Endeavour Magazine September 2019

SEPTEMBER 2019 www.littlegatepublishing.com

Amazing World

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HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS Managing Editor Alice Instone-Brewer editor@littlegatepublishing.com Managing Director Alex Hilling-Smith alexsmith@littlegatepublishing.com Sales Manager Emlyn Freeman emlynfreeman@littlegatepublishing.com Head of Editorial Research Paul Bradley paulbradley@littlegatepublishing.com Editorial Researcher James Lapping james@littlegatepublishing.com Editorial Researcher Alex Hayes alexhayes@littlegatepublishing.com Editorial Researcher Dennis Morales dennismorales@littlegatepublishing.com Editorial Researcher David Kimberley david@littlegatepublishing.com Corporate Director Anthony Letchumaman anthonyl@littlegatepublishing.com Lead Designer Alina Sandu studio@littlegatepublishing.com CEO Stephen Warman stevewarman@littlegatepublishing.com For enquiries or subscriptions contact info@littlegatepublishing.com +44 1603 296 100 ENDEAVOUR MAGAZINE is published

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EDITOR’S NOTE

A

nother month has passed, and boy, it’s been a wild one for our UK-based office. Voters for Remain, and even some for Leave, in the Brexit referendum are now questioning the Prime Minister’s request to close parliament in the run-up to the October Brexit deadline. Is it democratic, it’s being asked, for a figure-head that only one party voted for to close parliament, so MPs elected by the population to represent their interests in a Brexit debate cannot actually do so, in a push towards a Brexit that seems vastly different to what the country voted for in the first place? Critics are calling the Prime Minister’s move an act of ‘dictatorship’. It would all be a fascinating twist if this were a Netflix series, but unfortunately, it is not.

It is important to remember, though, whilst watching these events unfold, that similar and, indeed, far worse disputes are occurring throughout the world. Whilst the British population debate democracy, the people of Hong Kong continue to fight for it in protests that are seeing violence used against the crowds and many activists arrested. Around the world, conflicts ensue, countries recover from or prepare for the rising number of natural disasters, and yet, there is also so much to celebrate. Sometimes, the news can make it feel as though situations are growing dire in every corner of life, and yet there is so much innovation, cooperation and progress being made, and so much of that comes from the private sector.

Mining companies have been highlighted as frontrunners in CRS projects by Endeavour Magazine, and we learnt of many such support and outreach programmes from Perseus Mining when we spoke with them this month.

Unexpected, though, were the insights into the insurance industry that we gained from GC&C Asia, who told us about the proactive approaches the sector has begun to take to loss prevention. Risk assessment and risk management are becoming an increasing focus for GC&C and many of their competitors, helping their clients to limit the impact of events such as natural disasters. Doing this helps both insurers and their clients, protecting insurers from otherwise rising claims, whilst offering more as a company and creating a safer world. Evolutions like this within our private sectors remind us that whatever challenges arise, people have the ingenuity and passion to counter them.

Read about these fascinating changes and much more in this month’s issues of Endeavour Magazine!

Alice Instone-Brewer

Endeavour Magazine | 3

CONTENTS FEATURES

13

Engineering The Best Solutions Promor Pte Ltd

19

Proactive Protection Generali Global Corporate & Commercial Asia

27

Flawless Support TSL Group

37

A Strong Base Perseus Mining

45

Keeping Afloat SATT - Shipping Association Of Trinidad And Tobago

51

One With The Land Fond Doux Resorts

59

Driving Forwards C&I Leasing

65

Overseeing It All Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA)

73

Seeking Higher Things Davis & Shirtliff Group

81

Giving That Little Bit Eqstra Eqstra Fleet Management

89

Well Equipped Bell Equipment

95

Global Brands, Local Favourites Mewah Group

Trinidadian Culture,

Trinidadian Taste 101 Royal Castle

Maintaining Excellence 109 Kooiman Marine Group

The Drilling Experts 113 Ausdrill

117

Generali Global Corporate 4 | Endeavour Magazine

The Grande CĂ´te TiZir Limited

Giving You The Edge 123 SAM Springfarm

Architectural Mouldings Ltd

Promor Pte Ltd

ARTICLES

Business Headlines

6 Africa 7 Asia 8 Americas 10 Europe 11 Middle East

Amazing World

34 Aquaponics 70 Staying Positive Automotives 106 CitroĂŤn DS 7 CROSSBACK

Ultra Prestige BlueHDi 180 AT

Tanzania Ports Authority Endeavour Magazine | 5

BUSINESS HEADLINES AFRICA Uganda confirms nine-year-old has Ebola Uganda’s health ministry has confirmed a new Ebola case in the western town of Kasese.

A nine-year-old girl who had travelled from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo was found to have a fever during screening for Ebola at the Mpondwe border crossing.

A blood sample confirmed that she had Ebola. The girl was then isolated and transferred to an Ebola treatment unit.

Uganda runs screening centres along its border with DR Congo in an effort to keep out an outbreak that has killed close to 2,000 people in the last year.

Meanwhile, people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Goma city are warning that Ebola may spread because people are having difficulty finding clean water.

West Africa’s Opioid Crisis In Nigeria, prescription drugs are being taken in life-threatening doses by millions.

West Africa - and particularly its most populous nation, Nigeria - is battling an opioid abuse crisis. Medicines such as tramadol, 6 | Endeavour Magazine

prescribed by doctors for pain relief, are also being taken in life-threatening doses by millions in search of a fix or a release from poverty, unemployment and lack of opportunity.

There is also an ongoing opioid crisis in the USA, where those prescribed the medication for pain can become addicted and find the medicine difficult to come off of. Court cases are soon to take place throughout the US to hold pharmaceutical companies responsible for this addiction crisis.

3.8-million-year-old skull in Ethiopia changes evolution assumptions A 3.8-million-year-old skull of an early human in remarkable condition has been excavated

by Paleontologists in Ethiopia. Experts say that the discovery could change our understanding of human evolution.

The find, known as “MRD”, revealed the face of a presumed ancestor of the species famously represented by Lucy, the Ethiopian partial skeleton found in 1974.

Scientists have long known this species of hominin existed, but previously discovered facial remains had been limited to jaws and teeth.

The finding challenges a previously held belief about how humans evolved.

“We thought A anamensis [MRD] was gradually turning into A afarensis [Lucy] over time,” said Stephanie Melillo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany.

However, MRD reveals the two species coexisted for about 100,000 years.

ASIA Poor outlook for Great Barrier Reef, Australia says The Great Barrier Reef’s outlook has been officially downgraded from poor to very poor due to climate change.

A five-year Australian government report says rising sea temperatures remain the biggest threat to the reef.

Actions to save it “have never been more time-critical”, the report reads.

Stretching over 1,400 miles, the reef was designated a World Heritage site in 1981 for its “enormous scientific and intrinsic importance”.

In recent years the reef has been increasingly damaged by warmer seas, which have killed off coral and affected its long-term health.

An earlier report, in 2009, scientists said the reef was “at a crossroads between a positive, well-managed future and a less certain one”.

The second report, in 2014, ranked it as “an icon under pressure” with efforts needed to fight key threats.

Hong Kong activists arrested in crackdown Three prominent pro-democracy Hong Kong activists have been arrested in less than 24 hours.

Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow, both of the Demosisto political party, were detained over a 21 June rally where protesters blockaded police HQ for 15 hours.

Independence campaigner Andy Chan was arrested at the airport whilst trying to fly to Japan.

They are among 900 people arrested since protests began in June.

The Demosisto party said Mr Wong, 23, was “suddenly pushed into a private car on the street” while walking to a train station at around 07:30 local time.

Both he and Ms Chow have been taken to police headquarters in Wan Chai.

The activists were detained on suspicion of “inciting others to participate in an unauthorised assembly” and “knowingly taking part in an unauthorised assembly”.

Japanese Anti-groping stamp lets victims mark assailants An anti-groping device aimed at tackling sexual harassment on public transport has been launched in Japan.

It allows victims to mark their assailants with an invisible ink stamp in the shape of a hand.

People can then use the device’s black light to identify those who have been marked.

The firm involved says it wants to help tackle the crime, but one sex abuse charity is concerned that the tech could place an added burden on victims.

Japanese firm Shachihata says it developed the stamp to help deter groping on trains in the country.

The company first announced it was developing the stamp in May after a video showing a pair of Japanese schoolgirls chasing down a suspected groper on a station platform went viral.

Endeavour Magazine | 7

AMERICAS Hurricane Dorian intensifies as it heads toward US Hurricane Dorian is strengthening once again, with winds increasing up to 105 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center. This makes Dorian a Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

“Dorian is expected to become a major hurricane on August 30th and remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through the weekend,” said the Center in its latest public advisory.

Hurricane Dorian is expected to make landfall in Florida as a category 4 storm at the start of September.

The advisory adds that there may be lifethreatening flash floods, swells and rip current conditions.

There are currently no coastal watches or warnings currently in effect.

Taliban says peace deal with US to end Afghan war is close A peace accord to end America’s 18-yearwar in Afghanistan is close to completion, the Taliban said, with a rough draft being proof read and translated before it is signed off.

Donald Trump’s chief negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, will leave officials to complete final details in Doha, and fly to Kabul to brief the Afghan government. He is then expected to head to Brussels to brief Nato allies before any deal is signed and announced, sources familiar with negotiations said.

“We hope to have good news soon for our Muslim, independence seeking nation,” said Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban’s political office in Doha.

Details of the accord will not be announced until it is complete, but sources briefed on the talks said it is expected to see America withdraw troops over around 15 months, but only if security conditions on the ground are met.

The Taliban will give guarantees Afghan soil will not become a launchpad for attacks by transnational terrorist groups, though it is unclear how that will be verified.

8 | Endeavour Magazine

Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $572 million to Oklahoma in landmark opioids case Johnson & Johnson, the US pharmaceutical giant, has been ordered to pay $572 million to the state of Oklahoma in the first court case to find a drug company responsible for fueling America’s opioid epidemic.

The company was sued by Oklahoma for its deceptive promotion of highly addictive prescription painkillers.

Following the seven-week court case, in Oklahoma, Judge Thad Balkman said: “Those actions compromised the health and safety of thousands of Oklahomans. The opioid crisis is an imminent danger and menace to Oklahomans.”

It was the first case to reach court among thousands being brought against pharmaceutical companies by state and local governments.

Around 2,000 such civil actions have been consolidated and are due to go before a judge in Ohio in October.

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EUROPE Thousands of UK protestors gather outside parliament over PM’s proposed suspension of government Boris Johnson has been accused of committing a “constitutional outrage” after he asked the Queen to allow him to suspend parliament for five weeks until 14 October.

Opposition leaders believe the move is an attempt to stop them from blocking a nodeal Brexit, prompting critics to accuse him of trading in democracy for dictatorship.

In a day of high drama, protesters descended on Westminster demanding the PM “stops the coup”, with over a million people signing a petition against prorogation within hours In a response to criticism, Johnson has said that UK’s Brexit negotiators will now meet their EU counterparts twice a week next month, in the run-up to a crucial summit on 17 and 18 October.

Mr Johnson says while he would prefer to reach a deal, he is willing to leave without one, and maintains that the UK will leave by the October deadline. £3m fund set up to help UK nationals with EU residency application A £3m grant to help UK nationals living in the EU with residency applications has been set up by the government.

Charities and voluntary organisations will be able to use the money to support UK nationals preparing for Brexit with a focus on those who may struggle with the paperwork.

This includes pensioners, disabled people, those in remote areas, and those needing translation help.

About 1.3m UK-born people are currently resident in the EU. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the government wanted to help UK nationals be “fully ready for Brexit, whatever the circumstances”.

Under the rejected withdrawal deal agreed between Theresa May and the EU, UK nationals would have kept their freedom of movement rights during a transition period.

10 | Endeavour Magazine

Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg completes transatlantic crossing on zeroemissions yacht 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has completed her crossing of the Atlantic on a zero-emissions sailboat. She made the crossing to attend a conference on global warming.

She and a sailing crew encountered rough seas on the way to New York.

The teenager refused to fly to avoid a plane’s gas emissions. Action against climate change has been a theme of protests she’s led in Sweden that inspired student strikes in about 100 cities worldwide.

She is also set to speak at the United Nations Climate Action Summit.

Since August 2018, Thunberg has gone on a strike outside the Swedish parliament every Friday during term time to raise awareness of the climate crisis, an act that has inspired children and teenagers across the globe.

MIDDLE EAST Yemen government forces ‘impose full control over Aden’ Forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognised government have reclaimed control of the port city of Aden, a minister said, three weeks after the key southern city was seized by United Arab Emirates-backed separatists.

Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said government forces retook Aden’s airport, its presidential palace and surrounding areas from forces aligned to the Southern Transitional Council.

“The National Army & the security forces impose full control over Aden’s districts amid great public satisfaction and welcome,” he said in a post on Twitter.

He also tweeted a video of people holding pictures of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi as they celebrated in Aden, the temporary seat of his government.

Government forces also secured a military camp belonging to the STC-aligned Security Belt militia in the nearby town of Lahij, said alEryani.

Lebanese army fires at Israeli drones near border The Lebanese army says it has fired at two of three Israeli drones in southern Lebanon after they violated Lebanese airspace, as tensions mount between the neighbours.

An Israeli drone “violated Lebanese airspace at 19:35 and hovered above a Lebanese army position” in the border village of Adaisseh and returned to Israel after shots were fired, the army said in a statement.

A second drone returned to Israel without being fired at after entering over Kfar Kila, also a border village. The army then fired at a third one which also returned back to Israel, it said.

The Lebanese army does not possess air defense systems, but troops fired shots from M16 assault rifles.

Honduras president to open ‘diplomatic office’ in Jerusalem Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez will travel to Israel at the start of September to inaugurate a “diplomatic office” in Jerusalem, recognising the holy city as the Israeli capital.

The diplomatic office in the disputed city will be an extension of Honduras’s Tel Avivbased embassy.

“For me, it’s the recognition that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel,” Hernandez was quoted as saying.

Hernandez said in March that he would open a trade office in Jerusalem, calling the city “the capital of the state of Israel”, but stopping short of announcing plans to move his embassy from Tel Aviv. It was not immediately clear how the diplomatic office would be related to a trade office.

US President Donald Trump sparked controversy by officially recognising Jerusalem in December 2017, before moving his country’s embassy there from Tel Aviv in May 2018.

Endeavour Magazine | 11

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ENGINEERING THE BEST SOLUTIONS Promor Pte Ltd chevron-square-right www.promor.com.sg phone-square 0065 6274 3770

Servicing the offshore oil and gas industry, Promor has garnered itself a reputation as a premier solutions engineering operation in just a few short years and it looks as though it is just getting started.

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

F

ounded in 2011, Promor is the toast of the Singaporean engineering industry, thanks to its focussed appetite for problem solving specifically for the offshore oil and gas sector. Employing only the very best people, Promor specialises in working with Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) and Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) vessels and has sought to harness a range of targeted engineering services, for clients on a global scale.

A service schedule fit for purpose “Promor has developed its own unique proprietary technology, covering internal and external turret moorings, spread moorings, dis-connectable turret moorings, CALM buoys, fluid swivels and offloading systems. These can be supplied in complete turnkey packages to suit our client requirements.”

No messing about, just astute industry observations and beautifully designed solutions for key sector concerns. That’s what Promor stands for in a bid to provide clients with not only the best service that they have ever encountered, but also a simple and transparent transaction that will take them from concept through to installation and beyond.

Endeavour Magazine | 13

PROMOR PTE LTD

Of course, there’s more to any engineering project than just ‘designing’, but Promor makes the entire process look so simple that detailed modelling, manufacturing and commissioning just appears to flow as one seamless motion.

That is the inherent genius of this innovative, though still young, company. Nothing is too much trouble and even if it does cause headaches, the client will never know and will only ever be in receipt of a perfectly tailored product that solves a number of operation dilemmas.

effective as well as invaluable, to be realised.

What’s more, these projects are opportunities for staff to prove themselves, “Our approach is to use skills training and on the job mentoring and talent development.

Promotions generally come from within, except where some new skill set is required and nobody already possesses it.”

By rewarding existing staff before looking to external recruitment, a spirit of community has been put into place at Promor and a sense of innovative working practices dominates everyday activities as well. With the team being Picking the right people expected to remain cutting edge and aware Problem solving is a tricky business and not of industry developments, there is a sense one for the easily disheartened or distracted, of professional pressure, but this is precisely which is why Promor is flourishing so well. With what has set Promor apart from its nearest almost 40 members of staff in place, each as competitors, experienced, dedicated and adventurous as the “The industry is starting to pull out of last, there will always be a bright mind that can recession thus there is strong competition due visualise a solution to any given issue, allowing to the current state of the market.The challenges for the company’s mandate of remaining cost- are meeting clients’ needs and providing cost

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ENGINEERING THE BEST SOLUTIONS

effective solutions. We set ourselves apart by managing this through the development of innovative solutions to our clients’ needs that are drawn from our extensive experience and backed up by research and close working relations with suppliers and manufacturers.”

