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A diversified business, expanding its analytical expertise across Africa and beyond Transcity JV Project (Legacy Way):

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CONTRIBUTORS Chris Faulkner

Chris Faulkner is the founder, president and CEO of Breitling Oil and Gas, an independent oil and natural gas company based in Irving, Texas.

George F. Brown, JR

A regular contributor, George is CEO and cofounder of Blue Canyon Partners, Inc., a consulting firm working with leading companies on growth strategy.

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issue No.40 6 energy

china’s energy chess game

As China invests in North America and elsewhere in search of energy security, should the rest of the world be worried?

6

14 Strategy

Learning from the Fast Learners

Three lessons on how western companies can learn from the success of Chinese Second Mouse firms.

20 Event preview

getting the right price

Learn the principles of corporate valuation.

22 Set Point Group Testing, testing

CEO Graeme Horsfield talks about a diversified business, expanding its analytical expertise across Africa and beyond.

22 32

32 Jindal Africa

A land of opportunity Jindal Africa has been tasked by its parent company, Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL), with harnessing the immense potential that Africa has to offer.

48 CRASA

Working in perfect harmony How harmonising policies and regulations across Southern Africa can stimulate investment and growth.

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contents 56 Transcity JV Project (Legacy Way) BRISBANE DEBOTTLENECKED

56

As Brisbane’s economy continues to expand, the Legacy Way project being delivered by Transcity will help accommodate Australia’s most easterly city to grow along with it.

66 Colombo dockyard SEA TRADE MAGNET

Colombo Dockyard PLC, Sri Lanka’s premier ship repair and shipbuilding facility is perfectly placed to catch the trade passing along the east-west shipping routes.

74 Sohar Aluminium LIGHT AND LEAN IN OMAN

Sohar Aluminium has the world’s longest single potline at 1.2 kilometres long: it is contemplating expansion that would triple its existing capacity while continuing to support Oman’s economic and social growth.

74

BE Directory 86 finning

unrivalled service

88 normet

lifetime care

86

90 ppe technologies a company with vision

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China’s energ

As China invests in North Am of energy security, should the

written by: Ch

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Energy

gy chess game

merica and elsewhere in search rest of the world be worried?

hris Faulknerx

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T

he Canadian g ove r n me nt ’s recent approval of China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s (CNOOC) bid to buy Nexen, Inc. set oil and gas insiders abuzz: is it another smart strategic move in China’s massive chess game to ensure adequate and stable energy supplies for its ever-growing needs, or a calculated effort to gain entry to the North American, and more worrisome, the US energy patch?

North America has seen more than $17 billion in gas deals with Chinese companies since 2010, making it a top target for Chinese investment, but North America is by no means alone in enjoying attention from China.

China’s needs outpace domestic supply China is now the world’s largest consumer of energy.

Though China is the world’s fifth largest oil producer, the country has been a net oil importer since 1993.

The International Energy Agency estimates that China could become the world’s largest consumer of oil, and

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its need for natural gas has been growing quickly as the country seeks to lower carbon emissions and aims for natural gas to reach 18 percent of the population by 2015.

Wary of unreliable supplies from the volatile Middle East and of Russia’s manipulative nature, Chinese companies have been busy using their state-backed

$17

Billion North American gas deals with China since 2010 might to strike partnership deals and make investments in nearby regions. These agreements have enabled China to set up networks that provide access to oil and gas supplies and pipelines, as well as technology and know-how to access their own reserves. Eschewing Russian and Iranian export corridors, for example, China now has pipeline access via Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.

China has been ramping up its partnerships and investments in other regions for a long time, with its first oil loan to Angola in 2004 for energy, infrastructure, and other projects. It has made loans to companies in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Venezuela to secure long-term oil and gas supplies, and joined into partnerships with companies in Australia, Africa, Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Canada and the US. In all, China has established 60 bilateral agreements with various countries, and cooperated with 40 countries in oil exploration and development projects.

“Playing nice,” so far The CNOOC-Nexen deal is not China’s first foray into North America. In 2005, CNOOC bought 16 percent of MEG Energy, Ltd. to help develop an oil sands project in northern Alberta; Sinopec, China Investment Corp. and PetroChina have also made deals with Canadian companies; CNOOC provided development funding for some of Statoil ASA’s Gulf of

Energy

Mexico leases and invested in Oklahoma’s Chesapeake Energy for stakes in several US fields.

So far, China has “played nice” as it has expanded its investments into other countries. The Chesapeake deal, for example, was structured so that CNOOC did not get an ownership s t a k e

and had no control over production. Whereas most deals include secondment (temporary assignment of the partner’s employees), the US deals have specifically excluded this to avoid potential political backlash. Adopting a more collaborative approach, China has forged alliances to gain advantageous opportunities but has not exerted its

considerable polit ica l powers.

And the US has been a supportive ally, helping Ch i na rei n force its sovereignty by expanding its domestic gas production and increasing pipeline capacity.

In exchange for access to the deep pockets of China’s stateowned energy companies, US companies have shared new technologies and methods for extracting unconventional resources.

Houston-based Baker Hughes,

Energy

“China has forged alliances to gain advantageous opportunities but has not exerted its considerable political powers” Inc., for example, drilled China’s first horizontal shale oil well last year.

Inaccessible resources Industry experts believe China holds the world’s largest shale gas reserves, with total recoverable shale gas resources estimated at 1,275 trillion cubic feet—more than all

of the recoverable resources in the US and Canada combi ned— but t hose reserves are mostly beyond reach due to difficult geology, poor infrastructure, and water shortages.

China’s geology poses technological problems unique to the shale gas industry, with most reserves fully twice as deep as those in the US and further hampered by hilly terrain.

While the government is seeking foreign investors with the technical know-how to exploit its reserves, China’s unique geology means that shale drilling technologies from other countries cannot be copied directly.

Chinese companies are seeking to learn from their foreign partners, but deals that give them access to foreign supplies are critical.

China is also hobbled by a lack of proper infrastructure.

Its fragmented pipeline network, processing and storage facilities are not currently capable of handling the potential volume promised by its reserves. As much of China’s

1,275

trillion Estimated cubic feet of shale gas resources in China natural gas reserves lie far below mountainous terrain, developing technology for the deep reserves isn’t the only obstacle. Typically, oil companies must construct new roads, bridges, and other infrastructure for large-scale drilling operations.

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Water is another obstacle for China. In February of this year, China issued a warning about its worsening water problems. The government has issued strict water consumption restrictions and has heavily invested in water conservation systems, but these measures have done little to curb growing demand for water in the world’s second-largest economy.

China’s water shortage issues could impact its ability to reach shale reserves using the fracturing methods that require large quantities of water. This, again, is where China’s partnerships and investments in foreign energy companies could eventually pay off in the form of development of alternative fracking components, like carbon dioxide and nitrogen.

Despite the challenges, China has designated shale gas as an independent resource, clearing the way for

smaller companies, domestic and possibly foreign, to develop it. In December of 2012, the Deputy Director of the National Energy Administration reiterated that China is actively e ncou r ag i ng for e ig n companies to invest in exploration and development of China’s energy resources, and inv ites energ y companies to set up research and development centers in China.

Is Chinese investment a real worry?

News of the CNOOCNexen deal has generated some concern over China’s potential undisclosed motives for gaining further inroads to the North American market.

Though China has been playing nice thus far, some worry that this is just another move in China’s end-game of securing world dominance via control of not only

economic but also energy markets. Part of the problem is the fact that Chinese oil companies are not privately owned; they operate with the backing of the Chinese state.

The CNOOC-Nexen deal raises issues of American energy security, as it gives unprecedented influence over

“China’s partnerships and investments in foreign companies could eventually pay off in the form of development of alternative fracking components” 12 | Be weekly

Energy

American reserves to a foreign government. China and other countries with state-owned oil and gas companies have in the past used their oil and gas resources for political leverage, so the worry is not unwarranted.

A s ide f r om t he aforementioned trade-offs for China, another deterrent to Chinese interference in the American oil and gas market should arise from the US’s six-decade commitment to protecting China’s imports in the South China Sea, using the US Navy to ensure safe

passage. China’s confidence in that commitment, however, has appeared to waver in recent years as Washington has rebuked China’s conflicts with Taiwan and North Korea.

Regardless of uncertainty over China’s ultimate

motives, it doesn’t appear that China will be slowing its foreign deal-making any time soon. Deal by deal and investment by investment, the world will watch as China’s energy chess game—and end game— plays out.

