanti’s West Wits region which comprises the Mponeng, TauTona and Savuka mines,” the company said in an emailed statement. “This is despite the concerted attempts made to resolve the issue through the gold industry’s collective bargaining framework which includes the Chamber of Mines and organised labour.” Workers at the Kopanang, Great Noligwa and Surface Operations returned to work on Monday 22 October 2012 and those at Moab Khotsong ended their unprotected work stoppage on Tuesday 23 October 2012, AngloGold said. 6
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Those “operations have begun the process of ramping up production levels and all returning workers will receive the recently improved wage offer made through the industry’s Collective Bargaining framework,” it added. AngloGold Ashanti’s management issued an ultimatum on Monday 22 October for striking workers to return to work no later than 12h00 Wednesday 24 October or face dismissal proceedings. “While the ultimatum has passed, and the dismissal process has started, management remains in dialogue with employees,” AngloGold said.
Strike season
Gold Fields Kumba Iron Ore
workers end strike
Workers have officially ended a month-long strike at major bullion producer Gold Fields. The firm earlier issued a final ultimatum to striking employees at KDC-West and Beatrix, to present themselves for work by no later than 2pm on Thursday October 18 or face immediate dismissal. Chief executive Nick Holland said the company issued the ultimatum after exhausting “all reasonable alternatives”. “We are now in the unfortunate position where we have exhausted all reasonable and legal alternatives,” he told the sapa news agency. Workers had been taking part in an illegal strike at the company’s KDC-West mining complex, Beatrix gold mine and KDC-East mines. The ultimatum did not apply to the KDC-East mineworkers.
sacks 300 striking
workers Kumba Iron Ore says it has fired nearly 300 workers who launched an illegal strike and seized billions of rands worth of equipment. The illegal strikers occupied the mine since 3 October and ignored an ultimatum to leave the mine and report for disciplinary hearings by 11:00 on Monday October 9. “As a result, they have been dismissed and criminal charges have been laid against them,” the Anglo American unit said. A court ordered miners still illegally occupying Kumba’s Shishen mine to leave and release equipment worth R3.3 billion that they have threatened to destroy unless their wage demands are met. Kumba Iron Ore spokesman Gert Schoeman said less than 120 of the original 300 workers remained on top of a sand heap where they had taken up position, but that only about seven workers had shown up for the disciplinary hearings. “In effect, the rest of them were then dismissed,” he told AFP. The miners seized 88 trucks and 13 other pieces of equipment which they have threatened to destroy if their demand for a pay increase of R15,000 for all workers is not met, the company said. Sishen is Kumba’s flagship facility and is one of the world’s largest open-pit mines. The strike has paralysed the mine’s operations since October 4 with daily production losses of about 120,000 tonnes. The site employs around 12,700 workers.
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Strike season
Trucker strikes over A deal has been struck to end the three-week truckers strike that has hit deliveries of fuel, cash and consumer goods across the country. More than 20,000 truck drivers have taken to the streets over the duration of the strikes in what have often been very violent protests, demanding higher wages. Trucks were set on fire, drivers were attacked with petrol bombs and rocks, and at least one person has died. “The agreement has been signed by everyone. The strike is off immediately,” Penwell Lunga, chairman of the Road Freight Employers Association told the Reuters news agency on October 12, shortly after the deal was signed. Workers have agreed to accept wage increases of 10 percent from March 2013, 8 percent the following year and 9 percent for 2015. All four of the country’s transport unions were part of the agreement, which was reached just before noon.
Economic outlook
looks bleak says Marcus SA Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus has warned that the country’s economic outlook is deteriorating rapidly, with strikes likely to lead to job losses down the track. Speaking to economics students in Grahamstown, Marcus warned of a loss of confidence, underlined by a sharp fall in the currency (the rand hit a three and a half year low against the dollar on Monday October 8). Months of violent, wildcat walkouts in gold and platinum mines, and strikes in the transport sector, have hurt South Africa’s international investment reputation, Marcus said. “That’s an indicator of a loss of confidence. It’s a huge indicator for us of loss of confidence,” she said. “The outlook at the moment is deteriorating rapidly.” 8
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Sport
CSA CEO
Gerald Majola
dismissed Suspended Cricket South Africa CEO Gerald Majola has been dismissed with immediate effect following a disciplinary hearing. Majola was found guilty on nine charges, including accepting bonuses, not declaring them to the board and wrongdoing around travel claims. Majola was suspended in March after an independent inquiry found that R4.7 million in bonuses had been paid to CSA staff without clearance from the board or the remuneration committee. “The disciplinary chairperson issued his findings on sanction which CSA will implement with immediate effect,” CSA said in a statement. “The sanction handed down by Advocate [Karel] Tip SC was that Mr Majola is dismissed from his service with CSA with immediate effect.” Majola withdrew from the hearing last week, questioning the legitimacy of the process and arguing that the CSA board had already cleared him of any wrongdoing in respect of the charges levelled against him.
Sport
Bafana Bafana coach
dies in car crash Bafana Bafana assistant coach Thomas Madigage has died in a car crash. Police said Madigage, 41, hit a donkey while travelling in the Limpopo province, between Burghersfort and Polokwane. He was declared dead at the scene. He was driving home from Bafana’s game against Kenya in Nairobi when the accident happened. He was alone in the car. “We can confirm that Mr Madigage passed away,” police spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi told AFP. A South African Football Association (Safa) statement said the accident happened near Burgersfort in the Limpopo region of the country. “We are shocked and at a loss for words and as we speak, we are on our way to
meet the family and find out what actually happened,” said Safa president, Kirsten Nematandani. “We would like to pass our sincere condolences to the family, friends and the entire nation on this shocking development.” During a playing career Madigage appeared for Jomo Cosmos, FC Zurich and Pretoria City (who later became SuperSport United). He then worked as assistant coach at SuperSport under former South Africa coach Pitso Mosimane and Gavin Hunt, with the club winning three league titles, before moving to the national team in July 2011.
Crime
Jub Jub guilty of murder Comeback kid Molemo “Jub Jub” Maarohanye has been convicted of murder and attempted murder after driving into a group of schoolchildren in 2010. Magistrate Brian Nemavhidi also convicted him of racing on a public road and driving under the influence of drugs. Maarohanye smashed his car into a group of pupils in Soweto in
2010, killing four of them and wounding two others. Co-accused Themba Tshabalala was also convicted of the charges. They were allegedly dragracing when their vehicles crashed into the children. The pair have been remanded in custody until sentencing on 30 November.
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Business
Cell C targets businesses with
‘competitive new products’ Mobile operator Cell C has unveiled a new product range called Cell C PRO, which it says will include a suite of products and services “specifically designed for high-end consumers and business users”. SME CUG, the first service in the Cell C PRO product range is targeted at the small business market, it said. The product will be available from 25 October and will offer small businesses savings of up to 25 percent on their telecommunications costs. “With the new product, business owners will be able to include all their employees who are on the Cell C network, including
those on prepaid, in a closed user group, where they will pay 75c per minute for calls between members of the group. Of course it will be pure per second billing from the first second,” said Cell C CEO, Alan Knott-Craig. There will be no activation fee, or monthly subscription to benefit from this saving on calls, Cell C said. Alongside the small business offering, Cell C has launched an advanced version of closed user groups called Corporate CUG for corporate customers, which allows free calls for a monthly subscription of R99 per employee on the Cell C network. A fair usage policy will apply.
SABMiller targets more Africa sales SABMiller has announced that it has expanded its African beer brand Chibuku - which is manufactured using either maize or sorghum - into ten countries across the continent. The brewing giant said the move was motivated by its “product-innovation” and “affordability”. Chibuku is an opaque beer based on traditional African recipes using maize and/ or sorghum, depending on local tastes. The expansion of the brand more than doubles the number of Chibuku markets from four (Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe) at the start of 2011. “Following an investment of $16 million over the last 18 months, it is expected that by the end of this financial year Chibuku volumes across new markets in Africa will
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total well over half a million hectolitres,” the firm said. “The brand’s expansion has also created 200 new direct jobs, supporting a further 1,500 jobs indirectly in the supply chain and distribution network.” SABMiller has brewery operations in most sub-Saharan African countries where its products enjoy a dominant market position. It expects to continue to increase earnings from its African operations. “SABMiller’s expansion of Chibuku is part of its strategy to make more affordable beers for lower-income consumers across Africa taking share from the often unsafe ‘informal’ alcohol market,” the company said. Beer volume sales are growing grown by more than five percent in most of the 37 African countries that SABMiller operates in.
Lifestyle
Politics
Joburg gets DA: Zuma must super-fast LTE ‘come clean’
on Nkandla
Delegates at the 2012 MyBroadband Conference in October were surprised when Vodacom unexpectedly became the first South African operator to launch a commercial high-speed LTE (Long Term Evolution) or 4G service. The service is initially available in Johannesburg, with other cities to follow in the near future. Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub said, “Vodacom was the first network in SA to test LTE more than two years ago, and since then we’ve been busy upgrading base stations and our fibreoptic transmission network in preparation for today. It’s great to claim another South African first for Vodacom with the launch of LTE services to the public, and it’s even more pleasing that we’ve done this ahead of many other advanced economies around the world. South Africa has joined an exclusive club with the fastest connectivity the world has to offer.” LTE has the potential to operate at more than double the speed of any existing mobile connection that is currently commercially available in South Africa.
President Jacob Zuma should answer all the questions surrounding the costs of his private home in Nkandla, Democratic Alliance Parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko has said. “President Zuma must come clean,” she said in a statement. “Nkandlagate risks seriously undermining the integrity of the office of the President.” Mazibuko said she submitted a parliamentary question to Zuma asking him to declare how much of the total expenditure he would be paying. She had also submitted questions to the defence, military and police ministries to find out when Nkandla was declared a National Key Point. “Unless they reveal this information, the suspicions will remain that they may be improperly using the National Key Point Act to hide damaging information. “He must answer questions on Nkandlagate.” According to media reports, R203 million of taxpayers’ money will be spent on the upgrade, with Zuma paying only five percent of the bill -- around R10 million. www.southafricamag.com 11
Lifestyle
Hooray, first employment
gains since April
Employment in South Africa has improved for the first time since April according to Adcorp, the JSE-listed employment services group. Adcorp’s Employment Index says employment rose 1.6 percent overall in September following declines in August, July, June and May, with gains mostly in the informal sector. But the data revealed a disturbing fact, with mining and manufacturing continuing to shed jobs. A statement released by Adcorp’s Group Marketing Manager Mandy Jones said, “Mining and manufacturing shed 14,000 jobs between them during the month but the services-dominated tertiary sectors gained 23,000 jobs. Transport (10.7 percent), construction (7.1 percent) and financial services (6.5 percent) exhibited the strongest employment growth. Highskilled jobs continue to outperform lowskilled jobs, with professional and clerical (white collar) employment having grown 9.8
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percent and 7.2 percent respectively, while low-skilled (blue collar) employment fell by 3.2 percent.” Adcorp warned that high wage settlements and problematic labour relations would lead to long-term job losses in the mining sector. It found that over the past year, mining sector wages, including bonuses and overtime, had increased 13.8 percent compared with an 11.4 percent decline in labour productivity. “It reveals that the 25.2 percent absolute gap between labour costs and labour’s contribution is now the highest in recorded history,” Adcorp said. Adcorp expects Lonmin’s 11 – 22 percent Marikana wage settlement to be met with “similar demands” elsewhere in the sector. “Trade unions are the most significant losers in this equation,” it said, adding that South Africa’s mines were “responding rationally” by reducing their dependence on labour. South Africa’s mining sector employs about 523,000 workers.
Politics
Malema benefited from
unlawful Limpopo tender:
Public Protector South Africa’s Public Protector Thuli Madonsela has said that tenders awarded to On-Point Engineering by the Limpopo transport department were unlawful and found that both On-Point and former ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema benefited ‘improperly’ from the contract. She found other members of Malema’s family benefited too. “The awarding of [the] tender by the department to On-Point was unlawful, improper and constituted maladministration,” she said. “It is mind-boggling that the stark differences between the bid document and the tax clearance certificate did not disqualify On-Point or present a red flag regarding the possibility of tender fraud.” The awarding of the tender was unlawful, she added. “The conduct of the head of the Limpopo roads and transport department, Ntau Letebele, in respect of the awarding of the bid to On-Point, was
improper and constituted maladministration,” Madonsela said. Madonsela found the department did not follow proper guidelines in awarding the tender and said the state attorney should institute legal proceedings against On-Point and shareholders who benefited from the PMU tender, to recover money to which the department was entitled. The Mail & Guardian reported that, “Julius Malema and friends - and a number of state employees - now face prosecution, disciplinary action, and their property being seized.” Malema responded by saying the protector found him “guilty in absentia”. “You can’t find a man guilty in absentia,” Malema said, according to an SABC report. “You cannot say to a man in absentia: ‘You are guilty and therefore we are going to take everything you have and let you walk naked’. “Those who respect the law, they must treat all of us equally,” he added.
Transport
Chinese manufacturer wins Transnet
loco tender
A consortium led by a Chinese manufacturer CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive (CSR) has been named as the successful bidder to supply 95 electric locomotives for Transnet. Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba said the tender was ‘historic’, “This tender is historic,” he said. Seventy percent of the deal would go to CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive (CSR) and 30 percent to South African consortium Matsetse Basadi. “This deal will make South Africa part of the global supply and manufacturing chain,” Gigaba added, before explaining that the rail system remained the key to improving trade, lowered carbon footprints, and also reduced road traffic. www.southafricamag.com 13
entrepreneur? WhO WANTS TO BE AN
With reality TV show the Big Break Legacy on its way back to SABC2, South Africa Magazine caught up with season one winner Graham Rowe.
By Susan Miller
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Big Break Legacy ENTERTAINMENT
W
e here at South Africa Magazine loved the first series of TV reality show the Big Break Legacy, a programme aimed at finding South Africa’s best entrepreneurs (you may remember we interviewed the show’s founder Ezra Ndwadwe a few months back?). So, imagine if you can our excitement at learning it is on its way back to SABC2 and it’s looking for entrants to win the R5 million prize money. You have until the end of October to get your entry in, so hurry. In the meantime, we caught up with season one winner Graham Rowe, who talked about his success on the show and had some tips for other entrants. When did you decide to enter the Big Break Legacy? My business partner Richard Johnson and myself started our first company Biped Personal BioTech by running it on evenings and weekends as we both had full time jobs. We were constrained in terms of time and found we were unable to do all the things that we wanted, so when we heard about the show, we decided we had nothing to lose. How did it feel to be part of the show? Well it started out as quite a surreal experience but surprisingly became the norm! I remember it felt very strange the first time someone put make-up on me, and the first time I had a TV camera in my face, but the fact is that if you want to become an entrepreneur then you have to have an appetite for new things. To be honest it suited me and my personality. It was actually a lot of fun!