No man is an island, even when working offshore, so it seems, and by embracing collaborative working practices, Promor is laying the foundations for future growth and increasingly larger projects.

sub-sea systems and a host of other necessary elements, “The staff at Promor Pte. Ltd. has over 50 years of experience and a proven track record in successfully providing complete engineering services, adaptable designs which provide a flexible approach and solution and proprietary designs for bearings, fluid swivels and major components.”

Imagine doing all of this, whilst also actively protecting the environment and looking for opportunities to increase safety and Specialist services on tap diversity within the staffing body. That’s a For those in the know, Promor’s list of heavy responsibility by anyone’s standards, services and products will be impressively but Promor takes it all in its stride, having all encompassing, demonstrating a clear been founded on these principles. Customer domination over clients’ needs and a definite satisfaction is always priority number one, but grasp of the industry, from within. by retaining a firm grip on responsible operating As an independent provider of both services methodologies and being vigilant to support and products, Promor doesn’t hide behind the human resource element of the operation, other brands, it is out there, under its own this is a company that chases more than just name and steam, supplying turret moorings, the profit margins.

Endeavour Magazine | 15

PROMOR PTE LTD

The ‘human’ approach is one that works, if Promor’s huge list of former and repeat clients is anything to go by. Including big names, such as Samsung, Petrofac, Rubicon, Quadrant Energy, Bumi Armada and PTSC, the portfolio is certainly strong and only getting more solid by the day, thanks to increasing numbers of new projects being won: “Promor is currently supplying an external turret on and EPC basis to a S.E Asian client for operation in the harsh South China Sea. We are also involved in ongoing operations support for several FPSO’s operating in the region as well.”

By cutting its operational teeth in notoriously difficult locations, Promor is, effectively, proving its mettle from the moment of inception. Lesser companies would try to get settled by taking on relatively easy or straightforward tenders, but that’s not the way this fresh and fearless team works.

Laying future foundations Promor has made incredible ground in just 8 short years, but it’s the future that looks really exciting. With the perfect foundations in place for expansion and consolidation, these are the focus points for the management team in the next twelve months. As more viable projects materialise, Promor will be there, offering a unique and tailored set of engineered solutions.

As the industry develops, so too will the team, ready to adapt and go with the flow and as the oil and gas sector becomes increasingly concerned with greener initiatives, Promor’s ethical mantra will play a hugely important role in helping other companies to meet their eco targets. You really couldn’t write a better success story for such a fledgling operation and it’s going to be fantastic to watch it grow.

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06.08.19 13:47

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PROACTIVE PROTECTION Generali Global Corporate & Commercial Asia chevron-square-right www.generaliglobalcorporate.com phone-square 00852 3971 2732 The world around us is changing quickly, and with it, the insurance industry is changing too. We spoke with Axel Roesner, head of Generali Global Corporate & Commercial Asia, to learn more about Generali Global Corporate & Commercial (GC&C) and the way they, and the industry at large, are adapting to respond to the risks our world now faces.

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

G

enerali Global Corporate & Commercial (GC&C) is a division of the Generali Group, a major player in the global insurance industry. GC&C offers complete insurance solutions and related services, catering to medium to large companies and brokers in over 160 countries. In particular, the division has offices in Europe, Asia and the Americas, from which the company’s entire client base is reached. We spoke with Axel Roesner, Head of GC&C Asia, in charge of ensuring the fulfilment of the Generali Group Strategy in the corporate and commercial segment in Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, China and India.

Whether there is an office in a client’s region or not, GC&C guarantees them the same level of assistance and protection all over the world, thanks to its global experts in multinational programs, claims and loss prevention.

The services that supplement its insurance policies are, to Axel, what makes GC&C stand apart. “Historically, insurance has been associated with a product or contract between a customer and the insurance company to transfer certain risks. In stark contrast, we believe we should go the extra mile to deliver a value-added proposition with a serviceorientated experience for our customers, Endeavour Magazine | 19

GENERALI GLOBAL CORPORATE & COMMERCIAL ASIA

adding value beyond the policy. We focus on providing service-led propositions that position us to respond to customers’ needs as a lifetime partner, rather than only providing them an insurance policy or a product. Our focus is on being agile, flexible and adaptable so we can meet the specific needs of our clients.”

These added services include processes to make it easier and smoother for clients to notify claims and have these claims fulfilled, and most of them relate to the concept of risk assessment, protection and prevention.

Nowadays there is an increasing focus on the main common objectives that benefits both clients and insurer alike, e.g. working together to reduce and prevent the likelihood of such incidents occurring.

To this end, GC&C in Asia, and worldwide, is putting increasing focus onto conducting risk management assessments and claims analytics for its clients, taking advantage of the results to establish and support both preventative and emergency procedures in order to reduce the

20 | Endeavour Magazine

number of incidents a company faces and the amount of fallout should an incident occur.

This might not sound like the traditional role for an insurer, but it makes so much sense – it benefits everyone and means a client gets much more from GC&C than just a policy. This way clients also gain a relationship – as Axel put it, a life-time partner. GC&C’s motto is ‘What’s keeping you awake at night?’, and this is how they work with their clients; “Companies’ priorities vary depending on the industry type and their risk manager. We take care of those worries - we look at the risks, the current protection, and advise how best to manage it.”

GC&C serves clients in a wide range of industries across the following lines of business: property, casualty, engineering, specialty risks, marine and aviation.

GC&C’s professionals conduct risk assessments regarding the procedures and measures the companies already have in place, and look at areas in which they could improve.

The same applies to ensuring that data from

PROACTIVE PROTECTION

losses and accidents is being used, e.g. by the use of analytics. One of the partners that helps GC&C with this is Crawford, offering loss adjustment support with expert insights across various sectors.

Because of how quickly the nature of the potential issues can change, a specialised and particularly challenging service that GC&C offers is cyber insurance. “Clients have quite a key concern regarding how quickly a brand can be damaged by any reputation accident and they are also worried about the losses if data leakage occurs.” In analysing risks and putting preventive measures in place, GC&C brings in experts within this fields to give their clients the best advice and support possible.

Another threat that seems to be on the rise, and one that has had a heavy impact on the insurance industry (as well as the world) has been the rise of natural disasters. “The Insurance industry has suffered from higher than average natural catastrophe events in the past years, which resulted in large losses.” In Asia, one of

the most notable weather changes was an increase in windstorms. “We had typhoons across Asia with major impacts in 2017 and in 2018, with an increasing frequency that was not expected from observatories and insurers” Climate change related concerns also raised serious questions for insurers who are increasing risk management measures, adjusting policies taking this trend into account, updating the terms of coverage in order to remain profitable and sustainable. “Many international insurers have therefore recently restructured their portfolios and are stricter in their selection, including a tighter scrutiny of underwriting practices” This, more than anything else, has pushed GC&C and many of its competitors towards their more preventative, less reactive new approach to insurance. The company readdressed its portfolio a little, making sure to further diversified it geographically and across business lines, in order to balance out high-risks. However, for the clients who are in

Expertise for any type of loss.

Any time. Anywhere.

Loss Adjusting

Third Party Administration

Managed Repair

Medical Management

On-Demand Services

Catastrophe Response

9,000 employees | 50,000 field resources | 70 countries | $14B annual claims payments Key Contact: Mike Campbell-Pitt, President, Asia | T: +852 2526 5137 | E: mike.campbellpitt@crawford.asia Learn more at www.crawco.com

Endeavour Magazine | 21

GENERALI GLOBAL CORPORATE & COMMERCIAL ASIA

areas of risk, the company got pro-active in assisting them. “We worked with our clients and the brokers to ensure that we improved on any risk management measures. After the first typhoon, a lot of our key clients improved their risk management, and so the 2018 impact was in comparison far lower.”

“At the end of July, we announced a new organizational structure within Generali Global Business Lines to further boost the development of the corporate business. A Strategy & Business Development function has been created under the leadership of Sergio Di Caro, who brings with him a broad array of international experience. As per GC&C, starting from September 1st we had a change at the helm of our unit, with the appointment of Manlio Lostuzzi as new CEO of Global Corporate & Commercial. Manlio is former CEO of Genertel and GenertelLife and has an extensive international experience, having been responsible for the Life, Non-Life and Reinsurance businesses of the Group.”

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Looking at the future, we can say attitudes towards insurance vary wildly across the Asian region.

In more mature economically developed countries, GC&C finds that there is a high market penetration. In emerging regions, this penetration and awareness is lower. “Now across Asia, there is a very high untapped potential due to this low awareness. One of the core role of the insurer is to help individuals, as well as corporations and understand the risk they’re taking on a daily level. We want to aim for prevention, which should be the common objective insured and insurers. There’s still a way to go, but it’s an exciting journey.”

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FLAWLESS SUPPORT TSL Group chevron-square-right 0044 20 8920 4180 phone-square www.thetslgroup.com

On the cusp of its 40th anniversary, we took a look at Trinidad Systems Limited and the TSL Group, speaking with its CEO Stuart Franco about the team’s recent changes, how the company stays ahead of the curve, and what sets it in good stead for the next four decades.

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

E

stablished in 1979, Trinidad Systems Limited has grown from an independent technology company to the parent of a branching six-company Group that serves the entire Caribbean Region from its two bases in Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados. With a range of prestigious technology partners including Dell, VeriFone, Entrust Datacard, Checkpoint and Xerox, TSL is doing well, but how did it get here? We spoke with Stuart Franco, TSL Group CEO, to learn more about the group of companies.

“The TSL Group is made up of multiple companies that span many industries. We’re all rooted in technology and create value by using advanced programs and technical methods that enable us to provide reliable solutions to our customers at scale. The diversity of the group allows us to provide services to practically every industry, which means our customers come from every professional background.”

This wide-reaching offering of technological support is split among the Group’s six companies, with each one focusing on a particular area of expertise. Directly under the TSL Holdings umbrella are Trinidad Systems Ltd, TSL Leasing, The DocuCentre, Meso and PetroCom. Separately, TSL International Endeavour Magazine | 27

TSL GROUP

currently only contains TSL Barbados, but this separate bracket makes room for more overseas operations to be added in the future and TSL has plans to do so).

Stuart went through each company with us and broke down what sets each apart.

Trinidad Systems Ltd, the original company and in many ways still the heart and hub of TSL’s offerings, prides itself on offering toplevel services in imaging & printing, hosting services (mobile phone top-up, gift card and loyalty applications), audio visual solutions, networking & structured cabling, and bank and credit card issuing & acquiring solutions.

“TSL Leasing,” Stuart went on to explain, “was established in February 1999, with its raison d’être being the management of operating leases inclusive of full-service maintenance, provided by TSL, to its most valued and credit qualified customers.

Meanwhile, Meso provides outsourced payroll and human resource management services to

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companies to relieve them from the tedious, time-consuming processes that are involved in payroll and HRM.” In a slightly different vein, The DocuCentre provides digital printing services through retail, with its PrinTree branch offering the same online.

Lastly, there is PetroCom, which takes TSL’s IT know-how and applies it specifically to the petroleum industry: “PetroCom is a geoscience and petroleum engineering consultancy group that specializes in petroleum-related project management; specialty geological and geophysical reservoir evaluation; 3D reservoir definition and seismic surfaces; and pre-interpretation processing and seismic precision software application training, all to enhance and streamline the exploration and production workflow of clients.” That’s a mouthful, but in summary, it means that PetroCom can take the petroleum industry’s exploration efforts to the next level through imaging and analysis software and software

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support – a highly specialised area that serves one of the key, if not THE foremost industry in the Caribbean. It is certainly the driving force in Trinidad & Tobago, which explains why this industry has a dedicated company catering to it within the TSL Group.

TSL has a long-standing history in an industry where experience is only half of the battle – you need to be constantly alert to keep up with the latest developments, and TSL know this. “It’s no secret that the technology industry is growing and changing rapidly and TSL is growing and diversifying with it. This allows us to stay buoyant within our market.

It’s how we’ve made it to 40 years. We have competition in every area in which we operate, which is why we hire the most skilled people in their field. Our team of experts tackle these challenges head-on and are solution focused.

We overcome obstacles with this attitude.”

TSL currently employs over 150 staff, but their numbers are growing fast. Hired for their expertise, staff are still regularly trained to keep them as up to date as possible. “Knowledgeable and empowered staff are happy staff and building on their skillset comes with a plethora of benefits to the company. Our staff are better able to perform and provide our customers with exceedingly great service, which furthers our differentiation from our competition.” As the TSL company websites states, their team is made up of “extraordinary individuals who share a passion for achieving the very best in everything they do, so you can be the very best in everything you do.”

This isn’t to say that mistakes and issues never occur; as any company knows, and especially an IT-based company, problems happen. Whilst a well-trained, expert staff can couple with proper procedures to greatly reduce these moments, they can never be eradicated altogether (much though it may be every IT company’s dream to reach that smooth, errorless existence). Instead, part of how one must assess a company like TSL is how well they respond when issues DO occur. This is an area in which TSL takes wellearned pride. “We have a very significant drive towards customer satisfaction. We know that

things can go wrong, but what defines us as a service provider, business partner and most importantly, people, is how we react when thing do go wrong. This is a significant part of our character.”

“We also have an incredibly loyal team which is made up of more than 40% working with the company for over a decade. Our leadership is incredibly diverse and attracts and motivates talented people who share our values and goals. TSL’s staff truly care about the work we do, and this is what makes us unique.”

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TSL makes sure to support its staff and show recognition to this dedication, which it does not only through in-house training and the availability of advancement opportunities, but also through events such as awards ceremonies.

“Leaders often underestimate the power of a simple ‘thank you’ when someone has gone the extra mile in their job. We recently had a small prize giving ceremony where almost 50 staff members across all departments were awarded tokens for their daily involvement in getting jobs done with one of our longest partners, which led to us winning the coveted Distributor of the Year award. Not only did they all deserve the recognition, but exercises like this one foster productivity and synergy within our team.”

TSL has produced a family-like atmosphere where staff can come forward to make their voices heard, can have fun together, and know that they are in a safe and encouraging work environment. Stuart himself is a testament to

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team loyalty and enthusiasm, and the support that TSL gives: November will mark his first anniversary as CEO, but he actually joined TSL 17 years ago as a sales representative. This is noteworthy both because Stuart’s dedication shows what an excellent company TSL must be to work for, and because it shows how genuine TSL’s support of its staff is. Many companies boast about internal promotion prospects but tend to source much of their leadership team from elsewhere. For a sales representative to rise through the ranks all the way up to Group CEO proves that TSL walks the walk.

As well as the strength of its own team, TSL’s success is also thanks to a strong foundation of partnerships and long-term relationships that, in many cases, have spanned for decades.

“Our partners are all leaders in their field and bring insurmountable value to our company and the services we provide. We are grateful to continue to build on our relationships with our valued partners. We are proud of these

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partnerships and are thankful for their loyalty through the years.” The Group has over 25 technology partners in total, and just to glance at the line-up, major names and familiar logos from the industry will leap out at you. Look up TSL yourself – it’s quite the collection of names!

As well as November marking Stuart’s first anniversary as CEO, it also marks TSL’s 40th anniversary! To celebrate the occasion, the Group has organised an event in October that will allow many of these partners to showcase how far they have each progressed since the relationship began, displaying and demonstrating their technology from 40 years ago alongside their most modern advancements today. Given how quickly technology changes within the span of a year these days, this event should be a real eye-opener (or trip down memory lane). For technology fans, imagine what an amazing temporary museum it would be to explore.

To celebrate the occasion, the Group has organized an event this October in collaboration with the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) in Trinidad and Tobago which they have called Rethink Risk. In the age of total digitization and highly publicized data security breaches around the world, TSL found the most relevant conversation to have is on Security. Rethink Risk will explore cyber security trends and challenges faced by organizations worldwide and their line-up of international experts will share their knowledge on how Caribbean organizations can take steps to avoid cyber casualties. These speakers come from some of the largest tech corporations in the world and are sector leaders in their fields.

Their keynote speakers for the day include Maya Horowitz, Director of Threat Intelligence and Research at Check Point Software Technologies from Tel Aviv, Israel. Formerly Head of the Intelligence Department of the Israeli Defense Forces, Maya is responsible for

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TSL GROUP

leading the Intelligence and Research team in finding new cyber campaigns and identifying the hackers behind them while leveraging her team’s analysis into threat prevention products at Check Point. Another big player in their event line up is Alissa Abdullah who is currently the CTIO at Xerox and formerly the deputy CIO at the White House under the Obama administration. With 6 other dynamic tech and security experts to lead the day’s discussions, Rethink Risk promises to bring some of the brightest minds and most cutting-edge technology together for one day of learning, problem-solving and networking.

On the topic of new advancements, Stuart tells us that TSL has many significant projects currently in development, but it’s all extremely hush-hush and mysterious at the moment.

“We are constantly working on new projects with the aim of diversifying and expanding our reach but I cannot divulge them at this time.

For now, the details of these projects are still TSL_CheckPointAd_FAW-Bleed.pdf

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in the confidential stages; we will share them with the public when the time is right.”

What they were eager to share with us was the recent founding of the TSL Foundation, a CSR-based branch of the Group that is currently focusing on a series of programmes in youth outreach and environmental sustainability.

