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ACHIEVING BUSINESS EXCELLENCE ONLINE

metro de madrid: pzs stabilazation: julphar: MONTHLY EDITION May 2013

ferroatlﾃ］tica:

The world leader in silicon metal and other diverse alloys

Included The BE Mining Directory showcases leading mining organisations from across the world, ranging from big corporations to junior mines and their supply chains.

Be seen throughout our portfolio of magazines: •BE Mining Directory •BE Mining •BE Weekly •BE Monthly •

Go to page 248 to see this month’s listing To find out how to get involved contact: vincent@bus-ex.com

business excellence Design Matt Johnson Art Director mjohnson@bus-ex.com Louise Culling Production Designer lculling@bus-ex.com

business Richard Turner Director of sales rturner@bus-ex.com Vince Kielty Director of Editorial Research vkielty@bus-ex.com Sharon Rooke Administration & Operations srooke@bus-ex.com Matt Day Head of technology mday@bus-ex.com Andy Turner Chief Executive aturner@bus-ex.com

editorial Martin Ashcroft Editor In Chief

Martin has edited business magazines for 15 years and has been editor-in-chief since Business Excellence began in 2006. mashcroft@bus-ex.com

Will Daynes Editor

Will has been a business writer for three years. He joined the Business Excellence team in September 2012. wdaynes@bus-ex.com

John O’Hanlon Editor

John has contributed to Business Excellence since its inception: he joined the in-house editorial team in February 2013. johanlon@bus-ex.com

CONTRIBUTORS Ralph Hamann Research Director

Dr. Bruce Piasecki

info@bus-ex.com

President & Founder

Infinity Business Media Ltd

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Entrepreneur

George F. Brown, Jr. CEO

Mark Forrest General Manager

Thomas R. Cutler President & CEO

David Chancellor Partner

Š Copyright 2013 Infinity Business Media Ltd.

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features

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22

14 Leadership

Team talk

Fierce individualism is on the way out. Teams now matter more than ever, but what does a well-run team look like?

22 strategy

it’s been done before

How implementing lessons learnt from other business environments can enable your business to grow.

32

28 strategy

5 Tips for Strategic CFO-HR Partnerships

Getting these two departments to work together can advance your company’s bottom line.

32 finance

The evolving role of the CFO Business leaders today want CFOs who can be their ‘right hand man.’

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contents

38 Comment: CSR

CSR thinking gains ground in South Africa

42

The Fairtrade movement, which is gaining momentum in South Africa, heralds a shift in the way business is being done in the country that bodes well for the future.

42 Customer service

What the future holds for the field service industry Customer satisfaction is increasingly being seen as a top priority in the fight to attract and retain customers.

54

48 Food Safety

A LEAN FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN

Food safety requires compliance with stringent regulations. Florida-based PACA Foods has found a solution that helps improve quality across the whole business.

54 Automation

Listen to the machine

The quest for Total Production Efficiency takes a major step forward through the combination of the MTConnect Standard with Big Data, and the new vimana software platform from System Insights.

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business showcase

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Mining & Minerals: 62 FerroAtlรกntica The metals of energy

Grupo FerroAtlรกntica combines bewildering diversity with simple principles, sticking firmly to its objective of remaining the world leader in silicon metal and other diverse alloys.

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76 MAXAM Explosives

Blasting through barriers General Director Andrew Forster discusses the role MAXAM Explosives is playing in the development of the Mongolian mining market.

84 Venturex Resources CRITICAL MASS IN THE PILBARA

Venturex Resources has a strategy to combine a number of copper-zinc deposits that will put the region on the map for more than just its iron ore.

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94 bfl canada

Encouraging investment Managing Vice President and Global Business Leader Penny Dyte discusses BFL’s passion for bringing growth and investment to Canada.

102 Atico Mining

Copper and gold from Colombia Single-mindedly preparing to rejuvenate the senescent El Roble mine.

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110 Macrotek BUST THE DUST

Macrotek is the go-to company for anyone who has an intransigent emissions problem.

118 Minera Esperanza

Bringing hope to a community Minera Esperanza is committed to contributing to both the economic and social futures of local communities in Chile.

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business showcase

126 Base Titanium

Building the foundations of the future How the work of Base Titanium on the Kwale Project is helping to shape the future prosperity of Kenya.

134 Allana Potash A class apart

126

The results of Allana Potash’s recent feasibility study on its Danakhil Potash Project in Ethiopia and how the company plans to build on this going forward

144 IHC Merwede B.V. Making waves

How converting a dry mining operation into a wet or dredge mining operation can renew the life of a mine.

152 Konkola Copper Mines (KCM)

144

Delving deeper

The Konkola Deep Mining Project (KDMP) it has never been a more important time for the company.

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contents

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160 Assmang: Khumani Mine Iron men

The Khumani Mine Expansion Project is taking one of Assmang’s most prized assets to a whole new level.

oil & Gas: 168 PZS Stabilization -SNCA Products Initiating a revolution

How SGA-1 is set to revolutionize the oil and gas industry’s hydraulic fracturing process.

176 Optimus (Aberdeen) Limited Dedicated to decommissioning

176

Boutique engineering consultancy Optimus has developed a unique approach to decommissioning that is garnering growing recognition among operators.

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business showcase

184 Transport & logistics: 184 Metro de Madrid

METROPOLITAN METRO

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Madrid boasts one of the largest networks in Europe, serving most of the capital city and a good part of the suburbs.

196 Super Star Forwarders (SSF) Forward thinking

The demand for transport and logistics services in East and Central Africa is in the process of outstripping supply. Discover how SSF is expanding to meet the needs of its multi-national corporate clients.

212 Aspen Logistics Services

Taking a chilled approach

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Aspen Logistics Services’ tireless efforts and dedication to its work mean it remains a leading service provider to blue chip clients.

contents

226 Air Parts International Sales, Inc. Single source purchasing

General manager Michael Peter Balwan, Jr. describes how the company has become a pioneer in the commercial aviation aftermarket

manufacturing:

226

234 University of Kentucky - Lean Systems Program

Adopting the lean approach

Why more companies than ever before are taking part in The University of Kentucky’s Lean Systems Program.

242 Julphar

Caring for a country

234

From its new, 40,000 square foot facility in the GerjiJakros region, Julphar is able to supply Africa with vital pharmaceutical and healthcare products.

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business showcase

252 262

telecoms: 252 Djibouti Telecom

A gateway to the world

The progress Djibouti Telecom has made in becoming a telecommunications gateway to the rest of the world.

262 TCRA

THE POWER OF TEN Having overseen revolutions in broadcasting, postal services and telecommunications, today’s revolution is a digital one.

construction: 276 East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC)

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Building a brighter future

Having played its part in Kenya’s growth, learn what the future holds for both the company and the country.

contents

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284 Tarcon Africa

Models of development As Zimbabwe emerges from a challenging decade Tarcon Private Limited is finding inventive ways to keep its business, and the country’s economy, in growth

Retail & Leisure: 296 U232 Hotel

Elegance personified The U232 hotel in Barcelona prides itself with quality service on a daily basis.

BE Directory 302 Chemithon corporation DO YOU NEED SULFUR DIOXIDE FOR YOUR MINE SITE?

302

304 DH engineering consultants engineering specialists

306 epsa-labco

leading consultancy

308 gym

reliable construction

310

310 martin engineering

global leader in innovation

312 MINERP

ground breaking technology

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Team

Fierce individualism Teams now matter mo does a well-run

written by: B

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Leadership

m talk

m is on the way out. ore than ever, but what n team look like?

Bruce Piasecki

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A

merica loves a f ierce individualist.

And yes, there is something inspiring about the lone enterpriser or business executive blazing a path into the valuable future.

And yet, while our culture will always celebrate the individual, the business world must acknowledge the truth behind the (alleged) Aristotle quote: “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” In other words, the near future will be all about innovation for sustainable value creation, led by teams.

In a world that becomes more complex by the day, “command and control” is out, and employee engagement is in. The days when a largerthan-life personality is allowed to steamroll over the rest of the company are over. This destroys morale, which destroys results.

Teams, not individuals, drive performance.

And make no mistake. The best organizations, the ones with real staying power, are fuelled by well-run teams.

In my new book, Doing More with Teams: The New Way to Winning, I emphasize that teams are more important than ever because the way we work and do business has changed.

Within the fierce competition that is the global economy, companies that get fast results because they excel at collaboration and innovation will rise to the top and rule the day. And the ideas that allow an organization to achieve, grow, and prosper (as opposed to merely survive) will be created only when teams leverage their combined skills and hold themselves mutually accountable. No individual, no matter how brilliant, is likely to have the skill set to

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Leadership take projects from start to finish in this fast-paced and complex environment.

The good news is, companies can shatter this individualistic mindset wherever it occurs and guide employees to a better way to work—while tapping into and maximizing their raw talent. But first, they must understand that managing teams, with their web of hidden politics and complex interplay of human differences, is very different from managing individuals.

Great teams are led by captains Like many popular terms, the word “leader” has become so overused and commonplace that it has lost all meaning.

Anybody can call himself or herself a leader, it seems.

Anybody can follow the “dos” and “don’ts” in leadership manuals. But it takes a special type of leader—a captain— to create not just a loose affiliation of individuals but a true team that’s centered around shared values and focused on a common goal.

Captains are quick to recognize the key capabilities of their team members,

including strengths and weaknesses, and to build the plan around those capabilities.

Fierce individualism has no place in teams Captains need to be sure that “the MVP syndrome” is not allowed to define their teams and be on the alert for individuals who might be losing sight of the team that gave them an identity— the group with whom they worked to produce the fame for which they are now known. It is in such situations that workplace ills such as favoritism, sexism, and even criminal activity like embezzlement tend to flourish.

Seek to hire “coachable” individuals rather than individualist-minded high performers. Do everything possible to promote and reward teamwork rather than individualism. Whether your efforts are centered on pay structure, group incentives, verbal recognition, or some other technique, seek always to send the signal that it’s strong teams (not strong individuals) that make up a strong company.

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Teams hold the bar high for everyone In all teams there is an inherent desire to protect our superstars and keep them winning. (Never mind all the others whose quieter, though no less critical, contributions are downplayed.)

We are all aware of conditions when everyone else was willing to go along with a wrong. We recall instances in recent history where the politics of fear enabled the Nazis, and where embezzlement seems

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the norm. Yet it is harder to see when victory shines so brightly. Captains must be mindful of this very human tendency, in themselves and in others, to look the other way, to give our victors the benefit of the doubt.

We must be vigilant and ever alert to wrongdoing.

We must be willing to ferret out corruption in the highest echelons, to bench the MVP, even to fire the superstar for the good of the team and the sake of integrity.

Teams have to be willing to lose sometimes When teams keep winning, they can become addicted to victory—feel entitled to it even—and this is what drives them to illicit extremes. The lesson is clear: When we don’t learn to tolerate failure, we will do anything to keep the public adulation coming.

Teams become great because they keep things in perspective and understand the broader context of competition; namely, that there is always a larger

Leadership

“An inability to tolerate failure makes a team easy prey for ‘the dark side’” league and a set of better players out there, no matter what you’ve achieved or what rung on a ladder you’ve just hit. In other words, no one can always win. In fact, if a team becomes addicted to victory it may take the Lance Armstrong route and

go to illicit extremes to keep winning. An inability to tolerate failure makes a team easy prey for “the dark side.”

Great teams revel in the pleasure of persistence Knowing that we will stumble and fall from time to time, yet get up and try again with some success, is at the heart of a great team.

It’s critical to teach teams to be well prepared for assignments and to keep going in spite of hardship.

When my company enrolls an executive in leadership training, we emphasize the following lessons of teamwork: • How to play through pain • How to resist the criminal opportunities inherent in becoming an MVP • How to keep your feet on the ground despite being a member of special teams with special force • H ow to out l i ve

u n c o m f o r t a b l e appointments, such as when your boss has selected you for teams that are a bad fit, and how to behave when you are chosen for teams you do not want to play on.

Life can be a tough slog, and victories are sporadic at best.

Maybe we can’t win but we can keep going. This striving brings with it its own unique rewards. It is up to us to learn to appreciate them.

Successful teams share values In preparing for a team event, or in becoming a member of a team, a transformation occurs where team members end their indiv idual associations and create a team identity through sharing with others the experience of that process.

Once the team is created, a strong bond is already in

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place from that preparation, from the obstacles everyone had to overcome to get there.

When joining the military, everyone has a crucible, basic training, which really isn’t basic at all and is usually the hardest experience to get through. The crucible is something all members have to overcome to be part of the team. They shave all the soldiers’ heads to take away their individual designations and rebuild them as team members, reshape their identities into a shared identity.

Teams must feel “at home” with uncertainty In a world getting faster, flatter, and more competitive every day, uncertainty and complexity are the rule rather than the exception.

(As I mentioned earlier, that’s why collaboration and teams are so important!) Teams and their captains need to

be comfortable functioning in such an environment.

In complex situations where outcomes are unknown, the temptation is always to play it safe. But in a world of constantly changing tides, yesterday’s “safe” is likely to be today’s “not enough.” T hat ’s why teams must work on instinct, often at a moment’s notice, and constantly move forward. Effective teams learn by doing and stay focused on results; they are not bound by method or processes. And that gives them the flexibility and resiliency they need to thrive in the midst of flux.

Effective teams take risks Because business climates are constantly changing, teams and the captains who lead them know that yesterday’s guidelines can quickly become obsolete.

That’s why they don’t allow themselves to be overly bogged down by rule following and order taking.

Rather, they push boundaries when it’s proper (in other words, when ethical and moral lines aren’t being crossed), because the greatest

“When led by great captains, teams regularly work beyond normal and limiting boundaries to increase productivity and success” 20 | Be monthly

Leadership

innovations happen beyond existing laws and rules.

When led by great captains, teams regularly work beyond normal and limiting boundaries to increase productivity and success.

Of course, while it’s important to encourage the kind of risk that involves seizing opportunities, it’s also equally (and increasingly) critical to take steps to eliminate the risk of negative team behavior. I’m speaking here of the risk of allowing the “dark side” to encroach

on ethical behavior—as evidenced in the stories of Bernie Madoff, Lance Armstrong, and the latest string of scams reported in the New York Times and the Financial Times of London.

The word “team” is more than just a business buzzword. If done well, building and captaining a team will determine whether you survive or thrive in this strange new economy.

Dr. Bruce Piasecki is the author of Doing More with Teams: The New Way to Winning and president and founder of AHC Group, Inc., a management consulting firm specializing in energy, materials, and environmental corporate matters, whose clients range from Suncor Energy, Hess, FMC, the Warren Buffett firm Shaw Industries, Toyota, and other global companies. www.brucepiasecki.com

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It’s Been Done How implementing lessons learnt from other business environments can enable your business to grow

written by: George F. Brown, Jr.

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strategy

e Before

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strategy

J

ust over two decades ago, I had the privilege of working with Jack Grayson, then Chairman of the American Productivity and Quality Center, on an initiative that resulted in the founding of the International Benchmarking Clearinghouse. One of the many things I learned from working with Jack on this subject was summed up in a statement that “Most business problems are only new to the individual facing them”. The wisdom of that statement became clear as the team working to establish the clearinghouse shared example after example of the excitement that came from finding some other firm that had solved a problem that was a dark cloud over the firm then experiencing it.

By now, my guess is that just about every firm can cite a success story built upon the insights that came from a benchmarking process.

One arena in which firms should consider learning “lessons from other environments” involves the initiatives to implement new business models within their companies. Such initiatives are increasingly frequent, reflecting strategies to solve problems of growth or profitability and to react to changes associated with competition, regulation, customer priorities, and new technologies.

In recent months, I’ve had the opportunity to work with companies that have identified necessary changes along multiple dimensions – developing new products to meet the needs and price points of mid-market customers in global markets; creating information-rich smart products that yield significant cost savings for their customers, evolving from selling a product to selling a solution, responding to the economic requirements for sustainable operations,

and many others. Each of these strategic directions has posed the requirement for one or more fundamental changes to their business models. Not surprisingly, the leadership teams involved with those decisions saw the potential that things might go badly and that Murphy’s Law might make an appearance in their firm. My semicomforting advice to each of them has been to say “Don’t worry. It’s been done before”.

The advice is good, but only serves as a starting point for actions designed to increase the probability of success of the planned changes. There are several immediate challenges that must be addressed. The first is finding where those previous success stories exist, the examples and experiences from which insights can be gained. The natural tendency to see what your usual suspect competitors are doing is the wrong one.

First, it your initiative is

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truly an innovation, your firm will be in front of the competition, and they will have little to teach you.

Second, in those cases where some competitor has stolen the march, learning from them, even if that is possible, only offers the potential to help you catch up, while the most valuable learning is that which will allow you to get ahead. In fact, all of my strongest examples of highvalue lessons from other environments involve cases in which the industry from which the learning emerged was truly different from the firm that gained the insights – a health care firm that learned from the logistics industry, a laboratory instruments company that learned from a building systems company.

So cast your net broadly and creatively in the search for lessons from other environments.

The second challenge is that of separating insights relevant to strateg y from insights relevant to successful execution.

Among the top reasons for disappointment in the results from attempts to change a firm’s business model is “the

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strategy

“Lessons from other environments can be valuable sources of insight as to how to get to the goal line and how to avoid the obstacles hidden along the path” implementation process was poorly managed”. Sometimes that reflects bad decisions in terms of the composition of the team or the budget or the timeline. But often it reflects the fact that changes to the business model require knowledge and competencies that are not available in the corporation. Experts in managing factories that produce to stock are often challenged to duplicate that success in a production to order environment.

Sk illed manufacturing organizations often fail at service delivery. Suppliers to large enterprise customers

often fail to succeed in the small business market segments. Companies that are roaring successes in their home market often fail badly in other global settings.

And often, it’s not because the strategy or concept or product was wrong. Rather it’s because there was a lack of understanding as to how to implement the idea, a failure to understand what was required for success under the new business model. Lessons from other environments can be valuable sources of insight as to how to get to the goal line and about how to

George F. Brown, Jr. is the CEO and cofounder of Blue Canyon Partners, Inc., a consulting firm working with leading companies on growth strategy. Along with Atlee Valentine Pope, he is the author of CoDestiny: Overcome Your Growth Challenges by Helping Your Customers Overcome Theirs, published by Greenleaf Book Group Press of Austin, TX. He

avoid the obstacles hidden along the path.

For many of your most pressing challenges, it’s good to remember that more likely than not, it’s been done before. Use that inspiration to search out disparate sources of knowledge and focus your efforts on learning the things you don’t know that can hurt you. Lessons from other environments can enable you to move forward to implement the strategies you’ve developed to drive growth and profitability and to respond to the changes and challenges facing your firm.

has published frequently on topics relating to growth strategy in business markets, including articles in Industry Week, Industrial Distribution, Chief Executive, Business Excellence, Employment Relations Today, iP Frontline, Industrial Engineer, Industry Today, and many others. www.bluecanyonpartners.com

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5 Tips for a Strategic CFO-HR Partnership Getting these two departments to work together can advance your company’s business mission and bottom line

written by: Jeff Garr

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strategy

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H

uman capital is the single greatest expense for many organizations, and CFOs are looking to manage costs, so it would seem from the start that HR and finance executives are at odds. But it doesn’t have to – and shouldn’t – be this way. With new tax laws, healthcare reform, and looming mass retirement on our doorstep, it’s more important than ever for HR and finance executives to work together.

Perhaps a better viewpoint is to appreciate that both sides play pivotal roles in ensuring the financial future of their company. Employees help generate revenue and profits. While CFOs develop and execute cost strategies, it is HR’s responsibility to manage the value of people costs. When in sync, HR and finance can advance the company’s business mission and bottom line.

Here are our top five tips in which HR and finance can work together and form a long lasting strategic partnership.

>>>

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1. Know your strengths HR takes the lead in driving an organization’s performance.

Some HR professionals are bringing to bear financial acumen in addition to broad HR knowledge and skills.

And, those HR leaders who show a strategic mindset and organizational development skills are particularly valued as colleagues by finance executives.

Conversely, the CFO is focused on the costs of running an organization, how to generate revenue, and forecasting financial performance, so CFOs aim to manage expenses, which may include reducing labor and benefits costs. At a minimum, CFOs want assurances that investments in training and other initiatives cost appropriate amounts and achieve objectives. HR leaders should recognize these parameters, understanding that they are in a position to help CFOs look beyond spreadsheets.

2. Think like a team Forget about turf wars and preconceived notions. More can be accomplished if you join forces to achieve business goals.

In fact, as a result of the recession, many finance executives are more closely involved with or managing projects in the HR department.

This new dynamic is an ideal opportunity for HR leaders to become catalysts. HR’s ability to think big picture and offer some business perspective is invaluable in a post-recession economy.

If, for example, the goal is to determine how healthcare reform will impact an organization’s bottom line, CFOs can research the economic impact of changes to benefits plans. HR executives are in the best position to know how employees may feel about different benefits programs and compensation packages, and can help CFOs understand the overall value that benefits packages offer.

strategy

3. Speak the same language HR executives can establish common ground with CFOs when they both speak the same language.

While HR people may not always understand the cost implications of a particular program or initiative, CFOs for their part may not be aware of the impact that this might have on workplace morale, productivity and demographics. But when they work together, the two functions can develop strategies that deliver a far greater degree of total value to the company.

HR leaders must be prepared to state their business case effectively when discussing strategic issues. When HR identifies, understands and reports in clear language the cost of an initiative, CFOs listen. Together, using the language of “metrics,” they can reach a strategic decision.

4. Focus on the business needs T he fou ndat ion of an effective CFO-HR relationship is rooted in the needs of the company.

By starting with a clearly defined business plan, HR can effectively evaluate intellectual capital needs and develop appropriate strategies within the context of budget and stated business objectives. Consequently, HR will be viewed as a business driver, rather than merely a “people person.”

With mutual respect and a shared vision, both finance and HR executives can work together toward the same goals.

5. Encourage open communication To forge a lasting CFO-HR pa r t ner sh ip, open, honest and transparent communication is needed. Weekly meetings, informal discussions, and approaching one another as trusted advisors will go a long way towards building a strong bond.

In the end, a strong HR and finance partnership can be a significant competitive advantage for any organization. With cooperation from both departments, finance and HR can work effectively together to effect change and drive revenue.

HR Knowledge, Inc. is an administrative services organization (ASO) that provides clients with integrated, affordable HR services including payroll, employee benefits, and human resources management. Supported by its signature “concierge client service,” HR Knowledge serves clients that lack the internal resources to address the vast array of complex HR issues. www.hrknowledge.com

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The evolving the role of CFO Chief Financial Officers are playing an increasingly important part in the executive decision-making process as business leaders today want someone who can be their ‘right hand man’

written by: David Chancellor

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Finance

CFO

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T

he position of Chief Financial Officer thirty years ago bears little resemblance to the position today. Even though the markets have experienced at least six major economic downturns since the 1960s, the macroeconomic trends that are a consequence of this current global recession are having a significantly greater impact in comparison with any previous recession, particularly on the way in which businesses operate, the priorities they face and the strategies they need to develop to achieve success both on a national and global platform.

The speed at which markets change and the ever-increasing global uncertainty means Chief Financial Officers are playing an increasingly important part in the executive decision-making process.

As a consequence business leaders want CFOs who have the ability and experience to be their ‘right-hand man’, a key business partner who can support them and the Boards in making highimpact decisions aimed at improving corporate value.

On the other side of the net, CFOs are welcoming the new directions and challenges they face. Being considered simply as the senior controller of the company, conservative, number-crunching, executives no longer fits the job title.

Today, they are being asked to deliver on a much wider range of tasks. For instance, CEOs expect them to fully analyse the financial impact of the company’s objectives and strategies while they’re still in the planning stages, not after the moves have been made as has traditionally been the case.

Companies must still have strong compliance and

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Finance

“CFOs will need to be adept at finding innovative ways to raise capital” internal financial controls for which CFOs remain accountable. However, the days of focusing just on historical events are gone. As their strategies centre around creating shareholder value, the CFO’s vision is expanding five to ten years out.

Strategy and finance are becoming inseparable and this has resulted in changes to the way CFO searches are now conducted. Whilst formal training and experience in hardcore accounting, financial reporting, risk-management and unquestionable integrity remain the sine qua non, a deep understanding of business processes, competitor, customer and supplier environments, and the financial impact of industry trends, are additional competencies we are now looking for. For a business to manage risk successfully, it is essential that those making key decisions within the

organisation are accurately gauging the environment around them.

The ability to work under considerable pressure has always been a key attribute, but today’s CFOs can expect the pressure to reach unprecedented levels. They will need to show that they can really support chief executives in identifying potential M&A targets, and new geographies and product lines to add where the margin gain can be seen as a real value add. Furthermore, they will need to be adept at finding innovative ways to raise capital and to make a positive impact with industry analysts, something which, in essence, may create a conflict; being creative on the one hand but conservative on the other.

This is a relatively new phenomenon so those aiming for the CFO position must be able to clearly demonstrate

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that they can handle this potential conflict.

CEOs will generally want their organisation’s share price to remain high relative to earnings, particularly if the company has debt financing which is tied to company capitalisation, or if a new round of fund raising is being considered. Since future cash flows are often a major driver of the share price, CFOs must be able to confidently articulate these expectations, with a complete understanding of how they

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will occur. This will require them to have not only in-depth knowledge of every segment of their organisation and the respective business plans, but also their individual values.

Until the current global financial and economic sit uat ion improves s ub s t a nt i a l l y, C h ie f Executive Officers can expect tougher and more searching questions from the investor community. When consumer confidence in a company wanes, maintaining shareholder loyalty becomes

increasingly more difficult.

CEOs will be looking to their CFOs to become the key contact for the investment community.

Therefore, the head of finance should expect to spend a significant amount of time discussing the company’s business and financial reports with equity research analysts and fund managers, so being an effective communicator has become another competency in our CFO search criteria.

Following the recent introduction of legislation that

Finance

“CEOs will generally want their organisation’s share price to remain high relative to earnings” requires senior management to individually certify the veracity of corporate financial statements (the Sarbanes-Oxley Act being just one), many software companies are bringing to market new enhancements in compliance and auditing products that provide a seamless integration of

IT and finance. This has resulted in an IT/finance alliance that is increasingly coming under the control of the CFO. More and more, we are finding that the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) position reports directly to the CFO, and where the CTO is not a board position the CFO is the voice of the IT division in the boardroom.

Since with most businesses the biggest capital expenditure they have is technology and its infrastructure, CFOs are now required to have a good understanding of technology (both present and developing) and its impact on the organisation.

Today, with technology such as Cloud applications being seen as the potential

way forward to support the organisation’s information, communications and decision making requirements, it becomes ever more important that decisions made are, strategically, the correct ones.

Failure will be costly and the effects long-lasting.

Certainly the position of CFO in many industries has grown both in scope and responsibility. Those who are aiming for a top CFO position can expect their professional lives to be subject to greater scrutiny and even greater expectation.

However, the opportunities for those with the right skills and experience have also increased substantially and the career prospects have never been better.

David Chancellor is a partner in executive search firm Tyzack Partners. He leads Tyzack’s Financial Officer practice which crosses all industry sectors and focuses on all aspects of Finance including Audit, Tax and Treasury as well as Chief Financial Officers and Divisional Finance Directors. www.tyzackpartners.com

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CSR thinkin gains groun in South Afri by: Professor Ralph Hamann

ng nd ica

comment: CSR

S

peak ing at a business breakfast at the UCT Graduate School of Business during Fairtrade week, Ralph Hamann, an associate professor at the school, said that the growth of Fairtrade and other initiatives such as Woolworths’ Farming for the Future drive are indicative of a growing realisation that social and environmental threats to business won’t go away unless business itself does something about them.

“This is a positive trend, which shows that South African businesses are thinking more innovatively about CSR and their role in building a better future,” said Hamann.

Fairtrade, which seeks to promote a more equitable and sustainable farming sector, is the leading ethical certification in the world and has more than 1.2 million beneficiaries (farmers and farm workers) in 66 countries. There are more than 30 Fairtrade brands in South Africa.

The country is the biggest producer of Fairtrade wine in the world and also the first in

the Fairtrade movement that both produces and markets products – mostly grown in emerging economies and then sold in the developed world.

“There is a lot we can do with Fairtrade locally,” said Arianna Baldo, Business Manager at Fairtrade SA. “There is growing interest in developing ethical trade and CSR at the same time in this country.”

Hamann said that recent painful events like Marikana have contributed to growing awareness locally that a wider perspective on social and environmental issues is inescapable if business is to continue to prosper. “Lonmin and other major mines are realising that the old ways of doing business and old manifestations of CSR are simply not working.”

