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ISSUE No. 83 | www.bus-ex.com

How to find a purple squirrel How the perception of corruption deters foreign companies in China – But shouldn’t

WEEKLY EDITION

Metroselskabet/Metro Copenhagen

Public transport to be proud of Henrik Plougmann Olsen, CEO of Metroselskabet discusses operating and expanding Copenhagen’s pioneering Metro system

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contents 6

In brief

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Strategy

The week that was In this section you’ll find news, views and comments as we take a look back at the last seven days.

How the perception of corruption deters foreign companies in China – but shouldn’t Rather than categorising a different business approach as malpractice, make an effort to understand China’s complex philosophy and culture.

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recruitment

How to find a purple squirrel Recruiting supreme innovators and ultimate game changers.

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PI Industries

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Ascendis Health

Your health in good hands Chief Executive Officer Dr Karsten Wellner discusses the philosophy and values behind Ascendis Health, the home of some of South Africa’s leading health and care brands.

cover story

20 Metroselskabet/ Metro Copenhagen

Public transport to be proud of Metroselskabet holds the distinction of operating and expanding Metro Copenhagen, an ultra-modern, pioneering Metro system.

46

Starlite Aviation Group

A flight path to the future A combination of its first-class track record and its proactive approach to growth has seen Starlite Aviation Group position itself perfectly for the years ahead.

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Agriculture inspired by science PI Industries holds a unique position in the Indian agrochemical industry, as reflected in its healthy growth, supporting an ambitious programme of expansion in both the domestic and export markets.

84

De Beers Debswana

Enriching a nation The world’s largest diamond producer by value, Debswana is Botswana’s largest private employer and arguably the biggest contributor to the country’s economic growth.

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Staatsolie

Bringing value back home The national oil company of Suriname is facing a very promising future, with enough hydrocarbon reserves to keep it self sufficient for many years.

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Winners & losers

Ups and downs in the week that was...

Whales Japanese government ordered to halt its whaling programme in the Antarctic

Babcock & Fluor Favourites to secure a nuclear decommissioning deal worth ÂŁ7 billion

Mark Zuckerberg Sold his Facebook share options for $3.3 billion

Prada 8% share drop after the firm warned China luxury market could hurt profits

China Manufacturing output remains weak in March, amid fears the economy is slowing

Mozilla Chief Exec, Brendan Eich, forced to resign over gay marriage opposition

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German workers A minimum wage has finally been introduced

Holcim & Lafarge Mega-merger to create the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest cement maker

UK Oil & Gas Up to 39,000 jobs to be created over the next two years

General Motors Recalling 2.6 million vehicles due to a faulty ignition switch

Thailand Economic growth forecast downgraded

by The World Bank from 4.5% to 3%

HTC Reported a worsethan-expected loss for the first quarter of the year

in brief

Infrastructure

Energy

Babcock – Fluor joint venture favourites to earn billion pound nuclear contract

China to head off slowdown with new economic measures The plans, the first to be unveiled this year, come in the wake of a string of disappointing data that has sparked fears of a slowdown. In response the government has said it will cut taxes on small firms and speed up the construction of the country’s railway lines.

“We will find innovative ways including fiscal and financial methods to...steady economic growth,” the cabinet said in a statement on the government’s website.

“We must roll out policies that spur businesses’ vitality, effectively increase demand and boost jobs.”

After its weekly meeting on Wednesday, China’s government announced the measures, including an 18 percent increase in the total number of railway lines being built compared to last year. Most of those tracks will be laid in central and western regions of the country. To finance the railway investment, the government will sell 150 billion yuan ($24.6 billion) worth of government bonds.

The joint venture between Babcock and US firm Fluor was chosen by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The 14 year contract covers twelve nuclear power sites, including Hinkley, Sizewell and Dungeness, and is estimated to be worth as much as £7 billion.

NDA chief executive John Clarke said the joint venture was chosen for its “successful track record and extensive nuclear experience”.

The contract is one of the most valuable in the UK, and the bidding process took two years. Cavendish Fluor Partnership beat competition from three other groups to earn the contract.

Babcock chief executive Peter Rogers said the decision reflected its “ability to successfully deliver complex projects of national significance in very demanding environments”.

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review

What my cat taught me and my MBA didn’t By: Kalyan Sagar Nippani

I

n his earlier book Winning Without Running Kalyan Sagar Nippani looked to the laws of natural science to enlighten the process of entrepreneurship. In What My Cat Taught Me ... he reverts to an even older way of observing humanity and human achievement. In a world where management studies have come to be defined by western ways of thinking developed in the competitive and elitist top 100 business schools headed by institutions like Harvard, Cambridge and INSEAD it is uncommon to find spiritual programmes ranking alongside systems that are ultimately derived from systems analysis and psychology.

Nippani’s subtitle is Management Demystified for Everyday Excellence, so don’t look in these pages for managementspeak. Excellence, he says, is not attaining benchmarks but constantly setting them for yourself and others: “it is a journey along the Eight-Fold Path, here and now.” By saying that, and by dividing his book into Sutras rather than chapters, he leads the reader out of the world of Wharton and into the that of yoga and the Buddha – enlightenment indeed. It would be wrong for shops to dump this book alongside their new age, selfimprovement and management gimmick offerings. It stands rather alongside the writings of the wonderful Ken Blanchard, whose success in transforming companies and selling his books in the tens of millions lets him away with describing himself as Chief Spiritual Officer of his group.

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At 223 pages this book is a lot longer than Who Moved My Cheese and to be honest a lot deeper too. It’s tempting to call Nippani a synthesiser but it’s understood in India rather more than in the west that there can only be one truth, though many ways to approach it.

No one has a patent over truth and success, he says. It’s a humorous book that demonstrates real scholarship. Nippani refers to Lewis Carroll, Jonathan Swift, PD Ouspensky, Julian Huxley and Swami Srikantananda alongside many others so don’t let its tongue-in-cheek presentation fool you. There is plenty here to reflect on and apply to situations that we come across in our day-to-day lives.

Kalyan Sagar Nippani is presently heading the National Academy of Telecom Finance and Management (NATFM), Department of Telecommunications, Government of India.

in brief

Mining

Pioneer Resources restarts Australian gold project Pioneer Resources are currently drill testing a 200 metre structure at the Kalpini South prospect, a move that is designed to extend the strong gold results that were returned in 2013. These results included ten metres at 6.38g/t gold, 15 metres at 2.93g/t and nine metres at 5.31g/t.

“The company continues to maintain a sound financial position with current cash reserves of approximately $2.3 million, plus the final instalment, being $1.1 million from the sale of the Mt Jewell project, due on 6 March 2015,” Pioneer’s managing director David Crook said.

“This has enabled us to plan a series of targeted exploration p ro g r a m s th ro u g h o u t the 2014 field season commencing at Kalpini South, and we look forward to providing details on the progress of these programs in due course.”

Mineralisation at Acra remains open in all directions, a trait which bodes well for future exploration and resource definition. The project also benefits from its close proximity to the Kalgoorlie Superpit and its existing gold mining specific infrastructure.

The Superpit, co-owned

by Barrick and Newmont, is the biggest open pit gold mine in Australia, producing 850,000 ounces of gold each year.

construction

Holcim and Lafarge cement plans for mega-merger The purchase will result in the creation of the world’s biggest cement maker with combined sales of more than €32 billion.

Under the terms of the deal, Lafarge shareholders will receive one Holcim share for each Lafarge share they own.

In order to ease competition concerns surrounding the deal the two companies have agreed to sell various assets. The companies forecast total annual savings from joining forces to be around €1.4 billion. The

combined firm will be based in Switzerland.

“The new group will offer higher growth and low risk, thus creating more value,” said Lafarge chief executive, Bruno Lafont, who will become chief of LafargeHolcim.

While the two firms have until now had overlapping operations in Europe, Lafarge has built up a strong presence in Africa and the Middle East, areas in which Holcim is almost absent. For its part Holcim remains uncontested by its French peer in Latin America.

One of the hopes of the two companies is that their merger will help both to cope with higher energy prices and weaker demand that have hurt the sector since the financial crisis.

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How the p of corrupt foreign comp but sho

Rather than categorising a as malpractice, make an e complex, diverse ph Words by

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David

perception tion deters panies in China ouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t

different business approach effort to understand Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hilosophy and culture

d Clive Price

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C

orruption exists in all societies, not least in the financial markets of the West. In China, patronage systems and collectivism have inevitably encouraged corruption in one form or another, which has flourished according to the relative strength or weakness of the rule of law.

However, some Western businesses (including those from the UK) have worked out that ethical problems in doing business in China or perceptions of such are often traceable to misunderstandings and lack of cultural awareness. A careful study of Chinese culture should precede all business forays into China.

A lie is not always frowned upon in Chinese culture. The Chinese will accept a ‘white lie’, especially when respect or face is involved. This concept can be a little difficult for Westerners to understand but they shouldn’t be too ready to criticise.

Often a white lie is used to either avoid embarrassing or damaging someone, saying something that they think will disrespect you, or saying something they think will undermine your authority.

It’s best not become aggressive because of this, but rather to be grateful for this form of respect. The most successful foreign companies in China have practised solving these kinds of problem with discretion and diplomacy.

The concept of ‘guanxi’ (connections, network) and the obligations it carries are a major feature of

the Chinese business world, but personal friendship can be stronger than guanxi.

Sometimes various obligations will collide, and a Chinese person will spend considerable time working out a solution that gives respect to all parties, often avoiding the literal truth in the process.

SHADES OF GREY When doing high-level business in China a smart business person should learn to recognise such shades of grey and develop strategies accordingly, as Chinese people are inherently skilled at seeking out the solution to the problem.

Although legal protection has generally been weak, one of the most effective anticorruption factors for private sector firms in China is the sharing of prospective high profits.

