Endeavour Magazine May 2022

MAY 2022 www.littlegatepublishing.com

CARTLEDGE MINING AND GEOTECHNICS getting

geotechnical

AL GHURAIR GROUP

The full package ABB SOUTH AFRICA

Harder, better, faster, stronger ADNOC

Breaking records

UK £4.95 CAN $7.95 USA $7.95 EUR €5.95 SA ZAR 69.00

Inspired by YOUR SUCCESS

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Editor’s Note Eid Muburak!

As we move out of April and into May, we leave behind a holy season for many. Notably, with May beginning with the celebrations of Eid, we leave behind the season of Ramadan. We also leave behind the period of Passover, the Hindi New Year and many other observances. There are many trying areas for concern in our news and our lives at the moment, but in this period where many holy seasons have recently overlapped, we hope that many of you have experienced a time of peace and renewal.

When it comes to the companies we’ve had the pleasure of writing about, this month has been one of vast and multi-faceted Groups. Impressive conglomerates such as the UAE’s prolific Al Ghurair, or the innovative global ABB, have given us plenty to sink our teeth into.

In both cases, their activities are as broad as they have been impactful: in Ah Ghurair’s case, the Group has even played an active, tracible hand in transforming Dubai into the bustling urban experience we know it as today.

Then, there are companies such as Pepsi – who need no introduction – or Oiltanking, who have reached a global presence providing safe and clean storage for products that, whilst we all rely on them, can be hugely damaging if not handled correctly. As long as we need oil, petroleum and gas, whether we like that dependance or not, we need companies like Oiltanking to make that process as safe as possible for all involved.

As April comes to a close, the business news on many minds, at least for the next few days, seems to be Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, but we’ve been far more interested in hearing about the successes of all of our feature companies for this issue. It seems that the slowing effects of the past two years are finally becoming a thing of the past, and we continue to be inspired and excited as companies pick up speed once more – and often, armed with the lessons learnt from our shared pandemic experience. These lessons are both in business sense and in kindness, consideration and a better navigation of each other, and we hope that all will continue to be carried forwards – especially with so many holy festivals so recently behind us, sending us forwards into this month.

by Alice Instone-Brewer Endeavour Magazine | 3

ABB SOUTH AFRICA

Features 13

Cartledge Mining and Geotechnics

Getting geotechnical

AL GHURAIR GROUP 4 | Endeavour Magazine

21

Al Ghurair Group

27

ABB South Africa

35

ADNOC

43

Botswana Insurance Company

49

Bidvest Properties

55

Pepsi Cola Jamaica Bottling

61

Hindustan Zinc

67

Oiltanking

73

AAK

79

Bakhresa Group

The full package Harder better faster stronger Breaking records Got you covered Keys to success

That’s what we like

India’s one and only Safe and secure Keeping it clean Azeem

ADNOC

Articles 3

6 7 8 10 11 32

Editor’s Note Business Headlines

Asia Africa Americas Middle East Europe

Amazing World

I like big buttes and I cannot lie: Devils Tower

Pepsi Cola Jamaica Bottling Co. Endeavour Magazine | 5

Business Headlines

Asia Myanmar sentences ex-leader to jail for corruption A court in military-ruled Myanmar has found former leader Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of corruption, the latest verdict in a series of secret trials.

Ms Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since February 2021 when a military coup ousted her elected government.

The 76-year-old has been charged with a raft of criminal offences including voter fraud.

She denies all of the accusations and rights groups have condemned the court trials as a sham.

The closed-door hearings in the capital Nay Pyi Taw have been shut to the public and media, and Ms Suu Kyi’s lawyers forbidden from speaking to journalists.

On Wednesday a junta court found her guilty of taking a $600,000 bribe in the form of cash and gold bars from the former head of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city and region.

She was sentenced to five years in jail. The latest conviction takes her total prison sentence to 11 years, as she was previously found guilty for other offences.

Ms Suu Kyi still faces 10 other corruption charges, each carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years, as well as charges on electoral fraud and violating the official secrets act.

Kim Jong-un vows to step up nuclear weapons program North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a defiant speech at a military parade on April 25th, vowing to ramp up the country’s nuclear arsenal.

The parade, to mark the armed forces’ founding anniversary, also displayed banned intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The parade also featured submarine-launched ballistic missiles in addition to hypersonic missiles.

In March, North Korea tested its largest-known ICBM for the first time since 2017.

It sparked wide condemnation from the international community.

The US also imposed several sanctions on the country after the test. ICBMs, designed for nuclear arms delivery, extend North Korea’s strike range as far as the US mainland.

However, Mr Kim has been undeterred: “We will continue to take steps to strengthen and develop our nation’s nuclear capabilities at the fastest pace,” he said, adding that their nuclear 6 | Endeavour Magazine

forces “must be ready” to be exercised anytime, according to a report by the official Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea’s nuclear weapons were fundamentally a deterrence tool against war but could be used for other means, he said, echoing previous rhetoric that the country would strike back if attacked.

India’s oil purchases from Russia double from last year As calls continue for India to keep its distance from Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine, its oil purchases from Russia have more than doubled from last year.

The Indian government has defended the move to buy Russian oil and said what it buys from Russia in a month is less than what Europe buys from Russia in an afternoon.

India has taken advantage of discounted prices to ramp up oil imports from Russia at a time when global energy prices have been rising.

The US has said that although these oil imports do not violate sanctions, “support for Russia...is support for an invasion that is obviously having a devastating impact”.

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also urged India to reduce its dependence on Russia during a trip to Delhi in March, which took place at the same time as a visit by the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.

After the US and China, India is the world’s third-largest consumer of oil, over 80% of which is imported.

Africa Illegal oil refinery explodes in Nigeria

Central African Republic adopts Bitcoin as legal tender

More than 100 people were killed when an illegal oil refinery exploded in southern Nigeria.

The incident has sparked investigation into this lucrative, but dangerous, criminal trade.

Crude oil is reportedly stolen from legitimate businesses by being siphoned off from official pipelines, and is then brought down the Niger Delta waterways by boat. This network of water passages is in southern Nigeria and provides many opportunities for water travel.

The damage of spilt oil can be seen on the waters’ surface and on the banks of the Niger Delta.

The stolen crude oil is refined in open metal cauldrons. Heating the crude oil condenses it into various petroleum products. Some of the cauldrons that have been found were rusting and in poor condition. This is an extremely dangerous wau to handle the crude oil.

Some of the products made in this way include kerosene to diesel, both flammable and dangerous to handle.

Workers will camp out for weeks at a time by these illegal sites, opting for the risks rather than the high unemployment in the country.

The Nigerian government estimates that over the last year, more than $3bn (£2.4bn) of oil was stolen.

The Central African Republic (CAR) has adopted the cryptocurrency Bitcoin as legal tender.

It’s the second country to do so after El Salvador.

Members of parliament unanimously approved the move and President Faustin Archange Touadera signed a bill into law that makes bitcoin legal tender alongside the CFA franc.

An official in the presidency said the move placed the CAR on the map of the world’s boldest and most visionary countries.

The landlocked state, which is one of the world’s poorest, has suffered from a devastating armed conflict in recent years.

UN warns risk of child deaths from Horn of Africa drought More than 10 million children are among those facing severe drought in the Horn of Africa.

The UN’s children’s body, Unicef, estimates that this figure is three million higher than it was just two months ago.

They say that unless more money comes in and rain falls, the region could face “an avalanche of child deaths”.

Unicef’s Executive Director Catherine Russell said that the drought was “the worst climateinduced emergency in 40 years”.

“There is so much attention being paid on Ukraine, we just have to show people what’s happening here to make sure they understand the difficulties. If the rains don’t come then people will definitely not survive because there is so little here.”

Unicef requires about $250m for humanitarian aid to Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Eritrea and Djibouti.

Vaccinating against Ebola starts in DR Congo WHO says it is starting to vaccinate people against the Ebola virus in an area of the Democratic Republic of Congo where a new outbreak has killed two people.

So far 200 doses have arrived in the city of Mbandaka and priority will be given to people who came into contact with the two patients before they died.

The WHO said front line medical staff would also be prioritised.

It said a sample examined at DR Congo’s National Biomedical Centre had indicated a new strain of the disease. Studies are under way to determine the host animal.

Endeavour Magazine | 7

Americas Twitter accepted $44bn offer from Canada proposes foreign buyers Elon Musk home real estate ban Billionaire Elon Musk has made an offer to buy the social media platform Twitter, and Twitter has accepted his offer.

Musk vowed to relax content restrictions, sparking fears from human rights groups it could lead to a rise in bullying and misinformation. Musk has been warned by the European Commission and others that he must protect Twitter users from harmful content.

“Regardless of ownership, all social media platforms must be responsible,” Boris Johnson’s spokesman said.

“Be it cars or social media, any company operating in Europe needs to comply with our rules - regardless of their shareholding,” Thierry Breton, commissioner for the internal market at the EU executive, warned in a tweet.

The European Union has said its new online rules will “overhaul” the digital market, including how tech giants operate.

Once they come into force, there will need to be greater transparency around why content is recommended to users, or why they are being targeted with certain ads, for example.

8 | Endeavour Magazine

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has proposed a two-year ban on some foreigners buying homes.

The measure comes as the country grapples with some of the worst housing affordability issues in the world.

Prices have jumped more than 20%, pushing the average home in Canada to nearly C$817,000 ($650,000; £495,000) - more than nine times household income.

But industry analysts say it’s not clear a ban on foreign buyers will address the problem.

Data on purchases by foreign buyers in Canada is limited, but research suggests they amount for a small fraction of the market.

“I don’t think it’s going to have a huge impact,” said Ben Myers, president of advisory firm Bullpenn Research & Consulting in Toronto, who found foreigners accounted for just 1% of purchases in 2020, down from 9% in 2015 and 2016.

Mr Myers said the soaring housing costs reflect strong population growth and a shortage of supply, due in part to rules that restrict development. Mr Trudeau pledged to tackle housing affordability during his campaign for election last year.

Middle East Outrage over new Israeli rules limiting foreigners visiting West Bank Palestinian legal experts, academics and digital rights groups have expressed outrage over an incoming Israeli policy for the entry and residence of foreigners in the occupied West Bank They say this will complicates the rules of movement and adds restrictions to an already convoluted system.

The 97-page ordinance, called Procedure for Entry and Residence for Foreigners in Judea and Samaria Area, replaces the current four-page document.

The policy has more expansive entry rules, which some legal experts say is an attempt to restrict and track the travel of foreign nationals to the occupied Palestinian territories, control Palestinian population growth and keep data on the land claims of Palestinians holding foreign nationalities.

Foreign-passport holding Palestinians must provide information – for visa purposes – on an application for approval prior to travel, which includes the names and national ID numbers of “first-degree” relatives, or other non-relatives with whom they may stay or visit.

Digital rights experts say that personal information on travelers and their families and acquaintances is likely to be used in Israel’s mass surveillance and data collection efforts.

The new rules come into effect on May 22.

Libya misses out on oil price boom as political divide continues Oil and gas prices are booming across the globe, but Libya is not benefitting, despite its abundance of oil.

On April 18, Libya’s National Oil Corporation declared itself unable to fulfil contracts, and warned of a “painful wave of closures” after forces in eastern Libya prevented staff at the Zueitina oil terminal from entering the building. That was followed by another suspension of operations at the Brega terminal the following day.

The Zueitina oil terminal alone accounts for almost a quarter of the 1.2 million barrels of oil Libya produces per day.

