IndustrySA Issue 2

JUNE

2012 ISSUE 2

DAN PATLANSKY

BRINGING THE WORLD TO ITS KNEES

CELLUCITY

THE ORIGINAL RETAILER, STILL LEADING THE WAY

ALTECH UEC

DRIVING DIGITAL MIGRATION IN SA

COCA-COLA DOME ENTERTAINING A NATION

Mining’s Golden Boys Harmony Gold - IndustrySA talks with CEO Graham Briggs about the challenges facing the mining industry

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EDITOR’S PAGE

EDITORIAL EDITOR Joe Forshaw WRITERS Abigail Saltmarsh Colin Renton Sheree Hanna Tim Hands Roland Douglas PROJECTS MANAGERS Leslie Kemp Daniel Sizeland Janis Billington ADVERTISING SALES David Hodgson Chris Bolderstone STUDIO STUDIO DIRECTOR Vishnu Joory LEAD DESIGNER Ian Williams STUDIO MANAGER Michelle Cassidy OFFICE MANAGER Tricia Plane ACCOUNTS Dionne Smith Jane Reeder IT IT DIRECTOR Graham Tester ECP LTD MANAGING DIRECTOR David Hodgson OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Chris Bolderstone FINANCE DIRECTOR Scott Warman Ferndale Business Centre, 1 Exeter Street, Norwich, NR2 4QB If you would like more information about ways in which IndustrySA can promote your business please call +44 1603 618000 or email info@industrysa.com East Coast Promotions Ltd does not accept responsibility for omissions or errors. The points of view expressed in articles by attributing writers and/or in advertisements included in this magazine do not necessarily represent those of the publisher.

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Welcome to the second issue...

With the success of issue one still fresh in our minds it was a challenge to get our heads down and concentrate on developing issue two. However, with the amount of innovation and business excellence coming out of South Africa every day it was not difficult to immediately find a variety of exciting new topics and organisations to discuss.

With the path to the Olympic Games getting shorter and shorter we take a look at some of the South African team’s medal hopefuls and we also examine a South African innovation that could change the world of motoring.

We take an in-depth look at the life of another great South African entrepreneur, Patrice Motsepe. Following up on our profile of Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth, Patrice Motsepe has a totally different story but one major thing in common – a large personal fortune. He is one of the richest men in the world and an astute business man, an example of what can be achieved with a driven mentality and a hard working ethic.

Donald Gips, the US ambassador to South Africa, has said in the past that the country is an innovation hub with a nation that are considered early adopters of technology and this trend is spreading to more diverse and broad sector of society every day. Investments in infrastructure and the economy are hopefully initiatives that will promote further innovation and entrepreneurship.

In issue one, IndustrySA interviewed directors of the some of the largest organisations out there and in issue two we continue with this strategy in order to get the first word on business from the leaders themselves – enjoy.

Joe Forshaw

editor@industrysa.com

© East Coast Promotions Ltd 2012

JUNE 12 PAGE 3

CONTENTS

22 3 EDITOR’S PAGE

The excitement of issue two!

6 NEWS All that’s happening in South Africa 10 ENTREPRENEUR Patrice Motsepe finds gold 12 INNOVATION The Optimal Energy Joule 14 DESTINATION DIRECTOR SA’s finest fairways 18 OLYMPIC HOPEFULS Four of the golden hopes for London 2012 22 DAN PATLANSKY World class blues guitarist

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CONTENTS

34 26 ALTECH UEC –

58 HARMONY GOLD

32 ESTEQ

66 THE PROTEA COIN GROUP

34 COCA-COLA DOME

68 NANDO’S

38 JUST SETS

72 MERPAK

40 CELLUCITY

78 HYPROP

46 RIM/BLACKBERRY

80 SUPERCARE

Providing solutions with Solid Edge Entertaining the nation Setting the stage for entertainment The original retailer, still leading the way A global leader in wireless innovation

48 INDWE RISK

Protectors of the community, and your business

52 ZURICH

Golden boys in mining

Providing protection and peace of mind

25 years and still clucking brilliant Stamping a mark on the envelope business R20 billion assets under management Contract cleaning at its best

88 GAUTRAIN

Connecting Pretoria and Johannesburg

94 CRICKET SA

More than just an insurance giant

Not stumped when developing talent

56 TRACKER

98 INDUSTRY RECOMMENDED

Revolutionising insurance by profiling driving behaviour

This month’s showcased organisations

COMPANY REPORTS

Driving digital migration

JUNE 12 PAGE 5

NEWS A brief look at the issues making the news across South Africa. For more news stories visit industrysa.com

Rugby: South Africa 22-17 England In the build-up to the three match series between the springboks and the English, much was made of the physical approach that a strong South African team would take. The England team in recent times has perhaps not been as dominant in the scrum as they have in previous years and the Springboks, bolstered by the presence of Tendai ‘the beast’ Mtawarira and Eben Etzebeth, managed to make their power show in Kings Park, Durban.

With England taking an early lead the South African team did not panic. In the international press it has been said that England has a sound tactical approach with Stuart Lancaster at the helm but it was interesting to see that it was in fact the South Africans that went home with more tries. With the score at 6-6 at half time it was becoming clear that England would only score penalties. The power and physical strength of the Springboks was clear to see and converting that power into tries was finally beginning to happen.

England captain Chris Robshaw stated: “It’s all about the result but the last ten to 15 minutes showed, we can put our game on the pitch and move them around,”

showing that England do believe that they can match South Africa in the physical aspects of the game.

“It was a very positive first half but they put us under real pressure at the start of the second half. It’s very hard when they get that momentum,” says Stuart Lancaster, recognising the fact that the Springboks were too much to cope with after half time.

With a superb defence and pack, especially in the scrum, there is great hope that the eight match unbeaten run against England, dating back to November 2006, will be further increased as the series continues.

“At some stages I really thought we played great rugby, we moved the ball around and I was happy with the result, but we butchered one or two tries and you need to finish those in Test match rugby,” says Heyneke Meyer in his first match as national team coach.

While the team were relieved to walk away with the win the only real negatives were knocks taken by Bryan Habana, Jannie du Plessis, Francois Hougaard and more seriously Zane Kirchner.

ENGLAND

SOUTH AFRICA

INDUSTRYSA: ONES TO WATCH.

EBEN ETZEBETH – STORMERS POSITION: Lock HEIGHT: 203cm WEIGHT: 117 Kg BIRTH DATE: 29 October 1991 BIRTH PLACE: Cape Town FAVOURITE FOOD: Spare ribs

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JOE MARLER – HARLEQUINS POSTION: Prop HEIGHT: 184cm WEIGHT: 110 Kg BIRTH DATE: 07 July 1990 BIRTH PLACE: Eastbourne, England HAIRCUT: Mohican

NEWS

Internet to contribute more to SA GDP By 2016 the internet will contribute 2.5% of the country’s GDP. A study undertaken recently showed that currently the web produces two per cent of GDP and that figure is rising by 0.1% each year. It has been known for a long time, without any proof, that South Africa has the largest internet economy on the continent and this study has cemented the longstanding view.

Research company World Wide Worx conducted the ‘Internet Matters SA’ study which was commissioned by Google South Africa. R59 billion was spent by companies, government and consumers on various products and services over the internet. With e-commerce growing at 30% a year in South Africa, and showing no signs of slowing down, it is interesting to discover the breakdown of the expenditure. The study shows that a large portion

of the money spent via the web on internet presence and access. A further, but not so sizeable, portion was made up from airline transactions. With the growth of ticket purchasing online, buying from South Africa’s airline industry made up a significant part of the B2C e-commerce sub sector.

Business contributes significantly to the booming internet society. Around 410,000 SMEs have a website.

150,000 of these businesses would not be able to function without their websites meaning the web is directly responsible for jobs and future job creation.

With the number of smartphones increasing daily, access to the internet is now easier than ever. This caused the study to describe the internet as the ‘quiet engine of the South African economy’.

JUNE 12 PAGE 7

NEWS A brief look at the issues making the news across South Africa. For more news stories visit industrysa.com

Manufacturing sector to receive incentives In this challenging global economic climate it is difficult to build a sector and increases its competitiveness, especially on an international level. This is however, exactly what the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) want and they have offered R5.75 billion of incentives.

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies announced the scheme at the Manufacturing Competitiveness Enhancement Programme in Cape Town recently. He said that the world was facing tough times and a second wave of recession following the financial difficulties of 2008-09, with

manufacturing facing increasing pressures.

The manufacturing sector contributed just under 15% of the country’s GDP in 2011, showing a gradual decrease over the past few decades.

Firms are welcome to apply for incentives if they have a level four BEE rating and can commit to not reducing employment levels throughout the duration of the scheme.

Applications are now being taken and the money will be raised by a loan from the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).

Potential for platinum in Waterberg South of the Limpopo province is the Bushveld Igneous Complex. A previously unexplored part of the area has produced some potentially platinum rich deposits, much to the delight of Canadian mining group Platinum Group Metals.

The deposits were discovered in November and have been discovered at depths of less than 1000 meters. The company has since expanded the exploration area by 100sqkm and by three additional drill rigs. CEO Mike Jones said recently that it is important to remember that although mining has gone on for over a century in South Africa not all the best deposits have already been found.

PAGE 8 JUNE 12

NEWS

International partners South Africa strengthened relationships with one of its international trade partners recently when Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe visited Ankara and introduced a binational commission between SA and Turkey.

The commission will enhance cooperation between the two countries on issues such as politics, trade, economics, defence, security, energy, agriculture, tourism, sport and environment. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Motlanthe will chair the commission, set to meet every two years.

Total bilateral trade between the two countries increased

in 2011 to R7 billion. South Africa’s major exports to Turkey include mineral products, base metals, machinery and mechanical appliances, electrical components, chemical and allied products, vehicles, organic chemicals, ores, slag and ash.

The presidency stated recently that an agreement with Turkey had been made regarding defence and energy and the specifics would be finalised in September. There are apparently on-going talks about energy efficiency and coal to liquid technologies that could be concluded in the coming months, further cementing an already blossoming international relationship.

Gas to power electricity for SA and Mozambique UK based power specialist Aggreko and South African investment company Shanduka announced recently plans for a gas-fired power plant to produce electricity for South Africa and Mozambique for a full two years.

In a shared statement the two companies said that the project proved the benefits of international partnership and countries sharing resources. The 107 mega-watt plant is in Ressano Garcia on the border of the two countries and has been approved by the Department of Energy and Public Enterprises and energy regulator Nersa.

The plant will be fuelled by gas from the Sasol Temane gas field and the location in Ressano Garcia provides easy access to the existing Sasol gas pipeline which runs from

the North of Mozambique through to South Africa.

The venture is expected to bring in revenues of US$250 million throughout its lifetime. Eskom and Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) will be the primary users of the power and for South Africa the project will bolster capacity and complement other alternative energy initiatives such as the coal-fired power stations under construction in various locations including Medupi, the solar plant in Upington and the wind power project in Sere, near Cape Town.

Aggreko chief executive Rupert Soames said: “We also hope this project will be an example for other countries seeking to optimise their resources and manage the supply of regional power.”

JUNE 12 PAGE 9

ENTREPRENEUR

Patrice Motsepe found gold at the end of the rainbow

By Joe Forshaw

As we recognised in issue one of IndustrySA, mining is a driving force behind economic growth in South Africa. One of the people who is most qualified to talk about the mining industry is Patrice Motsepe. We profile his life and career so far…

In 2002 Patrice Motsepe won South Africa’s Best Entrepreneur Award. In 2004 he was placed in the top 40 of a list compiled of the top 100 great South Africans. His entrepreneurial story began when he was eight years old. He helped his father, a business owner himself, to sell liquor to miners in a small shop in the Hammanskraal area.