This prospect aligns the interests of government officials with those of entrepreneurs and investors, thereby ensuring that all parties fulfill their roles and protect the firm’s reputation to make the enterprise successful.

Generally speaking, Asian executives rate corruption well below inflation and inadequate infrastructure or labour regulations as an obstacle to doing business. In part this is because Western law has not been central to Asian experience except in cities like Hong Kong and Singapore that were under colonial rule for a long time.

China, by contrast is said not to have rule of law but rule

“A lie is not always frowned upon in Chinese culture. The Chinese will accept a ‘white lie’, especially when respect or face is involved”

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strategy

â&#x20AC;&#x153;dishonest players will Often be flushed out when asked to sign a contract, even if the contract is merely a negotiating ploy on the route to a long-term relationshipâ&#x20AC;?

by law. A successful entrepreneur or a government official will command a large project to be done and it will be done.

His power may be theoretically limited by the need for permits, but he will order his lawyers to find a law that allows what he wants, or he will even get a new law passed.

Anyone who wants to do business in China should be aware of the variety of legal systems in operation, and of their relative strengths and weaknesses.

In such a huge economy, people are always wary of new, unknown customers.

Building trust and an inclusive relationship will involve time and often some financial investment as well.

When mutual trust deepens, so also can a sense of mutual openness and fairness. But for every barrel of apples there are usually a couple of bad ones so if a foreign company encounters consistent problems with ethics, it should change companies or partners.

ACT CAREFULLY AND SENSIBILY Acting carefully and sensibly in the Chinese market (s) pays dividends. Designs should be registered in China and the source company should be informed that this has been done.

Sensible contracts should be designed that carefully protect intellectual property.

The parameters of a copy in the contract should be specified to avoid later arguments and litigation.

Often dishonest players will be flushed out when asked to sign a contract, even if the contract is merely a negotiating ploy

on the route to a long-term relationship.

Whether hiring staff, investing in a joint venture or appointing a local distributor, carrying out due diligence is indispensable when launching a business in and with China for the first time.

The key objective of due diligence is to verify the trustworthiness of partners and employees before proceeding with any significant investment.

Nowadays there are numerous legal and risk assessment specialists with offices in China that provide business intelligence, background checks and risk assessment consultancy.

However, no amount of due diligence will protect a foreign investor from a collapse in business relations. It is vital that any market entry with Chinese partners at home and abroad is based on trust above all. Every effort must be made to ensure that a strategic partner is trusted.

About the author

David Clive Price With 25 yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experience of Asia business, David Clive Price helps Western companies, SMEs and entrepreneurs to launch and expand in Asian markets. His bestselling Master Key Series offers proven strategies for building profitable partnerships and gaining competitive advantage in Asia. www.davidcliveprice.com

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How to find a purple squirrel Recruiting supreme innovators and ultimate game changers Words by

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David Dumeresque

S

ix years ago Jan Koum and Brian Acton applied for jobs at Facebook.

Both were turned down and Acton would often quip: “We’re part of the Facebook reject club.

Today, Ukrainian-born Koum is a good friend of Facebook’s Chairman and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. He has also joined Facebook’s Board of Directors, but not before Zuckerberg paid him and Acton $19 billion for their company WhatsApp. How the HR people at Facebook must be kicking themselves. If only they had the foresight to employ Koum and Acton when the two applied for positions at the company.

They could have saved Facebook a huge amount of money. Or perhaps looking at it another way, they could have made Facebook a huge amount of money!

Hindsight is always 20:20 vision and the recruitment industry abounds with not dissimilar stories. Certainly Facebook’s HR team was not to know the eventual outcome regarding Koum and Acton, nor indeed is there any certainty that they would have invented WhatsApp if employed by Facebook. However, there are numerous cases where recruitment is undertaken without a thorough understanding of the drivers behind the role to be filled or the personal attributes required to achieve success in that role.

What often happens is that the hiring manager will pass onto the HR Department a job description based on what the previous person had been doing during his or her tenure without thinking

about how things might have changed over that period, briefly discuss the position with the HR team and then wait for the short-list of suitable candidates to materialise. HR will rarely challenge the actual skill sets being sought.

Another issue with which we as search consultants are increasingly being confronted is a brief to find a target who we colloquially term a “purple squirrel”. These are the rarest of individuals; extremely talented, supreme innovators and the ultimate game changers who are ‘perfect’ in every way - education, competencies and experience. Whilst they do exist, the reality is that purple squirrels won’t be found using conventional recruitment parameters and the process requires the consultant to have an in-depth knowledge of the client, and the client to trust the consultant’s intuition.

Take Jan Koum, James Dyson and Steve Jobs as examples. Highly talented, supreme innovators and the game changers every senior executive would want to have on his or her team. However, prior to achieving the level of success they have become renowned for, all three would have failed the conventional recruitment approach because none of them possessed a university degree.

Purple squirrels can be likened to great actors. They are team players operating best with others around them but they often excel

“Hindsight is always 20:20 vision and the recruitment industry abounds with not dissimilar stories”

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recruitment

“why do companies seek to hire a purple squirrel if the process can be so challenging?”

in roles on their own. These people know what they want and where they want to be. For companies looking to recruit them, it is essential that they understand the job acceptance criteria of these purple squirrels.

This will often entail having the right amount of leeway to undertake their role. The normal management strictures will be a complete turnoff for them. Indeed, most of the time they won’t want to have much to do with management but prefer to be given a free rein. Certaily, the idea on managing people will not be high on their list of priorities as this can restrain their freedom to think.

Furthermore, just a lucrative financial package and the opportunity for career development are never deal clinchers.

More often than not, this requires a change in recruitment approach. Rather than the hiring manager concentrating on competency-based recruitment (which certainly plays a part in the general recruitment process but doesn’t work with purple squirrels) the approach needs to be aspirational-based. What should be going through the mind of the recruiting manager is: “What sort of candidate will produce outstanding results for the organisation?” rather than: “Can the candidate do the job?” This makes the recruitment process a driver, rather than an inhibitor, of management innovation.

This is really important because unless there is some degree of innovation in the recruitment process, purple squirrels will quickly deduce that the company is lacking in innovation and walk away. Equally important from the hiring managers pointof-view is to make sure that everyone who

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is associated with the recruitment – or who will be affected by the hire of the purple squirrel – has bought into the idea.

But why do companies seek to hire a purple squirrel if the process can be so challenging? There are many reasons, not the least of which is the economic impact these people can have on the organisation.

Tony Fadell, Philips’ former head of digital audio strategy, was a perspicacious hire

by Apple executives. Whilst at Philips, he conceived the concept of the MP3, but took his fledgling technology with him to Apple

and went on to become known as one of the fathers of the iPod, making billions for company in the process.

It has also been said that Google is one company that actively chases purple squirrels because they have calculated that recruiting a top technologist will result in around 300 times more productivity and business impact than an average technologist. In financial terms, if (as suggested) the average Google employee generates around $US1 million in revenue each year, hiring a single purple squirrel technologist has the potential to add $US300 million to Google’s revenue annually.

Then there is the brand impact hiring a purple squirrel can have on the organisation. When it was announced

“hiring a single purple squirrel technologist has the potential to add $US300 million to Google’s revenue annually”

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recruitment

“Even though they are rare individuals, identifying purple squirrels is not difficult because their achievements and reputation will have been well-documented”

in October 2013 that Burberry’s Chief Executive Angela Ahrendts was leaving the fashion and luxury goods firm to join Apple as Senior VP for retail and online stores, word rapidly spread through all forms of media, thereby boosting still further Apple’s “street cred” – especially useful at a time when people were questioning Apple’s strategy. Additionally, employing a purple squirrel can often attract other top talent. Perhaps it was pure coincidence, but a couple of months before the announcement that Ahrendts was joining Apple, the technology giant had hired Paul Deneve, Yves-Saint Laurent’s former CEO and President, and Enrique Atlenza, a senior vice president at Levi’s.

In recruitment we often talk about the need to ensure candidates are a good cultural fit and have skills that complement existing staff. However, in recruiting purple squirrels this often means flipping existing recruitment models on their heads. Certainly we would not identify targets we know to be the diametrical opposite to a firm’s existing culture, but given that these people are pioneers who are capable of disrupting an organisation in a very positive way, there are times when some exceptions have to be made. It may also mean making internal changes to the way in which the organisation operates and driving those changes forward.

There are many examples of companies that have successfully done just that.

Even though they are rare individuals, identifying purple squirrels is not difficult

because their achievements and reputation will have been well-documented. The difficulty comes in convincing them to change tack. Some will have giant-sized egos that need to be massaged expertly, and hiring managers must be prepared to accept more than a little arrogance. Furthermore, they will not discuss any potential job offer, irrespective of how lucrative it may be, with someone they don’t have a relationship with. This may often entail using business networks to build relationships with potential targets long before any approach is made regarding career change.

For companies prepared to put in the groundwork, be adaptable and be seen to be innovative, irrespective of the industry sector, the effort will be well rewarded.

About the author

David Dumeresque David recruits senior executives and board directors for Information, Communications and Entertainment organisations across publishing, broadcast, digital media, as well as leading the firm’s Professional Services practice and acting on behalf of more general consumer products companies.

He also has advised a wide spectrum of professional services firm on senior lateral hires, including lawyers, accountants, consultants and real estate professionals. www.tyzackpartners.com

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Metroselskabet/M

Public transport

Metroselskabet holds the distinction of operating an pioneering Metro system that has contributed c words by

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Will Daynes

ď ľ research

Metro Copenhagen

t to be proud of

nd expanding Metro Copenhagen, an ultra-modern, considerably to the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth in recent years

research by

David Brogan BE Weekly [ Issue 83 ]

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ounded in the 10th Century, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the early 15th Century and is today the country’s most populous city, with figures as of October 2013 recording it having an urban population of over 1.23 million and a metropolitan population of 1.97 million.