Hamann said that historically there is a disconnect between core strategy and CSR outreach that has prevented corporates from thinking more broadly about these issues. He cited, as an example, a micro financing organisation that focuses on paper recycling and sponsoring bursaries but is not prepared to engage

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comment: CSR with social issues around ethical lending.

“Their view is that they are complying with the necessary legislation and the possible social consequences of irresponsible lending are not their concern,” he said. “But a narrow focus on compliance is not going to shift the problems that we see.”

Hamann called this a form of myopia because many business leaders prefer to focus on their day-job and their shareholders, and don’t really take a longer term view.

They also don’t look spatially beyond the boundaries of their operations.

“This means that they struggle to identify tipping points along their value chains that may change the conditions for stockholders and their business,” he said.

“For example, food prices, petrol price, and distrust of government, when put together, could lead to the collapse of social and environmental systems such as seen in Egypt and that would not be conducive to business.”

Hamann said that the complexity of social conditions in the country overwhelm

many organisations and prevent them from thinking more innovatively about their context. “But recent events and growing environmental constraints are making it harder for businesses to look the other way.”

Some additional evidence of this shift includes more emphasis on ideas of shared value, greater representation of CSR at executive and board level, and the strategic integration of social and environmental issues into the

core strategy of the business.

South Africa is also the first country in the world to make integrated reporting a legal requirement for listed companies.

However, Hamann said, there is still a fair way to go, specifically in the region of collaboration.

“While competition is a vital motivating force for business, it can also stifle much-needed collaboration to address complex social and environmental challenges.

“The informal settlements around mines, for example, can’t be addressed by a Unilever or an Anglo acting by itself. Competitors may need to work together to address the fundamental challenges our society faces.

“If we don’t – as we have seen so clearly – these challenges have a nasty habit of turning around and biting us.”

Ralph Hamann is Research Director and Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town. His areas of expertise include sustainable enterprise, corporate citizenship and social responsibility, organizational strategy and cross-sector collaboration. He teaches on sustainable enterprise and research methodology, especially in the school’s MBA and EMBA programs.

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What the futu the field serv

Customer satisfaction is incr priority in the fight to attr

written by: M

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Customer service

ure holds for vice industry

reasingly being seen as a top ract and retain customers

Mark Forrest

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A

s field service organisations review their priorities, it’s important to note what factors are driving them. Budgets? Productivity?

Efficiency? All of these play a role in some capacity but when it comes to key strategies, there are several that come up time and time again.

Good customer service drives profitability Field service organisations are recognising the importance of delivering a greater customer experience to be successful.

Happy customers are loyal customers and critical to improving revenue streams, both through their spending as well as referrals.

At Aberdeen’s 2012 Chief Service Officer (CSO) Summit, 85 percent of attendees said that their organisation was placing an increased importance on service, given the constraints of the economy and the competitive marketplace. In addition, the delivery of excellent customer experience was spreading across the entire organisation, by focusing on increased value for the customer, which

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in turn improves results for the business. Aberdeen also found that ‘best-in-class’ organisations have reduced churn and achieved a 92 percent level of customer retention, as opposed to 72 percent for all others.

The strategic importance of field service delivery as a driver of customer satisfaction and brand reputation was confirmed in Trimble’s latest research report, The Road Ahead The Future of Field Service Delivery. Of the field service departments sur veyed, 90 percent of companies see field-based staff as the face of the company and 68 percent consider customer satisfaction a top priority.

Safety is a key priority Vehicles driven for work purposes are clocking up the highest mileage on Britain’s

85% Attendees of Aberdeen’s 2012 summit who are placing an increased importance on service

roads. A recent survey into the Fleet200, the UK’s 200 biggest fleets, revealed an average 35 percent accident rate, suggesting the need to mitigate road risk is of the utmost importance.

Because of this acceleration in road accidents, field service organisations are becoming increasingly aware of their legal responsibilities when it comes to employees driving a vehicle for business.

Businesses are looking for ways to safeguard their fleets, both to minimise insurance claims and to reduce the number of driving incidents.

The result is an increase in next-generation technology solutions to help mitigate road risk. These solutions include in-vehicle safety devices that monitor driving behaviour as well as maintenance and diagnostics reports to ensure vehicles are safe and “roadready.” The best solutions also include exception alerts that warn of hazards or out-ofcompliance issues, including lapsed certifications.

Technology will streamline fuel costs The volatile cost of fuel has caused a headache across

Customer service

“Field-based employees are now being rightly recognised as the new frontline in customer service” many businesses and this isn’t likely to subside soon.

In fact, rising fuel prices were cited as the number one concern in meeting field service priorities, according to the Road Ahead report. Regulating fuel consumption has been an on-going challenge for fleet managers trying to maintain control of operating budgets.

Re-evaluating the types of vehicles in their fleets as well as initiating programs to raise awareness of excessive idling will help remedy the problem, but savvy businesses will also harness technology that monitors and identifies excessive waste in fleets to encourage fuelsaving strategies.

In addition to streamlining fuel costs, businesses can seek “connected-vehicle” technology (i.e. GPS based fleet management devices, workforce management/ dispatch and routing software

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and driver-monitoring devices) to regulate and enhance efficiencies and improve per for mance management across the entire organisation, which ultimately improves the bottom line.

Technicians will take on a lead role Field-based employees, whose potential as brand ambassadors had gone largely unnoticed, are now being rightly recognised as the new frontline in customer service.

The Road Ahead report found that nearly all (93 percent) of respondents agreed that mobile workers are the ‘company face’ and an additional 89 percent consider field staff to be important for the image of the business.

Two thirds agreed mobile workforces must be made aware of company campaigns and values if they are to

reflect a positive corporate brand out in the field. Nearly half of those surveyed hold regular customer service training sessions and a further 31 percent meet frequently to discuss how to interact with clients.

So it is not surprising that there has been an increase in technicians undergoing training to promote the brand and helping to drive revenue by finding opportunities to cross sell and up-sell products and enhance service to increase c ustomer sat isfac t ion (and retention).

Aberdeen’s Field Service 2012 report revealed that 26 percent of visits require a secondary or additional follow up, so it is very important that technicians get it right the first time to ensure customer satisfaction. Companies that empower their workers with better information and tools will resolve customer issues

Customer service faster and more effectively.

By investing in appropriate technology and improving worker training, businesses will not only retain customers (and good workers), they will develop brand agents who are more knowledgeable and better equipped to do their jobs efficiently and productively.

The importance of the cloud Many field service businesses are starting to lean towards cloud computing as a way of helping remote workers stay connected to company data and applications from anywhere at any time.

The ‘software as a service’ (SaaS) form of cloud computing is well suited to organisations with field based operations. SaaS cloud-based applications can offer visibility into day-to-day fleet operations to identify, manage, and improve areas such as driver safety, customer service, back office administration, fuel use, and fleet efficiency.

Businesses are able to access their account and information at any time from any computer and manage

the mobile workforce in real time. Benefits of increased productivity of up to 30 percent, dispatch efficiency up to 60 percent and a reduction in overtime expenses of up to 70 percent have been recorded.

Information is key, not data It is important to note that the data collected through f leet and field service technologies can only be

of value if it’s turned into meaningful information and the analysis is provided to the right stakeholders, who can then analyse and use it to impact areas of the business most in need of support.

Decision makers are suffering from data overload in their attempts to operate the most efficient workforces and fleets on the road. What they need are high level trends and benchmarking, not a mass of information.

Analytical tools allow companies not only to extract rich, meaningful data from their various solutions, but also ensure that key stakeholders get that information in salient, relevant reports and snapshots. These give an instant, clear picture of business performance whether that’s for operations, finance, customer service, HR or the CEO.

Mark Forrest is general manager of Trimble’s Field Service Management Division, which provides visibility into field and fleet operations so businesses can streamline efficiency and increase productivity. www.trimble.com/fsm

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written by: Thomas R. Cutler

A LEAN SUPPLY

Food safety requires complian Florida-based PACA Foods ha improve quality acros

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Food Safety

LEAN FOOD LY CHAIN

nce with stringent regulations. as found a solution that helps ss the whole business

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P

reston W. Blevins is the author of the just-released book Food Safety Regulatory Compliance, Catalyst for Lean and Sustainable Food Supply Chain. Blevins aids comprehension of the salient issues by concluding each chapter with an extensive quiz.

Normally, large companies have the resources to fund the implementation of best practices, small companies less so. Blevins’ text is a roadmap for the small food manufacturer and shares how any organization can achieve world-class excellence in operations and supply-chain management.

There are many examples of small food companies that have taken a path from few quality and safety controls to world-class excellence.

PACA Foods is a foodproduct manufacturer that focuses on dry-blended

food products including spices, nutrients, flour, and sugar based products. All products have private labels and are produced on a custom and proprietary basis.

The Tampa, Florida based food company manufactures products for retail, food service, and industrial (other food processors) customers, including all aspects of a product’s dry portions. Producing quality product, delivered efficiently, at the lowest possible cost is a challenge.

Michael Shepardson, CEO and President of PACA Foods, shared how the firm went from no computerized inventory control system for the first fifteen years of its existence to evaluating programs that had the capability of integrating with QuickBooks.

Jay McLennan is the Manager Supply Chain and Planning at PACA Foods.

“One of the key initiatives of the new ownership group was to attain an SQF level II certification” 50 | Be monthly

Food Safety McLennan was charged with gaining better control over quality and safety processes, noting, “One of the key initiatives of the new ownership group (when they took over two years ago) was to attain an SQF (safe quality food) level II certification; some key components of which are documentation and inventory/lot code tracking.”

The company implemented MISys (www.misysinc.com) and was able to manage many historical HACCP (hazard analysis critical control points) issues in a proactive fashion by verifying and recording every lot code as inventory comes through the door and trace it as it moves through the different processes within the facility. “We can now even track it at the FIFO layer which greatly adds with our inventory rotation; a critical component for our inventory control here, since many of our products have short and varied shelf lives.

We have passed every mock recall and SQF critical control point for purchasing and inventory control since we launched the MISys solution,” reported McLennan.

Safety considerations PACA has some items that are allergens and have to be specially handled and specially located in the company warehouse.

McLennan noted the company even runs peanut products now which require a very high level of attention to safety, since a mistake could be potentially fatal.

The requirements for special handling, clothing, testing, equipment and production are now all maintained in the same software solution that has improved quality control procedures.

“The chances for a mistake are down to almost nothing and we have enjoyed an increase in both this kind of business and in the speed in which we produce it. We are now so confident in our abilities that we are actively pursuing business that requires even more stringent controls, like working with meat products that require full FDA and USDA compliance.

“We recently had an entire truckload of a potentially hazardous item come in. It ran acceptable at first, but then started setting off our

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metal detectors. We didn’t have a service failure to our customer, and were able to tell exactly when the problem started. We were able to identify which of three lot codes on that one receipt was the one that caused it. The manufacturer was extremely grateful not to have the entire shipment rejected; we were able to replace the bad lot in time, never stopped running and were able to make our delivery on time, complete, accurate and most importantly safely,” enthused McLennan.

Transparency drives both quality and safety Food manufacturers globally have reported the advantages of the transparency of the MISys system. The ability for all users to see live real time information results in greater efficiency and fewer errors.

Previously, whenever there was a question regarding inventory levels, lot codes, or expiration dates, staff had to physically stop, leave the production floor and come to the office to ask the inventory control manager. Now all they need to do is consult the closest computer or ask

the nearest supervisor on the floor who has access. The result is far less downtime and production interruptions on the floor. It has also resulted in the purchasing and inventory personnel focusing on more value added tasks. Previously there was a line to the door of the purchasing manager’s office and now PACA can go days at a time without a production question being asked.

PACA has actually enjoyed a cost of sales reduction during a mildly inflationary period, while some key blended food items and ingredients (like

Inventory reduction + reduced carrying costs - MISys Investment = $169,980 $210k

Reduced Carrying Costs

$185,000

Inventory Value: $500,000

$170,000

$170k

Typical System Configuration:

$155,000 $140,000 $125,000

$50k

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$90k

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Cashflow $114,660

Cashflow $142,320

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Purchase Cost: $9,170

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Cashflow $128,490

Cashflow $156,150

• Basic Manufacturing • Advanced Purchasing • Material Requirements Planning • 1 User License • SureStart Implementation • Unlimited Technical Support

$10,340

12mo

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$11,510

$12,680

$13,850

$15,020

MISys Investmment 24mo

36mo

48mo

60mo

Annual Maintenance: $1,170

Food Safety

“We are now so confident in our abilities that we are actively pursuing business that requires even more stringent controls” anything containing corn) have gone up dramatically.

Being able to accurately forecast and order in a just-intime environment, being able to consolidate items under preferred vendors, and move to less frequent deliveries reduced material and labor costs as PACA has established real economic order quantities and enjoys the cost savings derived as a result.

Scalability Like many other small and mid-sized food products manufacturers, PACA had QuickBooks as the backbone of the accounting operation, yet needed more without abandoning the system.

Shepardson commented: “We analyzed the available programs that had the capability of integrating with Quick Books. MISys was the front-runner from the start…it had all the modules, inventory control, purchasing, MRP, bar-coding, lot control, scheduling that we knew we needed for our daily needs and to begin our plan for continuous improvement.”

No more confusion over which product uses which ingredients or packaging, having accurate costs in FIFO layers provided the ability to quickly analyze inventory and send purchase orders directly from the system. Real cost savings were realized

Thomas R. Cutler is the President & CEO of Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based, TR Cutler, Inc. Cutler is the founder of the Manufacturing Media Consortium including more than 4000 journalists, editors, and economists writing about trends in manufacturing, industry, material

by loading the qualified suppliers for every item and being able to quote and compare suppliers’ prices, quality, and lead times.

Blevins’ text recognizes how food companies, like PACA Foods, have had to reconcile the global sourcing of ingredients and how that has created a complex supply chain, significant management challenges, and additional regulatory compliance requirements.

The tremendous pressure on food manufacturers can be balanced by leveraging existing investments in food safety regulatory compliance into superior inventory management.

handling, and process improvement. Cutler is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, Online News Association, American Society of Business Publication Editors, and Committee of Concerned Journalists. trcutler@trcutlerinc.com

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Listen to the machine The quest for Total Production Efficiency takes a major step forward through the combination of the MTConnect Standard with Big Data, and the new vimana software platform from System Insights

written by: Thomas R. Cutler

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Automation

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Automation

T

he MTConnect s t a n d a r d facilitates data collection vital for meaningful analysis of machine tool behavior. In 2007, a group at the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) led by Paul Warndorf realized the need for a comprehensive standard to address the inability to collect data from manufacturing equipment. That was six years ago and various machine tool builders and controller manufacturers functioned as islands of automation, requir ing propr ietar y methods to access their data.

AMT enlisted the help of the University of California, Berkeley, to develop an open standard making data easily available; this development spurred a new generation of innovation in the manufacturing industry using the latest technologies, including ‘big data’.

William Sobel, presently CEO at System Insights, was a visiting lecturer and researcher at the RADLAB back in 2007 and was asked to develop the standard. Sobel enlisted the assistance of

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Athulan Vijayaraghavan, who was working on his doctorate in mechanical engineering.

Sobel architected and wrote the MTConnect standard with the goal of reducing the complexity and cost of shopfloor data collection and providing a common language for all manufacturing equipment.

Moving beyond OEE For the past five years ma nu fac t u r i ng pla nt managers and supervisors have adopted lea n manufacturing principles, eliminated waste, and still seen total production efficiency elude them.

Monitoring and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) solutions in the shop extracted little value because most ‘OEE monitoring’ technology uses tools that generate data, but none that help them make sense of it.

OEE is an effective metric to given an overall sense of how effectively manufacturing equipment is performing; it is not particularly useful in improving shopfloor productivity.

OEE is a composite metric, combining machine

availability, part quality, and schedule adherence. At best, OEE conflates each of these individual aspects of productivity, and at worst, OEE incorrectly inflates a device’s productivity by one of the three metrics, overwhelming the others.

OEE-based monitoring tools have also emphasized data collection and reporting, aggregating OEE and its constituent metrics from a variety of shopfloor devices

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and presenting it to users in the form of dashboard and reports. While these applications present valuable shopfloor statistics, they do not offer more than a rearview mirror-view into the shop’s performance.

OEE-based monitoring solutions are reactive; they do not help operations managers understand why devices have low productivity and what opportunities a plant has to increase productivity.

Moving beyond OEE, data is needed that can allow a better understanding of what opportunities are available to increase device productivity.

MTConnect and big data An innovative combination of MTConnect and Big Data technology led to the first significant manufacturing analytic software; it debuted in 2008 at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS). Sobel and

Automation

“vimana allows manufacturers to make decisions by understanding why machines are doing what they are doing” Vijayaraghavan saw the need for applications that went beyond current stateof-the-art capabilities in OEE-based monitoring, and founded System Insights in Berkeley, California. The

result was the development of the revolutionary vimana platform for manufacturing intelligence and Big Data analytics.

Sobel had been working with researchers applying machine learning and Big Data analytics in order to make data centers more efficient. The vimana platform is a synthesis of the technologies that are used to enhance the efficiency of financial systems, data centers, and social media. Dr Vijayaraghavan brought his knowledge of decision tools for designing manufacturing processes and systems, developed during his doctoral work under Professor David Dornfeld at the Laboratory for Manufacturing and Sustainability at UC Berkeley. vimana vimana is a next generation software platform with realtime pattern matching and

historical machine learning capabilities which makes sense of data from multiple shopfloor sources using the MTConnect standard.

Manufacturers apply these data in helping users understand the opportunities to improve productivity. This information is presented in the form of dashboards, real-time metrics, alerts, and contextual reports.

Sobel is passionate noting that, “vimana delivers real, measurable value within weeks of deployment by allowing manufacturers to make decisions and understand why machines are doing what they are doing, and not merely what they are doing.”

Traditional OEE-based applications act as data historians collecting data from the machine tools and providing reports. The reports do not add context to what the machines are

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“This capability goes well beyond OEE monitoring, and allows the user to take targeted actions to improve productivity based on the downtime reasons” doing, they merely report the machines’ activities.

Identify / Do

Baseline / Plan

Use vimana’s pattern matching to identify opportunities to improve productivity

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Apply vimana’s historical reports to baseline device’s current performance

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id Va l

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Continuous improvement with vimana

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Apply vimana’s realtime analytics to validate improvements

Understanding downtime A key capability of vimana is the auto-classification of downtime in machine tools and manufacturing devices. vimana maps the patterns in the MTConnect data sources in the device including the reason the device is down. vimana can study real-time data from the device leading up to a downtime; it will reveal that the device is down because of a broken tool, or that the device is down for the operator to edit the program to change an offset.

Dr Vijayaraghavan noted, “These downtimes can then be linked in turn to further activities in the device. The operator’s offset change can be associated with poor part quality or excessive vibration or tool chatter during machining. This capability

Automation goes well beyond OEE monitoring, and allows the user to take targeted actions to improve productivity based on the downtime reasons.” vimana is a powerful data mining engine on the backend which finds hidden trends in the data, like the actual part handling time, the actual cycle times to make a part, the variation in the overrides during producing, differences between planned and actual process parameters. These capabilities help build more insight into the production process and make sustainable changes for the future. In this way vimana makes Total Production Efficiency a reality for the manufacturing shopfloor.

Total Production Efficiency The capabilities of vimana are delivered to the manufacturing customer using a customer value

framework (CVF) model.

Based on extensive user feedback, System Insights developed an engagement model unique for the manufacturing industry en su r i ng t hat eac h manufacturer is extracting maximum value from v i ma na’s capabi l it ies. vimana is first applied in defining a baseline of the plant’s productivity and device utilization.

Following this initial process, vimana is used in identifying opportunities for improvement, and as the improvements are implemented, effectiveness is measured using vimana.

E xec ut ion of t h is framework has proven to deliver significant economic benefits to manufacturers regardless of the current state of their business cycle.

For expanding businesses, the increased capacity derived by deploying vimana

Thomas R. Cutler is the President & CEO of Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based, TR Cutler, Inc. Cutler is the founder of the Manufacturing Media Consortium including more than 4000 journalists, editors, and economists writing about trends in manufacturing, industry, material

in a CVF engagement model is applied toward growth targets, avoiding new capital expenditures that would otherwise be required to meet expansion goals. Companies applying this new capacity against backlog realize increased profits. Businesses simply looking to reduce cost can eliminate equipment and labor expenses.

By combining MTConnect and Big Data technology, Sobel and Vijayaraghavan pioneered an innovative and indust r y-f irst software solution and engagement model for Total Production Efficiency.

Aptly named System Insights, these pioneers overcame the limitations of OEE by delivering sig n i f ic a nt e c onom ic benefits to the discrete manufacturing industry in all phases of a companies’ business cycle.

handling, and process improvement. Cutler is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, Online News Association, American Society of Business Publication Editors, and Committee of Concerned Journalists. trcutler@trcutlerinc.com

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The metals of energy Grupo FerroAtlĂĄntica combines bewildering diversity with simple principles, sticking firmly to its objective of remaining the world leader in silicon metal and other diverse alloys, developing downstream technologies for the energy industry

written by: John O’Hanlon research by: Louisa Adcock

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FerroAtlรกntica

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The Nuevo Pindo hydroelectric plant

FerroAtlántica

T

he Spanish industrial minerals group FerroAtlántica dates back to 1992, when Juan-Miguel Villar Mir acquired the Ferroalloys Division of Carburos Metálicos.

He added a number of businesses, till in 2007 the business had arrived at a critical mass that enabled itself to launch itself as today’s Grupo FerroAtlántica: since then it has continued to grow through acquisition within the silicon and ferroalloys sector, but also setting up a number of new businesses around the world, as dictated by the growing market in these commodities.

Today it employs 3,000 people in five countries and four continents. Starting with four factories in Spain in 1992, it now operates fifteen factories in Spain, France, South Africa, Venezuela and China, and produces over 1 million tons of a diversified array of alloys.

The parent group (Grupo Villar Mir), says Chairman Juan-Miguel Villar Mir, has the unusual distinction of being made up from companies that were in difficulties, were turned around and are now thriving – it is now the 14th largest Spanish corporation. A former Finance Minister, he was ennobled by the King of Spain in 2011 and in recognition of the work the group has done in France he was awarded France’s highest honour when he was installed Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur in 2010.

Grupo FerroAtlántica itself, having grown in this manner, says Group Chairman and CEO Pedro Larrea, has also proved the success of the model, demonstrated by a turnover of more than €1.1 billion in 2012. Following a

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YO U R LO N G T E R M PA RT N E R F O R LOW A S H C OA L!

Enerco BV – Keerweg 2 – 6122 CL Buchten – The Netherlands T: +31 464 819 900 – F: +31 464 859 211 – E: info@enerco.nl - www.enerco.nl

Rheinfelden Carbon is proud to be a strategic supplier to Ferroatlantica

FerroAtlántica difficult trading period, the enerco strategy will be continued.

Based in Born, The Netherlands, ENERCO has been a long“Our strategy continues term partner of FerroAtlantica for many years and is the to be based on ensuring leading producer of high quality, low ash coal world-wide for operational excellence, more than two decades. ENERCO produces in cooperation maintaining a portfolio with its customers tailor-made coal products in its modern of worldwide growth processing facilities in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Born, and prepares grades with precise sizing and ash content to projects and promoting meet their specific requirements. Comprehensive research technological innovation to and development programs led to patents and the design of be able to maximise profits flexible and efficient coal upgrading processes which allow when recovery comes, just-in-time delivery all over the world. ENERCO offers which we hope will happen customer-oriented services from procurement to shipment, throughout 2013. In a market from coal upgrading to marketing. environment that we hope www.enerco.nl will improve this year, and especially from the start of 2014, we will continue to look for sites for future factories, as well as launching and driving new product sales management, and improving our competitiveness.”

The competitive scenario is an increasingly demanding one, he points out, in a market driven by demand for efficient energy production. “To maintain our current market position, we will need to be able to incorporate a new production plant every two or three years. Given that we are talking about completely globalised markets, we look for the most efficient location with regards to the cost of energy, raw materials and transport, and we are confident of providing our technological and operational capacity to make them the most efficient in the world.

Without being too specific, I can say that we are at an advanced stage in developing new projects on five continents.” At the same time, he adds, FerroAtlántica is keeping a close Group Chairman and CEO Pedro Larrea watch on mineral exploration developments

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€1.1 Billion+ 2012 group turnover

The Monzón factory in Spain

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with a view to improving the supply of raw materials – and will also consider entering the electricity generation market.

When asked about the challenges silicon technology faces from advanced plastics and other materials, he is quick to point out that silicon remains the key material for new technologies. FerroAtlántica’s Elsa electrode, which offers significant energy savings and avoids contamination with iron, has been sold to the world’s main silicon metal producers and is used in the manufacture of 30 percent of all silicon metal produced today in the western world. “We also have proprietary technology to manufacture cheaper and cleaner photovoltaic quality silicon metal more efficiently,” he enthuses, drawing attention to the market fundamentals: demand from photovoltaic cell manufactures for this material is still surging at an annual rate of 20-25 percent. And nobody can trump the achievement of the group’s technology in developing a low cost way to produce silicon at 99.9999 percent purity!

FerroSolar is the name of this technology: solar grade silicon has hitherto been produced by expensive chemical processes which only yield small quantities – so the main bottleneck in making solar energy feasible has been producing enough solar grade

FerroAtlántica

The Serrabal quartz mine

silicon. “It’s 100 percent our own technology and will allow us to considerably reduce the cost, energy consumption and environmental impact, while greatly increasing production capacity,” Larrea predicts.

One of the most recent additions to the FerroAtlántica family, the largest quartz mine in South Africa with an annual production capacity of 1.3 million tonnes and reserves of 60 million tonnes, was acquired in July 2012 for €25.7 million. SamQuartz, founded in 1955 and now the largest producer of high quality silica in South Africa, is of

vital strategic importance for the group says Larrea. The mine is the biggest quartz mine in South Africa and one of the biggest in the world. “With its purchase we have achieved vertical integration of our industrial assets in South Africa and at the same time guaranteed silicon metal production of the highest purity as well as special ferroalloys for a period of no less than forty years.

The South Africa operations managed by wholly owned subsidiary Silicon Smelters include the arc furnaces of Polokwane Smelters and Rand Carbide, the mining operations

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of Thaba Chueu Mining (TCM) including SamQuarz, and 9,584 hectares of sustainable tree farms that provide the smelters with charcoal. South Africa’s economy is badly in need of investment to develop its mineral resources, says Jan Coetzee, Marketing and Commercial manager for Silicon Smelters.

“All the investments by FerroAtlántica have supported production of value added products from domestic resources. We employ over

1,000 people directly but to that you can add a further 6,000 indirect jobs. We have calculated that the economic benefit from our operations extends to more than 30,000 people across South Africa.”

The benefit of having multiple local and global facilities is that knowledge and best practices can be shared, says Coetzee. Silicon Smelters is a South African company, but is fully integrated into the FerroAtlántica group.

“The group has transferred world class business principles and skills to its employees in South Africa”

Working at the Monzón facility in Spain

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FerroAtlántica

Worker at the Rand Carbide factory in South Africa

“Activities like marketing, sourcing, financing and benchmarking are done at an international level, and the domestic operations reap the benefit from these activities. The group has transferred world class business principles and skills to its employees in South Africa.”

Needless to say the most active silicon market in the world is China. FerroAtlántica entered this market in 2008 with a JV that created the Ganzi project in Tibet, which is constructing the world’s largest silicon metal factory. In addition to this project, in 2010, it acquired the Mangshi Sinice Silicon Industry Company Limited in Yunnan province, out of administration. The plant was a new one, completed in 2008, but had never run at capacity. Following FerroAtlántica’s purchase of the factory in November 2010, a two-year

investment program of close to €25 million was launched aiming at upgrading the plant, including the introduction of FerroAtlántica proprietary electrode technology and the increase of the nominal capacity of each furnace to 23/24 MW as well as bringing all plant operations to compliance in every respect (health and safety, environmental and technological standards).

The plant restarted operations on schedule in May 2011 and has, according to finance manager Junhua Shen been performing as efficiently as any in the group. Like the South African operation, it will be developing sustainable forestry to feed the furnaces, additionally acquiring land to allow expansion – this factory alone will provide 250 jobs, he says. “With the nearest high school 650

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“It is quite difficult to attract young educated people in remote areas like Mangshi but they are attracted by the training opportunities we offer�

The Clavaux facility in France

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FerroAtlántica kilometres away in Kunming it is quite difficult to attract young educated people in remote areas like Mangshi but they are attracted by the training opportunities we offer.” In 2011 when the plant started up, 15 technicians came over from Europe for six months to train local employees.

Unlike the western silicon market, Junhua Shen points out, the Chinese market consists of more than a hundred producers, and hundreds of agents/traders, creating a great deal of competition. The Chinese market accounts for around half of all global production of silicon, and China’s strategy is to control 50 percent of this supply within its borders – being an indigenous player is not an option for the number one global producer.