Chris Faulkner is the founder, president and CEO of Breitling Oil and Gas, an independent oil and natural gas company based in Irving, Texas. Founded in 2004, Breitling Oil and Gas employs state-of-the-art petroleum and natural gas exploration and extraction technologies for the development of onshore oil and gas projects. www.breitlingoilandgas.com

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Learning fro the Fast Learn Three lessons on how western companies can learn from the success of Chinese Second Mouse firms

written by: George F. Brown, Jr. & David G. Hartman

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strategy

om ners

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I

n previous articles, we’ve written about the emerging competitors from China, firms that are beginning to expand their reach from that country’s broad middle market to even the well-established markets of North America and Europe.

We have characterized these companies as Second Mouse firms, drawing upon the saying “The early bird gets the worm, but the Second Mouse gets the cheese” in recognition of their strong fast follower and fast learner competencies. In fact, it has been the ability of these firms to learn best-in-class manufacturing skills from western firms and to parrot key elements of western technology and design that have enabled them to succeed by bringing to market an “almost as good product at a great price point”. Such firms as Huawei, Haier, Sany, Mindray, and Geely are now significant forces in the global economy, with more and more Chinese firms in manufacturing, construction, engineering, ser v ices, and other segments of the economy occupying positions on the Fortune Global 500.

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A key ingredient in the success of the Second Mouse firms has been their application of fast learner skills to the goal of creating “almost as good products at a great price point”. More often than not, western firms focus innovation and product development on raising the bar in terms of key performance metrics, improved design, or additional features. The Second Mouse firms, on the other hand, focus their efforts on achieving significant cost saving without compromising the factors that matter most to their targeted customers.

We have used the familiar story of Southwest Airlines as an analogy, reflecting a successful western firm that stripped away some costly features found in other airlines to offer an acceptable service at a very attractive price. So a first element of learning that can be gained from the Second Mouse firms is that there are multiple flavors of innovation, and that innovations that achieve highly attractive price points with still-acceptable products can create a business success story that yields sales to middle market customers that

“The early the worm, bu Mouse gets

y bird gets ut the Second the cheese”

strategy translate into strong rewards for the firm’s shareholders.

Just as these Chinese firms have learned from western market leaders, it is possible for western firms to benefit from implementing other aspects of their approach to learning. In this article, we’ll describe three additional philosophies that are second nature to the Second Mouse firms, ones that have helped them to achieve success through fast learning. They are ones that some western firms can accurately say they practice, but by and large, the Second Mouse firms have taken these ideas to a higher level. Even those western firms that can correctly say they already implement these ideas should be asking how they can similarly take their current practices to a higher level.

1. Question, question, question Several decades ago, our firm hosted delegations of Chinese interns who hoped to learn about western practices with respect to data resource management. As our team welcomed these individuals, we first began to hear comments like “I’m exhausted answering all of

their questions”. But over time, the comments shifted to observations like “They asked me a really provocative question today” and “I had to admit I had no answer to a question, and it’s gotten me thinking …”. Reflecting this experience, the first learning principle we see in the Second Mouse firms is “Question everything”. This is a practice that had paid off for many western firms, particularly when they’ve listened carefully to messages from the market as to what does and what doesn’t create value for their customers. It’s easy to do things “because we’ve always done them that way” that in truth are costly and that contribute little to value creation.

2. the 80-20 rule A second lesson involves the familiar concept of the 80-20 rule, with a particular twist to its application by Second Mouse firms. Their concept is that the final increments to performance, design, and features come at a very high cost, and the Second Mouse firms use the 80-20 rule as the route through which they can offer “almost as

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good products at a great price point”. Over and over, they’ve found that their customers, not just in the middle markets of China, but around the world, are willing to sacrifice those final increments when doing so makes the product much more affordable. One western firm with which we worked learned this lesson well.

Through a careful market research project, they learned that their targeted market segment in China attributed very little importance to five product features that were of major importance to their ability to differentiate their

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product in western markets.

By excluding these features and taking the associated costs out of their product, they were able to achieve a competitive position in China, gaining share, unlike other western firms that attempted to market their western products into China with an unchanged feature set and price point.

3. Taking the time out The third learning lesson is one that all western firms will recognize: “Time is money”. The Second Mouse firms are religious in terms of thinking about how to

shorten the critical path.

Anyone with experience in China’s markets can probably provide examples about how a Chinese firm built a working prototype of a product in the same time that western firms used to gain approval to begin working on the same project.

We have used the phrase “China speed” to characterize their obsession with quickly getting to market through creative approaches that “take time out”. Not all of the concepts that they employ to do that will translate neatly into western markets. For example, many Chinese firms are seen as doing “beta

strategy

What enabled the Second Mouse firms to be the ones that “first thought it it” was their constant focus on fast learning” testing in people’s homes”, or, stated more positively, substituting service resources for expensive and timeconsuming processes. While not all of their practices are appropriate to other markets, the focus on “taking time out” is one that frequently pays off not only in terms of cost savings, but also in terms of first-mover advantages.

For many western firms, competition from Chinese Second Mouse firms that are new to global markets will be the most significant challenge of the coming decade. These new competitors will draw upon their fast learning skills to achieve success in new markets, and will frequently surprise their western targets with products, processes, and innovations that “look obvious once you think of it”. What enabled the Second Mouse firms to be the ones that “first thought it it” was their constant focus on fast learning, looking at innovation

from a new perspective, questioning everything, applying the 80-20 rule to cost reduction, and focusing on ways through which they can “take time out”. Those western firms that learn these same principles will be the ones that will have the best chances of winning in the future, not only against new competitors from China and other emerging economies, but against their traditional roster of “usual suspect” competitors.

Learning from the fast learners will be a critical success factor in the coming years, and now is the time to start on that journey.

George F. Brown, Jr. is the CEO and cofounder of Blue Canyon Partners, Inc., a management consulting firm working with leading business suppliers on growth strategy.

Along with Atlee Valentine Pope, he is also the author of CoDestiny: Overcome Your Growth Challenges by Helping Your Customers Overcome Theirs. www.bluecanyonpartners.com

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EVENTS getting the price right Principles of Corporate Valuation: Developing a 360˚ Perspective Getting the Price Right 21-22 march 2013 Sentry Center, 730 3rd Avenue New York, NY 10017 Course Overview What price will it take to get a deal done? This seminar’s primary objective is to learn how practitioners in the financial services industry apply various valuation techniques in the context of an eminent transaction. Heavy emphasis will be placed on demystifying the theory behind the analytics and ultimately gaining an understanding of their impact

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on a transaction. After gaining a working knowledge of the “scientific” analytics, participants will gain a new appreciation for the “art” of valuation through an in-class simulation.

Course Content and Organization This two day course will use several different teaching methods: theoretical presentations to confirm the base line understanding; hands-on examples and Excel financial models to reinforce the theory; practical review of past M&A deals to provide realworld examples; a course-pack to support content and finally mock presentations used to demonstrate the impact of valuation techniques in a “live-deal” scenario.

Participants will negotiate the best deal for their shareholders using buy-side and sellside guidance they developed themselves.

The course content will broadly include common valuation techniques and topics such as: • Intrinsic valuation: stand alone financial analysis and discounted cash flow analysis registration for all individuals is done at one time and for the same course on the same date • Relative valuation: public comparable analysis and acquisition comparable analysis • Deal structuring techniques: synergy

Special preview

Case Study Approach

roll-outs, shareholder value math, merger consequences analysis, debt capacity and affordability analysis • Sell-side and buy-side process.

Objectives By the end of this session, course participants will be able to: • Understand the valuation framework commonly used by finance professionals • Use live date and create a public market valuation: public comparable analysis, acquisition comparable analysis and discounted cash flow analysis • L everage sell-side and independent research to reach an informed view of the case study company and its sector/ industry • Learn how different structuring techniques effect valuation.

Designed to provide an overview of financial modeling and corporate valuation to corporate development officers, strategic planning officers, investor relations professionals, M&A specialists, investment bankers, investment analysts, lawyers, accounting professionals, management consultants and academics - and taught by industry practitioners with extensive, real-world experience, this highly interactive, two-day seminar combines lectures, case studies, exercises, group discussion culminating in a mock presentation of a “live deal” scenario where participants negotiate the best deal for shareholders using buy-side and sell-side valuation techniques.

Coursework developed and instruction coordinated with Training The Street. www.trainingthestreet.com Prerequisite Basic knowledge of Excel, finance and an understanding of basic valuation techniques are recommended to maximize the benefits of this program.

CLICK HERE to register: www.capitaliq.com

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Test

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Set Point Group

ting, testing CEO Graeme Horsfield talks about a diversified business, expanding its analytical expertise across Africa and beyond

written by: martin ashcroft research by: marcus lewis

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Set Point Group

S

The Group comprises of three Analytical Divisions

et Point Group is a South African company, comprising seven distinct businesses serving mainly the mining industry and a few unrelated sectors.