After realising that he enjoyed the money made from assisting his father but not so much working in the shop he had thoughts about studying law. After excelling in school he went on to gain a BA degree from Swaziland University and an LLB from Wits University.

One of the first major business achievements is his life came when Mr Motsepe was named as the first black partner in law firm Bowman Gilfillan in 1994.

His specialisms in mining and business law were extremely helpful as in that year Nelson Mandela was elected the country’s first black President. The new government had begun promoting black empowerment and entrepreneurship, an endorsement that Mr Motsepe benefited from.

A changing direction for his career saw Mr Motsepe start a company, Future Mining, which provided a range of services, including gold dust gleaning, to local mines.

In the early days Mr Motsepe ran this business out of a briefcase. In 1997 he made business arrangements which would catapult him to a new level of entrepreneur. He made the most of his connections in the mining industry and the black empowerment policy to set up a finance

PAGE 10 JUNE 12

agreement which would fund the formation of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) and help him purchase some of the low producing gold mines that Future Mining had worked with. This would build the foundation for his fortune although at the time these mine shafts we considered to be at the lower end of the scale in terms of gold output. Through lean production and management styles he turned the mines into profitable centres and went on to purchase similar mine shafts with the view of expanding. In 1999 he partnered with two of his associates and Greene and Partners Investments, a venture capital organisation, was founded.

He is widely recognised now as the first and only black South African billionaire. One of the richest men on the planet and an advocate of South African entrepreneurialism, Mr Motsepe’s current business portfolio span a range of different companies and he holds a number of different positions and responsibilities.

Today his most famous business milestone was the establishment of ARM, now a leading South African diversified mining and minerals company. After a series of acquisitions of gold interests from Anglo American Corporation South Africa Ltd, ARM became ARMgold.

In 2003, to further push ARMgold forward, the company merged with Harmony, another leading South African mining company. Anglovaal Mining was also involved in the deal and swapped assets with ARMgold and Harmony.

ARMgold is now the controlling shareholder in Anglovaal Mining and hold around a 20% stake in the Harmony

ENTREPRENEUR

Patrice Motsepe

business. This was a momentous part of ARMgold’s history with Harmony rated as the fifth largest gold producer in the world.

ARMgold now has mining interests in gold, platinum, iron, copper and coal. They own (as a joint venture with Xstrata) a coal mine near Witbank which produces an estimated 6.7 million tons of coal per year. In 2010 they entered into a joint venture with Vale to mine copper in Zambia and there are also operations underway in Zimbabwe and Papa New Guinea.

Mr Motsepe is currently the chairman of ARMgold and he is a non-executive director for banking giant Absa Group and insurance company Sanlam. He is chairman of Teal Exploration and Mining Incorporated, he is chairman of Ubuntu-Botho Investments and he is president of South Africa’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Do not be fooled into thinking Mr Motsepe is all business and no play, in 2003 he bought the South African football club Mamelodi Sundowns. He pumped finance into the club and helped them become champions and cup winners in numerous different seasons.

Mr Motsepe is a father of three and is married to Dr Precious Makgosi Moloi, who has herself been described as one of South Africa’s most glamorous women. His sister is Bridgette Radebe, South Africa’s first black, female mining entrepreneur. He sends his sons to prestigious private schools but by billionaire standards is considered

rather humble owning no playboy toys such as boats or planes and owning only one house in the Johannesburg suburb of Bryanston.

With an estimated wealth of around R23 billion he is clearly a business man who knows what it takes to be a success. He said recently: “We have a country of exceptional business and entrepreneurial talent in both the black and the white communities and we should build on that going forward, not as black and white, but as South African business. The strength of this country is its people.” ●

JUNE 12 PAGE 11

INNOVATION

Optimal

Energy Joule

By Roland Douglas

Five times more energy efficient than a petrol or diesel vehicle.

Each month IndustrySA reviews an innovation that has come straight from the brains of South Africa. This month we take a look at Joule, the electric vehicle currently designed, produced and marketed in South Africa.

Optimal Energy is a privately owned company based in Cape Town. The CEO is Kobus Meiring and along with three business partners he founded the company in 2005.

The Department of Science and Technology contributed with investment from the Innovation Fund (IF) and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has also contributed. These government departments and the executive management team make up the shareholders.

It is the aim of Optimal Energy to establish an industry in electric vehicle design and production and lead this industry into a global market.

Joule is the first offering in the pipeline from Optimal Energy. It is a five-seater battery powered car, designed for city driving and described by the company as: “Nothing short of a world-class innovative triumph.”

The car was designed by multi-award winning product and automotive designer Keith Helfet. Every aspect is tailored towards a “green fields” approach to the automotive industry’s future. Joule runs from a 36kWh traction battery and is rechargeable from any electric point. If the electricity is obtained from a clean source such as hydro or solar then the car can reduce pollution by 100%. Because it has few moving parts the company says it can save 50% on maintenance costs and being electric the fuel savings are around 90%. Combine this with the insurance savings and you get a vehicle which is producing minimal environmental cost and minimal

PAGE 12 JUNE 12

financial cost – a real bonus considering soaring oil prices.

So what makes the Optimal Energy vehicle a top innovation and what sets it apart from previous attempts at electric car production?

Well, Joule is not difficult to charge, has a great range, is aesthetically pleasing and is designed to be easy to maintain and look after. These areas have all been let downs in previous electric cars. Joule also has a solar panel on the roof and a regenerative braking system that converts kinetic energy into electrical energy during deceleration. The aerodynamics are designed to maximise the range and not compromise the styling.

Joule produces minimal mechanical noise and minimal wind noise and the highly skilled engineers at Optimal Energy are working on an innovative way of warning pedestrians of the cars presence.

The steel that is used to create the cars chassis is from the greenest steel producers in the world and the battery, produced by a South Korean company has opened talks to set up manufacturing facilities in South Africa. All of the benefits that Joule boast are not only exciting for an electric car but for a car in general. With the governments backing of green projects and the

THE JOULE 0-60kmph: >5s Range: 230-300km Top Speed: 140kmph Brakes: All wheel disc braking system + ABS + regenerative system Control: Electric power steering, stability control Suspension: McPherson struts at the front, independent rear suspension Wheels: 16” alloys as standard Safety: Airbags, ISOFIX child seat attachment points Other: Photovoltaic solar panel, 5 adjustable seats, 36kWh lithium cell battery

If the electricity is obtained from a clean source such as hydro or solar then the car can reduce pollution by 100% undoubted environmental perks, as an innovation Joule looks like a South African idea that could really kick start a movement towards widespread electric vehicle usage.

The marketing fleet was produced in Port Elizabeth and the aim is to have full scale production underway by 2016 in East London, Eastern Cape.

The company currently has just over 100 employees with the view to increasing this number to 2500 and eventually 8000 as the business and production levels grow. Although there has been enormous interest at both local and international level and a large interest in clean vehicles, so far in 2012 Optimal Energy has failed to gain

further funding despite support from President Jacob Zuma. Until the cash flow returns and the innovative company find a partner to move production forward Optimal Energy will be focusing their attention on electrical buses, a project which requires less capital expenditure.

The technology is proven and the car has received glowing reports from motor shows around the world so it is more than likely that a partner will be on board soon enough to help commercialise the car and help a South African innovation drive into the world’s garages. ●

JUNE 12 PAGE 13

DESTINATION DIRECTOR

South Africa’s Finest Fairways

South Africa has produced some of the world’s greatest golfers. To generate this sort of talent you need fantastic facilities.

IndustrySA takes a look at the top golf courses around and what makes them the best.

By Joe Forshaw

Gary Player, Bobby Locke, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelman and more recently Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen - some of the biggest names in the world when it comes to golf. All of these men proudly South African and all learned to be the best on the courses of South Africa.

The country boasts almost a perfect setting for golf. An ideal climate with the brilliant African sunshine, there are coastal courses, there are mountain courses, there are larger tournament courses and there is a fantastic collection of local clubs.

Here at IndustrySA we have reviewed four of the best places you can go in the whole country for a round of 18.

With such a large selection to choose from this has not been an easy task but we do know that as a company director golf can offer the perfect opportunity for a quiet, relaxing break or even a competitive, entertaining weekend with colleagues.

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LEOPARD CREEK The first course that we would recommend is, perhaps unsurprisingly the Leopard Creek Country Club.

Situated in Mpumalanga on the southern border of the Kruger National Park, the course is also bordered by the picturesque Crocodile River. The course has been made challenging by innovative architectural and landscaping techniques. Streams and lakes have been diverted through the course to really make players think about their approach play. Gary Player created the initial design and put the 18th green on an island in the middle of a lake, a hole which he is said to be especially proud of and a hole which takes high skill levels to master.

The Leopard Creek course has various water hazards and the 13th hole sits on the edge of Crocodile River which is named so for a reason – this river, which runs alongside several other holes, is home to a collection of the large aquatic reptiles and a mixture of other wildlife as well.

DESTINATION DIRECTOR

Stunning Fancourtl inks

It is a par 72 course with the longest hole (15th) reaching 547m. The entire length goes on for 6631m and the natural environment makes for some extremely challenging shots.

The club has a strict dress code so make sure you arrive with the right gear.

THE GARY PLAYER COUNTRY CLUB Probably South Africa’s most famous golf course and for good reason. It is home to the Nedbank Golf Challenge which was for many years the largest tournament, in terms of prize money, in golf. The list of winners here features nothing but household names, some of the best golf has ever seen.

The course itself is one of the longest in the country stretching beyond 7000m and also one of the most challenging. It is set in the Sun City resort, a Las Vegas style hotel complex. There is another course on the complex, the Lost City course but the Gary Player is the more difficult,

more fun and more interesting of the two.

The main challenges here are the precisely placed bunkers and the fast greens. The rough is also a difficult place to be and the many water hazards offer a true test of your game. It is a par 72 course and designed by its namesake so you already know it’s going to be a challenge.

The 9th is a hole which a lot of people talk about. For most players it is do-able in three shots but a risk taker could get away with a two on the card and be the envy of the other golfer’s.

FANCOURT (LINKS) The Fancourt golf resort is described as South Africa’s premier golfing resort. All three of the courses here are ranked in the top 20 South African courses in the 2011 Golf Digest rankings. Yet again Gary Player has been involved in the design and had a hand in all three of the courses.

The course we recommend is the newest of the three,

JUNE 12 PAGE 15

DESTINATION DIRECTOR

Durban Country Club

“ We get a lot of sports people who have played tough sports in their time and they want to come and test their endurance on this golf course.” the Links. The course construction was commissioned by Fancourt owner Dr Hasso Plattner with the intention of being a tough test for every golfer but also rank as one of the best courses on the planet. Gary Player and his design team studied some of the top courses in Ireland and Scotland and then put their experience towards re-creating some of the most challenging holes. The course was opened in 2000 on the site of a former airfield.

Links is a member’s only club but does have limited times available for guests in the hotel at Fancourt. It has been home to some of the largest tournaments in world golf and perhaps most memorably the 2003 Presidents Cup which ended in a dramatic play-off between Ernie Els and Tiger Woods.

A perfect course for relaxing away from the office and mobile phones are banned to avoid distractions so you can really escape the busy work environment.

If you are perhaps just getting into golf or need some

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tips to improve your game the Fancourt resort has a golfing academy which is headed up by PGA professionals. The course is a par 73 and a total length of 7748m, the highlight is the 2nd with a bunker right in the middle of the green.

Set in front of the Outeniqua Mountains the course is recognised as one of the most beautiful around.

DURBAN Durban Country Club is home to a course which has great beauty and is the only course on the African continent to be rated in the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World by Golf Magazine USA and rated in the top six by Golf Digest SA. It has hosted more South African Open’s than any other course in the country, a testament to the design. Many people consider the opening five holes to be the best in the world. The course is set right next to the Indian Ocean in a range of sand dunes and lush but intimidating tropical vegetation.