Mangshi, a spanking new operation, contrasts with the oldest in the group, acquired in 2005 when their subsidiary FerroAtlántica acquired the French company Pechiney Electrométallurgie, now Ferropem.

The Montricher plant in south-western France was established in 1914 and has been specialising in the production of Silicon Metal through carbothermal reduction of quartz since 1984. The arrival of FerroAtlántica led to a complete revival of its industrial activities says plant director Francis Rateau: “Grupo FerroAtlántica gave us a very clear directions

Silicomanganese

and objectives, which motivated everyone to improve our plant’s performance.” Through investment, process optimisation, employee empowerment, quick decision making all contributed to the turnaround, he says.

Among the improvements seen as a result of more than €10 million invested in this specific plant were an increase in production capacity through upgrading the furnaces, better raw materials handling in a new input facility close to the rail link and reduced emissions through the installation of a new baghouse.

Montricher is a reminder that the hub of FerroAtlántica’s activities lies in Europe, serving European customers. “However our two South African plants serve the Americas and Asia. Furthermore, our Chinese plant gives us great strength in China and reasserts

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The Monz贸n factory in Spain has two Silicomanganese furnaces and two Ferromanganese furnaces

FerroAtlántica our position as the world leader in silicon production”, asserts Rateau with pride. He places his finger on one of the most intractable facts relating to the electrometallurgical industry – that it is highly energy intensive and still relies on competitive energy prices.

“The main challenge is to produce silicon with a positive net energy balance. We consume significant amounts of electricity to produce silicon from quartz extracted from the earth. Our goal is that silicon will ultimately generate a lot more energy than the amount required to produce it initially.”

Nevertheless, faced with an adverse economic situation in the industry and electrometallurgy in particular, a fall in global demand, the pressure of competition or the high cost of electricity, FerroAtlántica Group has done its homework, says Pedro Larrea.

“We have diversified our production, we have invested in our own technology and we continue to invest in international expansion whilst maintaining a 100 percent Spanish identity. We are confident we can continue along our path of growth, diversification and development, we aim to consolidate our global leadership position and continue improving the service we provide to our customers. We are also committed to the professional and personal development of all our employees – and with the rooting of our activities in the social, economic and industrial environment in which they work.”

For more information about FerroAtlántica visit: www.ferroatlantica.es

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Blasting thro

Projects like Oyu Tolgoi highligh mining market. General Directo role MAXAM Explosives is playing

written by: W research by: James B

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MAXAM Explosives

ough barriers

ht the growth of the Mongolian or Andrew Forster discusses the g in the development of the sector

Will Daynes Boyle and Abi Abagun

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MAXAM Explosives

I

n 2012, MAXAM celebrated its 140th birthday. Founded by Alfred Nobel in 1872, the group today stands recognised as being one of the leading service and industrial organisations operating on a global scale, with a yearly turnover of approximately one billion euros.

Specialising in the development, manufacture and commercialisation of civil explosives and initiation systems for mining, MAXAM boasts a presence in all of the world’s major and developing mining areas.

One such area is Mongolia. The mining sector within Mongolia dates back over 90 years to the nationalisation of the Nalaikh coal deposit in February 1922. In the decades since, the sector’s role in Mongolia’s economic growth has expanded to the point where, as of 2011, it was responsible for producing 20.2 percent of the country’s GDP, 69.6 percent of its total industrial output and 89.2 percent of its export product.

“A subsidiary of MA X AM, MA X AM Explosives began its work in Mongolia in 2006,” explains General Director, Andrew Forster. “Today we have two major contracts in the country, one with Oyu Tolgoi and the other with SouthGobi Sands. Much of what we have achieved to date has come in the last couple of years and has brought us to the point where we are now able to see the culmination of seven years of hard work as Mongolia becomes a rapidly developing mining region.”

As Andrew goes on to state, while mining activities have existed for the better part of a century in Mongolia, it is really only in the last ten years or so

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that it has really been promoted as being a mining destination of real interest. “It was in the aftermath of agreement being reached on the development of Oyu Tolgoi that we saw a significant boom in foreign direct investment into the country. While the level of this investment does continue to fluctuate somewhat there is no doubt that mining will continue to play a hugely important role in the economic growth of the country going forward.”

Oyu Tolgoi LLC is Mongolia’s largest copper and gold mining company and is a strategic partnership between the Government of Mongolia, Turquoise Hill Resources and Rio Tinto. Located beneath the surface of the Gobi desert the Oyu Tolgoi mine is thought to contain approximately 82 billion pounds of copper and 46 million ounces of gold in measured, indicated and inferred resources.

Here MAXAM Explosives serves as the blasting products and services provider, lending its considerable experience and historical excellence to Oyu Tolgoi.

The main factor behind Oyu Tolgoi’s initial attraction to MAXAM was its guarantee of security of supply of one of its flagship products, its RIOFLEX watergel explosive. A MAXAM-developed innovation that is unique to the company’s

product portfolio, RIOFLEX is designed to be safe in its manufacture, transport and use, and provides optimum results in all environmental and mineral conditions.

In the simplest of terms, without MAXAM Explosives’ products there would simply be no mine as it exists today. “The explosives we provide on-site for Oyu Tolgoi are used for open pit work, shaft sinking and lateral development, and this is being carried out

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MAXAM Explosives

Maxam’s latest mobile sensitising units delivering (MSUs) Rioflex 7000 at Oyu Tolgoi

by a workforce that is 90 we do. In addition to their personal characteristics percent Mongolian. These these individuals also individuals have been benefit from the robust trained up from having zero experience to the point training programmes that The year that MAXAM where they are now able to MAXAM as a group use was founded deliver all the services that internationally.” the project requires.”

The efforts made by the As Andrew will attest company to establish a local Mongolians in general possess a number workforce are very much in line with one of of important qualities that make training core philosophies that MAXAM applies to them up for such important roles much its operations in every single country. “As a less of a challenge than one would perhaps group,” Andrew says, “we have a strong social expect. “Mongolians as a whole learn programme and we are applying that here in very quickly indeed. They are extremely Mongolia with our goals being to contribute literate, pick things up quickly and possess positively to the social fabric of the country a healthy desire to learn new skills, which and improve the general wellbeing of its is vitally important considering the work people. We are not here to simply make a

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Maxam delivering its products safely, accurately and on time

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MAXAM Explosives

20.2% Of Mongolia’s GDP that mining was responsible for in 2011 quick profit and then leave, instead we are committed to leaving Mongolia a better place for us having been here.”

Despite its best intentions the company has still had to work hard to overcome some of the legal-administrative challenges in the country. Over the last year MAXAM Explosives has been working hard to convey the fact that it is a Mongolian registered business that pays Mongolian taxes and plans to one day have Mongolians in charge of running it. “For all intents and purposes,” Andrew enthuses, “we are a Mongolian company and it is our desire to be recognised as such.”

As the company looks to the future Andrew is equally keen to highlight the fact that, as important as it is, Oyu Tolgoi is just one contract and that MAXAM Explosives’ aim is to become a major player the Mongolian market. “We are a flexible and adaptable business that is ready to face whatever the market has to throw at us as it evolves. We are very much here to stay and we will be contributing to the growth of Mongolia for many, many years to come.”

For more information about MAXAM Explosives visit: www.maxam.net

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CRI

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Venturex Resources

ITICAL MASS IN THE PILBARA Perth-based Venturex Resources has a strategy to combine a number of copperzinc deposits in the western Pilbara around a processing plant that will put the region on the map for more than just its iron ore

written by: John O’Hanlon research by: David Brogan

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Serra Verde doca vein

Venturex Resources

W

estern Australia’s Pilbara region is best known today as one of the world’s biggest sources of iron ore and manganese – principally the former. These minerals are shipped out of Port Hedland to the hungry markets of north Asia and India, where demand for steel seems insatiable and likely to hold up for a good many years to come. In 2012, out of a total of 245 million tonnes of every kind of cargo that was exported through Hedland, 97 percent was accounted for by iron ore, 0.8 percent by manganese.

Seen from the air, the Pilbara is one mass of red earth – iron is not hard to find. The Pilbara does contain significant quantities of other minerals but one could excuse people getting the idea they don’t amount to much. That being the case it was far-sighted on the part of Venturex Resources and its antecedents to turn their attention to the copper and zinc rich volcanogenic massive sulphide ore bodies that occur across the Pilbara. The geology was known about, but problematic, explains Michael Mulroney, who was appointed Managing Director in February 2012. “These deposits tend to occur in clusters of between five and eight, grouped around ancient volcanic centres. They were laid down billions of years ago, but they are directly analog0us with the hydrothermal vents or ‘black smokers’ that have been found on the modern deep ocean bed.”

The difficulty was that none of these deposits on its own would be commercially viable.

The company’s strategy, since it established

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Venturex Resources in 2009 that its Evelyn deposit within its Liberty-Indee site had considerably greater potential than originally thought, has been to consolidate as many as possible of these deposits. Only 30 kilometres to the north, the Whim Creek deposits became available and were acquired by Venturex in 2010. “At about the same time,” says Mulroney, “we became aware that CBH Resources’ Sulphur Springs asset 190 kilometres to the east of Whim Creek might also be about to become available.”

It took nearly a year, he says, to complete the acquisition of Sulphur Springs, but from then on the company had the critical mass it needed to launch a feasibility study. The result of the definitive feasibility study (DFS) was announced in December 2012 confirming very positive results on the entire copper/ zinc Pilbara operation, which it estimated would yield an average of 16,500 tonnes per annum (tpa) of copper, 30,000 tpa of zinc and 200,000 ounces of silver a year over at least 8.5 years. “This defines the Pilbara project as one of the larger emerging base and precious metals projects in Australia,” the DFS states.

With around 84 percent of the ore considered in the study coming from Sulphur Springs, this is where the company plans to locate its brand new processing plant. The ore will come initially from a new underground mine at Sulphur Springs – but the beauty

“We are looking at adopting a ‘Kambalda’ strategy!”

of the project is that the plant, which will produce a copper concentrate and a zinc concentrate, will have plenty of capacity to process open pit mined ore from Whim Creek and Liberty-Indee too.

The upside of all of these resources is considerable, says Mulroney. “We have identified just two deposits at Sulphur Springs, so we think there is a lot more potential there. We know of three at Whim Creek, which is a similar terrain but a bit younger, and the indications are that there could be several more based on the cluster model.”

The Liberty-Indee deposit to the south is a

Sulphur Springs underground mine design

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brand new discovery, he adds. A lot of work is going into learning all about it but it appears to be a similar type of ore body and with that comes the expectation that there will be more to find there too.

These assets on their own give the project the critical mass to justify development.

However the opportunity does not stop there.

The Pilbara offers other opportunities and from the advantage it has as the first mover here Venturex’s facility could well become a processing hub that will attract similar material mined by others. “It’s a model that worked well for WMC at Kambalda when they focused on their processing hub processing all the smaller mines’ material at a central point. We are looking at adopting a similar ‘Kambalda’ strategy!” The infrastructure favours that model too, he adds, with excellent roads leading to Port Hedland, the main export port for BHP Billiton and other iron ore and manganese production companies.

With the DFS under its belt Venturex is in great shape for its next phase – discussions with financing institutions and potential offtake partners, who may themselves wish to put capital into the project. “At the same time we are working on continually optimising the project as it was defined in the DFS – there are still a number of areas we think we can make improvements.” Additional drilling

is due to start at three of the resources not included in the DFS – Kangaroo Caves near to Sulphur Springs and two identified deposits in the Whim Creek area.

The permitting process has commenced and the indications are that this could be completed within six months. Mike Mulroney would like to have his financing well advanced by then, though he is realistic about the difficulty of attracting investors to an untried asset in what is perceived as a relatively

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Venturex Resources

high cost area. On top of mines are projected to close in 2014 and 2015 so zinc that the Australian dollar supply could be constrained is inconveniently strong for resulting in a lift in prices anyone hoping to export. with major implications for Nevertheless the Venturex Mine life of Pilbara our project.” proposal is compelling: project ‘conventional’ investors such Once permits and finance have been obtained, the as banks have shown a good way ahead becomes clearer. deal of interest, he says, and he thinks less conventional sources such as Developing the new underground mine from mezzanine finance, quasi-equity and offtake scratch, and building the processing plant, can partners may well provide a level of second be done in 20 months, which translates into first shipment in the second quarter of 2015. tier support.

On the one hand, he points out, potential Positive relations with the traditional land investors are being asked to take a view on owners have been established, and the mine the copper and zinc markets ten years out. has been meticulously designed to minimise its On the other, the long view of both copper footprint both visually and environmentally. and zinc is bullish. “A number of large zinc The core source of material will be the Sulphur

8.5years

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“A number of large zinc mines are projected to close in 2014 and 2015 so zinc supply could be constrained resulting in a lift in prices” Springs mine, supplemented as time goes on by open pit material from Whim Creek. “The plant is currently scaled at around 1 million tpa, which gives us the 8.5 years mine life mentioned in the DFS,” says Mulroney, “but we are considering the possibility of scaling that up to 1.2 or even 1.5 million tpa.”

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For the moment all attention is on the Pilbara, but there’s another string to the Venturex bow which might yet provide almost as much excitement. The Tapajós region of Brazil’s Pará State has given up anything from 16 to 30 million ounces of gold over the last 20 years, mainly from garimpeiro,

Venturex Resources

Whim Creek exploration

or artisan mining. It’s known to be extremely well endowed with gold but it has only been in the last few years that modern exploration methods started to be applied. Venturex has quietly established itself in this area, with five assets covering 200,000 hectares not to mention another four projects in Mato Grosso State. “We think there are large scale gold deposits to be found there.” Mulroney suggests. “We did a drilling programme at a project called Nova Canaã late last year and got some very good drill results.”

This was very much an initial foray, but follow up work will continue once the rains

abate, as well as at Serra Verde to the north.

At this stage it’s impossible to predict whether Venturex will hang onto its Brazil gold projects, or simply add value before disposing of them.

Whichever happens, the more mundane minerals of the Western Australian Pilbara look like establishing Venturex Resources as an important player in the relentless East Asian industrial revolution.

For more information about Venturex Resources visit: www.venturexresources.com

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Encouraging investme As BFL CANADA (BFL) enters its 26th year of operations, Managing Vice President and Global Business Leader Penny Dyte discusses how it remains just as passionate about bringing growth and investment to Canada as it has always been

written by: Will Daynes research by: Marcus Lewis

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BFL CANADA

ment

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Canada ranks first for the production of Uranium

BFL CANADA

F

rom the first aboriginal inhabitants to use various minerals to produce tools to the now 363,000 plus people who earn a living from the more than 800 mines that exist across the country, Canada’s history has always been intrinsically linked to mining.

Mining activities are an integral part of Canada’s history with the country still ranking first in the world for the production of potash and uranium, and among the top five for the production of nickel and diamonds. Today the industry is responsible for contributing almost five percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, with companies making new mineral deposit discoveries on a regular basis.

Companies involved in the mineral and mineral processing industry in Canada each require effective risk identification and management, along with world-class engineering, as a basis for their insurance programs in order to protect their assets from the various financial threats, risks and exposures that they face, as well as to minimise their total cost of risk.

With ten locations across the country BFL, the largest employee-owned and operated commercial insurance broker and consulting services firm in Canada, provides its clients with services that ensure that their risk management and insurance programmes addresses every aspect of operations from initial exploration through construction and operation of a mining facility.

Under the leadership of its President, CEO and founder, Barry Lorenzetti, BFL is now entering its 26th year of operation.

“The company today,” explains Penny Dyte,

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BFL provides its clients with services that address every aspect of their operations

Managing Vice President and Global Business Leader, “remains very much aligned with how Barry Lorenzetti first conceived it, with the model being one of employee ownership and retention, niche practices and being very much focused on client needs. Our computer systems are client facing, our executives are client first and our organisation is very flat.

We are unwavering about these drivers and are very proud to run it that way because it helps breed an entrepreneurial spirit within the company and differentiates us in Canada.”

As a country, Canada has several things going for it, not least of all the fact that it is home to a vast area of unpopulated prospective land. For her part as BFL’s Global Business

Leader, Dyte has the incredibly vital role of not only assisting Canadian businesses to take advantage of opportunities here, but also working with the increasing number of foreign companies looking to invest in the country.

Among the niche sectors that BFL is connected to are the construction, transportation, energy, professional services and real estate industries. Its newest niche is the mining sector. “Because we already had a very robust construction services offering and experience working with clients in the oil sands sector, it made it a very natural lead in to the mining industry,” Dyte continues.

In building its mining team, BFL appointed three people to handle its operations across

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BFL CANADA Canada. BFL’s Eastern Region mining team is headed up by Lisa Gianonne, while the Ontario area is the responsibility of Sean Hurley and the Western Region is overseen

by Janet McLean, and complemented by John Donovan as Construction Practice Leader and Rick Adam on Loss Control/Prevention. With these individuals in place, BFL was able to begin to branch out to deal not only with clients that were already operational, but also prospective clients.

What BFL Knows, however, is that in order to properly deal with foreign brokers looking to invest in Canada it would require an international offering. “This realisation led us to carefully choose Lockton International, the world’s largest privately held firm, as our partner,” Dyte highlights. “Being particularly tenacious about our Canadian ownership, we weren’t looking to buy outside of Canada, nor were Lockton looking to buy into it, rather their model was to partner with large independent firms within countries that could manage their own people and had their own business model. We each fit perfectly within that vision and our clients benefit from it.”

What BFL and seven other partners subsequently did, in April 2012, was form a company called Lockton Global. Today that business has a total of 100 partners based around the world that have bought into providing international services not just to the mining community but in general on a private firm basis.

One of the first things foreign investors recognise when approaching work in Canada is the unique nature of its regulatory environment. Canada, for example, has one

Janet McLean

Sean Hurley

Lisa Giannone

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“The company’s model is one of employee ownership and retention, niche practices and being very much focused on client needs” of the most stringent environmental protocols found anywhere. While this can mean that companies initially struggle to cement a strong footprint in the country, once they have proven that they can conform to Canada’s rules and regulations they can expect the full support of the government. After all, as Dyte states, nobody is trying to deter growth, rather they are striving to ensure that said growth is healthy and sustainable.

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“Because of our working knowledge of our regulatory environment,” Dyte says, “we are able to provide more than just a black and white account of what our clients need to do in Canada in order to place business. What we do is actually build business acumen into the clients’ own business goals and challenges. It is this type of service that means that once we are in front of a client they quickly see us being on their side and thus we become

BFL CANADA

BFL builds business acumen into its clients’ own business goals and challenges

part of their team. So I see us as not only as risk advisors but also as business advisors trying to manage that risk that exists in our Canadian environment and that is very different than just trying to place insurance for general risks because, at the end of the day, each client is unique.”

Just by looking at the vast number of new mine and expansion permits currently in circulation, it is clear that there is a great deal of growth yet to come in the Canadian mining industry. “Not only will we be there to usher our clients through the regulatory and insurance market environment,” Dyte enthuses, “we will also have the ability to bring to them some boots on the ground, with claims and loss control experience, and relationships, that they can count on.”

At the same time, Canadian companies will themselves see a massive amount of growth particularly as they expand further in foreign markets such as Mexico, South America, South Africa and Australia. “Being able to trend some of the more important facets of our model, while also helping companies with safety, maintenance and understanding the insurance markets is really going to help them gain success more quickly than may otherwise be the case,” Dyte concludes. “This is what I envision we are going to be spending a lot of time doing in the months ahead.”

For more information about BFL Canada visit: www.bflcanada.ca

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Atico Mining

and Copper

gold from Colombia Atico Mining is single-mindedly preparing to rejuvenate the senescent El Roble mine and make it perform better than ever it did in its prime

written by: John o’hanlon research by: abi abagun

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El Roble, Surface drill program

Atico Mining

B

ased in Vancouver, Atico Mining (VMS) deposit, the only one currently being Corporation focuses on finding worked in Colombia but similar to very and developing mid-size high- productive sites of a similar nature in Canada grade copper-gold deposits in and elsewhere in the world. “VMS deposits Latin America. The company often come in packs, or clusters,” he explains. was floated on the Toronto Stock Exchange “The fact that we are in an area of 100 square just over a year ago by a team that has long kilometres, where five or six other VMSs are and successful experience in the region and being explored in a 100 kilometre radius includes several members of the Ganoza indicates there is potential for this area to be family which is very much involved in Fortuna like those in Canada, Peru and other VMS Silver which has operations in Mexico as well districts. But here the percentage of sulphide as their home nation Peru. in this mineralisation could be very high, as Atico, however is currently taken up with high as 70 or 80 percent. What you find in just one project, El Roble located near to the the El Roble is more chalcopyrite, carrying town of El Carmen de Atrato 30 percent copper, hence the in the Chocó department of high copper grades.”

Colombia. There is already Mor e i m me d i ate ly, though, Atico has concluded a functioning mine there, that another level containing privately run by local at least as much ore as has company Minera El Roble already been extracted over which over the last couple Ore already extracted the lifetime of El Roble of decades has mined 1.5 from El Roble is lying up to 300 metres million tonnes of ore with below the existing mine. an average head grade of 2.5 percent copper and 2.5 grams per tonne “There are two things that excite us about of gold. Atico has an option to purchase a El Roble,” Ganoza continues. “One is the 90 percent interest in this operation, and is existing mine, which we will continue to hoping to exercise that option during the work, along with the fact we have found course of this year, taking over the current these very high grade resources below the mining operation plus the surrounding mine. That creates the perfect opportunity 6,600 hectares in mining claims. to combine an ongoing operation with The current owner is happy to relinquish newly-found resources that we can take its interest since the levels now being mined advantage of. At the same time we are are nearly exhausted, and to allow Atico to excited about the prospect of finding explore the future possibilities of the mine additional VMSs in the surrounding land and its surrounding areas. And these are package. These can then be developed and considerable, says CEO Fernando Ganoza. fed to the mill and processing facility that El Roble is a volcanogenic massive sulphide is already operating.”

1.5

million tonnes

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Atico Mining The existing mill has MWH Geo-Surveys daily capacity of 400 tonnes.

MWH Geo-Surveys specializes in high precision gravity Atico will need to grow this surveys. Using digital ‘feedback’ micro-gravity instruments capacity. “The first expansion combined with millimeter precision GNSS positioning will be relatively small – a and a digital terrain mapping system, our gravity surveys 40 to 50 percent increase to can efficiently and accurately map your density specific maybe 600 tpd. At the same exploration properties.

MWH has developed a data logging system that wirelessly time we will be optimizing captures the digital gravity meter output and integrates the the operation in terms real-time GNSS positions to enhance survey productivity of productivity. Right now and accuracy. the throughput is 350, For over thirty years our operations have spanned the globe and we want to take it up to including some of the world’s most challenging environments.

600 tonnes.”

With knowledge, experience and technology we can provide So t he c u r r e nt gravity surveys in a safe and cost effective manner. www.mwhgeo.com infrastructure will be retained and improved, but the deeper levels will be accessed with different infrastructure, designed from the outset to support throughput of up to 600 tpd. “We will be trucking ore from inside the mine, which means you have to have another dimension of tunnelling.” This will be a much more sophisticated operation than the existing one, which uses LHD (load-hauldump) equipment. However the new stopes will use mechanised cut-and-fill methods.

Modern mining, he hopes, will address one anomaly that has shown up in the mine, which has been producing at a grade lower than the historical resource that Kennecott defined

“VMS deposits often come in packs, or clusters”

El Roble Mine, Flotation Circuit

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back in the 1980s at 4.8 percent copper and 3.2 g/t gold. Actual yields have come in at 2.5 percent and 2.5 g/t respectively, but this is probably explained simply by dilution: too much extraneous rock is getting mixed in with the extracted ore. The new El Roble will be better equipped to deliver the high grades the geologists are finding.

However the existing infrastructure at the level currently being mined – called the 2000 level because it is 2,000 metres

above sea level – can be used productively in the new 1800 level. The shafts can be used to bring additional access points into the mine, bring in services like electricity, water and air, and provide alternative safety. “We will add a lot of years to the life of the mine with these new resources, but there needed to be investment to reach these resources and mine them efficiently,” he summarises. “The current owner doesn’t want to make that investment, and lacks

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Atico Mining

El Roble Mine, Colombia

the sophistication it needs, which is why the association with us makes sense.”

Atico’s directors are from South America and are here for the long term. Colombia has become a lot more secure in the last decade, though in its 22 years of operation El Roble, on the edge of its most stable province Antioquia, never experienced any problems.

However El Carmen de Atrato has become very dependent on El Roble, with 50 percent of its economic activity directly related to the mine. “Our vision for this property is that it will become a much bigger operation - we believe this could be a very important mining centre. But mines have a finite life and we worry that El Carmen de Atrato’s dependence will only increase, so we need to do everything in our power to mitigate that.”

The idea is to make El Carmen de Atrato

self-sufficient by the time the mine closes.

Atico Mining, he reveals, as already knocking on the doors of government departments, local authorities and NGOs to start schemes to develop local agricultural, engineering and service businesses that can take over as an alternative to El Roble, which already employs 35 local people in connection with its ongoing surveying and drilling work.

But for now Fernando Ganoza’s energy is completely taken up with this year’s gamechangers for Atico – purchasing the mine and getting the mill in shape to double its current throughput.

For more information about Atico Mining visit: www.aticomining.com

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Macrotek

BUST theDUST Macrotek is the go-to company for anyone, in any industry, who has an intransigent emissions problem and for whom meeting world-class clean air standards is business-critical

written by: John O’Hanlon research by: Robert hodgson

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W

hile Macrotek has been marketing pollution control systems to every conceivable industry for more than 80 years – after all it’s hard to name a field of human activity that does not generate emissions – in recent years it has tended to focus on the mining industry. Indeed it has developed a relationship with that industry that could be described as symbiotic. Located in Toronto the company finds itself at the centre of a global technological and financial hub that has made it the city of choice for mining majors and juniors alike. Mining companies like Barrick Gold and Inmet have their headquarters there as do many of the engineering companies like Hatch and Sherritt International that support them.

These are the customers of Macrotek, and the company’s President Peter Ristevski likes it that way – the mining industry is a good fit for Macrotek, sharing his values and the way he likes to do business. “Companies like BHP Billiton, Hatch, Barrick and SNC-Lavalin demand of their partners – and the relationship is one of partnership – to deliver exceptional service, outstanding performance and total reliability. If you can give them that they will stick by you. I have found better levels of loyalty in the mining sector than in any other.”

None of these companies has much use for off the shelf systems. Their projects are highly designed and engineered. “Around 80 percent of the systems we sell are custom designed, firstly to cope with the specific pollutants generated by the application, and also for the customer’s plant. We do not ask the customer to design his plant around our scrubber; we design the scrubber to fit his plant!”

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Boiler flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) system and stack designed and built for a refinery in Mexico

Macrotek

82 ppm Concentration at which H2S is lethal

Peter Ristevski, President of Macrotek, alongside Macrotek’s high efficiency MVA scrubber in Thailand

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The close liaison between client and niche manufacturer has paid off. When Sherritt brought in Hatch to expand its nickel operations in Cuba the design and delivery of the pollution control systems were given to Macrotek. As a result Macrotek became involved in the much larger Ambatovy joint venture in Madagascar.

In that case the lead contractor was Montreal based SNC-Lavalin – Sherritt however specified Macrotek because the requirement was similar.

Now SNC is involved in Inmet’s $6 billion Cobre Panama project, just the type of opportunity that will suit Macrotek.

The company aims to grow without incurring unnecessary risk. “Our strategy is to grow organically. We are a private company and definitely don’t want to dilute our interest or, even more importantly, decision making and control.” Macrotek will not seek venture capital or leverage to achieve explosive growth, though that might be an option. It doesn’t need to: growing steadily at a double-digit annual rate it is weathering the recession well with its mining partners.

Having said that, Macrotek is expanding, and as it works increasingly in global markets it is finding efficient ways of dealing with major overseas projects. Increasingly, says Ristevski, it is providing the critical components in which it invests its IP, while doing bulk fabrication on

Macrotek

Biomass boiler exhaust MVA venturi scrubbers and stacks for biofuel power plant in Thailand

or close to the site. “The Ambatovy units were complex, and high in added value since they had to deal with hydrogen sulphide, but they were small enough to be containerised and shippable in their entirety. But we have done several projects with a boiler company in Thailand, for example, where we just provided critical components, and the fabrication of the stacks and the tanks is done by the customer.” A similar arrangement is being done for an end user in China – critical components and the design of the scrubbers are supplied by Macrotek, while the bulk metalwork will be completed by the US customer’s Chinese partner. “We could

not cost effectively ship that heavy stuff to China, but this way we keep control of the confidential components.”