It’s an interesting mix, with a rather unusual genesis.

In 1998 the company was formed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange as an analytical business called Set Point Technology Holdings Ltd. Stock was listed at one rand per share, but shot up to seven rand almost overnight, recalls CEO Graeme Horsfield. “The business was actually analysing air purity and underground gases in the mining industry,” he says, “but because of the name and the IT boom at the time, many people thought it to be an IT company so they all piled in and pushed the share price up. The business became greatly diversified when the then directors bought several companies that had no synergy between them.”

In 2001 the company brought in new management to restructure the business and Horsfield formed part of the team. There’s certainly more synergy in the business now, and although he doesn’t pretend that all seven businesses fit together snugly, they do at least fall into three broad categories— analytical services, fluid handling and mining services.

On the analytical side, the flagship business is WearCheck, an international brand that carries out oil and fuel analysis for condition monitoring of heavy mining machinery. “These mining machines are worth tens of millions of Rands each and

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Oil and fuel analysis laboratory

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carry hundreds of tons of rock and ore at each pass,” says Horsfield, “and are often run 24 hours a day. They have the oil tested every 250 hours or so depending on the component WearCheck analyses the oil and lets the mines know if it needs to be changed or if there’s any component wear and tear or if a problem is beginning to develop that could be prevented.”

The cost of the analysis is far cheaper than replacing the oil or repairing the machine should it fail, never mind the cost of the downtime associated with any failure, which could run into millions of rand.

WearCheck is an international brand name, almost akin to a franchise, but not quite. “There are a handful of companies around the world with the WearCheck label,” explains Horsfield, “but there’s no financial link between them, although, we do work closely wih one another, sharing expertise and offering companies a global oil analysis programme. It is however a gentleman’s agreement as to who has the right to open up WearCheck businesses in certain areas, and Set Point has the rights for Africa, the Middle East and India.”

WearCheck has several laboratories and offices in South Africa, but has also opened businesses in Botswana, Zambia, and Ghana, as well as in Chennai in India, and Dubai in the Middle East. “We are dominant in the market in South Africa,” says Horsfield, “and worldwide, we analyse more samples than any other WearCheck operation.”

Also on the analytical side is Set Point

Set Point Group

Oil analysis on haul trucks

Laboratories, which does assaying of minerals for the mining industry. The major laboratory is in Johannesburg, but others have been opened in Northern Cape and Botswana, and one will open soon in Mozambique. Set Point Laboratories have specific expertise and experience to establish and operate full on-site lab facilities specific to client’s requirements.

These labs can be housed in fixed buildings

or in containerised units that allow easy transportation to remote sites. In addition, SPL has experience in establishing “underground sample preparation facilities” which provides huge logistical benefits for analysis of mine samples.

The third of the analytical companies is African Mineral Standards or AMIS, which makes certified reference materials—which are basically control samples to verify the

“WearCheck analyses the oil and lets the mines know if it needs to be changed or if there’s any engine or gearbox wear and tear” be weekly | 27

accuracy of the analytical equipment.

“Most analytical laboratories are faced with the challenge of determining the accuracy of their XRF and ICP machines,” says Horsfield. “They don’t know how accurate the machines are because the results they get vary from the samples they get from the mines. So what we do is develop a model answer.

“We collect rock from various parts of the world and crush it into a fine powder.

This is sent to thirty laboratories around the world to analyse it and tell us what’s in the powder. We get the thirty results and then do a mean average and an almost model answer of what should be in that powder.

Results are then sent to a renowned professor in Canada who checks the accuracy of the mean averaging, and signs a certificate off. This then becomes a certified sample.”

Mining laboratories around the world use these samples to check that they get the correct model answer from their machines.

If they do, then their other samples can be relied upon to be accurate, too. “We are proud to have developed African Mineral Standards into the second largest standards supplier in the world.”

Set Point also has three operations in its fluid handling divisions—the Letaba Group,

Pneumax and Meter Systems. Letaba imports pumps and supplies them predominantly to the mining industry but also to food and chemical plants. It is also known for its impressive fleet of dewatering pumps, which are available for hire 24/7/365.

“Then we have Pneumax which supplies pneumatic equipment such as components for pneumatic automation, actuators, valves, fittings and tubing, deceleration

“WearCheck analyses the oil and lets the mines know if it needs to be changed or if there’s any engine or gearbox wear and tear” 28 | be weekly

Set Point Group

Above: Flow meter. Below: Imperial mine cylinder

Matrix matched reference materials

and vibration technology which can be used in virtually any industry or application,” says Horsfield. Pneumax is also committed to industry skills development programmes and offers various pneumatic training courses. Meter Systems supplies lubrication and garage equipment to the fuel and oil industries, including flow meters, nozzles, hoses, dispensers, loading arms, pumps and a myriad of complementary products and accessories.

Set Point’s mining section, acquired in 2005, is the one that stands alone. The two companies NW GoPro and RENG, manufacture and repair

locomotive and hopper wheels, as well as skip guide rollers for the mining industry. “It’s the only manufacturing business we have in the stable, so of all the companies in the group, it has the biggest labour force.”

Being a diverse organisation is challenging but it also has benefits, says Horsfield. If one sector suffers from a shrinking market, others can pick up the slack.

The disadvantage is that the skills required to manage the individual businesses are not easily transferrable.

“We have seven highly skilled MDs,” he says, “so we have to have a very strong succession plan in place, especially on the

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GoPro manufactures a range of loco wheels and skip guide rollers

Some of the brands avail

“We have developed our own training school in Johannesburg, and we are one of a few companies accredited by the Department of Labour” analytical side. These guys have Masters in chemistry and science. You don’t just pick them up off the street. We constantly have to train middle management to be able to step into top management shoes.

General distribution is relatively easy for a commercial guy but in the three analytical businesses it’s tough because you can’t take, for example, a laboratory manager from

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one of our analytical divisions and ask them to run another – since the scope of work varies significantly.”

There are challenges also in expanding across Africa, not least in being careful which countries you choose. “We often have to join up with local management in terms of the rules of the country regarding ownership, and finding the right partner is

Set Point Group

lable from Letaba Pumps

not always easy. It takes a good six months for our business development people to do a full analysis of the business environment.”

Zimbabwe, for instance is one country Set Point has avoided, because of its indigenisation policies.

It’s not easy attracting skilled workers into the analytical side of the business, either, says Horsfield. “We have developed our own training school in Johannesburg, and we are one of a few companies accredited by the Department of Labour. We train people from the African sub-continent and send them back to their own countries to run their own laboratories.”

Science graduates are keen to work in DNA analysis or biochemistry, he says.

GoPro’s locomotive wheels

Analytical work is not sexy enough for some of them today. “So we’ve had to make it pretty sexy for them in terms of the company culture and opportunities to get into management. We’ve been running a mentorship program for about three years now where we identify people with talent and do our best to inspire them to greater things for themselves and the company. It’s been a boon for us in terms of retaining those people and developing them into a different level of management.”

For more information about Set Point Group visit: www.setpoint.co.za

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Jindal Africa

A land of Jindal Africa has been tasked by its parent company, Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL), with harnessing the immense potential that Africa has to offer

opportunity written by: Will Daynes research by: Jon Bradley

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CIC Energy’s planned Coalto-Hydrocarbons (CTH) Project intends to convert coal to low sulphur diesel fuel and associated products

Jindal Africa

S

eeing as Africa produces more than 60 different metal and mineral products, and is a major source of several of the world’s most important commodities, it is little wonder that it remains an area of profound interest for mining companies.

While exploration and mining developments across the continent have undoubtedly increased in recent decades, there is still considerable scope for expansion.

One company that has been making waves across Africa over the last several years is the multinational conglomerate, Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL), a leading figure in the steel, power, mining, coal to liquid, oil and gas, and infrastructure sectors. Recognising that Africa is indeed endowed with great mineral wealth, as well as a nation of warm, hardworking and committed people, JSPL established Jindal Africa in 2008, with its remit being to discover minerals primarily for JSPL’s steel production in India.

“Our African operations,” explains chief executive officer of African Business Ventures, Ashish Kumar, “span across South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia, Tanzania and Madagascar, and provide direct and contract-based employment for approximately 2500 people.”

Today, Jindal Africa is working diligently to expand its footprint across the continent.