The incident at Zueitina, and the ensuing shutdown of such an important element of the economy, reflects the difficult and precarious situation Libya

10 | Endeavour Magazine

finds itself in, as two rival administrations vie for the right to govern the country.

Libya’s parliament, the House of Representatives, claims that the term of Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, the prime minister of the UN-recognised Government of National Unity, has ended, and that the man they have sworn in, Fathi Bashagha, should now be prime minister.

Saudi Arabia, France launch humanitarian projects in Lebanon Saudi Arabia and France pledged an initial $32m to launch a series of humanitarian projects in Lebanon to help alleviate its crushing financial crisis.

The agreement made among the French foreign ministry, the French Development Agency, and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre will provide almost 30 million euros for the first humanitarian initiatives, with more expected to come.

“This support comes as Saudi Arabia and France’s commitment to stand with the Lebanese people and to contribute to its stability and development,” Saudi Ambassador Waleed Bukhari said at a news conference. “The kingdom is striving to support anything that eases the suffering of those in need.”

The first program will focus on food security and the country’s paralysed healthcare system. The remaining program will focus on education, energy, water, and Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces.

Lebanon has been in the throes of an economic crisis for the past two years. More than threequarters of the population lives in poverty, while the Lebanese pound has lost 90 percent of its value.

Europe Priti Patel’s Rwanda asylum seeker plan faces first legal challenge The UK’s Home Secretary, Priti Patel’s, plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is facing its first legal challenge after a charity instructed lawyers to demand the disclosure of documents. This was sparked by fears that the policy is contrary to international law.

In a pre-action letter to the Home Office, which is expected to lead to a judicial review claim, the solicitor Leigh Day stated that the charity Freedom from Torture “has serious concerns about the lawfulness of the policy”.

It has requested “disclosure of information regarding the policy”, including documents outlining it, risk assessments and the memorandum of understanding signed by the UK and Rwandan governments. Under the deal, those arriving by small boat across the Channel would be flown with a one-way ticket to Rwanda. Britain has promised Rwanda an initial £120m as part of an “economic transformation and integration fund” but the UK will be paying for operational costs too. However, no details have been released by the Home Office.

Patel has been the subject of significant judicial criticism for repeatedly failing to disclose key policy documents, including those relating to the confiscation of phones from newly arrived refugees and contentious plans to task Border Force to “push back” boats carrying refugees across the Channel.

Iran has not received £400m agreed by UK at time of ZaghariRatcliffe release The historic £400m debt the UK paid to Iran at the time of the release of British-Iranian dual nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori has still not reached Tehran, according to Iranian government sources.

A senior Iranian government source said the money was blocked in Oman and the problem was not with the UK government. One report said only £1m had been transferred to Tehran.

The UK made it a condition that the money would be used only for humanitarian purposes, but this condition was not repeated in a statement at the time by the Iranian government.

Oman acted as a mediator in the talks that led to the transfer of the longstanding debt at the time of the release of the two UK detainees on 17 March.

Both sides maintained that the payment of the 40-year-old debt and the release were not linked.

The extent of the hold-up is not clear and it is unknown whether it is due to a banking problem in Oman or another issue, such as the limits set on the use of the money by the British.

Post-Brexit trade barriers increase price of food imported from EU The thinktank ‘UK in a Changing Europe’ said trade barriers introduced after leaving the EU had led to a 6% increase in UK food prices between December 2019 and September 2021, adding to the rising financial pressure for households.

Households across the UK are on track to suffer the worst living standards squeeze since the 1950s amid soaring inflation driven by the rising price of energy, food and fuel. Annual inflation reached 7% in March, the highest rate since 1992.

It said Covid-19 could be ruled out as an influencing factor because there was a correlation between price increases and the share of EU imports for a particular product.

The UK has repeatedly delayed import checks on goods arriving from the EU as ministers sought to minimise disruption. The prime minister has said that physical Brexit border checks on food imports from the EU due to be introduced in July would be delayed for the fourth time amid fears that supplies could be affected.

Other economists say it is difficult to disentangle the effects of Brexit from other factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s war in Ukraine, movements in financial markets, global trade bottlenecks and shortages of workers and supplies across advanced economies.

Endeavour Magazine | 11

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

GETTING GEOTECHNICAL Cartledge Mining and Geotechnics chevron-square-right www.cmandg.com.au phone-square +61 407 503 474

Cartledge Mining and Geotechnics

The mining industry is constantly moving: despite projects taking years to fully explore, develop and prepare for production, not to mention the lengthy mine-life once production is underway, companies must still always be looking to the future. What’s more, technology and processes are always improving and under development – especially with an increasing focus on greener, cleaner operation. This makes the industries that support mining as interesting as the mines themselves, and one such company is Cartledge Mining and Geotechnics.

Without geotechnical advice, mining companies wouldn’t get very far: we spoke with Keith Mandisodza, CM&G’s Principal Geotechnical Engineer, to learn more about what the company offers and the difference this makes.

W

ith such large investments at stake, the mining industry doesn’t want to make guesses in the dark. The more data collected and understood, the better, and that’s exactly where companies like Cartledge Mining & Geotechnics (CM&G) come in. Focusing solely on geotechnical consulting services for this heavy industry, the company specialises in pit-to-port and exploration to mine closure. That’s a broad spectrum, and one to which CM&G aims to offer practical, sensible and, most importantly, safe solutions.

Stationed in one of the mining hubs of the world, the company’s headquarters are found in Brisbane Australia. However, it is not surprising to hear this company has clients all over the world – after all, even amongst Australian mining firms, this industry is an international venture. As well as Australia itself, CM&G works with clients in Canada, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Kazakhstan and Turkey, to name a few.

We spoke with Keith Mandisodza, the company’s Principal Geotechnical Engineer, about what CM&G offers and what sets it apart from its rivals. “We are unique in the mining industry in our breadth of capabilities,” Keith told us, “And that we specialise in only servicing the mining industry. Some competitors have similar capabilities but support other industries (eg civil infrastructure and roads, etc.)

“Our approach is to deliver mining solutions for mining problems. Our team have vast operational experience that allows us to engage with our clients to ensure that we are delivering practical solutions that work with their needs. We don’t force our opinion on clients but rather work with them to ensure a safe and practical outcome.”

Wide-ranging abilities often lead to wideranging operations but staying focused on one industry allows CM&G’s team to tackle everything it approaches with more detailed, expert knowledge.

This specialist expertise means their clients can expect each CM&G team member to have a deep understanding of the industry, and the importance of good geotechnical advice.

As the world looks to a greener future, the mining industry is going through some significant changes, and turning to consultants for answers. It is CM&G’s job, therefore, to be up-to-date on new frontiers of 14 | Endeavour Magazine

Getting geotechnical

thinking, to best support their clients with the right information and insights.

Keith told us a little about this move towards new technology as well as the greater focus on environmental, social, and corporate governance: “CM&G has committed financial and in-kind support to ARC Training Centre for Space Resources: Innovation, Technology and Exploration (SPRITE), in partnership with the University of New South Wales. We are determined to be at the forefront of innovation in our industry.

“ESG is also an area that is becoming more prominent with the push for zero-emissions mining and a greater focus on other environmental and social issues. We have recently worked with a client in Canada to support the native landowners in their review and approval for the expansion of a gold mine. It was a fascinating project working with the landowners, listening to their concerns, and learning about the culture and how we need to better develop controls to protect their history.

This has also been a concern here in Australia with Jukan Gorge and Rio Tinto. These issues are

becoming more prominent, and as an industry, we need to learn to be better at understanding the concerns and protecting first nations history.”

This is heartening to hear. After all, responsibility isn’t just about the environment (though that’s a crucial factor) - it’s also about respecting the local peoples affected by mining efforts. More and more, we see mining companies taking this seriously, and it’s fantastic to see an awareness for its importance present in mining consultants as well.

However, this more conscious mindset and its impact on the industry is not without its challenges.

For example, a global push towards renewable energy has delivered a major boost for mining, thanks to the essential minerals required for most green energy solutions. This boost, now that we are post-Covid, is a strain that is good for business yet creates new challenges for CM&G, with its Australian base of operations, to meet:

“Coming out of Covid, which closed borders in Australia, we are struggling to find suitably qualified people to employ as the mining

Endeavour Magazine | 15

Cartledge Mining and Geotechnics

industry recovers. This will be an ongoing challenge as demand spurred on by growth in renewable energy will see a strong mining industry for years to come.”

For suitably qualified individuals, Cartledge offers work in exciting new areas as well as a supportive, ethical workplace. Keith told us that the company is looking to increase its own green practices as the company footprint broadens and expands, while it continues to take on charitable ventures and make a real effort to look after its staff.

“CM&G endeavours to pay competitive salaries as well as bonus and overtime policies to recognise the hard work that our team put in. While we are still a young company, we are moving towards an employee-owned structure that will further encourage staff to share in the prosperity of the business.

Our company philosophy is that CM&G is there to support our team members in their professional development pathway. We actively promote internally and support our employees to develop their skills and their own client base.

Our focus is also very family-oriented. We encourage a flexible work arrangement to support families and people’s lifestyles. The mining industry is very demanding and requires us to be away from home, at least on occasion. So we need to give back to our families at home, and ensure that our team are able to support them and give back when they can, because they give a lot to us.”

Successful or not, Covid certainly had an impact on both the mining industry as a whole and those within it. The big hit for CM&G was the strict closures and monitoring of the Australian borders, both internationally and between different states.

Of course, these issues were further complicated by the borders and regulations of the countries CM&G were operating in: “We were working with a client in South America that was delayed due to COVID. We are hoping to re-engage with them now that borders are re-opening and work with them in delivering geotechnical support for multiple gold mines in Brazil.”

With measures now lifting, the company is bringing in new employees from both South Africa and England, as well as looking to grow its footprint: “After a difficult few years due to COVID and staff shortages, we are working on bringing in new employees from South Africa and England. As we engage them in the 16 | Endeavour Magazine

business, we hope to expand into the Western Australian market and increase our number of international clients. We would like to have an office in Perth within two years and an international office within five years.”

Keith has only held his role at CM&G for two years, but he is passionately dedicated to the company and team. After the challenges presented by a global pandemic, and a very busy way ahead, it is important now more than ever for effort, zeal and good leadership. “The key to effective leadership is leading from the front,” Keith told us, “And having empathy for the people around you. Persistence and grit are the key drivers to success. Leadership is doing those things that others don’t like doing and having the consistency to keep going when things are not favourably to our advantage.“ With the world back up and running, it’s full steam ahead for Cartledge. Later this month, Perth is hosting the Mining Leaders Forum, which will allow the major names in the mining industry to mingle, discover new suppliers and consultants and build new connections. CM&G will be there, making the next step in its evolving plan for growth, bringing its focused and dedicated expertise to more mining companies both local and abroad.

Mining, Energy & Resources Solutions at Hillhouse Legal Partners Hillhouse is a Brisbane based, mid-sized law firm who have been providing solutions-oriented legal strategy and advice for over 30 years.

We have a long history of successfully supporting many partners in the mining, energy and resources sector. Working with businesses from coal mining to oil and gas extraction, mining support services and renewable energy, we provide strategic legal advice across all facets of your business and its operations. All our advice is tailored to suit your

Scan here to find out more about our capability in the Mining, Energy & Resources sector.

business strategy and the interests of relevant stakeholders.

We understand your time constraints and meet after hours as required either virtually or on location by appointment. For experienced advice, contact our specialist team today.