Where large scale contracts are concerned, the market increasingly favours a niche specialist like Macrotek over local and generalist companies that, while they may be competent within their domestic market, struggle to meet ever more demanding regulatory regimes. “Wherever our clients operate they will complete the work to the highest environmental control standards – usually EPA or CEPA for the North American companies and EU standards for the others.”

National emissions legislation varies, but

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Macrotek performs simulations on vessel designs, such as this stress analysis of a stack, to predict performance and optimise its designs

has converged in recent years to the point where there is little to choose between the toplevel regimes. The actual standard is specified either by the customer or the funding agency, so World Bank and IMF projects tend to demand EPA while the EU looks to its own set of rules. The effect is to eliminate opportunistic cost cutting by uncertified competitors, he says. “Not many companies can do what we do, or have the capacity to offer the performance guarantees demanded. For example in Ambatovy we had to sign up to performance guarantees backed by a commitment, either a bond or a letter of credit, that stayed with our customer throughout the warranty period.”

But it is not just a mater of doing the job right, important though that is. Macrotek’s R&D is coming up with technologies that can tackle

chemical hazards and levels of particulate size that used to defeat all comers. Take the Macrotek Venturi Scrubber, a technology that can remove sub micron dust particles in applications with varying airflows, particularly where abrasive or sticky particulate is being collected. Water is introduced onto an annular disc through a central pipe. The water is sheared into tiny droplets which safely and reliably collect these minute particles.

Macrotek is approaching the demonstration stage with some innovative removal technologies that it will be able to bring to its mining customers, for whom dust is an ever present hazard. But if dust is a nuisance, some of the chemicals the industry works with, particularly arsenic and hydrogen sulphide (H2S), are lethal in small concentrations. “Our aim is to develop technologies that will outperform the most stringent current regulations.”

Hydrogen Sulphide is a highly toxic and inflammable gas. Being heavier than air, it tends to accumulate at the bottom of poorly ventilated spaces. Although very pungent at first, it quickly deadens the sense of smell, so potential victims may be unaware of its presence until it is too late. The lethal concentration for 50 percent of humans is 800ppm for 5 minutes of exposure, and H2S is a by-product

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Macrotek

Macrotek has been ahead of the curve when it comes to engineering and design, providing customers with 3D drawings such as the MVA Venturi Scrubber for a number of years

in many hydrometallurgical processes. Macrotek has done many systems for some of the major multi-national mining giants all over the world and has developed a unique two-stage process that has been successfully applied to several of these systems.

Macrotek’s packed bed scrubbers are a highly efficient way to absorb gases using a high efficiency mist eliminator, and the company is working on advanced systems that will target H2S and arsenic in particular. “Conventional hydrogen sulphide removal technology comes at very high operating cost. The reagents are expensive, they are not regenerative and the disposal of the by-product is expensive,” explains Peter Ristevski. “We shall soon be demonstrating a new regenerative type of metal

catalytic reagent that could reduce operating costs by 50 percent.” The technology is expected to be released in 2014, and will represent a huge opportunity for the company, he says.

With no slowdown in the mining sector in sight, Ristevski is optimistic about the future of Macrotek. It will thrive as long as it continues to produce customised solutions for its worldwide clients, optimising energy efficiency, exceeding regulatory requirements, and delivering results unique to each environmental need – and these are standards it will never compromise.

For more information about Macrotek visit: www.macrotek.com

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Minera Esperanza

Bringing hope to a community Very much a Chilean business in every sense of the word, Minera Esperanza is committed to contributing to both the economic and social futures of local communities

written by: Will Daynes research by: Abi Abagun

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Minera Esperanza

I

t was during the 1990s that professionals 587 million tonnes of copper concentrate from Antofagasta Minerals Group made with a total grade of 0.53 percent, with more the discovery of a new deposit in the than 0.22 grams of gold retrieved per tonne.

Sierra Gorda mining zone. Though it was Getting the project to the point where it is accepted from the off that developing today has required a total investment of some such an asset, located at the heart of the $2.7 billion.

Minera Esperanza is a company created driest desert in the world, would be a hugely challenging undertaking, the work and managed by Chileans. As such it has of thousands of people has contributed to always possessed the core ethics that are the transformation of a geological resources shared among Chilean operations within into a new mining company called Minera the sector, which sees all of its work based Esperanza. around the principal of creating sustainable The site of the mine itself is located at an value. Sustainability itself has been adopted elevation of 2,300 metres, as a pillar of the company’s operations by its management 180 kilometres to the northeast if Antofagasta City te a m , i nc or p or at i ng and 30 kilometres from the economic profitability, care community of Sierra Gorda. for the environment and Minera Esperanza is a part the progress of communities of the Antofagasta Minerals wherever its operations are Company, the only national sited. private group of its kind in Such principles require the Chile. The group’s activities company to not only respect Estimated total reserves in the country’s large copper its human and environmental of copper concentrate mining sector extends surroundings, but also strive through its sister operations, to enhance them. Indeed Michilla and El Tesoro, in the Antofagasta with its use of seawater in its process, its region and its Los Pelambres operation in the integration and use of new technologies that Coquimbo region. are more environmentally friendly, and its Construction of the project began in mid- efforts to provide new opportunities to local 2008 with its start-up period commencing communities, Minera Esperanza represents a in November 2011 and the mine now fully clear example of sustainable mining in action. into its operation phase. During its first ten The exclusive use of seawater in its years of operations the mine is expected to operations is one of the most significant produce approximately 190,000 tonnes of sustainability aspects of Minera Esperanza, copper concentrate and 230,000 pounds of with this water being pumped through a 145 gold as its main by-product annually. Total kilometre long pipeline that follows the same reserves meanwhile are estimated to total alignment of the mine’s concentrate pipeline.

587

Billion tonnes

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Minera Esperanza

$2.7 Billion Total investment in the project to date

It is the pumping system, which includes four pumping stations located in the Esperanza Pier sector located in Caleta Michilla and in the company’s deposit at Sierra Gorda that makes this innovation possible. The mine’s concentrator plant possesses the highest level of seawater consumption, estimated to be more 600 litres per second. Of course some processes that occur in and around the asset do require fresh water. This is obtained from seawater that is desalinised through a process of reverse osmosis.

In addition to its wishes to adequately accountable for all the possible impacts of its operations in the region, it also strives to assist

The hope conveyor

in any way it can with local challenges and with the development of the communities in which it exists. During its very early days the company developed a community relations plan. This plan is very much in line with the sustainability maptek principles of Antofagasta Maptek was founded more than 30 years ago, is a leading Minerals, which is based on provider of innovative software, hardware and services a number of values including for the global mining industry. Maptek products are in the ideas of respecting people use at more than 1200 sites in more than 60 countries. and the environment, and Products cover the whole mining cycle from exploration to reclamation. Vulcan™ is one of the world’s longest standing adhering to all necessary 3D mine planning and modelling packages. I-Site™ is an legal regulations. integrated hardware and software system for 3D laser The company’s social scanning, surveying and imaging. BlastLogic™ features prog ram g u ide l i n e s intelligent 3D drillhole validation and load design software, meanwhile have been and Eureka™ provides an interactive 3D environment for constructed to be fully visualising and interpreting geophysical and seismic data. consistent with those of the www.maptek.cl World Bank’s International

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S & S CONSULTING ENGINEERS LTD. Fully Operational After Earthquake.

Forty years of experience in seismic design and risk assessment for mining projects around the world.

Mining facility shown fully operated 2 days after 2007 Tocopilla, Chile earthquake.

Telephone: 56-2-22318406 Email: info@sysingen.cl www.sysingen.cl

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Financial Corporation, which themselves include an exhaustive set of social and environmental performance standards that are applied to all sustainability projects.

The company is also guided by the Ecuador Principles, used as a measurement tool by financial institutions that have invested in this mining project, that underline the need to have social management plans, public evaluations, complaints and claims mechanisms, among other recommendations, which have been integrated into Minera Esperanza´s daily activities.

As well as being a part of the Antofagasta Minerals Company, Minera Esperanza also belongs to the Antofagasta Industrialists

Minera Esperanza

The truck workshop and aerial view of Minera Esperanza

Association (AIA) and to the Mejillones Industrialists Association (AIM). As a member of these institutions in the Antofagasta region, the company has contributed greatly to the development of a number of social responsibility programs that have worked to strength the skills sets of countless local men and women. Furthermore, it has collaborated in the promotion of activities linked to the dissemination of mining activities by means of exhibitions open to the community.

Minera Esperanza has also complemented these activities with its own initiatives that in turn have gained the support and collaboration of the above organisation. An example of this collaboration in action was

its hosting of the first Antofagasta Region Suppliers’ Business Round, which was held in December 2009 in the commune of Mejillones. This event provided a forum to gather knowledge shared by the company, and by other small and medium size enterprises from within the region. The aim of this event was to clearly promote local employment and sustainable development in the zone, things that Minera Esperanza continues to care deeply about.

For more information about Minera Esperanza visit: www.mineraesperanza.cl

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foundations of the future

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Base Titanium

General Manager of External Affairs, Joe Schwarz discusses how the work of Base Titanium on the Kwale Project is helping to shape the future prosperity of Kenya

written by: Will Daynes research by: Richard Halfhide

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Power reticulation string 11kv line

Base Titanium

A

s the vast majority of experts, analysts and economic observers will attest, the mining sector offers the African country of Kenya the highest immediate growth potential, with its development expected to contribute significantly to driving economic growth in various industries including energy, construction, transportation and finance.

At the heart of the country’s long-term mining plans is the Kwale Mineral Sands Project. Located 50 kilometres south of the port city of Mombasa, it is a highly competitive project in a sector with a significant forecast supply shortfall widely thought to emerge in the medium term. Indeed it is estimated that the Kwale Project will go on to contribute some $300 million to the government of Kenya in direct tax and royalty payments alone over the 13 year life of the mine.

“The project,” explains Joe Schwarz, General Manager of External Affairs, “was first initiated back in the mid-1990s by the Canadian company Tiomin Resources, which carried out the initial exploration, environmental, re-settlement and feasibility work. After a number of years of moving the project forward, Tiomin suffered a series of setbacks until an acquisition agreement with the publically listed Australian company Base Resources was concluded in July 2010.”

With the deal complete, and with the backing of the Kenyan government, Base Resources registered a wholly-owned Kenyan subsidiary, Base Titanium. It is this local entity in which the Kwale Project assets exist as its flagship development. Following

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a positive update of the feasibility study, and the successful raising of equity and debt financing, the $300 million project was officially launched in late 2011.

Wholly focused on the Kwale Project, Base Resources has evolved massively in a very short period of time, going from a small exploration outfit to a sizeable business with a market capitalisation of over $200 million and a member of the ASX 300.

Construction of the project is now well advanced, with practical completion scheduled for the third quarter of 2013. By the end of the year Base Titanium expects to have commenced shipping of three distinct product streams processed from the mine’s high-value, heavy-mineral assemblage. Going forward, it will produce 330,000 tonnes of ilmenite, 80,000 tonnes of rutile and 30,000 tonnes of zircon annually over a 13-year period.

Base Titanium aims to become a truly Kenyan mining company and one that brings both economic and social benefits to the communities in which it operates. “Our focus,” Schwarz enthuses, “is on delivering sustainable, long-term community investment.

We are developing further programmes for the future and the pay back is that we gain the co-operation and support of a contented and uplifted community.”

As the operator of the first large-scale mining project to be developed within Kenya, Base Titanium has the responsibility of setting the benchmark for future developers to meet. The company is very much viewed as a flagship organisation to attract further investment into an industry sector that, despite remaining neglected and dormant for a considerable period of time, is now experiencing a ground swell of

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Base Titanium

Power supply - mine site substation installation

interest from various neighbouring communities.” exploration companies from Base Titanium operates around the world. a recruitment system based on registering job seekers To date, the Kwale Project into a database that captures has helped create significant Estimated life opportunities for local information on domicile, span of the mine economic development, one skills and other relevant of which being a focused local factors. People are then employment programme. selected for employment on “This part of Kenya,” Schwarz highlights, “is a best fit basis, while giving first priority somewhat economically depressed compared to those from affected and immediately to other regions of the country and t neighbouring communities. herefore employment and economic “In addition to the aforementioned efforts opportunities are sensitive and emotive we have made,” Schwarz says, “we are also issues. Through formalised agreements with committed to transferring skills to locals in the government and local communities, order to equip them for employment in the we are committed to maximising local wider mining and related industries. Among recruitment from among project affected and the ways we are trying to do this is by providing

13 YEARS

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formalised training, apprenticeships and mentoring programmes for young people who lack the necessary hands-on experience.”

Health and safety of its employees and surrounding communities is something that is equally important to Base Titanium. “We have now worked over two million man hours since the only lost time injury incurred so far in building the project,” Schwarz adds. “Our lost time injury frequency rate of just over 0.3

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compares very favourably with some of the best operators globally, all the more remarkably in that many employees have never before worked in an industrial environment.”

It is a commonly held view that to this day Kenya remains grossly underexplored. One of the reasons for this is the fact that historically Kenya has seen itself as an agricultural nation first and foremost.

“At present,” Schwarz concludes, “minerals

Base Titanium

Water storage dam - central embankment under construction

and mining contribute only 0.7 percent of Kenya’s GDP and less than two percent towards its total export revenues. It goes without saying therefore that the growth potential here is significant, and this is already proving to be the case. However, what we as a business are doing here today is just the beginning. Base Resources aims to be the first thought of company when considering truly successful resource development in Africa

such that governments and communities will invite us in, employees will seek us out and others will want to emulate us. The Kwale Project represents just the first step towards making that a reality.�

For more information about Base Titanium visit: www.basetitanium.com

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Ac

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Allana Potash

class apart Senior vice president of corporate development, Richard Kelertas, discusses the results of Allana Potash’s recent feasibility study on its Danakhil Potash Project in Ethiopia and how the company plans to build on this going forward

written by: Will Daynes research by: Marcus Lewis

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Meridian drilling operations with CS14 drill rig

Allana Potash

T

he first several months of 2012 were optimistic times for the potash industry, with a recent acceleration in world demand for the product showing no initial signs of wavering. What we now know is that a number of combining factors in the latter half of 2012 would conspire to negatively impact upon the potash market.

“From an external perspective,” explains senior vice president of corporate development, Richard Kelertas, “I believe the biggest contributing factors to the decline in demand for potash were a series of environmental issues caused by both severe drought and major flooding disasters across the planet. Around the same time, India, traditionally a major potash buyer, decided to scale back its buying commitments in the aftermath of the government reducing various farming subsidies.”

The reduction of these subsidies meant that said farmers began turning to urea and phosphate fertilisers as an alternative to potash, which is misplaced because there are no substitutes for this critical nutrient.

Given this tumultuous backdrop, it comes as little surprise that by the turn of the year the market valuations for the vast majority of junior, and even some senior potash producers had fallen considerably.

Fortunately, the first weeks of 2013 saw the potash industry welcome several positive developments, one of which was the release of the results from Allana Potash’s feasibility study from its flagship Danakhil Potash Project, in the first week of February. This study was prepared by

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Highland canyon trek in search of freshwater sources

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Ercosplan Ingenieurgesellschaft Geotechnik und Bergbau (ERCOSPLAN). The technical report, prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 with respect to the feasibility study and the mineral resource and reserve estimates forming the basis of the report is available under Allana Potash Corp’s profile on SEDAR, confirms the project as being one of the few economically viable greenfield potash developments in the world.

The feasibility study and the mineral resource and reserve estimates were completed

by ERCOSPLAN under the supervision of Dr. Henry Rauche, PhD, EurGeol, Managing Director, CEO ERCOSPLAN and Dr. Sebastiaan van der Klauw, Ph.D., EurGeol, Consulting Geologist, ERCOSPLAN who are both independent Qualified Persons for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.

The feasibility study itself was based on commercial operations that produce one million tonnes per year of a standard grade muriate of potash, or MOP, product over an initial estimated operating life of approximately 25 years from sylvinite reserves at Allana’s Danakhil Project. The study yielded, on an unlevered basis, an after-tax Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 33 percent and an after-tax net present value (NPV) of $ 1.32 billion based on a ten percent discount rate.

The feasibility estimates include all infrastructure required to operate a potash solution mine and bring the product to market. This includes cavern and wellfield installation, a three stage processing plant, product storage facilities, load out, trucking

Allana Potash

Production water well wellhead assembly

fleet and the necessary port storage facilities.

Even with current potash market realities driving the lower potash price forecast of $430 per tonne used in the study, the favourable total production CAPEX of about $579 million and port and transport CAPEX of $63 million make this project one of the lowest cost and potentially highest return greenfield potash projects worldwide. Similarly, the very competitive production OPEX at $69.25 per

tonne, within a total, loaded-on-ship, OPEX of $98.75 per tonne FOB, is among one of the lowest greenfield potash projects currently under development.

ERCOSPLAN modelled the production of one million tonnes of MOP from just the sylvinite zone on the project, excluding future potential production from the extensive carnallite and sulphate-based kainite resources. The feasibility study’s extremely

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positive results have understandably given Allana Potash great confidence in advancing its project to development and securing project finance and off take agreements.

Aside from Allana Potash’s own exciting developments, Kelertas is also able to point to several other recent events that are helping bring some much needed confidence back to the sector. “In recent months we have seen

one or two significant contracts being signed by the Chinese, Brazilians and Indians.

Inventory levels of potash have come down somewhat as well and shipment levels are now rising.”

As the industry continues to firm up steadily, Allana Potash finds itself ideally positioned with enough resource on its property to advance from its one

“One of the things that really differentiates us from our competitors is that we have the financial security required to keep the lights on”

NBB water well and solution well drilling with nordmeyer drill rig

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Allana Potash

Solution well leach string

million tonne production target for midto-late 2017, to between two and three million tonnes per year thereafter should conditions remain in its favour. Allana also has the possibility of producing SOP (sulphate of potash), which is a premium priced product compared to NOP (nitrate of potash), the standard fertiliser that most of the world uses. It should be noted however that Allana’s ability to expand production beyond one million tonnes per year has not been the subject of a feasibility study as yet and there is no certainty that the proposed expansion will be economically viable.

“In the grand scheme of things,” Kelertas enthuses, “we are very happy with where

we stand today with our business model and strategy. Indeed, if you look at various other operations across the world, we compare extremely well with any project currently being undertaken, even the numerous established brownfield expansions.”

Nevertheless, it is the company’s aim right now not to get too far ahead of itself. “What we are currently looking at,” Kelertas says, “is making sure we have all of our financing in place before then proceeding to actually getting out into the field and putting that first shovel in the ground.”

When asked what the long term future might hold for the company, it is clear that while it does aim to grow at a comfortable

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Allana Potash

$28 million In capital that Allana Potash retained in the bank as of the end of January 2013 place, Allana Potash does have a number of ideas about where it might be in fiveto-ten years’ time.

“One of the things we must continue to examine on an on-going basis,” Kelertas states, “is the potential for us to upgrade our production levels. Further down the road there is also the possibility that the project could move away from its dependency on diesel and fuel oil, possibly onto solar, geothermal or wind power, making it a totally green operation.”

As of the end of January 2013, it was estimated that the company retained over $28 million in capital in the bank (and no debt), with between $15 million and $20 million predicted to remain when it commences its pre-construction phase. “One of the things that really differentiates us from our competitors is that we have the financial security required to keep the lights on, so to speak,” Kelertas concludes. “This stands us in good stead as we now embark on getting that first shovel in the ground, before commencing with construction, which we plan to have underway by the end of 2013.”

For more information about Allana Potash visit: www.allanapotash.com

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Making

waves Converting a dry mining operation into a wet or dredge mining operation can renew the life of a mine. IHC Mining is able to facilitate this change by supplying equipment, educating and training local crew, and offering life-cycle support

written by: Will Daynes research by: Marcus Lewis

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IHC Mining B.V.

Mining dredger attached to floating processing plant

IHC Mining B.V.

A

s the Mining division of IHC Merwede, IHC Mining focuses on integrated solutions for mining houses in onshore, near shore and deep-sea mining. It offers advisory services to determine overall technical and economic project viability.

It designs, builds and supplies innovative mining vessels and advanced equipment.

During operations the company provides its clients with life cycle support.

With roots that can be traced back to the 18th Century, and origins that lie with six Dutch shipyards that joined forces to build six sea-going tin dredgers for the Billiton Company, IHC Merwede is a Netherlands based company delivering integrated solutions to the dredging, offshore and mining industry.

From its locations in the Netherlands, South Africa, Australia and Singapore, IHC Merwede’ s Mining Division works closely with its customers to deliver an integrated service offering that it feels is proven to bring optimum results to any mining operation.

The company’s innovative vessels and advanced equipment are typically utilised in the extraction of mineral sands, diamonds, gold, copper, nickel, tin, iron ore, phosphate, rare earths and rock salts from depths of ten metres or less up to 300 metres. Meanwhile it is also working to develop equipment specifically designed to operate in even deeper waters.

Unlike a number of the players that exist within the wet mining industry today, IHC Mining is able to point to its long history of operating in such environments. In the many decades in which it has built up

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72% Of the world’s surface is covered in water

Dredge miner at work

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an unmatched level of experience it has also collected countless references from satisfied clients.

The roots of the business are very much entrenched in dredging. “It is this background,” highlights Marcel Boor, Product Director of Near Shore and Onshore Mining Equipment, “that the company has leveraged in order to develop its core mining technologies over the years. We have long been a well-respected and recognised player in the dredging industry, and we hope to earn a similar status in the mining sector.”

“We anticipate the onshore, near shore and deep sea market segments will continue to gain momentum, particular as dry mining becomes more difficult to develop and head grades continue to fall,” explains Managing Director, Martijn Schouten. “While wet mining is by no means a new phenomenon, it is one that is being increasingly recognised as an attractive alternative to dry mining.”

“Geographically,” Schouten continues, “we are currently seeing growth in each of our specific market segments. In terms of our onshore activities, these are being driven largely by the strong levels of exploration on-going in places like Russia, Southern Africa and South America, while a particularly attractive area at present for near

IHC Mining B.V.

Mining wheel

shore mining exists between Indonesia and the Philippines. Deep-sea mining activities continue to be spread much further across the globe with companies heading to wherever deposits may be found.”

“At the end of the day,” states Product Director for Near Shore and Onshore Mining, Kees Jan Verkaik, “what these mining clients are most interested in what they can get from the ground beneath the water in terms of minerals. One of the primary reasons why

such clients turn to us is because we possess the technology and skills required to get down to these mineral deposits and do so efficiency and effectively in almost any environment.”

“One of the major benefits of wet mining in a lot of cases,” Verkaik highlights, “is that the development of large scale deposits becomes a much less logistically challenging undertaking. Whereas such an operation on land would require countless trucks for example to transport the material, the

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transport of a product through say a hydraulic pipeline would not only allow you to move it greater distances in less time, it would also have a significant impact when it comes to cost savings. The trend towards developing larger mines has certainly helped shine the spotlight on such alternatives and that is a good thing for us.�

The reality however is that in many instances, when faced with a choice

between land-based and wet mining, a higher percentage of companies still choose to go with the dry option simply because they are less aware of the benefits and advantages of the alternative. The same lack of understanding and acknowledgement is one challenge that IHC Mining is working to overcome. Despite being lauded as being one of the leading figures within the DutchBelgian dredging cluster it is not yet seen as

“One of the major benefits of wet mining is that the development of large scale deposits becomes a much less logistically challenging undertaking�

Dredge equipment for overburden removal

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IHC Mining B.V.

Onshore mining

a leading solution or equipment provider to the mining community.

IHC Mining’s mission to increase awareness in not only itself, but the whole concept of wet mining, saw it travel to Cape Town in early February for the Mining INDABA event.

“Appearing at such industry gatherings is so important if we are to achieve our ambition of being recognised as the leader player in dredge mining,” Schouten enthuses. “It is at such events that we are able to share our ideas, thoughts and ambitions with potential clients, particular those that are keen to develop new concessions in the future.”

From a deep-sea perspective meanwhile, the fact that on average product grades found here are greater than those found on land is certainly something that in the future will

encourage more and more people to get their feet wet, as it were.

As Schouten goes on to conclude, with more than 70 percent of the world’s surface covered in water it is only logical that there will be an increase in wet mining going forward as the industry continues to follow a similar pattern to that which saw the oil and gas sector move offshore. “In order to facilitate this growth, as well as the needs of our customers, we will continue to increase our regional presence in core markets as we strive to grow as a leading business in our field of expertise.”

For more information about IHC Mining B.V. visit: www.ihcmerwede.com/mining

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Konkola Copper Mines (KCM)

Delving

deeper

As Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) embarks on its complex Konkola Deep Mining Project (KDMP) it has never been a more important time for the company to demonstrate its commitment to sustainable development

written by: Will Daynes research by: Richard Halfhide

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The mine entrance

Konkola Copper Mines (KCM)

S

ince the early 1930s the mining Corporation and Roan Selection Trust, the industry has been the economic mines were nationalised in the early 1970s and social backbone of Zambia. with their ownership restricted several In the decades since the country’s times before Zambia became a multi-party economy has been heavily reliant state in 1991. on the mining of copper and cobalt. Today

By March 2000 the privatisation the country is internationally recognised as programme of the largest mining assets was a premier producer of these products, and completed, with Anglo American reacquiring a is ranked as the world’s seventh largest 51 percent stake in Konkola Copper Mines producer of copper, generating 3.3 percent which comprised mining operations in of the western world’s total production.

Chingola and Konkola, and smelting and Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) is a major refining operations at Nkana. It was in integrated copper producer in Zambia, November 2004 that Vedanta Resources primarily engaged in the exploration for, become KCM’s majority shareholder, increasing its holding to 79.4 mining, production and percent in 2008. Since its sale of copper and copper original acquisition Vedanta by-products. A subsidiary has invested over $2.5 billion of Vedanta Resources, a to upgrade equipment, build London-listed diversified FTSE 100 metals and mining new facilities and expand Of the western world’s group with operations in capacity. The investments total copper production India, Australia, South have increased reserves & originates in Zambia resources and increased the Africa, Namibia, Zambia & Ireland, KCM’s primary aim life of the mines. is to establish itself as an over 400,000 tonnes KCM operates two mines at Nchanga, per annum finished copper producer and comprising an underground mine and four among the top biggest copper mining open pits, the Nchanga Smelter, Konkola companies in the world.

Mine, Nkana Refinery and the Nampundwe KCM’s fully integrated copper operations pyrite mine. KCM’s operations are primarily include a number of open pit mines, a large classified into the four categories of mining underground mine, leaching plant, a state process plants, marketing, human resources of the art new flash smelter, modernised and logistics. The process plants process concentrators, a modernised refinery and a raw ore into high grade copper, while the sulphuric acid plant. company’s dedicated marketing team is One of the company’s most significant tasked with the selling of KCM’s products to advantages is its location within one of various clients in Africa and other continents.

From a human resources perspective the highest-grade copper seams in the world. Initially owned by Anglo American KCM holds the distinction of being Zambia’s

3.3%

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“TRIDENT S.A. - INTERNATIONAL ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER”

TRIDENT S.A. Trident South Africa is the OEM manufacturer of the Goodman Locomotive, Eimco Rockershovel and Trident Winches. The Trident product ranges are backed up by comprehensive parts supply, technical service, reconditioning and research and development. Tridents exacting standards ensure quality and ensure long equipment life.

+27 11 902 6735 | info@tridentsa.co.za | www.tridentsa.co.za

NEW PRECIOUS RESOURCE DISCOVERED

Click here to visit our dedicated homepage for the mining community www.bus-ex.com/mining BEST PRACTICE IN MINING

Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) largest private sector employer with nearly 22,000 KDMP has been a key installation for Trident with the permanent and contractor purchase of 16 20ton “Big Mamma� locomotives; this is employees, meanwhile, with Africa’s single largest installation of large Battery and Zambia being a land-locked Electric Locomotives. Key to the success of this project was country, logistics plays a Tridents team of dedicated industry professionals and the hugely important role in the management team at KDMP namely Praveen Sharma and Barry Hodgekinson, who together had the vision and the transportation of finished tenacity to make this project a success. products to Johannesburg and Trident SA provides technical, parts and reconditioning Cape Town in South Africa. support to 180 locomotives in the Zambian market and From here the products besides Locomotives also sells a range of Rockershovels are then sent to their (Eimco and Atlas Copco) and Trident Winches. respective destinations. www.tridentsa.co.za In recent years KCM has invested heavily in establishing state-of-the-art mining operations across its mines and in key projects that are designed to extend the life of its assets and increase overall copper production. One of its largest and most important undertakings currently on-going is the Konkola Deep Mining Project (KDMP). This involves expanding the production of copper ore at the Konkola mine from two million tonnes per annum to 7.5 million tonnes per annum by accessing the rich ore body that lies beneath what the current operations are exploiting. In order to achieve this the company is in the process of sinking a new mine shaft to the depth of

Trident SA

22,000 Number of permanent and contractor employees working for KCM

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approximately 1,500 metres, making it the deepest new shaft sinking project occurring on the continent.