These projects should be just the start; as TSL continues to grow, it plans to keep investing in this area and to expand its charitable operations.

After 40 years in the industry, TSL is as relevant as ever, providing the Caribbean with the technology and software support it needs for a range of industries, including the allimportant petroleum industry that Trinidad & Tobago is so defined by. If its team’s innovation and passion continue, there’s no reason why November couldn’t be the start of the next 40.

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1-868-628-9330 | www.trinidadsystemslimited.com 80 Woodford Street, Newtown, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago

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AMAZING WORLD

AQUAPONICS

by James Lapping ince the dawn of agriculture, the way we is then pumped back into the fish tank. This grow our crops has begun by planting process can then be repeated. a seed in soil. Starting with an originally The method has become increasingly simple method, over time, we have managed to popular in recent years, but is certainly not innovate and improve. Growing methods have a recent phenomenon. Basic examples are been altered, tools to make our lives easier have known of throughout history, particularly in the been forged, and chemicals and pesticides Aztec culture and in early Chinese civilizations. have been formulated to grow bigger and However, these do differ greatly from today’s better crops. However, a new age is emerging. more sophisticated set ups.

With climate concerns and global instability There are numerous options for what can be increasing, there has never been a better time produced with the technique of aquaponics. to become environmentally conscious with our As this is a method that can be used on an agricultural practices, and a need to increase industrial scale or simply by hobbyists, the yields in a shorter period is paramount. fish used can either be edible or ornamental.

Cue Aquaponics. The word is a fusion of The most common fish that tend to be used aquaculture and hydroponics, as the practice is and farmed are trout, catfish, carp, and tilapia. a combination of each of these. It is the process Aquaponics is currently most successful at of cultivating crops alongside fish. Plants are producing leafy greens; however, a variety of grown above water in a literal fish tank. The food products can be harvested, such as herbs, fish waste is pumped through a biofilter with salad greens, lettuce, kale, chard, bok choi, nitrates, which then provides nutrients for the peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, beetroots, crops. Once the crops have taken the excess radishes, carrots, onions, broccoli, cauliflower nitrogen from the water, thus purifying it, this and much more!

S

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One of the most exciting aspects of aquaponics is the vast amounts of positives it has over traditional methods of farming.

It is almost completely carbon neutral and environmentally friendly, it uses less water, less land, a minimal workforce is required, it doesn’t leave areas with depleted, over-farmed soil, and the fertilizer used is natural, meaning no mining or manufacturing is required. Both the fish and the crops produced are organic, and the method means that you get two for one when it comes to your yield – greens and protein! Farming can also occur all year round, as you can do it inside and anywhere, which minimises the carbon footprint. As food won’t have to travel as far to get to your plate, more of the nutrients within the crops will be maintained and it will taste much fresher. As it is self-sustaining and able to yield crops in half the time, surely aquaponics is going to

become the preferred method of farming in the near future.

Due to the overwhelming positives of aquaponics, it is believed the industry is due to rise rapidly. Some suggestions say that the market will be worth approximately $1.3billion - with a rising global population, it could be the future of agriculture. It uses less space, and grows food quicker, and therefore better responds to supply and demand. Though the industry is in an early stage of its development, it could become an effective way of feeding everybody.

So, one day in the near future when you tuck into a salad, this may well have been grown by a fish! That’s definitely food for thought.

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A STRONG BASE Perseus Mining chevron-square-right perseusmining.com phone-square 61 8 6144 1700

In 2012, Perseus Mining began operations at its first site, the Edikan Gold Mine in Ghana. Now, Perseus has branched out beyond its original ‘singlemine, single-jurisdiction’ limits; with two new sites in the Côte d’Ivoire, the company is now operating or developing three promising locations, and continues to investigate potential for even more. We spoke with Jeff Quartermaine, Managing Director and CEO, to learn about this new portfolio, and why Perseus has created such a stable position.

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

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erseus Mining acquired its latest project, the Yaouré Gold Project, when it took over AIM-listed company Amara Mining PLC back in April 2016.

“At that time,” Jeff told us, “Amara was a junior company who had drilled this deposit out and were promoting it as the best undeveloped project in West Africa. It wasn’t quite as huge as they believed it was, but it’s still a very good project.”

Perseus spent the first two years after acquiring Amara securing licensing and doublechecking Amara’s results and exploration work, which involved around 80,000 metres of confirmatory drilling. This drilling confirmed Perseus’s amended estimates on Amara’s original results, which were the estimates upon which Perseus acquired Amara. The confirmation complete, Perseus is now “very comfortable that this is a robust and accurate estimate”.

The acquisition of Amara was, Jeff told us, “part of a very deliberate strategy on our part to diversify the company away from our first operation and get multiple exposures in multiple jurisdictions. We were keen to diversify away from being a single-mine company.” At the time, Perseus was already developing its Endeavour Magazine | 37

PERSEUS MINING

first project in Côte d’Ivoire, Sissingué, which was its second project in total, and had been its first venture into a new territory. We asked Jeff about the company’s experience in achieving its aim and reaching out into a new country: “Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana couldn’t be more different, even though they share a common border. One was a British colony and one was a French colony. Operating in Côte d’Ivoire is more bureaucratic and more process driven than Ghana. Clearly, there are language differences there, but we work very well with them – we have very good people on the ground. However, Côte d’Ivoire is relatively underexplored and there are only about four or five operating mines in the country, as opposed to Ghana, which has years of history with mining.

Each country offers its pros and cons – what Côte d’Ivoire offers in smooth systems, Ghana offers in experience. Operating in Ghana is tried and tested, both for the country and

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for Perseus, but in Côte d’Ivoire, there is an opportunity to grow together as both country and company explore new horizons. Whilst mining experience is thin on the ground in Côte d’Ivoire, it seems this industry is on the rise there: “There’s been a few explorers into Côte d’Ivoire in recent years, and that’s due to a very proactive effort from the current government to open up the borders and to make investment an attractive proposition for incoming people,” Jeff says.

Building this new relationship with Côte d’Ivoire was a task Perseus took seriously, and approached through the principle of reliability.

“I think having a clearly defined set of values stands us in good stead. We have a fundamental philosophy of doing what we say we’re going to do. I think we’ve earned the respect of the government with our first mine [in Côte d’Ivoire]. We said we were going to build it, we did, and did it very well. We said we were going to invest heavily in the local community and to

A STRONG BASE

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PERSEUS MINING

employ people locally, we’ve done all of those things and it’s very visible. Having earned the respect of the government, getting our second property license wasn’t difficult.”

Perseus’s newest mine, Yaouré, is contracted to go into operation in January 2021, but if everything goes according to plan, Jeff expects them to deliver first gold there by December 2020. In developing Yaouré mine, Perseus not only undertook its confirmatory drilling, but also expanded its reach and conducted additional drilling around the outskirts of known deposits.

The company’s findings indicate there is significant underground potential on the site, adjacent to one of the existing pits. Whilst Perseus itself currently only operates open-cut mines, many of its leadership have experience in underground mining operations, so branching the company out in this new direction would be a return to established knowledge for many.

In 2020, Perseus intends to continue exploring this underground potential with a tool

that should greatly assist the accuracy of the Company’s results: technology developed by a company called HiSeis, which allows explorers to conduct accurate 3D seismic surveys in potential deposit sites. “It’s not dissimilar to what’s being used in the oil industry, except it’s being applied to hard rock. It’s being used successfully in Australia, and has been part of why the Australian mining is doing so well at the moment – these guys have been able to locate deep, deep structures and have been able to target their drilling.” Through HiSeis, Perseus will gain a far more accurate view of what underground potential its sites have, with the hope it can develop these underground sites in order to greatly extend the mine-life of its properties.

Perseus isn’t stopping there, however. The company also intends to expand exploration efforts into greenfields areas, potentially in different countries, to further expand the Companys’ portfolio. “In the longer-term, we’d

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like to have four of five operations, spread between three or four countries. However, the objective is not about size - it’s about profitability for all of the stakeholders that we have.

“It’s a very difficult business – there’s no two ways around it. You face many challenges, particularly when you have operations in Africa.

You’ve got to be resilient, and you’ve got to be able to work your way through those issues, and if you can, it can be extremely rewarding.”

Just as Perseus’s attitude to building a relationship with the Côte d’Ivoire was based on reliability, so too is its approach to bonding with the local communities it works within. In both Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, Perseus is actively involved in various CSR projects around their mine locations. In Côte d’Ivoire, this is mandatory – 0.5% of a mining company’s revenue must go into a trust fund that is then administered by a local prefect and used to help the local area. However,

Perseus goes above and beyond this in all territories.

“It’s good for us. It’s very simple, really; if the community is happy, then your workforce is happy, and if your workforce is happy, then they’re productive,” Jeff says.

The communities in Côte d’Ivoire took longer to warm to Perseus than in Ghana, as there isn’t that same established history of mining, and therefore local residents didn’t know what to expect. However, by providing support and living up to their same standard of reliability, Perseus turned that around. “I think at first, the community were skeptical about what we might bring, but we’ve been able to prove that we’re worthwhile people to have in their midst.

At the end of the day, if you’re not welcomed by the community, you don’t have much.”

Perseus has been involved in the construction of infrastructure such as clinics, schools, reading halls and water pumps in the areas they operate around, as well as working

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PERSEUS MINING

to establish sustainable businesses to fill the gap in the economy that will be created by the employer when the mine eventually closes.

In the meantime, these businesses also help to close the economic gap between those employed by the mine and those who aren’t.

“What we’re very keen to do and administer is to create opportunities for local entrepreneurs to create businesses and to generate income, not only when we’re there, but also when we leave. So, for instance, we’ll help women, particularly, with setting up small-scale farming or cloth manufacture; we can actually buy those products from them whilst we’re there, but they can have a sustainable business after we’ve left.”

Perseus also invests in local education by sponsoring youth to go to technical college.

This provides skills for tradespeople who can then be hired by Perseus and assist in the construction work around the local villages, making the aid doubly impactful.

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Perseus Mining is a stable and reliable presence in these communities and economies, and it is also solidly situated in terms of its portfolio. Five years ago, it was a company with all of its eggs in one basket, and with a lot of growth that needed to take place. Now, as Jeff told us, “We’ve established a really strong operating base, and we’ve got a strong growth profile moving forwards based on the assets that we already own. We don’t have to acquire anything at the moment – we can turn Perseus into a very significant company with what we’re already got. That’s something that not a lot of companies can say. We’re very confident that the future for our shareholders is particularly good, especially in the current market environment.”

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KEEPING AFLOAT SATT - Shipping Association of Trinidad and Tobago chevron-square-right 001 868 625 2388 phone-square www.shipping.co.tt As twin islands with a booming oil and gas industry and an equally bustling leisure and hospitality trade, Trinidad and Tobago rely on shipping. The Shipping Association of Trinidad & Tobago has a hefty responsibility on its shoulders, so we took a look to see how it copes.

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

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stablished in 1938, the Shipping Association of Trinidad and Tobago (SATT) exists to look after and represent not only the many ports that exist around the coasts of the island region, but also shipping agents, ship owners and operators, ship brokers, freight forwarders, and NVOCCs, among others. Its members include many wellknown names in the shipping or oil and gas industries, including Gordon Grant & Company Limited, Gulf Shipping, Seaboard (Trinidad) Ltd, NEC, BPTT, and both container ports – PLIPDECO and PPOS, T & T Marine Pilots Association. Unsurprisingly, there are many entities in Trinidad and Tobago that either work exclusively or closely with shipping, and these agents and groups rely on SATT to go between them and the government to represent their interests.

As with many such associations, SATT’s main responsibilities are to lobby and advocate in maritime-related matters, both to the Trinidadian government and other significant authorities and entities, including the UN, NGOs and other interested parties. It must also represent members’ interests to the industry’s regulators, and to facilitate communication and Endeavour Magazine | 45

SATT - SHIPPING ASSOCIATION OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

cooperation between its members and these entities to promote trade and industry reform.

Whilst shipping is essential for Trinidad and Tobago, it is not a problem-free industry.

Far from it – elements such as rival ports on other Caribbean islands, both in terms of shipping and refueling, have caused difficulties for the country lately, and SATT recognises these difficulties as issues that it must help its members adapt and respond to. As the association states: “The association remains committed to strengthening the position of its members in the marketplace, and promoting capacity-building initiatives. We have adopted a new membership structure to more strategically respond to the challenges plaguing the industry, and to enable more rapid change and transformation. SATT will continue to evolve to ensure that it remains relevant to its diverse membership in an everchallenging environment.”

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That said, SATT has a long history, and in its time, it has seen Trinidad & Tobago through more challenging and elaborate changes than these, so it is confident that it can rise to the challenge again. It describes itself as having a “highly adaptive nature”, which it points out is “an important attribute in the global maritime industry”, and it isn’t wrong. The maritime industries tie together many interconnected issues, including fuel prices, politics and environment changes, to name but a few.

However, looking at SATT’s history, it is easy to see that it can take such things in its stride.

SATT was born during one of the most fraught and complex periods in modern history – the Second World War. Before this, it had existed in the form of the Steamers Warehouse Association, which the trading house of the same name formed to address the issue of port labour employment on behalf of its members. When the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago and the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union were formed, this association was no longer able to call the shots without becoming part of a more official body.

Therefore, on April 1938, SATT was formed, with the sole aim of negotiating with the SWWTU on behalf of its members.

During its early life, SATT functioned as a labour employer, and it couldn’t have faced a more tense or complex period of time to begin. It worked to protect employees and its members’ interests throughout the end of the Second World War, including Trinidad & Tobago’s Port of Spain being used as a marshalling point for the Allied Nations. This was a hectic and challenging time for the port and for the region, but SATT persevered.

For Trinidad and Tobago, the end of the war brought a period of industrialisation, and as Trinidad’s operations grew, so too did SATT’s influence and range of responsibilities. This further grew when Trinidad & Tobago achieved independence from Britain in 1962, and became a republic in 1976. The Government assumed the overseeing of all port labour employment, which took away a large portion of SATT’s

SATT - SHIPPING ASSOCIATION OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

operations at the time. However, all was not lost; SATT’s built-up wealth of experience meant that it was still invaluable, especially to a government that had just taken on a series of duties it had previously not tended to. SATT’s role therefore shifted into that of a consultant, and from there, an association to lobby on others’ behalf.

Today, it does just that, looking out for the interests of its members and Trinidad & Tobago as a whole. It also provides information in the form of studies and statistical analysis, as well as educational materials, and works as a middle-person in trade negotiations, amongst other duties. Its total operations are numerous and, by and large, they can be summed up by the words advocacy, negotiation and advice.

“The dynamic and interconnected nature of the maritime industry calls for an equally dynamic local body with the appropriate global mindset to effectively lead the development of the industry at the national level. Today,

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the SATT contributes to the development of the local maritime industry and by extension national development through the provision of critical services to its membership. These services aim at developing and sustaining an industry representation at the highest level, both locally and internationally, and assisting the membership to operate at international industry standards.”

The SATT is broken down into three levels or sections of operations: the executive council, the secretariat and a series of subcommittees. The executive council is headed by the association’s President, and focuses on the formulation of policies and guidelines for the association and its members to follow.

The secretariat, led by the General Manager, implements these policies, whilst subcommittees work under these to focus on specific projects. This structure makes sure that projects are always getting the dynamic input they require, whilst the more overarching

KEEPING AFLOAT

issues are still attended to and standards are maintained.

Externally, SATT also works closely with and is supported by many larger-reaching bodies – specifically, entities that oversee or are involved with shipping concerns in the Caribbean. These include the Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA), of which SATT was a founding member, the Caribbean Latin American Action (CLAA), the Association of the Caribbean States (ACS) and the Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC).

Involvement with these entities allows an exchange of information that benefits all parties, as well as a wider reach for SATT’s voice, giving SATT a wider insight into Caribbean operations whilst also keeping these Caribbean associations mindful of Trinidad & Tobago’s needs.

Its journey has been a long one, with its mission being redefined many times, but SATT has refused to sink. As it states itself, “The SATT

has evolved into a modern, customer-oriented organization. It readily dealt with challenges presented by its external environment by remolding its operation and using its expertise towards achieving new objectives. The Association has evolved with time and under its able leadership will meet the demands of the shipping industry way into the future.”

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ONE WITH THE LAND Fond Doux Resorts chevron-square-right www.fonddouxresort.com phone-square 001 758 459 7545

Saint Lucia is an island renowned for its natural beauty, even amongst its Caribbean sisters.

The crisp beaches and ranging Piton mountains are famous features that attract visitors from the world over, but tucked away within the rainforests of the lush island, there is another striking spot of beauty: the restored, historic authenticity of Fond Doux Resorts.

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

W

e find it hard to stop talking about Fond Doux Resorts: the striking French colonial estate and the working planation that surrounds it are like a scene from another century. 250-years old, the central building has been restored with love and situated amongst a blend of naturally occurring and carefully tended vegetation, its gardens and crops working hand in hand with the surrounding trees to create an oasis of ‘eco-luxury’. ‘Eco-luxury’ is an experience that balances the immersive relaxation and enjoyment of the resort’s guests with a genuine love and care for the land around them, and for the team behind the resort, it is a source of pride.