The cultural, economic and governmental centre of Denmark, the city has played host to considerable urban and cultural development in the last several decades which has been facilitated by investment in its institutions and infrastructure.

The investment in Copenhagen’s infrastructure has seen its transportation network become a hub within Northern Europe, a network which includes road, rail, an international airport and the Copenhagen Metro.

The origins of Metro Copenhagen date back to the early 1990s when plans for its construction first started to be considered. It was in 1997 that an agreement on an overall master plan was signed, with an international tender process leading to ground being broken that same tear. Five years on the first phase was opened to revenue service, with extensions being unveiled in the years that followed. Today the Metro boasts 22 stations situated over 21 kilometres of line, upon which a fleet of 34 vehicles operate.

F

“Today the Metro boasts 22 stations situated over 21 kilometres of line, upon which a fleet of 34 vehicles operate”

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Henrik Plougmann Olsen, Chief Executive Officer of Metroselskabet

Metroselskabet/Metro Copenhagen

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Global Transport and Logistics

We tailor solutions to meet your requirements for transport of heavy lift and project cargoes.

Our ability to plan and execute transports globally as well as handle project transport documentation enables us to move heavy and/or out of gauge cargo from one point to another. And from multiple points to your turnkey job site.

DSV is a global supplier of transport and logistics services.

DSV has offices in more than 70 countries all over the world and an international network of partners and agents, which makes DSV a truly global player offering services worldwide. By our professional and advantageous overall solutions, the approx. 22,000 DSV employees recorded worldwide annual revenue of 6.1 billion euro for 2013. www.dsv.com

Metroselskabet/Metro Copenhagen

“The establishment of Metro Copenhagen bore immediate success and helped usher in a new era of public transportation in the city”

“The establishment of Metro Copenhagen bore immediate success and helped usher in a new era of public transportation in the city.

It has since gone on to contribute towards the growth of Copenhagen, which in turn has resulted in plans to expand the Metro system itself across the city,” states Henrik Plougmann Olsen, Chief Executive Officer of Metroselskabet, the company owned by the Ministry of Transport and Copenhagen and Frederiksberg municipalities, which

By the end of 2014 all box constructions and shafts will be complete

DSV Air & sea DSV Projects – Carrier of tunnel segments to Copenhagen Metro Project DSV Projects we re in 2012 awarded the Transport Contract covering deliveries of approx. 21,000 concrete rings for the construction of the “Cityringen Metro Project” in Copenhagen.

The concrete rings are produced in Germany and transported to Copenhagen on Roll trailers - 3 rings are loaded on each trailer. For this purpose, DSV provides a Ro-Ro vessel through DFDS who performs 4 sailings every 5 weeks. Each departure will carry approximately 162 rings. Each stack of rings are under ocean voyage lashed and secured with 4 loop lashings,3 top over lashings and 3 Olympic Lashings. Furthermore, frictions mats are placed under the intermediate wooden beams, which are placed between each segment.

Prior to arrival in Copenhagen, CMT has instructed DSV whether the rings are to be delivered directly to the building site or to be unloaded on a dedicated storage area rented by DSV within the Copenhagen port.

DSV has, for the project, dedicated six trailers to be used for delivery of the rings to the 3 TBM worksites (Nørrebroparken, Tømmergraven & Øster Søgade). For the safe stowage on the vehicles, each trailer has been equipped with two sets of special designed wooden cradles fixed to the deck of each trailer. The 3 Olympic Lashings will remain on each stack until final delivery to the worksite. Each truck is shunting from the port to the TBM worksites every day delivering between 10-12 rings per working day. www.dsv.com

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SikA WATerPrOOFing SySTeMS SIKA DANMARK A/S delivers flexible Waterproofing Systems to the Metro Cityring in Copenhagen: • • • •

Waterstop Systems - Sika®Waterbars, Sika®Swell, SikaFuko® High flexible TPO membranes (FPO) to guarantee close fit to the surface profile and to improve the workability Mortars Shotcrete Accelerator

SIKA DANMARK A/S +45 48 18 85 85 sika@dk.sika.com www.sika.dk

Metroselskabet/Metro Copenhagen

SIKA Waterproofing systems below ground structures are faced with more stringent requirements regarding durability, exposure and stress conditions, construction method and sequence, ease of application and total cost management. In addition, sustainable system solutions are becoming more important in order to save natural resources, energy and water, plus reduction of CO2 etc.

As the global leader in providing structural waterproofing solutions, Sika has the most complete and comprehensive range of products and systems that are designed and can be adapted to meet the specific needs and requirements of owners, architects, engineers and contractors on site. Sika with worldwide experience in Waterproofing of important Infrastructure Projects. www.sika.com

is responsible for building the ambitious Cityringen project that will once again transform the Metro network.

Founded in 2007, Metroselskabet has more than 200 employees and is responsible for the daily operation of the existing metro and for the construction of new lines. “It is very much a dual task that we are performing in Copenhagen,” Olsen continues. “Our primary task is to ensure constant highquality, frequent public transport, a side

“It is very much a dual task that we are performing in Copenhagen”

Passengers awaiting the Metro

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Why buy when you can rent?

Cramo provides equipment rental services and rental of modular space. Our equipment rental services comprise of construction machinery and equipment rentals and related services.

The network of 357 depots provides a wide variety of product and rental offerings according to local demand. With a total number of equipment over 200,000 and over 150,000 customers, Cramo serves construction firms manufacturing industry, the public sector and private customers in fifteen countries in the Nordic countries and Central and Eastern Europe.

Equipment Rental At Cramo you can rent tools, construction machinery, work platforms, forklift trucks, access equipment, scaffolding and modular space. There is also different merchandise and accessories for sale at our depots.

Tools Construction Machinery • Access Equipment Building Site Facilities (Storage, sanitary and site huts) Modular space From Cramo you can rent movable, flexible modular units.

Office space • Schools • Daycare • Accomodation • Care-homes

www.cramo.com

Metroselskabet/Metro Copenhagen

effect of which is the generating of further growth within the city.”

The existing two-line Metro in the city continues to increase in popularity and usage, and understandably this has resulted in considerable demand for more lines and stations. The answer to this demand was in fact agreed back in 2007 when the Danish Parliament, Folketinget, and the municipalities of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg decided on building a new route that was called Cityringen. The contract for this route was signed in January 2011, with principle construction work commencing that summer.

The project itself comprises a circular underground line within the city, closely modelled on the existing metro with the

Onboard the undergound Metro system

“Our primary task is to ensure constant high-quality, frequent public transport, a side effect of which is the generating of further growth within the city” cramo Cramo is a service company specialising in equipment rental services, as well as rental of modular space. Our equipment rental services comprise machinery and equipment rental as well as rental-related services. As one of the industry’s leading service providers in Europe, Cramo operates under the Cramo brand in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Russia (Kaliningrad).

In Germany, Austria and Hungary, operations are under the brand of the fully owned subsidiary Theisen Baumaschinen, and in Russia and Ukraine under the brand of the 50 percent owned joint venture Fortrent. Cramo provides modern rental solutions through the Cramo Concept. Under

the Cramo Concept, construction companies and customers in trade, industry and the public sector, as well as private customers, are provided with machinery, equipment and modular space through different rental solutions and services. By combining the product portfolio with its extensive offering of services, Cramo reduces the capital invested by its customers and can create total rental solutions for every need for both the short and long term. Through a network of close to 360 depots and offices, with the total number of rental items over 200,000, Cramo’s approximately 2,500 employees serve over 150,000 customers in fifteen countries.

E. info@cramo.dk www.cramo.com

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ALUBAR A LU B A R F LO O D G AT E S A N D F LO O D D O O R S Since the Estonia ferry accident in 1994 ALUBAR has protected ferries in international traffic against flooding on their car decks. Due to more extreme weather world wide the flood protection onshore is now the main market.

In Metro stations or tunnels the ALUBAR flood gates are designed for high pressure or large openings.

The protection system include sensors in the tunnels. The sensors will alert about potential water and ensure automatic closing of the flood gates and doors. The flood gates will be able to withstand a water pressure of 25 metres.

ALUBAR A/S Nygaardveien 80 | 3221 Sandefjord | Norway www.alubar.com

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Metroselskabet/Metro Copenhagen

alubar More wet and windy extreme weather worldwide increase the need to secure property and public facilities against flooding.

The New Cityring Metro in Copenhagen, which will be in full operation by 2018, needs to flood protect 4 of its 17 stations.

The Norwegian Halvorsen Group company Alubar A/S has won the contract and will use the experience from their well-known door solutions to develop and design the flood protection system together with their sister company, Engineering Research Center. www.alubar.com

same high-frequency service and short trains. The contract covers 15.5 kilometres of twin bored tunnels and last year the first Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) started the tunnelling from one of the three shafts 40 meters underground at the work site of Nørrebroparken. By 2018 the completion of the Cityringen line and its 17 new stations will almost double the number of metro stations in the Danish capital and will result in a scenario whereby 85 percent of all residents of Copenhagen will have a station within 500 metres of their homes or places of work.

The development of Metro Copenhagen

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The completion of the Cityringen line and its 17 new stations will almost double the number of metro stationsâ&#x20AC;?

Travelers going from Copenhagen city centre to the airport

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Since October 2012 I.CO.P. Denmark Aps has been executing secant piles and diaphragm walls by trench cutter, which will build the main boxes, technical rooms and ventilation shafts of some new stations of the 16-kilometer-long ring to connect the central areas of Copenhagen with the existing metro line. On the whole, 21 stations are under construction.

www.icop.it

Metroselskabet/Metro Copenhagen

“Two significant and impressive characteristics of the Metro, have been the adoption of both a 24 hour service and the use of driverless vehicle technology” in recent years has resulted in several landmark moments that have made the city’s network a pioneering model compared to others throughout the world. Arguably the two most significant and impressive characteristics of the Metro, ones that have captured the attention of other providers hoping to replicate their fortunes, has been the adoption of both a 24 hour service and the use of driverless vehicle technology.