In addition to this the project involves the deepening of existing shafts, the sinking of three new ventilation shafts, one new dewatering shaft and the construction of a new pump chamber. Phase one of the project has been successfully launched, with midshaft loading currently underway.

Alongside the KDMP, a modern concentrator is being built to handle the additional ore that will be produced at Konkola. The Company believes the KDMP represents the largest investment by a Zambian mining company in a shaft-sinking operation since the late 1950s and expects it to bring significant short and long-term benefits to the Zambian economy.

The KDMP also includes the commissioning of a six metric tonnes per annum concentrator at Konkola to enhance mining output, improve recovery and improve the concentrate grade of its copper.

While the term “sustainable development” is very much a buzz-phrase throughout the mining industry these days, it is something that KCM takes extremely seriously when it comes to all of its operations, including the KDMP. As part of its corporate social responsibility programme it aims to give

back and support the community in which its mines and process plants operate.

Among its chief activities KCM is working to rebuild the lives of KCM employees by providing them with alternative employment opportunities, educating the children of KCM employees in its own schools, providing medical care in purpose built clinics and hospitals, and raising public awareness of malaria and AIDS.

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Konkola Copper Mines (KCM)

Overview of the plant site

As part of its safety, health and environment programme KCM enacts the highest of safety measures and regulations in each of its mines and process plants. Each and every one of its employees is provided with regular training, which helps them to work efficiently while minimising risk.

Regular audits are conducted to ensure that all safety measures are being complied with, while regular health check-ups are conducted and medical treatment is able to be provided to employees who fall ill.

KCM has also made concerted efforts to ensure that its processes are fine-tuned to ensure minimal environmental pollution is emitted. The company plants saplings to create fruit orchards to maintain the greenery

and protect the ecological balance and water conservation is also an important issue that KCM highlights through awareness programs.

When one couples the extensive work being undertaken to improve its existing mine operations, thus inevitably creating more jobs and contributing more to Zambia’s economic growth, and the work it is doing to achieve sustainable development, it is clear that KCM is doing everything in its power to make the future bright for itself and the communities around which it operates.

For more information about Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) visit: www.kcm.co.zm

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Assmang: Khumani Mine

Iron men The on-going Khumani Mine Expansion Project is taking one of Assmang’s most prized assets to a whole new level of iron ore production

written by: Will Daynes research by: Richard Halfhide

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Assmang: Khumani Mine

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riginally known as The Machadodorp ferrochrome works both in the Associated Manganese Mines Mpumalanga Province, while its iron ore is of South Africa Limited, made up of the high grade Khumani Mine Assmang as it exists today and the Beeshoek Mine both situated in the bears very little resemblance Northern Cape Province, around the towns to the fledgling company that started work on of Kathu and Postmasburg. the Northern Cape’s manganese fields in 1935.

While Assmang is very much a medium Today, the three operating divisions benefit sized player within the global market it is a from the modern mining infrastructure and very important one, particularly as it holds technologies, while Assmang’s “we do it the distinction of being South Africa’s second better” philosophy has helped to ensure low largest iron ore producer. Nevertheless the domestic market takes only a small proportion operating costs and high employee buy-in. of its output, with 40 percent The company has retained its flexibility, developed of what it exports annually over decades of hardship in through the port of Saldanha difficult operating conditions, shipped to China, with Korea, which is helping Assmang Japan and Europe sharing the remainder. to enter a new phase in The Khumani iron ore its challenging but often mine, formerly known as the distinguished history with Bruce, King and Mokaning confidence, even in the face of tough global market (“BKM”) Project which refers Estimated annual conditions and challenges. to the farms on which the iron production rate of the Assmang currently has ore resources are located, is mine following the expansion project situated approximately 30 three operating divisions based on its three commodities kilometres south of the town namely chrome, manganese of Khatu, in the Northern Cape and iron ore. Although each division operates Province of South Africa and approximately independently, together they strive to achieve 65 kilometres north of Beeshoek Mine. optimum efficiencies.

The Khumani iron ore mine has been Assmang’s manganese ores and alloys designed to produce ten million tonnes of consists of the manganese mines in the export quality iron ore each year, a figure Northern Cape Province of South Africa, that will eventually rise to 16 million tonnes namely N’Chwaning and Gloria mine, upon completion of phase 2 of the Khumani and the ferromanganese works at Cato Expansion Project. The Phase 2 expansion Ridge in the KwaZulu-Natal province. The includes the development of the mining company’s chrome ores and alloys consist platform on the King property, material of the Dwarsrivier chrome mine and the handling systems, stockpiles, stackers &

16

Million Tonnes

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NEW PRECIOUS RESOURCE DISCOVERED

Click here to visit our dedicated homepage for the mining community www.bus-ex.com/mining BEST PRACTICE IN MINING

Assmang: Khumani Mine

Khumani’s resources are among the best in South Africa

reclaimers, a local railway siding, an additional terms of quality and quantity. It is estimated rapid load-out station, a paste disposal facility, that the reserves will keep the mine going for haul roads and other supporting facilities. The more than 25 years at an annual extraction iron ore mined, at the Khumani iron ore mine, rate of 16 million tonnes. will initially only be exported, however with The iron ore is mined from a series of open future expansions it will also cater to the local pits, on the Bruce and King properties, by South African steel market. means of conventional drilling, blasting and The ore at Khumani is close to the surface, loading into trucks for hauling to each of and it is a very high grade deposit, with a the Bruce and King primary and secondary stripping ratio of 1.7 to 1. This means 10 crushing facilities. From there, it is transferred units of iron ore for every 17 units of material by means of overland conveyor and excavated, and the iron ore, stockpiled onto blending beds a high proportion of which that separate the material into two categories, on- and is described as ‘lumpy’, in turn yields 66 percent iron. off-grade material, ahead The Khumani resources are of treatment at the Parsons amongst the best iron ore Beneficiation Plant.

Estimated life of the mine resources in South Africa in On-Grade material is

25 Years

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moved from the on-grade stockpile through to the washing and screening plant situated on the Parsons property, to ultimately produce final product incorporating tertiary crushing of any oversize material from the screening plant.

Off-grade material on the other hand is moved from the off-grade stockpile through to the washing and screening plant, and oversized material crushed in the tertiary

crushers, it is also beneficiated through jigging in either the Lumpy or Fines Jig Plants, in order to remove any contaminants.

The final product is then stockpiled on the Lumpy, Fines or DR Lump product stockpiles, ahead of a rapid load-out station, to periodically load 342 x 100tonne wagons, which are then railed for exporting purposes via the 861 kilometre Sishen-Saldanha railway line to the Port of

“The ore at Khumani is close to the surface, and it is a very high grade deposit, with a stripping ratio of 1.7 to 1�

The Khumani mine lies 60 miles to the north of Beeshoek

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Assmang: Khumani Mine

The ore yields 66 per cent iron

Saldanha Bay on South Africa’s West Coast, in the Western Cape Province.

On 12 August 2010, on the same day it confirmed that Khumani had been commissioned on time and on budget, the company’s directors approved additional capital expenditure of R5.5 billion for the completion of the Khumani Expansion Project, to increase the mine’s capacity to 16 million tonnes per annum.

The extension will see second primary and secondary crushers, screening systems and stockpile locations brought online at Assmang’s King property. In many respects, the new plant will simply mirror the existing one. To cope with the expansion, Transnet, which operates the dedicated rail line, has agreed to raise Assmang’s allocation from

ten million to 14 million tonnes a year.

Every day of the year, a 342-wagon train leaves for Saldanha, with each wagon carrying 100 tonnes of ore. When the line was built back in 1976, it had an annual capacity of 18 million tonnes. Today, it can carry 60 million tonnes a year. Meanwhile, the port facilities at Saldanha are being similarly prepared, so by the time the downturn is over and the world’s steelmakers again struggle to meet demand, Assmang will be there to supply them with a better quality of ore than they can find anywhere in the world.

For more information about Assmang: Khumani Mine visit: www.assmang.co.za

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Initiating a revolution

President of PZS Stabilization, Bruce Coulthard discusses the creation of the company’s SNCA Products’ SGA-1 and how it is set to revolutionize the oil and gas industry’s hydraulic fracturing process to extract oil and gas

written by: Will Daynes research by: Robbie Hodgson

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PZS Stabilization-SNCA Products

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SGA-1 has no adverse environmental impact

PZS Stabilization-SNCA Products

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his move into the oil and gas hydraulic fracturing market is something that’s new and exciting for our company,” enthuses Bruce Coulthard, President of PZS Stabilization LLC. The move in question has come as a result of forming a manufacturing company, SNCA Products LLC, and including exclusive rights to distribute a revolutionary new line of products globally. One of those products, SGA-1, is formulated specifically for the hydraulic fracturing process of oil and gas extraction - also called “fracing”.

Until now, the lack of an alternative product has resulted in the oil and gas industry using millions of gallons of hydrochloric acid and other toxic chemicals in the fracing process. A semi-noncorrosive acid in the company’s SNCA Product line, SGA-1 has been specifically designed to replace hydrochloric acid with hydronium.

Unlike hydrochloric acid, SGA-1 has no adverse environmental impact. The basis for this revolutionary scientific technology is a patented stabilization and production process related to the H9O4 molecule. The proprietary system enables isolation of hydronium, the ion that determines the pH of acids.

“This is a product,” Coulthard continues, “that you can literally hold safely in your hands, swipe across your lips and use down the hole of a well. It’s really that safe to use. The seeming contradiction though is that it’s powerful enough to dissolve rock in much the same way as hydrochloric acid without creating the same ground water contamination, worker safety and fume problems.”

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A stable acid that does not decompose under normal conditions, SGA-1 completely dissolves calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium and mild-steel and is readily biodegradable, breaking down into water and oxygen.

Confirmed by independent testing, the product has a dermal toxicity similar to water and has been awarded a Hazardous Materials Identification System rating of zero. “Perhaps the greatest benefit of this formulation is that its base components are food grade.”

Lab tests on SGA-1, conducted using FDA Antimicrobial Effectiveness techniques have been nothing short of striking. The product passed the test with 100 percent kill rates for E.Coli, Staph aureus and other bacteria and virus remain even from 1-14 days. Tests on Phytophora Ramorum have the recorded the same results.

The task of spreading word of the product is already well underway with the company making strong use of social media and with Coulthard himself deep in discussion with as many as nine of the largest players in the oil and gas market. “Early reports have been astoundingly positive and there is a growing buzz in the industry,” he highlights.

“More and more companies are starting to understand that use of this product has political, environmental and economic

advantages and that discarding old methods is simply the right thing to do.”

Strictly from an economic perspective, one of SGA-1’s core benefits is that it may allow the oil and gas industry to get far more oil or gas to the surface and increase daily production. Looking forward, however, when it comes to how this revolutionary

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PZS Stabilization-SNCA Products

Bruce Coulthard, President of PZS Stabilization

product will shape the future not a start-up venture. But, of oil and gas operations, while one can’t realistically Coulthard is convinced that say that within six months it will be intertwined with every oil and gas company greater field use. “In a way, will be putting this product the oil and gas industry down their drilling holes, The length of time spent researching and will effectively become our it has not stopped us developing the product partner going forward. Our from strategically planning technical staff is getting for rapid expansion and them started, but in turn, putting new manufacturing their engineers will give us feedback so we facilities in key regions across the globe.” may focus on the manufacturing options we Having firmly established itself within many have available. It will help us develop the industries including the mining sector with its work on stabilizing soils and controlling next generation of products.”

“Where we are today is a result of eight dust, PZS Stabilization’s foray into the oil and years of research and development. This is gas industry is very much seen within the

8 years

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“we have proven our commitment to sell environmentally-responsible products that actually work” business as being a natural progression. For his part, Coulthard’s focus in the short term is to create a financially stable business model that is environmentally-sound as well.

“By selling first our PennzSuppress dust control product and now our SNCA Products, we have proven our commitment to sell environmentally-responsible products that actually work,” Coulthard

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proudly states. “I think it’s fair to say that with a product as powerful as this, we can make a difference. Chemically, it speaks for itself,” Coulthard says.

“It really is amazing what this product is capable of doing in so many differing industries. It will control TCA, the cause of cork taint in the wine industry, as well as other microbial problems in the horticultural

PZS Stabilization-SNCA Products

SGA-1 has multiple uses across other sectors such as the horticulture, healthcare and wine industries

sector while also being useful in treating burn victims in war zones and burn centers throughout the world,” Coulthard says.

“The oil and gas industry has started taking it seriously because it’s a resource that can solve all manner of operational issues while increasing its ability to be even more proactive on justifiable environmental concerns.”

In advance of what the company sees as the expected demand for the product, PZS Stabilization has made efforts to automate the production process so that it could conceivably produce 100,000 gallons of SGA-1 per day per facility with only a few people overseeing the automated plant. It’s even possible that larger oil and gas companies will want an onsite manufacturing unit to potentially reduce costs.

As Coulthard himself concedes, the truth is that there are still multiple manufacturing and use possibilities at this stage in the game. “While we can’t be one-hundred percent certain what the years will bring, it hasn’t stopped us from looking at the future of SNCA Products broadly. We’ve mastered making a new, important product. Our job right now is to get it out to as many people as possible so they can see for themselves just how revolutionary it is.

For more information about PZS Stabilization-SNCA Products visit: www.pzsstabilization.com

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Dedicated to decommissioning Boutique engineering consultancy Optimus has developed a unique approach to decommissioning that is garnering growing recognition among operators

written by: Will Daynes research by: Adam Kalynuk

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Optimus (Aberdeen) Limited

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F

ew companies can provide a dedicated team-led approach to decommissioning like Optimus.

The Aberdeen-based oil and gas engineering consultancy has gone from strength to strength since it launched Optimus Decom in 2010, a subsidiary established to meet growing demand for its engineering services for the decommissioning of on and offshore oil and gas facilities.

The company has built up a select team of specialists with all of the relevant skills necessary to provide support throughout the decommissioning process, from assessing liabilities and analysing the engineering options to final decommissioning project management, and is working to develop a full turnkey solution for the decommissioning of facilities.

Stuart Heggie, decommissioning team lead, said: “Rather than acting as a small decommissioning group that pulls in specific resources from outside sources, we are building a dedicated team of people with skills in all the relevant disciplines who share a collected understanding of the industry’s priorities. We are approaching decommissioning work differently, by having focused engineers in-house rather than sourced from third parties, and the huge benefits of this are increasingly being recognised by a growing band of operators.”

The team has experience in supporting a number of operators and other energy service companies, including Talisman, ConocoPhillips, BP and Wood Group.

Optimus’ expertise in the decommissioning field led industry body Decom North Sea to select it as the only engineering consultancy

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Optimus currently perform a wide range of services associated with the on and offshore oil and gas industry

Optimus (Aberdeen) Limited

ÂŁ30 Billion Modest estimate of how much will be spent on decommissioning in the next 30 years

Optimus can offer an integrated approach to decommissioning of offshore platforms, pipelines and subsea assets

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in its workgroup set up to help streamline the approvals process by reducing both costs and timescales for decommissioning work. The new standard template devised by the group has simplified the preparation and approvals process, which is highly welcomed by the industry as decommissioning work starts to take off in the UK North Sea. More than ÂŁ30 billion will be spent in the next 20 to 30 years in the field of decommissioning, according to modest estimates. Around 460 installations, over 10,000 kilometres of pipeline and 10,000 wells are set to be decommissioned in the UK North Sea over the next three decades.

Some ÂŁ1 billion is expected to be spent annually by 2015 and, with just seven percent of the anticipated work having been completed to date, the opportunities for the supply chain are immense.

Since director Ian Bell founded Optimus in 1999, the business has achieved strong organic growth year-on-year and Bell has his sights firmly set on becoming the leading boutique engineering consultancy serving the North Sea. Today, the group directly employs 90 staff at its Aberdeen headquarters and satellite offices in Inverness in the Scottish Highlands

Optimus (Aberdeen) Limited

The team is equipped with a wide range of technical and managerial experience

and Bangkok in Thailand. It also operates a joint venture in Varna, Bulgaria.

Bell believes the firm’s growth is testament to its common-sense approach to engineering.

“An ever-growing band of energy operators are realising the benefits of working with smaller, leaner and fitter contractors, who can react quickly to deliver projects efficiently,” he said. “We are confident that, because we’re a relatively small company, we can keep control of what our guys are doing and ensure projects don’t run over on cost or timescale.

We might charge a bit more than some of the competition for our expertise, but our ability to work smarter means we save our clients money in the long run.”

Optimus provides process engineering, facilities engineering, safety and project management services and has completed $130 million of capital projects in Europe and Africa during the past five years. Its expertise in decommissioning focuses on three key areas: annual liabilities activities, pre-Cessation of Production

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“We are incredibly proactive when it comes to working with clients” (CoP) planning and project management.

Heggie explained: “A significant indication of our growing credibility within the decommissioning sector is our recent success in securing a contract to manage an operator’s extensive liabilities portfolio.

This all-encompassing service includes not only liability cost maintenance, but provision of comprehensive due diligence services on a regular basis for any acquisitions or

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divestments, and conducting gap analysis reports to determine the issues and implications of operations in different global regions.”

As many operators prepare for their first decommissioning, the benefits of addressing decommissioning needs in a strategic manner are evident. Heggie said: “It allows costs to be fixed, prevents a resource shortage during peak decommissioning periods and gives the much-needed clarity required to

Optimus (Aberdeen) Limited

Optimus engineers have experience of working on projects from a client and contractor perspective

allow decommissioning to form part of a company’s corporate strategy.”

Much of Optimus’ success over the years can be attributed to its ability to integrate itself seamlessly into an operator’s team. “We are incredibly proactive when it comes to working with clients,” Heggie said. “We become an extended part of the team. We seek to assist in defining the work jointly, before then identifying the most efficient and cost-effective solutions that we know from our experience will produce the best results. We continue to add value with our flexible no-nonsense approach, independent advice and knowledge of alternative technological solutions.”

As for the long-term future, the team at

Optimus is looking forward to the challenges.

Bell concluded: “We are creating a flexible company that is best placed to deliver a fit-forpurpose, cost-effective solution to our clients and, eventually, we hope the Optimus way will be seen as a far better alternative to the status quo for decommissioning work. We have put in place all the necessary building blocks to ensure we play a fundamental role in leading the way in decommissioning for many years to come.”

For more information about Optimus (Aberdeen) Limited visit: www.optimusaberdeen.com

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METROPOLITAN

METRO The Madrid underground is the fastest and most efficient and affordable way of moving around Madrid. The city boasts one of the largest networks in Europe, serving most of the capital city and a good part of the suburbs

written by: john o’hanlon research by: Louisa Adcock

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Metro de Madrid

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Part of Metro de Madrid’s investment strategy is aimed at improving its current services

Metro de Madrid

T

he first line on Madrid’s underground railway network, the Metro de Madrid, was inaugurated on the 17th October 1919 by King Alfonso XIII. It had eight stations along 3.3 kilometres of track. Ever since that date the Metro has experienced progressive growth, which has made access possible to the majority of the capital’s districts and to some of the most important municipalities in the metropolitan area. Today it is the sixth longest metro system in the world, with 300 stations and 292 kilometres of track, 90 percent of it underground. In 2011 Metro de Madrid carried 635 million passengers at an average speed of nearly 31 kilometres per hour, with a high degree of automation and with state of the art rail signalling, safety and access systems.

Their security is very important to Madrid’s travelling public. “In a survey of the expectations of our customers, safety was the second most important factor, only surpassed by speed,” says CEO Ignacio González Velayos.

The safety systems installed throughout Metro de Madrid are all best of breed and are monitored permanently from the Command Post, the nerve centre of the system. Safety is inseparable from environmental performance, he believes. “Society is not content merely with meeting the need for mobility, but it demands that this should be achieved in a way that is sustainable in economic, social and environmental terms.”

One of the largest engineering projects was completed a decade ago in 2003 when the Metro expanded its network into the satellite towns of Móstoles, Fuenlabrada, Alcorcón, Leganés and Getafe, bringing the service to a

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Ticketless technology can drive public transport uptake, survey reveals Public transport providers know they need to attract and retain riders to help offset operating costs, increase revenue and grow profitability. But what will get drivers out of their cars and onto public transport?

Respondents to a global Accenture survey on public transport indicate that ticketless journeys, aided by new technology, could be a key motivator. What’s more, the majority said they are willing to pay for the convenience.

Survey respondents globally (76 percent average) believe a ticketless system—using contactless payments or proof of purchase on mobile devices—would encourage some drivers to start using public transport. The majority of respondents (69 percent) also believe that having a one-ticket-for-all system would help increase riders. The figures were even higher in Europe, with passengers in London (70 percent), Paris (78 percent) and Barcelona (78 percent) emphasizing the importance of a single ticket for multiple modes of transport. Of the other cities around the world, only New York ranked above average.

This is hardly surprising. Consumers, aided by mobile technology, expect easy, efficient customer transactions in all spheres of their lives. They want their door-to-door public transport journey to run as smoothly as if they had driven there themselves—and expect technology to pave the way.

Transport agencies ignore these trends at their peril. Although it may be difficult to integrate new technology into existing operations, customers expect it. And they want it fast: 77 percent of global respondents expect to purchase tickets on their mobiles/smartphones in the next two years, particularly those in Los Angeles, New York, Sao Paulo and London.

Survey respondents clearly see a cost-benefit trade-off for ticketless travel. Only 10 percent (on average) of respondents said they would be unwilling to countenance any price increase to pay for new technology. Travelers’ willingness to pay for the technology can help defray implementation costs—plus generate

Globally, respondents believe a ticketless system will encourage uptake

76%

revenue by attracting and retaining riders over the long term.

These are just a few of the survey findings suggesting that consumers expect transport agencies to employ technology to deliver a more convenient travel experience. Through technology, public transport providers have an opportunity to address ridership and revenue challenges that continue to impact performance. But doing so means developing technology-driven strategies that offer consumers the kind of superior travel experience they will increasingly come to expect.

For more information on this research please visit www.accenture.com/ publictransportation or contact: Philippe Guittat philippe.guittat@accenture.com Emmanuel Schneider emmanuel.schneider@accenture.com Michael J. Wilson michael.j.wilson@accenture.com

90% willing to pay to introduce new technology for ticketless travel

Respondents also believe a one-ticket-for-all system will encourage uptake 78%

78%

76%

77% will purchase tickets via mobile devices in the next two years

70%

Paris

Barcelona

New York

London

The consumer survey was conducted by Coleman Parkes Research on behalf of Accenture. It was carried out online in September 2012 in multiple languages in Korea, Brazil, the United States, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. All 4,500 respondents were 18 years or older. Modes of transport surveyed include subways, taxis, boats, cars, trains, trams and buses.

To learn more, visit: www.accenture.com/publictransportation

10+90 23+77 90%

77%

METRO Metro DE de MADRID Madrid

ACCENTURE & METRO DE MADRID “COMMIT” TO HIGH PERFORMANCE Improving innovation, efficiency and customer service are the main challenges companies now face in many industrial sectors.

Metro de Madrid is meeting these challenges through the ambitious expansion of its rail infrastructure and technology, which will boost its rail network size by 61 percent and the number of installations by 38 percent.

To help achieve its expansion goals, Metro de Madrid asked Accenture to transform its infrastructure maintenance operations.

The Center of Operations for Maintenance and Monitoring of Installations and Telecommunications (COMMIT) formed the basis of a new infrastructure maintenance operating model, revamping Metro de Madrid’s technologies, processes and organizational structure.

COMMIT, with its advanced management processes, remote monitoring and telemaintenance capabilities, is able to efficiently manage more than 200,000 installation incidents per year.

Thanks to this pioneering model, Metro de Madrid has saved €7 million a year in maintenance costs and improved the service quality for its clients.

Accenture—committed to high performance delivered. www.accenture.com/publictransportation

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TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE RAILWAY SECTOR

A Technology Group providing end-to-end solutions for the railway sector - Solutions: • Telecom: SDH, PDH and ATM/IP networks • Fiber optics by 3dnet.es, a company of the Group • Railway Operations Telephony • IP Intercom solution • Ground-train radio • TETRA • Passenger Information Systems • Public Address • CCTV over IP • Access Control (RFID) solutions With 40 years of experience and projects developed in more than 15 countries - Projects: • Metro de Madrid: Telecom, IT & Security: Line 2, Line 4, Line 7, Line 9; Line 10; Metrosur; 30 % of the total fiber optics network; RFID access control on stations

and trains; IP Intercom in Metrosur, Radiant network for CBTC (Line 1, Line 6, Metronorte, Metroeste, Line 11), Main Control Center Alto Arenal and Redundant at P. Sur • Metros: IT, Telecom & Security: Metro Bilbao, Metro Barcelona, Metro Valencia, SFM, FGC, ETS, FEVE • Tramways: IT, Telecom & Security Barcelona Tramway, Tranvía Parla (Madrid), Tranvía Vélez-Málaga; Antalya Tramway (Turkey); Tranvía Alicante; Tranvía Vitoria, Tranvía Bilbao, TROLE (Ecuador), Metro Ligero de Madrid • High Speed and Railways: Telecom, GSM-R, IT: High Speed Zaragoza-Huesca, IT & Telephony: Qalib-Shabin ENR (Egypt), 1.450 Km f.o. network ADIF; Safety: Point Heaters High Speed Ankara-Istanbul, Railway inspection systems and Point Heaters Ankara-Konya; Point Heaters and Railway inspection systems Marmaray (undergoing); Level Crossings ADIF; Point Heaters and Hot Box ADIF.

www.gruporevenga.com

Metro de Madrid million additional people and grupo revenga providing a direct connection Grupo Revenga - GR Technologies - provides end-to-end to Madrid Airport. In all this solutions to Metro de Madrid since it was created in 1972. added 50 kilometres of tunnel The company has participated in all of the expansion to the system. Nevertheless plans deployed by Metro de Madrid and the Government of the company has continued to Madrid, having equipped with a wide range of solutions its invest, spending €40 million 293 Km, 276 stations and 2 control centers.

The strength of the capabilities and the success of the in 2012 and budgeting the technologies of this R&D focused company are apparent same amount for 2013. in view of the number of its solutions currently deployed This money is not being in cutting-edge telecom, IT and security projects in used for further extension Metro de Madrid. of the network at present In the own words of Grupo Revenga, “Metro de Madrid is a according to Velayos: “We key customer with whom we are proud to partner with in the are not immune from the deployment of one of the most important metro networks in the world, with one of the best quality/cost ratios”. austerity that the Community www.gruporevenga.com of Madrid has to exercise in its budget. But let’s not forget that thanks to the very important efforts by our authorities over the last decade we have been able to almost double our network and give the people of Madrid access to a suburban train network, known throughout the world. At the moment our investment strategy is not aimed at further expansion of the network but at the services and features requested by our customers.

Today’s travellers are not content to simply go from one point to another: they want to do it quickly, safely, and with access to high quality complementary services.”

€40 million Investment in 2013 Ignacio González Velyaos, CEO

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Show the world what your company has to offer with our tailored packages

Seen www.bus-ex.com

Metro de Madrid Mi nds a re bei ng concentrated in the Ineco, company leader in transport engineering and municipality by the Madrid consultancy, has maintained a close relationship for years 2020 project, Spain’s bid for with Metro de Madrid, to whom it has provided its services the next but one Olympic in several occasions. Both companies collaborate in the Games. We won’t know till development of international projects aiming at reinforcing September 2013 whether that its leadership abroad. Its experience in the application of new technologies and management practices for the construction will come off but meanwhile and the commissioning of new railway lines in several Metro de Madrid continues countries demonstrate its capacity to face challenges and to its programme aimed at develop international land transport projects. adapting its infrastructure www.ineco.com to meet the needs of its customers. In recent years this has seen a programme to improve travel times and the introduction of a new technological platform to support contactless card payment and extend that system to the entire network.

Metro de Madrid’s recently established Interactive Customer Support Centre (CIAC or Centro Interactivo de Atención al Cliente) has already dealt with 1,755,000 enquiries.

“The centre,” says Velayos, “deals directly and personally, all year round between the hours of 8am and 10:00pm, with all information requests received, not only in relation to the service provided by the company but also to any other information about events and socio-cultural activities in Greater Madrid, as well as lost property. There are also face to

ineco

635 million Metro de Madrid continues to streamline its infrastructure

Journeys on Madrid Metro in 2011

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face Customer Service Centres at the airport and major stations, which deal with enquiries in a more personal manner.”