DESTINATION DIRECTOR

Gary Player Country Club

Leopard Creek

Every shot takes meticulous planning and Jason Bird, Golf Director, explains why: “This course is synonymous with a tough challenge, we get a lot of sports people who have played tough sports in their time and they want to come and test their endurance on this golf course.”

The course is par 72 and just over 6000 yards in length.

The highlight holes include the 12th nicknamed the Prince of Wales hole after he played there 70 years ago and carded a 17 prior to becoming King Edward VIII. The green is on a hill with a slop either side, around 35 yards down – you could end up chipping up here all day long. The 17th is like no other course in the world, built on sand dunes rising and

falling by 25 feet through the whole fairway, you must find the green on this hole to avoid trouble. The 3rd and the 18th have also received worldwide recognition.

Any of the courses mentioned above provide top golfers the chance to play in glamorous settings. They all offer golf lessons for amateurs and the majority have a hotel or club which would suit a business weekend or a sporting event perfect for relaxation and relationship building.

If you think there are better courses out there than the ones mentioned here or you know of an unknown gem then please get in touch on twitter @industry_sa or Facebook www.facebook.com/ECPindustrysa ●

JUNE 12 PAGE 17

SOUTH AFRICA’S OLYMPIC STARS

On Track for London 2012

Well underway with their preparation. The team is beginning to take shape and looking very healthy.

By Roland Douglas Photos ROGER SEDRES from IMAGE SA

At the time of the very first modern Olympic Games two British colonies (the Cape Colony and Natal) and two independent republics (Orange Free State and the Transvaal) made up what we know today as South Africa and no one from any of these entities competed.

Historians recognise the first South Africans to compete in an Olympic event were Len Tau and Jan Mashiani, both ran the marathon and stumbled into the event by chance. The year was 1904 and the games were held in St. Louis, USA. The two men were in the USA at a world’s fair participating in a re-enactment of the Boer war. As Olympic organisers were disappointed with the range of countries represented, people from the world’s fair were invited to take part. This made Len Tau and Jan Mashiani the first black Africans and the first South Africans to compete in a modern Olympics.

Today the South African team already has six marathon runners ready to participate and a group of track and field athletes who have been training hard in preparation for the trip to London. All of these athletes will be looking to repeat the feat of South Africa’s first Olympic gold medallist, Reg Walker, who won the 100m at the London 1908 games.

The London games get underway on July 27th and IndustrySA has reviewed some of Team South Africa’s most exciting prospects and medal hopefuls. ●

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SOUTH AFRICA’S OLYMPIC STARS

SUNETTE VILJOEN – JAVELIN

D.O.B 06/10/1983 PB: 68.38m SB: 61.15m Previous games – Beijing: 17th Sunette Viljoen is an all-round South African sports star. Mainly known for her javelin throwing, she is the South African and African record holder. She has also made appearances for the Women’s Test cricket and Women’s One Day International cricket teams. So what chance does she stand at the London games? Well, she was a gold medallist at the Commonwealth games in 2010 and at the African Championships in the same year. A bronze medal at the IAAF World Championships 2011 saw her good form continue and she said recently that every day her hard work is focused on London 2012. She has made it clear that her target is a medal in her third Olympics. At the end of 2011 she was listed as the sixth best women’s javelin thrower of all time so her medal hopes are looking increasingly realistic. An educated person with several degrees, she understands what it takes to reach the top of professional sport and London looks like it could cap an amazing few years for Sunette Viljoen.

LJ VAN ZYL – 400M HURDLES

D.O.B 20/07/1985 PB: 47.66 SB: 49.42 Previous games – Beijing: 5th Louis Jacob van Zyl or L.J, born in Bloemfontein, is the South African record holder for the 400m hurdles. The three time African champion, former World Junior Champion, Commonwealth gold medallist and runner up at the IAAF World Cup and World Athletics Final is going to be a threat to current Olympic champion Angelo Taylor and his American colleagues, who took all three medals at the Beijing games. The current world record of 46.78s is a little beyond the lifetime best of L.J but he has shown improvements in 400m sprint times and forms an important part of the 4X400 relay team. In previous tournaments his preparation has perhaps been more exciting than his actual performance. In preparation for the 2011 World Championships in Athletics he set the four fastest times in the world but only managed a bronze when push came to shove. He has been counting down the days to London through his Twitter account and will undoubtedly come fully prepared and firing on all cylinders. The hurdler stands a real chance of a medal as he enters his physical peak.

JUNE 12 PAGE 19

SOUTH AFRICA’S OLYMPIC STARS

CASTER SEMENYA – 800M D.O.B 07.01.1991 PB: 1:55.45 SB: 1:59.58 Previous Games – IAAF World Championships 2011, Daegu: 2nd, IAAF World Champion in 2009 Controversy is never far from Caster Semenya. After winning a gold medal at the Berlin World Championships in 2009 she infamously underwent gender testing and was out of sport for almost a year until the IAAF cleared her to compete again following conclusions from an expert medical panel. On the track she remains South Africa’s number one medal hope. In 2009 she won gold in the 800m and 1500m at the African Junior Championships and her new coach Maria Mutola, an 800m gold medallist herself, stated recently that Semenya has the ability to smash the world record and the gender controversy has only held her back. She qualified for the Olympic team after eventually producing a time of 1:59.60, just under the qualifying bench mark. In her previous two attempts she had missed the qualifying time but at Yellow Pages event in Pretoria she blitzed competition and became the first woman in 21 years to run under two minutes on South African soil. It is more than likely that she will attract attention intentionally, for reasons on the track in London. She stated recently that a podium finish is her aim but deep down she will know that the gold medal is a realistic target.

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SOUTH AFRICA’S OLYMPIC STARS

COOLBOY NGAMOLE – MARATHON D.O.B 21/06/1977 PB: 2:10.43 SB: 2:13.18 Previous games – IAAF World Championships 2011, Daegu: 46 Coolboy Ngamole was the winner of the South African Marathon Championship in George in February. He ran away from the field and had the luxury of being able to slow down towards the end of the race.

The title was his second, following his win in 2010 and runner up placing in 2011.

The nearest competition was nearly two minutes behind Ngamole and with his personal best set in Valencia in November he is hitting form at exactly the right time.

He was disappointed not to be selected for the commonwealth team in India and now with Olympic qualification complete training can step up a gear. Although he will be 35 when the Olympics come around he remains a 10,000m national champion and a marathon national champion. Coolboy Ngamole could be the outside chance that creates an upset.

JUNE 12 PAGE 21

DAN PATLANSKY

Bringing the world to its knees

By Joe Forshaw Photography Pierre Blignaut & Mike Glenister

Dan Patlansky has been described as a legend, it has been said that what he can do with a six-string Fender Stratocaster at the age of 30, most critically acclaimed guitarists will never quite achieve in a lifetime.

IndustrySA recently had the pleasure of talking with the world class blues guitarist. He told us about the ups and downs of his career so far and gave us an insight into what the future holds for the South African star.

So Dan, with the new album out and the current tour going well it’s a very exciting time for you right now, tell us where it all started.

I was born in Johannesburg and grew up there; I was always a massive fan of music and particularly blues and old school rock and roll. That came from my parents as they listened to that music constantly, they didn’t play but they were massive music fans so I would say that’s where my love of music came from. I started playing in the first year of high school so I was about 14 years old, getting into blues seemed the obvious choice. When I got involved with music my school work and academics took quite a knock. Music was all I was really interested in doing since the first time I picked up the guitar. My school grades were fairly appalling and everything else in my life fell by the wayside. I played through high school but my grades were terrible so my parents moved me to the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg. This was a massive change for me as it was more focussed on the arts rather than academics, 50% was school work and 50% was music and I think my parents were a little unsure about this at the start.

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So when you first started playing was it with the goal of making a career in music or more for fun?

I was always a huge music fan so even when I was six years old I was out buying cassette tapes but early on I didn’t necessarily want to do it as a career, it was a pipe dream, I knew my chances were fairly slim. The music I was listening to was heavily guitar based so just for myself I wanted to learn how to play and start writing music to be expressive. After about two years of playing I knew that music was exactly what I wanted to do, initially not as a career but that bug definitely hit me in the end.

It’s been widely publicised that you had a crazy time when living in New Orleans, how crazy was it?

The question for me a lot is ‘have you experienced life enough to warrant playing the blues as an artist’. If I wasn’t experienced enough before, the whole Katrina thing took me to that level. It was a hell of an experience, terrifying, but something I wouldn’t want to take away. I was only living in New Orleans for a couple of months before the hurricane hit so I didn’t lose too much. We were doing a mini Mardi Gras gig and even though we had heard the warnings everyone seemed so relaxed, I went back to my apartment and went to sleep. When I woke up the next morning I was the only idiot left in the building, all of the other buildings around were boarded up. I didn’t have a car so I was stuck there; I thought damn I’m going to have to get in the bath tub and

DAN PATLANSKY

DAN PATLANSKY just sit here. In the end myself and my manager at the time evacuated to Alabama and in the end the hurricane headed towards us anyway so we might as well have stayed in New Orleans. It was absolute chaos. All the roads were closed, the wind was throwing bricks through the windows, there was no electricity and I lost about 10kg in that week. Eventually I got out to LA and then flew back to SA on a crazy fight; by the time I got back to Johannesburg I was absolutely finished. A lot of good songs have come from that experience; just hanging in New Orleans with the other musicians was unbelievable.

What about the equipment you use when performing, are we right to think you have a favourite guitar that you use all the time?

In Katrina I actually lost a guitar, a 1962 Fender Stratocaster. It’s worth quite a bit of money as a collectable but also it’s just a wonderful guitar.

It’s called ‘The Red’.

I played a jazz festival in 2006 and flew my American band in and they had my guitar in one piece so I was very relieved. That has been my preferred guitar for the last 10 years; it’s an absolutely brilliant guitar. I have a guitar now called ‘the beast’ which I play a lot now as well. The more time you spend on a particular guitar the more you understand how it will react in your hands. I can play a little bit of piano as well but not enough to perform or anything like that.

Your voice is so powerful, perhaps not something that people might expect if they haven’t heard you sing before…

Yea, I’m quite a small guy, I have a small frame and when people see pictures of me they think I might have a Justin Bieber voice. In previous albums we’ve been more focussed on guitar work but this one has a 50/50 split between voice and guitar. It’s an important part of my development as an artist. At the heart I am a blues guitarist but I’m trying to make the voice a more prominent part of records and performances.

Some of the solos in your records are ridiculous. Don’t you ever get nervous before performing something like that?

We rearranged a Jimmy Hendrix tune which we normally do as a finale; I see it more as a party trick and the fans really dig it so it’s a cool way to end a show. We’ve been doing it for so long that it’s not really nerve-racking. The first two tunes of the show are when I’m the most nervous, they set the tone and you have to get your head in the right zone in the early stages. More shows are difficult than the ones that go well. Sometimes I will overthink or something will bug me in my mind and that will snowball and end up in me not enjoying a show. It’s a

PAGE 24 JUNE 12

good thing because when you have a bad show it motivates you to go home and work on new stuff, stuff to further your musical abilities. If you only had good shows you would never progress and work on new things.

You’re on tour right now, where is the next show?

I’m in Pretoria right now, we’re doing Johannesburg next week, Durban the following week and then through the Eastern Cape and then the Western Cape. We’re just in South Africa at the moment, touring the 20 Stones album, trying to get it out there. We’ve launched it in major cities and we have shows everywhere, even Mozambique. In Europe and the UK there is a larger audience for the type of music I play. My management are working hard to get shows booked in the UK and Europe but it’s a tough task. I’m so hungry to play festivals or gigs abroad but nothing is set in stone as yet.