I remember it felt very strange the first time someone put make-up on me, and the first time I had a TV camera in my face, but the fact is that if you want to become an entrepreneur then you have to have an appetite for new things
How did you prepare? I got in touch with someone who had won South African Survivor. She said ‘you’ll waste your energy trying to be someone that you think you should be’. I decided to focus that energy into the game itself. www.southafricamag.com 15
So your advice to future entrants is to ‘be yourself’? Self-belief is crucial. There were contestants who tried too hard to be strategic or too clever and I would say that it cost them a lot in terms of energy. Did you eventually get used to being on camera? You completely switch off after a while. You do see people doing crazy stuff on reality TV but contestants become oblivious to the camera and have usually forgotten it is there. They shoot a lot of footage and then only show a fraction of it. What you see on TV is the most dynamic stuff spliced together in a one-hour slot. What was it like to win? That ‘walking-on-air’ thing is not a myth! The night that I won, my wife and I celebrated, but we couldn’t share it with anyone else as the result was under an embargo for a week until it went live on TV.
Will the prize money be going into your new company Sancreed? Absolutely, it goes into the new business account. What does R5 million buy you nowadays? Your own time! Richard and I were both working full-time jobs but we now have more free time. That’s the minimum starting point. The sort of business that we are doing is based around software development, IT and the healthcare system. Now we can spend time developing resources. It also buys you a hell of a lot of credibility in the eyes of potential customers – you’ve got an investor and R5 million backing. We feel we’ve jumped to a completely different level. What do you think makes a good entrepreneur? You have to have self-belief. Self-belief is at the core. Is having a business partner important for you? One plus one gives you ten, in my case anyway. A lot of investors that put money into early-stage companies have a policy of not banking on single founders. How will Sancreed have a social impact on people’s lives and is that important? In terms of Big Break Legacy, there was a big drive around social impact and building a business with a heart. In
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Big Break Legacy entertainment
Sancreed we are basically creating tools that allow doctors to manage and help their chronically ill patients better. For instance, if a patient has hypertension, we’re making it much easier for doctors to keep track of them and help them manage diseases better. It is a financial challenge but there is opportunity for people who can find solutions and by improving the health of the nation; it will be a fundamental good. How big could Sancreed get? At the moment we are 100 percent focused on South Africa and once we make a success of it here there are huge international opportunities. Healthcare is pretty much the fastest growing industry worldwide. In the United States, something like 20 percent of GDP is healthcare. It’s a trillion dollar industry; there are huge opportunities. What’s next? Initially the only employees are Richard and I. At the beginning you want to stay flexible, so we have outsource partners who provide us with IT development services on a contract and project basis. Do you think there is a strong entrepreneurial spirit in South Africa? I think there is. There’s a bit of a frontier culture. We make the rules as we go along but I believe that lends itself to a more entrepreneurial outlook.
What’s the best way forward for entrepreneurs? It’s the execution of an idea that gives business success. There are the things that sound boring like admin, management and process - which I think most entrepreneurs aren’t natural fans of - and that’s the place where people tend to fall over. The idea is one percent of the journey and the rest are all the challenges and obstacles that come up and how you deal with those in a systematic way. It’s hard to communicate that aspect of business because, even on a TV show about entrepreneurship, you don’t see someone sitting with pen and paper planning things. It doesn’t look very glamorous! What advice do you have for the contestants on the new season of BBL? It sounds like a silly answer but just do it. Go ahead and enter. It may not be the deepest advice but it’s where people fail before they even start. If you don’t try then you have already failed. END www.southafricamag.com 17
RHINo PoACHING:
WhAT’S ThE SOLUTION?
South Africa Magazine catches up with Clive Walker (and his wife), co-author of ‘The Rhino Keepers’.
By Susan Miller
I
t’s made headlines around the world but never before has the battle to save the world’s rhinos been more urgent. And with more than 80 percent of the rhino population in South Africa, it’s a battle that is taking place on our doorstep we’re at the centre of the storm. Rhinos are being routinely slaughtered, almost daily, and now just 5,000 black rhinos and 21,000 white rhinos are all that stand between Africa’s rhinos and extinction. Markus Hofmeyr, South African National Parks wildlife veterinary services head, has suggested that if poaching 18
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increases at the same rate as it has over the past two years, the species could go into decline from 2016 and become extinct in the wild by 2050. With desperate times calling for desperate measures, respected conservationists and groups like the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF-SA) are once again calling for the possible legalisation of the rhino horn trade – a proposal that was rejected at the 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES in 1997. All options will once again be on the table at CITES 2013, however.
Rhino poaching literature
Respected South African conservationist Clive Walker and his son Anton are heavily involved in the fight to save the white and black rhino. Their book The Rhino Keepers is a fascinating and often intimate look at white and black rhinos worldwide, their history and the rhino’s struggles to survive. Clive has been involved in conservationist circles in southern Africa for decades and his personal anecdotes and memories are incredibly stirring. His book takes a serious look at the problem and reveals the difficulties facing the individuals, governments and organisations trying to preserve this beautiful creature. There are no easy answers. I asked Clive and his conservationist wife Conita for their thoughts on conservation.
What should be done next? We don’t suggest legalising the sale of rhino horn as such, we suggest initially a Trade with a Zero Quota so ALL parties can openly engage without fear of incrimination etc. How can you openly and robustly discuss the problem of poaching, demand for horn, or legal sale when one is dealing with an illegal commodity that is trafficked in the underworld by organised crime?
What are you hoping to achieve with the publication of the book? A better informed and more aware society.
With the huge influx of Chinese influence into SA - Chinese workers and businesses – has the problem got worse? It is hard to say exactly. The intelligence networks would be better positioned to answer this. However, there is opinion out there suggesting linkages between increased poaching of, particularly, rhino and elephant and an increased ‘Chinese’ presence, throughout the rest of Africa.
What are the rhino’s characteristics, if any? They are complex, intriguing and misunderstood. They are wonderful creatures with a paradoxically incredible soft side. What happens to an orphan if their parent is killed? It completely depends on age. If younger calves, new born to 12+ months, are not rescued and hand-raised they will die. In your view, are governments doing enough to combat poaching? As information is well guarded one can only answer from what is observed. Government’s obligations go beyond equipment and guns. It begins with a committed will. It transects many areas from legislation, enforcement, international relations, competency, etc. ‘Government’ includes the National Departments, Nation Parks and Provincial Parks and although there are many efforts being made by all, ‘doing enough’ is questionable.
What can/should people who care about the rhino do to help? Educate them as much as possible with an open mind. Engage with reputable NGOs involved with the current crisis, whose work fits within what they believe is the correct approach to dealing with the crisis.
Is there a sense that the SA government is reluctant to address the issue with the Chinese government? South Africa’s relationship with the Chinese makes it very complicated, another good reason to convince CITES to allow trade with a Zero Quota. Is there any hope for rhinos and other species while man continues on this consumerist path? Pessimistically no, but optimistically there must be. Find and buy The Rhino Keepers at www.jacana.co.za www.southafricamag.com 19
fACILITIES MANAGEMENT:
Trends and the Industry in south Africa By Katherine Cox
F
M has a 25 year success story. In this short space of time Facilities Management (FM) has been accepted worldwide as a profession regulated by professional bodies, enhanced by educational providers and with increasing numbers of international practitioners. In 1980, the term Facilities Manager may have been used in one business out of ten. In 2012, it’s used in seven or eight out of ten. In South Africa today, (2011/2012) the FM market was valued at R24.8 billion. The commercial sector generated approximately R17,411.6 million (70.2 percent), with the public and industrial sectors generating approximately 19.8 and 10.0 percent respectively.1 It is anticipated that this sector will achieve a growth rate of 7.2 percent growth rate by 2015. These figures suggest that FM is a significant and growing industry in South
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Africa. So what is FM? According to SAFMA, FM is “an enabler of sustainable enterprise performance throughout the whole life management of productive workplaces and effective business support services”. As such, FM works with people, assets, processes, environment and services as an integrated whole. One of the main areas of influence for a Facilities Manager of today is in the increasingly fluid nature of offices. The working environment is no longer contained by time, place or space; addresses are no longer represented by bricks and mortar. Work is more mobile (smaller, better) with faster and easier communications. Workplaces need to be agile and able to cope with fast change. This has implications. Key drivers for the change and growth of FM include new environments and environmental awareness, increasing connectivity, the way
SAFMA foreword
in which we use technology, the new ways we live and work, the ways we communicate and act, the need for green offices, evolving networks and ubiquitous diversity in the workplace. Due to the increasing ease of connectivity, in future the office will not be the place where people go to do individual work. In fact, an increasingly important function of the physical workplace is how well it connects to the rest of the organisational network and its customers. The cost of providing city based workplaces, the low utilisation rates of offices and the impact of commuting provide good arguments for increasing the amount of work done at home. The way we live and the way we work is constantly changing. By 2050, 70 percent of people will be urbanised into 27 megacities of 10 million people each. Much of this workforce, especially professionals, will work from home, creating work/life integration. This too has implications for the future of FM which are important as it is concerned to a large extent with user experience – understanding how employees use their space and adapting the space to their needs through tracking and monitoring. The way we communicate today is vastly different from even five years ago. Increasing communication over networks with no boundaries, and social media (mastering the power of the cloud), and mass collaboration, means FM must adapt its outputs to this new dimension. The way we act in the workplace has changed radically. Action was based on intuition and instinct, now it is fact driven. We were corrective, now we are directive. What once took years, months or weeks, is now achieved in hours, minutes and seconds. Human insight is not semantics. Decision support has
Facilities Management works with people, assets, processes, environment and services as an integrated whole
www.southafricamag.com 21
become action support and efficiency has become optimal. The ‘green office’ has become paramount through working green, even glamorous green. FM is tasked with finding sustainable ways of working, meeting government requirements (though not in SA yet) and energy security (yes, Smart Buildings are a reality) as well as cost saving. Embracing sustainability, FM must deliver improved performance, resistance and durability. FM must also seek to embrace diversity and understand different cultures in the office, with up to five generations at work, including generation’ Y’ Assuming generation ‘Y’ is the new generation at work and therefore the largest, Johnson Controls conducted a survey to find out what these employees look for in a workplace. The following diagram indicates their preferences:
Employer with opportunities for learning
Evidence of green policies expected
Urban setting
Collaborate in a range of meeting spaces
Flexibility
Drive to work
Contemporary environment subtle colours
Figure 1: Generation Y’s workplace preferences (Oxygen / Johnson Controls, 2012) 22
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SAFMA fOREWORd
For a workplace to attract and retain talent from generation ‘Y’ it needs to include sustainability, sociability, an IT 2.0 web platform, must be green, networked (on the cloud), mobile and include HR and cutting edge facilities management. Overall it is important to understand that FM is about helping people to become more efficient, that it is not exclusively about cost. Increasingly, FM must embrace: 1. Flexibility Mobile workplaces, access to own desk, access to communal spaces and wide range of facilities 2. Collaboration - Access to collaborative working environment, reduction of personal spaces, more shared spaces 3. Performance - Creativity and productivity are major drivers for innovation - the workspace is central to this. (People and space need to work in synergy). A new Facilities Manager requires new skills. If network and connectivity are the key characteristics of how organisations operate in the future and physical workspaces are regarded as nodes within those networks, then the challenge facing FM is similar to that of logistics – because it relates more and more to managing flows of people, information and resources around
The way we act in the workplace has changed radically. Action was based on intuition and instinct, now it is fact driven. We were corrective, now we are directive
organisations. A principle characteristic will be an understanding of the change process and the role of change management models. Necessary new skills in the FM industry may include: an understanding of the mathematical principles of how networks operate communications strategies linked to physical structures how offices can be reshaped to promote interaction and creativity an evaluation of the customer experience an understanding of the psychological impact of people of working in isolation how organisational culture is transmitted non-physically the impact of flexible work on carbon footprints. Emerging trends indicate that FM professionals have a greater opportunity to add value through efficient management, improved technology and strategic planning. The FM profession needs to ensure it is performing at a level that will meet or exceed these organisation expectations. END 1
SAFMA Industry Review 2011/2012, Frost & Sullivan www.southafricamag.com 23
T h e
N e x t
Clive Smith, CEO of Tsebo Outsourcing Group (Tsebo), explains how the group is expanding into Africa. By Ian Armitage
T
he African continent has enjoyed its best growth decade on record and today is one of the world’s fastest growing regions, with six of the 10 fastest growing economies. Since 2009, Angola, Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia and DRC have been top investment destinations for businesses looking to ‘tap into’ Africa potential. New investment destinations now include Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Madagascar, Gabon, Cameroon, Mozambique, Liberia and the Congo. The main sectors for investment include mining, construction, property development, retail, and supplier services to the oil, gas and mobile telephone industries, ICT, security, agriculture, tourism and hospitality. As companies seek to expand their African operations, they need a platform of reliable infrastructure to operate from. This is the role played by the Tsebo Outsourcing Group.
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Tsebo has built a powerful reputation for excellence in providing facilities management and hospitality services to the corporate, industrial, education, healthcare and government sectors across Southern Africa and the Middle East. It offers solutions in catering, facilities management, cleaning, hygiene, procurement and energy management, thus removing these distractions from their clients’ lives and allowing “clients to focus on core revenue activities”. The company was founded in 1971 and is based in Johannesburg. It was formerly known as The Fedics Group, before changing its name to Tsebo Outsourcing Group in 2001. Today the Group occupies a leading position in each sector it competes in, driven by excellent quality, client value and an ability to innovate continuously. “We offer a complete circle of services to cater to a client’s retail,
Tsebo Outsourcing Group FOCUS TSEBO
We offer a complete circle of services to cater to a client’s retail, procurement, cleaning, facilities management, catering and outsourcing needs
procurement, cleaning, facilities management, catering and outsourcing needs,” says CEO Clive Smith. “Clients value what we call our ‘streamlined efficiency’ - especially pertinent during economic uncertainties. They know that through us, they are receiving top-level service at a competitive price and from suppliers they trust.” Tsebo is structured into a series of divisions that service specific markets. Each division is headed by a CEO/MD, responsible for operational and financial delivery within that division together with an appropriate board structure. “The business operates as a seamless matrix structure,” Smith says. The Group has grown exponentially since 2001. “If you look at our strategy then you’ve got to look back 10 years,” Smith explains. “We’ve focused or core business activities and have made targeted acquisitions while enjoying organic growth. Organic growth has been significant in our cleaning and facilities businesses while in the catering industry we’re maintaining already market leadership with 35 percent plus market share. At a group level we have diversified, added new products over the last couple of years and it has augmented/supplemented our growth and our solutions pipeline.” Now, Tsebo is building further scale in Africa. “We’ve committed ourselves to ‘African proactive expansion’,” says Smith. “We’re actively pursuing an aggressive African penetration strategy to establish Tsebo as the leading facilities solutions partner for corporates and institutions across Africa. We are excited by the opportunities because of the fact that international players are focusing more and more on Africa to get the growth that they can’t get out of the European markets and the Americas. We are in the position to support them in that and help them grow new platforms in Africa.” END Visit www.tsebo.com. www.southafricamag.com 25
Fo oD
fellas Continuing the focus on Tsebo Outsourcing, we talk to dr Chris Jardine, the man who heads up its catering division. By Ian Armitage 26
www.southafricamag.com
Tsebo Catering Solutions FOCUS TSEBO
T
sebo Catering Solutions is a South African market leader. It is part of Tsebo Group, one of the country’s largest hospitality services and facilities management companies, and comprises of three entities: Fedics, TsAfrika, and Equality Reef Services. Fedics turned 40 last year and provides outsourced catering to a wide range of corporate clients, manufacturing businesses, hospitals and universities. TsAfrika is a high quality catering company for corporate clients and was acquired by Tsebo two years ago. Equality Reef specialises in bulk catering and hospitality for mines. The man tasked with heading up the operation is Dr Chris Jardine. Dr Jardine is the former group CEO of the J and J Group, a diversified investment and management company and has worked in the logistics, IT and telecommunications, and industrial and financial services sectors. Besides his www.southafricamag.com 27
Tsebo Catering Solutions FOCUS TSEBO
Microfuture Microfuture is a packaging distribution company, (Level 2 BBBEE contributor) in Northern Johannesburg. We deliver across Gauteng and the surrounding areas, supplying a vast range of recyclable and eye-catching products. Our food grade products are ideal for restaurants, coffee shops, take-away outlets, hotels, canteens, caterers, conference centres, hospitals, schools, guesthouses and bed and breakfast venues. We supply contract and corporate caterers, who service mines, offices and large industrial sites. Microfuture has long supplied the Tsebo Group, building strong relationships with unit managers and sourcing specialized packaging solutions where needed. Microfuture was launched by Norma Walshe-Gore in 2007, who has over 25 years of experience in packaging and distribution and who has a broad network of service orientated back-up people supporting her, who all have a solid understanding of packaging trends and can assist customers with tailored options.