Its headquarters is based in Johannesburg and it is from here that it overseas the businesses’ regional operations and on-going expansion plans. Its operational activities in the country include the Kiepersol Colliery, outside the town of Piet Retief

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Ut enimcoal ad magna aliqua. Ut enim ad quality anthracite minimisveniam, quis nostrud minim veniam, quis nostrud that sold locally and exercitation ullamco laboris exercitation ullamco laboris internationally. nisiInut 2012, aliquip ex ea commodo nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo Jindal Africa consequat. irure This is a caption this is a caption consequat. Duis aute irure started itsDuis coalaute mining operations in Mozambique’s The Kiepersol South Africa dolor in reprehenderit in dolor in Colliery, reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum coal-rich Moatize area.dolore eu fugiat voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla country’s pariatur. thermal-grade Excepteur sint coal occaecat nulla apariatur.

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JSPL The and make fortunate cupidatat non proident, in culpa qui Mozambique cupidatat non was proident, sunt to in have culpa first qui significant coking coal sunt reserves present officia deserunt mollit anim id est Africa laborum. officia deserunt mollit anim laborum. advantage, being oneidofestonly three a major opportunity for Jindal to mover

RRL GRINDROD RRL Grindrod Locomotives is proud to be associated with Jindal Steel and Power Limitada Mozambique (“JSPL”).

In Partnership with JSPL, RRL Grindrod will be managing the rail logistic solution for the open cast mining project at Chirodzi.

Our involvement in the project includes the manufacture, maintenance and operation of the locomotives freighting coal on the Sena Line to the port of Beira.

About RRL Grindrod RRL Grindrod is a diversified rail and logistics company which aims to provide rail engineering and operations solutions for customers across the African continent.

Our main service offerings are: Locomotive and wagon manufacture which includes design, manufacture and sale of rolling stock, rolling stock refurbishment, locomotive leasing and wagon maintenance.

Rail operations services include train crewing, driver training and management, rail siding and cargo management.

Our clients vary from mainline rail operators requiring long haul traction to large and medium-sized mining operations with a need for short haul, branch line or shunting services. We have a growing footprint on the continent with existing operations in several African countries including Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and South Africa.

As a part of the wider Grindrod Group the company is committed to providing customers with a seamless pit-to-port rail solution to freight bulk cargo in the region.

We look forward to a lasting partnership with JSPL as we continue to keep rail freight moving!! www.rrlgrindrod.co.za

WEEKLY | | 372 beBEweekly

Arlona Engineering, which is based at the Durban Harbour, is one of the leading designers and manufacturers of bulk handling and lifting equipment in Southern Africa.

The company, with extensive experience in the design and manufacture of innovative handling equipment, has the expertise and machinery to manufacture equipment according to stringent specifications. This design and manufacturing service is enhanced by a specialised proofloading facility for lifting equipment. www.arlona.co.za

Jindal Africa

Jindal Africa hopes to develop Zambia’s copper resources

international companies to mine the rich hand, represents Jindal Africa’s foray Moatize region in the Cahora Basa district into the copper industry, where it is in of Tete province. the process of exploring and developing Further afield, the company has plans to greenfield copper concessions. Jindal Africa establish a cement plant in Madagascar that hopes to play a pivotal role in developing will be supplied by its own Zambia’s copper resources limestone mines. Meanwhile, and downstream facilities.

Jindal Africa is involved “In the past twelve in extensive coal, copper months,” Kumar continues, and iron ore exploration “we have made significant activities in Tanzania and investments that we feel has been granted a license will quickly bring added The year that Jindal to mine copper. value and growth to the Africa was established Zambia, on the other business. The first of these

2008

be weekly | 39

Road construction doesn’t have to be as costly, time-consuming and complicated as you think.

Global Civil Solutions provides innovative, leading edge road construction technology to the Mining industry. The company is a proud supplier to the Jindal Group with a list of clients that include Jindal Mining, Anglo Platinum, Impala Platinum and Australia based Stonewall Mining.

Recent projects include the design and construction of the main access haul road to the Jindal Mine at the Piet Retief Colliery using a natural soil stabiliser (J.G.R.S) which was speciďŹ cally designed to handle Heavy Haul Loads. International projects include a joint venture with Jindal Group in India to complete a state of the art road stabilisation development with the product manufactured locally at the Jindal Raigarh Plant and used extensively throughout the Indian Sub-Continent.

For more information contact Andy Shand on +27 83 442 8924 email andy@globalgroups.org or visit www.globalcivils.com

Jindal Africa is the development of our Global Civil Solutions Mozambique operations.

Global Civil Solutions is a construction company specialising Here we have invested in the field of environmentally driven engineering. The considerable capital in both company provides leading edge road construction technology infrastructure projects and to the Mining Industry and has developed specialist soil in our people, and this stabilisers as fast, cost-effective methods for road and rail is already starting to construction. Global Civil Solutions is headed up by Andy Shand who has extensive experience in the construction produce results.” and project management industry, having successfully A not he r i mp or t a nt managed projects ranging from highway construction, mining development for t he construction, resort hotel construction to infrastructure company was the recent development, waste water treatment and water purification. acquisition of the BotswanaClients include the Jindal Group, Anglo Platinum, Impala based Canadian company, Platinum and Australia based Stonewall Mining.

CIC Energy, for $116 million. elschke@globalgroups.org This purchase highlights Jindal’s plans to tap into the power business in southern Africa.

These plans that see the organisation invest up to $700 million in Botswana over the next three years.

“Beyond these developments,” Kumar highlights, “we have also acquired a number of greenfield exploration projects in South Africa and Namibia where we are now in the process of conducting several extensive drilling campaigns.”

Throughout the seven countries in which it is present, Jindal Africa strives

“Jindal plan to invest up to $700 million in Botswana over the next three years”

Coal train on the move from the Kiepersol mine

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JINDAL MINING AFRICA Jindal Africa Mining tempor incididunt ut labore to Jindal work closely withAfrica local et dolore magna aliqua. Ut communities key feature text to and go here...

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, enim ad minim veniam, quis stakeholders to foster long consectetur adipisicing elit, term relations.

“In South nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex Africa instance,” tempor Kumar sed dofor eiusmod incididunt“we ut labore dolore enthuses, look toetemploy ea commodo consequat. magna people, aliqua. Ut enimour ad local while Duis aute irure dolor in minimprocurement veniam, quis policies nostrud local reprehenderit in voluptate exercitation laboris ensure thatullamco wherever we velit esse cillum dolore nisi utbased aliquipwe ex ea commodo are endeavour eu fugiat nulla pariatur. consequat.

Duismajority aute irure to source the of Excepteur sint occaecat dolor locally in reprehenderit in This is a caption this is a caption cupidatat non proident, sunt work from reliable suppliers Africa’s in culpa quibusiness officia operations deserunt voluptate who velit have esse proven cillum CSR is a central theme that drives Jindal capable of meeting the strict dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur sed do conditions and standards that we set.”sunt important strengths isadipisicing its ability elit, to acquire, sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, in Being culpa qui mollit anim id and eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore partofficia of a deserunt multi-national, multisubsequently retain, some of the most est laborum. ipsum amet, skilled magna aliqua.

Ut enim adindustry. minim veniam, quis employees in the “In India,” billion dollar Lorem company, it dolor won’t sit surprise consectetur sedAfrica’s do eiusmod nostrudenthuses, exercitation laboris ut many to hearadipisicing that one ofelit, Jindal most Kumar “it isullamco fair to say that nisi Jindal

INGWENYAname MINERAL PROCESSING COmpany Ingwenya Mineral Processing (Pty) Ltd Ehendanis de dollam, sit lacerum nobiscienis (IMP)fugit, is a South African ownedquaerfercium company eium ipicilluptae nonsed baseddolorem in Mpumalanga Province, withdus itseatis fugit audiciissit auta vendi headtem office Witbank in South quo asitinlanis doloribust ulpaAfrica. cumquun The company was incorporated in the latter tiberitatio.