Have you got a regular band that tours with you all the time?

I’ve got a constant three piece band, Clint Falconer on bass and Andy Maritz on drums and that has been my band for the last two years. In this genre I think it’s very important to have the same people around you. A lot of the music is improvised and it can change every time we play. These guys can read me and adapt on the spot and that is important. On the road we all stay in the same hotels and move in the same cars.

Do you do most of your work in Johannesburg?

The last album was recorded in Johannesburg and pretty much everything is based there. All of the band live there and the management is based there too.

Do you prefer performing in SA or abroad?

I absolutely love playing abroad. For me it is important to have a long sustainable career and I think the best way to do that is to have other places to tour apart from SA. The market for blues music in SA is a niche market, it is growing but there is a far bigger audience for it abroad. Also it’s just great to experience different cultures. I really love living in SA but I want to spend a few months of the year away to broaden my horizons a little.

20 Stones is the focus right now but what about in the future? The next album?

We are always writing new tunes, potentially for the next album. Playing tunes live and testing them is an important thing, you get the feel for what the audience think. It’s weird because we’ve just released a new album but we’re always thinking about the next record and I have to tell myself to focus on 20 Stones for now but music is a never ending thing.

The album 20 Stones is available now from selected stores and also at www.danpatlansky.com ●

DAN PATLANSKY

JUNE 12 PAGE 25

COMPANY REPORT

Altech UEC and the Broadcasting Digital Migration

By Joe Forshaw

Switching television signals across an entire nation is a complex procedure. It presents a maze of puzzling issues to navigate and the government and companies involved will have great difficulties in certain areas while the process is completed over the coming years. If you do not fully understand the switch from analogue to digital TV you are not alone.

Hopefully, after reading this article you will have a clearer picture of what is going on and a good idea of how Altech UEC South Africa is making things that little bit easier for everyone.

Digital migration is the movement from analogue to digital broadcasting services. South Africa is well underway with this switch and it has been driven by the International Telecommunications Union. This switch has to be made by all countries by June 2015 and South Africa has set the deadline for a switch off in December 2013.

Altech UEC South Africa is a business within the Altech Multimedia Group. Altech Multimedia is in turn owned by Allied Technologies (Altech) which is a family business owned by the Venter family and listed on the

PAGE 26 JUNE 12

Johannesburg Securities Exchange.

Altech UEC South Africa is a leading developer of broadcast technology for the African broadcast industry.

They design, develop, manufacture and sell products related to digital video broadcasting (DVB) on satellite and terrestrial platforms. How do they fit into the digital switch over process? They manufacture digital set-top boxes (STBs) which will be required by every viewer in order to receive a TV signal after the migration to digital in the coming months.

Big business There are around seven million homes in South Africa that will require STBs when the digital migration is complete. It is estimated that more than half of these seven million households will not be able to afford STBs and therefore will not be able to view South Africa’s free to air services such as SABC 1, 2, and 3 and eTV. The government has given the indication that it will help to fund the production of STBs for homes that cannot afford it.

In April 2012 the Minister of Communications, Ms

ALTECH UEC SOUTH AFRICA South Africa is making the switch from analogue to digital broadcasting services. One of the companies at the forefront of this movement is Altech UEC. IndustrySA speaks with managing director Rodger Warren to find out more.

“People are trying to squeeze these 60-70 million households into a 36 month time-frame which will be a challenge” Dina Pule, announced that Sentech, the organisation responsible for rolling out the digital broadcasting network around the country, had rolled out the terrestrial digital video broadcast (DVB-T2) network to 61% of the population, and are continuing to drive towards 100% coverage. STB manufacturers, such as Altech UEC, are actively preparing to manufacture DVB-T2 STBs, required to receive the digital DVB-T2 signal, to support the Department of Communications migration plan which is due to commence around September this year and run until December 2013 when the existing analogue signal will be switched off.

Mr Rodger Warren, the Managing Director of Altech UEC in Mount Edgecombe, Durban, explains some of

the activities that are going on there right now.

“Mount Edgecombe is where the bulk of our employees reside; we have a manufacturing business housed within a single roof, 13,500sqm manufacturing facility - this employs around 700-800 people, depending on operational capacity requirements. This manufacturing operation is supported by a team of highly skilled engineers who design and develop the hardware and software elements that make up the STBs. We also have a business that focuses on lifecycle management of products after sales service repair, warranty, logistics and the like. That division operates under the Johannesburg based Altech Global Decoder Logistics (GDL) entity.”

Altech UEC is primarily a B2B organisation and sells products and services primarily to broadcast operators across South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. This sort of value adding activity and the support network that is offered through the GDL division is an element which distinguishes Altech UEC as a market leader. It not only makes account management easier but it helps to offer

JUNE 12 PAGE 27

COMPANY REPORT

“ There are big opportunities in the African market, a number of countries will soon be moving through digital migration and we believe we have the capacity, capability and credibility to benefit the region through our products and services designed to meet those requirements�

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ALTECH UEC SOUTH AFRICA the customers more than just a device.

A good year Mr Warren gave an insight into how the company is performing: “Our financial year runs from March 1st to February 28th. Although we had a relatively good year as a business we are continuously under pressure from the East. With a number of African countries initiating their digital migration program in the next 12 – 18 months, we remain optimistic in capturing some of the market through our products and services that we deliver from within Africa.”

The challenge with digital migration in the case of South Africa is the time scale as Mr Warren explains: “Typically digital migration takes a number of years as take up of the services is often slow. The digital switchover in the UK started around 2007 and after lengthy publicity campaigns is due to be completed this year. In Africa the timelines have been pushed to the right where the June 2015 deadline is almost a brick wall and people are trying to squeeze these 60-70 million households into a 36 month time-frame which will be a challenge. Altech UEC is well positioned to assist the various governments to meet this challenge” When looking to the future Altech UEC is continuously looking to improve performance. Mr Warren states that marketing processes and procedures in recognising customer requirements and adjusting operational requirements accordingly are key, along with keeping control over a detailed cost structure.

Economics A lot of the organisations that we speak to report that the global economic slowdown has had some sort of effect on their business and Altech UEC are no exception.

Mr Warren told us that although they have seen some pressures from customers filtering through from their consumers, the world recession has not had a major effect on business to date. “The South African economy is starting to feel the effects of the global recession, which is expected as the country as a whole tends to lag behind the American and European economy.

“South Africa as an economy has a relatively strong financial banking system which is robust and protects us from certain global pressures. In addition the South African government have particular initiatives to counter-balance some of the pressures that come from employment, economic development and entrepreneurship,” states Mr Warren.

It may sound obvious but there are a lot of opportunities for Altech UEC to grow in the future.

“Our company has a significant amount of expertise particularly on the African continent because we are the only company of our kind in the whole of Africa.

With 16 years’ experience in the digital video broadcast environment, as well as a proven track record of manufacturing and distributing over 14million STBs to date, we believe we have the capacity, capability and credibility to benefit the region,” says Mr Warren.

Awards for innovation Altech UEC forms part of the Altech Multimedia stable and the Altech group as a whole is recognised for being a technology leader. The Technology Top 100 (TT100) awards programme is South Africa’s foremost business excellence programme which encourages organisations to be innovative and showcases their technological and business achievements to the South African economy.

Altech Multimedia won the 2011 award for excellence in the management of systems, showing how their technological ideas and forward thinking are second to none in the country. The TT100 awards are held annually and hosted by the Da Vinci Institute for Management of Technology and Innovation and is sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology.

Some of the companies who are presented with TT100 awards produce innovations through developing existing technology and some promote completely new ideas that will become the building blocks for everyday products of the future.

Mr Warren says that opportunities to grow are large for Altech UEC. Currently a B2B organisation, there is the potential to partner with retail companies to move into a B2C market and vertically integrate the organisational activities. Altech UEC is one of the only vendors of STBs in South Africa and as an organisation they believe that they have the ability to help the government meet its targets with digital migration.

The key to success Mr Warren says that customers are the key to success: “One aspect we always remember is that customers are the most important asset that we have. If we understand their requirements in the context of what they need to succeed in the market and we deliver high quality products and services to meet those ever evolving needs and expectations we will be successful in our chosen field of being a preferred provider of DVB centred products and services in Africa.”

This is a message that we hear time and time again across all industries. Listening to the customers is the key to any business success.

JUNE 12 PAGE 29

COMPANY REPORT

The advice that Mr Warren gives us does not end there. “Entrepreneurs have ideas and they need the courage to pursue these ideas. It is important to get out there into the market and persevere. Business is an evolution of success and failure; hopefully there will be far more moments of success than failure but you need to have the courage to go out and take that leap of faith and make things happen.”

Corporate social investment (CSI) There is an ever increasing movement in the country towards promoting CSI or CSR projects, and increasing employee involvement and interest. Altech UEC places a great emphasis on their CSI as Mr Warren explains: “There is a lot of talent in South Africa and we are trying to educate those with the will to learn, to harness that talent for the benefit of the South African economy.

There are a number of young people with the desire to learn but with no access to technology, as we are a technology based company it is therefore in our best interest to be able to provide access to technology from a young age to ensure that their skills are available to us in the future. We start in the schools and communities and provide facilities as well as bursaries that are needed to skill people in fields that are important to us.

“As a proudly South African Company we are dedicated to uplifting the community. People are not always exposed to technology and find it difficult to get on to computers and skill themselves in that environment. We provide computer and library materials to the community to give people access to that.”

The digital migration has and will continue to have a major effect on the business of Altech UEC and with their new manufacturing facility and innovative ideas they will undoubtedly continue to be successful. The challenge over the next few years is, as Mr Warren says, squeezing the migration of millions of households into a relatively short time frame allocated for the digital switch over. Altech UEC will be there to support this initiative ●

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ALTECH UEC SOUTH AFRICA

JUNE 12 PAGE 31

EASE THE COMPLEXITY OF PRODUCT DESIGN WITH SYNCHRONOUS TECHNOLOGY

• Complete Hybrid 2D/3D System • Free Student Editions • 45 Day Trial Version • Free 2D Drafting • Free Viewers

+27 12 809 9500 | www.esteq.co.za | info@esteq.com

ESTEQ: “We enjoy solving difficult problems”

ESTEQ

At ESTEQ the primary goal is to empower clients to become leaders in their respective industries by providing technology and expertise to solve the most demanding engineering, scientific and business problems, in the shortest possible time ESTEQ was started in the early 1990s and was predominantly focused on mechanical simulation in partnership with McNeil Schwendler Corporation, now MSC Software. Coming from that field and working in technology, CEO Cobus Oosthuizen started ESTEQ aiming to assist with problem solving for businesses and helping in the engineering field with product development.

Since its conception the company has grown significantly and expanded into various areas. They are now the leading supplier of engineering technology solutions in South Africa.

ESTEQ works closely with Altech UEC and also other worldwide brands such as Sandvic, Saab, Siemens, General Motors and Volkswagen. As these companies work with ESTEQ in the product development space, it seems logical to work with them on testing these products as well.

Mr Oosthuizen then started ESTEQ Test & Measurement, a new ESTEQ company dealing with mechanical testing, vibrations analysis and strain measurement.

The ESTEQ business does a lot of work in the energy, defence and automotive industries and has worked with large organisations such as Denel, Eskom and General Motors. Mr Oosthuizen told IndustrySA about the movement into the electronics industry and working with Altech UEC: “We’re quite involved in the electronics industry, which has evolved from our work in the defence industry; it has grown from there into the consumer electronics industry. A lot of people out there have moved from the defence industry and are now applying their skills in the private sector and are transferring concepts such as systems engineering to the consumer market.”