This striking location was a labour of love for owners and founders Lynton and Eroline Lamontagne: the last time we spoke with Eroline, the resort was on the cusp of some major construction work, and we caught up with her to hear how the developments had gone. However, she revealed to us that since the last time we spoke, the resort had come up against a challenge.

Hiccups are common when it comes to construction projects, but Fond Doux had more than a small complication to contend with: Endeavour Magazine | 51

FOND DOUX RESORTS

last storm season, hurricanes heavily struck the Caribbean, and their impact was widely reported. As a result, construction in the resort slowed; one would think the hold-up would be due to damage caused, but Eroline explained to us that it was actually down to a secondary impact of the disaster – a drop in tourism, and therefore, in funds. “The Caribbean islands were heavily impacted by the hurricanes, and so visitors were skeptical of traveling to the Caribbean, which greatly affected occupancies across the Caribbean in the summer and autumn months. We were forced to scale back our construction plans.”

Whilst the hurricanes left damage in their wake and received a lot of media attention, Eroline argues that the level of concern they caused in holiday-makers went further than it needed to: “Natural disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes, winter storms and tornadoes occur in all parts of the world, yet persons still travel. We are very fortunate in the Caribbean,

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as we only experience these storms over a limited two-month period.” With the hurricane season over, there is no reason to stay away, and Fond Doux is ready to receive guests.

Refusing to take a set-back as a defeat, they have even altered their construction plans: “In the middle of this year, we will begin the construction, and have redirected our plans to construct more upscale cottages to reflect the eco–luxury aspect of the resort.”

This isn’t to say that no construction work has taken place yet: Fond Doux has made several improvements to both the resort and the planation, such as an extension to its main kitchen, a new entrance to the main office and reception, and additional plants and fruit trees in the resort’s gardens. However, the most ambitious plans lie in the future: the construction of new, upscale cottages with features such as solar heaters, as well as plans to further expand the gardens and planation to enhance the natural luxury that attracts visitors.

The history of the Fond Doux estate follows a similar path to much of Saint Lucia’s industry: the estate started out as an agricultural plantation, growing a range of crops including coffee, sugarcane, cocoa, cotton, nutmeg and bananas. These crops are all highly desirable, especially bananas, dubbed ‘green gold’ at the time and were a cash crop exported to Britain.

However, when Britain became part of the European Union, the Windward Islands lost their preferential treatment in exporting to the UK, and had to instead compete with Latin America. The islands couldn’t keep up with the competition, due largely to acreage and terrain, and Saint Lucian banana farms were forced to adapt. Many diversified into other crops, and some branched out into the tourism trade.

Fond Doux took the latter option. In 1999, the estate became a Heritage Tourism site, “offering tours and lunches to cruise ship passengers and tour operators.” At first, the estate only offered tours and food, but since then, it has expanded.

In 2006 the plantation erected its first cottage, The Angelina Villa (named after Eroline’s eldest sister Irene Angelina Charlemagne), in the gardens at Fond Doux. “The Angelina Villa originally stood on Waterworks Road in

FOND DOUX RESORTS

Castries, where it had been neglected for many years, a mere shadow of its former self and due for demolition.” The 160-year old colonial villa was purchased, dismantled and transported to Fond Doux, where it was rebuilt and restored by artisans who specialize in old building techniques. The African Tulip and the Bamboo cottage were also purchased from Monier in Castries and transported to the plantation.

Restoring the estate was no simple task, as Eroline explained: “The estate had been abandoned and deserted by the previous owners, so there was a need to bring in water and electricity. The existing infrastructure of the cocoa production and old estate houses had to be treated by pest exterminators and then refurbished back to their former glory.

A variety of fruit trees, flowers and plants had to be replanted, and the grounds had to be developed organically.” Once the site was restored, a restaurant and gift shop were added, and people from the local communities were

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employed and trained to serve as tour guides to the estate.

Today, the resort has gone far beyond a plantation offering tours: it now offers fifteen cottages for guests, a triple-tier swimming pool, a gym and organic spa, a gift shop, two on-site restaurants and a wedding gazebo. It even recently opened an on-site chocolate shop, Plas Cacao, which sells organic chocolate bars that the resort produces from its plantation’s own cacao. The gardens have also expanded, with the team making conscious effort to boost the number of endangered fruit trees in the grounds.

Eroline began her career in tourism as an accountant for a neighbouring hotel. After four years in that position, learning the ins and outs of the tourism business via its costs and takings, she opened a small restaurant and boutique along with Lord Glenconner Colin Tennant at the former Jalousie Plantation. It was some time before she came back to tourism: after

ONE WITH THE LAND

the plantation was sold, Eroline and her husband Lynton opened a frozen food outlet called Eroline Foods, which expanded into a supermarket that went on to great success.

This supermarket is still in operation, and in fact receives produce from the Fond Doux plantation. However, her heart lay in St Lucian culture and heritage. The resort’s spokespersons describe Eroline and her husband’s journey and their shared relationship with the island in these fond terms: “Sharing a deep-rooted passion for the national heritage of their native country, they undertook to carve out a slice of their patrimony that would reflect the love they felt for their roots and Saint Lucian culture.”

The couple’s plans were met with doubt by many. For one, the tourism sector at that time was dominated by expatriates, and people questioned whether native Saint Lucians could compete. Additionally, the site, far from the beach and lacking a view of the Pitons, had neither of the key sources of appeal for staying

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FOND DOUX RESORTS

in Soufriere. However, these doubts didn’t account for the Lamontagnes’ passion, nor for the beauty that would be created by their vision and love of the land they were working with. Between their respectful preservation of the plantation and the nature around them, their development of the gardens and their painstaking restoration of the main building, the couple created a pocket of paradise. As the resort describes, they “began to transform the land into a place that would not only preserve the integrity of the natural environment that they held so dear, but would also make it a Mecca for those who appreciate the wonders of nature as they were meant to be seen and protected.”

The resort is Green Globe certified, meaning it is audited by the organization every year.

This ensures that the resort maintains its high standard of green practices year after year, making the Green Globe certification one that you can trust. In keeping with their love of

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nature and their aim to provide an eco-luxury experience, the resort makes careful efforts to conserve energy and water, as well as to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. These efforts range from policies such as solar heating and a ban on chemical fertilizers to finer details such as motion sensors, energy-saving light bulbs, and water dispensers to give guests’ plastic bottles reuse value. The resort has also banned the use of single-use plastics, replacing the plastic bags in their gift shop with paper, their disposable plastic cups and cutlery with biodegradable options, and getting rid of plastic straws. These are but some of a multitude of interventions throughout the resort, big and small, and staff are regularly trained to keep them up to speed with the latest standards.

As well as looking out for Saint Lucia’s land, Fond Doux also cares about Saint Lucia’s people: the locally-owned company looks after its own, employing a native staff and working with local suppliers, including artists, entertainers and craftspeople. The resort also supports its community through charitable donations to organisations such as the Piton Lions Club and neighbouring schools.

However, one of the resort’s biggest expressions of dedication to Saint Lucia continues to be its mission to purchase and preserve pieces of the island’s architectural heritage. Development of the resort has continued as it began, with the purchase of colonial buildings which are moved, rebuilt and restored in Fond Doux’s gardens, saving them from disrepair and turning them into beloved holiday accommodation. Whilst they are positioned and restored, care is taken to make sure that the buildings and nature work in harmony. Considerations, including lining windows and balconies up with the rising and setting of the sun, and the direction of the wind, not only optimize guest enjoyment but also reduce their need for lighting and air conditioning.

Due to this care and dedication, and in recognition of its restoration work and remarkable commitment to the environment, Fond Doux was visited by Prince Charles and

ONE WITH THE LAND

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. This prestigious acknowledgement was but one of many such moments of well-earned recognition for Fond Doux Resorts: in 2017, the company received the World Luxury Award as a Luxury Hideaway Resort, and in 2018 it received the World Luxury Award for the North America Luxury Hideaway Resort. It was also listed in the TripAdvisor Hall of Fame, which was created to honour businesses that have received the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for five years running. However, by far the most prestigious recognition has been Eroline’s receipt of an MBE from Prince William of Wales, Prince Charles’s son, for her outstanding achievement and service to the business community.

Moving forwards, the resort aims to increase its sustainability efforts even further, including working closely with suppliers for the complete ban of plastic bottles. However, Lamontagne’s biggest plans lie in the resort’s continuing expansion. Whatever they go on to achieve,

they will do so with the same values, attention to detail and love of the land that has defined the resort thus far. As their team lovingly described: “Fond Doux has remained remarkably in step with the economic development of Saint Lucia, including making the harrowing leap from the agricultural pillar to the agri-tourism post. Fond Doux has come a long way, but it has always been true to its humble beginnings, and stands as a fine example of the resilience, creativity and resolve.”

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DRIVING FORWARDS C&I Leasing chevron-square-right www.c-ileasing.com phone-square 00234 903 886 9179 – 89

Whether by land or sea, a fleet forms the limbs of a company, allowing its staff and services to reach wherever they are needed.

We spoke with Andrew Otike-Odibi, Managing Director and CEO of C&I Leasing, a Nigerian company that provides everything from vehicles to the personnel to staff them, about its planned expansion across West Africa.

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

C

&I Leasing Plc (C&I) is a diversified operating lease and business service conglomerate. To break down its services, the company provides a variety of marine vessels for lease, including patrol boats, crew boats, pilot boats, tug boats and platform support vessels, as well as standard land-based fleet vehicles for companies and even car hire for individuals. Of course, alongside these services is everything one would expect to support it; fleet management services, a supplier network ready to assist with repairs, maintenance and fuel, as well as telematics services such as tracking, fuel monitoring and driver behaviour monitoring, to allow companies to better manage the efficiency and actions of their fleet.

These services are available for cars as well as marine fleets.

The company even offers staff sourcing and training, because why stop at supplying a vehicle when you can also provide the driver? C&I provides these services to local and multinational companies alike, with its operations currently based in Nigeria but aiming to spread throughout West Africa.

In fact, the company aims to become the leasing and ancillary service provider of choice throughout the West African region.

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C&I LEASING

Currently, C&I is run out of its head office in Lagos, Nigeria, whilst is also has offices throughout the country in Benin, PortHarcourt, Calabar and Abuja. The company is also achieving a wider presence and reach via its two subsidiary companies, Leasafric Ghana Limited – a vehicle leasing and car rental company based in Ghana - and Epic International FZE Dubai. In 2018, the company also took ownership of C&I Petrotech Marine Limited. To get to know this company properly, we spoke with Andrew Otike-Odibi, company Managing Director CEO, and asked him what he feels sets C&I apart: “C & I Leasing has been in operations for over a decade, serving several blue-chip multinational and indigenous companies, because we understand and practise service excellence. We believe strongly in the right of our customers to receive excellent service, and we continuously apply our resources to ensure that we deliver on this expectation. We are a

warm and friendly group of people and at the heart of all our actions is a resilient belief in our core values of fairness, integrity, responsibility, excellence and safety.”

Andrew joined the C&I team in 1999, two years after the company listed itself on the Nigerian stock exchange, and he assumed the roles of MD and CEO in 2016. He believes that the key to leadership is to encourage teamwork, allowing the company to “leverage on our collective strengths”. This ability to work and grow together is, Andrew told us, another key to the company’s success: “We are a growing and learning organization, never discouraged by mistakes – rather, we take the lessons and continue improving for best results.”

In 1997, C & I Leasing became the first leasing company on the Nigerian stock exchange list, and it remains the only one to this day. As well as its unique position as a public company, C&I is the only company in Nigeria to focus on fleet management, personnel outsourcing and

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DRIVING FORWARDS

marine services all under one roof. The company claims to be the only one in West Africa with this exact structure, and yet this does not mean that they are without competition. Nigeria’s leasing sector is growing, and there are many companies who offer one of C&I’s services as their sole focus, or who combine a different selection of services under their roof, and thus C&I has plenty of competitors to contend with.

Yet, the team still see their unique set-up as providing them with a great advantage.

Competitors are just one of many challenges that a company faces: “With respect to challenges, we have our fair share of them, looking from the macro economic factors such as fluctuations in oil prices and exchange rates, which impact our marine business and fleet management operations respectively, to low entry barriers for competitors in the outsourcing space. We also face regular business challenges such as the constant need to increase value whilst keeping expenses steady and efficient.”

C&I was incorporated in 1990 by the Central Bank of Nigeria to offer operating leases, finance leases and other ancillary services. It went into full operation the next year, and gradually expanded its operations into outsourcing and fleet management, including the commission to own and manage the HERTZ franchise in Nigeria. At the time, C&I was set up as a limited liabilities company, and it remained this way until 1997, when C&I made the move to list itself as a Public company. This change required major restructuring and diversification within the company. After this upheaval, the final major milestone in the company’s history came almost a decade later, in 2010, when it began to invest in the marine sector – a step that led to great success: “Today, we are the leading marine team to beat.”

C&I currently employs a staff of about 5,000 people across Nigeria. 90% of this figure represents staff who are outsourced to other companies for whom C&I manages

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C&I LEASING

recruitment, payroll, training and other HR processes. However, whether they are in-house or further afield, the company takes great care to look after every member of its team: “As stated earlier, we are a learning organization with a commitment to continuous training, growth and development. We schedule an annual training calendar that addresses the organizational and functional training needs of our employees, and every week, we also have 30 minutes of sharing sessions on general issues ranging from health to finance to relationships and self-development.”

C&I also protect their staff through the provision of health insurance and welfare benefits, as well as discounts on products from C&I’s suppliers such as insurance packages, fuel, car rental and vehicle accessories. “These are all in addition to a warm, friendly, semiformal work environment which encourages creativity and innovation.”

Last year was a busy time of expansion and innovation for C&I. For starters, they commenced several new contracts, including one with Huawei Technologies to manage over 200 vehicles across Nigeria for a fouryear project. However, a key focus-area for the company has been investment into its services for international oil companies. In seeking to improve the efficiency of the services and resources on offer, the company hopes to expand its reach in this market and continue to spread its appeal to more international clients from this industry. One such investment has been the acquisition of two new 2018 ASD 2913 tugboats. “On the 1st October, in a joint venture with SIFAX Marine Limited, C&I Leasing commenced a ten-year marine contract with the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas Company (NLNG), for which we deployed two brandnew 2018 ASD 2913 Tugboats named ‘MV Chidiebube’ and ‘MV Folashade’. Earlier, in July, we concluded the buyout of a 27.5% minority stake in C&I Petrotech Marine Ltd, and in the process took full ownership of six vessels presently deployed to a long-term contract with Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC).”

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C&I itself wasn’t the only innovative company in its family last year. Leasfric Ghana unveiled the SWITCH Car Rental Brand, which Andrew described as a “fresh face for its car rental service”, offering airport transfers, exclusive meet and greet services, VIP airport drops and pick-ups, in addition to cross-border travel services with security and escort services.

With all of these initiatives taking place and more expansion plans on the horizon, how is C&I Leasing and its subsidiaries funding these pushes into new directions? In part, the funds are being produced through an arrangement that the company have recently worked out with the Nigerian Stock Exchange. In essence, the company has received approval for a share reconstruction, meaning that for every four ordinary shares that a shareholder possesses, they will now instead hold one share of equivalent value. This has allowed C&I to open up more unassigned shares, which, in turn, means that there is a ripe opportunity to invest in this growing company.

2018 was a year of change for C&I, and this change is just getting started. Each development is but a stepping stone in a larger plan to expand their reach, and turn their unique position within Nigeria into a reputation region-wide, making now the time to watch them.

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OVERSEEING IT ALL Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) chevron-square-right www.ports.go.tz phone-square 0800-110032/47

As you can guess from the name, the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) handles all things port-related in Tanzania, but its influence actually goes far further than that. We took a closer look to see just how far its reach stretches.

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

T

PA is a government-owned body in Tanzania that regulates and licenses port and marine services and facilities, manages vessel traffic and ensures port safety and security. As we’ve said time and again, ports are essential to any country, a key to travel and trade with the wider world. The ports managed by TPA are even more essential than this, serving not only Tanzania, but its landlocked neighbours, including Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda.

Established in 2004, TPA oversees a complex system of mainland, sea and inland waterways, aka lake ports. According to a statement issued

by Director General Deusdedit C.V Kakoko, “Currently, the Authority performs the role of both a Landlord and Operator over the ports, with the main objective of promoting effective management and operations of sea and inland waterways; provision of services in relation to loading and unloading of cargo and passenger services; developing, promoting and managing port infrastructure and superstructure, and maintaining port safety and security.”

Dar es salaam is a hub and Tanzania’s enter port. Following this, the other major sea-ports are Tanga and Mtwara, which are Endeavour Magazine | 65

TANZANIA PORTS AUTHORITY (TPA)

complimented by smaller sea ports Kilwa, Lindi, Mafia, Nyamisati, Kisiju, Bagamoyo, and Pangani. Then, there are the country’s lake ports: Mwanza Noth and South Ports, Nansio, Kemondo Bay, Bukoba and Musoma on Lake Victoria; Kigoma and Kasanga on Lake Tanganyika and Itungi Port, Kiwira, Manda Liuli and Mbamba Bay on Lake Nyasa.