strong operational track record, he has also served on the boards of companies as diverse as MTN, Transnet, Macquarie First South and Union Carriage and Wagons. He holds BS and MS degrees in Computer Science and a PhD in Information Technology, all from George Mason University in Virginia. It is an impressive CV. And he is aiming to spice up a mature sector, bringing “sexy back,” he says. “One of the biggest challenges that executives in our industry face is to keep pace with a changing world and the competition for talent and so in different ways all of us are trying to bring sexy back to catering,” Dr Jardine, who took the helm of the industry leader in February last year, explains. Great, I thought, but what does it mean? 28
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Microfuture procures products from local and international manufacturers, also exporting these products into different market sectors, and into Africa. We put a basket of products together to suit each customer’s requirements, bearing in mind the customer’s environmental policy, assisting with packaging solutions and we are able to provide company branding on all packaging. Another sector of our business is to offer cleaning products. In the future Microfuture is looking to expand nationally and into other market segments. We have also investigated opportunities to import specialty packaging lines. For more information please contact info@microfuture.co.za or visit us at www.microfuture.co.za.
Food Packaging We are proud to offer you our quality range of food and beverage packing products.
Catering Products Our catering products are suitable for any corporate or private event.
Cleaning Products Have a look at our range of different cleaning utensils and cleaning products.
Tel: 011 462-3418 / 011 462-3418 Email: info@microfuture.co.za Web: www.microfuture.co.za.
Unit 3, Riverside Industrial Park Koevoet Street Kya Sand
Tsebo Catering Solutions FOCUS TSEBO
We’ve looked at our service culture, from basics such as the way we greet our customers on a dayto-day basis and even in the way we present our food. Another goal we resolved to pursue with purpose was to sell profitably
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“This business is over 40 years old now and the barriers to entry are low and the management disciplines are known so we need ways to differentiate ourselves by doing something that hasn’t already been done or tried,” he elaborates. “What became evident was that to move forward, we needed to focus on the basics first. We started with a refreshed operational excellence programme. I then felt that, based on my own considerations when deciding to join the company, there was a need also to make the sector as a whole ‘sexier’. There’s been a big push in that respect. We’ve looked at our service culture, from basics such as the way we greet our customers on a dayto-day basis and even in the way we present our food. Another goal we resolved to pursue with purpose was to sell profitably. Not just in terms of our new contracts but also in our daily sales and recognising opportunities to up-sell. Everything we do fits in logically under those tiers, so whether we talk about standardising some of our menus and streamlining our suppliers, making our menus more profitable, or making our menus more appealing; it all fits under the banner one of the basics.
ELEGANT EQUIPMENT · FRAME MARQUEES · NOMADIC TENTS · FLOORING · DRAPING · CATERING EQUIPMENT · TIFFANY CHAIRS · TABLES · TABLE LINEN · CUTLERY/CROCKERY · GLASSWARE
We design and manufacture marquees to give you the best quality, service and price.
TELEPHONE: (031) 705 4135
FAX: (031) 705 4143
weddingsandfunctions@3i.co.za www.weddingsandfunctions.co.za 138 Shepstone Road, New Germany
Tsebo Catering Solutions FOCUS TSEBO
La Concorde Bakery The history of this operation goes back three generations, starting off as a quaint corner shop bakery in the early 1960’s; La Concorde Bakery came to be. Now situated in Linbro Business Park, Sandton, the years have seen many changes and developments all designed to keep pace with modern day demands. The bakery over the past few years has undergone radical expansion and growth, in terms of floor space, staff and production growth. We specialise in the wholesale supply of a wide range of bakery and confectionary goods to restaurants, coffee shops, canteens, caterers, schools and universities. We pride ourselves in our ability to work with our customers to create and customize new products that will suit their individual needs.
“We’ve had a huge drive to invigorate and transform the way we deliver dining experiences to customers,” he adds. At the heart of this initiative is the experience and passion of dedicated trainers who impart not only the necessary skills to trainee chefs but also the passion and drive to reach their full potential. “We have a National Craft Trainer who, together with our Regional Chefs, is making a real difference in the up-skilling of chefs – that has been a big part of what we’re trying to do in terms of changing the way food is seen and presented. We want that ‘wow’ factor. A chef that knows how to cook and knows what he is doing will obviously cook the right quantities, cook it the right way, and present it the right way. These little things are all important in ensuring that the platform is stable.” 32
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To ensure timely deliveries, seven days a week, La Concorde owns a fleet of vehicles covering the entire Gauteng Province. The bakery is certified Halaal, and has a Level 2 BEE rating. La Concorde Bakery has been lucky enough to successfully partner the Tsebo Group for nearly two decades, and we wish them luck and success for decades more to come. Contact Details Sales: Cheron Sithebe 0834906696 cheron@laconcorde.co.za Office 011 6080888 Fax 011 608 0303
La Concorde are proud to be associated with the Tsebo Group and wish them success in the future
La Concorde Bakery PO Box 97 Morningside 2057 Email: cheron@laconcorde.co.za Tel: 0834906696 / 011 6080888 Fax: 011 608 0303
Tsebo Catering Solutions FOCUS TSEBO
Despite the challenge of a diverse customer base and having to cater for both lowerend and high-end customers, Tsebo is winning the battle. And while the catering industry may not be heavily dependent on technology, Tsebo Catering is taking an innovative approach towards “pushing the boundaries”. “I’ve been championing the use of business intelligence,” Dr Jardine says. “We have been looking at the whole sphere of analytics to improve the quality of the decisions we make by employing and sharing best practices . We have taken the current systems and we’ve glued them together with a reporting system, which makes it possible for us to look at profitability trends and solve problems at a contract level. At any given point we can see for instance how many people are on the contract, what our margins are with our food and retail products, and generally view performance against a range of metrics and ratios. And we can aggregate that and look at the performance of segments, managers or some other dimensions. We are now in the next phase of our plan, which is to look at how we can forecast better when we’re entering a new environment, what products will sell, how our customers will consume and what are the price point sensitivities. So the whole injection of business intelligence into running a 34
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Cannon Hygiene Cannon Hygiene leads in the provision of hygienic washroom services to Tsebo Cleaning Services in the Cape Town and Port Elizabeth regions, preventing the spread of germs and cross-contamination. We offer a full washroom service, including feminine hygiene Concept Units, soaps, sanitizers, fragrance units & hand drying systems. We also offer Pest Control and our Extreme Deep Cleaning Service. We would like to congratulate Tsebo Group with 40 years of service excellence. We assure you of our commitment to keep your clients satisfied. You can be sure that your clients like our service! In a recent worldwide survey, 92% of our clients agreed that Cannon Hygiene understands their needs and 93% said it provided them with value for money. Further details are available at 0860 22 6000 or www.cannonhygiene.co.za.
We take clean to a whole new level. When it comes to feminine hygiene, a sanitary and seamless solution is vital. Improper disposal can heighten the risk of infection from harmful viruses and bacteria and lead to blocked toilets. Cannon Hygiene’s replace and removal washroom service eradicates 99.999% of all germs and prevents the hazard of crosscontamination.
For more information contact us on 0860 22 6000 or visit at www.cannonhygiene.co.za
Our relationship with Fedics, part of the Tsebo Group, sees us supplying them with prepared vegetables and fresh fruit and the relationship has offered our company, a 100% black-owned South African outfit, “the opportunity of a lifetime" and we look forward to the relationship growing from strength to strength. We supply our products to mass catering companies for projects such as power stations, military bases, hospitals and established institutions where there is catering. We also have an import and export licence and are looking for international fresh produce market agents.
Tsebo Catering Solutions FOCUS TSEBO
B2B Catering Suppliers B2B Catering Suppliers was established to provide all food service equipment to the catering industry including, but not limited to: · Glassware & Barware · Crockery & Cutlery · Industrial Stoves & Heating Equipment · Industrial Refrigeration · Catering Uniforms & Linen · Design & Layout Solutions · Consulting We have a wealth of industryrelated experience and are able to offer this to all our clients. We not only provide food service equipment but also understand how it applies to your business. We believe that because we are a smaller company, we are able to service all our clients promptly and more efficiently. We pride ourselves on this fact and count honesty, commitment and enthusiasm as some of our core values.
Our unique selling point is that we’re able to sell peaceof-mind contract catering services across the spectrum
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business as big as ours is something that we’re trying to push.” The ability to provide a wide range of quality catering services to several different industries on a segmented basis is what separates Tsebo from its competitors. “Our unique selling point is that we’re able to sell peace-of-mind contract catering services across the spectrum,” he says. “We are able to segment and customise our offerings across a range of clients, from corporate clients, hospitals, universities and mines. We have a strong experience base across the full spectrum of contracts, but more importantly, a full spectrum of insight and management expertise in these sectors.” Looking forward, Dr Jardine believes that Tsebo Catering’s footprint will extend even further into Africa. “The next leg of progress is to extend our African footprint. That is something that’s very close to my heart. We have built a fairly sizeable business development team for whose job it
equipment to the
We would like to thank Tsebo Group for all their support & congratulate them on their 40th anniversary as well as wish them continued success for the future.
www.b2bcateringsuppliers.co.za Postal Address: Postnet Suite 266 Private Bag X8 Northriding 2162 Email Addresses: warren@b2bcateringsuppliers.co.za – 082 042 0183 trish@b2bcateringsuppliers.co.za – 084 523 3565 sales@b2bcateringsuppliers.co.za – 011 791 4817
Po Box 12508 Hatfield, 0028 129 Foundry St Silvertondale
Bondi Distributors is a distributor of a full range of food products to the catering and hospitality industries. Our wide range of products includes: · Chilled, frozen and ambient food products · Full range of Packaging and food wrapping products
Tel:
012 804 9204 012 804 9222 Fax: 012 804 9212 Email: bondicc@mweb.co.za Web: www.bondi.co.za
We have partnered the Tsebo Group in servicing the industry for the past 7 years, and we are proud to be associated with the Group because of its leadership in the market. Due to this partnership, this also enables our company to service the wider market sectors throughout South Africa.
Tsebo Catering Solutions FOCUS TSEBO
is to plant the seed for our African growth. Their job is to prospect, especially in the neighbouring countries. They’re going as far as Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria to insure that we are able to go and chase down big projects but also to look at more country based strategies rather than project based strategies. We have a dream ato be a truly pan-African company so we want to have roots in Mozambique, roots in Botswana, roots in Kenya and Ghana – we want to have roots where opportunities manifest themselves. We want to be able to look back at our history as an African company, not just a South African company. 38
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The next leg of progress is to extend our African footprint
“I’m a very strong believer in execution being a strategic differentiator in business. Ultimately once you chart a course, the ability to make it happen and get the job done has to be has to be what distinguishes you. You don’t get marks for the plan; you get marks for the outcome. “We’re confident but we’re also mindful that there isn’t a textbook you can use to deliver on our aspirations. We have to be respectful of the countries and cultures that we’re operating in and move in a constructive way.” END Visit www.tsebo.com.
Mitchell’ s Mosle m Butchery Proud to be associated with Tsebo Group Mitchells Ave Woodlands Mitchell Plain 7785 Cape Town sabmeats@telkomsa.net 0027 21 374 7377
www.n1.co.za info@n1.co.za Tel: +27 21 557 1510 Fax: +27 21 557 2410
Suppliers of a wide range of fresh and frozen products to the local hospitality industry, and an export approved facility We service a wide range of clientele including Government institutions, Ship Chandelers, Industrial Caterers, Hotels and export to many African countries. Personal service from our sales team will help clients with menu planning and costings. We will also help with product development should our clients require a specialised product.
Certified Halaal facility Certified ISO 9000 and HACCP approved
future
A
T
sebo Cleaning Services has grown into a strong player in the contract cleaning market, operating over 150 contracts and employing nearly 5,000 people. The business has remained true to its roots in hospitals, retaining a specialisation in the high-quality segment of contract cleaning. Although the business today has a more diverse clientele, the ethos of high standard of cleaning that is suitable for a hospital environment applies to the service ethic and quality provided by Tsebo Cleaning Services. Tsebo Cleaning Services has a proud record of innovation and technological leadership in the cleaning segment. It only uses only vacuum cleaners with hepa filters to advance indoor air quality, and infection control is benchmarked at current Centres for Disease Control / CDC levels. It was the first to utilise the
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SPARKLING
PDA – Personal Digital Assistant – as an inspection tool that allows staff to log reports for maintenance, ensuring a proactive and accurate approach to cleaning services. Tsebo Cleaning also was the first to introduce a “call-ontechnology” to enable responsive service and immediate delivery. Within the cleaning industry, only Tsebo has built its company on the twin pillars of service innovation and people investment. Through investment in postgraduate management development, it has the most qualified management team in the industry backed by leadingedge technology, and this delivers the highest standards of cleaning at competitive prices. Tsebo Cleaning invests in the drivers of customer quality experience, in order to guarantee that the Tsebo Cleaning six rules of service remains an unbroken promise.
Tsebo Cleaning Services FOCUS TSEBO
Within the cleaning industry, only Tsebo has built its company on the twin pillars of service innovation and people investment
Tsebo Cleaning Services is a division of Tsebo Outsourcing Group, one of South Africa’s leading black-owned hospitality services and facilities management companies, with a national footprint encompassing southern Africa. A Sotho word that means “knowledge, knowhow and skills” - these are key to the success of a services group. The Tsebo Outsourcing Group, formerly known as the Fedics, reflects the progressive approach of the Group and reinforces its position as a leading transformation company in South Africa. A winning strategy has been one of shared services through the appointment of key national resources, providing greater synergy and expertise across the Group. Over the years, Tsebo Outsourcing has positioned itself as a leading outsourcing company and shows no sign of slowing down. END To learn more visit www.tsebocleaningservices.co.za. www.southafricamag.com 41
ThE BEST IN
facilities management
solutions
facilities management is a cornerstone of the operations at Drake & Scull, a Tsebo Outsourcing Group company with aspirations to conquer Africa. We talk with CEO John Wentzel. By Ian Armitage
T
he cost of occupying a building (whether owned or leased) and maintaining related assets is the largest item of budgetary spend for most large organisations, after employee salaries. Any CEO will want to know what those costs are and where savings may be made, strategically and operationally.