Moving into the future, ESTEQ is expanding into new

sectors and has started working with Indigo Brands in the consumer goods market. “We are helping them with their entire product development process, managing all the relevant data and integrating with SAP for manufacturing” says Mr Oosthuizen.

“You need industry knowledge to be effective in any sector, what we tend to do is utilise transferable skills. Technology that has been used for years in the defence industry can be extremely useful in other industries if you adapt it correctly,” says Mr Oosthuizen. These transferable skills and technologies are vital for ESTEQs expansion into different markets.

One of the best-selling products under the ESTEQ umbrella is Solid Edge, developed by Siemens. “Solid Edge is a leading design tool used predominantly in the mainstream product development environment. It is used by many companies doing mechanical design from Caravans to mining/materials handling process plants,” says Mr Oosthuizen. “It is an easy product to learn in terms of 3D design.

You can install it and be up and running in a day or so, it takes minimal training and people can be productive in a few days. With most other CAD systems it takes much longer to get up to speed,” added Mr Oosthuizen.

The Pretoria based company has a second office just outside Cape Town which will be re-located to the Century City region with the view to expand even further. “Cape Town seems to be developing into a new innovation centre in South Africa” says Mr Oosthuizen. The design solutions and technology products on offer from ESTEQ and the list of successful local and international clients make them a leader in product development and testing across not only South Africa but the whole world. ●

“ Solid Edge is a leading design tool used predominantly in the mainstream product development environment.”

JUNE 12 PAGE 33

COMPANY REPORT

“ The Most Flexible Entertainment Space in Africa” The Coca-Cola dome, based in Johannesburg is South Africa’s premier entertainment venue.

Acting General Manager Cynthia Penprase tells IndustrySA how the dome continues to be voted best concert venue in the country.

By Joe Forshaw

If you travel to the Johannesburg suburb of North Riding, to the corner of Olievenhout Avenue and Northumberland Road, opposite the Northgate Shopping Centre you will find a large white dome rising up from the ground. The large dome covers around 11,000m2 of uninterrupted space and is capable of holding just over 19,000 people.

It is, of course, the Coca-Cola dome. Opened in 1997 with the purpose of providing versatility to the events hosting industry, it can host trade and consumer exhibitions, corporate banquets, indoor sporting occasions, company conventions and concerts with international stars.

When the venue opened originally it was criticised for being unnecessary and badly designed, people said it was positioned in the wrong area and that it would struggle to gain support from the events and exhibitions industry.

Since 1997 the dome has seen fantastic growth and has

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played host to some of the most popular acts in world music. The critics were proved wrong and the dome is a landmark in the Gauteng skyline.

The Black Eyed Peas, Christina Aguilera, Elton John Celine Dion, Cliff Richard, The Killers, Maroon 5, Lil Wayne, Gladys Knight, Fall Out Boy, the list is endless.

Acts that are known and loved worldwide are now regular performers at the Coca-Cola dome. It is not only music events that make the Coca-Cola dome a success. The versatility and ability to host exhibitions and conventions make the dome the preferred choice for businesses as well as entertainment customers.

The Acting General Manager is Cynthia Penprase and she tells IndustrySA more about the Coca-Cola dome. “The Coca-Cola dome is a venue managed by Thebe Venue Management (TVM) on behalf of the landlords, Sasol Pension Fund. TVM (a wholly owned subsidiary of Thebe Exhibitions and Projects Group)

THE COCA-COLA DOME

specialise in managing venues from a holistic perspective inclusive of naming rights sponsorship, commercial and marketing management, facility and day-to-day operations of the venue and an events team to manage all event requirements. TVM successfully concluded a management contract with Sasol Pension Fund for a third term until 2019. In addition, TVM landed an exclusive branding rights deal for the dome with CocaCola Company South Africa, successfully extending the contract for a second term.

Since taking over management of the venue, TVM has successfully turned the venue into a winning enterprise, delivering our busiest and most successful years.”

Remaining strong in hard times Even through the global economic slowdown the Coca-Cola dome has managed to remain

in a competitive position. Perhaps this is typical of the entertainment industry, even when the economy begins to bite and money does not flow as freely people still need to have a life away from work and balance that with various activities. “Overall the Coca-Cola dome is performing very well and we are keeping our occupancy rates up year on year as well as our average visitor numbers. While 2011 was a difficult year for a lot of

“ While 2011 was a difficult year for a lot of businesses and venues, we still performed well and were fortunate to have had another bumper year” JUNE 12 PAGE 35

COMPANY REPORT

businesses and venues, we still performed well and were fortunate to have had another bumper year,” says Ms Penprase.

It is not only a challenge to keep guests coming to the dome with uncertainty in world financial markets but it is also a challenge to remain busy in a B2B environment and that is something that the Coca-Cola dome has managed to do as Ms Penprase explains: “The economic slowdown has affected all of us, clients, contractors, venue, our consumers. Our clients have managed to maintain their events and we have worked with them to reduce the effect from the slowdown. Our success has being that together with our clients we have been fortunate and managed to ensure retention of the annual events, as well as securing new ones.”

An encouraging statistic for South Africa in times of world recession is that the people are considered early adopters of technology and also that the banks are very resolute and strong. This is something that has helped the Coca-Cola dome as they have seen new companies and organisations ready to promote themselves to a wide audience. “The entertainment industry is always moving and adapting. We have seen new promoters and exhibition organisers over the past year, some of whom have managed to launch events, which is exciting for the industry. We understand the benefit of new business and work hard to help new organisers grow a reliable and sustainable brand,” says Ms Penprase.

Continuous improvement The Coca-Cola dome is visited by hundreds of thousands of people every year and of course this means that as the organisation moves forward investment is required to ensure that it continues to produce the best events possible. This is something that is recognised by the Coca-Cola dome and Ms Penprase places a real emphasis on internal investment. “We believe in the principle that our event organisers are our partners; together, our targets are to be sustainable, to reach budgets, to remain profitable and to provide service excellence to the consumer attending the events. We are always working on areas in the venue to upgrade and maintain; throughout the year we invest in areas, which we identify as being the most important, taking into account the event bookings that are scheduled for the year,” she says.

One of the main challenges that face any business is the overheads that are incurred on a monthly basis. So far the Coca-Cola dome has made capital investments in various areas with the goal of managing these overheads

PAGE 36 JUNE 12

The Script

“ A major external challenge that has affected us as a venue, as well as our clients, is the massive increases we have seen in electricity costs” effectively as Ms Penprase explains: “A major external challenge that has affected us as a venue, as well as our clients, is the massive increases we have seen in electricity costs over the past 3 years, which obviously affects the bottom line. Concerns are also being raised over the potential impact the toll gate fees could have and the increasing fuel levies.

“Together with the landlord we have invested substantial capital to convert our air conditioning system to be run from diesel generators, thereby reducing the demand tariff from City Power. This will allow our clients a saving on the electricity spend for their event.”

THE COCA-COLA DOME

Industry leaders When a business is successful it results in more publicity, more interest and at the bottom line, more profit. These three areas all make things easier in the long-term and as they continue to increase the dome will only attract more high-profile guests and acts. The Coca-Cola dome has been so successful over the last 15 years that it is now recognised as the industry leader in events hosting boasting a list of accolades from industry experts. Ms Penprase explains: “We were voted the Best Concert Venue in the Leisure Options Best of Johannesburg Readers Choice Awards in 2011 for the 13th consecutive year; we received a Golden Arrow Award in the PMR. Africa Awards for the third year running, we ranked 19th in Pollstar’s worldwide arena venues chart based on ticket sales for the first quarter of 2011, TVM was nominated as one of South Africa’s Top 500 Companies in Exhibition & Conference Facilities in 2009 and we were voted as Best Live Music Venue in The Star Choice Awards for three years in a row.

How does the Coca-Cola dome remain so successful?

It is all about dedicated employees, hard work and good relationships – internally and externally. As much as this might sound like a cliché and something that is dreamed up by marketing people Ms Penprase tells us that it is in fact one of the drivers behind the Coca-Cola dome’s success: “Our relationships are vital – between our clients, naming sponsor, landlord, venue and event suppliers, staff, residents, neighbours, everyone we come into contact with. It goes without saying that without any of these people there wouldn’t be a Coca-Cola dome. We have focused on building solid relationships over the

years. Some of our clients have been using our venue to host their events for over 10 years; we have committed relationships with our landlord, naming rights sponsor and dedicated long term suppliers. And of course there is our team who are highly motivated, service driven individuals who have collectively built our reputation as one of South Africa’s top entertainment venue teams.”

The future for the Coca-Cola dome looks bright.

While there is long list of exciting events already in place for the next 12 months the team will look to further promote the dome and attract new partnerships. They are also looking to increase the use of the dome in the context of international concerts and exhibitions. “The Coca-Cola dome’s marketing strategy is focused on attracting new exhibitions to the venue and promoting the venue to event companies and agencies managing product launches, year-end function, sports events etc.

As part of our strategy we also continue marketing / communicating about the exhibitions that we are well known for hosting at our venue on an annual basis as well as being Johannesburg’s favourite concert venue,” says Ms Penprase.

Events hosting and events management are increasing in popularity in terms of career and study choice. As Acting General Manager of one of the country’s most successful organisations in the events industry Ms Penprase offers this advice: “Conduct thorough research, have a clear strategy in place and an investor or starting capital. And accept guidance,” sound words for anyone starting out in business in events or in any sector. ●

UPCOMING SHOWS JUL 12th-15th EID Shopping Festival JUL 19th–21st Future Ed AUG 11th-12th Africa International Hair Extravaganza AUG 17th Andre Rieu Concert AUG 25th-26th The Wedding Expo AUG 30th–SEP 2nd The Getaway Show SEP 7th–9th National Boat Show and Dive Show SEP 13th – 16th Business Opportunities and Franchise Expo SEP 21st – 24th Good Food and Wine Show LOCATION The venue is 35 minutes from Johannesburg International Airport, 10 minutes from Lanseria Airport and 20 minutes from the Sandton Business Centre.

Corner Olievenhout Avenue & Northumberland Road PO Box 540, North Riding Randburg 2162

JUNE 12 PAGE 37

JUST SETS

Setting Up the Entertainment Industry After opening its second branch 11 years ago Just Sets continues to expand and go from strength to strength.

In 1981 Colin Fowler arrived in South Africa from England. He is an

“ We done the work for ‘Unite of the Stars’ with Christina Aguilera, Diana Ross, Deborah Cox and Lucia Micarelli in 2005”

experienced carpenter but started life in South Africa with very little. “When I arrived I had two suitcases, a trunk, R1450 in my pocket and my wife on my arm,” says Mr Fowler.

Since then life has changed dramatically for Mr Fowler. In 1989 he founded Just Sets, a business involved in the design, construction and supply of staging and sets for a range of different function events from theatrical shows to car launches, concerts and beauty pageants. The company was formed with partner Chris Hicks but unfortunately Mr Hicks passed away in Cape Town, April 2000 on a fit up for the Face of Africa Beauty Pageant.

Just Sets has supplied materials to all of the major venues in South Africa and has worked with the Coca-Cola dome on various events as Mr Fowler explains: “We’ve done Miss World events, a FIFA draw in 2009 in Cape Town Convention Centre; we worked a lot in the Coca-Cola dome last year, we did the work for ‘Unite of the Stars’ with Christina Aguilera, Diana Ross, Deborah Cox and Lucia Micarelli in 2005.”

The company is well established with a lot of experience and now has around 50 employees between the separate locations. Derick Kruger and Neil Fowler now head up operations in Cape Town and the company as a whole prides itself on quality of work and dedication to time schedules.

Luis Da Conceicao is the GM in Johannesburg and runs the operation while Colin Fowler moves between the two locations.