Zac Herps, Managing Director

Craig Hong, Director

Zac provides strategic advice and solutions to some of the firm’s largest and most prominent clients.

With a business and commercial focus, Zac partners with clients to support them in achieving their career and personal objectives.

Craig’s expertise in commercial law covers areas of business structuring, intellectual property, contracts advice, business sales and acquisitions, leases and trusts and a raft of organisational matters from HR to corporate governance.

0407 437 484 zac@hillhouse.com.au

0433 942 361 craig@hillhouse.com.au

t 07 3220 1144 f 07 3220 3434 e email@hillhouse.com.au a Level 7, 102 Adelaide St, Brisbane Qld 4000 p GPO Box 1709, Brisbane Qld 4001 w hillhouse.com.au Hillhouse Legal Partners Pty Ltd ACN 130 888 881

A Legal Legacy of Trust in Mining and Resources With a history of more than three decades, Hillhouse Legal Partners have consistently been an important provider of legal advice and representation for mining and resources sector business owners and industry personnel.

While some areas of advice are obvious – employment law, insurance, contracts, and resolution of disputes – other areas are less so. A recent example of unusual advice is the mandating of Covid vaccinations and a recent High Court case regarding independent contractors.

The employment landscape is one particular area where in collaboration with their clients’ needs Hillhouse can, and do, offer important knowledge and advice.

The mining and resources industries represent a significant and constantly changing employment and working environment that is made all the more challenging by ongoing changes to industrial relations and employment legislation and the needs of the industry.

Hillhouse Legal Partners’ lawyers maintain a brief on developments in workplace legislation and case law, to ensure appropriate and focused advice to their clients about what can be a highly sensitive, complex and ever-changing area of law.

Employment law specialists at Hillhouse provide up-to-date and relevant legal advice and guidance for clients, employees and employers in the mining and resources sectors including, but not limited to: • Interpretation and application of the Fair Work Act and Awards and Enterprise Agreements; • Preparation and/or review of employment contracts, particularly for executive personnel including profit share and share schemes; • Advice regarding the rights and obligations of employers and employees; • Advice and drafting of independent agreements and fixed terms agreements;

contractor

• Legal advice and recommendations for protection from or defence of claims such as unlawful dismissal claims, general protection claims or discrimination claims; • Drafting workplace policies and procedures for important workplace matters including equal opportunity; sexual harassment; dismissal; discipline; internet usage and company devices and property and advice regarding employee grievances and claims of workplace bullying.

The Hillhouse approach is one of collaboration. Hillhouse Legal Partners’ aim is to be considered as part of the overall team of their clients. That means as well as understanding their clients’ business, they work in partnership with a client’s financial controllers and HR departments in larger organisations, external advisers such as accountants, HR consultants and other professionals on the client’s team. The result is a seamless, integrated solution for their clients.

Hillhouse offers a full range of legal services for all businesses with the Mining and Resources industry. These services include Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Industrial Relations and Employment, Business Structuring, Finance, Debt and Capital Raising, a full suite of Corporate and Commercial services, Intellectual Property and Technology and Property and Projects.

Thorough and well-informed consideration is required for business structures, business transactions, compliance and contracts. This is due to the volatility of the mining and resources sectors, which may be affected by numerous factors both locally and globally: tax, employment law, environmental law, economic conditions, commodity prices, demand, political considerations, and changes to technology.

Hillhouse Legal Partners are well versed in developing appropriate legal business structures, contractual documents and in guiding business owners through options that include consideration of operational requirements. The structure of a business and its commercial terms cannot remove volatility, but a good structure and strong negotiations and contractual documents and advice may be able to minimise some risks and allocate others appropriately between stakeholders.

The services also include an array Private Client Services for individuals within the sector such as Conveyancing, Asset Protection and Estate Planning and Family Law services.

With a long history of supporting the Mining and Resources industry, Hillhouse Legal Partners are a trusted partner of the sector.

Expert Legal Advice – Why it Matters in Mining Mining is a big job with even bigger challenges. And with those challenges comes risk which needs to be understood and mitigated. That makes expert advice crucial in any contract or commercial dealings within the mining and resources sectors.

Hillhouse Legal Partners works closely with Cartledge Mining and Geotechnics in ensuring that risks are identified, advised upon and reduced and mitigated accordingly which in turn reduces their exposure to potential significant negative financial consequences in worst-case scenarios.

Hillhouse Director Craig Hong said this ability to catch and save before anything happened would be beneficial to all businesses across the entire industry.

“It’s not unique to the industry, but what we’ve seen for Cartledge servicing a lot of very large mining sector clients is they will be repeatedly required to undertake some work that on an insurance front or on an indemnity front would actually leave them with a gap where they have significant liability exposure that they have no insurance for,” he said.

“If that event were to occur it would be financially devastating for the business because they’ll have a multimillion dollar claim with no insurance coverage.”

“A few times in negotiating contracts, we’ve been able to catch those exposures for them and negotiate different terms to mitigate risk, remove it from the contract entirely or advise to seek insurance coverage for such risks or some combination thereof.”

“Large mining companies generally aren’t interested in suing you for the gap as they know most mining services businesses will not have the financial wherewithal to cover it regardless. They just want to have the insurance position right. If there is a problem, they want to have a claim on your insurance,” Craig said.

“We’ve always been pretty successful on that negotiating front.” Because

of that great strike rate of getting the insured position just right, they regularly check Cartledge’s new contracts for just such issues.

Hillhouse has worked with Cartledge for a number of years.

They consider themselves the equivalent of having an in-house counsel without the expense of full-time legal representation.

Areas they assist Cartledge with include contract and commercial dealings work on general terms and conditions, employment legislation issues, as well as any commercial disputes and the aforementioned insurance work.

Craig said they especially help when Cartledge is negotiating a contract with a larger industry player.

“If you’re undertaking work for a big miner, they generally provide that: “Here are the terms and conditions that you’ll be subject to.” There’s no

suggestion that you are going to be able to use your own terms and conditions.

“When advising in those circumstances where contract form and terms are being dictated to you we generally unpick all their high-risk items and require some amendments in respect of those.”

The success rate means that Cartledge can obtain the accommodations that they need, particularly ones that would be a problem for their insurances. There is also industry knowledge and skill in knowing what are “deal breakers” for the large miner that they will not amend and advising your client that if they wish to “play in this space” that is a term or risk they need to accept and time and money should not be incurred on attempting to negotiate out something that is futile.

Craig said most engineers or people engaged in the mining industry have similar gap and insurance exposure, whether they know it or not.

Cartledge principal Tim Cartledge has been incredibly proactive at dealing with such issues and getting himself in a stronger contractual position.

Craig said that the first few times such advice and reviews can take a while to sort things out but as things move along, clients become more aware of what to look for and how to sort the problems with the help of legal representation.

“By doing it consistently, they actually start saving time and money,” he said.

Traditionally, many people think when entering a contract with a large resources player that the contract will be okay, but Hillhouse point out it is generally skewed significantly in favour of the major company.

But when Hillhouse point out the problem it frequently gets sorted to a fairer level playing field with little fuss. For a company like Cartledge that is a real plus.

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

THE FULL PACKAGE Al Ghurair Group chevron-square-right www.alghurair.com phone-square +971 4 2623377

Al Ghurair Group

With origins that began in the pearl diving business, the Al Ghurair Group has always been family-owned, but has spread from a localised venture into a diversified conglomerate Group that spreads its operations over multiple industries, including metals, manufacturing, petrochemicals, real estate and investment. You could say that the company is still every bit the treasure hunter it was when it began.

We took a closer look at the UAE giant to see what it has achieved in its 60 years of business and how it has impacted its home city of Dubai.

A

l Ghurair began as a family business in 1960.

Achieving success early on in its life, this meant that the company ended up playing an important part in the transformation of the Dubai economy – especially given its involvement in citydeveloping operations such as real estate.

Today, it manages a large real estate portfolio in the city, including various shopping malls, but this vast entity no longer tethers itself to Dubai or even the UAE alone. In fact, the Group has now expanded its reach throughout Middle East, as well as North Africa, Europe, North America and Australia. This expansion has amazingly all taken place within the last ten years, which just goes to show how such things can snowball once a company has the correct expansion infrastructure and procedures in place.

In the 1960s, Dubai as a whole was going through a time of growth and change, and Al Ghurair positioned themselves right in the centre of that by opening the first cement factory in the city, as well as a flour mill, a sugar refinery and an aluminium smelter.

It also, impressively, built the country’s first shopping mall in 1981. Now, malls are an iconic and hugely profitable part of Dubai life and culture: overall, it begins to become clear why it is no exaggeration to say that Al Ghurair had an active hand in shaping this city.

Since then, the company has continued to expand outwards. From its foundation until the 1990s, the Group was led by Saif Ahmed Al Ghurair, one of founder Ahmed Al Ghurair’s five sons. In the

22 | Endeavour Magazine

The full package

1990s, Saif and one of his other brothers, Abdullah decided to create two distinct Groups, though these continues to work together. Al Ghurair Group as we know it is now led by Saif’s own sons, in various capacities, including one (Abdul Rahman Saif Al Ghurair) as Chairman and another (Majid Saif Al Ghurair) as Group CEO. With this inclusion of his sons came shifts and expansions in the Group’s activities. As mentioned, the Group now, in full, covers metals, manufacturing, petrochemicals, real estate and investment activities. In metals and manufacturing, a heavy focus in both areas is packaging, working on the production of flexible plastic film, carton boxes, flexible printed plastics and three-piece tin cans, as well as metals such as extruded aluminium and galvanized steel. The metal production side of these activities began in 1976, through the business Gulf Extrusions, an aluminum extrusion company that has long been considered one of the most reliable in the Middle East. More recently, it has added to this side of its operations with Al Ghurair Iron and Steel, established in Abu Dhabi in 2009. There have also been many other

such companies in between, but from this oldest entry to one of the latest, Al Ghurair has leading businesses in its portfolio, as Al Ghurair Iron and Steel is already one of the leading producers of hot dipped galvanized steel in the MENA region.

As for its other activity areas, the Group has been active in petrochemicals since the late 1990s – downstream petrochemicals, more specifically.

This area of involvement was spearheaded with the creation of Taghleef Industries, a leading global manufacturer of biaxially oriented polypropylene film that is used, once again, in packaging.

Yet, for all that packaging keeps coming back to the forefront, it is its real estate portfolio that truly transformed Dubai and, in many ways, defines the Al Ghurair group. As mentioned, this portfolio is vast, and it notably began with the first-ever shopping mall in the UAE, Al Ghurair City. It also opened one of country’s best-known mixed-used developments, also in Dubai: the BurJuman Centre. Opened in 1991, this Centre took the innovation that had occurred in the ‘80s when Al Ghurair City was built, and raised it up to the next level, to once again change the way

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Al Ghurair Group

Dubai culture interacted with shopping and urban life. Combining a 200-store shopping mall with a business tower, hotel suites, cinemas, restaurants and residential properties, the Group again introduced a first for Dubai. Located at the centre of the city, it was perfectly placed, spreading a total 286,417 sqm with fantastic footfall from the surrounding active shopping and dining streets.