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“These days, organisations must think strategically if they are to do more than simply survive in increasingly competitive marketplaces,” says John Wentzel CEO of Drake & Scull, a leader in facilities management (FM). “This thinking applies to both core and non-core business. In the case of the latter, facilities management has a pivotal role to play.”
Drake & Scull FOCUS tsebo
He says when it comes to good FM the advantages aren’t in question. His firm Drake & Scull claims to be “the best in integrated FM solutions”. We had to investigate. “We’re a leader in this arena,” says Mr Wentzel. “We’ve been in the industry longer than anyone else and we’re very diversified. If you look at our major competitors, they’re very good companies, but they work with only one or two significant contracts. We do not have that. We’re evenly spread and have between 50-60 contracts across the company and in a number of different sectors. “I have to mention our people too,” he continues. “Over the last 20 years we’ve developed the expertise to manage different groups from different backgrounds, different languages, ethnicities etc., across multiple sites and multiple industries. In this country it is still very much a people business. Facilities Management isn’t technologically driven as it is in Europe. The technology isn’t as sophisticated and our clients facilities are not as heavily invested in technology compared to Europe The cost of labour here is low compared to Europe so we tend to do things with labour in this country, which global competitors would tend to do with technology in their respective countries. I think we’ve developed the skill to be able to manage many different groups of people.
Our brand difference is about people. Our world class processes and systems are delivered by human beings who can adapt and think on their feet
“Another differentiator is that over the last 12-15 years we’ve had the ability to work with government on public and private partnerships and it has given us the opportunity to understand how that operates and we’ve shown the ability to manage that quite well; we have several across the country and none of our competitors have significant PPP experience. I think those are the things that make us different.” Drake & Scull has the capacity to offer tailored solutions to meet the demands of individual needs, Wentzel says. “We offer workable, reliable solutions and services which are cost-effective. As a client, you have the advantage of obtaining multiple services under one contract using a single point of contact and the advantage of that is that it makes it easy for you to outsource these functions. I think we are good - we have earned a reputation of being the best in integrated FM solutions.” www.southafricamag.com 43
Drake & Scull FOCUS TSEBO
Voltex In Africa today, achieving energy efficiency and sustainable energy savings is ever more critical. As a market-leading stockist and reseller of a vast and comprehensive range of electrical and lighting products, Voltex is perfectly positioned to drive the development and implementation of technologies which can achieve this. That’s why Voltex are ensuring continent-wide adoption and knowledge of their sustainable and environmentallyfriendly services and technologies.
Don’t just take Mr Wentzel’s word for it - PMR. africa recently awarded the firm its Golden Arrow Award for External Facilities Management Companies survey. The survey is based on the perceptions of peers and clients, regarding the perceived strengths and weaknesses of external facilities management companies. It’s quite the achievement. “We are incredibly proud to have won the Gold Arrow Award. This award sets a benchmark for others to aspire to and it recognises the hard work and dedication of all the employees at Drake & Scull,” says Wentzel. And despite a challenging economic environment, this focus hasn’t diminished and the firm continues to perform “strongly”. “Our performance reflects the economic situation that our country faces,” Wentzel says. “In terms of where we are, I think we’re comfortable and the business is performing as anticipated. We’ve seen a pullback from major clients who are cost focused, so they’re obviously questioning whether they want to do 44
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Additionally, Voltex has set its sights on expanding its presence into the African market. Voltex MD Stanley Green says that the group, which has 53 strategically-located outlets in South Africa, has plans to increase its activity into Africa. “We are very proud of our national footprint and we do at present distribute our products to some African countries, but we believe that significant opportunities exist to grow our business in Africa, and in doing so better serve our customers,” says Green. Voltex Group Commercial Manager Hugh Ward explains that with the South African business sector under stress, many of its customers are becoming more active beyond the country’s borders. “We will partner with our preferred suppliers and customers going into Africa and in this way, they can have the confidence that they are getting the correct product, at the correct price, at the destination of their choice,” says Ward. Voltex is the largest independent electrical wholesaler in Southern Africa, a stockist and reseller of a vast and comprehensive range of electrical and lighting products, including national and international suppliers and their brands. Voltex is a proudly Bidvest company and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bidvest Group Limited, a company listed on the South African stock exchange. Voltex forms part of Bidvest Electrical and enjoys a Level 2 BBBEE rating.
your electrical connection GO GREEN
SWITCH ON
LIGHT UP NDUSTRIAL & COMMERCIAL SWITCH ON
& COMMERCIAL SWITCH GO GREEN
SWITC
LIGHT UP SWITCH ON
INDUSTRIAL & COMMERCIAL www.voltex.co.za
Drake & Scull FOCUS tsebo
Amaloba In 1999 Amaloba Horticultural Services (Pty) Ltd. was established with the assistance of Isivuba Trust, which provided the financial backing and training expertise and we are owned by 100% black Shareholders. It initially entered the interior plantscaping business with a view to setting up a reasonable client base and then moving into the landscaping industry. Being an affirmative action company we need to support and encourage other companies with such policies by giving them opportunities, provided that they are competent enough to deliver quality service. We also ensure that quality service is upheld at all times in disciplines such as exterior landscaping (design, installation and maintenance), interior plantscaping (designing, installation and maintenance).
things the way they have previously and also politically, we’ve seen significant question marks being drawn across outsourcing from a government perspective. It has been a difficult year for the industry. Despite this I’m comfortable that the business is doing as well as it is. Most importantly, we have not lost any of our major clients and that’s probably the biggest achievement. The competition is tough! In fact we have gained accounts and have shown the ability to continue to grow organically in a very difficult market and maintain what we’ve got. I think with that we should be happy.” Next on the agenda is Africa. “Domestically by the end of next year I’m confident that we will be number one in terms of turnover. We’re already number one on the basis of number of clients and number of sites but by the end of next year our market share will be probably be sitting on between 46
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20-25 percent and at that stage it becomes very hard to grow organically because you have to take away from your competitors and it becomes very expensive. Longer term, if we’re going to get the double digit growth that we seek, it’s going to have to be north of our borders into the rest of Africa and that should mean that our growth focus will turn significantly towards that and we have a strategic intention to operate in 12 countries over the next 24-36 months. That will give us the opportunity to grow significantly faster than we would be able to do based on our market share locally. The story of the company over the next two to three years is very much an Africa story and the consolidation in terms of our market share in South Africa.” Wentzel says interest in and from Africa is “significant”. “There are lot of global clients out there who want to have a partner in
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the continent that they can grow with but at the same time have a single point of contact,” he explains. “We are that. Over the last six months we’ve had significant interest and inquiries from large international players saying that they want to set up operations in Africa and expand and want a partner that can manage FM requirements. It’s not just a wish list, we are responding to client demand – especially from large European based corporates, as well as African corporates, who like us, see Africa as more likely to deliver significantly higher rates of growth.” And the market is there for the taking. There aren’t “many major players in the FM space, cross-border”. “One of the things we’ve found in Africa is that we don’t see many, if any, of the major global players operating across the continent, but there are local competitors” Wentzel says. “We think the reason for that is that Africa
is very complex, there are hundreds of languages, many different practices, and each country is so different. Consequently one cannot take a cookie cutter approach. You can’t do the same thing in every country. We are going to seek to identify partners in the respective countries - the ones that understand the industry and may be operating on a small scale. We will try to work with them as an entry approach. For each country one has to understand things such as business practice, tax regimes and political stability. It’s going to be a huge amount of work but we’re excited about it but it won’t be an easy journey. I think this is why we don’t see so many people doing it. It’s so difficult, but we relish the opportunity to expand in to the rest of Africa.” Watch this space. END Visit www.drake-scull.co.za. www.southafricamag.com 47
eNeRG Y ThE BUSINESS CASE Companies have begun adopting energy saving technologies as a matter of good business practice in a world with high and volatile energy prices. Tsebo Energy Solutions’ CEO William Gould gives us the business case. By Ian Armitage
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Tsebo Energy Solutions FOCUS TSEBO
M
ore and more businesses are talking about cutting costs by using energy more efficiently. Why? Energy is the fastest growing non-labour component of MRO expenditure globally, while in South Africa energy costs have increased by 200 percent in the last three years - a trend we can expect to continue for at least another five. But don’t dispair. Undertaking the simplest of efficiency measures, in combination with making energy management a priority, can yield savings of 20 percent or higher. For high energy use businesses, in which energy expenditure can account for one fifth of overheads, this amounts to a transformative business saving. Yet surprisingly, many senior executives “significantly underestimate” the returns from energy efficiency investments, says William Gould, CEO of Tsebo Energy Solutions, a division of the Tsebo Outsourcing Group. The company’s goal is to ensure clients realise the opportunities to make significant savings to their overheads, through tighter management and control of their energy use, he says. “Businesses are wasting billions of rand every year on energy bills that could be avoided. The bottom line is that, as far as energy is concerned, if you put a viable business case in front of a board, they can see the rates of return; it is clear that any money spent on energy improvements generally yields a better return than what they’re getting in their own core businesses. For argument sake, a typical voltage optimisation, you’ll get a return of anywhere between upwards of 75 percent over four years. Those kinds of ROI are unbelievable. Having said that we do have to convince people.”
The business case is everything. If the true returns from energy efficiency are not being fully recognised, then important projects with the potential to slash both costs and carbon emissions could be being sidelined, he says. “While a greater drive in implementing sustainable business practises is gaining momentum, the primary drive is simply because of the expense. Sources of renewable energy – wind and solar – need to be more seriously considered, but at this stage, they are still very expensive to implement with attractive ROIs in most commercial sectors. Companies like ourselves are watching this space very closely. Advances in technology are driving down photovoltaic panel prices, while similar trends in battery and invertor technologies, coupled to growth in demand, will see the viability of solar power installations rocket in the years to come.” Understanding energy consumption with high level of granularity is absolutely vital, Gould says. It is the foundation of identifying savings. “We’re leaders in this consumption intelligence.” What makes Tsebo Energy Solutions different are three things. Firstly, the ability to rapidly analyse masses of energy data across muiltiple points of consumption, and quickly identify unacceptable www.southafricamag.com 49
Our ability to understand how an energy investment is performing is so critical; it empowers every level of stakeholder, with accurate information because the direct effect of savings can measured in real time
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variances. Secondly, the use of the analyses to trigger interventions - these could be billing errors, voltage imbalances, abnormal non-trading energy consumption through to more longer term projects such as voltage optimisation, lighting retrofits and off-grid interventions, says Gould. Tracking Energy Interventions is the third and a key differentiator. “Our ability to understand how an energy investment is performing is so critical; it empowers every level of stakeholder, with accurate information because the direct effect of savings can be measured in real time on our systems. Energy savings business cases that can be kept alive with current information is the stuff commercial dreams are made of, and this is what we do.” On the subject of voltage optimisation, Tsebo Energy Solutions holds a sole distribution license with EMS Energy Management Systems UK to install and maintain Powerstar® Voltage Optimisation Technology - a market leading voltage optimisation system that guarantees savings. While not widely understood in South Africa, voltage optimisation targets a reduction in three areas: over voltage, harmonic contamination and reactive power, all of which lead to either direct or in-direct savings, says Gould. “The direct savings are guaranteed, that means we put our money where our mouth is, and that’s what made Powertsar so successful in the UK market. They’ve sold 4,500 Units, typically with a payback between two and three years. We are pleased that the SA market is taking off very well. In the space of six months six units have been sold and the demand is strong. We are working really hard and look forward to the exicting ride rolling this out.” Energy efficiency is a must for South African companies based on the high increases in electricity prices, Gould stresses. “All things aside, sustainable business practices pay, and we are very active in engaging the additional commercial leverage. Eskom provides on accredited savings initiatives, through its Demand Side Program.”
Tsebo Energy Solutions FOCUS TSEBO
From a macro perspective, SA is under immense pressure to reduce its carbon footprint, with more than 90 percent of power coming from coal-fired plants. It has to find more sustainable sources of energy and grow the necessary infrastructure to match the economic growth the country needs to create employment and alleviate poverty. Souths Africa’s Minster of Finance announced in his 2012 Budget address the immenint imposition of carbon taxation and a white paper is before the legislators. While it will take some time to finalise, businesses that are smart are already beginning to factor this into their strategy to reduce emissions. “We can play an obvious role here too,” Gould concludes. END To learn more visit www.tseboenergy.com. www.southafricamag.com 51
Shedding light on N amibia
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NamPower FOCUS ENERGY
The Namibian economy is steadily growing and so is the demand for electricity, representing a challenge for power utility NamPower. Managing director Paulinus Shilamba tells us more. By Ian Armitage
I
s Namibia facing an energy crisis? That was the question on our lips when we talked to NamPower Managing Director Paulinus Shilamba recently. Namibia and the region are experiencing severe shortages in terms of power supply. Three key drivers can be cited for having led to the need for Namibia to increase its domestic electrical generation capacity, namely: reduced availably of electricity imports from neighbouring countries through the SAPP; increasing costs of electricity imports; and increasing domestic demand. Namibia needs to establish a reliable and flexible base load power plant in order to meet the shortage in supply capacity as well as to enable the introduction of cleaner and renewable options, all of this requires a base load power plant to fill the gaps during times of no supply. Namibia has limited options for a base load plant. A coal-fired power station will provide Namibia with the flexibility it needs on the one hand and the certainty it needs on the other. Namibia has a shortage of about 80MW of electricity and that deficit will continue to increase year-on-year. By 2015, according to some reports, a shortage of 300MW is likely. By 2016 Namibia could be left “in the dark”. “Namibia needs additional capacity,” Shilamba said. Over half of Namibia’s energy demand is satisfied by imports. The main supplier in the past was neighbouring South Africa. But since around 2008 capacity constraints have forced Eskom to reduce its exports to Namibia. In all countries of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) - which includes SA, Namibia, Botswana and the
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NamPower FOCUS ENERGY
Consolidated Power Projects (Pty) Ltd (CONCO) CONCO has earned a formidable reputation over more than 25 years as a leading electrical infrastructure developer across Sub-Saharan Africa. With its head office in Midrand, CONCO is wholly-owned by JSElisted Consolidated Infrastructure Group Limited, and has an extensive footprint extending to more than 18 countries. CONCO is privileged to partner with leading electricity utility NamPower, working on projects that range from modernising substations with cutting-edge protection automation technology, to installing 220kV filter banks, to the development and construction of an 80 kilometre overhead power line. CONCO’s attention to detail, skilled staff and strong focus on safety and quality, makes it an ideal partner to NamPower.