Nam quam laboremquas half of 2006,officat and was formedfacepel to service the accuscietur, iaessum iquisqu mining industry in the ofde design, build atusdae pratiis sed estfields dicatis eossitiunt and install (processing facilities), as well as renimpo rerernam idusdam ex et fugia contractvoluptis mineralmagnis processing and nullatio enihil(operate moste nobis maintain),utand services, with magnam ius consulting sunt quia voloria volupta specific focus on the coal nonserferia voluptatem asindustry. dendand aestio IMP takes account of specialised industry idebis sandias nostisqui cus solupit volore requirements in providing mineral processing volorio nectorum in ea porum facerrum inum expertiseuttolavarious clientssit, foracia the int. benefit of inctiunt, at expeditia all stakeholders. company recognises ad que nos andusThe dolor re nimus aliquo int the requirements theeribear mining iaesed chartermod and vollut re doloritas of velit,

has a BEEsimus, shareholding component 45 enditiate quid ut abore saero of endi percent as wellvolore as board cust volenihici mi, representation. voluptatem ex For imus Jindalrem Africa we have designed est si assit prae proudly conem cumquia and installed a 200tph coal processing tiisima sandionsequi dellam, volupidio molor plant capable of producing tons reptur, nam quam que aliant120,000 utas imus per month a fourquam shiftvolupis basis, and capable aliquunt teon voloria sitaquae of modification in future increase the nobis pro modipsundi quotobea voluptam. capacity by the addition of extramolor modules. sandionsequi dellam, volupidio reptur, This plant located Kiepersol Colliery in nam quam isque aliantatutas imus aliquunt Piet Retiefquam and isvolupis designed to treat 50mm te voloria sitaquae nobis pro nominal top quo size.bea IMPvoluptam is also responsible modipsundi eos eos. for the operation dellam, and maintenance of thisreptur, coal sandionsequi volupidio molor processing facility. nam quam que aliant utas imus aliquunt. info@ingwenyamp.co.za E. xxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.com www.ingwenyamp.co.za www.xxxxxxxxxxxxx.com

beBEweekly WEEKLY| |432

NEW PRECIOUS RESOURCE DISCOVERED

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

Jindal Africa

Jindal Africa’s philosophy is to build strong and long-term relations with communities

Group is so well regarded that it is the dream of many simply to work for the organisation.

What we want to do is recreate that same level of passion here in Africa. Yes we may be a relatively new company in the grade scheme of things, but we already believe that we have the tools needed to make this a very special place to work.”

As well as wanting to cater for today’s workforce, the company is also taking significant steps to nurture its next generation of employees. It is doing so by awarding specific scholarships to some of the most promising young individuals on the continent and providing them with the opportunity to study for a four year

“Africa represents a source of immense opportunity for JSPL, particularly when it comes to mining” be weekly | 45

Jindal are undertaking greenfield and brownfield projects

Jindal Africa

$166 million The price paid to acquire CIC Energy degree in India. Once that time has passed they will then be able to return to Africa and apply the knowledge and skills they have gained abroad, as well as have the opportunity to work in one of the Jindal Africa operations.

Africa represents a source of immense opportunity for JSPL, particularly when it comes to mining, and it is because of its growth, rapid development and possession of a culture that is not dissimilar to that of India that JSPL is very confident when it comes to tapping into the continents’ potential.

“At present,” Kumar concludes, “we are undertaking exploration and greenfield and brownfield projects, with our focus also beginning to turn towards important infrastructure projects. Thus it is clear that as a company we are very positive about what Africa has to offer. By harnessing its potential correctly there is no reason why we can’t reach a point where at least 20 percent of JSPL’s total group revenues come from Africa in the not too distant future.”

For more information about Jindal Africa visit: www.jindalafrica.com

be weekly | 47

Working in perfect harm Bridget Linzie talks about how harmonising policies and regulations across the region can stimulate investment and growth

written by: Gay Sutton research by: David Brogan

48 | be weekly

CRASA

mony

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CRASA’s remit has been expanded to include the Postal sector

CRASA

O

ne of the cornerstones of social and economic development in today’s competitive global marketplace is collaboration. In 1997 the national ICT regulators in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) came together to form a joint body, the Communication Regulator’s Association of Southern Africa (CRASA), whose remit was to facilitate harmonisation of regulatory frameworks across the region, for the benefit of SADC Citizens.

Today, CRASA’s remit has been expanded to include the closely related Postal sector, following a merger in June 2011 with the postal regulators’ association, Southern Africa Postal Regulatory Association (SAPRA).

“There are huge opportunities in the SADC countries for investment and growth in the ICT and postal sectors,” explained CRASA Acting Executive Secretary, Bridget Linzie.

“By harmonising the regulatory environment across the region we hope to make it much more attractive for investors to enter and operate in any of the SADC countries and therefore accelerate the region’s social and economic growth.”

While CRASA has its headquarters in Botswana, 13 of the 15 countries in the SADC are active members, namely Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. “Our strength as an organisation is that we are one of the implementing agency of SADC. We were created under the Protocol of Transport,

be weekly | 51

Communications and Meteorology, so to digital technology, both in terms of we have strong links Ministerial Annual fibre telecommunications networks and Meetings and have influence on the broadcasting technology. development of policies and regulations for “We have made significant progress from the ICT and Postal sectors. Advocacy is one this perspective,” said Linzie. “We now have of our core strategies for ensuring the region six submarine cables coming to the region reach consensus,” she said. providing adequate international bandwidth CRASA liaises with other regional and for global communications. The current international organisations in Africa, status of ICTs in the region shows that one of the main problems is Europe, America and Asia and benchmark its activities that although most of the to ensure that it is advising underlying infrastructure is the SADC regulators on the in place, it is not efficiently latest technologies and best used. Landlocked SADC practice. Currently one of Member States still pay more The year that CRASA to get to the coast or to the its primary objectives is was established rest of Africa than they do to support the migration

1997

CRASA are making significant progress in the switch to digital technology

52 | be weekly

CRASA

“CRASA benchmarks its activities to ensure that it is advising the S ADC regulators on the latest technologies and best practice” to get from the coast to Europe, the US or Asia”. CRASA, therefore, is looking at how the region can address the issue of ensuring cost effective access to the submarine cables especially for the landlocked countries.

Another major issue in the SADC region is that roaming tariffs for mobile telecommunications are still unacceptably high, even though the mobile operators in the region have initiatives to reduce the tariffs.

“If we are to open up this region to trade, we are going to need cost based roaming prices.

So we are currently exploring on how we can work further with the operators, regulators and government officials to agree on a mechanism for reducing the roaming tariffs to the benefits of our citizens and visitors,” she commented.

From the broadcasting perspective, CRASA is collaborating with all its member states to help promote the migration to digital broadcasting technology. As part of the initial decision making process, ministers have recently debated whether the region should base its technology on American, Japanese, Brazilian or European standards, and have decided on the European model.

Even though the initial target of the switch off date for the region of 31 December 2013 is not likely to be met, CRASA is working

with the SADC Secretariat and governments to ensure the foundations for the switch are harmonised, and that all countries will be able to complete the migration by the internationally recognised deadline of June 2015.

This past year CRASA has had the additional challenge of integrating the needs of postal sector regulators into its organisational

Bridget Linzie, Acting Executive Secretary, CRASA

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structure and operational strategy. “Because the subject is new to us, most of our activities and achievements so far have been on the topic of ICT,” said Linzie. “However, as most regulators across SADC are what we call converged, that is they are already regulating communications, broadcasting and postal services, the merger has not had a disruptive

influence on our business plans. We are largely dealing with the same regulators, which will ultimately make it much easier for us to push forward market reforms to the postal services.”

There is undoubtedly much still to do, and there are many issues on the horizon that will require ongoing roundtable discussion

“Once harmonisation has been achieved across SADC, CRASA will continue to have a key role to play for regulators and governments in the region” 54 | be weekly

CRASA

CRASA will base its broadcasting technology on European standards

and the mediating skills of CRASA. Many countries have no framework of policies for dealing with cyber security, and it will take a joint effort to achieve regional consensus to address the issue. Meanwhile, there is a role to play for the communications, broadcasting and postal sectors in order to bring awareness of sustainable development and social responsibility especially on issue regarding the environment.

Once harmonisation has been achieved across SADC, Linzie believes CRASA will continue to have a key role to play for regulators and governments in the region.

The ICT sector, for example, will continue to be intensely dynamic. “We must make

sure our plans for the region are always forward looking and that we are always ready for change as it happens,” she said.

“That’s why CRASA is so important. It gives the regulators a forum where they can talk about the challenges and learn from each other and other regions; a forum into which we can bring expertise from Africa, Europe, America and Asia, and where we can explore how our colleagues are tackling the regulatory issues.”

For more information about CRASA visit: www.crasa.org

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56 | be weekly

Transcity JV Project (Legacy Way)

BRISBANE

DEBOTTLENECKED As Brisbane’s economy continues to expand, the Legacy Way project being delivered by Transcity will help accommodate Australia’s most easterly city to grow along with it

written by: John O’Hanlon research by: paul bradley be weekly | 57

I

n the present century alone Brisbane’s population has grown from 3.5 million to more than 4.5 million. That is projected to double by 2031 requiring at least 156,000 additional dwellings to be built. With this growth comes an inevitable increase in traffic congestion. A recent report found that 340 kilometres of Brisbane’s roads are at or above or capacity, and estimates this will jump to 720 kilometres by 2031.