Undertaking this scale of construction and development, with not only a localized but widereaching impact on the city, its flow of life and its environment, it is essential for Al Ghurair to be mindful of its responsibility to those around it. In fact, the vast Group as a whole impacts people and areas in countless ways, and the bigger and more active a collection of companies are, the more critical it becomes that they pour some of their time and profits into CSR. Al Ghurair knows this, and, in its own words, “remains deeply committed to the protection and enhancement of the communities in which it operates”. With this in mind, it is involved in numerous CSR programs, including those addressing environmental sustainability, health awareness and local employment, among others.

These efforts will, no doubt, only continue to group

24 | Endeavour Magazine

as the Group itself does: again, in its own words, it promises that;

“Looking to the future, Al Ghurair will seek every opportunity to contribute to the economic and social development of Dubai and the UAE while continuing its evolution as a multi-national family-owned conglomerate.

The Group’s business philosophy has always been to build strong foundations in attractive markets, and so the focus was primarily on activities that would foster the economy of Dubai and UAE. This vision and drive paid off as the Group not only prospered from Dubai’s rapid development, but actively contributed to it.”

Thus far, its impact on Dubai has been monumental: moving forwards, how that impact will continue is anyone’s guess, but one thing we know for sure is that the Al Ghurair Group is an entity to be reckoned with. As many of its activities highlight, it seems to have the full package!

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

HARDER, BETTER, FASTER, STRONGER ABB South Africa chevron-square-right new.abb.com/africa phone-square +27 (0)10 202 6995

ABB South Africa

The name ABB covers a vast range of exciting ventures. This globally recognised, industry-leading technology company combines expertise in electrification, robotics, automation and motion to create innovations with two aims: improved productivity, and improved sustainability. These two aims are the same goals that R&D departments around the world are chasing, and under ABB’s many roofs, all sorts of advancements are constantly under way.

We took a closer look at ABB, and ABB South Africa more specifically.

Connecting ABB in Southern Africa For Over 50 Years

A

BB’s history goes back 130 years. Back at the beginning, the Group was two separate entities: ASEA and BBC, founded in 1883 and 1891 respectively. ASEA began life in Stockholm, established by Ludvig Fredholm to create electrical lighting and generators; BBC began life in Switzerland, founded by Charles E. L. Brown and Walter Boveri in order to transmit high-voltage power. Both companies were involved in electricity from its early, pioneering days, and in 1989, many years later, the pair came together to form ABB as we know it today. As the company says of itself: “Innovation has been in our DNA since we were founded to take advantage of a new technology called electricity. Since then, we have continued to push the boundaries of technology to drive performance to new levels.”

Headquartered in Switzerland, the group already had 160,000 under its employ when these two global entities merged as one – even more than ABB employees now. 105,000 is hardly a humble number, however, and with this 100,000+ strong team, the Group now operates in an incredible 100+ countries.

Needless to say, then, that ABB both has history and reach, and it brings both to the area of its operations that take place in the continent of Africa. A world leader in power and automation engineering, its goals of productivity and sustainability are two elements that could, and do, benefit Africa greatly, as is also true the world-over. This presence in Africa began back in 1926, in the North of the continent, in Cairo Egypt, but since, it has also moved south. Now, its presence in the southern African region includes operations and premises in Angola, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

As the company says of itself, “At ABB innovation is the backbone of our strategies and we have been the pioneer of many technologies that drive the modern society. Our portfolio of products and services range from robots that can print cars, light switches, large electrical transformers to control systems that manage entire power networks and factories.” Most notably it has been able to bring energy-efficient transmission and distribution of electricity to South and southern Africa, as well as the wider world, which has a massive knock-on

28 | Endeavour Magazine

ABB South Africa

effect when it comes to the industrial, commercial and utility sectors.

Still operating heavily in North Africa, ABB offers a range of power and automation products in Egypt that help to support the growing demand for sustainable electrical infrastructure. Here, the company is able to develop and deliver complex services and solutions to support substations, oil and gas electrification, electrical infrastructure, and even to help build the intelligent framework of new cities. Meanwhile, in South Africa, the company’s operations are focused on the manufacturing of medium voltage switchgears and rectifiers, as well as a focus on robotics programming. It also manufactures medium voltage electric motors, both for use within South Africa, southern Africa and beyond.

In total, ABB South Africa offers utility solutions such as substations, reactive power compensation, water EPC contracts and power plant automation, whilst in the industrial sector it offers products and services in the areas of pulp and paper, mining, metals and minerals, cement, chemicals and petrochemicals, manufacturing and customer industries. It also offers feasibility studies, project management and design services to construction, installation, commissioning and customer training.

The Group also has a strong local manufacturing component in the region, with three manufacturing sites in South African itself.

As a whole entity, ABB Group’s operations fall into four areas: electrification, process automation, motion and robotics & discrete automation. Between them, these are divided into twenty divisions. In brief, these four areas cover the following: electrification covers physical and digital products, including EV infrastructure, solar inverters, modular substations and distribution 30 | Endeavour Magazine

automation; process automation includes industryspecific integrated automation, electrification and digital solutions, control technologies, software and advanced services, as well as measurement and analytics. Motion focuses on drives and motors, and is the largest supplier of these globally. Finally, robotics has a deal of overlap with automation and motion, but in a more specific field, towards which the Group has recently invested in a new $150-million factory in Shanghai.

From early beginnings at the dawn of electricity to industry-leading work in software and even robotics, ABB is a testament to not only what successful companies can achieve, but what human ingenuity can produce. In just over a century, we have seen our world and way of life transform like never before, at a rate previously unheard of, and ABB has invented, adapted and traveled right along with it. As the company says in its own words:

“By pushing the boundaries of technology and embedding sustainability in everything we do, our people drive the performance of our market-leading and empowered businesses to new levels. Together with our common values, strong brand and governance framework, the ABB Way will lead us to become a more focused, successful, value-creating company.”

With focuses on sustainability and diversity where once there was only a focus on productivity and competition, ABB has grown with time in ways other than its expanding knowledge. A reflection of modern times, the Group can apply this knowledge and legacy of brilliance with its modern values, thus reflecting, as always, both the zeitgeist and also the proof of what humanity can achieve when it puts its mind to it. To look at ABB’s history is to look at a time capsule of modern development: only time will tell what technologies the innovative giant will create in the years to come.

Amazing World

Written by James Lapping

I LIKE BIG BUTTES AND I CANNOT LIE:

DEVILS TOWER

I

n the heart of the North America, a mystery rises from earth to sky in awe-inspiring wonder.

Devils Tower bursts from out of the landscape and sticks out like a sore thumb. The giant shaft of rock in North-East Wyoming breaches 386 metres (1,267 foot) above the adjacent Belle Fourche River and reaches a total of 265m (867ft) from base to summit.

This intrusive rock holds much mystery, and although there are a few theories on its origin, no one truly knows exactly when and how it was formed.

With such a sinister name you would think this rock may be considered hell on earth, rising from the depths of the underworld. Instead, this name was purely a case of being lost in translation. In 1875, during America’s aggressive westward expansion, a US Army Colonel by the name of Richard Irving Dodge had led a scientific survey party on an expedition to the natural wonder and his translator mistook the native name of the geological monolith for “Bad God’s Tower”. Despite this basic error, the 32 | Endeavour Magazine

name remained, and Devils Tower was named the first official US National Monument by the decree of President Theodore Roosevelt on 24th September 1906 under the Antiquities Act. However, amongst the Indigenous people of the region, its name is associated with bears, not the Devil. Variations of the name include: ‘Bear’s House’, ‘Bear’s Lodge’, ‘Bear’s Tipi’, ‘Home of the Bear’, and ‘Bear’s Lair’. All of these names are natural extensions of the Indigenous creations stories that explain the formation of the butte: there are many variations of the story but in Kiowa and Lakota oral history, the general tale tells of a young group of girls who were being chased across the prairie by a bear, so climbed upon a small rock to escape the wild beast’s pursuit. They kneeled in prayer in hope that they would be spared from the sharp claws; the Great Spirit heard their desperate prayers and made the formation rise out from the earth. As the bear attempted to reach the young girls, it scratched the rock and left the vertical lines that remain as

a feature to this day. Some local names are more literal than mythological and allude mainly to the long, protruding shape of the unique monolith.

Asides from bearing bear-related names, Devils Tower is also known by the Lakota as ‘Brown Buffalo Horn, and the Kiowa call it ‘Aloft on a Rock’ or ‘Tree Rock’. The latter name alludes to the fact that Devils Tower resembles a large tree trunk from a distance.

Despite firm scientific evidence, conspiracy theorists believe that the formation is a remnant from an age when giant trees littered the landscape of the earth. Some even suggest that a large amalgamation of roots lay beneath the ground below the rock, but there is no actual proof of this.

The truth is that Devils Tower is formed of volcanic rock that cooled and formed into hexagonal columns that can be seen on its surface. Further erosion from rain and snow has worn away at the Tower for over 40 million years and has created the giant butte that can be seen today.

There are many other examples of similar rock formations across the globe. Buttes and monoliths in various continents can be seen in Africa (Tamanrasset Province, Algeria), Eurasia (Qaxac Qaslasi, Azerbaijan) and Australasia (Uluru, Australia).

One thing that connects all these sites is that they inspire true wonder. Such a vast object standing alone in the wilderness would make anyone question the nature of the world that we live in, and stories surrounding these buttes remain enshrined in folklore and history. The UFO film Close Encounters of the Third Kind by Steven Spielberg relies on the location of Devils Tower throughout the story. This blockbuster cinematic depiction truly shows the lasting legacy of the mystery surrounding Devils Tower. Whether it’s bears, giant trees or UFOs, the wonderful Devils Tower will continue to stand tall and rouse fascination in the minds of many.

Endeavour Magazine | 33

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

BREAKING RECORDS ADNOC chevron-square-right www.adnoc.ae

ADNOC

Oil is a cornerstone of the Abu Dhabi economy. Whilst tourism is another driving factor, oil and other natural resources are the backbone. In 2019, the UAE capital’s GDP was worth US$249,169 million, with its oil sector contributing over 40% of this total. For that reason, then, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is not only one of the world’s leading energy producers, but it is also instrumental in the UAE’s growth, and Abu Dhabi’s in particular.

F

ounded in 1971, ADNOC has held its position through many of the highs and lows of the oil & gas sector. Today, it has a production capacity of more than 3.5 million barrels of oil and 10.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. With a team of 50,000 employees overall, the enterprise is vast, and as such, it is no surprise that the entity is broken down into smaller branches that focus on different areas of its operations. These include ADNOC Drilling; ADNOC offshore and ADNOC LNG, to name but a few. In total, the company covers the entire hydrocarbon value chain. As it says itself, “We have a network of fully-integrated businesses for exploration, production, storage, refining, and trading, as well as the development of a wide range of petrochemical products.”

“With an ambitious we continue to look maximize the value applying the latest mutually-beneficial

36 | Endeavour Magazine

outlook for the future, for innovative ways to of our resources, while technology, developing partnerships, and

Breaking records

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ADNOC

driving In-Country Value.” It is true that since 1971, the market that ADNOC operates in has changed a great deal, and with the responsibility for the use of UAE’s energy resources on its shoulders, it has had to stay creative and responsive when responding to these shifting conditions and demands. The pressure is not simply about profits, or even simply about energy: in the eyes of ADNOC, its continued success means continued success for Abu Dhabi itself. As the company states; “Our work plays a crucial role in Abu Dhabi’s global emergence. We have enabled our people to realize their remarkable potential, helped create thousands of jobs, driven economic growth, and invested in education and research for the future. Together, we are committed to sustaining our positive impact in the communities where we operate and the Abu Dhabi economy for generations to come.”