DRC, amongst others - energy demand has grown by an average of three percent a year over the last six years. Existing generation and transmission capacities can’t meet the demand. NamPower has initiated a number of short-, medium- and long-term transmission and energy generation projects are being planned in order to meet the looming power supply challenges in the country and the region at large. According to Shilamba, NamPower continues to negotiate for new Power Purchase Agreements and re-negotiate existing PPAs with neighbouring power utilities. “These agreements are important given the fact that Namibia will continue to rely on imports still for the next four to five years, while we are working on the implementation of our own generation projects,” he said. Negotiations on these PPA’s are currently ongoing specifically with Eskom, ZESCO, ZESA and BPC. 54
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“ZESA sends electricity via Botswana to SA before it reaches Namibia. In the past transmission breakdowns meant we didn’t receive all the electricity we should have had and the extension delivers on a shortfall of a year’s electricity that did not reach Namibia,” Shilamba added. As part of the original agreement NamPower gave ZESA millions to refurbish the Hwange power station and in return ZESA was supposed to deliver 150MW of power daily to Namibia over five years. “We’re doing all we can to address the current and future power supply challenges.” National demand for electricity in Namib has increased to 580MW from 451MW recorded in 2009, higher than the combined installed capacity of NamPower’s Ruacana, ANIXAS, Van Eck and Paratus power stations.
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In response, NamPower’s board of directors approved a number of projects that will be implemented under the Short-Term Critical Supply Project (STCS) including the rehabilitation of the Van Eck power station by extending it’s life by five years. Shilamba said work on that project had started and will take a year to complete, at a cost of N$350 million. “We rely a lot on imports, so we’ve looked at our own generation projects.” That’ll help in the shortterm. But what about further down the line? Many have suggested that Namibia should look to renewables. Energy experts claim it is the only country in the world that can go 100 percent renewable energy – being blessed with sunshine and wind. “You have to be mindful,” Shilamba told South Africa Magazine, “it is expensive technology, and there are shortcomings. Take solar for example - you can only generate power in the day and only when it is sunny. “The main concern would be the cost of the electricity generated and that would impact consumers.” It seems then that the most realistic option in the short- to medium-term might be coal a coal-fired power station. Reports in August suggested that the planned Erongo coalfired power station could be 56
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Large-scale medium and long-term projects like Erongo, the Kudu Gas projects or even the Baynes Hydropower Project are important
NamPower FOCUS ENERGY
“fast-tracked” to begin commercial operation by 2016. According to Shilamba, the proposed project will be located about 10km east of Arandis, located midway between Swakopmund and Usakos, and will be divided into four work packages. Thirteen prequalified contractors have been identified for ‘Tender Package A’, which relates to the boiler, turbine, generator island and balance of plant related to the island, including a number of Chinese firms, Engineering News recently reported. “The Erongo Coal-fired project is earmarked for development ahead of the muchdiscussed 800 MW Kudu Gas-to-Power plant proposed for development north of Oranjemund, and is underpinned by rising demand in the Central Namib region,” the report added.
The final environmental-impact assessment study has been submitted to the Ministry of Environment, it said. “Large-scale medium and long-term projects like Erongo, the Kudu Gas projects or even the Baynes Hydropower Project are important,” Shilamba told us. “But we have to put up a baseload power plant soon and we’re leaning towards Erongo Coal in the short-term. It won’t solve all the problems but it will provide for our power we needs in the short-term. “With Kudu, we don’t think it would be up and running in time. The situation is the same with Baynes. But they remain on the agenda.” Shilamba said Kudu, which will have the capacity to generate 800MW of power, remains strategically important. “It has challenges, but is still important.” Namibia’s white paper on energy requires the country to be able to generate 100 percent of its peak demand and 75 percent of its annual energy demand from local sources. End users will ultimately be affected by the investment in new generation resources. “There will be pressure on tariffs as a result of the capital projects,” Shilamba concluded. One thing is for sure – NamPower is doing all it can to secure the country’s energy future. END To learn more visit www.nampower.com.na www.southafricamag.com 57
forward DRIVING Elegant Fuel’s Rocco Strydom talks to South Africa Magazine. By Ian Armitage
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Elegant Fuels FOCUS ENERGY
A
niche is a distinct segment of a market. Defining your niche will position you as an expert in your chosen field and enable you to achieve business success. This is exactly what Elegant Fuel has gone about and largely succeeded in doing. “Success is always easier when you have clarity around your business,” says Elegant Fuel director Rocco Strydom. “We’re a wholesale distributer of all petroleum products at the best price and excellent service. We’re focused on that.” According to its website, the company was “born from the need that existed to look after smaller users of petroleum”. It only delivers depot-certified product to its clients over a “vast area” that includes Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West province and the Free State. Due to its attention to detail and personal service, the company has seen month-on-month growth for a few years running and is the preferred non-refining wholesaler to diesel depots, mines, garages, the agricultural sector and even public transport operators, Strydom says. Elegant Fuel currently supplies 15 millions litres of fuel per month to the end user, with a turnover of approximately R2 billion per annum. “We have hands on management and are open 24/7,” Mr Strydom says. “We are driving the business forward and recently launched our own retail brand. The demand has been incredible and several garages have been earmarked for rebranding this year.” Elegant Fuel provides a “cost effective alternative” and is now focused on “expanding brand through the re-branding of garages”, he adds. “We’ve learnt from hard-earned experience, have a never-say-die attitude and are fast becoming one of the leading suppliers of petroleum products in the northern provinces. “This year and for 2013 the main is to create more brand awareness around Sub Saharan Africa and grow the business.” Now is about raising its profile. www.southafricamag.com 59
Elegant Fuels FOCUS energy
“Bringing your brand into people’s homes is very important,” Strydom says. “We’ve started rolling out our own brand of filling stations and basically what we’re doing is taking stations that have been neglected by other oil companies and just pouring money into it and picking it up. It’s been successful beyond our wildest imagination but we are eager for more and have a very ambitious five to 10 year plan to be the first company in South Africa to import our own fuel privately because you’re sitting amongst the big guys here, the large players that dominate the market, and we should be able to compete with them as we are almost standing on their shoulders. We’re largely dependant on them – the likes of Sasol etc. - but the dream is in five to 10 years to put up our own equipment and bring our own tankers into SA.” We talked with Strydom during the second week of South Africa’s recent truckers strike which ended on October 12 when employers and unions struck a deal that’ll see wage increases of 10 percent from March 2013, eight percent the following year and nine percent for 2015. The three-week strike hit deliveries of fuel, cash and consumer goods across the country and was defined by acts of violence. Trucks were set on fire, drivers were attacked with petrol bombs and rocks, and at least one person has died. 60
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The South African Petroleum Industry Association (SAPIA) warned people not to panic buy. Strydom called the situation “unfortunate”. “It’s political power play, that’s my opinion. What we are doing at the moment is that we’re employing security guards to escort the trucks to and from the depots. We just made a decision and said ‘the show must go on, we can’t stop delivering to our clients now’ and we absolutely went out of our way to change our business model to enable us to deliver. We are using an armed escort service and we’re still making our deliveries, which I think is great. It’s a risk but I think our customers are seeing the benefit of it. “This is all a follow on effect coming from Marikana. That kind of violence is then seen as a way of offsetting negotiations. It is unfortunate.” Elegant Fuel’s response is just another example of the firm’s never-say-die attitude. “We’re a 365, 24/7 business,” Strydom says. “It’s a total commitment, knowing what is going
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on a day to day basis. The competitive advantage that we have is that we can make decisions faster compared to big oil companies. We’ve four directors and we can make a conference call right away and that puts us two or three days ahead of everyone else.” Another differentiator is Elegant Fuel’s focus on CSR. CSR plays an integral part of its operations, offering training to unskilled individuals in order to create a platform to kick-start a career. “That’s essential to our business model. We also enjoy a Level 4 BEE rating and are certified by the Department of Energy, speaking volumes of our commitment to transformation within the petroleum industry ” Elegant Fuel has succeeded in creating a strong retail brand that consumers can identify with. END To learn more visit www.elegantfuel.com.
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knowledge, global L ocal
strength
Andre Baard managing director and founder of Cape Town-based South African Bunkering & Trading (SABT) talks to South Africa Magazine. By Ian Armitage
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South African Bunkering & Trading FOCUS energy
W
hen Andre Baard graduated with an economics and philosophy degree from Stellenbosch University, the majority of his classmates left South Africa, seeking lucrative jobs overseas. He didn’t want to leave. And set about starting a career. His dad had a shipping background. Shipping was a big part of his life. So it seemed natural progression – a career in international shipping or related industry it was. A few jobs followed before he started bunker trading, notably for GAC Bunker Fuels in Cape Town. It was in 2006 that Baard had his eureka moment; he wanted to start his own business. South African Bunkering & Trading (SABT) was born. He didn’t start SABT with dreams of great wealth, but the company enjoyed a turnover of R1 billion in its first year. “I contacted one of my clients in the summer of 2006 and said I think I can do something in Africa with your financial backing and that is pretty much how SABT began,” Baard says. “In June we had the first conversation and by October I had resigned and began the process of registering bank accounts and starting the company. We had the fortunate privilege of turning over R1 billion in the first year. It has been wildly successful from a financial level.”
We had the fortunate privilege of turning over R1 billion in the first year. It has been wildly successful from a financial level
www.southafricamag.com 63
South African Bunkering & Trading FOCUS ENERGY
Bunkering is the refuelling or refilling of a ship’s fuel tanks. Baard saw a niche – Africa. Africa as whole is a vast market and a huge source of raw materials and energy. And he saw the potential early. The oil market in Africa is heading for rapid expansion as business grows, he says. “We’ve positioned and resourced the company as an African bunker specialist. We’ve built up an in-depth knowledge of the African bunker markets, which is always improving, and have grown our market share, building on the strategic partnerships we already enjoy with suppliers around the continent. We’re keen to grow further. Africa’s massive natural resources are a huge opportunity. We’re very excited about it.” According to Baard, SABT is a “professional bridge to the African bunker market”, formed to offer “expertise in providing product in niche African ports”. It operates in over 50 ports throughout Africa. “We have a long-term vision in the African bunker markets. We’ve done a lot of work on changing the ‘take now and run’ approach in some African bunker markets. It is a difficult task but SABT, in its own small way, is committed to helping to improve the reputation of some of these bunker markets by taking positive actions. We hope to act as a catalyst for change, even if it is only scratching the surface. We do this by site visits 64
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and sharing our knowledge of the best bunker practices and try to adapt them to a uniquely African reality. “Customers can be assured that when they entrust their bunker demand with us we will deliver.” What’s his secret? “They say if you can build a team you can build anything. We have built a team,” says Baard. “A lot of our growth comes from Africa, which is growing at between five and seven percent. I wanted to build a company that’s specialised not in the whole planet but in Africa, which is big enough. It is a huge opportunity – just two percent of the global market demand is traded here – yet, it’s all about margins and growth. I knew if I could be the first one in terms of being a pan-African trader, I’d have the rights of first arrival and you’d benefit off the margin and in terms of credibility and experience. The timing and the boom here really worked out well. The vision to be a
South African Bunkering & Trading FOCUS energy
bona fide specialist African trader also helped us differentiate ourselves because nobody else was doing it. We wanted to become a local specialist with a global connection. I think the saying that you have to be corrupt to do business in Africa is not true. No one wants to talk about the white elephant but part of my vision was to create a straight business model where we simply have no tolerance for bribery or collusion or price fixing, which is unfortunately quite rampant in our industry and I think that has helped us get our snowball effect of accumulated impact. I think when you have a large volume you are able to dictate. You’re able to say that this is how we like to do business and we don’t enjoy corrupting our traders or trying to bribe and solicit business in an unsustainable way.” While successful almost immediately, starting his business wasn’t easy. That 66
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said, he’d recommend giving your own business a ‘go’. “To be honest I’m amazed still,” Baard says. “People should have said how much fun it is starting a new business. I think 2006 was in the heady days of the boom so to get a ‘yes’ was a lot easier. When you get vision, meets opportunity, meets capital, you get explosion and we have benefitted from an explosion that is still going. Africa is really booming. It’s just the way you look at problems. Some people look at problems whereas others would see opportunity. We see opportunity. Africa is where it’s happening. Why look to Europe and the developed markets? They’re saturated. Africa holds so much promise and you don’t have to bribe your way through to tenders to take market share. We are living proof that you don’t have to do that. We could’ve made much, much more money doing so, but I have a long-term vision and we want to grow
Proud to be SABT’s local knowledge. Kukhanya Marketing is a licensed petroleum wholesaler, who is also allowed to import and export petroleum products. We are trading locally with transport companies, secondary distributors, independent depots, other wholesalers and exports to Botswana and Zimbabwe. We started trading with SABT in December 2011, purely as an
eting a Mark ukhany K , D a, M Timan Mandla
export partner.The partnership has since evolved into a formal partnership whereby a new companyUkhanyiso Petroleumhas been formed. We are here to enhance SABT’s motto of “Local Knowledge. Global Strength” and we are part of the local knowledge. Through this association, Kukhanya Marketing has made significant strides in other spheres of the petroleum business. We are now trading in JET fuel, Avgaz and HFO, a field that was almost impossible to penetrate. We are taking our products to both the SADEC region and East Africa.
PO Box 13544, Norkem Park, 1631 1277 Mike Crawford Avenue Centurion, 0157 Tel 012 683 8700 Fax: 086 6580016 Cell: 079 668 6173 E-Mail mandla@khanyapetro.com E-Mail: www.kmpetroleum.co.za
South African Bunkering & Trading FOCUS ENERGY
When you get vision, meets opportunity, meets capital, you get explosion and we have benefitted from an explosion that is still going. Africa is really booming
our industry within Africa. It’s being on the right side of the curve but also the culture has to be on the right side of the curve. Just making a profit, going ‘in and out’, wasn’t an option. We’ve a long-term view and that changes the way you do business – it’s slower, but surer. Our profitability grew very fast but I think the market needed what we were offering. I think the accumulation of knowing that your trustworthy is key.” What’s next? A second office. “We’re looking at West Africa – somewhere between Ivory Coast and Senegal, maybe,” Baard says. “We’re hoping to open that second office soon. We have gotten to know a lot of the national oil companies there and we’ve got a good enough foundation to grow into our second operation. Our tagline is ‘local knowledge, global strength’ and we really believe that you’ve got to be local to really understand how the wind blows and how the currents flow. You need to know the local microclimate. “Even though we’re only 10 people, we move an awful lot of oil based in Cape Town and we’re trading large volumes in America and Hong Kong and all over the planet, doing really good business out of South Africa. We compete with the best in the world.” END To learn more visit www.sabunker.com.
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BUNKER SERVICES IN SOUTH AFRICA For fast, efficient, safe and environmentally friendly bunker fuel deliveries in the ports of Durban and Richards Bay, contact the team at SMIT Amandla Marine.