But congestion, itself caused by economic growth, stifles future growth. Realising that the area around Brisbane Airport is set to become one of the region’s main economic generators, Brisbane City Council identified the need for a link between the Inner City Bypass (ICB) and the Western Freeway. In 2005 a pre-feasibility study identified and investigated five links to connect existing motorways and major arterials. It found the proposed Legacy Way (named in honour of the armed services support organisation Legacy Australia) would provide an important bypass for central Brisbane and the inner western suburbs. A business case analysis completed in 2008 concluded that the project could be both technically and financially feasible.

Transcity is the name of the joint venture company formed to deliver this ambitious decongestion project. It comprises Brisbanebased BMD Constructions, who has significant local knowledge and resources and two specialist international infrastructure firms. Ghella is an Italian company with an extensive background in tunnelling projects round the world while Acciona of Spain is recognised for its work in major construction projects worldwide. The contract for Legacy

58 | be weekly

TBM’s Annabell and Joyce are commissioned prior to their delivery and assembly at the Legacy Way worksite

Transcity JV Project (Legacy Way)

Transcity JV Project (Legacy Way) Way was signed in January 2011, and Transcity started working at both ends in the second quarter of that year. Two Herrenknecht TBMs, each weighing approximately 2,800 tonnes and 110 metres in length, are being used to construct Legacy Way’s 4.6 kilometre parallel tunnels between the Western Freeway at Toowong and the ICB at Kelvin Grove.

These machines are capable of cutting a 12.4 metre hole through the hard rocks that characterize the geology below Brisbane at an average rate of 21 metres day, though with a best day record of 49.7 metres. The machines also install the precast concrete segments that form the tunnel walls. Tunnelling work

Construction of Legacy Way’s cross passages

started from the Toowong end in August 2012 – quite an achievement since it took four months just to assemble the TBMs there.

The machines have been given names – Annabell working to the south of her sister Joyce. The first TBM is named after Annabell MacKinney, the daughter of the late Lance

h+E logistik gmbh New tunnel constructions require tunnel conveyor belts and conveyor systems.

Providers that stay on the international market are those that remain competitive through continuous process optimisation.

H+E does this; we have been able to position ourselves successfully as a highly specialised provider.

To give room to sustainability and corporate growth, we have expanded in 2010 with the opening of a further site: the H+E production facility in Aschersleben. Equipped with state- of-the-art machinery, this production site is optimally geared towards the

individual requirements of our clients.

The H+E site in Aschersleben is also a training centre which enables us to provide young people with individual opportunities for professional development within this highly interesting sector.

It is important to us that every employee – whether in development, production or projects around the world – upholds our philosophy: Innovation, reliability and competitiveness form the basis for the trust that our clients place in us. www.helogistik.de

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Corporal Jared MacKinney who was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2010. The second TBM is named after Joyce Tweddell, a nurse during World War II who showed immense courage after being held as a prisoner of war in Sumatra for three years before going on to become Queensland’s Chief Radiographer.

The pair of them are scheduled to break through close to the ICB around the middle of 2013, though they have been getting through their task at a spanking rate which anyone

can follow in real time on http://transcityjv. com.au/the-project/tunnelling/tbm-tracker/.

At the time of writing they had each travelled 2.5 kilometres, and were crossing Guthrie Terrace, Paddington.

The machines work day and night, and each has a crew of 22 people to keep it operating. Both TBMs are averaging a rate of more than 150 metres per week, a world class standard for the industry - there are only a few projects worldwide that can show similar

“Each milestone we reach on this project brings us one step closer to being able to provide a four minute trip between Toowong and Kelvin Grove”

Precast concrete segments at the western worksite

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Transcity JV Project (Legacy Way)

Precast concrete segment production

achievements using large diameter TBMs. Transcity Project Director Fernando Fajardo said he was proud of the team’s outstanding efforts. “The team is setting records for our rate of excavation which is a credit to their global expertise, hard work and commitment to successfully delivering this project.”

From the point of view of Brisbane City Council, what matters is that the Legacy Way tunnel will be delivered on time to residents and visitors by 2015. Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the record speeds being set on the project, was a good indication. “Each milestone we reach on this project brings us one step closer to being able to provide a four minute trip between Toowong and Kelvin Grove,” he said. “Legacy Way alone will cut the trip from Jindalee to Kelvin Grove from

30 minutes to 10 minutes and allow motorists to travel from the Ipswich Motorway to the Airport without one traffic light.”

Annabell and Joyce’s high productivity has meant an increased demand for precast segment production and a faster removal of spoil which is being transported via an underground conveyor to the Mt Coot-tha Quarry.

Nine interlocking segments are required to complete each ring, which spans the circumference of the tunnel. Approximately 4,300 rings are required to line the twin two lane tunnels: that adds up to 38,430 segments in all. The concrete segments are transported from a purpose built facility at Wacol, about 16 kilometres from the city and moved to the front of the TBM via a segment feeder. There they are positioned around the perimeter of

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Precast concrete segments are placed by the TBM

Transcity JV Project (Legacy Way) the excavated tunnel and held in place by the TBM’s auxiliary thrust cylinders while they are bolted and grouted into place.

It has also caused pressure to move out the excavated material faster; but the good news is that Transcity planned a very smart and environmentally friendly solution. There’s no trucking of spoil. All rock cut from the tunnel face is transferred via an underground conveyor from the western worksite into the Mt Coot-tha Quarry. The tunnelled conveyor is approximately 870m in length, of which approximately 530m is underground.

The spoil conveyor’s innovative design provides significant benefits for the community including a decrease in noise and dust impacts during tunnelling operations. It also limits the need for almost 96,000 truck movements on the Western Freeway.

The 1,000,000 cubic metres of spoil excavated from the twin tunnels will be used to rehabilitate the quarry.

At the end of the project rehabilitation of the western worksite at Toowong will include an imaginative four hectare expansion of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens at Mt Coot-tha, with native vegetation restored and expanded to reflect the sub-tropical retreat for which the Botanic Gardens is famous. No mess, less noise and a haven of peace on top of a huge reduction in congestion with peak travel times between Centenary Bridge and the ICB almost halved – Legacy Way is a double win for Brisbane.

For more information about Transcity JV Project (Legacy Way) visit: www.transcityjv.com.au

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SEA TRADE MA

Sri Lanka’s premier ship repair and shipbuilding facilit placed to catch the trade passing along the east-west sh between Australia, the Far East, Europe and the Gulf oi

written by: John O’Hanlon research by: Abi Abagun

66 | be weekly

Colombo Dockyard

MAGNET

ty is perfectly hipping routes ilfields

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Working in workshops

Colombo Dockyard

S

ea traffic round the Indian to Onomichi Dockyard Company of Japan. subcontinent has to skirt the That has always been a key factor in making southern tip of Sri Lanka, as does Colombo Dockyard one of Sri Lanka’s most the long haul bulk cargo, tanker successful and efficient businesses, importing and container traffic that plies business practices like kaizen (continuous between east and west. That gives Colombo, improvement) and lean working from Japan Sri Lanka’s commercial capital, a unique while retaining Sri Lanka’s people-friendly advantage that can’t be taken away; but Sri and collaborative culture.

Lanka was racked by internal strife for nearly Over the years Colombo Dockyard has 30 years. The conflict made shipowners offered repair and assistance to more than wary of entering service arrangements with 9,000 ships and has constructed over 230 the dockyard as insurance premiums were new ships for both local and international raised, says. That conflict was clientele. Today it is one of comprehensively resolved in Sri Lanka’s largest foreign 2009, and the way finally laid exchange earners, generating open for Colombo to take its an average annual turnover rightful place in the maritime of over $130 million, which service industry. “Sri Lanka equals to one percent of Number of workers is now one of the freest and Sri Lanka’s total export employed least troublesome areas in revenue. In addition to the economic benefit, the sociothe world to carry out ship repairs,” said Mangala P B Yapa, CEO and cultural benefit it provides to the country is managing director of Colombo Dockyard. immeasurable, providing work to over 3,000 The Colombo Dockyard Company Sri Lankans and industrial skill training to managed to grow consistently through more than 450 trainees at any given time, the years of conflict, a testing time for the developing an indigenous industry and competence and efficiency of its management placing Sri Lanka on the world map of elite team. In subsequent years the same people shipbuilders and repairers. have been able to take advantage of the Colombo Dockyard employs 1,300 people, ‘peace dividend’ and grow the existing supplementing them with contracted labour services offered by the dockyard while as needed. A third of these employees have developing new and imaginative ways to been trained in shipbuilding at Onomichi— serve traditional markets. At the same time shipbuilding is an important activity at the they have established Colombo dockyard as dock, though until 2005 it built only for a focal point and centre of excellence for the local market. However the market for servicing the ever more specialized needs of new ships turned up about that time and the offshore oil and gas industry. the management decided to actively look A controlling share in the business belongs outward to external markets. Today the yard