To explore this success, at least on the company’s side, means an examination of some of the company’s current projects, and the giant has plenty to examine. For example, the Crude Flexibility

38 | Endeavour Magazine

Project is set to complete this year, having cost an investment of US$ 3.5BN, and this is still only one of several current undertakings. The aim of the Crude Flexibility Project is to enhance the processing capabilities of ADNOC’s refinery in Ruwais, which in turn will up the company’s capabilities when it comes to which grades of crude it can process in general. Before this project, ADNOC has generally been limited to Murban grade crude, extracted from onshore sites, but this project should allow it to be able to process sourer and heavier crude grades.

This includes Upper Zakum, which is currently extracted from Abu Dhabi’s offshore fields, and 50 other such varieties of crude oil from around the world. Upon completion, the project’s capacity will be 420,0000 barrels at this grade per day, and will also increase the volume of premium grade Murban crude available for export.

Another major project is the Ghasha MegaProject, the world’s largest offshore sour gas development. The completion of this project will be a major step towards the UAE achieving its goal of gas self-sufficiency. When ready, it is expected to produce more than 1.5 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas per day! Meanwhile, as though these

Breaking records

two massive projects weren’t enough, ADNOC is also engaged in a less typical endeavour, and this one is also the largest of its kind in the world. This time, it’s the world’s largest 3D on and offshore seismic survey across Abu Dhabi, with the aim of locating potential oil & gas reservoirs up to 25,000 feet below ground level. This, again, would lend towards the UAE’s gas self-sufficiency aim, as well as its 2030 growth strategy.

The images will be received by ADNOC’s Thamama Subsurface Collaboration Center, and are being conducted and analysed in collaboration with the Environmental Agency - Abu Dhabi. This is to make sure that the surveys themselves are carried out in an environmentally friendly way, and also because the reports from the sightings can double as useful information for the agency. As well as showing the locations of potential oil & gas deposits, they will also indicate sightings of marine life such as dugongs, turtles, and dolphins. Hopefully, the drilling of the former will also, therefore, be carried out with careful respect for the latter.

Finally, again towards these 2030 aims, ADNOC is working on unlocking what are known as unconventional gas resources. This means gas that

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ADNOC

is trapped in rock pores – these tiny pockets are often too difficult or time consuming to reach, but overlooking them can overlook a vast resource.

Given that gas deposits are finite, companies are beginning to turn their attention to such pockets.

Already, ADNOC meets 50% of the UAE’s natural gas needs, but as we’ve said, it is aiming to double this and achieve total self-sufficiency. In November 2019, the Supreme Petroleum Council announced the discovery of 160 trillion standard cubic feet of recoverable unconventional gas resources: adding this to its portfolio could contribute an additional 1 billion cubic feet per day, which would go a huge way towards achieving this goal.

Unconventional gas can be accessed with the use of hydraulic fracturing to bring it to the surface. ADNOC first began this venture in 2016, and to date, it has carried out over 90 such operations. In 2018, the company signed the region’s first unconventional gas concession agreement: it was signed with TOTAL, granting a 40% stake in the Ruwais

40 | Endeavour Magazine

Diyab Unconventional Gas Concession, while ADNOC retained 60%.

Overall, the vision for the project was a sevenyear exploration period, which ADNOC is currently nearing the end of, followed by 40 years of development and production. Of course, that 2030 deadline cannot be forgotten, and it aims to have met its needed gas goals by that date.

Everywhere you look, ADNOC is taking on ‘world’s largest-ever’ projects, and all with this 2030 goal in view. If that goal is reachable, ADNOC is officially doing everything it can to meet it. What is the future of fossil fuel, and should we be pursuing it? ADNOC is certainly committed to making the most of this finite resource whilst it remains, and to waste as little of it as possible in the process.

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Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

GOT YOU COVERED Botswana Insurance Company chevron-square-right www.bic.co.bw phone-square +267 3600 500

Botswana Insurance Company

Botswana Insurance Company (BIC) has done more than simply engage in the country’s insurance industry – it redefined it. Taking on the short-term insurance sector and injecting it with innovative ideas, BIC is now seen and known as the ‘Heritage Insurance Brand of Botswana’. We took a look into BIC’s history to see how it achieved this prestigious status within its field, what changes it brought about, and where it might be planning to go from here.

B

IC was founded in 1975, and over a history of almost 50 years, it has developed and grown, expanding and learning as a company as well as adapting to an ever-changing world and, therefore, an ever-changing Botswana. The risks that life contains, the needs and protections that people have, are in some ways universal, and yet in other ways, it is essential that insurance policies keep up with the times. In the case of BIC, the company has not only striven to do this, but has advanced what short-term insurance services and policies could mean for its clients, and in fact, for the whole sector.

It achieved this by introducing a bespoke, tailor-made approach to insurance policies that had hitherto not been on offer within the sector in Botswana. This approach allows customers to design a policy that works perfectly for them, their situation, and the type of cover that they want, all the while allowing them to balance their priorities against their budget. This is hugely important, as ‘cookie cutter’ policies may include elements that are not important to a client, whilst neglecting others that are: price bracket band alone cannot be the only consideration. This way, people of all budgets are more able to design the cover they actually want and need.

These policies are available in Personal, Commercial and Specialized insurance offerings, able to cover a customer’s homes, businesses, possessions and more. In total, ‘Personal’’ cover includes the home, your home’s contents, vehicles, travel, personal accident and risk, and even something called ‘Small Leisure Craft Insurance’, which has been specifically designed for personal aircraft! When BIC describes itself as a onestop shop, it isn’t exaggerating. If Botswana weren’t landlocked, we imagine they would offer sea vessel insurance as well.

The company’s ‘Commercial’ offerings refer to fire insurance, public liability, workers compensation, business interruption, business risk, theft, fidelity, money, goods in transit, electronics – pretty much anything and everything that an operating business could need to insure! There is a policy specifically to cover glass, which is important to have if operating in or constructing skyscrapers and similar modern buildings. In case you work in heavy industry, there are policies such as machinery breakdown and 44 | Endeavour Magazine

Botswana Insurance Company

erection cover, as well as a logistics-specific fleet cover. As mentioned, BIC sees the value in a tailormade policy, and it leaves no details forgotten. It describes its approach and “holistic and distinctive approach”, and we can see why.

Finally, in ‘Specialised’ insurance (as if all of this wasn’t specialised enough), BIC gets even more exacting, its attention to detail and potential need even more impressive: agricultural insurance, cyber-crime and political riot are just some of the categories that we were surprised and pleased to see.

Each of these areas carries its own highly specific risks and elements that a standard policy couldn’t hope to aptly address and cover. As the company says, “For over 45 years, BIC has insured the needs of Batswana, a responsibility which we have valued with humility and thankfulness.” Bankers blanket bonds, to protect companies from the “wrongful acts of their employees or third parties”; Directors and Officers Liability insurance, to cover those in company leadership for any costs or damages they cause their company

46 | Endeavour Magazine

through an error in judgement – BIC truly has everything covered, in two senses of the word.

BIC has always been a forward-thinker, but the era of digitilisation has only improved matters.

Information can travel faster than ever before, be shared with more ease and detail, which only improves policy making and case evaluation.

The company has also created a “virtual office solution”, complete with a virtual assistant named Nkamo, which policy holders can contact and get quick answers from before they need to contact a human at BIC. This frees up time for BIC’s team, making their operations more efficient, and also provides customers with faster, accurate answers to important questions, such as questions over how and whether to make a claim.

As BIC says of itself, it has “resolved to give superior value to its stakeholders and policyholders through innovation, unique insurance offerings and high-quality customer service so they can keep their promise of ‘Making Life Better’ for all.”

It appears to be succeeding! The range of its policies are certainly an indicator of this innovation and accessible support, but another clear sign of

Got you covered

the company’s competence and success is the response from its industry and peers. Over the years, it has received numerous prestigious awards for its work. Even just listening the most recent of these, there are several. For example, the company become the first Botswanan insurance provider to receive three such awards in the year of 2021! Three notable awards is impressive enough, never mind these only accounting for those received in a single year. It is a particularly impressive claim to fame given the strain that many people and companies were under during 2021: insurance companies were getting hammered by claims, so in this field, it is especially remarkable to have stood out.

are just the latest in the company’s line of accolades.

A company founded and led by Botswanans, for Botswanans, BIC seems to know and understand the needs of its clients, both on a personal level and when it comes to small and even large-scale business. An insurance company that cares about its clients is a huge source of peace of mind, as is an insurance policy that you understand and know is built towards your situation. BIC offers all of this: we’ve said it before, but if you live in Botswana and take out a policy, then this company truly does seem to have you covered.

These 2021 awards were the PMR Diamond Arrow award for ‘First Overall Insurer’, which was voted on by1 30 Business CEOs and Government Leaders; the Global Banking and Finance Award for ‘The Best General Insurer in Botswana’, and the Global Business Review Magazine award for ‘Best General Insurance Company 2021’. No small claim! As categories go, these are incredible ones to win, and

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Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

KEYS TO SUCCESS Bidvest Properties chevron-square-right www.bidvest.co.za/bidvest-properties.php phone-square +27 (11) 772 8700

Bidvest Properties

An important limb of the Bidvest Group entity, Bidvest Properties was one of the four out of eight divisions to contribute to the diversified Group’s notable profit in 2019, when the world was unknowingly on the cusp of a business slowing point that we are, thankfully, now coming out of. With the Bidvest Group included within that emergence – or indeed, included within those who proceeded relatively undented during the global pandemic – we took a look at this branch of Bidvest, and at the wider situation with the Bidvest Group as a whole.

N

ow a Group that tackles a huge range of operations from finance to logistics, the Bidvest Group was first founded by Brian Joffe in 1988. Based out of Johannesburg, South Africa, it was listed on the Stock Exchange in 1990. Today, it is a leading business-to-business services, trading and distribution group. It operates eight departments, all of which operate as their own prolific companies, with a total team between them of almost 133,000 people. Via these many branches, the Group operates an impressive total of 550 facilities, through which it serves and assists 300,000 customers annually. As well as its eight departments, the Group also parented Bidcorp, a food services entity that in May 2016 went from department to a wholly separate company.

In total the Group’s remaining divisions operate in the following sectors: automotive, branded products, commercial products, financial services, freight, services international, services South Africa and, finally property. Out of these, Bidvest Properties, as its name suggests, focuses on the development and management of real estate, providing, as it describes, a “unique offering of professional property services and consulting on all property-related matters for the Group.” These activities see it managing an impressive portfolio of a total 112 properties which, in 2019, was worth an estimated market value of R7.5-billion.

This portfolio has been described as “significant and strategic”. Its properties are owned and/or managed by Bidvest Properties, and represent buildings from the commercial, industrial, motor and office sectors. These are majoritively well located within Johannesburg, and are mostly being tenanted by group companies, whilst a smaller proportion of them are occupied by third party tenants. As well as these duties, the department also covers the ability to provide services such as lease scrutiny and lease negotiation for those struggling with either, as well as conducting feasibility studies for potential new builds/developments. Likewise, Bidvest properties plans and develops such builds itself, in order to maintain and ever-improve the quality of its portfolio and what those properties offer to both its private and commercial clients.