Initially, 24 hour operations were limited to weekend travel only, however this has since been extended to cover the

The Metro, bus and train services have a fully integrated ticket system

I.c.o.p. spa I.C.O.P. has executed entirely cased secant piles with diameter of 1,000mm and interaxis of 800mm up to a depth of 36m from the working surface, for a total length of 23,800m.

The works also include the execution of diaphragm walls with thickness of 1,200mm and depth up to 32m. I.CO.P. has been employing for the execution of the above mentioned works three drilling rigs (BG30, BG39, BG40) equipped with kelly bar and rotary drive with diameter of 1,000mm. A drilling rig type BG28 and the cutter BC32 are being used, instead, for the execution of diaphragm walls.

Soil stratigraphy mainly consists in Upper CPH

clay limestone and Mid CPH Clay limestone under ground water level. Due to the presence of numerous granite blocks, the use of rock drilling equipment (i.e. core barrel and bucket) proved to be necessary during the whole excavation process since the very first meters.

Particular attention is paid to the installation of reinforcing cages. Indeed, as per technical specifications strict tolerances are to be observed, in particular with regard to pile length (+15/-5cm), rotational motion (<5°) and vertical deviation (<1/100).

E. info@icop.it www.icop.it

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le34

Specialist surveyors LE34 creates results through dialogue and paves the way for community development in real estate, education, infrastructure and communication.

LE34 is the largest surveying company in Denmark, serving the country with 290 dedicated employees across 24 offices.

We perform and consult on major technical survey projects with large data sets and complex survey loops for roads, bridges and large-scale transportation infrastructure.

Our services include deformation surveys, control point maintenance and monitoring, 3D documentation using terrestrial laser scanning, bespoke setting-out and surveying on challenging construction projects with stringent requirements for accuracy.

Our business is founded on knowledge, innovation and responsibility. We are able to offer a professional environment that is always focused on client needs and desires, regardless of the size and scope. +45 7733 2222 le34@le34.dk www.le34.dk

Deformation monitoring

Geometric and geotechnic monitoring mitigates risks and ensures the overall safety of your project.

Monitoring is a profitable investment: Early detection of movement of buildings and construction elements at and around the building site. Ensure environmental protection risk management control with real-time monitoring and automated alarms.

www.le34.dk

+45 7733 2222

le34@le34.dk

Metroselskabet/Metro Copenhagen

Tunnelling of one of the new lines

“The result is a Metro system providing a virtually continuous service for Copenhageners with an ‘always on’ concept”

entire week following a period of public consultation. The result is a Metro system providing a virtually continuous service for Copenhageners with an “always on” concept, where the presumption by users is they can just turn up, day or night and expect a reasonably short wait for the next train without needing to consider timetables or schedules, and have a consistently short journey time.

Meanwhile, the adoption of driverless technology was unquestionably a daring

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The Waterproofing Company

Renescoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s specialists can today be found providing expert services towards the building of the new City Ring for Metro Copenhagen www.renesco.sk | www.renesco.ch

Metroselskabet/Metro Copenhagen

Cityringen consists of 17 new stations in central Copenhagen

decision, one which represents a major departure from the traditional forms of rail transport that were already operating in Denmark, and indeed throughout the world.

“Metro Copenhagen was one of, if not the first Metro in the world to introduce a driverless system,” Olsen explains. “While it was a bold decision to take it has been extremely successful in that the decoupling of staff from trains has resulted in a flexible demand driven service, as opposed to a resource driven one. It has also allowed us to provider a greater degree of exposure to customers for a particular number of staff, thus offsetting the dehumanising ef fec t s of employing technology to operate the Metro.”

Turning our attention back to the Cityringen project we today find Metroselskabet in the midst of a considerable

“Metro Copenhagen was one of, if not the first Metro in the world to introduce a driverless system”

renesco Three years in the Copenhagen underground Twenty more Renesco specialists are at work on building the new City Ring for Metro Copenhagen from 2013 to 2016. What’s often lovingly called the “mini-metro” has been running on its first nine kilometres of track under Denmark’s capital since October 19, 2003. In the northern metropolis’ underground, everything is a bit smaller than is usual for subways: the cars, the trains and even the diameter of the tunnel. But then the fully automatic mini-metro is truly a new development. Each of the driverless trains consists of only three cars, is 39 meters long, 2.65 meters wide and carries up to 300 passengers at a maximum speed of 80 km/h.

Renesco has to seal 21 metro stations, which on average extend down vertically 30 meters, against water pressure to 3 bar. It will take three years to line – watertight – a total surface of 150,000 m2 with 600,000 kilograms of material.

Installing the sealing in Copenhagen presented some exceptional challenges – above as well as below ground. Per König: “Sometimes we work at six installation sites at a time. That isn’t that easy logistically, for the city hardly permits any construction areas for traffic reasons – not even for its own subway.” www.renesco.sk www.renesco.ch

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Linear Scheduling Software TILOS is designed for linear projects: • Road • Rail • Tunnel • Pipeline • High voltage lines • Metro • Light rail TILOS uses time distance diagrams to merges site information and schedule data into a single plan. The result is a clear communicative plan which quickly proves whether a project can be executed as planned or if there will be collisions. This saves time and money during a project’s execution. They are superior to Gantt Charts or Network diagrams.

TILOS can also be used in combination with Primavera or MS Project to generate the time distance view with minimal effort. The strength is the graphical user interface that generates flexible high quality plans like those done with CAD, but created and updated with minimal time and costs required. info@linearproject.com www.linearproject.com

Metroselskabet/Metro Copenhagen

Workers celebrate during the tunnelling of the new line

Did you know?

130 million Number of passengers Metro Copenhagen is expected to carry per year.

15.5 km Approximate length of the Cityringen underground railway.

program of work. “Right now we have two TBMs driving the first stage of the tunnelling of the new line, with the first now some 800 metres advanced,” Olsen says. “By the end of 2014 we intend to have all box constructions and shafts complete, before commencing with the finishing works across all 17 new stations. In addition to these works we have almost completed the construction of the control centre and are now beginning with the installation of technical components along the line.”

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Metroselskabet/Metro Copenhagen

“We plan to have the line opened and in operation by late 2018”

Further afield in Italy the contractor tasked with building the first trains to operate along the Cityringen are working on train number 15. The progress being made across the project bodes extremely well for the completion of the works ahead of the line opening. “We plan to have the line opened and in operation by late 2018. In preparation for that we will aim to have all tunnelling, construction and installations complete by 2016, giving us a good lead in time to carry out test driving in preparation for the day Cityringen commences operations.”

Employees at Metroselskabet

comply serve Comply Serve specialises in cloud-based collaborative progressive assurance and risk management solutions for large infrastructure projects. Its ComplyPro® system has been deployed across the DKK 21.3 billion Cityringen project, which sees the construction of a new circular line in the centre of Copenhagen.

Targeted for completion by 2018, the new underground Metro system presents added project complexity due to the city being situated at sea level, while the Cityringen network is sited 30m below ground level.

ComplyPro is the risk management solution, spanning the entire project and used by all partners, including the on and offshore Copenhagen Metro Team (CMT).

CMT is a joint venture between Salini Construction, Technimont ICB (TICB), part of the Maire Tecnimont Group, and S.E.L.I. SpA. ComplyPro provides a global ‘live’ Project Wide Hazard Record (PWHR) that

details hazards and resulting consequences, as well as potential accidents, during the risk analysis of the project design – plus the actions taken to control these risks. Silvestro Ferrara, risk manager at CMT, said: “This software tool functions as a single point of entry for risks and risk assessment throughout the project lifecycle, one that would help to avoid the continuous exchange of documents and be a live interface between all those involved in risk identification … a tool that allows for transparency, traceability, fast communication and reporting.”

“Managing all the elements of risk in one place, with one prioritised dashboard, is of key importance to CMT,” commented Steve Tosh, managing director, Comply Serve. @ComplyServe www.complyserve.com

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WHEEL WASHING SYSTEMS www.mobydick.com

Road, tunnel design and more DIGICORP Ingegneria provides software for construction

companies, design studies and technical offices to public bodies.

We also provide software training as well as engineering consultancy to the civil works industry. info@digicorpingegneria.com | www.digicorpingegneria.com

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Metroselskabet/Metro Copenhagen

Operating now for over a decade, Metro Copenhagen may still be a young system compared to others, but it continues to have a sizeable influence both within the capital itself and on the international stage where it is seen as a model for other cities planning to develop modern transit systems. There is of course also a continued focus on ways to improve the system and deliver a better service to passengers. As a matter of fact, since the contracts for the Cityringen project were signed in 2011, a new extension to the Nordhavnen area of the city has been agreed that will see the addition of new stations in a new development area of Copenhagen.

“One of our other responsibilities is to develop suggestions for new metro lines

FRUTIGER MobyDick Wheelwashing Systems MobyDick is the worldwide known brand name for high quality Wheelwashing Systems with the goal to keep the public roads clean.

For the CMT Copenhagen project, 27 units of the model ConLine have been operating during the construction period. ConLine is a range of models specially designed for the needs of the construction industry and based on decades of proven technology. All systems are mobile and ready in very short time. They contributed to the intention of CMT to keep the impact on the environment, due to heavy construction, as less as possible. www.mobydick.com

“We currently have plans being considered for a line which will branch off from the Cityringen into the north of the city and a second that will branch off into southern areas”

Metro Stewards help to provide a safe and secure environment

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;This hugely important project will see our company being responsible for building the first light railway system in Copenhagen and indeed the first in Denmark for many yearsâ&#x20AC;?

Did you know?

Metroselskabet was founded on 26 October 2007.