Striving for excellence, TPA hopes to bring world-class logistics and maritime services to Eastern, Central and Southern Africa. It’s important to remember that its performance does not only impact its own country, but its many neighbours who also make use of these ports. It must also cater to vessels coming from overseas, to encourage and facilitate ongoing trade. Therefore, TPA’s many aims include the desire to construct more harbours and more navigational beacons, which it would not only erect but go on to maintain, in order to ease the use of its ports and waterways.

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Kakoko broke down more of TPA’s planned expansions in his public statement: “TPA is currently embarking on big projects in port expansion and development. The upgrading and developing of Dar es Salaam Port through Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway Project (DMGP) will allow us to increase water depth to 14.5m, widening of entrance channel and construction of new specialized motor vehicle berth (ro-ro). A further investment is being made to construct a new general cargo berth at Port of Mtwara with the quay length of 300m with 13m water depth. These investments will further increase the Port’s capacity to handle more cargo by the end of 2020.”

As well as developing, constructing and maintaining Tanzania’s many ports, TPA must, of course, oversee their daily operations. The foremost issue that a port must respond to the need for smooth and efficient harbour services; these involve not only the mooring and unmooring of ships, but making sure that

OVERSEEING IT ALL

all movement in and out between arriving and departing vessels happens smoothly, that every vessel is clearly guided to the correct berth, and that the necessary resources are then available to them whilst they are in dock.

“The safety of your ship as it enters any of our ports is one of our top priorities. We offer a number of services to all vessels that enter our ports including pilotage, tugging and mooring, to ensure that your vessel is safely docked and allowing you to safely conduct your business at our ports.”

Port services also include the handling of various forms of cargo. “We are well equipped with an array of machinery and equipment to handle a wide range of cargo. Our teams of highly trained professionals in various fields work around the clock to ensure that cargo entering and exiting our ports is in pristine condition and on time.” TPA break cargo down into three types: dry bulk, break bulk and bulk liquid. Dry bulk cargo refers to any unpacked,

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TANZANIA PORTS AUTHORITY (TPA)

homogenous product, such as grain, rice or coal.

This type of cargo is easy to drop or pour into containers, down shoots etc. Meanwhile, break bulk refers to any cargo that must be loaded individually, whether this be individual items or containers. This includes products such as vehicles, vehicle parts and agri-products, but despite the name, also refers to hardy products such as iron, steel and other metals. Lastly, as is apparent from the name, bulk liquid refers to any and all liquid cargo, including LNGs and other hazardous products.

This brings us to another essential but less obvious aspect of TPA’s responsibilities – emergency response. When one hears ‘safety and security’ in regards to a port or similar industrial undertaking, one’s mind might go straight to security personnel and surveillance etc., and this is all a requirement too, but on top of that, TPA must be ready to respond to accidental threats such as fire or medical emergency. Both sides are important, and therefore, TPA’s security and fire teams are both available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to respond to any emergency at the port and neighboring areas. It may seem surprising that TPA has its own fire brigade, but given the amount of fuel alone, never mind other flammable cargo, that travels around a port, it is an important resource to have. As the TPA describes, “The fully functional and wellequipped fire brigade consists of experienced firemen and rescue professionals, armed with top-of-the-line equipment and vehicles to tackle anything from fires and explosions to chemical and biological hazards. The brigade does periodical drills to ensure the staff, visitors and other port users are well prepared for any emergency response. The drills are used to benchmark response time and further used to train the emergency responders, staff and port users in order to maintain a constant state of readiness and awareness. The brigade also participates in firefighting efforts outside port areas in collaboration with respective local authorities.”

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to handle any medical emergencies around the port areas. This training includes the ability to respond to both physical and mental issues that port users may have. The teams work with a chief medical officer, and have a dedicated health center on site that’s fully equipped with staff, a clinic and facilities capable of support life-saving surgery. On the other side of the spectrum, there is even a gym to allow staff to keep fit and healthy.

TPA’s work is never done; as well as overseeing the many operations and the hectic ins and outs that make up the life of busy ports, TPA must continually look forwards. As Deusdedit says about their future ambitions, “TPA is determined to forge ahead, focusing on contributing to the Industrial growth policy spearheaded by the government under the President Hon. Dr. John Pombe Joseph Magufuli. Our long-term plan is to see growth of the containers business, general cargoes and oil and gas business, with emphasis on the Hoima-Tanga Port pipeline crude oil business.”

This impact TPA can have on the growth of not only the transport and logistics sectors, but the businesses they support, is significant to remember; the Tanzania Ports Authority has a hand in more than just ports, and its works impact far further afield than just Tanzania.

This strategic position and heavy responsibility make TPA an intriguing organisation to keep an eye on in the future.

AMAZING WORLD

STAYING POSITIVE

by David Kimberley n this age of social media, there are numerous more popular than ‘Rags to Riches’ stories for posts appearing on Twitter, Facebook, inspiring and motivating success.

LinkedIn and the like with messages of It is unknown where this term originally positivity, telling you never to give up on your comes from, but the early fairy tales such as dreams or ambitions.

Cinderella or Aladdin focused on a hero/heroine For me, positivity was summed up best while living in poverty and overcoming numerous watching a nature program on the daily trials trials to become rich or powerful. Oliver Twist of animals on the African plains. A wildebeest is also a good example; the protagonist rising drinking at a water hole found his leg grabbed from a life of child labour and crime to being by the lethal jaws of a crocodile. adopted by a wealthy family. One of the earliest After being locked in a life or death tussle fictionalised rags to riches stories heralds from for several minutes, the wildebeest could the tale of Sir Gareth, a Knight of the Round have accepted his fate. However, even though Table in Arthurian legend who started out as a exhausted, he fought as hard as he could, lowly kitchen boy. dragging the crocodile away from the water However, it is not all fiction and there are until it let go. The wildebeest returned many examples of real rags to riches stories to his herd, wounded but alive. Rather that can help inspire. China’s Emperor Gaozu poignantly, the person I was watching of Han was born into a peasant family but the program with said, “That’s a life lesson founded one of the nation’s most illustrious right there”. imperial dynasties. Born Liu Bang, he served Positivity has been the underlying moral of as a minor patrol officer for the Qin Dynasty. many a story, telling us that never giving up When the Emperor died and the Empire was can help you succeed in life. There are none plunged into chaos, he became an anti-Qin

I

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the mines himself from the age of 10 after his father died, earning one dollar for every ton of coal he mined. In 1943, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Force, flying 25 missions and receiving a Purple Heart for the wounds he received in battle. Following his military service, Bronson went on to become one of the greatest actors of his time.

John Gokongwei supported his family in the Philippines after his father died. At just 13, he peddled random items through the streets of Cebu on his bicycle, then at 17 began trading using a small boat, shipping his wares to Lucena by sea before driving on to Manila. Now 93 years old, his business assets include Universal Robina, Cebu Pacific and Summit Holdings, and his worth is in excess of $5 billion.

One of the greatest recent examples of how never giving up can lead to a life-changing moment is Chris Gardner. For those who have seen the 2006 film The Pursuit of Happiness, this is based on his memoirs. Having lived in foster care with his sisters after their mother was imprisoned, Gardner went on to serve as rebel leader, forcing the surrender of the last a research lab assistant in the U.S. Navy. He Qin ruler in 206 BCE. Following this turn of then became a medical equipment salesman, events, he established the Han Dynasty in 202 working hard to gain a position in the BCE. stockbroker training program at Dean Witter Catherine I of Russia was born into poverty Reynolds. However, this program did not come in 1684 but went on to marry Peter the Great, with a salary and, for some time, Gardner and becoming Empress of Russia in 1724 following his son were homeless, forced to sleeping in her husband’s death. Catherine was the first subway bathrooms, parks, airports and even woman to rule imperial Russia and opened the on public transport. Through sacrifice, tenacity way for her daughter, Elizabeth, and ultimately and sheer willpower, Gardner went on to be her granddaughter-in-law, Catherine the Great, a successful businessman and established to become Empress during the next century.

Gardner Rich & Co, making a better life for his Rags to riches stories are not just confined to family. historical leaders, though. Floyd Mayweather Jr Despite the term ‘Rags to Riches’, it is not all was raised by his grandmother in a home that about money though. Being happy in life, both was often without electricity; his mother a at work and home, is important. Happiness heroin addict and father in prison for supplying breeds positivity, which in turn breeds success. drugs. Dedicated training saw him eventually Everyone hits highs and lows during their become one of the highest-rated boxing stars life. Hopefully, the myriad stories of people of all time. both past and present finding hope from Actor Charles Bronson was born into a despair should inspire many more for years to poor coal mining family. Born Charles Dennis come. After all, where would the wildebeest be Buchinsky, the 11th of 15 children in a family of now if he had given up?

Lithuanian descent, he was forced to work in Endeavour Magazine | 71

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SEEKING HIGHER THINGS Davis & Shirtliff Group chevron-square-right www.davisandshirtliff.com phone-square 254 020 6968 000

Remaining successful and relevant after 70 years proves that a business has more than just good oldfashioned experience behind it; it can adapt. We spoke with Davis and Shirtliff, an East African provider of water-related equipment: for this well-established company, innovation and continuous improvement are watchwords that is clear to see in its expansion and success. We spoke with Group Chairman Alec Davis, son of the company’s cofounder, to learn more about its ongoing journey.

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

D

avis and Shirtliff was founded back in 1946, following the end of World War II

by Eddie Davis who had served in the military in Nairobi who upon leaving purchased a small, independent local plumbing and water engineering firm. Through a partnership with his friend Dick Shirtliff, the two men took this company - RH Paige & Co - and grew it into what seeded the successful and wide-ranging Group that stands today.

From this small start, the Davis and Shirtliff Group now owns a network of nearly 70 branches in eight regional countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Rwanda, S Sudan, Ethiopia and the DRC. It also exports to many other regional countries including Malawi, Somalia, Somaliland, Zimbabwe and several countries in West Africa. This wide network of locations distributes a range of related products that provide comprehensive water and energy solutions that covers water pumps, boreholes, water treatment, swimming pools, generators, solar equipment and irrigation. As Alec Davis told us: “We have a great advantage and strength from our branch network. We also have a very wide product range at various levels, from volume products for the mass market Endeavour Magazine | 73

DAVIS & SHIRTLIFF GROUP

to more specialised industrial products in all these different fields. We’re also adding new branches and products all the time, so it does keep us ahead of the game.“ Early operations of the company largely involved work with the agricultural sector and local water supplies - areas that then had growing demand. From here, the company moved on to expand into water pump supply, and this has remained a key area of the Group’s operations ever since. As Alec told us, “We offer a wide range of pumps for any application you can possibly imagine, and that is the core part of our business.” This range of pumps includes those suitable for everything from drinking water to swimming pools aupplied from three principal sources including Grundfos, one of the world’s largest pump industry players, Pedrollo, an Italian manufacturer of quality domestic and commercial pumps, and also a wide range of its own pumps under the “Dayliff” brand. These supplier relationships have been long and

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consistent; the company has stocked Grundfos for over 50 years, and Pedrollo for over 25.

Whilst strengthening existing activities the company is always looking for new opportunities. “We have three values,” Alec explained. “One is quality, one is integrity, and the other is my old school motto: ‘I seek higher things’. Basically, it’s a focus on continuous improvement, innovation and creativity, which we’re all very focused on. It’s important that we keep moving forwards every year. We are, within the region, an industry giant, and this value is what has taken us to where we are.”

Looking for new opportunities, some years ago the company expanded their business by branching out into water treatment. This is now a major activity that continues to be a growth focus: “We’re now moving into high-tech water treatment such as ultra-filtration and reverse osmosis,” says Alec. Water treatment is just one area of technology focus, and these initiatives do more than increase business volumes, they also add considerable value for their customers.

Davis and Shirtliff serves a wide customer base of private sector, NGO and government institutions across all industries and sectors, all of whom depend on the company for their essential water supplies.

“I’ve been in the business for so long, the market has changed beyond all recognition.

However, we’ve always been in water, we’ve always worked with the public sector and we take pride in the number of projects we’ve done that provide water to deprived communities. It’s a part of our history.” One of the most important technological advances for Davis and Shirtliff has been its move into solar technology specifically to power solutions in water heating, power generation and solar pumping. These technologies have been widely applied including hundreds of solar pump installations in remote arid sites that transforms the lives of the local communities.

“We have completed some significant projects for various agencies across the region including UNICEF, World Vision, Kenya Red Cross and the Ministries of Water in several countries including Uganda, Somalia, Ethiopia and the DRC.

SEEKING HIGHER THINGS

Artist’s impression of the new Davis & Shirtliff Distribution Centre

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DAVIS & SHIRTLIFF GROUP

“We recently completed five large-scale solar pumping installations in north-western Uganda that included pumping systems, distribution piping and storage tanks for the Danish Refugee Council. Before, it was an undeveloped area with little water availability.

Now, these water supply systems have really improved these communities’ lives, most of whom are refugees.” The other recent major project of this nature was in Kenya, where the Group carried out 100 small-scale solar installations for one of the counties that benefited schools, health centres, community centres and government institutions. “This has made a huge contribution, as many of these sites didn’t have water beforehand.”

This new technology provides reliable water supplies in areas that were previously unable to access the power to support such infrastructure, and it is this sort of innovation that continues to place Davis and Shirtliff at the front of the industry in their region. The Group also utilises

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its decades of experience to combine the old with the new and bring clients the best of both worlds. One of their earliest and still most important activities is the supply of a wide range of borehole equipment: “We are the leading supplier in the region, boreholes being one of East Africa’s most important sources of water; there isn’t much surface water and there isn’t much rain, but there is ground water, and our equipment is used in many thousands of sites that capitalizes on this important resource.”

70-plus years in the industry has seen Davis and Shirtliff develop an enviable reputation, including for being a technology-leading organization. Thanks to this, the Group is frequently approached by various suppliers with new products and ideas that are rigorously reviewed by a Product Committee that selects and introduces those with potential and keeps a regular flow of new product initiatives.

Another innovation has been the in-house development of a series of Apps, including one

SEEKING HIGHER THINGS

Proud to cooperate with Davis & Shirtliff

called D&S FLO that is freely available on line that details all products with their specifications and performance and enables digital selection.

“It’s quite advanced – even our European suppliers have nothing like it, so it does give us a great advantage in the marketplace.”

Davis and Shirtliff’s growth has been steady, the result of consistent quality and the tireless pursuit of self-improvement. Alec joined the family business 43 years ago, was CEO for 25 years and is now the Chairman. “We’ve grown organically. Obviously, when I joined, it was a much smaller company: the number of pumps we sell has increased 100-fold since the late 70s. We haven’t grown by acquisition – it’s been consistent growth each year driven by the region’s huge economic development that has helped create these opportunities.”

Asked why the Group has managed to be so consistently successful and become such a major regional force Alec identifies two factors, “The first has been an incredibly loyal

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DAVIS & SHIRTLIFF GROUP

and dedicated workforce, many of whom have served for over 25 years. We now have nearly 800 staff and the combination of progressive employment policies and interesting careers makes the company a good place to work.

For example the Executive team led by CEO David Gatende, have several hundred years of service between them and this experience has been a huge asset. The other reason is a focus on systems where the company has invested in world-class IT solutions that have been developed in-house. This provides the controls and processes that enables efficient operation of such a diffused and complex organization�.

The company continues to grow. In a clear example, it is currently constructing a new $5 million distribution centre as its operations have outgrown its current facilities. The border procedures between Africa’s many countries make the logistics of shipping around the region extremely complex, which is why stock on the ground in key locations is so essential. As well

D&S Pump Range 78 | Endeavour Magazine

as investing in this, the company continues the process of establishing new branches, recently in Kenya, Zambia and Tanzania, as well as introducing a new range of irrigation products and the expansion of their industrial chemicals range.

After 70 years of dedication to innovation, it seems unlikely that Davis and Shirtliff will slow down any time soon. Water and energy solutions remain critical resources throughout Africa, and wherever there is need Davis and Shirtliff is confident that it will continue to make an important and growing contribution in the region.

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GIVING THAT LITTLE BIT EQSTRA Eqstra Fleet Management chevron-square-right www.efm.co.za phone-square 27 11 458 7555

Business is about staying ahead - not only working to be the best at what you do, but when it’s called for, having the courage to start over and create something new. Murray Price took this gamble, and it’s been a call that has taken eight years of work to back up. Now, with a new product behind them and their future ahead, we spoke with Price about what kept his vision going throughout this long process, and what we should all expect from the new face of Eqstra Fleet.

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

T

he 2008 financial crisis hit the whole world hard. In fact, as most of us know all too well, it was the greatest economic sucker-punch since the Great Depression of 1929. Strong and fragile economies alike were shaken, and South Africa was no exception.