The growth of the company will continue this year with a new venture as Mr Fowler explains: “We’re expanding, in Cape Town, into furniture rentals as of the 1st of June so

that’s something new to look out for. If that takes off we’ll move it up to Johannesburg as well.

“At conferences and exhibitions the holding areas have sofas, tables and bars and that’s all hired in so we will be able to offer a service there,” he added.

The success of the company has drawn business from further afield and allowed for expansion into foreign markets.

“We work extensively in South Africa; we worked on a cruise ship going up to Genoa, some of the guys have been as far as Singapore for exhibitions, we worked in Ghana, Namibia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana,” says Mr Fowler.

Just Sets are based on the outskirts of Sandton near the Alexandra township and the Cape Town office is at Killarney Gardens. Their fleet can travel between the sites in around 17 hours and the trucks can reach any location for a range of different events. The company also offers dance floors, turntables, hydraulic lift platforms, curtains and carpets.

With a tough economic climate at international level it is essential that businesses like Just Sets have a strong presence in the local market. Work with venues like the Coca-Cola dome and other large scale entertainment spaces has helped to build the reputation of Just Sets and they are now one of the industry leaders with unrivalled expertise and experience. ●

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COMPANY REPORT

Tired of average service?

Try Cellucity 2011 was the year that smartphones came to the fore of the communications market. Cellucity tell IndustrySA about reaping the benefits from this boom.

By Joe Forshaw

Cellucity is an award winning business based in the communications industry.

Still going strong after 21 years, the company has the widest offering of mobile phones, computers and accessories available in any store in the industry. Apple, BlackBerry, HTC, LG, Sony, Samsung and Nokia are just some of the big name brands that Cellucity stock and over the years they have created a strong relationship with Vodacom thanks to the commitment and passion towards customer service.

Cellucity deal in consumer and B2B environments.

With 17 years’ experience in the business market, they pride themselves on fair, dependable, committed service.

General manager Chris Henschel speaks to IndustrySA to give an insight into a story of true South African business triumph.

“We are South Africa’s leading independent Cellular retailer. We started out in 1991, prior to the introduction

PAGE 40 JUNE 12

of GSM in South Africa, as a short term mobile communications company, renting out C450’s (those big analogue briefcase size portable phones) mainly to the burgeoning film industry in Cape Town. With the introduction of cellular into the market in 1994, we took the opportunity to branch out into the retail sector and at the time offered both MTN and Vodacom products,” explains Mr Henschel.

“Our initial outlet was a kiosk in the V& A Waterfront in Cape Town, and as such we were the only cellular outlet in a shopping mall,” he adds. An inspiring story and a testament to what can be done through innovation with a determined mind-set.

Business Development After a cautious approach to business in the beginning, Cellucity had growth on its mind. Technology was beginning to drive the communication industry. In the

CELLUCITY

technology market and the fact that back in the early 90s people had no idea how the market would catch on. “Initially not many people believed you would need a cell phone,” remarks Mr Henschel.

In the past few years the introduction of a new type of cell phone has had a real effect on the market and has provided a further boost for the business of Cellucity.

That new type of phone is known as the smartphone, a mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform (if your business does not use smartphones you need to seriously look into it). Smartphones like the Apple iPhone and the BlackBerry range have made people contactable 24/7. Not just for a phone call but for instant messaging, email, video calls, multi-party conferencing,

“ We ensure our store design is world class, consumers shop with their eyes first” 21 years from 1990 to 2011 the market for cellular phones grew radically. Subscriptions grew from just over 12 million to over six billion, developing countries and economies were penetrated and everyone from all of the demographic groups had access to mobile phone technology.

“With a very cautious approach to the retail world, our growth strategy was to ensure that the business was always cash positive, and thus the opening of our second and third stores was dictated and hinged off the success of the first. Each additional branch opened was supported by the others,” says Mr Henschel. A wise business decision considering the volatility of the

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COMPANY REPORT

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CELLUCITY

“ One just has to look at the fate of several companies that were the market leaders and are now struggling to survive” online gaming and social networking. “2011 could be seen as the year smartphones came to the fore, and with our stores positioned at the higher end LSM’s (Living Standards Measure) and in the larger retail malls in South Africa, we benefited greatly from the smartphone explosion and had a fantastic year,” says Mr Henschel.

Apple and BlackBerry It is not only what we would call the ‘big two’ (Apple and BlackBerry) brands in the market. There is a host of manufacturers who are bringing top range models to the market and, again, Cellucity is reaping the rewards for stocking the whole range. “With the cellular industry the main challenge is being able to identify the trends as well as establish which models are going to be the big movers and then ensure continuity of supply of these models. A simple retail premise, if you don’t have stock you can’t sell, holds very true for our industry and balancing your cash flow to ensure you can take advantage of consumer demand for specific products is key,” explains Mr Henschel.

In store at Cellucity you do not just get a phone or an accessory. The team are on hand to skill customers in what is now a space filled with highly technical products and it is this support that they look to promote and something that they are very proud of. “As a leader in the smartphone space, we are regarded as a benchmark destination, for provision of service and support, in a largely technical environment,” boasts Mr Henschel.

Attention to detail is something that we so often hear is key to success, not just in the communications industry but in business in general. Cellucity treat each customer differently and tailor the correct device and the correct package as Mr Henschel explains: “The rapid growth in technology has placed ever more complex devices in the hands of consumers and we are there to educate and provide our customers with first-hand experience of technology whilst providing the correct advice to place the right product in their hands.”

A re-focus Cellucity have witnessed some basic economics in practice. Excess supply brings average prices down.

Increased competition has obviously forced the level of supply up and the price down. This has caused Cellucity to consider their focus. “If you follow the global trends in the cellular retail market, South Africa is usually two to three years behind Europe and the US. In these markets there has already been consolidation and rationalization in the cellular retail sector and unlike South Africa you won’t find upwards of five mobile phone stores in a shopping mall, you will most likely only find one per network provider in a mall,” says Mr Henschel.

In the US and European markets the vertical integration of some of the large networks and the streamlining of the entire production process has proved successful at the bottom line and if South African network providers take this approach, which they are slowly, then Cellucity could find itself low on business.

This is why the focus has had to adapt slightly as Mr Henschel tells us: “Our re-alignment has shifted our focus on to the accessories side of the business and ensuring that we become a leader in providing the widest range of mobile accessories both for phones and for laptops and tablets in South Africa.”

With the problems in the US and European financial zones that are likely to filter through to the South African market if they haven’t already it might be conceivable to think that Cellucity would be feeling the pinch. Not the case says Mr Henschel: “Fortunately the mobile phone has become such a large part of our everyday lives that the global slowdown has done little to dampen our sales or our future outlook for the business.”

The outlook for the future is mixed for Cellucity.

Although there are many opportunities and the refocusing activities are ensuring entry and leadership in a new market they are only too aware of how quickly a brilliant brand can fall. “The mobile phone industry is a difficult one to operate in, one just has to look at the fate of several companies that were the market leaders and are now struggling to survive, whilst a company like Apple is currently dominating they could easily follow the same route if they are not careful.”

Another challenge that faces the industry is realigning business models to minimise the impact and maximise the opportunities of the changes that will inevitably come from the changing pricing practices due to the take over at Cell C and the way MTN and Vodacom will respond.

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COMPANY REPORT

Innovative service One of the new services that Cellucity will be offering on a trial basis throughout June and July is a ‘try before you buy’ scheme where a customer will have the chance to use the phone for a week before making the purchase, an important tool according Mr Henschel: “With cellular contracts being two years in length it can be very difficult to decide what the best option is for you, particularly when choosing a new operating system, be it BlackBerry, Android, iOS or Windows thus we hope this innovative service will continue to help us lead the way in providing the best possible service in the industry.”

Obviously the movement towards supplying accessories and the innovative new services are not the only things that Mr Henschel and Cellucity have in mind to drive the business in the future however some of the major decisions are still at a sensitive stage and the managing director was looking to keep things under wraps for now. “We are currently in discussions with Vodacom and potentially a few other partners regarding our distribution channel, and these discussions will definitely define our roadmap for 2012 and beyond but are at a very sensitive stage at present and I can’t really say much more, other than, watch this space!”

In the market Cellucity have some of the most aesthetically pleasing stores around. They are located in the largest and most accessible malls across the country.

All of this is not just a coincidental convenience, it is a thorough marketing strategy. Mr Henschel says: “we have our retail outlets in the best possible position in the mall, we also only opt for malls with a GLA (Gross Leaseable Area) of 60,000m2 to ensure the highest amount of passers by.

“We ensure our store design is world class, consumers shop with their eyes first. We deliver a world class service, we empower our staff to make decisions that will make the customers experience the best possible.”

Technology has not only benefited the businesses and consumers that buy from Cellucity, it has also benefited the company itself. As we have already discussed, Cellucity offer innovative services and are always looking to add more to their service portfolio. The uprising of social media has provided another platform by which Cellucity can communicate advice and advertisements to customers (at a relatively low cost). “With the rapidly growing adoption of social media, we have begun placing a lot of effort in harnessing and managing the social networking space and it has been great in being able to offer customers a medium in which to interface with us at a time and place that suits them the best,” says Mr Henschel.

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“ With dedication and hard work you will receive recognition. With dedication and hard work anything is possible” Passion is the key Cellucity has been awarded Vodacom’s Independent Dealer of the Year Award 11 times since its inception.

This is something that the company is very proud of and the strategic partnership that exists between the two companies is mutually beneficial. The key to this success and the driver behind the relationship is passion as Mr Henschel explains: “It’s a passion for the technology, a passion for delivering outstanding service and instilling that passion into our staff so that a culture is bred into the organization that thrives on being cutting edge and always going the extra mile for our customers.”

Passion and spirit is not the only key to the success at Cellucity. Obviously any entrepreneur has to believe in their business and Mr Henschel says that South Africa is the perfect place for businesses to flourish. “There are huge opportunities in South Africa for those with entrepreneurial spirit, have a passion for what you are doing, make that passion infectious and strive to be number one and you can’t help but succeed.”

While the company is always adapting and working to improve opportunities, the history and the brand are beacons to the public and the businesses that Cellucity serve. It represents a trustworthy, quality, nationwide organisation that has the consumer in the front of its mind. It is the commitment to quality, the diverse stock ranges, the attention to detail and the willingness to adapt that make Cellucity a leader in the industry. ●

CELLUCITY

JUNE 12 PAGE 45

RESEARCH IN MOTION

Consumerisation has turned multiplatform Mobile Device Management into a must-have Mobile device management (MDM) solutions that cater for a range of

to confidential company information on the corporate network. smartphone and tablet platforms are becoming a mustOne such solution is the new BlackBerry® Mobile have for companies that want to retain control over how Fusion solution that brings together the BlackBerry® end-users access and use corporate information from Enterprise Server (version 5.0.3) for BlackBerry® their mobile devices. That’s according to Robyn Milham, smartphones; new management capabilities for Head of Sales for Southern Africa at Research In Motion BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablets built on BlackBerry (RIM), the company behind the BlackBerry® solution.

Enterprise Server technology; and mobile device She says that tablets and smartphones are powerful management for smartphones and tablets running devices that enjoy access to sensitive Android and iOS operating systems. network resources and that can retain Across all supported mobile devices, it valuable corporate data on local storage. offers features such as asset management, Mobile devices can be easily lost or configuration management, security and policy stolen so companies need to take steps definition and management, remote wiping and to secure data stored on the devices locking of lost or stolen devices, application and to prevent unauthorised users from software management, and more.

Robyn Milham attempting to access corporate networks.