According to a company report in September 2019, four of Bidvest Group’s JSE-listed divisions 50 | Endeavour Magazine

Passionately Owning & Managing Properties

Services

Asset Management • Building Services • Leasing Management • Orion Cleaning Services • Orion Group Asset and Fleet Management • Orion Group Health and Safety Management • Orion Security Services • Project Management • Property Management

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Bidvest Properties

achieved trading profit growth in the previous financial year. Bidvest Properties was amongst these, having grown its trading profit by 14.7% yearon-year to R545 million. This success contributed to the Groups’ overall trading profit reaching R6.7 billion, a 3.5% increase on the previous year. Whilst not in the billions, Bidvest Property is clearly a strong contributor to the wider whole – not its largest department, but at a profit of R545-million, one that it would not wish to be without! As a whole, the Bidvest Group generates 62% of its trading profit from services and 38% from trading and distribution activities.

In May 2020, the Bidvest Group made its largest transaction to date when it acquired PHS, a hygiene service provider in the UK, Ireland and Spain. Given the events of 20202021, and even over into 2022, it doesn’t take a genius to work out why the group was interested in acquiring a hygiene company, nor why it was willing to pay out for such a large purchase.

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The pandemic saw many sectors slow, but others skyrocketed, facing a widespread demand that they had never before experienced. Even now, as we move out of the pandemic, these products are still required and used in many places, the habit seems as though it will continue. Looking at the dates, this May 2020 acquisition shows an impressive speed, as the Covid situation was not being recognised on the global stage until February/March that year.

This means a move of only two months – particularly impressive when remembering that South Africa faired relatively well during the beginning months. 20% of Bidvests’ profits come from overseas, so making this purchase in a country facing Covid measures whilst South Africa was still fairly untouched makes reasons on many levels. The group also has a 58% stake in Adcock Ingram, a world-class, South African health company.

As well as looking to the future in the short to medium term, Bidvest Group understands the importance of looking to the long-term. For this reason, ESG has long been a part of the Group’s corporate thinking. However, these activities have ramped up significantly in the past couple of years.

Keys to success

As Bidvest says: “As the impact of climate change and inequality become more and more evident, the need for all stakeholders to ensure common cause, understanding and purpose, and to avoid damaging the environmental and social status for future generations, has become a critically important imperative.”

In response to this, Bidvest has created an ESG Framework, which sets a series of sustainability targets, with the responsibility of meeting these falling to its leadership team. The company describes these targets as “innovative, measurable and challenging”. They include goals such as a 20% reduction in the overall group’s carbon, water and waste footprint by 2025 – not far away from us now, nor very far on the horizon when this framework was created.

Following another of their values – that “people are the enabler of our business and a critical resource that needs to be nurtured, developed and supported”, the company has also a goal for 2025 that aims for female employees to make up between 35-45% of Bidvest’s employees group-

wide, as well as African people representing 50% of management.

These goals also apply to a policing of morality and ethical practices within the groups’ operations and supply chains. For example, it aims to source its supply chain 90% from local suppliers, to make sure that these supply chain partners have responsible and ethical business dealings, and to strive for “uncompromising integrity” as a cornerstone with it comes to actively managing cybersecurity risk. All in all, Bidvest is a group that has a far and impactful reach, business wise, but it acknowledges this and is befittingly stringent in how it conducts itself, and how it aims to conduct itself better moving forwards.

Endeavour Magazine | 53

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

THAT’S WHAT WE LIKE Pepsi Cola Jamaica Bottling Co. Ltd. chevron-square-right www.pepsico.com

Pepsi Cola Jamaica Bottling Co. Ltd.

As one of the largest, oldest, and most prestigious beverages brands in the world, PepsiCo is a company that needs no introduction. This mega-company has annual sales above 65 billion dollars and a portfolio of leading global brands such as Pepsi, Gatorade, 7up, Lipton, Frito Lay and Quaker. In terms of strength and brand recognition, Pepsi is a global A-lister, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of McDonalds, CocaCola, Microsoft and Google. In terms of flavour… well, it’s for good reason that Pepsi carbonated soft drinks are enjoyed by millions, if not billions of people in every corner of the world.

S

ince the Pepsi-Cola name first appeared on the shelves of stores and restaurants on August 28th 1898, the company has gone from strength-to-strength, providing consumers with refreshing beverages for any occasion. However, as industry global giants like Pepsi have found, the matter of producing, bottling, and distributing its products in sufficient quantity to reach its customers in 200 countries is an impossibility.

Bearing in mind that Pepsi sells an estimated 1,000,000 cans and bottles of Pepsi products each day in the US alone – a number which must surely leap to the hundreds of millions sold globally – even a world-class company of Pepsi’s calibre cannot operate successfully using a centralised production and distribution model. At best it would be woefully inefficient, at its worst a disaster.

To ensure that customer demand for Pepsi products is satisfied, responsibility for the bottling and distribution of Pepsi drinks falls to specialist regional bottling companies, whose commercial purpose is centred specifically around achieving the production and output needed to meet demand for Pepsi products within its sphere of influence, and expand market share where possible – a franchise operation, in other words, that puts Pepsi out at the front, wherever they are in the world. And make no mistake about it – whatever the country and whatever the state of the marketplace, Pepsi’s regional bottling operators lead the field.

Take the Caribbean island of Jamaica, for example: here, Pepsi’s regional bottling subsidiary, Pepsi Jamaica, boasts a 61% share of the country’s bottled soft drinks market.

Following three years of successive growth, it would be no exaggeration to say that Pepsi Jamaica, owned by the Latin American beverages giant, Continental Beverage Corporation (CBC) of Guatemala, has hit a purple patch which shows no sign fading.

It is no coincidence that the company’s recent growth spurt has come about following a period of heavy investment in its bottling lines and production facilities. In-line with the company’s intention to boost growth by a further 25% over the coming three to four years, Pepsi Bottling Company Jamaica has invested US$10 million on a new bottling line, alongside a further $1.5 million spend to increase the number of Pepsi drink dispensers, soda fountains, and coolers deployed throughout 56 | Endeavour Magazine

Pérez y Cía Group More than 150 years in shipping

Pérez y Cía Jamaica Ltd. 6-12, Newport Boulevard Newport Centre, Kingston 13 Jamaica, W.I. Ph: ( 876 ) 618 1209, 901 6480 Fax: (876) 757 77 37

Perez y Cia extends heartiest Congratulations to Pepsi Jamaica, as you move forward with the next stage of developing the business. We look forward to the announcement of new projects and the future development of the company brands.

As we continue to provide services in shipping Logistics and supply chain management, we look forward to our continued partnership as we strive to serve you better.

Offering a full range of services from booking acceptance, shipping, clearance, delivery, project management and solutions to meet every shipping need.

“PEREZ Y CIA is the answer !”

Pérez y Cía Jamaica Ltd. 6-12, Newport Boulevard Newport Centre, Kingston 13 Jamaica, W.I. Ph: ( 876 ) 618 1209, 901 6480 Fax: (876) 757 77 37

Pepsi Cola Jamaica Bottling Co. Ltd.

shops, wholesalers, and other retail outlets and channels across the island.

The successful roll-out of an ambitious and aggressive growth strategy designed to consolidate Pepsi Jamaica’s positioning as the island’s market leader has quite literally borne fruit, following, its acquisition of all grapefruit supplies in Jamaica and Belize – a move that has provided the company with the ingredients needed to drastically boost output and sales of Ting, and achieved a threefold growth in sales since 2013 as a result. Pepsi Jamaica has also introduced 17 new products, including a flavoured water called Splash, and a grape-flavoured Tropicana that is outperforming expectations. Since Splash’s market entry in 2012, the drink has scored 20% of the flavoured water market.

With a surge of upstart new entrants into the market such as iCool and CranWata, along with the threat posed by Pepsi’s long-time arch-rival, Coca Cola, such ruthlessness has been a necessary measure taken with long-term self-preservation in mind. When you’ve been at the top as long as Pepsi Jamaica Bottling Company-CBC has, you learn how to stay there.

PepsiCo’s operations in Jamaica and Central America are representative of the company’s long and prestigious heritage in the region. In 1942, PepsiCo issued CBC its first production

and commercialisation franchise for Guatemala, marking the beginning of a 70-year strategic alliance. It is telling that CBC are the oldest bottlers of PepsiCo outside the United States of America, and this close relationship has continued to grow and evolve over the years. Today, CBC is now anchor bottler for nine markets within Latin America and The Caribbean: Jamaica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Ecuador and Peru – a list of countries which will continue to grow as the PepsiCo-CBC partnership expands further into new territories. In recognition of CBC’s operative excellence, PepsiCo has named CBC and Pepsi Jamaica Bottling Company as “Latin American Bottler of the Year” several times and “Worldwide Bottler of the Year” in 2012 – an accolade that understandably generates much pride in the business.

Understandably, there is much optimism at Pepsi Jamaica because looking ahead there is a huge amount for the company to be optimistic about.

Following the signing of a strategic alliance between Pepsi Jamaica and global beer brand, Red Stripe in 2013 – one of the world’s best-loved beer brands, now part of Diageo, together, the two companies have gone on to vastly improve their distribution infrastructure in unison and develop synergies that have allowed them to develop their product portfolio even further. All in all, it is clear that Pepsi Jamaica Bottling Company is only going one way – up. In the words of their new slogan (changed in 2020, and the company’s first slogan change in two decades!), that’s what we like!

Willie’s Trucking Co. Ltd. lauds the owners and management team of Pepsi Jamaica for their visionary and transformational leadership in making Pepsi an exemplary company and brand.

Willie’s Trucking is proud of its long-standing business partnership with Pepsi Jamaica commencing in 1993. Willie’s Trucking, incorporated in 1992, specializes in container and heavy haulage services and is registered with global credit reporting agency Dun & Bradstreet. Willie’s Trucking has a fleet of GPS monitored tractor heads, shipping containers, chassis ranging from 20 to 48 feet, flatbeds, lowboys, and forklifts. Our electronic communication system and strategic locations with the ports ensure prompt and efficient haulage services.

Willie’s Trucking remains dedicated to its commitment to deliver exceptional service with integrity.

58 | Endeavour Magazine

W T C

A valued partner of Pepsi Cola Jamaica Limited since 1993 Committed to superior quality service in container haulage, heavy equipment and equipment rental.

“Equipment you can count on.

People you can trust.”

Driven with Integrity Willie’s Trucking Company Limited 22 First Street, Newport West, Kingston 13, Jamaica

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(876) 937- 3553, (876) 901-3667, (876) 276-7920 williestruckingcompanylimited@gmail.com

“Haulage At Its Best”

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

INDIA’S ONE AND ONLY Hindustan Zinc chevron-square-right www.hzlindia.com phone-square +91 294-6604000-02

Hindustan Zinc

A subsidiary of Vedanta Limited, a global natural resources company, Hindustan Zinc is one of the world’s leading zinc producers. We took a look at the company’s impressive portfolio, and the ways in which it is aiding and safeguarding the communities and environment it operates in.

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H

industan Zinc has a lot of claims to fame: amongst others, it operates the second largest zinc mine in the world, and the largest in India. Not only this, its operations are ranked globally as the 5th most sustainable in the field of metals and mining, according to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. As a company, it has been in operation for over 50 years, and in that time the Vedanta Limited subsidiary has evidently risen to the top of its field, both in output and in clean conduct.

Despite its name, Zinc is not the only resource that Hindustan mines. It also deals in silver, lead and sulphuric acid, and it is excelling in some of these areas, too. For example, the company is amongst the world’s top 10 silver producers, with an annual capacity of 600 MT. In total, it currently operates five live mines, all located in Rajasthan, northwest India: all five of these focus on zinc, but also mine and deal with the other metals and mineral resources that are found, hence its presence in these other markets. Currently, its collective reserves for these resources sit at 305.6 million MT.