Partnering for tomorrow, today
Barge Scheduler: +27 71 606 3895 SMIT Amandla Marine: Durban Office, 18 Kobe Road, Bayhead Tel: +27 31 274 1100 www.careersatsea.co.za www.facebook.com/SmitAmandlaMarine
Big
shake-up at
ALTECh AUTOPAGE CELLULAR
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Altech Autopage Cellular FOCUS TECHNOLOGY
As JSE-listed Altech subsidiary Altech Autopage Cellular integrates with sister company Altech Technology Concepts, forming a dynamic new service provider in the Telecommunications & ICT sector, South Africa Magazine talks to Altech Autopage Cellular’s Boyd Chislett. By Ian Armitage
B
oyd Chislett is the Chief Executive Officer at Altech Autopage Cellular, the largest independent cellular service provider in South Africa. He is excited, like all within the company and many outside of it, about one thing – its merger with sister company Altech Technology Concepts. “It’s very, very exciting. Leveraging on each other’s infrastructure, new ground will be covered,” Mr Chislett says. Altech Technology Concepts is a dominant player in the provision of physical network links, Internet access, managed services and cloudbased services to the business and consumer markets. Both firms are part of JSE-listed Allied Technologies Limited (Altech), a leading South African multi-billion rand high-technology group. It is a “marriage made in heaven” and is part of Altech’s push for “converged offerings”. “It is a positive move,” Chislett says. “It means both Altech Autopage Cellular and Altech Technology Concepts will be able to leverage off each other and offer customers a single point of contact, a one-stop shop, for a variety of world-class services ranging from voice, to data, to hosting, to storage solutions. “The new company will be a single point of contact for all those services.
It means both Altech Autopage Cellular and Altech Technology Concepts will be able to leverage off each other and offer customers a single point of contact
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Altech Autopage Cellular FOCUS TECHNOLOGY
BlackBerry and Altech Autopage form a winning team Research In Motion (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry® smartphones and tablets, believes in close partnership with service providers and network operators as it strives to bring accessible and affordable handsets and data services to market. In fact, RIM has relationships with over 650 carriers and distribution partners in 175 countries around the world. Alexandra Zagury, Managing Director for South & Southern Africa at RIM, says that this approach has been instrumental to RIM’s success globally and in South Africa over the years.
“And a successful integration will allow for further convergence in the future.” Chislett says the “convergence” is a rare occurrence amongst South African ICT companies that will result in a more “diversified portfolio, a stronger commercial platform”. “It also enables us to leverage off retail business and partner distribution channels,” he says. All employees are being integrated into the new group, with no job losses – and a new leader in the rapidly growing telecoms and IT industry will be born. Chislett added, “No longer will customers have to go to different service providers when they require voice, Internet and data solutions. And when something goes wrong, they wont be pushed from pillar to post as one service provider blames the other for a lack of services. “The reality is that if you look at the industry and where it is going, converged services are where the industry is, and where growth will come from. It made sense for us to broaden our horizons”. 72
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Altech Autopage Cellular is one of these partners and has played a significant role in providing cellular users with affordable smartphone packages that enhance their lives at home and work. “Affordable and transparent, alwayson data packages has completely changed the local market by making smartphones more accessible to many more people and has played a major role in growing BlackBerry into South Africa’s leading smartphone,” says Zagury. According to independent research from GfK Retail and Technology BlackBerry has been the leading smartphone vendor in South Africa for over 23 months in August.
The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. RIM assumes no obligations or liability and makes no representation, warranty, endorsement or guarantee in relation to any aspect of any third party products or services.
Altech Autopage Cellular FOCUS TEChNOLOGY
Altech Autopage Cellular traditionally focussed on providing only GSM / mobile connectivity solutions. Now with the merger, it also offers fixed line solutions so this means that they’re able to offer a much wider range of product solutions for many services such as VoIP, hosting, video conferencing, server virtualisation, channel bonding, back-ups and archiving and digital marketing so it positions them in a much stronger place in the market. It is also able to offer clients a full range of product solutions and they only have to deal with one service provider as opposed to having to deal with a different one for mobile, fixed line, and other internet based services. “The merger commenced in March and one of our key millstones in the integration process was the combination of our customer contact centres. This unified entity now addresses all customer interactions and has ensured consistent and in some areas improved service to our customer base. We’re finally operating as one team, however our next challenge is the integration of our billing systems, as with mergers of this kind systems integration is more technical and takes more time. Soon we’ll be able to send customers that onebill to simplify their lives,” Chislett says. “We’re working on constructing a new brand identity, what this will look like is still being defined. We’re currently gathering input from all our stakeholders and customers to ensure that we remain relevant and that we don’t lose the equity we have built as the two separate entities over the past years. This is an exciting step for us and getting it right is our main priority, confirming exactly when this will be completed is still to be determined.” END To learn more visit www.autopage.co.za. 74
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Making Light of
heavy work
Vanguard is a dominant player in abnormal transport, heavy lift and plant relocation in Africa. By Ian Armitage 76
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Vanguard FOCUS INDUSTRY
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bnormal transport, heavy lifting and specialised plant relocation company Vanguard can count the likes of Krones, Hitachi, and Siemens amongst its customers. It is able to attract large reputable clients because of its reputation for good quality and timely service at the highest standard. “We offer the complete engineering solutions to the abnormal and heavy lift projects. We can also offer the turnkey solution for the relocation, installation and commissioning of plants and heavy equipment,” says general manager Craig Pace. “With Vanguard, the emphasis is to perform and deliver to schedule. We have a great reputation, developed over 40 years in the industry.”
The GTK 1100 at a glance Of the 11 GTK 1100 telescopic cranes ever built, Vanguard’s is the only one in the southern hemisphere. The rare crane’s compactness, lifting capacity and manoeuvrability make it ideal for a large variety of functions in the petrochemical industry, the erection of windmills, in-harbour rigging and other applications where space limitations prevent standard cranes from operating effectively. It can negotiate small, narrow gaps and its self-erecting tower contributes to extremely fast set-up – ready for operation in just four to six hours.
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Vanguard FOCUS INdUSTRY
ORMIG Since 1949, ORMIG SpA has been a leading manufacturer of mobile industrial cranes, including “Pick and carry” for free-on-wheels lifting and handling of loads. The main features of this equipment are the reduced overall dimensions compared with remarkable capacities. The present range goes from 5.5 to 60 tonnes, with diesel engines or electric power to comply with all working requirements in various fields of lifting activity. These cranes are particularly useful for load moving in industrial activities or in external yards and everywhere it is required a lifting and travelling operation with hooked load.
Customers can vouch for that. “We’ve got some of the most sophisticated equipment in the world, for example our GTK 1100 mobile crane,” Pace says. “This is a rare piece of equipment – only 11 pieces in the world.” It is currently deployed at the Medupi Power station, between boiler 5 and 6. Hitachi, the contractor responsible for the six 800 MW steam generators at Medupi, has contracted Vanguard to provide the “specialised heavy lifting” in “confined spaces” for a two year project. “Coal conveyors run parallel to the boilers blocking crawler cranes,” says Pace. “The advantage of the GTK is that the boom can simply be lowered and then driven out beneath the coal conveyors, unlike the crawler 78
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Our most important client in South Africa is Vanguard Rigging, who are currently using 4 Ormig cranes: · Model 10tmE (10 tonnes max capacity) at electric power · 16tmE (16 tonnes max capacity) at electric power · Two units 33tm, 33 tonnes max lifting capacity Ormig is very proud to have Vanguard Rigging as a client and Ormig have a great esteem and appreciation of their way of working, the reliability and accuracy of the staff.
ORMIG S.p.A. PIAZZALE ORMIG P.O. BOX 63 15076 OVADA (AL) ITALY TEL. (+39) 0143.80051 r.a. FAX (+39) 0143.86568 E-mail: mktg@ormigspa.com www.ormig.com www.pickandcarry.com
Vanguard is not restricted only to Africa and has worked in various parts of the world including America, UK, Spain, and Italy, amongst others. We are excited by what the future is going to hold
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cranes that require a large area for disassembling the boom. This is a rare crane and it is ideal for a working at heights in confined spaces like in the petrol chemical, power generation and wind industries.” Vanguard has grown to become a dominant player in the abnormal transport, heavy lifting and relocation of complex plant and machinery sector, on a local and global scale. The company head office is in Joburg, with branches in Cape Town, Durban and Richards Bay. It also has representatives in Namibia, Kenya and Mozambique. “What’s our secret? Our project engineering department, hard work and hands on management involvement,”
Vanguard FOCUS INdUSTRY
says Pace. “What’s next? Expand our footprint into Africa. We’re already involved in work in Mozambique and have a history of working in Africa; as we speak we have just completed the transport and loading of 135 ton transformer to Songa.” Amongst some of its more high profile projects in Africa, Vanguard was contracted to assist with the rigging of the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS), located 100 km southwest of Windhoek. It was also recently sub-contracted by SDV, specialists in international logistics and transport, to deliver three diesel generator sets from Richards Bay to Konkola Copper Mines in Zambia. “After a quiet two years, caused by the down turn in the world economy, we now have a large increase in abnormal cargo into Africa,” Pace says. “Next on the agenda is seeking further work in Africa. Africa is a challenging environment. When you leave SA the infrastructure isn’t there. That’s a huge challenge especially in our line of work. We are looking to grow into Africa – into Zambia, DRC, Angola and Mozambique, amongst others. “Vanguard is not restricted only to Africa and has worked in various parts of the world including America, UK, Spain, and Italy, amongst others. We are excited by what the future is going to hold. We think there is great opportunity in Africa but we are kidding ourselves if we think it’ll be easy.” Pace is confident that Vanguard can capitalise on the opportunities Africa has to offer and is optimistic about the future. “It’s very exciting,” he says. END To learn more visit www.vanguard.co.za. www.southafricamag.com 81
alight SETTING ThE INdUSTRY
The South African Flameproof Association is a non-profit body and has members from companies involved in explosion prevention/protection techniques for equipment used in hazardous atmospheres in industry and mining.
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he South African Flameproof Association (SAFA) is a voluntary non-profit body based in South Africa. The association deals with all matters pertaining to the “Ex Industry” or explosion prevention technology in South Africa. The slogan of the association is “in the interests of safety” and all activities in some way support this. The association has approximately 160 members from all corners of the country, representing all aspects of the Ex industry from mining to chemicals, offshore to car manufacturing, private consultants to legislators and test laboratories. The association provides a forum for all interested parties to discuss any relevant Ex topics, ask questions, and hopefully be provided with answers. Monthly meetings ensure that the momentum is kept up and issues are driven to conclusion. A management committee and full time secretariat take care of day to day issues and enquiries.
SAFA foreword
South Africa has adopted the IEC 60079 series of standards “Explosive Atmospheres” and in addition have some locally developed standards to fill perceived gaps. The Flameproof Association fulfills a number of roles in the South African environment, notably the role of being the official Mirror Committee for the IECEx System. In addition to this role, the association distributes all TC31 (Explosive Atmospheres) documents amongst its technical committee members for comment and response to the IEC, and has a core seat on the South African Committee for the IEC (SANC). It also holds the chair of SABS TC65, Explosion Prevention. TC65 is the national committee controlling the adoption, creation and maintenance of all Ex related standards for use in South Africa. The association is registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) as a voluntary association, and has the authority to accredit Ex training material for the continuous professional development points required by ECSA members. SAFA has members on all active standards writing and maintenance working groups in the area of explosion prevention and its members chair or convene most of them. It also hosts a website with useful information, and holds annual symposiums to help educate persons in the industry and hosts occasional meetings in Durban and Cape Town where technical presentations are made, and bi monthly Johannesburg general meetings also see technical presentations given. On top of that it is planning a technical workshop for the mining industry early in 2013. One of the most recent documents given much attention is ARP 0108, a
SAFA has members on all active standards writing and maintenance working groups in the area of explosion prevention and its members chair or convene most of them
regulator owned document sold as a regulatory supplement to SANS 10108, the “mother” document setting out the basic requirements for potentially explosive atmospheres in South Africa. SAFA will be hosting its annual Awards Dinner and Symposium in Johannesburg in November. The theme for this year is “Technology and Legislation - An update for hazardous areas”. It has an outstanding programme lined up this year and it promises to be an informative event. The South African Flameproof Association is a non-profit body and has members from companies involved in explosion prevention/ protection techniques for equipment used in hazardous atmospheres in industry and mining. It comprises of almost 200 member companies, which include both end users and manufacturers, as well as relevant government bodies and equipment testing houses. END Visit www.flp.co.za. www.southafricamag.com 83
I N T O There are excellent opportunities in Africa for electrical and instrumentation specialist B&W. By Ian Armitage
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B&W FOCUS mining
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t’s a common theme, companies continuing their push into Africa. Why? Well, quite simply, the resources-rich continent is now growing at a rate of 5.5 percent to six percent annually, versus one percent for the rest of the world. You don’t want to be left behind. JSE Alt-X listed B&W CEO Brian Harley has recognised that and he says there are excellent opportunities in Africa for the firm, which is one of South Africa’s leading electrical and instrumentation (E&I) construction groups. “The whole world has recognised the growing potential of the African continent and South African companies are ideally placed to benefit and B&W is no exception,” says Harley. Harley’s argument is that mining houses, the core customers of B&W, are continuing their push into Africa, concentrating on the burgeoning African Mining industry. He says B&W is putting the necessary infrastructure in place to support its customers, wherever it can. That process is well underway. “We are currently doing a lot of work in Mozambique and Madagascar and we have quoted for work in Ghana, DRC, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Namibia and others. Mining in Africa is becoming a force to be reckoned with and mining infrastructure is growing in www.southafricamag.com 85
B&W FOCUS MINING
More than just bent metal Strutfast was established in 2001 as the core of a networking organisation. Its focus is the manufacture and supply of cable management products to construction and industry throughout the African continent. Strutfast’s centralised stock is based in Gauteng, however, the company distributes throughout South Africa and Africa. Strutfast has supplied cable management systems to all the large electrical and instrumentation contractors in the mining and energy industries locally and abroad. More recently Strutfast supplied B&W with products in 304 stainless steel and hot dip galvanized for a Sappi Ngodwana Mill GoCell project.
Brian Harley B&W CEO
leaps and bounds and, as we focus exclusively on providing these expanding mines and process plants electrical transmission and distribution, we see an enormous future for our specialist offerings and look forward to this growing challenge.” B&W has vast cross-border experience – it was the first E&I contractor to enter Africa and now has 15 years experience on the continent. While Mr Harley acknowledges there are risks to doing business in Africa, if you understand how to manage them, it can be very rewarding. “It wasn’t always easy but now we understand the complex nature of cross-border logistics, which is by far the biggest challenge for working in these areas,” Harley says. 86
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Strutfast confidently boasts the skills, products and manufacturing capability to meet the most stringent customer requirements by providing high service levels. It promises the best price, availability and manufacturing quality. The company’s competitive edge in the market is achieved by the continual addition of new manufacturing expertise and new product development in all areas. Its success has been achieved by employing people with the necessary knowledge and skills, supported by management that believes in empowering its staff, in order to give customers the best advantage. Quality is essential to Strutfast. It’s Management System for the Design, Manufacture, Stocking and Supply of Cable Management Systems is due for a re-audit early in the New Year to ISO 9001:2008. The company is in the process of extending its Management Systems Requirements to attain compliance with the ISO 14001:2004 “Environmental”, and the OHSAS 18001:2007 “Occupational Health and Safety” Standards. The company is committed to Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) and is constantly striving to grow skills development. Strutfast wishes to contribute to the business involvement, mutual learning and in-house support of previously disadvantaged black people and its in-house philosophy supports this.