Metroselskabet is a partnership, owned jointly by: The City of Copenhagen 50% The Danish Government 41.7% The City of Frederiksberg 8.3 %

Henrik Plougmann Olsen, Chief Executive Officer of Metroselskabet

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Metroselskabet/Metro Copenhagen

View down to station level

in conjunction with our owners and we currently have plans being considered from a line which will branch off from the Cityringen into the north of the city and a second that will branch off into southern areas, so the Metro will certainly be expanding in the coming months and years” Olsen enthuses.

As if that wasn’t enough, Metroselskabet has also been assigned the considerable task of constructing a 27 kilometre light railway system that will operate around the outskirts of Copenhagen. “This hugely important project will see our company being responsible for building the first light railway system in Copenhagen and indeed

the first in Denmark for many years,” Olsen concludes. “Obviously this is very much in its infancy as a project, however it is without question an exciting, long-term commitment that we are proud to be a part of.”

Metroselskabet/ Metro Copenhagen

 +45 3311 1700  m@m.dk www.m.dk

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A flight path to the future Starlite Aviation Group A combination of its first-class track record and its proactive approach to future growth has seen Starlite Aviation Group position itself perfectly for the opportunities that East Africa will have to offer in the years ahead words by

Will Daynes

ď ľ research by

Jeff Abbott

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Starlite currently operates 11 Puma helicopters

ub-Saharan Africa is recognised as one of the world’s fastest growing regions and within it exists some of the continent’s fastest growing countries including Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. It is in these countries that large gas and oil finds are helping to push annual growth rates above ten percent per annum, a trend expected to continue this decade.

With such growth prevalent across the region it comes as no surprise to see both established and new businesses locally and

S

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internationally, flocking to the area in the hope of using their own unique skills to procure new clients and contracts.

One such business is the Starlite Aviation Group. “In addition to the work we have been carrying out over the last year in Namibia on the west coast of the continent, we have been making positive strides towards taking on additional contracts along the east coast,” explains Commercial Director, Dimmie De Milander. “During December 2013 and January 2014, we had

Starlite Aviation Group

“During December 2013 and January 2014, we had three helicopters operating on two different contracts in Madagascar”

three helicopters operating on two different contracts in Madagascar. We now intend on continuing to leverage the positive work we are doing on behalf of the offshore industry and the utilities market across Africa’s more prosperous regions.”

Established in South Africa in 1999, Starlite has experienced phenomenal growth to become a multi-faceted aviation business offering a range of helicopter services on a worldwide basis. Such services include relief contract work, oil and gas, passenger

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and cargo transport, helicopter sales and charter, maintenance and pilot training.

De Milander has been with the group since August 2007 and in that time has become an expert at what drives business and growth in the African markets in which Starlite operates.

“Without doubt, the success of numerous gas and oil campaigns off the coasts of Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya have contributed significantly towards the economic expansion of the region,” he continues.

“Virtually the entire east coast of Africa is fixed for long term growth, primarily due the higher quality of seismic data being collected

across the region, the oil and gas reserves that continue to be found, advances in deep water drilling and of course the presence of stable governments. Accordingly, we have made considerable efforts to follow this growth, by acquiring both our Air Service Licence and Aircraft Operating Certificate in Tanzania, and establishing a permanent base for our operations in Dar es Salaam in order to improve our services to existing and potential clients in the country. Furthermore, we have formed a strategic alliance in Kenya with a local fixed wing operator, a partnership that puts us in a strong position to expand here as well.”

“Our philosophy has always been that, regardless of race, culture or creed, we remain ever mindful of those in need”

A donation we made to Jodi Jackson dance academy

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Starlite Aviation Group

The Bell 412 reliably performs in the most extreme climates on the planet every day

There is no question that Starlite possesses the vast majority of the intangibles needed to prosper in East Africa. The group’s standard of operations is at the level it needs to be.

Safety and quality standards, of paramount importance to Starlite, have been audited by regulatory bodies, and its helicopter fleet is comparable to any of its competitors.

Nevertheless, a trend is emerging off the coasts of Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya that up until now posed a challenge, and that is the fact that oil companies are being driven further out to sea to lay claim to vast deposits of oil and gas. This situation resulted in Starlite looking at expanding its fleet by investing in helicopters capable of travelling further offshore.

It is closer to home, however, that one will find what De Milander refers to as the crown jewel of the group, that being its International Aviation Training Academy.

Since 2003, Starlite Training operated from its base at Virginia Airport, ten kilometres

north of Durban, South Africa. In June 2011 the group relocated to what is now its primary training base in Mossel Bay, South Africa, on the Mossel Bay Air Field. The latter offers the perfect terrain and yearround good weather to provide future pilots with value-added training services.

The Training Academy offers training for helicopter aircrew, maintenance personnel and operational support staff to a level of competence commensurate with leading military and aviation safety standards. “Today our Academy is responsible for training the vast majority of sub-equatorial African air forces and police divisions,” De Milander says. “The Academy has trained pilots from the South African Air Force, the Botswana Police Air Wing, the Kenyan Police, Army and Air Force pilots, and the Namibian Police, as well as 19 students from Transnet and many civilians. Furthermore, we are in the process of finalising talks with Tanzanian clients and entering into fresh discussions with our

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“While the success of the Training Academy is apparent, perhaps a less well publicised facet of the Starlite Group is its work with local communities and charities” partners in the UAE, whose Special Forces Pilots we have trained in the past. Needless to say, this area of the business is booming at present, and we put that down to the simple fact that we provide a consistently exceptional standard of training that is at the very least on par with any other provider globally.”

He continues, saying: “The Training Academy expanded its training to include

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a Fixed Wing Division, upgraded its fleet to include the Robinson R66, purchased to provide single turbine conversions.

Furthermore, it introduced the Guimbal Cabri G2, to the training fleet and was the launch customer for Africa, of this stylish, safe, technologically advanced and comfortable helicopter for Africa. Always one step ahead of the market, the Academy took delivery

Starlite Aviation Group

A view from the cockpit indicates the type of conditions Starlite operate in

of the JAR/EASA/SACAA approved Elite Evolution S723T FNPT II MCC simulator, based on the Eurocopter, AS-335 Twin Engine Helicopter. The fixed wing equivalent will be delivered in April 2014.”

While the success of the Training Academy is apparent, perhaps a less well publicised facet of the Starlite Group is its work with local communities and charities. De Milander is personally involved in outreach programmes, having completed a 500 kilometre cycle challenge back in October 2013 in order to raise money for PATCH – The Centre for Abused Women and Children.

He was also instrumental in Starlite’s monetary contribution to the Jodi Jackson School of Dance in Cape Town. Starlite plays an active role in the Reach for a Dream

Foundation, turning the dreams of flying, of terminally ill patients, into a reality. Starlite supports and gives monetary contributions to the ‘Toy Story’ fund, Agro Bio (Pty) Ltd, a fund providing farming equipment and infrastructure support to farming projects and the Seed of Hope feeding scheme.

“Our philosophy has always been that, regardless of race, culture or creed, we remain ever mindful of those in need. If a community is seen to be struggling Starlite provides support and endeavours to do the very best to help,” De Milander enthuses. “The types of projects we have provided support to over the years have been extremely varied and have included supporting a foster care home in Durban, the development of young rugby players from poor backgrounds and

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Did you know?

Starlite Aviation Group is a privately owned company made up of a select group of aviation experts.

The Starlite fleet includes: PUMA  SA 330 J PUMA  Eurocopter EC120  Eurocopter EC130

Starlite Aviation will soon be operating three Bell 412’s on contract

“We are currently working tirelessly to secure multi-year contracts with clients working offshore in the oil and gas industry”

donating money for equipment and gear for a local ballet school. Each project is deemed important and we take great pride in supporting the communities in which we serve, as best we can.”

Regarding Starlite’s business plans for 2014, the focus and strategy revolves around expanding operations to gain an even greater foothold in Africa’s more promising regions.

Starlite recently purchased and was the launch customer of the new Airbus AS333 C1e.

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ROBINSON  Robinson R22 Beta II  Robinson R44 Raven I  Robinson R44 Raven II  Turbine Helicopter R66 BELL  Bell 206B Jetranger  Bell 407  Bell 212  Bell 412

The initial order of two of the aircraft has since been increased. This is part of Starlite Aviation’s fleet renewal and expansion program, with the rotorcraft joining an extensive helicopter fleet that currently includes twelve Airbus Helicopters SA330 Pumas.

The AS332 C1e offers versatility across a full range of utility missions, especially in hotand-high environments, as well as missions requiring a small footprint while delivering a significant lift capability such as the vertical

Starlite Aviation Group

The SA 330 J PUMA on deck

replenishment of ships and other offshore and onshore work.

Included in its standard equipment list is the four-axis autopilot and associated automatic flight control system from Airbus Helicopters’ EC225 Super Puma helicopter, which provides flight envelope protection, unrivalled precision, and stability in even the harshest operating conditions. If equipment or systems are required beyond the baseline definition, additional customisation can be provided by Airbus Helicopters and its wholly-owned Vector Aerospace Company, or the network of subsidiaries and approved partners.

“We are currently working tirelessly to secure multi-year contracts with clients working offshore in the oil and gas industry, in regions in Africa, which is an achievable goal with our existing fleet of aircraft. De Milander concludes. “At the same time we are proactive in pre-planning in our area

of expertise in operations, by training our crew, technicians and maintenance staff on a new model of aircraft for the group, the AgustaWestland AW139. By providing training in the early stages, Starlite is ensuring that we create a situation where we have the finance available and manpower in place, for the purchase and operation of said aircraft. Furthermore, that will ensure that its integration into our fleet will be a rapid, efficient and smooth transition. This is just another example of how we are always looking to position ourselves perfectly for the next stage in our development.”