2008 was also the year that Eqstra Fleet unbundled from their original owners, the Imperial Group, one of the largest list groups in SA The collision of these two events put Eqstra in a precarious position, and one where they faced a choice: scale down, keep operating as they always have and try to live out the storm, or change.

“If you were to take a view on our company originally,” explains Murray Price, Managing Director of Eqstra Fleet, “we were pretty much a leasing business, focused predominantly on vehicle leasing with a bit of maintenance and accident management on the side, at best. With the events of 2008, we realised very quickly that we weren’t going to be able to compete on price going forward, and made the decision to diversify.”

Adaptation, it’s often said, is the key to survival: Eqstra Fleet decided that in order to compete and keep their business sustainable, they needed to transform into a full fleet Endeavour Magazine | 81

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management company. Not only this – they needed to be a management company with a difference, bringing something new to the table that would out-do their competitors. The road to creating this new, cutting-edge element was an organic part of their service growth, but ‘organic’ by no means implies easy.

In diversifying, Eqstra introduced numerous new services: fuel cards, integrated tracking services, in-house roadside assistance, service and maintenance plans, and the administrative selling of not only their packages, but those of other groups as well. In total, they now offer over 60 services. Arranging and providing such a range of products created new problems for Eqstra to solve, the main one being organization.

To manage their operations effectively, they needed to streamline their data – this need prompted the birth of what would eventually become Quest, a new software system that monitors, organizes and reports on every layer of fleet management and activity through one

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interface. It has been a daunting undertaking to produce, but the result is like no other fleet management service out there: “The view for us was, if you want to play in this market, you’ve got to be the lowest cost competitor, or you’ll never be able to compete effectively, and in order to do that, we needed to automate.

This software was new territory, and whilst Eqstra planned the endeavour, they didn’t fully know what they were letting themselves in for – an eight-year process that is still ongoing, even as they seem to be clearing the woods. “There were many times we questioned it. We’d get feedback from some fleet managers we know in the UK and they’d say ‘Oh, you’re insane.’

We were agreeing with them at one point!

What kept me going was that the requirement had not disappeared and that achieving our objective would deliver measurable value to our wide base of customers.

“We have always believed that what we’re selling to our customers is the system. We don’t really make the car, we’ve never towed, maintained or repaired one – we arrange for it to happen, and that all comes down to the system.”

So, what exactly does Quest offer that has makes it unique to fleet management (and has made it so difficult to produce)? Price breaks the services down for us: “The system was built on Microsoft AX 2012, but we did a lot of dev on top of it. I think for me, the main differentiator is that you have a single point of access to the full range of fleet solutions.” Quest offers fully comprehensive fleet management data, analysed and easily accessible from one reference point. As well as recording the entire fleet lifecycle, from procurement to licencing to fines, short term rentals and complete maintenance information, the system also allows access to data on vehicle insurance, vehicle tracking and fuel consumption. However, the true difference comes in its stream-lined organization: “For everything we do, we can create a case, and a case can have multiple services linked to it. For example, on an accident case, I might have 15 services: I may tow it, I may assess it, whatever I need to do. This allows me to run a

EQSTRA FLEET MANAGEMENT

mini project, with all the services against one case, so that when we’ve finished it, we can produce the customer one invoice for all of the repairs for one incident, not in pieces.”

More than invoicing, this system allows both Eqstra Fleet and their client to keep track of exactly what is happening during a case. “What this system’s also doing is giving a detailed history, so we can see exactly who’s done what. It keeps careful notes, and we track all conversations, outbound and inbound, so we and the customer have a common clear view of what’s really going on.” This level of record keeping avoids many of the bumps that occur between customers and support services: it removes issues caused by departments not talking to each other, customers having to re-state their case to new personnel, and protects both parties from false claims about what has been said or taken place. All in all, the system allows transparency, efficiency and certainty.

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This all-inclusive system also allows Eqstra Fleet to manage personalised services for their clients without unnecessary administration.

Eqstra alter their 60+ products depending on their clients’ individual needs, and this creates a headache of data – or it would, without Quest’s Product Masters keeping track.

Finally, Quest reduces both human error and carbon footprints by operating on a paperless system. The system has 350 in-built outbound documents that are generated automatically by the system, whilst optical character recognition allows it to automatically process incoming documents. “We’ve processed about 300,000 or 400,000 documents since we’ve gone live, coming and going through without human hands.” Automation indeed – every element of Quest sets Eqstra Fleet up to operate in the future fast-lane of industry, where data is king and hands-on-paper is kept to a slick minimum.

Like any new venture, there have been many hurdles along the way; Eqstra’s main challenge

GIVING THAT LITTLE BIT EQSTRA

was converting reams of data over from a less organized system into another, highly organized one in an entirely different format.

Price confesses that they underestimate the sheer effort and time this would take: “The system took us eight years to build. It’s been live in Africa for three, and nearly a year in South Africa. Of the three years it has been live in Africa, it took us two to convert all the 175, 000 vehicles on our system from one platform to the other.”

With doubts being cast by customers and other fleet companies, and the work ever more challenging and time consuming than they expected, some companies would have backed out of the project, but Price kept looking at the long-term. Adaptation needed to happen, and once it did, he was convinced, it would put Eqstra ahead of the crowd: “The thing that kept us going in was ‘We don’t have to convert again’. We needed to do this because it was about sustainability for our business. Whoever

did it, it was going to be a challenge. If you expect to do something great and not take a lot of pain, you’re missing the truth of it.”

Whilst changes are constantly being made, and Price feels it will be a couple of months before they can truly sit back and let the profit of their efforts roll in, Quest is already receiving keen feedback: “Global fleet directors have said they haven’t seen anything like it – not in the States, not in Europe.” Even competitors have started admitting that Quest represents the way forward, and some are looking to start adding similar services to their own models.

“I would say 90% of fleet management companies are facing a legacy problem in terms of system. Everyone’s going to have to do it at a point, and in fact the more mature markets have got more legacy problems than the emerging markets, whose technologies have jumped over the older stuff.

“2008 felt like the worst thing that could happen to us, but it forced us to get moving,

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and thank goodness we moved, because the world around us is changing so quickly now.”

With data and automated software more important and advanced than ever before, Eqstra Fleet are well positioned to play with the big boys, whilst their competitors are going to have to start the arduous journey they’ve just emerged from. Now that the battle is over, like any ambitious business, they are already looking at new horizons by considering Quest’s potential on a global market: “If you look at fleet anywhere in the world, the intricacies change, but the principles don’t. The core flow of what happens is pretty standard, so we think there might also be a global opportunity for the system.” To start, they are looking at testing Quest in the UK, because of the countries’ shared language and close time zones. “It’ll be interesting. We’ve got the right person to take the lead in the UK. Obviously, it’s about who you put in and

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whether they know the market. We can’t presuppose the market from here.”

From there, Price is looking to enable local parties across Africa to use and distribute the software – a more cost-effective solution than boots on ground, and one which will allow Quest to take off at its own speed. After a slow birth, this could be the beginning of a rapid global adventure for Eqstra, and a gamechanger for those looking to keep up. Either way, Eqstra’s story is a testament to innovation in crisis: instead of battening down in the storm, Price let it force the company forwards, to what is now the edge of a potential booming future for the company and fleet management services as a whole.

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WELL EQUIPPED Bell Equipment chevron-square-right www.bellequipment.com phone-square 0027 35 907 9111

Few companies can match Bell Equipment’s fascinating mix of history and machinery industry expertise that has propelled it into the prominent position that it now enjoys.

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

F

ounded back in the 1950s, in Zululand, it wouldn’t be underselling the efforts of Irvine Bell to say that Bell Equipment had a humble beginning. Borne out of an inspired engineering mindset, the likes of which are rarely witnessed but in this case, led to the creation of a homemade water-boring machine, Bell Equipment, essentially, started out as a repair service, “Irvine took up an offer to start a farm machinery repair service on a sugar estate near Empangeni on the North Coast of Natal, South Africa. The enterprise’s ability to repair even the most extensively damaged or worn machinery soon attracted work from further afield.”

With a reputation for being able to fix anything and everything comes a natural increase in the amount of work being offered and as such, structured growth. In 1958, things began to get serious for Irvine, when family members joined the operation and a dedicated workshop was built, alongside his home.

What would follow is years of family members growing up amongst the excitement, machinery optimisation for improved harvesting efficiency and, eventually, the development of a whole new class of equipment: Endeavour Magazine | 89

BELL EQUIPMENT

“Irvine Bell’s approach was to develop a whole new class of machine. Utilising emerging hydrostatic technology and borrowing hydraulic motors from an old motor grader, his prototype three-wheeled loader was granted a patent and named the greatly maneuverable self-propelled machine. Able to control each of the large drive wheels independently, the Bell Tri-Wheeler could turn instantly on its own axis. Also, the simple control concept was easily assimilated by operators without any previous machinery experience.”

With the 1970s came a whole new era of business development, with a move to the Empangeni industrial area and Irvine’s sons joining the team. Keen to make a move into mass production of machinery, the younger generation was able to prove, through a particularly buoyant initial production year, that this was the way to go, “Applying practical hydrostatic systems experience gained while working on

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sabbatical with the Vickers distributor, Peter Bell made significant improvements to the Tri-Wheeler’s design and in 1975, with the expiry of the manufacturing license which had seen production being outsourced, Bell itself began production of complete machines.”

This rapid growth paved the way for more developments, including a custom-built factory in 1984, as well as partnerships throughout the world that transformed Bell Equipment from a small family operation into a serious global player.

The simple truth of the matter is that there isn’t a country in the world that doesn’t have a need for reliable, strong earth-moving equipment. From developing countries through to expanding industrial giants, everywhere needs access to fantastic construction machinery and Bell Equipment has seen to it that it is at the top of the list, when it comes to providers.

BELL EQUIPMENT

Starting with a 25-ton articulated truck design that was launched in 1985, Bell equipment went on to expand the product range in accordance with perceived client needs. By 1989, the flagship 40-ton articulated dump truck had been launched and led to even more diversification. Blink and you could have missed the release of a new model, thanks to the responsive business model in place, as well as a network of partners, “To complement its own product range, Bell Equipment has partnered with global equipment manufacturers to provide customers with a comprehensive range of machines in the construction, forestry, mining and agriculture industries. The group has a customer devoted distribution network that is proud of their service record. Our strategic partnership formed with one of the world’s largest equipment manufacturers, the John Deere Company, during 1999 provides the financial strength to realise our goal - to be the

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world’s premium articulated truck supplier, and in Africa, the equipment brand of choice.”

This aim was not only realised but also surpassed, thanks to even more strategically beneficial partnerships with the likes of Hitachi, Bomag, Liebherr and Finlay, all of which have made Bell Equipment a household name through their distribution channels. It would be a stretch to call this a ‘rags to riches’ story, but it’s certainly true that from humble beginnings and Irvine’s determination to engineer things differently, came a global sensation that is now looking ahead and hoping to secure even more success in the future.

Having built an impressive operation from the ground up and with little more than an intuitive and inquisitive engineering mindset at the start, Bell Equipment is now a global contender in terms of mining and construction machinery that packs a real punch, so how can it improve on perfection? The answer is simple: by releasing more new models,

WELL EQUIPPED

specifically designed to meet the needs of a growing client base, over a number of continents. In addition to this, supporting existing customers and encouraging them to support their own enterprises by purchasing more pieces of equipment will also play a major role in the continued growth of Bell Equipment, not to mention staying on top of new regulations.

In a bid to demonstrate not only the models that have put Bell Equipment at the forefront of the industry, but also the new ideas that are paving the way for future efficiency, the team put on an impressive show at the Bauma 2019 exhibition. The largest and most prestigious event within the construction equipment arena, Bauma is the ideal platform for announcing new developments, such as “…conversion to new emission regulations, model specific improvements and the group’s worldwide commitment to pro-active customer support strategies.”

To think that such a successful operation, that today supports the interests and projects of numerous other revered companies throughout the world, started as a humble repair operation is quite something. Then again, it was also the brainchild of a bona fide engineering savant and with the enterprise still being manned by members of the Bell family, there’s no telling how much more can be achieved. One thing is beyond doubt, however: that Bell Equipment is an operation that will move the earth, both metaphorically and literally, for its clients.

Reg No. 1980/003120/70 Tel: 900 27 11 894-6910 Fax: 900 27 11 894-6922 E-mail: mre@corpdial.co.za www.midrandengineering.co.za

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GLOBAL BRANDS, LOCAL FAVOURITES Mewah Group chevron-square-right www.mewahgroup.com phone-square 0065 6829 5200

When preparing the perfect meal, every ingredient counts. Whether cooking at home or working in a restaurant, love and attention to detail shines through and elevates any dish. If we look for this care everywhere else, then we surely look for it in our store-bought meals as well.

When producing signature dishes for their customers, a consumables company is looking for that same perfection in every step and ingredient; that’s why Mewah’s products are an industry go-to.

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

T

he Mewah Group is an agribusiness company that focuses primarily on the processing of agricultural products into gastronomy essentials such as butters, margarines and oils. Key ingredients in any meal preparation, these products affect not only the health of a finished meal, but also their flavour, shelf life and overall quality. No matter how good a recipe, if the wrong oil or spread is used, the intended experience will never make its way from the pan to the plate of the consumer; Mewah take this role seriously, and work closely with every client to find the perfect solution for their product.

We spoke with Yew Wai Phang, Mewah’s VP in Consumer Pack Business. He explained that roughly 80% of Mewah’s products are sold business to business (b2b), and that their Premium Quality status means that their reputation precedes them. “People recognise us by the solutions we can give to them. I’m giving them a solution, and I’m giving them a solution that is tailor made to them and their requirements.”

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MEWAH GROUP

to evaluate their options alone, the company holds close consultations to establish exactly what each company aims to produce, and what requirements they have to reach their goal. Phang spoke us through the process.

“The market is getting more sophisticated, in the sense that, it’s not just basic oil that people are buying – they’re buying processed meals.

People are not just buying a bottle of oil at the supermarket so they can fry their own food at home – they want so-called ‘convenience food’. So, we are working with these customers to use the right type of oils, so that they can cook the meal and, when it is microwaved later on, it will still have the same flavour profile as if it had been freshly fried.”

“So, for example, a customer might say that they need their best-seller casserole to be microwavable. We will propose a product, and then we may need to go backwards and forwards over time. Taste is one factor that we look at, and another aspect is the shelf life. For

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example, they may tell us that they want the shelf life for their product to be three months or six months etc., and so once the initial taste has been approved, we will perform a full shelflife test.” These tests require waiting for the full shelf life of the product and testing its quality again, to make sure that its quality has been maintained. Mewah participates in this backand-forth until their customer is satisfied, and it is this attention to detail that makes them a reliable partner in any production process – especially in an increasingly competitive market.

As the population has risen and grown more affluent, demand for food products has naturally risen. However, with increased demand also comes increased supply from competing companies, and with growing affluence come rising expectations. Amongst these expectations are, of course, health standards, which Mewah must, like all other consumables companies, constantly keep up

GLOBAL BRANDS, LOCAL FAVOURITES

with their product list. “One of the hot topics right now is trans fats. The consumer does not want, or has a low tolerance for, trans fats. The other hot topic is hydrogenation.” Mewah’s job is to provide companies with products that match these requirements without sacrificing on quality or taste. Their awareness of these standards must also go beyond their own borders and laws: “Our products are sold around the world, from South America to Eastern Europe to China and Australia, and so on.”

However, whilst this b2b process accounts for 80% of their operations, it isn’t Mewah’s only business. 20% of their products are sold business to consumer (b2c) on the retail market, including cooking oils, margarines and spreads, condensed milk, and so on. Whilst this is an area that they would like to expand, b2b seems set to remain their focus: “B2b is our bread and butter. Our scale of production is big, and we are in demand from our customers; they come

back to us and say that they like that we’re doing, and know that they can use our solutions to produce a finer product. Additionally, b2c is a slower business to grow: it’s a little trickier, in that you need to do more marketing, brand positioning and brand awareness. We are developing it, but the gestation period will be much longer - especially globally.”

The process may take longer, but across the board, Mewah are dedicated to growth. To this end, a new factory is under construction in North China. “We believe that this will be one of our major focuses in the coming years, as we grow this part of the market. We are growing our footprint in China. It’s a massive market out there, so we are definitely moving in that direction, and want to be on the ground. We started construction in April last year, and we should be starting it up in the later part of next year.”

This expansion is just one manifestation of a deeper company attitude, and what drew Phang

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MEWAH GROUP

to the company two years ago. “What appealed to me about Mewah was that they have a passion to grow. Decision making happens quickly, in the sense that the owners are here, and I work with them directly. When I worked at my previous company, decision making would take longer; you had to approach different stakeholders and different project teams, to get all of them on board. There was nothing wrong with that – it’s just a different style – but after being in the business long enough, I felt that a quicker decision-making process would be more beneficial, especially out here in Asia.

If you take too long, you may miss the window of opportunity, and competitors move quickly.

The owners of Mewah are here on the ground, they see the competitors moving, and if there’s any need, they say, “Ok, this is where we want to go – go.” Bang. There we are.”