MORE THAN JUST BENT METAL
CABLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS Cable Trunking & Ducting | Cable Trays | Cable Ladders | Structural Steel Metal Framing | Steel Conduit | Clamps, Fasteners & Anchors
JOHANNESBURG Tel: +27 11 473 1212 Email: sales@strutfast.co.za
www.strutfast.co.za
PRETORIA Tel: +27 12 804 9393 Email: ptasales@strutfast.co.za
B&W FOCUS mining
B&W Instrumentation and Electrical Limited is supplying and installing power lines for the new R3 billion Thubelisha shaft, an expansion of Twistdraai Colliery in Secunda
To this end we have instituted a comprehensive learnership program to try not only to teach people new skills, but to ensure that we train and grow the skills we have
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Another challenge which B&W faces is the lack of appropriate skills, both locally and internationally. “Importing skills from countries like China, India, Vietnam and others is becoming increasingly common but this is definitely B&W’s last resort,” Harley adds. “We do not want to rely on importation as we believe that in the longer term it’s an unstable situation and, furthermore, we would much rather see the local communities benefiting from our work. To this end we have instituted a comprehensive learnership program to try not only to teach people new skills, but to ensure that we train and grow the skills we have. We also ensure that when we leave a job there are local men and women who have been empowered by our training.” Mr Harley has every reason for optimism. B&W has an impressive
track record and recently supplied and installed power lines for the new Thubelisha shaft, an expansion of Twistdraai Colliery in Secunda. The colliery supplies coal to export markets as well as a middlings product to Sasol Synfuels. “B&W was commissioned by RSV Enco-Goba to supply 11kV power lines that will power the Twistdraai Colliery Thubelisha shaft,” Harley says. It faced several challenges but achieved a successful outcome and was subsequently awarded a second contract to supply and install sitewide electrical infrastructure. That shouldn’t be surprising - over the past 35 years, B&W has developed into one of South Africa’s most successful E&I companies. It provides specialist services to blue-chip companies in the mining, industrial utilities, chemical, oil and gas and food and
beverage industries and was one of the sector’s first players to achieve the ISO 9001:2008 quality management standard, confirming its ability to handle demanding projects. Its earthing and lightning protection arm Pontins is currently involved on the Konkola North Copper Project, a VALE/ ARM joint venture in Zambia, and closer to home the Medupi Power Station. Projects don’t get much more demanding. “The group’s project pipeline and order book is fairly healthy given the tough economic conditions that have prevailed over the last few years,” marketing manager Dean Nevay recently told a South Africa Magazine researcher. “Several of our core markets are buoyant at the moment throughout Africa. It’s an exciting future.” END To learn more visit www.bwie.co.za. www.southafricamag.com 89
heaven h I G h W A Y
T O
Earlier this year Intercape became the first in the industry in South Africa to introduce G7 luxury double-decker coaches. By Ian Armitage
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Intercape FOCUS TRAVEL
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ntercape sole-owner Johann Ferreira is a businessman who believes in ethics as the foundation of successful businesses. The place to find the best ethics, he says, is in Christian principles. Principles like “treating others how you wish to be treated”. Mr Ferreira is committed to a vision of “spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout Southern Africa” – a vision fulfilled through his well-run and profitable bus service. “We invest in safety and service, with our own training academy in Cape Town and the inter-city transport industry’s largest network of service depots and offices in South Africa,” says chief commercial officer Danie Du Toit. “We have a strong business ethic and subscribe to the Unashamedly Ethical movement. We are, of course, founded on strong Christian and biblical principles and we have a vision of spreading ‘the message of Jesus Christ’ – we don’t just want to build a company. That said, we are not exclusive; we welcome all religions, but are not ashamed of what we stand for and our principles. Treating one another with respect is obviously a biblical principle but it’s also a good principal full stop, regardless of your faith. It is very much part and parcel of the way we manage the company, the vision we have and for the calling.” He acknowledged that the company does take some flak as a result of its bold Christian stance. “We make no secret of it and we don’t shy away from it. We do occasionally receive comments from passengers saying that they didn’t ‘expect’ it or ‘what is the deal with this?’ The answer is always the same; we’re very clear about it and we don’t try and hide it. You know if you get onto an Intercape coach you will see family friendly entertainment on board, there may be a spiritual or Christian message, and if you choose to go with us we
will expose you to it as it’s ‘our calling’. We believe this makes good business and makes us a responsible company in our environment and community and the vast majority of our passengers appreciate that and come to prefer us for that very reason. While we don’t use it as a business differentiator, it is something that has served us well in terms of the ethics that we stand for and the way we do our business.” Since Mr Ferreira brought all of the firm’s shares in 2008, it has been undergoing an evolution and earlier this year Intercape became the first in the industry in South Africa to introduce G7 luxury double-decker coaches, which include unique safety and comfort features. Intercape was also the first inter-city transporter to establish routes in other Southern African countries and now operates in seven countries in the region: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi. “The Sleepliner service, which was first launched in 2005, is a business class service and is based on a fleet of purpose-built coaches designed in conjunction with the Brazilian bus maker MarcoPolo specifically for our network,” says Du Toit. “The coaches are designed purely for comfort and safety.” The seats on these double-decker buses come with “extra legroom” and foot rests, and recline to a restful 150 degrees. “There is a full suite of on-board entertainment, air conditioning and toilet facilities etc.,” says Du Toit. “All of this is managed by a hostess who is responsible for passenger comfort and two drivers who operate on four-hour shifts, one resting while the other is driving. “It is a very popular service.” If the Sleepliner is the business class service, the Mainliner is Intercape’s www.southafricamag.com 91
standard luxury class. “To date, the Sleepliner has been introduced between major centres throughout South Africa, and between Cape Town and Windhoek in Namibia. All the other crossboarder routes are the Mainliner services. There isn’t actually that big a difference between the two other than the fact that Sleepliner is slightly more upmarket.” With air travel getting more and more expensive Intercape’s services have become increasingly popular, he says. “Air travel is expensive and not as frequent into our destinations. Whilst there are quite a number of bus operators on these routes, it’s a difficult operation. You are sending a bus 2,000 kilometres away and it needs to be reliable and not breakdown so providing a safe, affordable and convenient service is essential. We’ve cracked the nut in terms of running the operation crossborder and we’ve experienced tremendous growth in the past two years.” Safety is a top priority for Intercape, which has introduced its own speed limit. “Safety is a very comprehensive concept,” says Du Toit. “You have to do many things right to provide a safe service. One aspect is the training of your drivers and the quality of the drivers you have. We have been operating an in-house training school since 1999, delivering fully accredited training to those who deal directly with the public. 92
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There is a full suite of on-board entertainment, air conditioning and toilet facilities
Intercape FOCUS TRAVEL
Maintenance is an important aspect of safety and we keep our fleet in top condition through an extensive preventive maintenance programme that includes a full safety check at each depot stop and a full vehicle service every 20,000 kilometres. The depots, located at all major stopover points, are equipped with full workshop facilities to carry out anything from a basic service to a full engine replacement, while major depots in Pretoria, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth put the coaches through regular full roadworthiness tests. “Then we also have the self-imposed speed limit. The speed limit in South Africa is 120 kilometres per hour, but we have introduced a 95 kilometre per hour limit on all our services, and we’ve reduced the speed limit on the mountain passes to just 40 kilometres per hour. It’s a decision we made many years ago and it came at a great cost for us initially as we would be the company that arrived later than other operators, but the persistence in building our safety record and letting people know that we go slower so we can be safer has paid off. Over the years customers have come to understand that. There are examples of other operators driving recklessly or speeding and ending up in a ditch but this has led to the market understanding the need to be safe and be careful when you go on a coach. Those are disciplines we have built throughout the organisation; the fact we build the fabric of the company around safety has really paid off for us.” It’s paying off and looking to the future Du Toit sees significant opportunities for growth. “Ultimately passengers vote with their wallets and we see this happening for us. We’re always optimistic about our chances and Africa is opening up,” he says. And it all comes back to the fact Intercape’s unfolding ministry vision – it’s very unique.
“It has certainly given us the foundations and we do try as much as we can to improve lives and give back. We have developed the I-Foundation, an initiative which overarches our internal and community transformational goals.” The foundation comprises three arms, I-Care, which includes several child and youth-oriented feeding and upliftment outreaches; I-Equip, which impacts marginalised people through skills training and job placement; and Intercede, an internal initiative which facilitates prayer and spiritual development. “Reaching out and giving back to local communities is part of what we believe is important to us as a sustainable business and part of our calling as a company. The I-Foundation is the structure within which we do that,” says Du Toit. In a continent corroded by corruption, Intercape is a breath of fresh air. END To learn more visit www.intercape.co.za.
Irizar SA is a proud supplier of luxury coaches to Intercape Mainliner
For all your luxury and semi luxury coach requirements in Southern Africa contact Irizar SA: Tel: + 27 12 6611927 E-mail: reception@irizar.co.za
Auto recovery in full swing
The car market this year is expected to reach 440,000 units, which will be the second highest on record. By Roger Pitot, Executive director, NAACAM
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he South African automotive industry has weathered the global economic storm very well and vehicle sales and production have almost recovered to historical highs. The car market this year is expected to reach 440,000 units, which will be the second highest on record, and 70 percent higher than the 2009 depressed levels. The light commercial sales of 172,000 would be the third highest ever and 46 percent above 2009. The downside of this remarkable recovery, however, is that most of the additional sales have come from imported vehicles. The three major reasons for the surge in imports have been the stable level of the Rand, making imports
NAACAM FOREWORD
even more affordable than locally-produced vehicles, the record low interest rates, plus the plethora of new model offerings, with over 40 new models introduced in the past three years. This year over 70 percent of all new cars sold, and 60 percent of all new vehicles will be imported. The sales growth is expected to continue next year, with many of the cars and commercial vehicles purchased during the record high sales of the 2005 to 2007 period being replaced while they still have a reasonable trade-in value. Looking at vehicle production, exports of light commercial vehicles by September had already exceeded the previous full year high achieved in 2008, and are more than 50 percent higher than last year. The Toyota Hilux and Fortuner SUV make up more than half the total, but the new Ford Ranger has accounted for most of this export growth which will lead to record high production for light commercials. Car exports on the other hand have suffered mainly because of the BMW production gap during the changeover to new 3-Series production, and this will result in car production being the second lowest in the past ten years. This is of major concern to the component manufacturers, represented by NAACAM – the National Association of Automotive Component and
Allied Manufacturers – who supply parts to the vehicle assemblers (OEMs). Exports will, however, rise again once the 3-Series and new Mercedes C-Class production, slated for next year, get into full swing. While electric and hybrid vehicles have gained popularity in some world markets, this has not occurred in South Africa. Consumers have been slow to respond to alternative power, and although Toyota and Honda offer hybrids, sales are very low. Turning to recent developments, the current OEMs are continuing to show their support for local production through several new model introductions. The BMW 3-Series and Ford’s Ranger pickup were launched at the beginning of 2012, the next generation Mercedes C-Class will commence production in a year’s time, GM have announced the new Isuzu pickup will be in production next year, and both Toyota and Nissan will produce new pickups and Toyota will also start producing a new car within two years. www.southafricamag.com 95
South Africa holds three major automotive events which attract large numbers of local and foreign visitors. The showpiece is the Johannesburg International Motor Show, held every second October, the next one being in 2013. While this is primarily a consumer show, many trade visitors ensure strong networking takes place. Automechanika, the biggest global show brand, will hold its third edition in May 2013, with over 500 exhibitors expected to participate. Finally the South African Automotive Week (SAAW) was held in October 2012, the event comprising a conference, exhibition and networking, as well as a number of related events, which this year included the NAACAM AGM, dinner and annual golf day. While the 96
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conference and other functions were a success, the exhibition was changed at the last minute to an unsuitable venue, which resulted in many complaints from the participants, and will result in the next edition being held in a different city. Although South Africa has faced a spate of industrial unrest recently, the same has been happening in many other countries, and is linked to possible changes in political leadership which will play out at the end of 2012. The sector is still bullish about future prospects, as has already been explained, and is looking forward to a challenging but strong period of growth over the next decade. END To learn more visit www.naacam.co.za.
NAACAM FOREWORD
ABOUT NAACAM There are some 190 national member companies with 230 regional manufacturing sites, in addition to 12 associate members who provide mainly logistics, IT and financial services to members. Outside of NAACAM there are some foreign and smaller local companies who are either not members of any association or are affiliated to tyres, plastics, stainless steel, aluminium and similar bodies. The NAACAM manufacturing members comprise almost 50 percent Tier 1 suppliers, the balance Tier 2 and 3 manufacturers.
Employment The employment of the industry remained at a subdued level in 2011, estimated at 68,500, seven percent higher than 2010 (but still 16 percent below the peak of early 2008). The impact on component manufacturers of the 2008-2009 global economic crisis has been severe, compounded by ongoing low levels of exports. The estimated employment at the end of 2011 is made up as follows: NAACAM members - 46,100 Tyre manufacturers - 6,900 Catalytic converters (excluding those in NAACAM membership) - 3,500 Not affiliated but primarily automotive suppliers (approx. 110 companies) - 12,000
Turnover The NAACAM members’ annual sales for 2011 is estimated at R51 billion, a 10 percent improvement over 2010, nominally equal to the record of 2008, but some 12 percent lower in real terms. This included some R3 billion of duplicated sales in the form of sub-components. The split of net sales by category is distorted by the high value of precious metals in the exports of catalytic converters,
which comprise over 50 percent of total component exports. Excluding the precious metal values, the split of turnover was: Sales to Vehicle Assemblers for assembly - 42 percent Aftermarket sales (including to OEMs) 25 percent Export sales - 33 percent It is disturbing to note that independent aftermarket sales were down two percent from 2010, and have only grown 12 percent in four years, an indication of the impact of cheap imports from Asia which are often subsidized by hidden incentives. Total turnover of the entire component manufacturing sector, excluding duplication, is estimated at R75 billion (up from R65 billion in 2010), including: Tyre Manufacturers - R6.5 billion Catalytic converters not included in NAACAM data - R13.5 billion Non-affiliated suppliers – R12 billion
Capital Expenditure NAACAM members’ capital investment in 2010 is estimated at R2,4 billion, an increase of 20 percent compared to 2010, while total component industry capital expenditure is estimated at over R3 billion, the highest level since 2004.
Local Content The average local content of the components produced in South Africa is estimated at 60 percent, with those being exported averaging 77 percent. However, the net value of local components used in vehicles is significantly lower, less than 40 percent of the total component value. One of the objectives of the APDP to be introduced in 2013 is to encourage localisation.