Metro de Madrid is a major job creator, at a time when Spain needs all the jobs it can get. Apart from the 7,500 people on its direct payroll, Ignacio González Velayos points out, Metro de Madrid has agreements and contracts with other companies, public and private, which in turn have their own employees, which multiplies the creation of job roles. “Our public sector contracting law obliges us to put out our projects for tender, and many of these tenders are won by local companies.”

Each year Metro de Madrid rolls out its programme of continuous improvement in technology, innovation and research. “We are always looking for ways to improve our business model as a public service transport provider.

Metro de Madrid wants nothing less than to be looked to as a global benchmark in every aspect of urban passenger rail.” Its commitment to quality, he adds, is demonstrated by the certificates received by Metro de Madrid over the last year for, among others, the Management of Quality Service within Public Transport, Environmental Management, and Health and Safety Management.

The company holds an ISO-14001 certificate in Environmental Management

and invests in renewable energy sources. In 2009 it commissioned its first geothermal air conditioning system at Pacifico station. This system offers many advantages compared to traditional systems, such as energy savings and greater independence from the electrical supply. Geothermal energy savings reduce CO2 emissions by 50 percent while also reducing noise pollution, since the heat pumps operate quietly. Other advantages of

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Metro de Madrid

A metro train passes through a station

this system include low maintenance costs and increased useful life of equipment and installation. “Rail in general, and in particular the Metro, is one of the most efficient and sustainable modes of transport,” says Velayos.

“Metro de Madrid has always supported all aspects of sustainability, including those concerning the environment.”

Two years ago the company decided to launch itself across the social networks as an alternative way to interact with its customers – today it has more than 35,000 followers. And the company makes great efforts to engage with the social programmes that matter to its customers. It helped publicise Twelve paths for living after cancer, a campaign organized by the Madrid Institute of Oncology, through a photographic exhibition spread over twelve

stations, in which twelve people who have survived cancer delivered messages of hope.

More than 3,000 people took part in You’re just a metro away from saving many lives a campaign organized by the Spanish Red Cross, Coca Cola and Metro de Madrid, which turned four stations into blood donation centres run by the Red Cross. And Metro de Madrid supports overseas projects too: every year it runs a Cinema in Concert initiative, for Fundación Padre Arrupe’s grant fund, which covers the cost of schooling of the children at Colegio Español Padre Arrupe in El Salvador.

For more information about Metro de Madrid visit: www.metromadrid.es

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Forward thin

Pradeep Kumaar, head of the Commercial division and sa SSF is expanding to meet the needs of its multi-national c

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Super Star Forwarders (SSF)

written by: Will Daynes research by: Paul Bradley

ales, discusses how corporate clients

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F

rom its head office in Dar-esSalaam, Tanzania, Super Star Forwarders (SSF), has been an ever present within the transportation sector since its establishment in 1991. Initially a small general cargo haulage business, the company has grown considerably in the 22 years since, to the point where it is today recognised as being a major transport logistics solution provider and among the leading hauliers of containers, equipment, fuel and general cargo in the East, Central and Southern Africa regions.

One of the things that sets SSF apart as being leaders in their field is the sheer size of their fleet of trucks that operate primarily within Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and DRC, and are at the heart of the company’s ability to provide customised transport solutions to a host of multi-national companies including Total, Puma Energy and Trafigura.

“While our fleet is already large in size,” explains Pradeep Kumaar, head of the commercial division and sales, “it continues to grow, with new additions in the coming weeks set to take it in excess of 180 vehicles.”

The fact of the matter, as Kumaar goes on to highlight, is that as market segments throughout the region continue to grow so too does the demands for accomplished, proven vehicle operators. “The market at present is, for a lack of a better word, somewhat unorganised. The increase in demand for vehicles and transport providers has led to an influx of older trucks entering the market.

While these companies are attracting some business, the larger corporate organisations are unable to work with them because they

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Specialised Services for Specialised Brands Southern Cross Motors was Launched in August 2005 taking over from the trading name Marunauchi Motors. Southern Cross Motors is the only authorised distributor of Mercedes Benz, Chrysler / Jeep, Mitsubishi Vehicles / Fuso Trucks and GWM Vehicles in Zambia.

Tel: +260 211 214778 +260 211 214287/8 Email: admin@southerncross.co.zm info@southerncross.co.zm www.southerncross.co.zm

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STAR FORWARDERS SuperSUPER Star Forwarders (SSF) Super Star Forwarders tempor incididunt uttolabore lack the required operational and safety means the company has been witness those et have dolorepromoted magna aliqua.

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Thattois where we come in, offering core drivers that increased Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, enim ad minim veniam, quis the type of service and quality assurances business opportunities. consectetur adipisicing elit, ullamco that corporate clients demand.”

“Fuel, be it oilnostrud or gas,exercitation and the demand for ut aliquip ex sedToday, do eiusmod tempor SSF’s fleet provides transport it is arguably thelaboris biggest nisi motivator of growth incididunt labore et dolorein a number of in this part of the ea world commodo consequat. services ofuttransit goods at present,” Kumaar magna aliqua.

Ut enim ad Duisif aute irure dolor in Tanzania’s landlocked neighbouring countries states. “Meanwhile, you look at particular minim veniam, quisKenya, nostrud reprehenderit voluptate including Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, countries, Zambia and DRC for in example, the exercitation ullamco laboris velit esse cillum dolore Rwanda, Burundi and DRC. This presence growth in mining has contributed significantly nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo eu fugiat nulla pariatur. consequat. Duis aute irure Excepteur sint occaecat dolor in reprehenderit in This is a caption this is a caption cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris

“One of the things that sets SSF apart as being leaders in their field is the sheer size of their fleet of trucks”

SOUTHERN CROSS MOTORS Southern Cross Motors Limited (formerly Marunouchi Motors) is a motor vehicle distributor that specializes in supply of reliable and affordable vehicles.Southern Cross Motors is the official franchise holder of Mitsubishi, GWM, Mercedes Benz, Freightliner, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Fuso Trucks and Buses in Zambia. We offer comprehensive back up for all our products through the spares department and workshops located on our premises.

We have a team of highly competent, qualified and experienced staff. Southern Cross Motors limited has full after sales support facilities with technicians/ mechanics that undergo regular refresher

training courses by brand manufacturers.

Our Service workshops are recognized as the market leaders in the country.

To meet our customer’s service requirement, we have a mobile service workshop; a fully equipped service van that travels throughout Zambia, providing mobile service. We also have a recovery vehicle van that attends to any of our clients at a moment’s notice.

E. info@southerncross.co.zm www.southerncross.co.zm

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Scania Tanzania Ltd.

SCANIA VEHICLES Transport solution in Tanzania In Tanzania, the presence of Scania products takes us back to the 1970’s, when 200 units of Scania tipping trucks were brought in the country by the Chinese constructors of the Tazara railway. Soon thereafter the population of Scania vehicles grew significantly and it become necessary to set up a sufficiently dimensioned service company with well equipped workshop and proper spare parts supply. In 1973 Scania Tanzania was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of Scania CV AB with headquarters in Sweden and was made a sole authorized importer and distributor of the full range of Scania products in Tanzania. Scania Tanzania Ltd offers you the widest range of services connected to your Scania product, from financing to fully equipped workshops with trained technicians. The company head office is in Nyerere road Dar es Salaam with branches currently at Arusha, Mwanza and Dar es Salaam and Parts outlets in Tanga, Mbeya, Tabata and Ubungo at the corner of Sam Nujoma road and Morogoro road.

Scania operates in some 100 countries and has 37,500 employees. Of these, 3,300 work with research and development – mainly in Sweden, close to the company’s production units. Scania’s corporate purchasing department is supplemented by local procurement offices in Poland, the Czech Republic, the United States and China. Production takes place in Europe and Latin America. In addition, about 20,000 people work in Scania’s independent sales and service organisation.

Scania should contribute to sustainable economic growth, for the company, our customers and society at large. As an industry leader in sustainable efforts, Scania works together with governments, customers and organisations to provide reliable energy-efficient products and solutions that increase customer efficiency and contribute to a more sustainable society.

www.scaniatz.com

mix telematics A performance-driven strategy for fleet owners in Africa – as proposed by MiX Telematics and Superdoll According to a Frost & Sullivan report on green telematics in May 2009, up to 62% of operating costs can be influenced by the implementation of an effective fleet management system.

MiX Telematics – in collaboration with partners like Superdoll in Tanzania – aims to help fleet owners take advantage of this notable opportunity.

“Together, we place a priceless offer on the table,” says Steven Sutherland, Sales Director of MiX Telematics (Africa Fleet Solutions).

“While MiX Telematics is a global leader in fleet management, driver safety and vehicle tracking solutions, Superdoll is one of the largest trailer manufacturers and automotive product distributors in East, Central and Southern Africa.”

By providing customers with real-time information on where their mobile assets are, where they have been and how they are being driven, MiX Telematics enables them to make

informed and timely decisions that affect the performance of their fleets.

A huge breakthrough was the launch of Trailer Tracking by MiX Telematics, which enables customers to be fully aware of the locations and activities of their trailers – whether they’re stationary or on the move. “Not being in control of their trailers and the attached high-value or highrisk loads has always presented a huge risk to fleet owners,” says Sutherland.

“Whether it’s a bus, truck, van or trailer, we help our customers to improve vehicle utilisation, optimise route planning and efficiently manage service and licencing schedules. Functionality like this helps them to lower their costs and increase vehicle uptime,” he says.

MiX Telematics customers also achieve an average saving of 10% on their fuel costs. This is partly done through the identification and correction of poor driving habits like harsh acceleration, over-speeding and excessive idling.

www.mixtelematics.com

Super Star Forwarders (SSF)

Defensive training in progress

to the rise in demand for transportation and logistics services. Due to its port facilities, Tanzania is very much an export gateway for a number of African countries and as market sectors such as mining grows in our landlocked neighbours we are seeing a great deal of demand for services that can help take a company’s products away to the port in order to be shipped out to overseas customers.”

One of the more recent developments to

occur within the company is its move to expand its presence in Zambia. “Our plans for Zambia,” Kumaar says, “represent the next phase of our aim to grow throughout Central Africa. For its part, Zambia knows that in order to grow in needs to be able to export to places like Mozambique and South Africa, and recognises that the best way to do so is through Tanzania.

As copper production levels and copper values continue to increase so too does the importance

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bank of africa - tanzania BANK OF AFRICA - TANZANIA is delighted and honored to be recognized by Superstar Forwarders as one of their key partners in business and a contributor to their ’ growth.

The Bank has played a significant role in Superstar Forwarders’ growth over the last 10 years. This partnership is expected to become even stronger following their regional expansion to Zambia.

BANK OF AFRICA - TANZANIA has a suite of financial solutions for medium, large and multinational corporate clients and individuals. The offerings for corporate clients are based on complete corporate banking packages which cover our customers’ needs with much emphasis placed on building healthy and longlasting business relationships that result into potential growth of balance sheets and profitability for the customers. Other corporate offering include Cash and liquidity management services, various credity facilities and international trade finance which enhances trade potentials. The Bank

also delivers highly structured and multi currency syndicated investments deals for enormous projects and Asset financing BANK OF AFRICA – TANZANIA is part of the BANK OF AFRICA Group which has grown significantly over the last 30 years.

The group’s strength and big size in the sub-Saharan banking sector is a key characteristic. Our consolidated figures as at December 2011 show a balance sheet size of approximately EUR 3.8 billion and deposits higher than EUR 2.9 billion.

BANK OF AFRICA, started from “scratch” in 1982 in Mali, now consists of a network of 20 companies involved in banking and financial activities and is operational in 16 countries in Africa and France. The Group has a strong network of more than 4,500 staff at your service, 450 automated teller machines and approximately 1.2 million bank accounts. www.boatanzania.com

Super Star Forwarders (SSF)

Safety training

of doing business with and in Zambia. This help create a greater degree of transparency, presents an excellent business opportunity on which allows our customers to see just how which we wish to capitalise on.” it is we handle their goods.”

In recent times SSF has gradually built itself SSF has made considerable efforts to a reputation for being an industry pioneer. establish responsible standards throughout From its very first few years in existence its operations. These include the scheduling the company had Global Positioning System of allocated 30 minute breaks for all drivers technology placed within all of its vehicles, who have been on the road for four hours in something that was upgraded in 2005 when order to combat the effects of fatigue. The company also has in place a it embarked on a programme of installing on-board maximum driver speed limit computers into its trucks. of 80 kilometres per hour.

“T hese on-board Both of these important measures can be monitored compute r s,” Ku m a a r by its on-board computers, enthuses, “provide both meaning that any violation of ourselves and our clients Vehicles that make the rules can be dealt with in with all manner of safety up SSF’s fleet a timely manner. and efficiency reports, and

180+

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Super Star Forwarders (SSF) SSF has been responsible for introducing some of the industry’s most innovative and important technical solutions to the African market. The most recent being the Alcolock system, an ergonomically designed breathalyser that must be breathed into prior to a driver starting the engine of a vehicle.

Should an alcohol level over an agreed amount be detected the vehicle will not start.

While such devices are widely available in Europe they are still relatively rare in Africa, so it is testament to SSF that it is one of the first companies to bring them to market.

In conjunction to its embracing of technology and innovation, SSF also delivers comprehensive in-house training to all of its employees, particularly its drivers, mechanics and engineers. This training is provided by a department headed up by a Swedish expert who has been certified by APTH France, an institute endorsed by a consortium of fuel companies including Total, BP and Shell.

As SSF continues to pursue its own expansion targets, Kumaar is clear what the company has to do to retain its leading position within its field. “It is important for us to maintain the highest possible level of service, while at the same time embracing new technologies and innovations. The market around us continues to change on an almost daily basis, yet I am sure that what we have achieved over the years as a business has put us in the best position to grow alongside it.�

For more information about Super Star Forwarders (SSF) visit: www.superdoll-tz.com

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00, Aspen Logistics Services’ tireless mean it remains a leading service fast moving consumer goods sector

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Operating in high-temperature zones south of the equator

Aspen Logistics Services

T

he margin of error when it comes to retaining the quality and freshness of perishable fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) in general is minimal wherever you are on the planet. Nevertheless this small margin decreases further still when one is operating in high-temperature zones south of the equator.

For blue chip retailers in such parts of the world maintaining the cold chain during transit and having the right goods available in store on a just-in-time basis is fundamental to their brand integrity and their market reputation. Operationally, it is a demanding, high-pressure environment with no margin for error.

Aspen Logistics Services is a leading supplier to the FMCG logistics sector in Southern Africa. While its core business remains located within South A frica, the company also ser vices a growing customer base in Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique.

A level 3 BBBEE accredited business, Aspen is committed to achieving sustainable commercial success, principally in the road transportation of temperature controlled products, adding value to all stakeholders within the supply chain, while also retaining its position as being the benchmark for quality transportation service within the sector.

In order to achieve this Aspen operates under a clear set of principles. These include striving to create smart partnerships with its clients by providing a tailored, premium service at a cost effective price, to constantly

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Aspen Logistics Services improve efficiencies within Altech Netstar the supply chain through The long standing relationship between Altech Netstar on-going innovation and to Fleet Solutions and Aspen Logistics has evolved over continually develop its staff many years. The diverse and customizable solutions and by providing what it calls services provided by Altech Netstar Fleet Solutions to “dynamic leadership”.

Aspen Logistics and its equally diverse requirement for In addition, Aspen is Fleet solutions has produced market leading technologies and service delivery .The Altech Netstar suite of committed to being a products and solutions extends beyond conventional socially responsible service vehicle tracking, driver management and communication provider with sound and to include, workflow management, efficiency and ethical business practices optimisation management and reporting of fleets and in which comply with the cab remote management. principles of good corporate www.anfs.co.za governance. By being such a business it is able to achieve sustainable and controlled growth that complements its clients by conducting operations in a sound manner.

As part of Aspen’s sustainability drive, great attention has been paid to reducing carbon emissions from the fleet, year-onyear. For example, its trailer builders have embarked on a number of environmentally friendly initiatives in their factories. Aspen operates Thermoking SLX refrigeration units which have made enormous strides in reducing CO2 emissions as well as reducing fuel consumption and reduced noise pollution.

“Aspen was the first CAT customer to be awarded a Cat Million Kilometre certificate”

Aspen Logistics’ drivers are among the best in the industry

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Trailer Skirts for improved fuel economy

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Durban: 031 508 1000 I JHB: 011 397 8993 I Cape Town: 021 959 7660 Email: info@serco.co.za I Website: www.serco.co.za

COOL FOR

Supported by national manufacturing and after-sales repair service 36-month warranty.

KEEP IN

SPECIALIST MANUFACTURERS OF: Truck bodies and trailers that are relied upon by leading transport operators • Fibreglass dry freight and refrigerated vehicles offering superior strength and corrosion resistant panels • New generation ‘Super Reefer Lite’ which offers a substantial weight reduction

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Serco has introduced an innovative fuel saving accessory for their semi-trailers. The innovative aerodynamic side skirts developed

by Freightwing in the US can be fitted to the trailers resulting

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Pictured are the Aspen and Serco team.

From right: Eugene Erasmus, Chris De Villiers, John Thompson.

Clinton Holcroft, Sujen Padayatchi, Rhada Padayatchi, Trevor Holcroft

in a fuel saving and an accompanying reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. Typically fleets report a 4 to 6% improvement, depending upon their application and driving environment.

The accessory helps reduce wind drag under the trailer and is particularly suitable for long distance transport.

Serco Managing Director Clinton Holcroft said what made the side skirts special was the lightweight flexible plastic panels which were resilient in the event of contact with fixed objects. The panels have a smooth finish providing an ideal surface for branding.

“The side skirt concept is used in the United States where fuel savings of 7.45% were achieved during independent testing.

The fuel economy improvements from skirting have been well documented, but the second part of the equation is these things must hold up for fleets. The under body skirts are designed to bend and bounce back from minor collisions. Flexibility is important because the lower you get to the ground, the more fuel you can save”.

Sujen Padayatchi, Managing Director of Aspen Logistics Services who are testing the new Aerokit, said “reducing fuel costs and carbon emissions is a strategic focus point for Aspen. We are always willing to try new innovations to stay ahead and improve our business”.

Holcroft was confident that based on initial testing and some refining of the specifications to suit local conditions, the fuel benefits will make for a solid return on investment.

Aspen Logistics Services

Cold store in transit

Aspen prides itself on having an exceptionally high standard of operations with an advanced technological infrastructure and a very high standard of equipment, including its fleet of trucks. The company is indeed highly passionate about the condition of its 80-strong fleet of trucks that use Caterpillar

engines because of their global reputation.

Aspen can be counted among the most famous names in the on-highway truck industry to have Cat engines under the hoods of their vehicles. It was recently announced that as part of Caterpillar’s drive to reinforce its reputation for

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Nashua Limited is the leading distributor of digital office automation equipment and document output solutions in Southern Africa.

We have a wide range of industry leading office automation products, including multifunctional printing devices, colour laser printers, all-in-one devices, wide format printers, and high volume printing devices. Our business solutions include digital storage, document security and compliance as well as document and records management. We can help reduce your operating expenses through optimising your fleet of printers, streamlining business processes through installing intelligent software to manage your printing devices and documents, as well as improving user behaviour management.

Aspen Logistical Services & Nashua Central!

A working relationship!

Together with Nashua Central, Aspen Logistical Services has improved areas within the organization that affects most businesses today – Their pockets! By identifying these important areas Nashua Central has allowed for faster processing of invoices, improved collection times of POD’s from branches and dramatically reduced paper usage. Nashua has also reduced the chance of misfiling of documentation and by doing that Aspen has decreased the amount of queries leading to holding back of payments.

As in the transport industry Nashua central is all about SPEED, Reliability and TRUST! Contact Nashua Central to find out more about the solution at Aspen Logistical Services.

Eben Steyn - 082 773 7653 | 011 249 8279 Email: ebens@nashuacentral.co.za | www.nashua.co.za

Aspen Logistics Services dependabi l it y it wa s helpi ng to l au n c h Together with Nashua Central, Aspen Logistical Services Barloworld Power’s Million has improved areas within the organization that affects K i lomet r e C a mp a ig n , most businesses today – Their pockets! which encourages a strong By identifying these important areas Nashua Central maintenance partnership has allowed for faster processing of invoices, improved between customers and collection times of POD’s from branches and dramatically reduced paper usage.

TEPS dealers.

Nashua has also reduced the chance of misfiling of Qualif y ing clients documentation and by doing that Aspen has decreased the and their dealers receive amount of queries leading to holding back of payments. a special certificate in As in the transport industry Nashua central is all about recognition of their service SPEED, Reliability and TRUST! partnership. Perhaps more www.nashua.co.za significantly, clients can in turn affix the Cat Million Kilometre logos to their truck’s cab, sending a clear message to the market that their fleets are in optimum condition and geared towards on time consignment delivery.

Aspen was the first CAT customer to be awarded a Cat Million Kilometre certificate.

Speaking during the award ceremony in September, Aspen’s managing director, Dr Sujen Padayatchi, said that the Million Kilometre campaign epitomises the quality of the Caterpillar brand and underscores the company’s confidence in the reliability of Cat’s on-highway engines.

“As a company, we have an absolute All vehicles are monitored on a constant basis by a flagship satellite tracking system passion for what we do and our trucks

Nashua Central

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Aspen Logistics Services

Maintaining the cold chain during transit is fundamental to a brand’s reputation

“Aspen has focused on the logistics niche that deals with express overnight transportation of mostly perishable products” are the lifeblood of our business,” said Padayatchi. “For this reason, our drivers are amongst the best in the industry and our maintenance programmes strictly adhered to, ensuring high availability at all times.

This is underscored by the fact that Aspen’s workshop was accredited by Freightliner in 2005 in terms of OEM compliance. One of

the most remarkable features of our Cat engines is that, old or new, we get the same consistent performance from our Freightliner trucks, which is very reassuring both for us and our customers in terms of on time delivery.”

Aspen has focused on the logistics niche that deals with express overnight

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Express overnight transportation

Aspen Logistics Services

2000 Year Aspen Logistics was founded

transportation of mostly perishable products, due for next day in-store delivery. The company chose this market because it is highly consistent with yearround dependability and little seasonality.

It also has huge growth potential with an emerging middle class who aspire to eat better quality food which includes many chilled products.

T he company is ideally placed to win more business within South Africa’s dynamic food market through st r a ig ht for wa rd orga n ic g row t h, however it also sees large opportunities in surrounding markets where it aims to expand its geographical footprint.

While in the past the warehousing and infrastructure to support refrigeration in many parts of Africa has been poor, with big names like Walmart moving into Africa, there will inevitably be a surge in demand for quality transportation providers able to operate within its very tight guidelines as the demand for refrigerated products grows in line with increasing living standards.

For more information about Aspen Logistics Services visit: www.aspenlog.co.za

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Air Parts International Sales, Inc.

Single source purchasing General manager Michael Peter Balwan, Jr. describes how the company has become a pioneer in the commercial aviation aftermarket

written by: Kenneth Connor research by: James Boyle

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Air Parts International Sales, Inc.

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ighty years ago, back in 1932, “I joined the business in 1961. I was Air Parts International Sales sweeping floors in the warehouse while I Inc. started serving the needs of was still in high school. I eventually became commercial aviation customers a buyer, then a salesman and eventually worldwide by providing a complete took over as general manager. API has been range of aircraft materials, services support a part of my life for so long now that I surely and ground based equipment. “Not every must have Shell Aviation lubricants coursing business can say they’ve been around that through my veins,” he chuckles. long,” says API General Manager, Michael “The success that we enjoy today, like back Peter Balwan, Jr. in 1932, is built on the fundamental principle “By the time World War II broke out of providing personalized and comprehensive the company had moved from Glendale to services and support to our commercial Burbank and in order to support the war aviation customers. We do everything possible effort, we became an aviation overhaul to assist them. We focus on our customer’s buyers and material planners shop. We’d call it an MRO who depend on our speed (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facility today.” and efficiency to keep their After WWII wound down, fleets flying. Airplanes API went back to being a only make money when domestic aviation aftermarket they’re flying; they’re very Air Parts International supplier of materials and expensive machines to have established sitting on the ground. services. “In 1958 my “During the 80 years API father, Michael Balwan Sr., purchased the firm and began changing has been in business, we have steadily grown its focus to target and service international into one of the most experienced and stable airline customers. His first international suppliers in the industry. Based on our record, customer was, Ethiopian Airlines. Back in our customers can rest assured that we will that day, we could only communicate with be here to serve them today, tomorrow, and them by ‘Telex’ an extinct word now, or via in the years ahead,” says Balwan.

“Our customers find that one of the a phone patch hook-up through Rome, Italy,” greatest advantages in dealing with us is the says a smiling Balwan.

“For 20 years, Ethiopian was our largest convenience of single source purchasing. With international account. Over the years we API, there is no need to waste time and money added Air France, Indian Airlines, Malaysian searching for a variety of suppliers. Whether Airlines, TAP Portugal, HAECO in Hong your list includes an aircraft tow tractor, a Kong, Air Zimbabwe, TAAG Angola and complete jet engine or any other commercial many others as international clients. We’re aviation components, you can let our expert still doing that today. buyers do the sourcing for you,” he explains.

1932

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Some ThingS Were DifferenT in 1932…

But some things never change. Since 1932 Air Parts International has been a pioneer in the provision of spare parts and MRO services to the commercial aviation industry. The world’s airlines know API is there at the ready when needed. We don’t expect that to change any time soon. We’ll still be here, providing the same worldwide service and total aircraft support we’ve delivered these past eight decades.

API/Air Parts International Sales, Inc. Burbank, California U.S.A. T: 1-323-849-2141 • F: 1-818-848-9017 E: sales@apisales .com

Air Parts International Sales, Inc.

Left To Right. Abel Soto, Vice President International Sales. Danilo Ruiz, Sales Manager.

M. Peter Balwan, General Manager. Steve Zoelle, Purchasing Manager.

Nicolas Zumbiehl, Vice President International Sales

“In our business, when you need something, you generally need it now. To that point, we’re as near to you as your email, phone or fax machine. Your enquiry will be acknowledged immediately and in any case within 24 hours. Our time sensitive locating and buying procedures enable us to fill orders in the shortest possible time and most importantly, at competitive prices.

“Your order will be packed and shipped to any point in the world via the most expeditious routing, using the best carrier operating to the destination. API’s broad and deep international shipping experience will facilitate the timely delivery of your goods to and at the destination. No one with a grounded aircraft likes to have an urgently needed shipment hung up in customs for days.

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The shortest elapsed shipment time wins in this phase of the game,” notes Balwan.

Air Parts International Sales, Inc. representatives regularly call, in-person, on customers in all parts of the world. “Whether it’s a new customer or one we’ve seen frequently before, our sales team are there to answer your questions and to become more familiar with your individual operation and particular needs. In addition and for your future reference, you will be supplied with informative and current literature on the specific products you buy from us. Remaining sensitive to the diverse and ever changing needs of our clients is one reason API enjoys a reputation for consistent professional service.”

Looking at API’s sales brochure you’ll see: “Call us - we will respond to your emergency whether it is an aircraft-on-ground situation (AOG) or a ground support system problem.

Count on us - you have access to our staff and services 24/7, 365 days a year.”

Nicholas Zumbiehl, API’s vice president international sales stated: “We can also handle your repair orders on rotables when your airline doesn’t have in-house capability.

Your material would be cleared in the US, picked up from the airport, delivered to the manufacturer, overhauled, and returned to you. Likewise, one-to-one exchange

arrangements for rotables can be done as and when required.”

GM Balwan said: “Air Parts International Sales, Inc. is familiar with various terms of payment: letters of credit, documentary drafts, wire transfers, etc.

We can also arrange open accounts with credit limits to cover normal day-today transactions for which documentary procedures can be cumbersome.”

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Air Parts International Sales, Inc.

Quality assurance All material requiring an FAA authorized repair station certification will be tagged with the appropriate FAA/EASA tag. All factory new FAA Class II units will be supplied with the manufacturer’s Certificate of Conformance and/or the Airworthiness Certificate 81303. FAA overhauled and certified material will also include the 8130-3 Airworthiness Certificate. Class III material- piece parts, hardware or components will not be sold in any condition except new with the OEM certificate of conformance.

All shipments will be accompanied by an Air Parts International Sales ATA Specification 106 form. The certificate will describe the condition of material being supplied. Air Parts International Sales, Inc.

has in its records, or those of its suppliers, evidence of the source of the parts being supplied for history and traceability.

Rejections will be credited when material is promptly reported and returned in accordance with commercially approved practices.

All materials sold to you which were directly purchased from the manufacturer will carry the standard manufacturers’ warranties.

Material sold from FAA/EASA airline excess stocks will carry the Air Parts International Sales, Inc. warranty. All material is sold subject to your inspection and approval.