Previous to joining Mewah, Phang had been in the oils and fats industry for 20 years. The company knew him by reputation before they

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spoke, and they were quick to find a mutual understanding over what Mewah needed as a company, and how Phang could provide it.

Given his passion for growth and his support of Mewah’s style of operations, we asked Phang what his advice was for business partners: “I tell those who work with me, ‘The company wants to grow. You bring in the ideas, you bring in the customers.’ Just bring it, you know? We’ll have a discussion, and if it seems worth doing, we’ll try it. It might just be a small step, but we’ll give it a try, and if it’s successful, we’ll grow it out more.” Allowing staff the same sense of involvement in the company’s progress that Phang values himself has been successful in igniting motivation in the workplace. With this fire under them, the launch of the company’s new factory will be the first step of many innovations and leaps forward to come.

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For over 40 years Crown has raised the bar on every aspect of lift trucks in Southeast / North Asia for its customers, including finance. You’ll deal direct with industry experts who know how to match exact lift truck needs with more flexible finance options. So, whether you’re looking to buy or rent, long term or short, new or pre-owned, we’ll give you more options. More finance options. More lift truck options from Southeast / North Asia’s greatest diesel, electric, internal combustion range. Now is the time to let us tailor a package suited to your business needs.

Email contact.apac@crown.com or visit crown.com

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TRINIDADIAN CULTURE, TRINIDADIAN TASTE Royal Castle chevron-square-right www.royalcastle-tt.com phone-square 001 868 646 7425

Since 1968, Royal Castle Ltd have been tempting Trinidadian taste buds with their pioneering fast food chain. We spoke with Sandy Roopchand, Managing Director, to learn more about the brand’s history and what it is that keeps them thriving in a market of growing competition.

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

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rinidad and Tobago are bustling hubs of industry, but they are also booming with colour and good food. The beautiful Caribbean islands are home to music, flavours and festivals, combining celebrations and cultures from their broad mix of heritages, including African, Arabic, Indian, South American Jewish and European backgrounds.

Perhaps the most famous of these festivals is Carnival, brought over by French settlers and celebrated across the islands last month, but spirits are also high for Christmas, Eid, and a colourful slate of Indian celebrations including Diwali, Phagwah and Shivaratri. This global melting-pot has developed a reputation for inclusive culture, flavoursome food and a strong local pride: therefore, to thrive as a local restaurant chain, a company needs to represent all three.

Royal Castle Ltd (RCL) was founded in 1968, making it the first locally-owned fast food chain operating in Trinidad & Tobago.

Now there’s some local pride! The company’s family-friendly, quick-service restaurants offer a mouth-watering menu, focusing on delicious Trinidadian chicken but also celebrating fish and vegetarian options. We spoke with Sandy Roopchand, RCL’s Managing Director, and it Endeavour Magazine | 101

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soon made us hungry: “Our primary product is our succulent fried chicken and crinkle cut fries.

We offer other savory options such as rotisserie chicken, fried chicken breast sandwiches, fish fillet sandwiches, veggie burgers and fish fillet meals, along with an array of sides including potato salad, coleslaw, fresh green salad and newly added corn nuggets. We also have our famous pepper sauce, along with other sauces such as barbeque sauce, honey mustard sauce and tartar sauce to complement our meals.”

Yum! Whilst other locally owned fast food chains have since come into being, RCL began life competing purely against large chains from overseas. In both contexts, it has thrived, now operating 42 restaurants in total. Of this figure, 32 restaurants are owned by the company itself, whilst the remaining ten are franchises, four within Trinidad & Tobago and the other six overseas in Guyana.

With business busy on the small islands, friendly competition is full on, but RCL were

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fortunate to get their foot in the door early and they seem to be here to stay. Sandy explained that the last ten years, in particular, have seen many rival chains rise up, but few have had the sticking power to survive the test of time.

So, what is the appeal of Royal Castle Ltd – beyond the tempting menu? Sandy told us: “Our aim has always been to provide products of impeccable taste and great quality at an affordable price while embodying a warm customer centric environment.”

For Sandy, the most pressing challenges are competition from overseas and a fluctuating economy. The chain has weathered both through its tight links to the islands, creating beneficial and essential relationships with local farmers and suppliers, therefore supporting Trinidad & Tobago’s economy as well as making themselves securely tethered in it. “We pride ourselves in being able to support our local economy by sourcing approximately 95% of our products locally. We have built relationships with numerous farmers, chicken producers and other local bodies for a supply of quality products for our operation.”

“All our suppliers have been key supporters of our success, as they understand our commitment towards quality products and ingredients for our customers.” As well as supporting local suppliers, especially in terms of farm produce, the brand also works closely with popular international sellers such as Nutrina, Fine Choice, Kiss, Cavendish and the ever-popular Coca-Cola. However, it is this local support that is so important, both for the quality of RCL’s food and their position as an important cog in Trinidad and Tobago’s economic machine.

As well as this fresh local produce, local representation and a genuine passion between themselves and their customers are key for RCL: “Our culture and our taste are represented in our brand. Our selection of quality ingredients, combined with our well-trained, multi-racial, cultured staff make our customers’ experience a unique, tasty and unforgettable one. There is an emotional connection between our brand, our products and overall customer experience which represents a true sense of our rich Trini

ROYAL CASTLE

culture.” RCL offer all of this with enthusiasm, and at an accessible price. “Our ability to live our value proposition has really been a resounding factor.”

RCL currently employ over 500 members of staff, and the company has invested heavily in their training and well-being, from floor workers to those in managerial positions.

“We continue to recognise and reward our employees – they are our greatest asset.”

The company also puts a heavy emphasis on internal promotion, recognising the potential of their employees and not putting a cap on how far their ambition and dedication can take them. “Without such an investment in our employees, we understand that we would not be able to uphold our value proposition, nor ensure that our customers receive a good service experience.”

For Sandy, responsibility for the success, quality and happiness of her employees lies with her. “I strongly believe that an organization’s

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relationship with its staff must be mutually beneficial. I understand my responsibility in building and maintaining conditions that make service excellence possible and worthwhile.

Knowing that is a culture change, and one that will create long term success. I also hold myself accountable to my staff as I build trust, earning their respect whilst being authentic and aware of what’s happening at the various levels.”

Sandy Roopchand has been with the company for 13 years. In that time, she advanced from a managerial position in the finance department to Managing Director of the chain: “I have been privileged to lead such a dynamic business with supportive, diverse staff.” Over the years, she has seen Royal Castle’s market begin to shift, or more accurately, broaden: “Our mass market generally consists of customers aged 30 and older, due mainly to tradition. However, we have seen a steady growth of younger customers in the last five years.” In part, this could be due to the high

TRINIDADIAN CULTURE, TRINIDADIAN TASTE

levels of customer service that Royal Castle pride themselves in providing. It could also be a bonus of their other focus: expansion.

Within the last two years, RCL have conducted major renovation works on several of their outlets, in order to provide a more upto-date, welcoming and on-brand appearance.

They have also opened five new restaurants: “Our company is expanding rapidly as we continue to invest in opening new restaurants at various locations to make our products accessible to all. Our aim is to enhance and continue to give our customers greater access to our products by convenience of locations and an appealing ambiance. We also continue to review our product offerings and do our best to excite our customers with additional delicious product options.”

As well as increasing their reach and keeping their menus and atmosphere fresh, RCL are eyeing up greater changes. Firstly, they are increasing their appeal to young families

by adding play parks to a selection of their restaurants, making Royal Castle a trip out instead of a ‘drop in’. They are also eyeing more international goals, hoping to grow their chain’s presence overseas, and even more ambitiously, to provide their iconic pepper sauce on the local and international wholesale market. The latter is no small feat, requiring RCL to first invest in a new bottling plant to produce the product in enough quantity – and they’re expecting demand!

“Our Culture, Our Taste” – RCL’s slogan says it all. It is fitting that Trinidad and Tobago’s first locally owned and run fast food brand has remained so locally minded; even as they begin to scope out distant shores, the value of homesourced ingredients and a representative workforce has not been forgotten. As they expand, it seems that Sandy and the RCL team plan to remember what has always been important to this chain: offering the world a fast but authentic taste of Trinidad.

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AUTOMOTIVES

CITROËN DS 7 CROSSBACK ULTRA PRESTIGE BLUEHDI 180 AT RRP: £44,910

glow, like magic 3D lights. It was quite an amazing show, really - I hadn’t experienced I was given the impressive-looking new DS7 that from a head lamp before! The DS Active Crossback Ultra Prestige BlueHDi 180 AT to LED vision also has a series of small LED lamps review. The engine was a 2.0 L, 4-cylinder diesel that turn on and off when sensing other cars, in an 8-geared semi-automatic transmission. meaning you can drive in high beam and there This beauty was top of the range and fully will be no dazzle to oncoming traffic. loaded, so my first impressions were of joy Outside, this car is a sophisticated Sport and excitement. My car was delivered in the Utility Vehicle that asserts itself with personality Byzantine Gold that shone beautifully and both on and off the road, and turned a few reflected a haze of muscular tones. Against heads during my time with it. Inside, it is stylish, these, the large 20-inch Tokoyo Gloss Black luxurious, and roomy. It has lots of headspace Onyx Diamond cut alloy wheels balanced out all round, and decent leg room in the back seats an aura of elegance. so passengers don’t feel squeezed. The use of Walking around the impressive DS7, it electric seats in the rear was a positive for my became apparent that this is a distinctive SUV guests. The car has a vast boot at 555 litres, from all angles; the stunning front has a, large, stretching to 1,752 litres once the rear seats impressive grille that shouts bling, and it is are folded down. The driving position is very equipped with head lights that were amazingly comfortable and also a quiet place to sit, with designed. When turned once, these headlights an acoustic windscreen to deaden sound and set about going through a discotheque dance a 15-speaker stereo to rock out to. If I am to be routine that mesmerises you with an ultraviolet picky, then I felt that the arm rest is positioned 106 | Endeavour Magazine

too low. Granted, you should have two hands on the wheel – however, the smooth and effortless driving feeling makes you feel totally in control and relaxed, especially when you have chosen your desired massaging option from your chair! My favourite is the wave – massaging the length of your back from top to bottom. The passenger can opt to have this treatment too, with or without the heated seat option. Within minutes, my wife was asleep - a perfectly thought through added option. Well done to the designers. It meant I could move onto playing with further gadgets ranging from which mode to try out. ECO or Sport? What do you think?

For a large, heavy car, it’s quite perky getting out of the blocks. The ride is so smooth that you are up to and over the national speed

limit on occasions, but indicators within the beautifully designed dashboard remind you of the limit, plus warning sounds alert you to dreaded cameras.

This is a great car to drive - I loved every minute of it. It’s a little on the pricy side and has a lot of competition, but the investment of technology integrated within this SUV has to be passed through to the consumer. You can clock up big miles very easily and comfortably, and I’m sold on the headlights. DS continue to impress me with their vision and ability to create new and fresh cars, and we at Endeavour magazine look forward to another model from the DS range to review.

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MAINTAINING EXCELLENCE Kooiman Marine Group chevron-square-right kooimanmarinegroup.com phone-square 31 (0)78 61 00 477

Kooiman Marine Group is a global leader, thanks to a collaborative methodology when it comes to projects and a fearless, visionary approach to innovation, as is demonstrated by the incredible shipyard it owns.

© kooimanmarinegroup.com

Written by Amy Buxton

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hipyards are big business but in the wrong hands, they can also be huge headaches.

With so much infrastructure needed, as well as expensive equipment and expertise on hand 24/7, this is not an industry for the fainthearted or, more significantly, the lazy.

Little wonder then, that the Kooiman Marine Group (KMG) shipyard is a slick operation that has come to be respected by everybody in the industry.

The perfect location When it comes to shipyards, location is everything. Not only do they need to be positioned to allow for passing ‘traffic’, but also strategically located so that, should the worst happen, ships can quickly reach repair facilities and not be delayed more than necessary.

It’s no cliché to say that ‘time is money’, especially in freight and shipping circles, so by positioning its yard in Belgium, KMG has been exceptionally savvy, “Shipyard Gebr. Kooiman BV is located in Zwijndrecht on the Swinhaven, strategically placed and with very easy access from the large waterways. It has developed considerably since its establishment in 1884. Shipyard Gebr.

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varying from building new ships to (large vessel) modifications and repairs.”

Positioned to be able to snare any and all water-going traffic, the yard is understandably busy, but there is more than just fortuitous positioning to thank for the constant flow of work.

propeller shaft seals, Kooiman spud poles and dredging equipment, such as unloading systems and conveyor belts. Shipyard Gebr.

Kooiman is also the producer of the Kooiman ‘De Biesbosch’ anchor and coupling winches.”

Keeping clients afloat While it would be a dream scenario for Everything you need and more every client to be interested in a fleet of newly To look at them, all shipyards might designed and built ships, it’s the repair and seem alike, but that’s only to an untrained maintenance side of things that is the bread eye. For those in the know, it’s easy to see and butter and, more importantly, what has that KMG’s operation is fully stocked with garnered the shipyard such an incredible facilities, equipment and phenomenally reputation within its industry. talented people, Offering inland and seagoing vessels, work “Shipyard Gebr. Kooiman BV is a company ships, pusher, tugboats and fishing fleets a with modern equipment at its disposal, full compliment of repair services, there’s no including two 110-metre slipways with a lifting getting away from the specialist knowledge capacity of approximately 1,700 tonnes, a and years of experience that KMG brings to its 150-metre long outfitting quay, two propeller shipyard. It’s important to remember that while docks with lifting capacity up to 1,000 tonnes some clients will only ever need proprietary and up to 19 metres width between the air repairs and ongoing maintenance work, there chambers. One of the slipways has been is always capacity for more expert tasks to be extended through into the large shipbuilding hall, making it suitable for covered new builds as well as covered repairs.”

This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what is on offer. Overhead travelling cranes, metal workshops, CNC machines, a carpentry shop and even an in-house design team are all included on the roster as well, making for a www.motracindustries.com • info@motracindustries.com truly one-stop shop, in every sense. By offering such a wide variety of facilities and capabilities, Motrac Industries is proud to work as a KMG has ensured that it will enjoy a constant partner with one of the top shipyards slew of repeat clients, with many starting out as for over 25 years now! simple repair contracts and, potentially, leading to the commissioning of entirely new fleets.

We always work on the basis of In short, clients can depend on Shipyard partnership.

Gebr. Kooiman for any fabrication work that involves steel, stainless steel and aluminium All the hydraulic installations that we and the carpentry team will take care of the rest. build and deliver for Kooiman, are There’s even a contingent of deck equipment developed in close collaboration and available, all designed and made in-house, to by identifying the specific needs and the same exacting standards as everything that wishes of customers.

KMG touches, “Kooiman supplies an extensive range of deck equipment, such as Kooiman towing pins, pusher and towing components, Kooiman

A solid system partnership and cooperation Kooiman and Mot

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MAINTAINING EXCELLENCE

undertaken. That’s the joy of being owned by a marine group such as Kooiman, which has strived to always excel, diversify and stay ahead of the game in terms of identifying any and all needs that potential customers may have.

Hence the shipyard itself is so well equipped and maintained. Nothing is left to chance so that there is never an opportunity to tell a client that something can’t be done, regardless of whether it needs to be done in the water or in a covered hall, “Kooiman Marine Group repairs all possible damage to propeller shafts, shafts, rudders, engines and other systems. Likewise, we carry out metalwork to repair damage to the hull, surface, bilges, bow, etc. Thanks to our many years of experience and mutual cooperation, Kooiman Marine Group is able to repair even the most complicated damage expertly.”

Thinking of the possibilities As well as being a steadfast marine industry name, recognised for quality and expertise, KMG

and the Shipyard Gebr. Kooiman in particular, is respected as an entrepreneurial endeavour.

Always seeking out new and profitable projects, there’s a real ‘can-do’ attitude at play, “Kooiman Marine Group displays its entrepreneurial mind set in the nautical sector. We are an independent group of multidisciplinary shipyards with a huge capacity for problem solving.”

Operated by a team of uniquely qualified and approachable managers, the shipyard runs as smoothly as it does due to the time spent investing in the right tools for the jobs and the best people to wield them. Balancing efficiency with craftsmanship perfectly, every member of the yard team contributes to the continued equilibrium between beautiful new designs and cost and time-effective repairs. It’s a fine art, but then again, everything that Shipyard Gebr.

Kooiman does could be considered artistic in its own right, from skilled metalwork through to high level vessel design and everything in between.

A solid system partnership and cooperation Kooiman and Motrac Industries

www.motracindustries.com • info@motracindustries.com

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THE DRILLING EXPERTS Ausdrill chevron-square-right www.ausdrill.com.au

Combining expert drilling services with the best safety record in Australia is no easy feat, but Ausdrill has been at the top of its game and the bottom of clients’ exploration sites for more than 30 years, with no signs of slowing down.

Written by Amy Buxton

1

987 was a good year for Kalgoorlie, Australia, as Ausdrill was founded, with one priority; to be one of the largest drilling solutions providers in the whole of the country. With a clear and focussed vision of how to achieve this, it was obvious from day one that this goal wouldn’t take long to be realised, “To deliver excellence to our customers, we work with multiple commodities, a wide variety of drilling applications, and a depth of experience accumulated by our long-term employees. In all we do, safety and reliability are at the forefront of our service.”