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Springing into action
The automotive industry is a world of opportunity for those with the right experience and capability says Supreme Spring’s Mark Barley. By Ian Armitage
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Supreme Spring FOCUS AUTOMOTIVE
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hings are looking a lot better for those involved in South Africa’s auto industry. Vehicle sales are improving, vehicle manufacturers have been increasing capital expenditure, new models are entering the market and employment is rising. Component exports, however, have dipped due to global financial pressures. Supreme Spring, a Division of Metindustrial (Pty) Ltd, is one of a number of local component manufacturers that has been “performing well” in this environment. South Africa’s automotive component manufacturing industry is renowned internationally for its technological sophistication, expertise, and flexibility. Supreme Spring has long tradition of being able to manufacture a wide range of products quickly and economically in relatively small volumes but can also, importantly, meet high global quality and supply reliability standards for large volumes. “I think that within our local market it’s been fairly good,” sales director Mark Barley says. “That’s on the back of growth from the local manufacturers, particularly on pick-up vehicles. The new Ford Ranger also has been introduced and they are forecasting high volume.” That’s thanks to historically low interest rates‚ ongoing improvement in vehicle affordability in real terms and higher demand
for credit by households and businesses, he says. “Generally we haven’t really seen the recession locally in terms of the replacement market but we have seen our export market suffer a little bit in Europe. We also supply specialised markets - into Thailand and Australia - and those markets have grown, primarily I think because they are replacement markets as well.” Supreme Spring is a leading manufacturer of vehicle suspension springs for the South African and International markets. Its product range covers coils springs, leaf springs, stabiliser bars, torsion bars and specialised components. All its products are manufactured using the latest technology processes in both hot and cold forming, which are supported
The new Ford Ranger also has been introduced and they are forecasting high volume
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Supreme Spring FOCUS AUTOMOTIVE
with technical know-how agreements with Allevard France and CHKK Japan. Competition in the industry is fierce. “The market is becoming more competitive and it has opened the doors for some of the Chinese products that come in,” Barley says. “One might argue that the quality isn’t the same but if you’re a struggling business you’ll go for the cheaper prices. We have turned some focus towards the African markets, particularly in vehicles such as pick-ups; where we are quite strong there. We supply pretty much all the locally manufactured pick-ups.
“We are looking to grow into the aftermarket where we have allocated some new resources to do the market surveys to see how we can grow the aftermarket both within SA as well as the Sub Saharan Africa.” New opportunities are opening up for component makers, he adds. “Some of the passenger vehicles are being built locally and we’ve been in development this year working on localising products for some of the big players. It’s been a busy year for us from a development point of view and we’re confident from that side that the growth in locally produced vehicles under the APDP programme will continue. However, overall competitiveness will always be an issue with escalating labour rates and energy rates so it’s always going to be tough. We’re pretty much a manual type business and we’re labour intensive to an extent so we can’t put automation in to replace some of the operations we have. 100 www.southafricamag.com
Tel: 011 865 5229 or 011 902 9167 Fax: 011 902 6165 Email: erosiontech@mweb.co.za web: www.erosiontech.co.za
Manufacturers of 4 x 4 Recovery system called ‘Grip n go’ View it on the website: www.gripngo.co.za
Erosion Technology CC provides a range of services including: · Injection Moulding
· CNC Milling & CNC Turning
· Toolmaking
· Engineering
· Spark Erosion
· Turning and Milling
· Die Manufacturing
· Maintenance work
· Surface Grinding
· General Engineering
We assist in bringing your idea to life. With over 40 years of experiences our designers will advise on the best possible solutions. Our CNC Milling machines are the lastest that technology can offer which ensures the highest quaility products and service for our clients - whether used for toolmaking or engineering or when manufacturing the moulds for injection moulding. Erosion Technology have facilities to assist customers from design phase to development phase, all the way through to production. We are currently undergoing an audit process to enable us to be ISO accredited by the end of the month, and not many engineering plastics companies in South Africa have this accreditation.
We have 15 Plastic injection moulding machines running two shifts, ensuring on time delivery and se service to our customers! We pride ourselves on quality!
Completed for the FIFA World Cup 2010 – Flooring for the sports stadiums
We currently service (to name a few and not limited to) the following industries: · Automotive
· Mining
· Houseware
· Health & Safety
· Events
· Promotional Items
We are also aware of the need to create jobs so it is a fine balance sometimes.” Supreme Spring’s quality and environmental systems are maintained through adherence to the TS 16949 2002 and ISO 14001 standards; this gives it a competitive advantage. “If we look at Europe, we’re trying to say to our customers to look at the quality level that has been built in,” Barley says. “A lot of the bigger problems that have happened in Europe and America are product recalls. There’s been a lot of additional focus now on things that wear, rust or catch fire. There’s been a lot more focus on quality. Also as the designs have gotten lighter to try and save cost. There’s a lot more emphasis on the protective coating of the product. In the European market we have been promoting to our customers that they are getting the best quality. The same will happen in our internal market also and we will have cheaper imports
coming in from the likes of India and China but we don’t necessarily want to operate in that segment of the market as we grow our aftermarket business. That will continue to be one of our selling points – it’s a high quality product now.” The future is bright. “Decisions are being been made to build the next generation of vehicles here in South Africa and we’re obviously well positioned for that. We’re dealing with BMW and they have their own standard and then Volkswagen, who also have their own standard, so we’ve had to adapt to lots of different quality standards. “We have some very competent people and that’s a major advantage to us,” says Barley. “We can match the guys overseas. We understand the products that are going into the vehicles and are able to adapt. The volumes here are relatively small here compared to the mass plants overseas and the fact that we can supply products to all the motor companies here, from one major factory, has probably been a key factor as well.” END To learn more visit www.supremespring.co.za. www.southafricamag.com 101
sA’s first 5-star
‘As Built’ green building Absa Towers West is the new Absa headquarters and flagship building of the group. By Marie Toms
102 www.southafricamag.com
Absa Towers West FOCUS CONSTRUCTION
A
bsa Towers West (ATW) is a benchmark in green building. From the largest grey water system in South Africa to energy-efficient lighting alternatives, it has it all. Located in the Johannesburg CBD – you’ve probably seen it and thought, “wow” - ATW was the Green Building Council of South Africa’s (GBCSA) first ‘As Built’ 5-star Green Star building. GBCSA commended ATW, which officially opened in July last year and, says Absa, was built in line with “the SA Green codes”, for having attained “South African Excellence”. It is designed, the banking giant says, “to ensure a healthy and sustainable symbiosis between development and the environment”. Absa, which is South Africa’s biggest retail bank, described the investment as a demonstration of its “commitment to the City of Johannesburg and its renewal effort”. “Sustainable development is core to our One Africa strategy,” said Absa’s Head of Corporate Real Estate Services for Africa, Jon Couret, in a statement earlier this year. “Our investment in an eco-friendly building is a demonstration of our commitment to reduce the environmental impact of the built environment.” He added: “We are delighted that we’ve attained the most cherished ‘5-star rating’. This is a great accomplishment, not
only for Absa, but for the industry as well as this is the first ‘As Built’ five-star rating in South Africa. “Essentially, this award means that our efforts and commitment to sustainability have been recognised. As a responsible corporate citizen, we are committed to continuing with our initiatives in relation to sustainability. “We recognise that sustainable development presents us with an opportunity to achieve the delicate but essential balance between business objectives, social development activities and environmental responsibility,” Couret said. “Absa’s commitment to lowering its impact on the environment and fostering sustainable business practices is unwavering.” Key among the green building elements of ATW is the gas-powered energy centre, which has four gas engines and reduces ATW’s environmental impact. “Through the energy centre and other green elements, Absa will reduce its carbon dioxide emission by an estimated 19,000 tons a year,” Absa says. The building also boasts “the largest” grey water system in South Africa, which allows Absa to recycle between 11,000 and 13,000 litres a day. ATW also uses energy-efficient lighting alternatives through its digital addressable lighting interface system. All light fittings are equipped with motion sensors and www.southafricamag.com 103
Absa Towers West FOCUS CONSTRUCTION
daylight dimmers, and motion sensors have been installed in the ATW parkade to further minimise energy consumption. The environmental priorities of the building include the reduction of energy consumption, water consumption, material sources and carbon emissions, Absa says. GBCSA said the building takes “greening” plans to new levels. “The five star Green Star Office rating represents ‘South African Excellence’ and ATW joins the ranks of only a handful of projects that have qualified for this esteemed achievement. We applaud Absa Group’s commitment to sustainable development,” Brian Wilkinson, CEO of the Green Building Council of South Africa, said in a release, adding: “Buildings are one of the main contributors to climate change and this sector represents the single largest opportunity for greenhouse gas abatement. ATW is a very large building even in global terms and Absa can be justly proud of this very tangible demonstration of their commitment. “Quite apart from the minimisation of environmental impact, Absa can expect a positive return on this investment going forward - both in respect of lower operating costs (especially with regards to energy and water) as well as increased productivity by creating a healthier environment for their staff to work in. This is something that is particularly important.” 104 www.southafricamag.com
Honeywell
Absa can expect a positive return on this investment going forward
Do you need help integrating your facility systems to help manage risk and optimize equipment lifecycles? Honeywell Building Solutions (Honeywell) is the smart choice when looking for proven application expertise and value delivery. Proudly associated with ABSA since 2007, HBS has secured many ABSA facilities, such as the ABSA Towers West with security, surveillance and fire detection systems that offer easy access to critical information. With over 115 years expertise in creating and optimizing buildings across the globe, Honeywell is the answer to all your building performance needs.
ATW is a truly remarkable building and the accolades have flown in. In November 2011, Absa was honoured with the internationally acclaimed Green Excellence Award from global business market research firm Frost & Sullivan as part of the bank’s commitment to environmental sustainability through the energy centre. An in-house carbon footprint calculation, audited by Ernst & Young and PriceWaterhouse Coopers in February this year, indicated that electricity consumption contributed to over 90 percent of Absa’s Carbon Footprint in 2011. For the years 2010 to 2011, according to Absa, it has saved 56,000,000 kWh, enough electricity to power over 85,000 households each year. Absa has also done a lot to reduce its carbon footprint, which, it says, decreased by over 50,000 tons (12 percent) from 2010 to 2011. Absa proves that keeping a business as green as possible has benefits for the business as well as the environment. It is one of a growing number of companies that, in today’s business world, are more willing to make eco-friendly changes. END To learn more visit www.absa.co.za.
turn to profit
Honeywell provides innovative solutions that help you increase building performance and profitability. Honeywell helps you get the most from your building with integrated HVAC, energy consumption, lighting, security and digital video surveillance systems. Whether you manage a single building, a campus or many facilities around the world, working with Honeywell gives you access to unmatched expertise in building automation control technology and services to help you meet your sustainability goals.
To learn more about Honeywell’s building solutions, call +27 (0)11 695 8000 or email us at HoneywellBuildingSolutionsSSA@Honeywell.com or visit www.honeywell.co.za/ Š 2012 Honeywell International Inc. All rights reserved.
Success? A
raving
Success Brokers (Pty) Limited is the heartbeat of the Success Financial Services Group. By Ian Armitage
106 www.southafricamag.com
Success Brokers FOCUS finance
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imon Geffroy is a driven man, a visionary. His goal is simple: growth. It’s probably important to tell you that he is the CEO of the Success Group, an insurance brokerage specialising in short-term insurance, medical aid, pension, investment, and life assurance. He was appointed to the role in 2010 after working at the company for 10 years. “We have the infrastructure for growth,” Mr Geffroy explains. “I have an open door policy and commission sharing arrangement that empowers our staff to succeed. Where are we looking to grow? Well in the shortterm sphere, we’re looking to take a bigger share in the market. We don’t necessarily want to be the biggest but rather the best. Moving to life, that division has recently been awarded Gold Status with Discovery Life and Bronze Status with Liberty Life. I feel that if we market the current short-term base for life business, the company will grow from strength to strength. In other areas of operation, we need to reinvigorate the medical aid department and aggressively cross-sell, which will enable this company to once again become a force it was prior to change in regulation which impacted all brokers selling medical aid. Our BEE company Success Khumo Insurance Brokers (Pty) Limited is also gearing for growth. We have achieved a BEE rating of Level 4 per Verification Certificate from Smith & Smith. We believe that we can grow into this emerging market as this is the future of South Africa.” Mr Geffroy is passionate and committed to the cause and leads by example. He has implemented many new systems to cater for growth and those systems are starting to pay dividends.
I have an open door policy and commission sharing arrangement that empowers our staff to succeed. Where are we looking to grow? Well in the short-term sphere, we’re looking to take a bigger share in the market
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Success Brokers FOCUS fINANCE
“Success Brokers is the heartbeat of the group and that business is one of the leading short-term independent insurance brokerages, offering a one stop shopping experience. We have a long and proud history of providing excellent service to our customers. We understand that the client does not care how much we know, until he knows how much we care. We care and this belief and attitude is reflected in everything we do for our clients.” Founded in 1973, the Success Financial Services Group is renowned industry-wide for innovative ideas and dedication to providing outstanding service to its clients. “We will find solutions to all our current and future clients and go the extra mile. Our 108 www.southafricamag.com
experienced and productive personnel play a major role in that,” Geffroy explains. “Our successful growth is due to offering our clients the type of policies that best suit their needs, a quick turnaround time in the handling of claims, knowledgeable staff and ensuring that our clients insurance is only placed with the most reputable insurance companies.” The majority of Success Group’s personnel work in the Success Brokers division and most of them have been with the company for over 15 years, providing a wealth of experience, Geffroy says. Success Group offers a wide variety of services, from “short term insurance, medical aid, life assurance and investment/ retirement planning.
28445_M&F_Success Brokersp.indd 1
It also partners with national and international agencies to ensure that it offers “the best service and products available to meet our client’s needs”. Geffroy explains, “Are we happy with performance? Yes, we have achieved good results, however I believe we can always improve. In the last three years we have bought out a minority shareholder who owned 30 percent of the business. The Geff Geffroy Family Trust now owns 100 percent of the business. We’ve also invested heavily in our staff, our greatest asset, and we have worked extremely hard on fais training/regulation knowledge, insurance technical knowledge, self-development and leadership training, cross selling opportunities, identifying new potential clients, sales techniques, teamwork and the responsibility individuals have within the team. We believe in teams and the meaning of a team, which states
2012/10/24 4:42 PM
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Success Brokers FOCUS fINANCE
SUCCESS GROUP’S SUBSIDIARIES AT A GLANCE Success Brokers (Pty) Limited Success Khumo Insurance Brokers (Pty) Limited Success Healthcare Consultants (Pty) Limited Success Employee Benefits (Pty) Limited
‘TEAM – TOGETHER EVERYONE ACHIEVES MORE’. Our staff has responded excellently and I have no doubt that we will see the results in our next financial year end.” All of this is geared towards maintaining outstanding service levels and satisfied clients. “I have to stress how important our people are,” Geffroy says. “We have great people and when hiring new staff we have to make sure that not only do they have the right qualifications but have the personality that suits the environment. Most of our employees are women and we find it is a recipe for success, although we didn’t set out to employ mainly women 110 www.southafricamag.com
– it happened by coincidence. But it is a happy coincidence. “As brokers we are problem solvers and we have a can do attitude. We are loyal to our clients and will fight for what’s right when it comes to settlement. “The key to our success has been our continued commitment to the principles of exceptional client services, individually tailored insurance solutions, value for money and a caring attitude. We act with honesty and integrity, and that is the foundation of our commitment to our clients.” This is an exciting time for the Success Group, whose growth strategy remains on track. To learn more visit www.successbrokers.co.za. END