1,300

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Colombo Dockyard has the capacity to build yanmar vessels of 100 metres and FOUNDED IN 1912, Yanmar has been dedicated to more in length. developing its own new technologies and products in Last year the company pursuit of resource and energy efficiency. Yanmar has completed the first of three persued the continuous improvement of “Life Cycle Value” 78 metre multipurpose by developing products that embody reliability, durability platform supply and ROV and low cost operation, because the Diesel Engines are relied upon throughout the long life of a ship. Yanmar was support vessels for the founded with the spirit of “grateful to serve for a better Greatship Group, each with world” and thrive by offering solutions for both economy accommodation for 50 and environmental protection people. The Roopa launched In joining hands with Colombo Dockyard PLC, during the on March 5th and delivered last decade Yanmar had delivered and commissioned last July is a remarkably many main engines and diesel generators and hope this high tech vessel. Its main association will be continued... and will grow together. www.yanmar.com job is to support offshore oil and gas fields around the clock and the Vessel will have an endurance of 35 days and a cruising range of about 9,200 nautical miles, with a top speed of nearly 14 knots. Once on site it can manoeuvre with precision and is equipped with an advanced dynamic positioning system that allows safe and efficient operations in close proximity to oil platforms and rigs, even under the harsh weather conditions. An important bonus for the owner is that the ship is designed to be surveyed at sea. Rather than having to put into a dry dock periodically it can stay in Mangala Yapa, MD & CEO service for five years at a stretch. Roopa’s

“Sri Lanka is now one of the freest and least troublesome areas in the world to carry out ship repairs” be weekly | 71

sister ship Rachna was launched on June 28th and went into service in September last year, with Ragini joining them on December 31.

The yard has been building luxury yachts, ferries and cargo vessels too. Just two years after delivering its first two passenger vessels for the Indian government, the Arabian Sea and Lakshadweep Sea, Colombo Dockyard signed a contract for two more ships capable of carrying 400 passengers and 250 tons of cargo specifically for coastal trade routes round India. However the repair and maintenance trade that has always been the bread and butter off the business, continues to develop apace. In the ship repair sector on average, Colombo Dockyard handles over 200 vessels annually with 100 accommodated in dry dock and the balance accommodated at its repair berths. Colombo Dockyard is capable of handling all routine, damage and retrofit repairs.

Colombo Dockyard operates four dry docks ranging in length from 107 to 263 metres, and more than 1,000 metres of fully serviced alongside repair berths. These quayside facilities are ideal for the growing number of container ships that put into Colombo. . These ships normally dry dock at their destination ports either in Europe

or the Far East but frequently need repair and maintenance to equipment. CDL now offers a very comprehensive Afloat Repair service that deals with any issue that does not need dry dock facilities – engine room, compressors, generators, electronics, pipework and electrical wiring can all be serviced with very little delay.

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Colombo Dockyard

Tanker docked for lay-up repairs

The dockyard is in partnership with all the OEM suppliers such as ABB, Cummins, MAN or Caterpillar, all of which have their own local service companies. “We can have components waiting and install them at the next visit,” says Mangala Yapa. “We can even put repair personnel on board so the repairs can be carried out while the vessel is on the way to its next port of call. The advantage is that we have a duty free facility so all these things happen without attracting any custom duty, and that includes spare parts.

An owner who has a fleet of container vessels plying to Colombo can keep his spare parts stored at Colombo Dockyard without paying any custom duty.”

Colombo is now seen by shipowners as a reliable and highly professional service centre, with a world class skills base thanks to the Onomichi connection. With competitive labour costs, sophisticated IT systems and ISO certified dockyard systems as well as fully integrated stock management to support long term service agreements Colombo Dockyard is a clear choice for operators and owners operating in the region – or just passing through.

For more information about Colombo Dockyard visit: www.cdl.lk

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Sohar Aluminium

LIGHT AND LEAN IN OMAN Sohar Aluminium has the world’s longest single potline at 1.2 kilometres long: it is contemplating expansion that would triple its existing capacity while continuing to support Oman’s economic and social growth

written by: John O’Hanlon research by: Robbie Hodgson

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Part of the company’s mandate is to create jobs

Sohar Aluminium

L

ike its neighbours Oman developed its economy on oil and gas, and like them it is now trying to diversify that economy by establishing industries that will sustain its growth over decades to come. Oman occupies a favourable position on the east coast of the Arabian desert peninsula so in 2004, with the strategically placed Port of Sohar designated as a major industrial hub it made sense to set up an aluminium smelting operation there.

Being a heavy consumer of electricity, aluminium smelting is in the process of moving away from the industrial nations of the West where energy is relatively expensive, to the Middle East and other countries where power is cheap. With a ready supply of gas that would previously have been flared off from the oil wells, many of the oil producing countries are capable of generating large amounts of power at a relatively low cost, and this is ideal for the power hungry smelting process.

Sohar Aluminium was established in 2004 as a flagship enterprise on the Sohar site.

It has three shareholders, the governmentowned Oman Oil Company and TAQA, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority, holding 40 percent each and Rio Tinto Alcan the remaining 20 percent. The plant currently produces 375,000 tonnes of aluminium per annum, and employs a workforce of 1,000 people, though CEO Henk Pauw estimates that it supports around 3,000 jobs in the Sultanate if downstream industries are taken into consideration.

One such business, a $388 million aluminium rolling mill is currently under

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Studies, Expertise, Prefabrication, Erection of High Current Busbars (Al/Cu) and Aluminium Smelters Maintenance • CLAUSER DUNKERQUE • CLAUSER MIDDLE EAST • CLAUSER ST JEAN MAURIENNE

www.clauser-sa.com - clauser@wanadoo.fr

SOHAR Sohar ALUMINIUM Aluminium CLAUSER MIDDLE EAST

Clauser develops modern solutions to meet the needs of industry in the field of highcurrent electrical installations. The company specializes in the design and implementation of high-intensity drivers, and maintenance in the electrolysis process. The company was created in 1963 near the Pechiney plant in Saint Jean de Maurienne, in France. After its participation in the construction of the Pechiney plant in Dunkirk, the Dunkirk agency was created in 1992 in order to best serve its customers. After involvement in modernization projects, expansion and outsourcing of maintenance for the DUBAL plant, an agency was established in Dubai in 2007.

• ‘Special’ works within potlines • Earth trolley manufacturer and user

Core businesses: Maintenance in aluminium potlines: • Superstructure refurbishment • Anode beam refurbishment • Anode repair (stem and yokes) • Potshell repair • Welding on ‘live’ busbars • Cell replacements • Risers and cathode flexible welding

Secondary businesses • Design • Manufacture • installation • Aluminium and copper conductors for high-current electrical facilities • ‘Live’ busbar connection.

Busbar expertise (from 1kA to over 500kA): • Design • Manufacture • Installation • Aluminium and copper conductors for high-current electrical facilities • ‘Live’ busbar connection We are also qualified welders for all types of on-site and factory welding, including steel, aluminium and copper, and we have the capability to saw large aluminium and copper block/bars (800mm high by 5m long).

www.clauser-sa.com

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Sohar Aluminium construction and expected to come on stream in August Fives Solios is proud to have participated in the 2013. “Our target is to pass construction of the Sohar Aluminium’s smelter, with: 60 percent of our output • A 36 tph Green Anode Plant implemented for the first on to Omani companies,” time both RHODAX® for dry material preparation and says Pauw. “We’re not there IMC® (Intensive mixing Cascade) for paste preparation yet, and there’s still room • Two Gas Treatment Centers to treat pot emissions fitted for improvement. But once with TGT-RI filters the rolling mill is up and • One Fume Treatment Center on anode baking furnace • Four 80t capacity tilting Holding Furnaces along with running we will be getting the Water Cooling System for the casthouse close to that target.” Another • A Liquid Pitch Marine Terminal with two 5,000t nearby factory takes a capacity tanks. proportion of the output This project strengthened Fives Solios’ position as a for high voltage cables. By turnkey technology provider for the Aluminium Industry. manufacturing from liquid www.fivesgroup.com aluminium direct from the smelter, the cable factory is able to operate at competitive cost, bypassing the metal melting process most of its competitors go through.

The smelting plant itself is powered by a 1,000 MW combined-cycle captive power generation facility (CCPP) designed and built

by Alstom and owned by Sohar Aluminium, which produces abundant low cost energy fuelled by natural gas that is supplied under the terms of an agreement with the government of Oman. The generation facility consists of two blocks, each with two Alstom

Fives Solios

$388 million Following the plant’s expansion the projected capacity will be 1,000,000 tonnes per annum

Investment in downstream rolling mill for completion this year

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GTI 3E2 gas turbines exhausting to a heat recovery steam generator with a common steam turbine.