“BlackBerry Mobile Fusion goes right to As such, it is recommended that companies the heart of the biggest challenges CIOs face: invest in MDM solutions that offer centralised device securing and managing heterogeneous smartphones and management, remote device provisioning and end-to-end tablets as a result of users bringing their own devices to security and control. work,” says Milham. “With BlackBerry Mobile Fusion Says Milham: “Mobile information security should in place, CIOs can govern the mobile environment be an important consideration for any enterprise that effectively without restricting user choice and flexibility.” wants to align itself with best practice guidelines and regulations such as King III, SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act) Research In Motion and The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Research In Motion (RIM), a global leader in wireless Standard. Mobile devices can easily become the weakest innovation, revolutionised the mobile industry with the link in information security and data protection if introduction of the BlackBerry® solution in 1999. companies do not manage them more tightly.”

The BlackBerry® product line includes the BlackBerry® Consumerisation of IT in the workplace is described PlayBook™ tablet, the award-winning BlackBerry® as employees bringing personally-owned devices to smartphone, software for businesses and accessories. work. Milham says that as this trend continues to grow in BlackBerry products and services are used by millions Africa’s IT industry, company employees are increasingly of customers around the world to stay connected to the using their own smartphones and tablets to carry out people and content that matter most throughout their mobile business processes. On the other side of the coin, day.

IT departments are faced with the challenge of centrally For more information, please visit our website: managing several mobile platforms simultaneously. www.BlackBerry.co.za ● Recognising the challenge consumerisation places The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, for IT departments, RIM is creating solutions that help images and symbols are the exclusive properties IT departments to manage and control wireless access and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited.

JUNE 12 PAGE 47

COMPANY REPORT

Indwe Risk: Protectors of the community

By Joe Forshaw

Indwe Risk is one of South Africa’s largest insurance brokers. Indwe Risk itself started six years ago but was born after a merger of Thebe Risk Services and Prestasi Brokers. Thebe Risk Services has over 100 years’ experience and Prestasi, a 30 year pedigree so while Indwe Risk was established in 2006 the company has vast knowledge in their field.

Obviously every business needs insurance to some degree and with a history such as that of Indwe Risk Services, it becomes challenging to find a better local organisation to deal with. With services offered at personal and corporate level they are well equipped to give advice to any type of customer.

The executive head of operations at Indwe Risk is Peter Olyott and he took the time to speak to IndustrySA and discuss some of the aspects

PAGE 48 JUNE 12

of the company’s success along with opportunities for the future.

Large scale operation Indwe Risk Services act as a broker for over 100,000 policy holders; they have 25 offices across the entire county, in all the provinces. “We’ve got just over 600 employees, the majority of these are based in Gauteng in Johannesburg and Pretoria,” says Mr Olyott. He adds, “Relative to our competitors, I think Indwe is performing well but we do set our bar high and we didn’t quite get to the level that we hoped for so, in that sense, we are slightly disappointed. What is going to happen though, is that we are going to become a more recognised brand in the markets that we are competing in and also amongst our peers in the industry which is also important.

INDWE RISK SERVICES

Indwe Risk Services is a product of the 2006 merger between South Africa’s premier insurance brokerages - Thebe Risk Services & Prestasi Brokers.

“The softer than expected insurance market has made maintaining earnings more difficult but we have had significant new business in the past few months which inspires us and gives us the knowledge that we can compete against any of the major brokers in South Africa in our chosen sectors.”

In the insurance industry tailoring products to the correct markets is a necessity. It is not just good marketing; it is essential practice as each individual customer has differing policy requirements. This is something that Indwe recognise and Mr Olyott explains how target marketing makes a big difference to the service provided by Indwe. “We are a focused player; we’re not all things to all people. We’ve targeted specific sectors and markets where we believe we can compete successfully but having said that, we’re probably amongst

the top five brokers in the country when measured by revenue and premiums managed.

Last year’s success Indwe Risk Services takes a kaizen approach to business management. Kaizen is the Japanese for improvement.

It refers to philosophies or practices that focus on continuous improvement. This approach, that involves everyone from top to bottom, is clearly working for Indwe and Mr Olyott explains why: “We’ve managed to maintain our position as pre-eminent personal lines broker against our competitors. We are constantly striving to improve performance in all areas of our business by investing focused resources in the field of continuous client service improvement; we are actually in a process of continual improvement following a

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COMPANY REPORT

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INDWE RISK SERVICES

six-sigma process, looking at every single process in our business. On the other side of the equation, we are primarily a people based skills business, if you want to be the best you need the best people who never stand still and constantly look to improve themselves.”

As we have heard before, the global economic slowdown has affected South Africa but perhaps less so than other economic zones such as the Eurozone or the USA for example. Some of the companies that we have featured before have perhaps suffered a little more due to their industry sector. Construction and engineering are obviously sectors that have been hit a little harder than the rest. Indwe Risk Services is expecting more tough times to come. “It’s a tough environment for all businesses. We accept that the good times may well come again but that for the foreseeable future business will be tough and consumers and businesses alike will be under pressure.” Indwe is using this period as an opportunity to realign its business objectives and to inspire creativity and innovation as a means of overcoming the tough trading conditions.

“We can see the recession coming through in our clients and they drive our performance. When clients close down it means fewer clients which means less money. Recession normally hits newcomers and small start-ups first. Bigger companies will normally begin to come through after smaller ones fail. This brings new dimensions to how we price and set our products in the market,” says Mr Olyott.

technology there are new potential risks that need to be managed. That then creates opportunities for companies that are ahead of the curb in terms of anticipating change, that gives us the critical edge over competition, we are awake to these things,” says Mr Olyott.

The goal for Indwe Risk going forward is simple: to be the best risk advisory and insurance broking business in South Africa based on the delivery of quality, value for money and consistent, high levels of service delivery.

“We’ve started to move into some specialist sectors so we’ve set up a new division of our business which focuses on things like aviation, construction and professional indemnity. We didn’t really have any depth in these skills, so we made an investment and hired new, vastly experienced individuals to help set this up so we can compete,” says Mr Olyott when speaking about the company’s movement into new markets.

He adds: “We’ve made some small acquisitions in the last few months and that has been helping us fill in the space in our market presence so we’ve been quite active with the intention of growing.”

The greater part of Indwe’s business comes from personal and commercial profiles but the growth comes from the specialist offerings. They have built the brand into one of the biggest players in the individual personal insurance market. The service offered obviously needs to be quality and they maintain a personalised approach as competition is severe. Just about anyone with a reasonable customer base of consumers is offering insurance, so growth, adaptation and innovation are vital.

Prestasi brokers became known for its innovative shortterm insurance offerings for individuals and corporate accounts and this is something that has been adopted and built upon by Indwe Risk.

Targeting different segments effectively has again worked with these niche types of product. “While we are happy to maintain our position we are still moving into and developing new niche markets in the individual space like we are doing in the corporate, specialist space.

We try to refine our targeted market to a particular type of client who demands a particular type of service and product rather than trying to be all things to all people,” says Mr Olyott.

Everything changes

Awarded for excellence

One of the drivers of the insurance industry is a constantly changing customer environment. “The more things change the more opportunities it creates for a business such as ours. Our business is about change.

Every time there is a new legislation or a new piece of

Indwe Risk is proven in the field and their list of awards backs this up. “There was an independent service excellence award in 2012 that was undertaken by a market research company called Smoke Customer Care Solutions, we were rated against all of our competitors

“We are primarily a people based skills business, if you want to be the best you need the best people who never stand still and constantly look to improve themselves.”

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ZURICH SOUTH AFRICA

The local worldwide insurance giant Zurich South Africa is the Southern African division of the international insurance giant Zurich Insurance Group.

Founded in 1965, Zurich South Africa employs approximately 800 people and, last year, generated premium income of R3.9 billion.

The company provides global coverage and local insurance solutions with risk engineering expertise across a broad range of sectors. Their distinctive position as the largest global, local insurer in South Africa allows them to bring significant benefits to their brokers and customers, with a breadth and depth of expertise and experience that provides ultimate peace of mind.

From private individuals, though to SMEs, commercial and corporate businesses, Zurich is able to provide global expertise and capacity and their strong local presence enables them to play an important role in the short term insurance sector.

Social, environmental and governance issues that affect stakeholders on a daily basis are key focus areas for

Zurich South Africa whose Corporate Social Investment (CSI) programmes focus on education including a literacy programme with Royal Bafokeng Holdings, an after school education programme with Afrika Tikkun and a bursary programme that is currently in development.

Zurich recently launched its employee volunteerism initiative – Zurich Cares – and encouraged employees to donate school socks to those in need. The next campaign, a career day on 18 July (Mandela Day), will see employees donating 67 minutes of their time to educating the youth.

“CSI will definitely form part of our strategy going forward,” says Dennis Burton, Head of Broker Relations.

Burton continues: “We are one of the top five insurers in the country based on GWP and have good capabilities in specialist areas such as marine and engineering. We have enjoyed a strong relationship with Indwe Risk Services and have received tremendous support from them over many years. We are looking forward to continually working with them to further strengthen our relationship. ●

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COMPANY REPORT

“ We try to refine our targeted market to a particular type of client who demands a particular type of service and product rather than trying to be all things to all people” and we rated first in terms of service excellence. We have also won a few awards from South Africa’s largest insurance companies for performance excellence in certain branches and regions,” says Mr Olyott.

Indwe was also recognised by Deloitte as one of the best companies to work for in Southern Africa in 2011 and has been moving up the rankings each year, making steady progress and still looking to improve.

Obviously these awards pay testament to the staff at Indwe. Employee involvement and Corporate Social Investment (CSI) is something that company places a great emphasis on. There are a lot of initiatives underway right now as Mr Olyott explains: “Every branch in our business takes on a CSI project and we also have some corporate strategies and initiatives that we pursue. It involves working within the communities in which we do business and trying to give back to those communities. CSI also helps to build our brand. We are relatively young and it takes time and effort to build a brand.”

Business is about risk Operating in the industry that they do, Indwe Risk have seen the success and failure of many different businesses.

It is all good and well to plan a business and have fantastic ideas but it is a whole other thing when it comes to putting that plan into practice and bringing those ideas to fruition. “Going into business is about risk, so whilst insurance is there to insure some risks, you cannot insure all risks otherwise you would never make any money. It is a requirement to firstly understand what risk is and have the skills to be able to practice effective risk management – that is to understand the risk management is not a separate and divorced management discipline but that effective risk management is in fact just good management . All the theories and principles of risk management apply equally to the risk spectrum which confronts the entrepreneur,” says Mr Olyott.

He adds: “The entrepreneur who correctly identifies, evaluates and develops strategies to manage those diverse risks is the one that ends up being successful. The one that doesn’t is perhaps like a shooting star which

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disappears once certain risks come to bear as they haven’t anticipated all of the risks, nor developed strategies to deal with them. People in general and entrepreneurs in particular are not negatively inclined, so they tend not to think of all of the risks that can materialise. You need a professional partner who has the expertise and experience and who has built up the knowledge of the typical risks to which new businesses are exposed to.”

It is clear to see why Indwe Risk has become one of the top risk and insurance broker choices in South Africa.

An insurance broker with a focus on service quality, professional yet personalised advice and innovative solutions.

Indwe is the Xhosa name for South Africa’s national bird, the Blue Crane. In Xhosa tradition, the feathers of the Indwe were awarded to warriors in recognition of their valour. Those who wore the feathers in their headdress were from then called upon to stand as the protectors of their communities.

Today, Indwe Risk Services is proud to live out the values of these revered warriors in an effort to guarantee people peace of mind ●

INDWE RISK SERVICES

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COMPANY REPORT

Golden expansion & exploration

By Joe Forshaw

In the financial year of 2011 Harmony produced 1.3 million ounces of gold, making it one of the world’s largest gold mining companies.

Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (Harmony) is one of the largest gold mining companies on the planet.