India’s one and only

However, zinc is its main pride and joy. In total across its five mines, the company has a reserve base of 105.7 million MT of the metal, with an average zinc-lead grade of 10.5%.

This collection of sites has a predicted minelife of over 25 years, which is fantastic news for the country’s zinc market, as the company holds an incredible 78% market share of this industry within India.

What does India use its zinc for? 70% of it is used for galvanizing steel. Galvanized steel makes it far hardier and able to withstand the elements, including moderately corrosive environments, which means this form of steel is used in car production, and this use is on the rise in the country. It is also used in industrial alloys and die cast alloys – a use which is again on the rise, thanks to new IS277 coating standards. Between these two uses, zinc has been key in the government-supported construction push happening in Indian infrastructure right now, including projects such as the recent investment in metro rails, Smart Cities and Swachh Bharat

Abhiyaan (the Clean India Mission). Lastly, zinc has many uses within India’s pharmaceutical sector, providing a range of benefits that means it is used to treat poor eyesight, respiratory infections, acne, age-related diseases and even the common cold.

As for Hindustan’s other products, as well as coins, jewellery and cutlery/crockery, silver has industrial applications, too. Its highest use is in industrial fabrication, and it is also essential in technology such as solar power, which makes it an essential metal as India, and the world, moves deeper into the use of renewable energy.

It is also used in the construction on engines, batteries, some detergents, 3D Printing and vehicle construction. Lead, too, is used in the automotive industry (in the batteries), is used in construction for roofing and cladding, and can even been used as a coolant for nuclear reactors! Finally, sulphuric acid is also industry-essential, this time in the production of other chemicals.

Any metal you could mine has a plethora of uses, but Hindustan has many resources

Endeavour Magazine | 63

Hindustan Zinc

available to it, and also extremely useful in a country that is pushing and growing its construction and industrial output. The India IT industry is on the rise, as is its construction of renewable energy plants, public transport and green cities. So, with such a solid and healthy slate of reserves, and a market such as this, Hindustan is sitting in a very enviable position indeed.

As well as its five lead-focused mines, Hindustan’s operations also include one rock phosphate mine, four hydrometallurgical zinc smelters, two lead smelters, one pyro metallurgical lead-zinc smelter, and a number of sulphuric acid and captive power plants. All of this is based in Rajasthan, in Rampura Agucha, Chanderiya, Dariba, Kayad and Zawar, apart from one zinc-lead refinery and a silver refinery at Pantnagar, Uttarakhand. In total, all of this gives Hindustan a production capacity of 834,000 MT for zinc and 201,000 MT for lead. In total, of its combined metals, Hindustan currently produces around 1.2 million MT per annum. Over the course of 2020, the company aims to raise this total to 1.35 million MT,

whilst it aims to raise its ore production capacity from 17.7 million MT to 20.4 million MT. Over the years, Hindustan’s operations have transitioned from being predominantly above ground, in open cast mines, to now being completely underground. In 2018, the company completed and closed its operations at its Rampura Agucha open cast mine, which was its final above ground operation. Transitioning from above ground work to fully underground work is a challenging shift – one that requires attention to detail, the correct expertise on the team and the wisdom to see gaps in this expertise that need filling, and the careful training and support of all staff.

However, as we all know, it isn’t just internal support that is essential from a mining company – outward support to the local community is also extremely important.

Hindustan’s CSR programmes reach out to over 500,000 rural and tribal people throughout Rajasthan. These programmes include investment into education, health, water and sanitation, security, sports and culture, women’s empowerment and the establishing of sustainable livelihoods for after the mines close. This outreach isn’t just going to one or two communities – there are an incredible 184 villages around Hindustan’s operations.

Through its programmes, Hindustan attempts to facilitate cooperation between these groups and local businesses, government, NGOs and academic institutions to work together towards a better future for these communities.

The environment is also a cause for careful practices. In Hindustan Zinc’s words, “With more than 50 years of operational experience, we give highest priority to the safety of our people and the conservation of scarce natural resources through technology and innovation.” Working closely with its partners, stakeholders and shareholders, Hindustan, and even more predominantly, its parent company Vedanta, has numerous policies in place to manage its water, waste, energy, air emissions and the protection of local biodiversity. A strong example of this in action is Hindustan’s investment into renewable power: as well as solar power and green waste, it has invested heavily in wind power, to the point where Vedanta, a globally diversified natural resources company, is one of the leading wind power producers in India. In total, it has

64 | Endeavour Magazine

India’s one and only

established 273.5 MW wind farms across five states: 88.8MW in Gujarat, 49.4 MW in Karnataka, 88.8 MW in Rajasthan, 25.5 MW in Maharashtra and 21 MW in Tamil Nadu.

Hindustan Zinc sits in an extremely secure position in its market, with a rich series of operational mines and a market that has many uses for all of the resources they yield. Given this position, it is good to see both Hindustan and Vedanta putting effort towards sustainability and care for the communities the mines affect – impact that will continue on long after the mines themselves are no more. Mineral resources are finite, but the impact of mining them lives on, whether positive or negative, so it is uplifting to see mines like Hindustan taking care to create positivity in their communities, mitigate the damage they do, and invest in other technologies that will help the world work towards a cleaner future.

Epiroc offers a comprehensive portfolio of mining equipment as well as digital solutions to drive efficiency and productivity for our customers.

Products like Certiq, Mobilaris, Teleremote operation and battery products are already leading the global market. They helps our customers increase their safety and profitability with sustainability.

We have now gone one step further launching 6th Sense Services to optimize system integration and connect processes, people and equipment for optimum productivity.

Endeavour Magazine | 65

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

SAFE AND SECURE Oiltanking chevron-square-right www.oiltanking.com phone-square +49 40 37099-0

Oiltanking

With industry relying on so many potentially harmful or volatile liquids, gases and chemicals, storage is an essential element of operations.

Safe, well thought out, up to date storage methods are a critical musthave, and this is exactly what the company Oiltanking seeks to provide.

Storing and handling various industrial gases and chemicals, petroleum and other liquids in numerous locations the world over, Oiltanking is on hand to provide the reliable storage a company needs on a broad international scale.

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S

tarting business in the oil heyday of the 70s, Oiltanking was founded as a tank storage logistics provider in 1972. Now, it is one of the largest companies in its field worldwide, offering and operating 41 total tank terminals across 18 countries, with a presence in Europe, North America, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, India, and the Asia-Pacific region. Across these terminals, the company handles a striking range of 500 different products, each with their own safety and storage requirements. At last count, in 2019, these products totaled around 155 million tons of stored product.

All of this is managed by a team that, in 2020, was 2,600 strong.

So, who are Oiltanking’s clients? Oil companies, refiners, petrochemical companies, and traders in petroleum products and chemicals all make up some of their customers, from both private and state-owned companies. The product stored with Oiltanking represents’ these companies’ investments, products and profits – it is a notable act of trust, to rely on the storage facilities and services of another company, and the prolific scale of its portfolio shows how strong its reputation has become, and therefore how reliable this company is with the precious yet precarious products placed in its care.

In some areas, Oiltanking operates its own facilities any services in its entirety, but in other cases, it forms a joint venture with an existing and reputable local company – again, either private or state-owned. This is a more cost-effective approach, and also reduces the construction of competing facilities, but it also means that Oiltanking is able to come in and lift the standards of its JV partner, combining its expertise with theirs to make a result that is befitting of the company’s reputation.

However, as said, Oiltanking also constructs and runs its own facilities. In fac, it also works in the engineering, procurement and construction of tank terminals for other companies, and is able to offer tailor-made infrastructure to its clients, which it can either simply construct, or construct and then continue to operate.

Oiltanking itself has a parent company in Marquard & Bahls AG, which is again a source of funding and expert support. All told, both its joint ventures and its independent activities has a strong network and chain backing them. In fact, its origins was also a story of cooperation: the company was originally

Safe and secure

created in a merger between several independent tank farms, with a total capacity of about 1 million cubic meters. It has only continued to grow from there, and this growth is strategically carried out: as the company says itself;

“To further improve our shareholders value, we continue to employ a strategy of controlled growth of our tank terminal-based service network through acquisitions, new buildings and upgrading of existing facilities. To achieve long-term success and controlled growth, we rely on a healthy mix of risk between the operating units, without neglecting ecological and social aspects.” Every operating unit under Oiltanking acts independently whilst still being connected via communication and shared strategy.

Risk management is a huge undertaking in Oiltanking’s business. With many of its facilities tailor-made for various clients, and with a range of 500 types of products to store and maintain, each

facility has a different selection of risks, hazards, processes and needs. Individual facilities are responsible for these on-site risks, yet there are also wider risks that could affect the company as a whole, such as international financial situations, political conflict in oil-producing countries, and the same in countries where Oiltanking is active. To manage everything, Oiltanking must look outwards as well as it, responding to changeable times and sometimes unstable political climates as well as managing the inherent challenges of the products it handles themselves.

As well at protecting its own business interests and personnel, not to mention its clients’ product, the company must also think to the environment.

After all, we all know the devastation that can be caused by an oil spoil or other industrial accidents.

On top of this, simply carrying out its necessary operations has an environmental impact. As Oiltanking acknowledges:

“Our activities impact the environment both directly and indirectly. We therefore want to

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+32 (0)3 235 48 88 info@stranger-ae.be Endeavour Magazine | 69

Oiltanking

make every effort to position ourselves as an environmentally friendly company within our business activities – a company that keeps its negative impact on the environment to an absolute minimum.”

“We are well aware that our business activities pose potential risks to the environment and that we rely on resources such as energy, water and building materials. We must therefore make every effort, now and in the future, to keep any negative impact on the environment as low as possible. To achieve this, we have set high environmental standards for ourselves.”

As a preventative, safeguarding measure, the company regularly measures and monitors the groundwater quality on its tank terminals, the results of which it then has assessed by environmental experts. Meanwhile, when it comes to efficient energy use, the company has invested in solar panels on its terminals the combat and negate some of their impact. It has done so through a partnership with Sembcorp Solar, who will set up a network of 1,508 solar panels in total across the various sites – both tank terminals and office buildings. Once the installation is complete, it is estimated that these solar panels will help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 303,920 kg per year, which is apparently equivalent to planting over 3,600 trees. Working in tandem with this, the company also pays attention to how much energy it is using and the first place and attempts to keep this figure down. The most energy-intensive part of its activities is the pumping that is required in the tank terminals. Given that there are 41 terminals and many tanks, this is a significant amount.

The company also engaged in a water savings project, which is especially significant for the sites located in areas that face water shortages. The use of fresh water is required in elements of their operations, and in awareness of the water struggles in some of the regions it works in, it attempts to do so as sustainably as possible. This includes measures such as water retention basins, a closed loop potable (safe for human consumption) watercooling system, and an awareness of the need for water efficiency whenever decisions are made about equipment purchase.

“We are aware that our business activities impact the environment, and therefore strive to develop alternatives and improve energy

70 | Endeavour Magazine

efficiency, further optimize our resource management, as well as develop and support environmental protection measures. Many of our sites have set up environmental project groups that, among other things, develop and examine local energy-, water- and wastesaving measures.”

When one hears ‘oil’ and ‘storage’, the mind can sometimes go to what happens when something goes wrong. However, Oiltanking is an example of what happens when everything goes right. Its sheer size is a testament to its reliability, because without the trust of clients charging it to care for big-money products, there would be no company.