The availability of cheap fuel and low labour costs do not mean that the plant can ignore world-class process standards or the need to conserve energy. Drawing on his ten years’ experience in the automotive industry Pauw introduced lean practices at the plant and has been developing them through training, encouraging a mindset of empowerment and responsibility among employees. “The principles are always the same,” he says. “Lean is about focusing on waste and empowering people on the shop floor. It’s about toolboxes and data, about

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taking responsibility and doing something about it—not blaming other people.”

The Sohar Aluminium Academy based at the plant provides a comprehensive programme of training, from welding and technical courses through to safety, management and leadership training. “We started our first lean workshops about two years ago and have been rolling it out over different departments. Most of our leaders have completed a three-day lean session where they have learned about the principles of lean and about the lean toolbox.”

Sohar Aluminium is something of a pioneer for lean in Oman. Sohar Aluminium being a new business built from scratch it had the

Sohar Aluminium

“With lean, we are turning the traditional hierarchical management pyramid on its head and creating a serving leadership and not a boss leadership” opportunity to introduce lean thinking from ground level among its employees, many of them new to working in industry. Coming from a society that values authority Omanis are sometimes slow to realise that the opinion of a shop floor worker is as valued in a lean environment as that of senior managers.

“With lean, we are turning the traditional

hierarchical management pyramid on its head and creating a serving leadership and not a boss leadership.”

Looking to the future, Pauw’s objectives go well beyond achieving the expansion project. Good management has kept the plant self sufficient in terms of finance, and he is determined it will stay in the black, offsetting any straitening in global markets by cost reduction and continuous improvement – lean manufacturing is a never-ending process. His targets are by no means limited to things that can be demonstrated on the balance sheet. “We want to create future leaders for Oman. We believe we have a job training role to play, and I would like to see some of our Sohar Aluminium employees find jobs in other companies and to be recognised as the best employees to have.”

And these principles extend beyond the direct workforce. Last year Oman’s Public Authority for Craft Industries (PACI) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Sohar Aluminium to set up a training centre for aluminium craft work on the company’s premises. The two-year training programme aims to enable women to become entrepreneurs and produce aluminium handicrafts. According to the

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Plant exterior

Sohar Aluminium agreement, PACI will provide trainers and study material while Sohar Aluminium will provide the faculties and funding for the programme, while the centre will train selected women from low-income families in the local community in aluminium craft manufacturing.

So what of the future? Following an extensive study on future demand locally and internationally Sohar Aluminium is planning to invest around $4 billion to ramp up the capacity of its plant to 1 million tonnes a year. Following weak prices in 2012, global aluminium is showing a positive trend in early 2013, with good potential for growth. “There’s a need for two or three new aluminium smelters a year globally just to keep up with demand,” estimates Henk Pauw.

The Sohar plant has a big advantage in is its access to Alcan’s cutting edge technology, the most reliable and consistent on the market today: it was the first smelter in the world to implement Rio Tinto Alcan’s benchmark AP36 smelting technology.

Alcan is constantly improving the efficiency of its equipment, and any future expansion will look at incorporating the latest AP 40 technology, with its associated benefits of energy saving and emission reduction.

“If ongoing talks with the Ministry of Oil and Gas are positive the company would definitely like to undertake this expansion to triple the capacity of the plant.”

For more information about Sohar Aluminium visit: www.sohar-aluminium.com

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unrivalled service

With our broad product support infrastructure and unmatched service capabilities, we are an industry leader in helping customers maximize their equipment uptime

F

inning International Inc. is the world’s largest Caterpillar equipment dealer delivering unrivalled service to customers since 1933.

Finning sells, rents and provides parts and service for equipment and engines to customers in various industries, including mining, construction, power systems, petroleum, and forestry.

Finning delivers solutions that

“ Finning delivers solutions that enable customers to achieve the lowest owning and operating costs while maximizing equipment uptime” 86 | be directory

enable customers to achieve the lowest owning and operating costs while maximizing equipment uptime.

Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Finning operates in Western Canada (Alberta, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and Yukon), South America (Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Uruguay), as well as the United Kingdom and Ireland.

“Finning has reached an exciting stage in its development as an organization. We have a strong tradition of success and a rich legacy of providing great service for our customers. Building on this foundation and fueled by our strategy, our partnership with Caterpillar and our people, we are delivering on our commitment to sustainable and profitable growth.

The future that I envision for Finning is:

finning

• A company distinguished by its highperformance culture; • A solutions-driven company that offers truly differentiated services to customers and earns their loyalty; • A n organization that achieves on-going success through reinvestment in the business.

Finning´s President and CEO

finning Av. Los Jardines 924.

Ciudad Empresarial Huechuraba, Santiago Chile T 56-2-927-7000 www.finning.com

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lifetime care Normet provides advanced solutions for selected customer processes in underground mining and tunnelling

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e have 50 years of experience in the development, production and sales of equipment and vehicles for underground mining and tunnel construction. In addition, we provide construction chemicals for these industries and comprehensive range of life time care services for maintenance and operating processes throughout the entire lifecycle of our products. With over 8000 delivered machines we have become one of the market leaders in our product segments.

“ Our business vision is focused on fulfilling our customers’ needs by exceeding their expectations” 88 | be directory

We at Normet believe that our success comes especially from customer satisfaction. Our business vision is focused on fulfilling our customers’ needs by exceeding their expectations.

Partner networking, product quality, environmental issues and safety are main priorities for Normet.

Our key mission is to improve the health and safety of underground workers by mechanizing and automating the most hazardous and demanding stages of underground mining and tunnelling, while increasing the productivity and efficiency of customers’ processes by optimizing them to save time and money.

Our offering consists of solutions for the following underground customer processes: • Concrete Spraying and Transport • Explosive Charging • Lifting and Installations • Underground Logistics • Scaling

Normet

Our company’s head office with Group and R&D functions is located in Iisalmi, Finland, and manufacturing is done in Iisalmi, Santiago de Chile and Ludvika, Sweden. In order to react better and faster to changes in our customers’ environments and needs we have established a distribution and service network with headquarter in Switzerland and sales and support facilities in 36 own locations in 22 countries around the globe. Normet employs over 900 business professionals. Normet Group’s turnover in 2011 totalled EUR 170 million.

Normet’s quality system has been certified to conform to the ISO 9001 standard. In addition we have ISO 14001:2004 Environment certification and OHSAS 18001:2007 Safety certification.

Normet Normet International Ltd Rothusstrasse 21 CH-6331 Hunenberg Switzerland T +41 41 768 5205 www.normet.com

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a company with vision

PPE Technologies is an Integrated Electrical Engineering Organisation, focused on supplying high technology systems and solutions to Mining operations, utilities and industry

T

he PPE Technologies management team are very hands on and still practice their engineering skills in a consultative and advisory role to customers, in so doing, the company management remains in touch with core business matters and customers needs.

The company was founded in 1998 and has its head office in Nelspriut, Mpumalanga, South Africa, with a number of satellite and site offices

“ We want to provide world class service, focused on adding value to customer process throughout Africa�

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through South Africa. Although PPE provides general electrical and instrumentation engineering and installation services, the company has a number of speciality services that are not commonly available.

PPE has several business divisions including an Engineering Department for electrical and instrumentation design and commissioning services, an Installation Services Department for onsite maintenance works and installation works, a Project Department for providing turn key project services on an EPC and EMCM basis and an Electrical fitment shop facility providing motor control centres, power distribution boards, PLC and DCS panels and a wide range of electrical and instrumentation solutions. The PPE product sales department develops customer services and provides sales and after sales support. This includes a range

PPE Technologies

of premier electrical and automation products through agency agreements with manufacturers such as ABB, Clearline, Rittal, Beckwith Electric.

The PPE engineering team focuses on more specialised engineering services, intent on adding value to the customer process with dynamic and out of the box thinking on existing or new plants. Our engineers and technicians have vast experience with the design of power plant systems, reticulation networks and plant control systems. Engineering services include power quality assessments, protection systems design and grading, network

studies and modeling. Speciality services include plant earthing studies and measurements, co-generation plant protection and controls, energy efficiency solutions and power quality improvements.

PPE Technologies PPE House Unit A2, Central Park No 12 Suikerriet Street Nelspruit, Mpumalanga 1200, South Africa T (+27) 13 752 3570 www.ppetech.co.za

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

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

To find out how to get involved contact: vincent@bus-ex.com