Starlite Aviation Group

 +27 (0) 31 571 6600  dimmied@starliteaviation.com www.starliteaviation.com

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Staatsolie

Bringing value

back home

The national oil company of Suriname is facing a very promising future, with enough hydrocarbon reserves to keep it self sufficient for many years – at the same time it is investing in sustainable energy alternatives words by

John O’Hanlon

 research by

David Brogan

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he Republic of Suriname, with its capital city Paramaribo, is located just north of the Amazon delta on the northeast coast of South America. It is bordered to the north by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west by Guyana, to the east by French Guiana, and to the south by Brazil. This is a country with a rich mining history as one of the major bauxite and alumina producers in the world, however it also has oil, both onshore and offshore. The systematic search for hydrocarbons began in the early 1960s but petroleum development took a leap after 1980 with the set up of Staatsolie, and production sharing service contract models were introduced for the participation of private oil companies in petroleum activities.

All the shares in Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname NV are held by the government of Suriname. It has two divisions, one that controls the licensing of offshore blocks on behalf of the government to interested companies that include Tullow Oil, Kosmos, Chevron, Petronas and Apache. The other side of the business Staatsolie Production, is much larger and has the job of running the company’s many upstream and downstream projects, including its most ambitious ever, the refinery expansion project (REP) that is nearing completion and will dramatically affect the economy of the country. Staatsolie already accounts for some 25 percent of national revenues through the taxes it pays and the 50 percent of profits that it returns in the form of annual dividend.

It is a profitable company, and the other 50 percent is reinvested.

T

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Aerial view of the refinery expansion project

2014 is going to see a step change for Staatsolie, says Rudolf Elias, Director of Refinery & Marketing and Project Director of the REP. However the company has developed very successfully to date, he explains. “We started with the production of heavy crude that we found in a very small onshore oilfield that was of little commercial interest though it was low sulphur crude. We managed it ourselves, growing from around 300 barrels per day (bpd) gradually building up to more than 17,000 bpd that we extract today.” This equates to some six million barrels per annum (mbpa), an amount more

Staatsolie

“Once the new refinery is operating, we will be able to produce 100 percent of the country’s diesel requirement, all of the bitumen, and 70 percent of the gasoline we need”

or less equivalent to the annual domestic consumption of Suriname. However the crude oil is mainly exported, since the only refining capacity in the country till now has been limited to producing around 7,000 bpd of fuel oil, plus some bitumen that it exports to neighbouring countries.

The fuel oil and the exported crude generate handsome profits for Staatsolie. Heavy fuel oil (HFO) is sold to the boats that call at Paramaribo and is in demand for electricity generation thanks to its low sulphur content, and because it is derived from shallow sand deposits it is very cheap to produce coming

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IREM S.p.A. & Sices Group

Positive energy The two Italian Companies IREM S.p.A. and SICES Group have been cooperating for many years to deliver complete and efficient services in the design, planning, construction and maintenance of every type of industrial plant.

Their mechanical activities include: mechanical erection, skid, packages and modules erection, heavy lifting management, piping prefabrication, supports and steelworks fabrication, ordinary and extraordinary maintenance services and turn-around services.

Expertise, flexibility, a solid investment in human and technical resources, plus an ability to work cooperatively, make IREM and SICES a reliable partner, with the necessary skills guaranteeing that Clients receive a top quality service.

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The two Companies are committed to sustainable and responsible operations management and to providing and maintaining a healthy, safe and secure working environment. www.iremspa.it www.sicesgroup.com

Staatsolie

The project was started with the first pile driven on 21 February 2012

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have had 250 people in training for over a year and they will manage the start up alongside Saipemâ&#x20AC;?

in at under $5 per barrel, despite the fact that to produce 17,000 bpd Staatsolie has to operate no fewer than 1,400 separate wells.

Nevertheless this oil sells at world oil prices, and in 2012 Staatsolie broke through the $1 billion turnover barrier for the first time.

The priority for some time has been to add value to Surinameâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crude, rather than exporting the bulk of it, and produce the premium diesel and gasoline needed within the country rather than importing refined product. It took some ten years to finalise the

design for the new $900 million Tout Lui Faut refinery 20 kilometres south of Paramaribo, in partnership with CB&I Lummus of the Hague.

The job was then put out to tender and a contract awarded in July 2011 to the Italian O&G contractor Saipem. After ten months of engineering activities the agreement was converted to a full engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction (EPC) contract with fabrication of the pre-assembled portion of the plant being carried out at the Saipem Arbatax fabrication yard in Italy.

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Construction has been proceeding according to plan, says Elias. “We are already 70 percent complete, and we expect the plant to be ready during September.

Pre-commissioning is under way, and commissioning started in March, with the utilities coming first, followed by the various units.” A 15,000 barrels capacity vacuum tower is at the front of the process, followed by a hydrocracker that will feed into the diesel and gasoline trains, producing 8,000 bpd of the former and 3,000 bpd of the latter. “Once the new refinery is operating, we will be able to produce 100 percent of the country’s

diesel requirement, all of the bitumen, and 70 percent of the gasoline we need.” There’s also a 300 bpd sulphuric acid by-product, all of which will be exported, he adds.

Once the project was started, with the first pile driven on 21 February 2012, construction went ahead very smoothly. The contractor Saipem is responsible for the commissioning and startup phase, and low sulphur diesel and gasoline, meeting EU Euro V specifications, should be coming out of the refinery by the end of this year. But running the new plant on a nine hectare area to the east of the existing refinery will make many demands

“At the moment we are flying a Cessna quite successfully but now we are being handed a 747, and that is a different animal altogether!”

Rudolf Elias, Director of Refinery & Marketing and Project Director of the REP

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Staatsolie

In December, Suriname will suddenly have its own petrol and diesel

benefit the company and the on Staatsolie. “At the moment Did you know? entire country, he stresses. Of we are flying a Cessna quite the 2,000 people working on successfully but now we are construction at least 70 percent being handed a 747, and that is 6 million bpa are local Surinamese. And with a different animal altogether!”

Staatsolie’s more than 140 local companies Best in class systems are being current crude contracted to work at the site, incorporated, such as a Honeywell production there has been a significant manufac turing execution positive impact on the private system (MES) that he believes 140 sector economy too. “We want will help achieve significantly Local contractors to make a strong contribution to improved operational readiness, working on the the advancement of our society,” optimising workflows, capturing new Tout Lui says Rudolf Elias. knowledge, minimising risks, Faut refinery In December, Suriname will improving safety, and enhancing suddenly have its own petrol the performance and agility of and diesel, and there are just the entire operation. “I have had two players in the downstream market. One of 250 people in training for over a year and they these is Staatsolie itself, though a subsidiary will manage the start up alongside Saipem. called Goto (the word for gold in Surinamese These will be assisted by more than 30 very but doubtless a good name for a petrol station experienced operators I hired from all round serving English speaking customers). Goto the world to assist our people to operate runs the former service station networks of the plant after completion.” The skills that Texaco and Chevron: a competing company will be transferred in the process will greatly

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Staatsolie predict there will be enough oil to increase production to 25,000 bpd by 2022

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Staatsolie

“There is no refinery in the region making low sulphur diesel so we have a ready market in French Guyana, Martinique and Guadeloupe”

Sol Petroleum took over the Shell and Esso retail outlets and both will now receive their supply from Tout Lui Faut via a new pipeline that is being installed between the refinery and their distribution facilities.

The HFO will continue to be sold to Guyana and Barbados for electricity generation.

“We will also use it in our domestic energy generation,” says Elias. “We already have a 28 MW station that uses our crude, and we are expanding it to 62 MW in March 2014.”

Most of the crude produced will thus either be consumed for energy generation in Suriname itself or sold to the local retail stations, though some will still be exported. “There is no refinery in the region making low sulphur diesel so we have a ready market in French Guyana, Martinique and Guadeloupe because they operate under EU regulations and require Euro spec diesel.”

The old refinery will be closed for a few months once the new one is operational, and some of its units mothballed. The plan is to bring those units back into operation at a future date when greater volumes of oil come on stream. Staatsolie holds seven near-shore blocks along the coast and is confident that it will hit oil during a drilling programme starting this year. “We think we will find enough oil to increase our production to 25,000 bpd by 2022. We are doing drilling on our own account, however if we have commercial finds we will approach an experienced partner to speed up production.

The offshore picture in deeper waters is vibrant, with major companies actively drilling. Four wells were drilled in these blocks

over the last ten years but five are expected to be added to this list in 2014 alone. “A lot of people expect big oil and gas finds in our waters,” says Elias.

The refinery is the big story for the moment, but Staatsolie is also very keen to balance its hydrocarbon dependency with some sustainable alternatives. The most promising project is a biofuel plant that will produce ethanol from sugar cane. A successful pilot has been running since 2008 in collaboration with Brazil to test whether sugar cane can be grown successfully on old rice fields. “The sugar content and the tonnage per hectare are surprisingly high,” he says. Now 300 hectares are in preparation and an EPC contract put out for tender to supply a hybrid plant to produce ethanol, with sugar and electricity generation as by-products.

Hydroelectricity and the production of energy using solar, wind and even algae is under consideration. This means that Staatsolie itself is in transformation from being a pure play fossil fuel company to being something a lot greener and more diverse – it is a vision, admits Rudolf Elias, but not one that will divert his focus on delivering the refinery that means so much to Suriname.

Staatsolie

 (597) 499649  mailstaatsolie@staatsolie.com www.staatsolie.com

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PI Indu

Agriculture insp

PI Industries holds a unique position in the Indian agr supporting an ambitious programme of expan words by

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John Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hanlon

ustries

pired by science

rochemical industry, as reflected in its healthy growth, nsion in both the domestic and export markets ď ľ research by

James Boyle BE Weekly [ Issue 83 ]

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Agriculture input

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PI Industries

ith its origins in a vegetable oil production company that started at Udaipur in the western Indian state of Rajasthan in 1947, PI Industries is today ranked amongst the top five Indian agrochemical manufacturers, marketers and exporters and is listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). It was also among the first companies to have its R&D facilities recognised by India’s Department of Science and Technology, for the development of pesticides and chemicals. PI’s strong capabilities in chemistry R&D attracted Sony Corporation of Japan to establish a PI-Sony Research Centre at Udaipur to work in the area of electronic chemicals.