For more information about Air Parts International Sales, Inc: sales@apisales.com

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University of Kentucky - Lean Systems Program

Adopting the lean approach

More companies than ever before are taking part in The University of Kentucky’s Lean Systems Program. Program Director Glenn Uminger discusses just what it is that makes the lean approach so attractive

written by: Will Daynes research by: Vince Kielty

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wouldn’t say I have seen a change in the market in recent years, so much as that I have witnessed an increase in realisation from companies and businesses that in order to implement lean correctly it requires the understanding of management, strong leadership and a complete culture change,” explains Lean Program Director, Glenn Uminger. “So many organisations have tried in the past to implement lean and have come up short in their goal. It is only when they understand that culture change and leadership have to be foundations on which to build that they start to see the benefits take hold.”

The lean approach to manufacturing was first developed by Toyota’s Taiichi Ohno in the aftermath of the Second World War. In the decades since, the lean approach has spread across the globe, delivering vast improvements to the manufacturing sector in the process. It was during the 1990s that Toyota began working with the University of Kentucky’s (UKy) College of Engineering to develop the Lean Systems Program (LSP) to help impart the true philosophy to nonToyota companies in the US. In more recent times the approach has also spread into all areas of business and industry, from health care and retail, through to financial services and government. “When it comes to organisations and businesses using lean,” Uminger continues, “there has certainly been much more movement beyond just production and manufacturing, with all manner of industries realising that this approach applies everywhere, in all

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Students performing standardized work on a moving assembly line

University of Kentucky - Lean Systems Program

types of businesses and in all parts of the organisation itself.”

In Uminger’s opinion, this desire and drive to adopt a lean approach to business is a direct result of increased competition and a continuous need for self-improvement.

“The first thing we do,” he says, “is give companies a total perspective of what lean is, which includes the concepts of clear vision, leadership, culture change, having the right people in the right places and systematic problem solving methods.”

What people behind the LSP find is that companies that approach them get most excited about the idea of improving their problem solving capabilities, often because they see it as a quick way of getting results by taking something that they do and making it better.

“What we find we have to do in this situation,” Uminger highlights, “is rein them back in somewhat and explain that problem solving is in fact the end game. Having a problem solving culture throughout your organisation is what you want to end up with, but to get there you have to ensure that all the pieces of the puzzle are in place to support such a culture. This includes creating an environment where people feel free and encouraged to raise concerns

and problems in the first place, and having management that shows its appreciation to those who do so.”

This September will play host to the third annual Lean Users Conference and Uminger hopes that it will follow in the footsteps

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Students engage in problem solving and learn to apply lean principles to standardize and improve processes

of the two that have come before it. “The 2012 Lean Users Conference,” he enthuses, “was very successful and provided a forum for a wonderful exchange of ideas between our associated companies, each of which brought with them a very clear presentation of improvements that they had made through their use of the lean approach.”

One such presentation came from a hospital, which highlighted the changing performance of a particular state clinic.

Previously, said clinic suffered from having a 40-day waiting period for those wishing to receive care, the consequences

of which included falling patient numbers and revenue.

“What the hospital did,” Uminger says, “was rebuild the clinic from the ground up using all of the lean principles. The result of this was a reduction of the waiting time to two weeks, which remains a leading figure amongst the clinics’ competitors. This has in turn brought patient levels back up, brought in increased revenue, but most importantly the use of lean principles has led to an improvement in patient care levels.”

Part of the focus of the LSP over the last year or so has been to become

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much more actively involved with those companies looking to implement the lean process throughout their operations.

This has meant a more active approach to coaching, physically going to the company ’s premises and from there developing a clear picture of what a true lean organisation should look like.

“What this approach has done,” Uminger says, “is move us into a real world scenario where we are applying and implementing what we teach. Again, this is a process that takes time, but it is one that has already begun reaping rewards. It also enables us to coach companies on a deeper level, allowing us to apply to the teaching what we ourselves have experience with clients in the field.”

The vast majority of those that use the lean approach would agree that the key to achieving the ultimate goal of being a lean business is having fundamentally good management and strong leadership in place throughout an organisation.

“Leadership is the starting and ending point of it all because it is the leaders who help create the culture that everybody then follows,” Uminger concludes. “I am a firm believer in that principle. It is the essence of what lean is all about and personally I have yet to come across any organisation for which the true lean approach does not work.”

For more information about University of Kentucky - Lean Systems Program visit: www.lean.uky.edu

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Program instructors provide frequent one-to-one coaching to clients taking any course

University of Kentucky - Lean Systems Program

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Julphar

Caring for

a country From its new, 40,000 square foot facility in the GerjiJakros region, Julphar is able to supply one of Africa’s fastest growing nations with vital pharmaceutical and healthcare products

written by: Will Daynes research by: Richard Halfhide

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Julphar

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The facility can produce solid dosage and liquid dosage forms of medicines

s the continent of Africa continues to grow, both economically and in terms of a rising population, the demand for accessible healthcare has never been greater. Amongst a host of rapidly developing countries, Ethiopia is considered to be among the fastest growing African nations. The second most populous country in Africa, Ethiopia is home to more than 84 million people and is now beginning to take its place on the global stage.

Julphar first began providing medicines to Ethiopia in 2005. Since then, its reach has significantly grown. Today, Julphar products can be found in major hospitals, clinics and retail pharmacies throughout the country.

The Julphar Ethiopia plant is located in the GerjiJakros region of the Ethiopian capital. A 40,000 square feet facility designed and built

by Julphar’s engineering and construction division, the plant is cGMP compliant and is working towards international accreditation.

Constructed in conjunction with Julphar’s local Ethiopian partner, Medtech, the plant itself was a result of the country recognising Africa’s economic importance and the need to deliver increasingly sophisticated pharmaceutical and healthcare facilities across the continent.

The official opening ceremony for the plant was attended by a number of very high level dignitaries including the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, HE Haile Mariam Desalegn, Dr Yousif Eissa Hassan Alsabri, UAE Ambassador to the Federal Democratic of Ethiopia, HH Sheikh Faisal Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Chairman of Julphar and HH Sheikh Saqr bin Humaid

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Julphar

“Julphar is a real showcase for other companies looking to invest into Ethiopia” Al Qasimi. Other distinguished attendees included ambassadors from the region, UAE Government representatives including HH Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade and the Ethiopian Minister of Health, HE Dr Kebede Worku.

“Julphar is a real showcase for other companies looking to invest into Ethiopia,” said Ethiopia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Tedros Adhanom at the ceremony. “From the start, this project fascinated me. Expansion of

the facility was factored into the plans from the beginning and for that we are grateful.

We also commend Julphar for bringing international standards to their facility.

We hope this facility will strengthen the relationship Martin Christ between our countries With over 60 years of experience, Martin Christ is the even further and hope this leading producer of, not only routine-process freeze dryers, will bring future investment but also of a series of product-specific, highly specialized from the UAE.” lyophilizers with far ending potential.

The Julphar Ethiopia The range of laboratory- and pilot units provide manufacturing facility marks innovative control systems including a comprehensive a significant milestone in selection of PAT-tools.

Julphar’s history and is a Production units comply to international regulations such as set by the FDA and GMP and will be specially designed major part of its international by our Engineering-Team, following the individual user expansion strategy that will requirements. Completely integrated systems (e.g. vial see the company building a loading systems, isolators) can be offered. truly global footprint.

All units are “Made in Germany” within our ISO 9001T he pharmaceutical certified production. market in Africa is significant www.martinchrist.de and growing, with recent

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Bausch + Ströbel – innovative technologies for cartridge processing that is gentle to both product and glass

Cleaning

Filling

Sterilizing/Depyrogenating

Precision to the highest standard

BAUSCH + STRÖBEL

Closing

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Seen www.bus-ex.com

Julphar estimates of the continent’s BAUSCH+STRÖBEL market set at between Julphar and Bausch+Ströbel have enjoyed good business $8 and $10 billion. In light relations for over 15 years. Several BAUSCH+STROEBEL of this opportunity, Julphar filling and packaging lines are in use at Julphar plants. undertook substantial BAUSCH + STROEBEL specializes in machines for research when developing pharmaceutical primary packaging. The product range its Ethiopian facility. The includes equipment for washing, sterilizing / depyrogenation, filling, closing and labelling of containers such as ampoules, company took great care to cartridges, disposable syringes, vials and bottles of all kinds. examine those therapeutic B+S-systems are designed to comply with the latest FDA and sectors in the country which GMP requirements and are available for all capacity ranges, are limited or inaccessible starting from laboratory testing and clinical batches to fully in order that the Julphar integrated commercial production.

Ethiopia plant would With more than 45 years of experience and over produce relevant and much 10,000 machines delivered, BAUSCH + STROEBEL is a leading manufacturer of high-quality equipment for the needed medicines during its pharmaceutical industry. production launch phases. www.bausch-stroebel.de HE Ha i le Ma r ia m Desalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, made the following statement at the inauguration of the Julphar Ethiopia facility. “Ethiopia is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with a growing population. It is important to have tremendous access to quality medicine. I would like to express my appreciation of this project and congratulate HH Sheikh Faisal bin Saqr Al Qasimi for the completion of this project.”

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Dr Ayman Sahli, Julphar’s CEO, said: “We are deeply honoured by the presence of Mr Haile Mariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia. His attendance is a clear indication of the strong relationship that already stands between our two countries and we sincerely hope that this relationship continues to grow.”

Julphar recognizes that Ethiopia is an Julphar ensured they produced medicines which were relevent to the African market extremely interesting, dynamic and important

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“With the launch of Julphar Ethiopia, the people of Ethiopia can look forward to even more accessible medicines in the region” market opportunity. Therefore, Ethiopia’s strategic position within Africa made it an obvious choice for Julphar when it was looking at opportunities to develop a real and tangible presence in this vast continent.

Sahli concluded: “We congratulate the Ethiopian Government for the Millennial Development Goals of Ethiopia, particularly in relation to combating disease. We hope to play a significant role in these goals

and ultimately in the development of cutting-edge, 21st century healthcare in Ethiopia. The opening of this facility is a clear indication of our commitment to this country and the region.”

Dr Mohamed Nuri, CEO of Medtech, commented, “Medtech is proud to play a crucial role in the provision of medicines throughout Africa. The opening of this facility will enable us not only to be a vital supplier

Julphar

The new plant is equipped with state-of-the-art technology

to the local market but across the whole continent. We have worked in alignment with the Ethiopian government and other global health organisations in the planning of this facility and we are excited about the impact this will have on local healthcare.�

Recruitment of 50 local staff is currently underway across areas of quality assurance, quality control, production and maintenance, regulatory affairs and various administration roles. This will cover the initial stage. Further and on-going recruitment will occur as the plant becomes fully operational.

Once fully operational the Julphar plant will produce per annum 25 million bottles of suspension and syrup, 500 million tablets and 200 million capsules. The new plant is equipped with state-of-the-art

technology enabling production of Julphar products not only for the local market but also across the African continent. Julphar has invested 170 million birrs in the construction of the plant.

Ethiopia’s main health problems are said to be communicable diseases caused by poor sanitation and malnutrition. These problems are exacerbated by the shortage of trained manpower and health facilities. With the launch of Julphar Ethiopia, the people of Ethiopia can look forward to even more accessible medicines in the region.

For more information about Julphar visit: www.julphar.net

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A gateway to the world Technical Support Service Manager for International Business Development, Feisal Aden Darar discusses the progress Djibouti Telecom has made in becoming a telecommunications gateway to the rest of the world

written by: Will Daynes research by: James Boyle

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Djibouti Telecom

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Djibouti Telecom

O

ver the course of the last 18 months,” explains Technical Support Service Manager for International Business Development, Feisal Aden Darar, “we have been focusing on local and international trends to materialise our core goals. We have improved our Internet transit solutions by deploying Level 3 PoP, a world class Tier 1 and Saudi Telecommunication Company’s POP, with strong presence in the Middle East. In addition we have upgraded our existing Telecom Italia Sparkle node in terms of capacity and diversity.

“As a result of our gradual improvement we have 20 operators from 13 countries in East Africa that are currently transiting through the IP nodes in Djibouti with live traffic volumes of about 10 Gbps. In addition to all these PoPs we have developed Djibouti Telecom‘s Pop that is sourced not only from all these IP transit providers but also from FT and Etisalat. With the combination of these advantages we can deliver premium service over diverse and redundant networks.

Djibouti Telecom puts customer satisfaction first by anticipating its need and targeting beyond his expectation. Furthermore, since 2012 we also serve as a restoration path to East African operators during outages due to cables cut or maintenance.”

Founded in 1999, Djibouti Telecom’s primary target is to establish itself as a regional hub responsible for delivering a complete portfolio of voice, data/IP and capacity services over state-of-the-art network infrastructure that reaches out to eastern and southern Africa, the Middle East and Europe. This drive for

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The General Manager at an international forum

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international expansion comes on top of the fact that Djibouti Telecom remains the sole provider of telecommunications services in its home country.

Djibouti Telecom is recognised as being the international carrier with the strongest presence in eastern Africa. The company’s customer base consists of telecommunications service providers and multinational organisations including international carriers, mobile and fixed telephony operators, internet service providers and major government and private sector clients.

At present the company has a total of five submarine cables running into the East of Africa and, as Feisal goes on to explain, plans are afoot for more infrastructure to be added in the very near future. “We are looking at introducing two additional cables, which we hope to have up and operational by the end of 2014. The presence of these new cables will further provide us with the ability to deliver to our customers the services that they require and to do so on a reliable basis, while also providing optimum availability.”

The introduction of the newest cables will further cement Djibouti Telecom as having the highest number in East Africa. They also represent the company’s continued progress towards becoming a gateway from East Africa to the rest of the world.

“With the help of our geographical position and intercontinental submarine cable investments,” Feisal says, “we have become the optimum gateway to Europe and Asia.

We have a direct connectivity with almost 50 countries from Asia, Europe, Africa, New Zealand and Australia through our regional

Djibouti Telecom

Technical staff

and international infrastructures. Apart from the five international cables landing in Djibouti, two more are expected to be live by the last quarter of 2014, AAE1 and SMW-5.

These upcoming cables will be equipped with latest technology and will further improve our diversity and redundancy.”

Djibouti is an ideal location for satellite service given the low average rainfall. The Djibouti Telecom Teleport can be found within a five kilometre radius of the country’s US

Army Base, the US Embassy and the DjiboutiAmbouli International airport. Located on Djibouti Telecom’s fiber network the Djibouti fiber system also allows for connectivity to four submarine cable systems, EASSy, SEAME-WE 3, EIG and SEACOM. Both Basic IP connectivity as well as international backhaul services are available from the teleport, while all critical systems are supported by redundant UPS power.

The teleport also has redundant generators

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in the case of power outages. Additionally, an iDirect Chassis has been installed at the teleport and is capable of providing services on both existing antennas. The Teleport also offers both managed and hosting services, including space for hosting line cards.

While the company’s own infrastructure has continued to grow and improve, the same cannot be said for several other countries in the East African region and this poses one of the biggest challenges to Djibouti Telecom.

Take Djibouti’s neighbour Somalia for example. While it hugs a vast swath of coastline the country still lacks access to submarine cables, primarily due to the on-going political instability. To overcome this issue the company has commenced plans to provide terrestrial interconnectivity to the country, much like it does to landlocked neighbours such as Ethiopia. While terrestrial interconnectivity is much more susceptible to damage or incidents of sabotage, Djibouti Telecom has proven in Ethiopia that it is able to provide a stable service. Furthermore it hopes, in the near future, to roll out a similar offering to South Sudan.

Back in December 2012, Djibouti Telecom successfully launched a new 3.5G mobile service in Djibouti, thus augmenting its existing 2G GSM and 2.5G EDGE platforms.

Going live on 27 December 2012, the new 3G+ network offers subscribers access to high speed mobile broadband, mobile as well as voice and SMS/MMS services. Djibouti Telecoms customers are also now able to access broadband on a range of devices including mobile phones, tablets and laptops.

From an international perspective the

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Djibouti Telecom

Djibouti Telecom’s Evatis sales agency

company has also recently launched a new tier-three data centre in East Africa to provide direct access to its undersea cable systems.

The Djibouti Data Centre (DDC) offers undersea cable head access and backhaul, interconnection, collocation and internet access and is located just metres from the company’s new cable landing station.

The DDC offers international telecommunications carriers and content delivery network providers neutral collocation facilities, internet exchange and other connectivity services. “It is part of our long term vision for the DDC,” Feisal continues, “to create a location from which we can provide all of the core services that our customers

require, thus making it a gateway to providing international services across Africa and into Asia and Europe. In doing so we also want to create a system that allows these customers to reduce their own costs while still ensuring the diversity and resiliency of what we provide.”

Compared to its neighbours, Djibouti is a relatively small country with limited natural resources and a population of around one million people. As such national companies like Djibouti Telecom have grown up with a determination to help develop an economy that is funded almost exclusively by its port activities and telecommunications capabilities. This obligation, if you will, pushes companies like Djibouti Telecom

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to devise better services with the sole aim of attracting more customers to take advantage of the infrastructure that the country has to offer.

Demand for Djibouti Telecom’s services continues to increase rapidly and this demand is the core influence behind its push to expand and deploy the amount of resources that are required to cater for the needs of its customers.

“In Ethiopia for instance,” Feisal enthuses, “we expect to experience an exponential demand for the sort of services that we provide as the country grows and becomes more dependent on the services it derives from surrounding countries like Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti. It is a country that is very much looking to diversify its interconnectivity and to do so it will require the assistance of a provider who can provide the most reliable

“Our investment in international infrastructure has played a major role in our success to date”

Backbone network being laid

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Djibouti Telecom

Entry of submarine cable

and readily available service and that can drive the most capacity. Not only do we believe that we can provide this, but we are also looking to further develop our premium offerings for this very purpose.”

As the continent of Africa continues to develop and more and more nations begin to realise their social and economic potential it stands to reason that an industry as critical as telecommunications will only becoming more competitive in the years to come.

“Our investment in international infrastructure has played a major role in our success to date,” Feisal highlights. “Going forward our customers will have even more options when it comes to diversity and restoration from Djibouti and that enables us to be an ideal gateway for East African countries.”

With that in mind Feisal is aware of what Djibouti Telecom has to do during this time period. “What is going to be fundamental for us going forward is our ability to meet both new and growing trends in the market by providing premium quality services. What we know about our customers is that they are most concerned about quality, availability and cost, and the way we succeed where others do not is by remaining the best provider of these qualities in the marketplace.”

For more information about Djibouti Telecom visit: www.djiboutitelecom.dj www.djiboutidatacenter.com

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THE POWER

OF TEN The TCRA has overseen revolutions in broadcasting, postal services and telecommunications over the last decade, today’s revolution is a digital one

written by: John O’Hanlon research by: David Brogan

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TCRA

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Aerial view of Dar es Salaam

TCRA

A

ccording to the most recent World Bank economic update published late in 2012, “Tanzania stands out as a model of sound economic performance with a growth rate of over six percent in 2011 and 2012.” Tanzania’s economic prospects look positive over the period for 2012-14, the report goes on to say, when its GDP is forecast to grow at a rate of 6.5 to 7 percent. In economic terms Tanzania was a rock of stability in 2011/12, recording solid growth and strengthened fiscal discipline despite increases in the rate of inflation.

A rock of stability, a model of sound economic performance, and politically stable to boot – Tanzania’s situation is a tribute to the great governance it has enjoyed since independence and thanks in no small measure to the wisdom of the late Julius Nyerere.

Whatever you think of his brand of Ujamaa socialism it has given Tanzania a level of stability that is the envy of its neighbours.

It’s true that the country developed slowly and that its growth has largely failed to impact those who make up 80 percent of the country’s poorest people. As the World Bank puts it: “Tanzania’s macroeconomic success has not been felt by the majority of the rural population that is still living in extreme poverty.” But this just serves to emphasise the potential for giving these citizens access to the agricultural commercialisation, diversification and urbanisation that has so far barely started to happen.

If you had to choose a single factor driving social and economic change in Tanzania it

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TCRA

Mobile users in Tanzania are fast adopting mobile money services

might well be communications. Prof John Tanzania so it can further grow its telecoms Nkoma certainly thinks so. A physicist might and realise its full potential. “As a by profession Dr Nkoma spent most of his regulatory body we ensure that licenses are career abroad doing research in the UK and of reasonable duration and regulations are Botswana where he held the chair of physics enforceable. We use the funds we receive at the University of Botswana. However he responsibly – so I tell them to come and invest returned to Tanzania in 2004 to head up in Tanzania’s thriving telecoms industry.” He the newly founded TCRA, successor to two also believes that electronic communications former bodies, the Tanzania Communications of all kinds, now united under his overview, Commission (TCC), which formerly regulated must be allowed to play their full part in telecoms and the Tanzania Broadcasting education and healthcare.

If you want to talk to Commission (TBC) which regulated broadcasting. someone in Tanzania, get Professor N koma their mobile number or their believes that developing the e-mail address or use a VOIP telecommunications network connection like Skype. The has been vital to Tanzania’s number of wire connections Tanzania’s current economy and encourages in the country is small, fibre network investors to partner with and has remained largely

7,500 KM

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TCRA

Half the population of Tanzania is under 15

“I tell them to come and invest in Tanzania’s thriving telecoms industry” constant over the last decade. Compare that to the number of mobile subscribers, which, from fewer than a million ten years ago, has now topped 26 million – that in a country with a total population of 45 million, half of them under 15! The mobile phone serves a different purpose in Africa than in other communities where the bulk of consumers use it for tweeting, chatting and finding a restaurant. Here it is a tool.

Financial services are the most talked about, Nkoma agrees, and Vodacom’s wellknown M-Pesa is paralleled by the other

major players. Tigo has Tigo Pesa; AirTel offers airtel money and ZanTel Ezy Pesa.

Each of these allows users to transfer without the need for a bank account, which so many people wouldn’t qualify for. The fees are typically low. To transfer up to the equivalent of $600 Ezy Pesa charges just 12c.

Tanzanians have been among the fastest adopters of mobile money services in the world, just behind Kenya. In agriculture, a growing number of agricultural information service providers offer technical advice and market information to farmers through

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COMMUNICATION SOLUTIONS • Human Capital Solutions

We provide Complete HR Solutions to organizations who do not wish to hire employees directly under their organization. We handle from recruitment, Interviewing, Screening, and Computer Based Assessments to Employment. Our HR Department offers computerized and complete employee management from Payroll, Social Benefits, Taxes, Legal Matters, Leaves, Discipline, and Shifts.

• Call Center Solutions

Infinity Communications has partnered with a South African Group of Companies, providing Call Center Solutions and Human Capital Solutions.

This relation empowers Infinity Communications with the necessary skills and technicality to design setup and establish call centers in Tanzania, and provide skill assessment & training of call center personnel.

• Record Management Solutions

Our Document management system provides storage, versioning, security, as well as indexing and retrieval capabilities. Well suited for large cooperate customers handling documents on departmental levels. We provide On-site and Hosted DMS Solutions. Additionally we provide Data Entry Services and Document Imaging and Digitizing

• SMS Solutions

Mobile phones have become a powerful tool.

Never before has it been possible to reach more than 10 million Tanzanians in such a personal and interactive way. With the ever growing industry of mobile subscribers, there has never been a better time to add SMS text messaging to your business operation – whatever it may be.

- Bulk SMS Solutions - Premium Short Code Services

Infinity Communications Ltd, 32 Ursina Street, Regent Estate, P.O Box 1495 Dar Es Salaam.

Tel: +255 22 2775567 | Fax: +255 22 2775560 | Email: info@ic.co.tz | www.ic.co.tz

TCRA

The Dar es Salaam waterfront

bulk SMS, call centres we have 3G networks therefore data transfer is becoming very or specialised apps. In important.” However when it the health sector, mobile comes to stimulating business phones have opened up growth, the regulator can opportunities for remote leave much of the development diagnosis so that health workers in remote facilities to the ingenuity of the private mobile providers. Larger are supported to treat their Tanzanian mobile capital projects require patients by medical experts subscribers more attention. Tanzania’s further away via telephone.

This can potentially improve principal city Dar es Salaam is service delivery in light of understaffing in fortunate in being the landing point for three international fibre optic ‘pipes’, the East African rural health centres.

Facilitating these services is just one of the Submarine Cable System (EASSy), Seacom things TCRA is interested in doing. “We have and Teams. To create an inland network seen exponential growth in subscriptions, Tanzania borrowed $170 million from China and that has been paralleled by the growth in and raised a further $80 million to build a services – in the earliest years there were just vast fibre-optic cable network, stretching simple platforms, basically just voice; but now 7,500 kilometres in a ring around the country.

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Emerge Empowered

Coverage

TV SIBUKA & RADIO SIBUKA FM extends its air waves coverage to all major cities in Tanzania through Startimes media and to other cities in East and Central Africa - Kampala, Kigali, Bujumbura, Lubumbashi, Nairobi to mention the few.

Commercials & Sponsorship

For competitive rates for both commercials and programmes sponsorship, SIBUKA is the right place with media priorities ranging from news, family entertainment, social advocacy to health care dissemination and inspiration.

Contacts: Director SIBUKA FM LIMITED, Plot 352 Block 43, Mwenge Kijitonyama P.o Box 75700, Dar es salaam, Tanzania Email: Info@sibuka.com website: www.sibukafm.com Telephone: +255 - 22 - 2772847 Fax: +255 - 22 - 2772847 Mobile: +255- 756-267400

Weekly Because a month is a long time to wait...

Your weekly digest of business news and views www.bus-ex.com

TCRA

The fibre-optic network cost $250 million to create

Actually, there are three rings radiating out of Dar es Salaam and managed by the incumbent fixed network operator Tanzania Telecommunications Co Ltd (TTCL) Nkoma explains. The eastern ring links Dar with Arusha and Moshi to the north, and thence to Kenya; the western ring takes the network into Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and the eastern DRC, while a southern ring goes into Malawi and Zambia. “For this part of the world fibre optic is a necessity – it is doing what the copper network did many years ago, and so much more, bringing fast broadband to populations that need it to develop business as well as healthcare and education.”

Long term evolution (LTE) will eventually

allow remote access to high speed mobile broadband but it will never challenge fibre optic, he thinks. In any case any 4G spectrum offering is some way ahead. Meanwhile he is pleased with the spectrum management programme that TCRA has been able to deliver to date.

Much of TCRA’s effort recently has been in managing a broadcasting revolution – the roll out of digital TV. The analogue signal was switched off in Dar es Salaam on December 31 last year, in Dodoma and Tanga at the end of January, in Mwanza in February followed by Moshi and Arusha in March. The switch-off in Mbeya on April 30 will mark the completion of Phase one digitalisation.

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TCRA Phase two will repeat the process as the remaining population centres are equipped with digital transmitters. “The cost of set-top boxes has not been a major problem, as the government waived tax on that equipment,” says Nkoma. An entry level STB costs around 40,000 shillings – about $25’ While most of TCRA’s work is concerned with electronic communications, it regulates postal services as well. Here the big project has been to introduce postcodes throughout the country. Tanzania leads the continent in introducing postcodes: “We have completed the basic planning, and have already compiled the postcode database for the whole country. Now it is just a question of implementation.”

TCRA is coming up to its tenth anniversary. Prof Nkoma takes a broad view of its achievements, pointing to its part in ensuring a sound and credible legislative framework for communications platforms in Tanzania, with. This, he emphasises, is vital to attract inward investment. “Investors need to feel protected against unfair competition.”

Following the passing of the 2010 Electronic and Postal Communications Act, new regulations published in 2011 brought in an up to date regime for the long term.

“We now have a well articulated structural strategic plan which spells out our vision, our mission, strategic goals and core values of the organisation,” he concludes.

For more information about TCRA visit: www.tcra.go.tz

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The digital revolution is now approaching phase two

East African Portland Cement Company

Building a brighter future For 80 years, EAPCC has played its part in the growth of Kenya. Managing Director, Kephar Tande talks about what the future holds for both the company and the country

written by: Will Daynes research by: Paul Bradley

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EAPCC

R

EAPCC sponsors the biggest homes expo in East and Central Africa, the Blue triangle homes expo

enowned for the quality of its product, which has proven to be the lifeblood of the Kenyan construction industry over the last 80 years, the East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) has been the country’s leading cement manufacturer since it was founded in 1933.

“For the first 40 years or more,” explains Managing Director, Kephar Tande, “we were the only cement company to operate within Kenya. As such we played a hugely important role in helping build the nation from the ground up in areas such as housing, education, health, tourism, transport and communication.”