This approach has paid dividends and today, despite only having been in operation for a relatively short 32 years, Ausdrill has a number of achievements to it name, as well as an enviable reputation in the industry.

Known for quality Ausdrill has carved itself a seriously impressive image, fast becoming known for innovative approaches and being willing to invest significantly in the design, build and commission of specialist drilling rigs. It has also become synonymous with being able to drill challenging sites, with lake locations being something of a specialty.

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AUSDRILL Naturally, being able to drill where few, if any, other companies can is a highly saleable commodity, so Ausdrill’s technical capabilities when it comes to high-reach and drilling at height projects are incredibly sought after, but more ‘regular’ tasks are also happily taken on.

Exploration, drill and blast, grade control and geotechnical activities are all part of the Ausdrill portfolio of specialist services, but there’s no chance of the team relying on these aspects to continue to drive profitability, “We’ll continue to lead our industry with new technologies and techniques. We are always looking for safer ways to work and more cost-effective ways to drill, and exploring how innovation can tackle the next drilling challenge. We do all this across a broad range of commodities including, but not limited to, iron ore, coal, gold, nickel, copper, lithium, and manganese. As the resource industry begins to explore mining for the future, we plan on continuing our leadership position to consistently add value for our clients, our industry and our employees.”

understand what makes them tick and what is most important to them. From here, a tailored drillings solution package can be put forward, with the team all working together. No one person holds all the requisite knowledge, but by pooling resources and brainpower, a culture of support and cooperation can be encouraged and fully exploited.

Finally, Ausdrill is keen to always be aware of what is on the horizon and prepare for it, by ‘enabling tomorrow’: “We actively embrace change, enabling new technologies and smarter ways of working, so the mine of tomorrow is safer, more productive and more reliable than ever before.”

Backed by the best How can Ausdrill maintain its position as the best drilling specialist in Australia? It’s relatively simple, thanks to having a parent company with as much reach, influence and financial security as Perenti. A group that has grown significantly in recent years and now enjoys a presence in 13 countries, Perenti has also been directly involved in some of the world’s largest Principles at every turn mining projects, meaning that it is the perfect The mining industry hasn’t always been parent company for an innovative and widely known for its consideration of environmental respected operation such as Ausdrill. factors, stringent safety concerns or low staff With support of such magnitude in place, turnover, but Ausdrill is on a mission to change it’s little wonder that this company from all of these preconceptions, within the regions Kalgoorlie is everybody’s complete drilling where it operates, and has designed a set of partner, capable of project managing every professional principles to ensure progress. facet of a drilling site from inception through Aiming to create “enduring value and to completion, certainty” within a notoriously tumultuous “We provide a wide variety of drilling industry, Ausdrill conforms to a set of beliefs services including reverse circulation drilling, that is shared by every employee, for the RAB drilling and surface diamond drilling. We benefit of the company, clients and the also provide controlled blasting for surface sector as a whole, starting with accepting no mining operations and construction sites, short cuts. probe drilling and in-pit RC grade control By promising to never compromise on drilling and sampling. Whatever you need, we standards, Ausdrill is able to maintain industry- can help with technical support, coverage and leading safety figures, performance quotas expansion for your projects. We can integrate and results, all of which clients are grateful for. within your teams, work with your systems and Add to this a commitment to being judicious processes or alternatively are happy to take and not wasteful and you have stakeholder the lead.” satisfaction as well.

Acknowledging that winning new clients Forming relationships for the future is rarely an easy task, the team always tries to Enjoying a rock-solid reputation for safe, walk in their prospective customers’ shoes, to efficient and effective mining practices in both 114 | Endeavour Magazine

THE DRILLING EXPERTS

Australia and Africa, Ausdrill is always on the lookout for new clients and lucrative, longterm contracts. Considered by many to be “the best people in surface mining�, the company is in a strong position to grow its project portfolio with subsidiary operations already picking up exciting new projects and there’s a clear recipe for future success.

By remaining vigilant as to operational excellence, partaking in strategic growth initiatives, keeping good organisational health and tight control of the finances, Ausdrill will be in a position to be able to tap into the technology-driven future opportunities that are sure to come its way. Where other companies might need to dig a little deeper to find the necessary resources and convince potential clients of their calibre, Ausdrill has already put in the hard work and laid solid industry foundations that will support an evergrowing operation for years to come.

West Australian owned and operated, OMG Engineering provide complete engineering solutions.

Our established reputation within the industry is credited to our team of highly skilled engineering professionals, backed by over 30 years of collective experience.

We have the capabilities and industry credibility to handle a diverse range of engineering projects from initial concept to completion, specialising in drafting, detailed design, fabrication, machining and fitting.

Our workshop utilises the latest technology to deliver fast and precise workmanship to the highest standard, ensuring you minimise down time, and increase the productivity and service life of your equipment.

OMG Engineering

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THE GRANDE CÔTE TiZir Limited chevron-square-right www.tizir.co.uk/projects-operations/grande-cote-mineral-sands phone-square 0044 20 3907 1155 TiZir Limited is a vertically integrated zircon and titanium business, owned in a joint 50/50 split between Australia’s Mineral Deposits Limited and France’s ERAMET. This company produces and sells ilmenite, zircon, rutile, leucoxene, titanium slag and high-purity pig iron. It also handles the largest single dredge mineral sands operation in the world, found deep in the hot dunes of Senegal.

Written by Alice Instone-Brewer

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iZir is a company that benefits greatly from the combined strengths of its two halves: from ERAMET, it gains widereaching expertise in mining, metallurgy, logistics, R&D and marketing, whilst from Mineral Deposits, it gains a more focused expertise in mineral sands mining. That latter ingredient is essential in tackling one of its two key projects: the Grande Côte mineral sands mine in Senegal.

As we’ve said, the Grande Côte mineral sands operation (GCO) is the largest single dredge mineral sands operation in the world.

It is located on a coastal dune system that starts about 50km north-east of Dakar, with the deposit extending northwards more than 100km. TiZir operates this mine in closer partnership with the Republic of Senegal, which is striving to see its economy emerge on a global scale through ambitious projects such as this. The government is invested in developing the country’s infrastructure and achieving accelerated growth by inviting in overseas companies such as TiZir, and by providing what they call a “world-class economic environment” to attract such companies to develop projects on their soil. These goals are all part of the country’s “Plan Senegal Emergent” strategy.

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Senegal gained its independence from France in 1960, and has since become known as one of the most stable democracies in Africa. This stability gives the country an appeal to foreign companies and investors, and it now seeks to promote this appeal. TiZir were one of the many companies to respond.

It total, the GCO operation comprises of a dredge, a wet concentrator plant (WCP), a mineral separation plant (MSP), rail and port facilities, and a dedicated 36-megawatt power station. The operation has a predicted 25-year mine life, and will mostly produce high-quality zircon and ilmenite, but is also expected to produce small amounts of rutile and leucoxene.

The nature of the sand dunes allows for these materials to be easily dredged and processed – there is little to no vegetation to cause complications, and a shallow water table means the sand moves easily. The dredge itself travels through the dunes, mining sand from the front of the dredge pond and pumping

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slurry to the floating concentrator. Sand is then washed through spirals, separating the heavy mineral concentrate from lighter quartz sand, which is sprayed out the back of the pond. This final step means the mine processes restore the landscape as they work, making this a lowimpact way to mine.

The heavy minerals are then transferred to the MSP, where magnetic, electrostatic and gravity processes separate the heavy mineral concentrate into various minerals – zircon, ilmenite, rutile and leucoxene. Again, in order to maintain a low-impact operation, no chemicals are used in any of these separating processes on site.

As well as its limited impact on Senegal’s dunes, TiZir’s operation has meant a boost for the country’s infrastructure – in particular, its transportation. The company refurbished the existing rail line that led to the project, and linked it to a new 22km spur line, which allows GCO to send its products easily from its facilities to the Port of Dakar, Africa’s largest international shipping ports. At the port itself, the company has constructed its own, dedicated storage facilities, complete with fixed and mobile conveyors and a mobile ship loader.

From Dakar, the mine enjoys easy access to the European and North American markets.

To take a closer look at the two companies behind TiZir, ERAMET is a French multinational mining and metallurgy company that has become a leading global producer of alloying metals, particularly manganese and nickel and high-performance special steels and alloys. Its metals are used in a variety of high-demand industries such as aerospace and power generation. The Group operates in 20 countries with a total team of about 15,000.

Their partner in TiZir, Mineral Deposits Limited, is an Australian-based mining company with extensive experience in precisely this manner of mining. In early 2000, MDL shifted its focus from Australia to Senegal, where it successfully built and operated the Sabodala gold mine, which was a game-changing discovery for Senegal: the country’s first major resource project for 50 years.

THE GRANDE CÔTE

MDL now focuses on mineral sands operations, and it was this company that developed the Grande Côte project through its construction phase, before moving it over to TiZir in 2011.

TiZir existed between MDL and ERAMET long before the Grande Côte project joined its portfolio. In 1986, the company commenced operations at the TiZir Titanium & Iron ilmenite upgrading facility (TTI) in Norway. TTI is an uncommon set-up; there are only six facilities like it in operation, and out of them, it is the only one found in Europe. This project uses pre-reduction, metallisation and smelting to upgrade ilmenite, which now includes ilmenite mines at GCO, to produce a high-value titanium slag that is largely sold to pigment producers. It also produces high-purity ‘pig iron’, a byproduct of the smelting process that is sold to ductile iron foundries, and is also used in windmills, in automotive and engine parts, as well as tools and heavy castings.

Since 1926, Eiffage Senegal has been present on all the projects developed in Senegal, with the DakarDiamniamidio-AIBD motorway as its flagship achievement.

Eiffage Senegal’s know-how acquired over all these years has also been demonstrated in its other trades such as building, civil engineering, maritime works, electricity and sanitation. Eiffage Senegal has the advantage of utilising all the areas of activity of the Eiffage Group.

eiffage.SENEGAL@eiffage.com www.eiffage.com

the future with “Inventing a human perspective

“

means continuing to grow while staying true to who we are and our values.

Benoît de Ruffray Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Eiffage

Construction • Real estate • Urban development • Roads • Civil engineering • Metallic Construction • Energy Systems • Concessions Endeavour Magazine | 119

TIZIR LIMITED

GCO is the largest operation of its kind in the world, and fantastically, it is also conscious of the community and environment around it. As we’ve seen, it restores sand on the go, and no chemicals are introduced into the environment by their processes. As well as reducing its impact on the sand dunes themselves, the company seeks to reduce its impact on the local community, with careful land compensation provided where needed. More than just compensating negative impact, however, the company actively provides many boosts and benefits to this community to make sure that its presence is a positive addition to Senegal; its Social Mining Program offers support to local education, health and sanitation, water supply and community socio-economic development, including the construction of schools and health centres, establishing new water sources, the provision of ambulance services, and partnering with AFRIVAC to provide immunisation programs for children.

Eiffage Senegal

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Additionally, the project provides support to local businesses, using Senegalese contractors and other services wherever possible, and also directly employs 500 locals.

This positive effect on community life, coupled with the low environmental impact of TiZir’s dredge mining, makes the Grande Côte operation an exciting prospect that should be a boon to Senegal and TiZir alike. With few drawbacks and many positives, this is an operation that is predicted to yield results for years to come, not only in terms of resources, but in terms of the benefits it can provide to the communities around it.

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GIVING YOU THE EDGE SAM Springfarm Architectural Mouldings Ltd chevron-square-right www.samonline.co.uk phone-square 44(0)28 9442 8288 A family-owned business, SAM is the UK’s premier supplier of MDF mouldings that help to finish a building to the highest standards possible and it is extending its pursuit of quality to customer service elements as well.

Written by Amy Buxton

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ounded in 1990, SAM is a UK business with a difference in that it has remained a family operation and has stayed true to the original niche that led to its incarnation in the first place. It’s a clear case of ‘if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it’ and having identified a significant gap in the market for beautiful MDF mouldings that could be used both internally and externally, it’s been a fast track to success for Sam and Julienne McCrea and their team.

When it comes to the SAM team, there is a tangible sense of togetherness and authenticity that drives the company’s success, from within: “We have strong core values of teamwork, integrity, respect and loyalty – ethics that apply throughout the business. Our commitment to our people is reflected in the fact that in 2004 we were the first manufacturing company in the world to achieve Investors in People Champion status.”

This explains why the management team enjoys a low staff turnover rate, but what is it about SAM that keeps customers coming back for more? It’s no secret that if you treat your staffing body well, offer opportunities to progress and always respect their expert opinion that they will give that little bit extra, but that can’t be enough to tempt clients.

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SAM SPRINGFARM ARCHITECTURAL MOULDINGS LTD

A diverse portfolio If you think that there isn’t much scope for variation in terms of mouldings, think again.

SAM has welcomed countless repeat customers into the fold, thanks to its incredible range of not only moulding styles and applications, but also finishes. From skirting and architrave to door frames. window components, stair accessories, fascias, soffits, cladding, kitchen mouldings and picture frame accessories, SAM designs, manufactures and supplies it all. This allows customers to enjoy incredible quality, reliability of supply and a cohesive finished look to their homes. What’s more, each product is competitively priced, thanks to the genius decision to make every internal product from MDF: “MDF is a cost-effective alternative to traditional wood products with the added benefits of no knots, twists or warping. It is an engineered wood product manufactured by grinding softwood chips into fibres, bound

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together with synthetic resin and wax and pressed into flat panels under high heat and pressure.”

Far from being a budget product, MDF offers perfection where clients want it the most; in their homes, while being exceptionally good value for money. This leaves plenty of scope for fabulous finishes to be applied and in a bid to impress further, SAM has embraced environmentally-friendly MDF production methods as well: “We are careful to source our raw materials ethically. With our FSC® Certification, you can be sure that we are working to preserve the world’s forests.”

Offered in unprimed, primed, fully finished or wrapped finishes, every SAM product can be tailored to the individual customer’s needs, bringing a more bespoke element to home mouldings, but with little effort on the part of the client themselves. Even more impressive is the fact that totally custom creations are

SAM SPRINGFARM ARCHITECTURAL MOULDINGS LTD

possible, if none of the core products will work, and all that’s needed is a phone call. A customer’s needs are never too much trouble and this attitude has been prevalent from the very beginning of the company.

Customer-pleasing policies SAM is founded on two guiding principles; quality and production: “At SAM, we impress our customers with quality. The quality of our products, the quality of our service, the quality of our working environment, the quality of our people. To us, it all matters and as a result we put a lot of effort into everything we do.”

By imbuing every facet of a company with quality, customers need never wonder if they have made the right choice and in the case of SAM, clients are consistently delighted with customised finishes and products that are so much more than merely fit for purpose.

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When it comes to making the finest MDF mouldings available today, Sam and Julienne acknowledge that you can’t possibly hope to produce industry-leading products on sub-par equipment, which is why they have invested in the best machinery that money can buy and continue to stay at the cutting edge of production facilities.

The finest facilities “Our 10-acre, purpose-built facility in Antrim, and our recently acquired 5-acre site in Donington, allow us to create exceptional quality products, made to the highest specification.”

These specialist facilities don’t come at the detriment of the environment, however, as SAM is a company that remains cognisant of the importance of environmental stewardship.

While this will be a deciding factor for a minority of potential clients, it is simply an everyday concern that has been built into the fabric of

GIVING YOU THE EDGE

the company, due to the production methods being used and the material being produced.

With the tailored production facilities enjoying state of the art technology in every department, it wasn’t a stretch to invest in waste recycling capabilities; an endeavour that has paid off significantly, to the tune of 40% of all electricity being produced by recycled waste products, in addition to heat and paint drying power. There’s even solar power in place as well, “We have installed a 50Kw Solar Photovoltaic (PV) system onto the roof of our offices and a 250Kw system on our factory roof. All energy generated is used within the factory, except during periods of no production. Any excess energy is exported onto the grid.”

agreement with Universal Wood Products Ltd. Discussing the partnership, SAM’s sales director noted that: “We are very excited by this distribution relationship with Universal Wood Products. The SAM veneer wrap product range is experiencing substantial growth in demand across the UK marketplace and we see potential for major development in the London and south east sectors. UWP’s excellent reputation for customer service and their ability to offer this SAM range within 24 hour-availability will be a key driver to ensuring success in this venture.”

By never compromising on quality or its investment in people, SAM is the toast of the Northern Ireland business world and fast gaining global recognition as a premier Full speed ahead manufacturer of high-class mouldings and In line with the company streamline of associated products. It’s a niche market but “giving you the edge”, SAM is always seeking domination is assured and with family values out new opportunities for growth and in June, underpinning the team, the future of the it announced an exciting new distribution company looks set to be very exciting.

www.sherwin-williams.com

Paints, Stains, Colors & Supplies

Protective & Marine Coatings

Product Finishes

Automotive & Transportation Finishes

Aerospace Finishes Endeavour Magazine | 127

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