The company operates in two distinct market segments: Domestic Agri Inputs (AI),

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to outperform the agrochemical sector and general industry. Strong demand for agrochemicals in India, supported by a good monsoon and a two-fold increase in exports led to sharp gross and net margin expansion for the company. “Our business strategy, built around having a strong customer focus, helped us achieve remarkable growth, even in turbulent times,” says Sarna. “The CSM exports segment has done exceedingly well, posting over 83 percent growth during the first nine months in the current fiscal year. During the same period, the domestic segment, despite multiple challenges has achieved over 22 percent growth, outperforming the sector’s growth statistic in this period.”

A number of factors contributed to the sectoral outperformance of the domestic

“Our business strategy, built around having a strong customer focus, helped us achieve remarkable growth” which distributes crop protection chemicals and plant nutrients in the domestic market, and Custom Synthesis & Manufacturing (CSM), which carries out process research and manufacturing of chemical products for global agchem innovator companies.

However, PI operates an integrated rather than a ‘twin towers’ company model, insists Executive Director Rajnish Sarna: “Ours is a unique business model, with two sides to it, domestic on one hand and CSM exports on the other.” They are different facets of a single business, focused on ultimately serving the agriculture sector in India and across the globe.

Two years ago, when we last reported on PI, the business was doing really well, returning 30 percent year on year growth at the height of global recession. This level of performance has been maintained, and PI has continued

business. It should be remembered that despite increasing urbanisation and the growth of its manufacturing and high tech industries, India is still the second largest economy in the world in terms of farm output, with over 50 percent of its total workforce employed in agriculture directly and indirectly. In addition, Indian farmers are protected by minimum support prices (MSP), guaranteed by the government, on 25 staple corps. If there is a fall in price after a bumper harvest, the government purchases at the MSP. “The agriculture sector presents enormous potential for adoption of technological & chemical innovations” Sarna affirms, pointing out that it is a country that has well-adopted the introduction of biotechnology in Agriculture sector. To take its cotton crop alone, India is the world’s third largest cotton producer, and of that production, 90 percent is ‘Bt’ cotton.

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PI is targeting 40 percent revenue growth in the financial year ending March 2014. This is driven by rapid growth in CSM exports and a relatively good domestic crop season. On the CSM exports side of the business, says Sarna, the key drivers are commercialization of new molecules and market growth of commercialized products on a global scale.

PI has an integrated business model built around the principle of trust and this is what unites the two sides of the business, he

explains. On the AI side, it partners with large multi-national companies looking for access to the Indian market wherein PI in-licenses and registers these products and market them under its own brand. On the CSM side, it partners with innovator companies looking to outsource process research and manufacturing of their newly discovered molecules. It is process research rather than product innovation that occupies the 150 people working in PIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s R&D laboratory.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the coming financial year we expect to launch several new products in the Indian market which will drive growth for our domestic businessâ&#x20AC;?

Research and development laboratory at Udaipur

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PI Industries

Manufacturing facility at Panoli

In line with its growth plan, PI lines”, says Sarna. The next Did you know? is making strategic investments phase will see the construction to enhance its manufacturing of two new facilities by the capacit y.

Its G reenfield end of 2015, he explains, to 40% manufacturing site in a Special keep pace with the expected Revenue growth Economic Zone at Jambusar in organic growth of the company. target for 2014 Gujarat was commissioned in The company’s operations January 2013, to augment its also contribute to sustainable 300 existing manufacturing capacity development of the community.

People employed at Panoli, Gujarat. “The Jambusar For instance, the Jambusar at Jambusar site plant currently occupied by a unit already employs around single product line is delivering 300 people at various levels. full capacity. Although, the plant PI Industries is expanding on is designed to produce multiple products, all fronts. “In the coming financial year we the current loading is aligned to customer expect to launch several new products in requirements. Also, in line with our longthe Indian market which will drive growth for term growth ambition, we have ensured that our domestic business. On the CSM side, we the site has adequate space and resources are expecting to commercialise a number of to install five to six additional production new products which are currently in the R&D

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Rajnish Sarna Executive Director Rajnish Sarna, a Board Member, has been associated with the company for the last ~20 years managing different portfolios. He has been a key member of the management team, instrumental in the overall transformation of Company over last few years.

Rajnish brings to the table his diverse experience of over two decades in the areas of Business Development & Strategy, Customer Relationship Management, Operations, Finance & Risk Management, Legal Contracting & Compliances, Investor relations, Corporate Planning, Information Technology & Process Re-engineering.

Rajnish in his current role is managing company’s growth strategy, custom synthesis exports and operations, evolving new business / partnership models, and overseeing Corporate Planning, Finance, Information Technology and Investor Relations processes at PI.

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Manufacturing facility at Jambusar

“To de-risk growth from region-specific challenges in this business, you have to operate on a pan-India basis”

pipeline. We are also in an expansion mode at Jambusar, and are focusing on building new capacities and new infrastructure that will support the kind of growth we are forecasting in the CSM exports,” says Sarna.

The CSM segment is comparatively new, having only been established in the

PI Industries

mid-1990s, however the company will never lose sight of its domestic business, which has been nurtured for over 60 years now.

PI brands such as Nominee Gold herbicide, Osheen, Roket, Foratox, Carina and Fosmite insecticides and Kitazin fungicide are well established in this market, and distributed through a network of dealers and distributors who cover most of the Indian states. “To de-risk growth from region-specific challenges in this business, you have to operate on a panIndia basis,” Rajnish Sarna explains. “And you also have to address a variety of crops, because if you limit yourself to a particular set of crops or geographic regions, then you are at a higher risk of being impacted by the vagaries of monsoon, food prices, and other factors. In one year cotton may do well: that will encourage farmers to plant it again the

following year. Production will rise, prices will fall, so they may then migrate to other crops like pulses or vegetable.” Forecasting is not easy, so it makes sense to reduce your risk vulnerability in this way, and psychology plays its part, he concludes. By covering all the bases with its portfolio of more than 30 branded products, PI Industries is ready to support farmers in sustaining the vital business of agriculture.

PI Industries

 +91 124 6790000  pifinechem@piind.com www.piindustries.com

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Andrew Howes Photography

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Your health in good hands Ascendis Health Chief Executive Officer Dr Karsten Wellner discusses the philosophy and values behind Ascendis Health, the home of some of South Africa’s leading health and care brands words by

Will Daynes

 research by

Peter Rowlston

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Supashape product range

ealthy Home, Healthy You.â&#x20AC;? That is the slogan that Ascendis Health lives by on a daily basis. While most traditional pharmaceutical companies focus their efforts almost exclusively on the intervention space of medical care, the best examples of products in this field being antibiotics or anti-inflammatories, Ascendis Health focuses on what it calls the entire spectrum of life, providing preventative, intervention and chronic treatments targeted at plant, animal and human health.

H

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Ascendisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; principle strategy is to create a synergistic group of health product brands that cover the value chain from imports of raw materials, manufacturing, brands and through to distribution to consumers through retail and direct selling channels. Supported by its controlling shareholder, Coast2Coast, the company has over 1,070 staff, possesses an executive team boasting over 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical and consumer products (FMCG) industries, and boasts international sales within 45 countries.

Ascendis Health

“In the field of preventative care we are providing brands and treatments that allow people to work on the self-healing propensities of their bodies”

“One could certainly say that we take something of a holistic view towards health and life,” explains Chief Executive Officer, Dr Karsten Wellner. “In the field of preventative care we are providing brands and treatments that allow people to work on the self-healing propensities of their bodies, supplement their nutrition or lifestyle in a healthy way and which gives them the opportunity to avoid a situation where they become immune system-depressed or susceptible to illness or a disease. Then of course there is the invention

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side, where we offer pharmaceutical products and medical devices, and the area of chronic medication where you have pharmaceuticals for long term application.”

As a business, there are three core areas of growth that Ascendis Health continues to pursue in order to expand. These areas are acquisitive growth, where the company acquires other businesses into its family of brands, organic growth, whereby the company provides entrepreneurs with the means and foundation to grow within the Ascendis family,

and lastly synergetic growth, where it brings together synergies between its divisions and brands for the good of the collective.

This latter area is of particular significance given the way Ascendis Health’s operations are broken down into three main divisions; Consumer Brands, Pharma-Med and PhytoVet. Within its Consumer Brands division the company offers products from the likes of the healthy ageing specialists, SOLAL Technologies, SSN (Scientific Sports Nutrition), Foodstate Nutritional Intelligence,

“The brands that Ascendis Health acquires share specific qualities, namely that each has already proven to be a success and has international growth potential”

Lean Muscle Building Stack

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Ascendis Health

Nimue Skin Technology product range

specifically when it comes to Nimue Skin Technology, Did you know? our sports nutrition products, B io b a la n ce and E VOX and our Pharma-Med division.

Advanced Nutrition. Meanwhile, 45 countries Here the latter is able to provide subsidiaries PharmaChem and In which these companies with increased Surgical Innovations operate Ascendis boasts levels of scientific research within the Pharma-Med division, international sales and regulatory backing.” while the Phyto-Vet division As Wellner goes on to explain, includes products from EFEKTO, 60 percent the brands that Ascendis Health AVIMA and Marltons.