Oiltanking takes care of its clients’ products, takes care of its people, and does its part to take care of the environment, as well. We couldn’t ask for anything for.

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

KEEPING IT CLEAN Agrochemicals Association of Kenya chevron-square-right agrochem.co.ke phone-square +254 734 - 447777

Agrochemicals Association of Kenya

Pest control is an important element of any agricultural industry, and in a country such as Kenya, which has been battling a locust crisis since late 2019, this is truer than ever. As we found when speaking with Kapi Ltd a few months ago, the issue of pesticide use is no simple one: one must tackle the pests effectively whilst minimising wider damage, and this is never fully possible. Here especially, then, it is key to have an association dedicated to this industry, to oversee ethical practice and push for ethical, as well as practical, laws. We took a look at the Agrochemicals Association of Kenya to see how and if it is living up to the job.

GETTING EVERY SEED TO GROW

BEST SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR FARMING ENTERPRISES in Crop Protection and Nutrition � info@easeed.com � www.easeed.com

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T

he history of Kenyan pesticide production began in 1949, when the nation’s first company – Pest Control Ltd – set up shop. At the time, it was the only one, but by 1958 there were enough such companies in business that some form of organisation was needed. Thus, the first of several such association iterations began, this one known as the Pesticide Chemical Association of East Africa.

Five founding members set up this association to serve as a go-between between these companies, their distributors and the East African governments, with the aim of better ethical practices in every direction. This was clearly a success, as it kept going as-was until 1977, when the collapse of the East African Community prompted the association to rebrand itself as the Pesticide Chemical Association of Kenya (PCAK). Come 1997, exactly 20 years later, it rebranded again, this time to reflect a broadening of its members’ operations from only pesticides to all manner of agrochemicals. This name change was to the one it holds today, and the association continues to do what it can to safeguard practices and protect not only its members but, if it lives up to its ethical goals, the wider peoples and environment of Kenya as well.

Like any association, AAK supports its industry by working as a mediator, connection-builder and general go-between for the Kenyan agrochemical industry and its government, but it also has a duty of care to uphold regarding wider Kenya. It perhaps best began to serve this latter purpose in 1991 when the Safe-Use project was launched. This project saw over one million small-scale farmers, pesticide distributors and other agricultural personnel receive training on agrochemical safety. In 1984, the Pest Control Products Act, Cap 346, was passed, which showed the government’s own interest in keeping this element of agricultural life as safe as possible.

Under the law, the importation, exportation, manufacture, distribution and use of pest control products would all be regulated to ensure a basic level of safety, and this training in 1991 further followed-up these safe guards.

Yet is this enough? Well, not only were the laws that were passed something that AAK would have been involved in discussing with the government, but it continues a role of responsibility in a more on-going and perceivable way through its work as

Agrochemicals Association of Kenya

a Product Steward. This Product Stewardship work aims to “minimize the risks and maximise the benefits from crop protection products”, and covers the entire life of a product from first formation to empty packaging. As well as this commitment to keeping food product and the product itself safe, the AAK is also committed to keeping food production plentiful, It aims to do all of this through a system called “Integrated Pest Management”, which takes many factors into account and applies many types of tools, including biological, cultural, physical and chemical. Climate change has increased the challenges that Kenya faces when it comes to food production, which makes this work more important than ever.

In order to work towards these goals, education is just as important as enforcement. Education enables those working on farms and with these products to understand how to do so safely, to equip them to meet the standards that the association seeks to enforce. As the association explains, its goal is centered around “safeguarding the health of farmers, consumers and their communities, while significantly reducing the footprint of crop protection technologies.”. AAK is “committed to

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ensuring that that safety of human, animal and environment are taken into consideration in the approval of pest control products, by availing required scientific data to eh regulatory authority and follow up training to the users of the products.”

The education of those making the rulings over pesticides is just as important as training those who handle it. After all, members of government cannot be experts in everything they must make ruling about: instead, AAK makes sure that safety laws are passed with the correct data to hand. Or, this is certainly the aim – something that is greatly needed as Kenya continues to face the locust crisis which began in 2019, and which is still the subject of debate when it comes to the safety of some of the government-sanctioned pesticides in use.

It also means education on an individual, local level. Working with farmers and those they hire, as well as those involved in the creation of pesticides, the association covers areas such as responsible pesticide use and poison management, as well as how to handle and dispose of expired stock. As AAK states; “AAK trains pesticide users, extension agents, agrodealers and manufacturers in the responsible use of pesticides, covering every

Keeping it clean

aspect from understanding and following labels and wearing the correct protective clothing, to harvesting, empty container management and all other aspects of pesticide use.”

In the area of poison management, as well as educating those in the industry, the association has a help line that can give important information and advice in a crisis, or if someone is in any doubt over any aspect of poison safety. It also runs awareness campaigns that inform people on how to keep an eye out for counterfeit pesticides: this is extremely important in order to ensure safe practice, because a counterfeit will not have gone through the same checks and safety measures as its genuine counterpart. The association even offers its own accreditation, to ensure that agrodealers are only selling approved products.

Finally, the association even offers hands-on training in how to spray and apply pesticides. This extremely practical form of education helps not only to safeguard farmers, but also equips people

for employment, thus aiding the industry from both ends.

In 2005, AAK’s efforts were joined by the founding of CropLife Kenya. CropLife Kenya is registered as an affiliate of AAK to facilitate international collaboration with global pesticide institutions in the area of industry sustainability. Together, the two bodies work together to make pesticide use as safe and effective as it can be across the board, for both the people involved and the environments they affect. As technology continues to advance and research data continues to come in, it is important for advice to remain up to date, and AAK is able to work to make sure this happens.

As we look back to the conversations we had with Kapi Ltd, we are glad to see that there are bodies in place that can respond to the needs of Kenya with the due speed and expertise. Associations like AAK exist to advise and guide: here’s hoping that they are able to give the guidance that is needed in this current situation, and that their advice is listened to by the people with the power to make swift change.

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Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

AZEEM Bakhresa Group chevron-square-right www.bakhresa.com

Bakhresa Group

Taking on everything from freight to food, Bakhresa Group is an industrial conglomerate based in Tanzania, East Africa. From simple beginnings, its entrepreneurial founder is now a Tanzanian billionaire, and Bakhresa is without a doubt one of the biggest and broadest collection of businesses in the region. But who are Bakhresa Group, and who is their Chairman and Founder, Said Salim Bakhresa?

It’s not enough to improve flour.

You have to understand it.

muehlenchemie.com

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#understandingflour

B

akhresa Group’s story began in 1975, with Said Salim Bakhresa opened a small, independent restaurant named AZAM. As he explains; “’AZAM’ is coined from the word ‘Azeem’”, an Arabic word meaning ‘greatness’. He opened his business in Dar es Salaam, a port city in Tanzania. At the start, he was pursuing a simple dream, but it would grow into much more, to the point where it almost isn’t possible to cover every area of activity for Bakhresa Group in one article.

In brief, what began as a restaurant now operates as a product manufacturer and supplies in the food and beverages sectors, which is a natural expansion, and from there, the step into packaging and logistics also seems organic. In essence, what began as a love of food has moved outwards and outwards, packaging said food for wholesale, and then gradually bringing the steps of this export in-house. However, it doesn’t stop there – Bakhresa also works in marine passenger services, petroleum and entertainment: it no longer seems to only be about the food! All of this brings the group a notable US$800 million turnover a year, utilising and supporting a staff of over 8,000 people.

No longer confided to Tanzania, the Group’s various operations have reached Zanzibar, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa, and it is by no means stopping there.

Further expansion plans exist, and will do as long as business continues to do well and there are parts of Africa still to conquer. To date, the group has achieved recognition as a Pan-African level, which is says paves the way for it to become a global platform.

Whilst it has left its restaurant origins far behind, not everything about the Group’s humbler past has been forgotten. In fact, AZAM is now the brand name for Bakhresa’s efforts, serving as a trademark and a sign of quality. It began on Bakhresa’s food products, a nod to the restaurant that made it all possible, and from there it moved outwards: now, the AZAM name and logo can be seen on the side of the Group’s transit lorries, on ‘AzamTV’ adverts and packages (not to mention on-set trailers!), and even Azam Football Club! If you can think of it, Bakhresa seems to have it branded.

Bakhresa Group

In total, the actual products that Bakresa Group produces (rather than football players it sponsors) are as follows: wheat Flour and wheat bran; maize flour and maize bran; biscuits and bakery products; carbonated soft drinks & malt flavours; natural fruit juice, bottled water, ice cream, plastic packaging, paper bags, ferry and air passenger service, road transport services and, as mentioned, more outof-left-field product voices such as Azam Media and Amaz football club. Azam chocolate and ice cream is the most popular in Tanzania.

Said Salim Awadh Bakhresa was born in Zanzibar in 1949. Far from a likely billionaire, he dropped out of school at 14 to instead sell potato mix. In time, he opened his restaurant, Azam, and from there, he expanded his business ventures into grain milling. This area of operations remains a central one to the group to this day: the main products from Bakhresa’s company are still those from the Kipawa Flour Mill, which processes a range of rice and grain products. In fact, its output from this mill is so significant that Rwanda is dependent on it to provide 120,000 tons of

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wheat flour per year, with the aim that this supply with ease pressure on food prices (the countries are neighbours and so this supply reduces import cost).

Meanwhile, whilst part of Bhakresa’s operations are aiding a food crisis, in a completely different area of the business, the Azam Marine division provides international tourists with quick ferry services as more people discover Tanzania. These ferry rides travel to Zanzibar, as well as Lake Victoria and Mount Kilimanjaro While the company is managed by his sons, overseeing the many different areas between them, Bakhresa owns the group itself. Listing its many companies could go on and on: Said Salim Bakhresa & Company Ltd (SSB) was its flagship company, and this still oversees 2,500 tons of milling per day, with a storage capacity of 160,000 tons. Then, there is Azam Bakeries Company Ltd (ABCL), Azam Dairy Products Ltds, Azam Polysacks Ltd, United Petroleum – you get the picture.

Now a self-man billionaire, what is Said Salim Bakhresa doing with his new-found wealth and success? He understands the importance of

Azeem

protecting the people who work for him, and therefore, the group offers a fantastic program for protecting its people against the risks of malaria.

He doesn’t just throw funds at this problem, either – he tackles it intelligently.

Instead of spending US$10,000 a month to heal sick workers, he instead spends US$3,400 a month to protect his workers from getting sick in the first place, which is win-win for everyone. He did this by moving away from monotherapy drug Fansider to instead use artemisinin-based therapies that utilizes polytherapy. Other companies in Tanzania are following suit, and between them, they are hoping to greatly impact, slow or even stop the spread of malaria in their region. This benefits not only Bakhresa’s employees but also the wider community.

something they built from scratch. Bakhresa Group, however, is very much the result of loving labour, and this will be passed on to Said’s many sons, who are already deeply involved in the business. Not only is this gratifying, but seeing this same group impact those around it positively in significant ways such as combating malaria or easing food prices and shortages is both heartwarming and inspiring.

The fact that all of this could come from a simple restaurant opened by someone who dropped out of school at 14 is even more impactful.

When one reads of a vast conglomeration that spans industries and has a billionaire at its head, it’s tempting to assume that the founder was always wealthy, and that their ownership of said group is a result of acquisitions and mergers rather than

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