It was in 1957 that the company moved to its present headquarters, the Athi River Factory, an area blessed with an abundance of regularly available raw materials required for making cement. Over the subsequent years a number of investments and improvements were made, including the commissioning of new mills, a rotary wet kiln and a limestone crusher, resulting in an increase in EAPCC’s production capacity. In 2009 another new mill was commissioned, doubling capacity once again to bring it to its current figure of 1.3 million tonnes.

The company’s flagship product, Blue Triangle Cement, is well regarded throughout Kenya for its reliability, having been used in the construction of a number of the country’s historical and future structural icons such as KICC, the Thika Superhighway and the Chemususu Dam. “Our customers rely on our ability to deliver quality and value,” Tande continues, “and it

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C. B. YONGO & ASSOCIATES

CHEMICAL/PROCESS ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS Areas of Expertise: • Process Plant Evaluation • Process Technical Audits • Process Plant Optimisation • In Plant Training: Technical – Process, Quality Control, Process Economics, Process Costing/Budgetary Control • Bench-marking of Manufacturing Operations • Process Improvements, Products Development/ Standardisation • Techno-financial feasibility Studies • Energy Conservation • Pinch and Intermediate Technologies • Cleaner Production/Industrial Symbiosis • Development of Company –Medium/Long-term Plans.

• Technical Management Training, Mentoring and Advisory Services • Safety and Environment (SEIA –Social Environmental Impact Assessment)

THE CEMENT INDUSTRY SPECIALISTS

C.B. Yongo & Associates, MOMBASA. KENYA. | Contact: +254 722 489412 | e-mail: yongocrispine@yahoo.com

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EAPCC is our consistency in being Yongo & Associates able to provide this that has It was in 1999 that Yongo & Associates completed the arguably contributed most to optimization of their new, dry process rotary kiln technology. our success over the years.

In the year that followed the company achieved a great The local materials available many other things including providing technical process and to us are ideal for cement quality training to its operations department and establishing production and have allowed process economics, process costing, process improvements and budgetary controls, and inter-departmental integration us to create a very unique and harmonization throughout its operations. product. That is not to say In 2010 Yongo & Associates carried out a feasibility study that we aren’t engaged in the into the establishment of a new kiln line. Over the last 12 task of product improvement, months the company has completed technical process rather this is something we do audits, plant optimization projects, delivered training for its while paying close attention operation department staff, carried out an evaluation into to changing market trends, alternative fuels and an in-depth evaluation into technical projects associated with its updating of its kiln line. advancements in technology yongocrispine@yahoo.com and evolving customer needs and demands.”

Growth, expansion and sustained profitability are the guiding principles of EAPCC’s business model, and driving these goals forward are its people. “Our long-term presence in Kenya,” Tande states, “has allowed us to develop strong local competence when it comes to manufacturing and technical skills.

Every single employee, from support staff to management, can expect to receive continuous training in order to keep their skills up to date.

Staff development is something that is very important to us and as such we encourage everyone to pursue higher studies.”

Kephar L. Tande, EAPCC Managing Director

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Kenya is very much the archetypical model of what one would describe as a rapidly developing country. As such there are a number of prominent growth drivers that continue to bring increasing volumes of work to EAPCC and the construction industry as a whole. These include the demand for more housing to cater for an ever-increasing population and for core infrastructure such as road networks, bridges and dams, all of which of course being heavily reliant on cement.

In addition to its commitment to contributing towards Kenya’s development, EAPCC is also driven by its aim to create better lives for the communities that it operates in. It does so by sponsoring a wide range of development projects through its Corporate Social Responsibility investments.

The company believes passionately in education and consistently supports brilliant but disadvantaged children as well as building classes, dormitories and boreholes to support learning in hardship areas.

An equally important theme for the company is its aim to be recognised as a green business that is doing its part to respond to the environmental concerns that often greet the construction sector in Africa. “We have always worked hard when it comes to

managing our responsibilities,” Tande says.

“One of the ways we do this is by carefully monitoring our use of resources, for example reducing our levels of waste. At present we are looking into ways in which we can incorporate solar power into our operations, while another important development sees us looking at ways in which we can convert hot gas into electrical power, thus reducing our reliance on coal.”

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EAPCC

The staff clinic

Kenya, and much of East we are as well positioned as anyone when it comes to Africa for that matter, is unquestionably a fast moving recognising the positive signs market and one with an that exist when it comes to the country’s future growth. average growth rate of at The year EAPCC moved least ten percent per annum What we also know to be true to its Athi River Factory in terms of concrete and is that growing confidence associated products. in a country like Kenya in It is therefore fair to turn breeds confidence in assume that EAPCC do not envision their surrounding economies. Therefore it goes efforts slowing down at all in the years ahead. without saying that as we grow as a business “Within the next five years,” Tande concludes, we will keep a sharp eye focused on other “we intend to at least double our production potential growth areas for EAPCC.” capacity, while also looking to increase our market share further still and to expand For more information about East African our business interest into the ready-mixed Portland Cement Company visit: and pre-cast concrete sectors. For 80 years www.eastafricanportland.com now we have grown alongside Kenya, thus

1957

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Models of development As Zimbabwe emerges from a challenging decade Tarcon Private Limited is finding inventive ways to keep its business, and the country’s economy, in growth

written by: John O’Hanlon research by: Abi Abagun

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Tarcon Africa

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Tarcon Grader at work at Ngezi Mine

Tarcon Africa

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arcon is a private Hararebased company with operations throughout southern Africa, active in Mozambique and Zambia as well as its home market in Zimbabwe. It employs over 800 people. Although the company formally began operations in its present form in 2001, its foundations go back to 1981 and Tarcon was the result of the merger of a number of earthmoving, plant hire and later, civil contracting companies.

Over the years Tarcon has built an impressive portfolio of civil engineering projects in the region including many roads, dams, sewers, water reticulation systems and bridges. A separate division focuses on mining activities. “We do not own mines, but we have been very successful in contract mining,” says CEO Lawrence Gudo. “We offer specialised services to the mining companies.

Between 2009 and 2012, the mining sector has been a very significant contributor to Zimbabwe’s GDP accounting for around 17 percent, with sector-average growth of 30 percent over the period.” The mining division generates around 20 percent of Tarcon’s annual turnover, he adds.

The work Tarcon does for mining major mining houses, is typified by its long-standing engagement with Rio Tinto, which contracts out the heavy earth works at its Murowa diamond mine located near Zvishavane in South Central Zimbabwe. “Tarcon does a lot of work for RT particularly where the scope of work involves excavation, loading and hauling,” Gudo explains. The company has been involved since 2004. Tarcon’s

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Tarcon Africa input includes extraction BELL PTA of kimberlite, removing Since the mid 1980’s, TARCON Africa have been associated overburden, and hauling the with the ‘yellow metal’ business, initially in the ‘plantore and waste from the pits. hire’ sector, then diversifying into ‘civil engineering’ and In addition it maintains access ‘contract mining’. roads, dumps, access ramps, TARCON’s fleet of equipment grew steadily with their haul roads, ore stockpiles successes throughout the Southern African region undertaking major projects in Mozambique, Zambia and and waste dumps. Since the Zimbabwe. BELL Equipment’s ‘regional support network’ resource has the potential to set the platform in the formation of BELL equipment being be expanded to six or seven the backbone of their fleet. Today TARCON Africa currently times its current production operates 38 units, supplied and serviced by BELL PTA. The level, this is work that could ‘partnership’ continues to grow today. go on for a very long time.

BELL PTA congratulates TARCON Africa for their Tarcon has just completed ‘excellence in Africa’. www.bellequipment.com its most recent infrastructure and roads project for platinum miner Zimplats at its mine on the Zimbabwean Great Dyke approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Harare.

Currently it is involved in putting up infrastructure for the mine housing project at Anglo American’s Unki mine, also on the Great Dyke.

However the activity that has underpinned Tarcon throughout its life, and is certain to do so in the future, is infrastructure development.

Apart from the need for publicly funded roads, dams, water pipelines and reticulation and sewerage infrastructure in central southern Africa, these services are greatly demanded

$450 million Estimated FDI in Zimbabwe in 2012 Tarcon workers in front of a Reclaimer

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by the mining sector as these tend to form fully fledged communities in the proximity of their operations, he points out. Mining projects always need some level of access infrastructure and in remote areas, this could be considerable. Civil roads account for 50 percent of Tarcon’s turnover, though this is a challenging and highly competitive market.

The region is in dire need of road, water and energy infrastructure, says Lawrence Gudo. “Like Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique provide huge opportunities because historically these countries have lagged behind in implementing developmental projects due to political and economic reasons.” The struggles of these economies, Zimbabwe’s in particular, are well documented. At this moment there’s pressure to find ways to upgrade road networks as fast as possible in order to cater for industry and social developmental demands. Infrastructure plays a critical role in attracting investor into the market: it allows easy of access and movement of products. Zambia’s Road Development Agency recently launched its Link Zambia 8000 road project, also known as the Accelerated National Roads Construction Programme.

A total of 8,201 kilometres of roads will be built or upgraded over a period of five years.

“Zambia has been on a fast growth path,” comments Gudo. Its $750 million euro bond was oversubscribed signifying indications of investor trust on the economy. This presents exciting opportunities.”

Under his leadership, however, Tarcon has adopted a cautious policy, not wanting to get its fingers burnt by taking on every opportunity. “We are trying to reorganise, and create a very lean structure that is cost

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Tarcon Africa

Island dam core trench excavation

conscious and operationally But on the positive side, viable for us. We are focusing the lean years did create on improving customer major opportunities, he experience through service continues. “Now that the country is coming out of the delivery enhancement as Of Tarcon’s turnover woods major projects are we continue to build the comes from the getting unlocked and soon right levels of capacity.” mining sector opportunities to revamp Zimbabwe in particular and build our roads,dams, has been a very difficult water facilities among others environment to sustain businesses over the last ten years, given the will open up.” But the greatest challenge still hyperinflationary conditions. Companies remains that of funding. An essential part of that survived had resources and ingenuity any new infrastructure project is how it will to sustain them, otherwise many fell by the be financed. The way forward, he suggests wayside. “Unfortunately our government did is the PPP model, where the financial risk is not have the financial muscle and resources shared between the public and private sector. to undertake major public infrastructure This model works well for road construction projects over that period.” as exemplified by a recent domestic highway

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project the government has partnered the private sector (local and foreign) to fund and implement road rehabilitation projects such as the Plumtree-Harare-Mutare Highway. Would the road users accept having to pay toll fees?

“Road users are already paying toll fees, but the tolling system has very basic infrastructure and is inefficient. Major concerns from road users have been the lack of improvement in the state of the roads despite the toll fees

being collected. They have paid their money but witness no improvements or even repairs – rather they continue to experience potholes on the roads. In fact the roads are deplorable.

Road users want to see new and improved roads – and they will be happy to pay toll fees!” says Gudo with confidence.

PPP and BOT (build, operate, transfer) models have worked well elsewhere, even in neighbouring South Africa, he says. In

“Now that the country is coming out of the woods major projects are getting unlocked”

Vibrator at work

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Tarcon Africa

Island dand trench

general such projects will have a pay-back period of about 15 years, depending with the level of investment and thereafter they continue to generate funds for maintenance and repairs.

Disrepair in the road network is mirrored in the water supply, sewage and energy infrastructure. The opportunities for civil engineering companies like Tarcon are limitless. But foreign direct investment (FDI) is an essential ingredient to get these projects moving. Though levels of FDI are currently low, indications of potential growth are there and will most likely happen in the next few years to come if certainty is created around the political environment and our economic policies.. Despite its political instability Zimbabwe succeeded in increasing FDI nearly

eightfold over four years from just $51.6 million in 2008 to $387 million in 2011. In 2012 it is estimated that FDI continued to grow, reaching $450 million.

China does present some options for the economic recovery suggests Gudo. “We have gone into strategic alliances with Chinese equipment manufactures in order to address challenges faced in accessing equipment to resource major projects. Access to meaningful credit lines in Zimbabwe is limited at the moment.

Another opportunity he sees, heavily disguised as a problem, is Zimbabwe’s brain drain. More than four million highly qualified people, accountants, engineers and managers among them, have been lost to neighbouring countries or departed for the

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“Our own staff and the communities around us, have sustained us through the difficult times” UK. “We want to target those people in the diaspora and bring them back.” Most will come back better equipped with enhanced skills sets, he adds, from his experience of working in first world organisations.

This approach has given Tarcon the chance to re-evaluate its skill base, plan future requirements and reorganise its operations.

Tarcon depends very much on its people, and as an organisation, we value our

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employees, Lawrence Gudo emphasises.

“Our own staff and the communities around us, have sustained us through the difficult times,” he says. “We have operated in some hash and remote environments, where we interact with some of the most disadvantaged members of society. As a way of giving back and empowering communities we have embarked on very successful HIV and Aids campaign programmes to educate

Tarcon Africa

Unki Works

communities which are otherwise totally excluded from any form of media coverage and have no access to formal education.”

Tarcon employees give their time after hours to talk about HIV and how to prevent it as well as demystifying the myth and stigma that goes with it. The recipients of these programmes are really appreciative, he says, since these programmes impact their lives positively. “These social integration programmes are very close to our heart and we will continue with them, especially in the remote areas we operate in.

Further still, the local community members we employ are integrated into our Tarcon ‘on the job training’ programmes which impart formal skills.”

Lawrence Gudo has other plans for the

company once the restructuring is complete.

Among the entities that made it up originally was a property development enterprise.

Though this remained dormant over recent years, Tarcon land banked packages suitable for commercial, industrial and residential development. The group has immediate plans to embark on property development which will commence during the course of 2013.The first phase will be targeting high income residential housing market. It’s all part of the green shoots of a recovery that Zimbabweans truly deserve.

For more information about Tarcon Africa visit: www.tarconafrica.com

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U232 Hotel

Elegance personified The hotel sector in Barcelona is rightly held in particularly high regard for its quality of service and product offering. One property upholding these characteristics on a daily basis is the U232 Hotel

written by: Will Daynes research by: richard turner

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Terrace of one the top rooms

U232 Hotel

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rom the spectacle of Antoni Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia church to the iconic Camp Nou stadium, the city of Barcelona is home to a countless number of stunning sights and experiences that make it one of the most popular city break destinations anywhere in the world.

For more than 30 years one of the hotels catering for business travellers and tourists visiting the city is the U232 Hotel, nestled between Avenida Diagonal and Paseo de Gracia within the shopping and business zones of Plaza Francesc Macià. Part of the Núñez i Navarro Hotels (NN Hotels) group, the hotel offers 102 fully equipped rooms and access to two meeting rooms, a fitness centre, business centre with complimentary internet access, and a peaceful terrace-solarium.

Originally called the Núñez Hotel, U232 underwent a significant remodelling programme in 2007, one that saw it adopt its new name. “For many years this was very much a business orientated hotel,” states Director, Asun Pareja, “however since the remodelling we have been diversifying our client mix to the point where today we have roughly a 50-50 split between business and leisure travellers.”

According to Pareja, both types of client share an appreciation of the hotel’s location away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre. “Here we find ourselves surrounded by a vast array of local business, restaurants and coffee shops that our guests often praise for delivering better quality and value than those found in the tourist hotspots throughout Barcelona.”

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Nevertheless, whatever features or attractions surround a premises it is the offerings of the hotel itself that most endear it to its guests. “I believe that what makes this hotel stand out from others, first and foremost, is the product,” Pareja enthuses.

“Being a family owned hotel we take immense pride in being able to offer the best experience possible, be it through the service we provide, the materials we use or the way we work to maintain the appearance of the building.”

U232 Hotel’s 102 rooms are divided into several different categories. Its best sellers are its basic rooms, which benefit from all the usual amenities and services, while it also offers exterior rooms, rooms with balconies and four that come with their own terraces.

Having this degree of choice allows the hotel to cater to a wider type of traveller with different spending limits.

“In general,” Pareja says, “Barcelona is blessed with having a high quality supply of hotels making this a very competitive market to operate within. It is with that in mind that the NN Hotel group takes great pride in having six of its hotels featured in the list of the top 30 hotel destinations in Barcelona according to the latest ratings on the Trip Advisor website.”

Prior to the financial crisis that enveloped

the globe in the latter years of the last decade Barcelona was in the midst of enjoying a number of very good years economically.

While the effects of the crisis were unavoidably damaging, the hotel industry can take solace in the fact that it learnt a number of invaluable lessons that it continues to apply today.

“In recent years,” Pareja explains, “we have learnt to become more efficient when it comes to managing our hotel and our profit

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U232 Hotel

Basic rooms are very stylish and are U232’s best sellers

margins. One example of the most common compliments measures we have taken to do we receive from our guests this is the outsourcing of our is how well maintained the housekeeping team. In the hotel is and how it looks years prior to the crisis such exactly the same way that it Rooms make up an idea would never have is depicted in brochures and the U232 Hotel on our website. Therefore it even been contemplated, however we were the first of is clear to us that in order to the NN Hotels to do so and remain successful our job is the results of this move, from a quality and to keep the quality of our product and service cost saving perspective, have led to other offerings at a continuously high level, while hotels in the group looking to implement maintaining the excellent condition of the similar moves.” building for many years to come.”

With the industry in the midst of what it itself admits is turning out to be another For more information about challenging year, Pareja is very much U232 Hotel visit: aware of what the U232 Hotel has to do www.u232hotel.com to overcome such a scenario. “One of the

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DO YOU NEED SULFUR DIOXIDE FOR YOUR MINE SITE?

Chemithon offers pressurized sulfur burners for use in making SO2 gas for cyanide destruction in gold tailings, recovery of silver from manganiferous silver ores, and SO2/air mixtures for oxidation of leach

T

he Chemithon Corporation has over 58 years of experience in providing sulfur related chemical process technology, R&D, engineering, design, process equipment manufacturing and a full range of services to its customers. Chemithon is committed to developing new and innovative technologies and equipment for use in producing SO2 and/or SO3 to meet the chemical demands required by modern day mining operations.

Because sulfur is relatively inexpensive, a pressurized sulfur burner is the most cost effective way of

“ Chemithon offers custom engineered systems designed to meet the specific requirements of a mine site�

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getting SO2 gas to cyanide destruction or oxidation tanks at a mine site.

Chemithon sulfur burning SO2 and SO3 plants can be configured to operate with either compressed air or an oxygen plant to burn sulfur at a pressure high enough to bubble the gas through a reaction tank filled with ore slurry.

The pressurized SO2 gas can be delivered via a pipeline to the reaction tank(s).

Depending on the process requirements the gas can be supplied either hot or cold (50 to 700°C) and at a wide range of concentrations (zero to nearly pure SO2). For sulfur burning processes that utilize oxygen, the excess oxygen required by the process can be delivered to the tanks through the same pipe line.

The SO2 gas supply pressure depends on the specific design of the process with the typical delivery pressure being in the range of 2 to 5 Barg. If desired, Chemithon can supply a plant to make

Chemithon Corporation

liquid SO2 which could be either used immediately or stored for later use.

Capacity of the Chemithon sulfur burners typically range from 15 to 100 metric tons per day of SO2, but lower and high capacities are achievable.

Sulfur can be supplied as solid prills or granules, which require a sulfur melter, or as molten sulfur (depends on local availability). Chemithon offers custom engineered systems designed to meet the specific requirements of a mine site. The sulfur supply system can be equipped for bulk bags of solid sulfur (prills or granules) or unloading of molten sulfur from either rail car or tank truck. If necessary, a sulfur filtration system can be provided for treating and cleaning poor quality sulfur.

For sulfur burning systems using compressed air Chemithon offers high quality screw type compressors in either a variable or fixed speed configuration

or a combination of both for fine tuning and optimizing the system operation and performance allowing for significant operating cost saving when operating at reduced sulfur burning rates.

The oxygen used in the Chemithon sulfur burning plants can be from a liquid oxygen storage tank or a VPSA oxygen system.

In addition to offering plants for supply of SO2 gas, Chemithon offers unique and compact plants for making liquid SO3 from sulfur and oxygen or via the more conventional acid plant using the well established oleum absorption and boiling process.

Chemithon Corporation T (206) 937-9954 Email: chemoffice@chemithon.com www.chemithon.com

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engineering Specialists Providing local and international specialised engineering services with over 20 years combined experience

D

H Engineering Consultants is a wholly Zambian ow ned Engineering Services Consultancy firm based on Lusaka with offices situated on Plot 2333 Kabelenga Road.

The Engineers have between them over 20 years experience in the Design, Project Management and Final Commissioning of various Mechanical and Water Sector related projects throughout Zambia. The firm is also specialised in the field of Engineering Design, Supervision and Project Management for the petroleum industry. The firm Directors are all Registered engineers and members of their Respective Internationally Accredited organisations such as the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, UK. The firm also provides Environmental Engineering solutions to clients. We provide technical expertise in all

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fields in order to produce detailed Environmental Impact Assessment Studies and Reports for our clients, in accordance with the Zambian Environmental Management Act and its stipulated requirements. We also provide technical solutions to mitigate against any environmental impact from inception through to final commissioning and operational handover.

Over the years, the company has had several associations with both local and international firms in providing specialised Engineering Services serving to achieve a common goal of ensuring a high standard of ethical and professional services to our clients.

The services we provide are: • Project Management/Supervision • Feasibility Study Reports • Design and Supervision • Financial Appraisals

DH Engineering Consultants

The range of services provided are: Mechanical Engineering • Commercial and Residential Air Conditioning Systems • Ventilation and Extraction Systems • Specialised Piping Systems • Fire Protection Systems • Petroleum Products, Storage and Distribution Systems and Solutions • I ndustrial Kitchen Equipment Systems Building Services • Air Conditioning Solutions • E lectrical Power and Reticulation • Plumbing Solutions • Fire Fighting Systems • Lifts and Escalators

Data

Environmental Engineering • Water Supply and Treatment Solutions • Sanitation Solutions • Specific Client (Industrial, Urban, Rural, Commercial, Petroleum) Solutions • Use of Appropriate Technology • Environmental Impact Assessment Reports and Feasibility Studies DH Engineering Consultants Ltd PO Box 37928 Lusaka Zambia T +260 211 227176F F +260 211 229555 M +260 977 874162 | +260 955 913315 dhec@iconnect.zm | dhec.lusaka@gmail.com

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leading consultancy We at EPSA-LABCO apply our experience and knowledge, each partner maintains a strong commitment to provide value and added service in order to always keep customer satisfaction

E

PSA-LABCO, Consulting Engineers, Inc. is a prominent consulting firm, supervision and project management with over twenty years of professional experience, founded on June 20, 1985, through the merger of the following engineering consulting firms: EPSA studies, projects, supervision and auditing, established in 1984, owned by Mr. Manuel GómezAchecar, Ph.D.

“ We use top experts to ensure the excellence of our services, we lead by example and we work together.”

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LABCO: Laboratory of Soil and Building Materials, founded in 1963, property of the late Joseph Ordeix, MSCE, combining between them, nearly half a century of good engineering practice. EPSA-LABCO was created with the vision of providing high quality professional services in various areas of civil engineering, such as: • Architecture & Engineering • Procurement & Logistics • Construction Management & Supervision • Project Control & Budgets • Laboratory • Quality Assurance We are dedicated to providing practical solutions to issues of stability of geological structures. These solutions are aimed at design and evaluation, and support during the construction process.

EPSA-LABCO

We have solid experience in geotechnical services based on our professional high technical capability to provide the desired excellence in our consulting services. With our extensive experience, combined with expertise in complex geo-mechanical analysis and the use of computers and sophisticated software.

He has had the opportunity to participate in the design of various types of projects: Slope Stabilization,

shallow and deep foundations, Soil Improvement, roads, bridges, dams, canals, and other buildings.

EPSA-LABCO Socorro Sรกnchez #57 Gazcue, Santo Domingo, D.N. T (809) 221-3772 www.epsalabco.com

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reliable construction Serving our customers since 1933, we became the oldest and largest construction company in Peru

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e have developed, over our history, countles projects in all sectors of construction: Infrastructure, Energy, Building, Mining, Oil, Industry, among others.

In the course of the various projects we have partnered with leading construction companies in the world, such as Bechtel, Fluor, Dumez GTM (Vinci), Aker Solutions, among others.

For the convenience of our customers, we have developed projects

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in various forms, with or without financing, turnkey (turn-key), EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction), among others.

Gym offers its services to all companies in the country and the rest of Latin America, making available to its customers, a team of professionals and highly skilled technicians and experienced.

We have a fleet of latest equipment, which has the highest standards of maintenance. We are a leading company that certifies compliance with all of its projects “ahead of schedule” with the quality and reliability our customers require.

Our mission is to meet the needs of engineering and infrastructure services to its customers beyond contractual obligations, working in an environment that motivates and develops staff while respecting the environment in harmony with the

Gym

communities in which it operates and ensuring the return to its shareholders.

As part of our corporate identity, vision, mission and values, the Corporation entered some years to a stage where social responsibility is formally inserted in the development of our operations.

Our Letter of Ethics, signed in 1995, the Health and Safety policy in 1999 and the Environmental Policy in 1998 are part of this process and have made a clear pattern of behavior towards customers, shareholders, staff and community.

This socially responsible behavior, has, on the home front, as the main target group for our staff, and on the external front the audiences that make up the community with which we relate to the development of our operations.

GYM 4675 Paseo La Republica, Lima 34, Peru.

T 51 (1) 213-0444 www.gym.com.pe

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GLOBAL LEADER IN INNOVATION Martin Engineering is committed to safety, excellence and innovation in bulk-materials handling

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stablished in 1944, Martin Engineering is the leading international developer, manufacturer and supplier of innovations to make the handling of bulk materials cleaner, safer and more productive. Martin offers technologies that boost flow, reduce dust and spillage, extend component life and reduce downtime, resulting in improved operating environments and increased profitability.

Our Global Team of experts from every part of the world, work together to produce and manufacture high quality products that deserve the Martin seal of approval. Our service technicians average 27 years of experience in bulk material handling. Our product engineers and development teams work side by side with our sales and service leaders to share innovative ideas within our corporate community

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around the globe and to help facilitate the development of new products that make bulk material handling cleaner, safer and more productive worldwide.

This experience and expertise made Martin Engineering the leader in bulk material handling solutions.

Martin Engineering has a reputation for high-quality products and skilled, dedicated employees. But more importantly, we have a reputation for partnering with our customers to develop solutions that best suit their problems and make their jobs easier.

Our Certified Conveyor Technicians are in the field working side by side with our customers and see firsthand what the issues are and how best to provide the solutions for their individual problem.

Because we work so closely with our customers, we know firsthand what the problems are, not just by industry but

MARTIN ENGINEERING

by individual plant. Our technicians then provide this information to our Product and Development team who work continuously developing new technologies that enhance and improve our current products while always thinking ahead to develop advanced technologies that will provide new solutions.

Developing strong relationships with our customers is the only way to maintain that knowledge base which continues to feed innovation in Research and Development and provide unique, practical solutions to age-old problems.

Martin E n g i ne e r i n g is headquartered in Neponset, IL with business locations include Mexico, Brazil, China, France, Germany, United Kingdom, South Africa, Turkey, Indonesia, India, Canada, Australia, Japan, Chile and Colombia.

Problem Solved.™ Martin Engineering Corporate Headquarters Neponset, IL, USA 61345 T 800-544-2947 www.martin-eng.com

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ground breaking technology MineRP has an international presence with nine offices on five continents around the world

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e take pride in the fact that we employ only the best people from both the mining as well as software industries. As such, we have grown a reputation for expertise in the development of ground breaking technology and being astute advisors and partners when it comes to professional mining consulting.

MineRP was founded in 1997 as

“ Having good information is no use unless that information is available and accurate - anywhere, anytime.”

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Graphic Mining Solutions International (GMSI). Our can-do attitude and unique service approach has solidified our standing as the global mining technical solutions provider of choice to large internationals and junior mining companies alike.

Expert and Enterprise Mining Solutions On the software front, MineRP has a stated objective to support our clients across the total mining value chain (MVC) – from discovery to rehabilitation. We do this through: • Expert solutions that deliver niche functionality to specific disciplines across the MVC (such as mine planning and design solutions, CAD solutions, survey solutions etc.), and • E nterprise solutions enabling seamless integration of our own

minerp

expert tools, as well as those of other vendors of mining technical solutions.

This dual approach to expert and enterprise solutions allows us to focus on building top mining solutions for the miner, while still adhering to best practice when it comes to the integration and collaboration of these expert mining tools with one another.

MineRP South Africa Head Office: Centurion Ground Floor, 267 West Street, Centurion PO Box 9157, Centurion, 0046 T +27 87 980 3100 www.minerpsolutions.com

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Included The BE Mining Directory showcases leading mining organisations from across the world, ranging from big corporations to junior mines and their supply chains.

Be seen throughout our portfolio of magazines: •BE Mining Directory •BE Mining •BE Weekly •BE Monthly •

To find out how to get involved contact: vincent@bus-ex.com