Ascendis’ acquires share specific qualities, “Across the three divisions we acquisition are constantly working on shared namely that each has already success rate in areas of interest, so things like proven to be a success and has the last five years supply chain issues, IT issues, legal international growth potential. details and other areas in which “We believe very much in strong your typical small or medium brands developed by healthy and sized business may have previously lacked resilient businesses that have been around for the funds or resources to handle in-house,” some time. As such when it comes to investing Wellner states. “We are constantly working in businesses we only ever target those with strong identities and positive cash flows. While to ensure a deep level of integration between of course we have the need to corporatise our our divisions as well. A good example of this business, what we are particularly proud of exists between our consumer brands division,

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Heard Tell us about your company and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll tell everyone else www.bus-ex.com

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Andrew Howes Photography

Ascendis Health

Karsten Wellner - CEO, Robbie Taylor - CFO and Richard Crouse - COO

“A key focus for the remainder of the financial year will be to continue delivering strong organic growth, integrating recent acquisitions and continuing to extract synergies” is the fact that at no point do we stifle the development of good entrepreneurial ideas.

At the end of the day our aim is to give as much freedom as possible to our brands in order for these businesses to grow.”

On 24 January this year the company issued a press release detailing the latest development in its acquisition programme, namely the 100 percent purchase of specialist medical company Surgical Innovations Limited and of Atka Pharma Limited. The acquisition of these two businesses was also

special in that they were the first two targeted acquisitions following Ascendis Health’s successful listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in November 2013.

“When it comes to securing acquisitions,” Wellner continues, “our success rate over the last five years is approximately 60 percent, which is quite significant. As with all of our acquisitions we are already looking at how to best integrate these businesses into our own, giving them additional support and ultimately providing them with fresh growth

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Andrew Howes Photography

Karsten Wellner CEO

Avima Grain Guard

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1989 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2001: Fresenius AG, Germany (DAX and NYSE listed Health company, 110,000 employees, $20bn sales).

2001 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2008: Fresenius Kabi, MD South Africa, Exec VP Africa and Middle East. 2 Production Units in SA and various subs, 700 staff; (products: clinical nutrition, generics, medical devices).

Achieved businessgrowth in 8 years from R120m to R1bn sales.

Part-time lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch Business School on International Management and Independent Board member at Alpha Pharm East Cape Holdings.

Ascendis Health

“The first area of importance when it comes to our future is to remain focused on our core fundamentals” potential in the form of either new products or new markets. So we are very much looking forward to moving these businesses forward.”

While 2014 has already brought with it two new additions to the Ascendis Health family the company is well aware that there are many more opportunities ahead of it and in order to continue taking the business forward, Wellner and his team are embarking on a strategy targeting three particular areas.

“The first area of importance when it comes to our future is to remain focused on our core fundamentals, so to continue doing what we do so well and that is taking our already strong brands and growing them accordingly,” he concludes. “The second thing we have to do is internationalise our business more in order to avoid foreign exchange fluctuations and create a better hedged position for ourselves. To this end we are already in the process of setting up our first international acquisition projects in Europe. Lastly we need to continue to grow ourselves, both organically and acquisitively.”

Wellner’s mind then turns to one last shortterm goal for the company and that is to deliver on the promises made to its investors.

“Over the course of the last year or so we have made promises regarding certain sales and profit targets and acquisitions, and I am pleased to say that we are more than on target to keep these promises, something which we confirmed to the market in our just released six months maiden result. A key focus for

Solal Stress Damage Control

the remainder of the financial year will be to continue delivering strong organic growth, integrating recent acquisitions and continuing to extract synergies both within and across all operating divisions.”

Wellner concludes; “We are firmly on track and confident that we are going to exceed our committed full year pre-listing earnings forecast for the 2014 financial year.”

Ascendis Health

 +27 11 036 9400  info@ascendis.co.za @AscendisHealth www.ascendis.co.za

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Enriching a nation De Beers Debswana The world’s largest diamond producer by value, Debswana is Botswana’s largest private employer and arguably the biggest contributor to the country’s economic growth words by

Will Daynes

 research by

Peter Rowlston

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he mining industry has been an integral part of Botswana’s national economy since the early 1990s. At the heart of the industry for the better part of 25 years has been the country’s diamond sector, whose gem quality findings have seen Botswana solidify its position as the world’s leading producer of diamond by value.

Debswana is an important figure within this vital part of Botswana’s economy, producing in excess of 70 percent of the country’s export earnings, 30 percent of its Gross Domestic Product and 50 percent of government revenue.

The originals of the company date back to 1969, when De Beers entered into a 50/50 joint venture with the government of Botswana to unlock the country’s rich diamond resources.

The joint venture, Debswana, is now the largest non-government employer in the country, employing approximately 6,300 people, 93 percent of them local.

Debswana today operates some of the world’s richest diamond mines. The mines in question are the Jwaneng Mine, the world’s leading producer of diamonds by value, the Damtshaa Mine, the Letlhakane Mine, and the Orapa Mine, which is the second largest open pit mine on the planet. Together these mines were responsible for producing 22.8 million carats in 2011 alone.

The flagship of the company, due to the substantially higher dollar per carat

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“Debswana maintains that at the heart of its operations is its regard for the safety and wellbeing of its people and the environment”

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Debswana values its local employees

De Beers Debswana

“De Beers has continued to identify ways to maximise the sustainable benefits of Botswana’s natural resources through the process of beneficiation” obtained for its gems, is its Jwaneng Mine, which became fully operational in August 1982, when it was officially opened by the then President of Botswana. Currently being mined to a depth of 350 metres, the resource itself consists of three separate volcanic pipes and vents. Production normally varies according to mining plans of approximately 12.5 to 15 million carats per year.

As is the case with all of Debswana’s mines, the Jwaneng Mine is an open pit operation, one which is currently playing host to a landmark expansion project, which will see the pit elevated to the status of a superpit. The scope of the project, dubbed Cut 8 involves the delivery of an indicated resource estimated down to 850 metres below surface. This project will take a total of 14 years to complete and will ensure continuous production from the mine until at least 2024.

The youngest of Debswana’s mines is the Damtshaa Mine, which began operating in 2003. Damtshaa has been forecast to yield five million carats from 39 million tonnes of ore that are to be mined over the 31 year projected life of mine. The mine has been incorporated to the Orapa & Letlhakane Mines safety and environmental programmes, and hence it is ISO 14001 certified. It has thus far been audited twice by the SABS Surveillance Audit Team and confirmed to be compliant to ISO 14001 requirements.

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De Beers Debswana

The aforementioned Letlhakane Mine can be found 190 kilometres west of Francistown, in Central Botswana. First discovered during the sampling and evaluation process at the Orapa Mine, which we will come to momentarily, the Letlhakane Mine officially became the company’s second mine when it opened in 1975. In 2006, the mine broke records for diamond recovery when 1.089 million carats were recovered.

Lastly we come to the Orapa Mine, a conventional open pit development. With production dating back to July 1971 it is Debswana’s oldest running operation and one that continues to contribute significantly towards the company’s total carat output. To this day the Orapa Mine remains among the largest open cast mines found anywhere on the planet.

Across each of its mines Debswana maintains that at the heart of its operations is its regard for the safety and wellbeing of its people and the environment, with all of

Employee at the mine site

DEBSWANA MINING AND ISOMETRIX GROW TOGETHER IsoMetrix’s involvement with Debswana Mining began in April 2012 when IsoMetrix was awarded the contract for the replacement of the company’s existing Safety, Health and Environmental (SHE) system with the IsoMetrix SHE Software Solution. The completed system, used by close to 1000 employees, has been implemented at Debswana Head Office in Gaborone as well as at their Jwaneng and Orapa Mines. The system was designed around existing company processes that were well thought through, which resulted in a world class SHE solution that matched their requirements precisely. Good relationships were formed in particular with the Projects, IT and SHE Departments, resulting in a continuous symbiotic partnership. The flexibility of the IsoMetrix Agile Application Framework means that as Debswana’s requirements grow, the solution can be modified and developed to incorporate other processes. Currently, additional enhancements to

the existing system are being discussed as well as the incorporation of other processes encompassing Environmental Monitoring and Sustainability as well as Management Review. Stephen Simmonds, Executive Head: Business Development at IsoMetrix, says, “Debswana are to be congratulated on the way they have internalised the system and ensured its utilisation to the fullest capacity. The company has also made a large investment through the training of all its employees that make use of the system thereby ensuring that the system is not only utilised but optimised to the fullest. This investment will continue to ensure a maximum return.” Metrix has recently expanded the IsoMetrix solution beyond SHE to include suites for enterprise risk management, compliance, controlled self-assessments and full sustainability management and reporting. www.isometrix.com

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its efforts in these areas geared towards its ZERO HARM vision, one that calls for it to remain a sustainable and responsible miner.

In 2004 the Orapa and Letlhakane Mines were awarded some of the highest international accolades, which came in the form of a five star rating from National Occupational Safety Association (NOSA), with a score of 91.5 percent, and ISO 14001 re-accreditation. In addition, the Orapa and Letlhakane Mines achieved two million fatality free shifts. It is also at Orapa where the company maintains a 100 bed hospital that caters for employees and acts as a referral hospital for the region. Employeesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

De Beers Debswana

Sunset on the Orapa mine

children also have access to pre-primary and primary schools run by Debswana.

Debswana’s recognises that its responsibility towards the nation of Botswana extends to future generations and as such it ensures that it conducts business in such a way that it minimises any impact on the environment. This, it achieves in partnership with the communities that live around its mines who it realises possess valuable input that can transferred to its environmental management programmes.

In recent years, De Beers has continued to identify ways to maximise the sustainable benefits of Botswana’s natural resources

through the process of beneficiation.

Beneficiation seeks to ensure that beyond mining, as many of the diamond processing stages as sustainably possible take place in country. This will continue to be a core driver of the business going forward.

De Beers Debswana

 +267 361 4200  info@debswana.com @DeBeers www.debswana.com

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