Incorporated in 1950 it has a long and deep history. In the beginning Harmony was managed by Randgold until 1995 when Randgold were wound up and Harmony became an entirely independent organisation.

We have discussed how important the mining business is to South Africa previously in IndustrySA and speaking to Harmony has only reaffirmed that knowledge. The business has headquarters in Randfontein but does not only operate in South Africa. Harmony’s Australasian

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base is in Brisbane and it is from here that the operations in Papua New Guinea are directed. This is one of the areas that Harmony is looking to grow, working with a joint venture partner, as well as independently.

The CEO of Harmony is Graham Briggs, a geologist by training he has vast experience of the mining industry.

He explains a little more about the Harmony business: “Harmony is a gold mining focussed company; the aim is to be able to grow and to do that we need to be very profitable. It’s a company which consists of around 40,000 different employees so it’s a substantial employer of people and therefore we have lots of stakeholders

HARMONY GOLD MINING COMPANY

including, of course, our shareholders.

“We are a South African focused company but we also have interests in Papua New Guinea with a significant presence in that country as well. We intend to grow even further and although mining is always a difficult business we hope to always be significant for all our stakeholders now and in the future,” says Mr Briggs.

International expansion One of the key objectives of any business is growth. It is one of the standard targets along with profitability (and perhaps survival in the early stages). How can a mining

company grow? Well simply by adding more mines, more locations, more activity and more people to the business with the goal of increasing output. The target has been set at producing 1.8 - 2 million ounces of gold by 2015. “Our international expansion at the moment is in Papua New Guinea. We have a big joint venture there with Newcrest Mining Limited with a mine in operation and a very large copper gold deposit which at the moment is in pre-feasibility state,” says Mr Briggs.

The mining industry in South Africa has a few key players, some of the largest mining companies in the world and a host of smaller organisations that

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COMPANY REPORT

“ In Africa typically the greenstone belts in Tanzania and the DRC and another belt in the West of Africa are quite prolific. Our neighbour Zimbabwe is looking very prospective” complement the work of these large scale mining businesses. There are not only one or two businesses involved; there is a lot of competition. This is why it is important to keep adapting and growing. “We’ve been restructuring a lot in the company. In the past we haven’t had the financial ability to grow in other countries, however now we are in a position to start looking at that.

There are certainly a number of areas in the world that are very prospective. We have a small business team that looks at these opportunities. If we find an opportunity that suits us and we think we can add value to it then that is something we will go for,” says Mr Briggs.

It has been well documented that other African countries have huge potential for precious metal mining and this is something that Harmony are well aware of as Mr Briggs explains: “In Africa typically the greenstone belts in Tanzania and the DRC and another belt in the West of Africa are quite prolific. Our neighbour Zimbabwe is also looking very prospective. You have to consider a lot of issues; it’s not just a case of being prospective. You have to have the right regime, taxes, politics and all the rest. The ease of doing business is also a consideration but ultimately it’s the deposits that form the focus. In Southeast Asia there are the copper gold and gold belts which are all interesting. We’ve been focusing on Papua New Guinea but there are other countries which have high potential.”

A deep mining history Harmony is the 12th largest mining company in the world and one of the largest in South Africa and to gain status like this you need in-depth knowledge, commitment to ambition and a history to go with it all.

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“It all started about 61 years ago on a farm in the Free State near Virginia and that’s where the original name comes from. The business grew and took over other local mines up until 1995. In 1995 with the demise of the Rand Mines Group Harmony became independent and started growing in its own right.

“The initial growth from 1995 was really to look at properties adjacent to the mine in the Free State and the company grew by acquiring older assets from AngloGold Ashanti and Gold Fields and restructured those operations to get some more life out of them. In the last few years we have been developing new mines adjacent to the old ones.

“In early 2000 we acquired some operations in Australia and operated there for a few years but is was never extremely successful as they were older, mature operations. From that we bought a company called Abelle and they had exploration interests in Papa New Guinea so we did a lot of exploration and project development and now we have one mine there,” says Mr Briggs He adds: “We have been producing around 1.3 million ounces of gold for the last three or four years now and that is starting to increase with the new mines in South Africa as they step up production. So it is an interesting history with many years in operation.”

Where is the focus?

The operations of Harmony are vast. We mentioned it before; they operate on a large scale and are looking to grow. Mr Briggs tells us about the current areas of focus and the top performing mines in the Harmony portfolio. “Our biggest concentration of mines is in the Free State. There we have mines like Phakisa which is building up in production, it is probably just below half its full capacity so in the next few years it will be at full strength. We have mines like Tshepong which is a big mine, a good profitable mine. Target 1, an old gold mine and Target 3 a recently acquired mine that we’ve restructured and re-invested in. The old Virginia mines and Harmony mines are closed now and the only existing one is the Unisel mine. Bambanani, Joel and Phoenix make up the concentration around the goldfields region in the Free State. We have other mines further afield; Kusasalethu on the Gauteng/North West border, near Randfontein is Doornkop, we have an openpit mine called Kalgold and then there is the Evander mine which we just sold to Pan African Resources so the real focus is in the Free State.”

COMPANY REPORT

Gold is an investment Something that is at the forefront of every business persons mind right now is the fragile economic climate and the difficulties that the global economy has faced over the last two years. You might think that with the lack of consumer confidence in international markets that gold may have been something to be hit hard but that is not the case as Mr Briggs tells us: “We have come through the global slowdown relatively unscathed. The business that we are in is right in the middle of it all as gold is not just something we all use for jewellery, it is also an investment and a currency. People buy gold for investment value and of course when there is financial uncertainty people are able to liquidate that investment and turn it into cash very quickly.

“The gold price is good and has been good for a couple of years and that could be down to the global economic climate and being a gold miner we are bullish on gold and always believe the price will go up but with our day to day operations we haven’t been

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affected at all.”

The mining industry as a whole is looking healthy.

It becomes safer every day and demand for base and precious metals continues to rise. The increase of resource nationalism and the taxation that mining companies face is something that CEOs need to think about but the potential profits are most definitely still there. “The mining business is quite cyclical. There are times when some minerals do well from high commodity prices and are very profitable. The industry is quite capitally intensive, obviously you need a lot of capital to build a mine. It’s a varied and exciting business.

“The industry is dynamic and growing because of increasing commodity demands from places like China and that has been driving the growth of mines in places like Australia,” says Mr Briggs.

South Africa has a lot of minerals but has not really benefitted from the global resource boom and could do more. This is something that a lot of the major mining companies recognise. A little bit of innovation and an

HARMONY GOLD MINING COMPANY

alignment of the attitudes towards mining, a belief that successful mining can happen would be helpful and encourage developers and risk takers to get involved.

The industry has changed dramatically over the years and a visit to a modern mine shaft would probably be a shock to most and significantly different from what most people might expect. “In South Africa I would argue that the mining industry has been at the forefront of transformation. There are now women in the industry in the top jobs whereas a few years ago this was a male dominated business, in fact in South Africa it was a white male dominated business. These days it is completely multi-cultural sector, becoming more innovative each day,” says Mr Briggs.

“To mine the more difficult deposits properly we are going to have to be a little bit more inventive,” he adds.

Sustainability Obviously mining takes a lot of power. Electricity, diesel and water are just some of the overheads involved in a

mining operation. Harmony recognises that if they want to be a truly sustainable organisation then they will have to step up the search for a more energy efficient fuel source to perhaps contribute to the overall overheads of the process.

It has been openly reported that Harmony have been working on plans for solar power and biofuel projects in regions where there is a lack of generating capacity. “In the solar business we are in a country where there is a lot of sunshine, even in the winter. We also have a lot of land and it is a case of where best can we put these resources together and create something.

“Solar will never be able to supply all of our energy needs but it could be a useful addition to what we do. It is important to turn what we have, be it mediocre assets like land, into something that can be productive in the future,” says Mr Briggs.

In the North West Province where some of the first ideas of this kind have been discussed, the site is an open pit mine so uses less power than an underground mine.

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COMPANY REPORT

Graham Briggs, CEO

In the underground mines ventilation, transport and hoisting ability are things which require a lot more power and at this stage solar and biofuel power sources would not come close to powering an operation of these sizes.

“One thing you need is profits; you have to be profitable to remain sustainable. Making money is a large part of being sustainable,” says Mr Briggs.

Corporate Social Investment Mr Briggs tells IndustrySA that CSI is something which receives great attention from the directors at Harmony.

In Welkom, Harmony has looked at the potential of converting buildings into housing estates for the benefit of people in and around the mines.

Harmony is a large employer and they employ a significant proportion of the communities in the areas surrounding the mines. “If you look at the Free State operations I think the number is around 66% of the people that work for us actually come from the local area. That has a huge knock on effect on community business,” stated Mr Briggs.

Finding and keeping the best employees is a

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challenge in any industry but positive relationships and fresh approaches to HR techniques have kept Harmony competitive as Mr Briggs points out: “Harmony has been quite innovative even in the way we build relationships with our employees and our unions. We like to think of different things we can do in the way we pay our employees.”

Mr Briggs understands that like any business, in any sector, in any country, people are the key to success.

IndustrySA has been told by business leaders of some of the top companies in the country that the people in a business make that business what it is. “The mining business is all about people.

When I go on my internal road shows and talk to employees and management I tell them that I wouldn’t swap any of them for any team from any other company and I’m absolutely genuine about that. We have some fantastic people working here and huge amounts of talent.”

Over the years, while Harmony has been building its reputation as one of the world’s foremost mining companies there have been a few lessons that have been learnt and that Mr Briggs is happy to pass on: “A lot of businesses are built up from other businesses and the majority of business is capitally intensive. In the beginning the hurdles are set high. You don’t have a reputation or a track record. You need to start small and build up cash flow, something you can make a difference to and fashion in your own way.

“Growth comes when you have a reputation. You then get investment, interest and a following.”

The business of Harmony is undoubtedly going to grow in the coming years. New locations, new energy projects and a continued commitment to the staff make Harmony a company that will continue to be known as an industry leader. The vast experience of the board and management and the hunger to continue to find productive areas and new deposits result in a driving force, moving the entire industry in the right direction.

The non-executive chairman of the board at Harmony is Patrice Motsepe. For a closer look at Mr Motsepe take a look at our entrepreneur section on page 10. ●

HARMONY GOLD MINING COMPANY

JUNE 12 PAGE 65

PROTEA COIN GROUP

A strong reputation for a strong company The Protea Coin Group is a vastly experienced security provider, offering a total package of security services to their customers.

The Protea Coin Group came into existence following a merge of the Protea Security Company and Coin Security in 2007. Historically both companies provided physical security services but the company as a whole has now adapted to meet client needs in relation to industrial and crime trends.

The group has around 14 divisions but has a division devoted to the mining industry. Having the separate divisions gives a full portfolio and a complete approach to security. The group looks to be the one stop solution for security services and do more than meet the contractual requirements for their customers. A professional relationship with customers is the key to achieving success.

The Protea Coin Group and especially, the Mining Division is perfectly aligned to optimally address their clients’ needs through a holistic approach to security.

The Mining Division constantly focuses on delivering reliable, fast and effective services with enthusiasm, determination and commitment. They are constantly evaluating their operating environment to align and where necessary adjusting their approach to service delivery through the implementation of advanced systems, technology, controls and procedures.

Services extending beyond mere man-guarding security, incorporate investigations, critical situation management and technical solutions such as cameras, alarms, thermal CCTV among other things.

The company as whole employs around 17,000 people with around 4500 being employed in the Mining Division. Most of the major mining houses use Protea for their security needs. The Protea Coin Group has tactical security teams and air support through their helicopter to assist with their operations.

The organisation has a long history and looking forward, growth through value adding activities, to add to their impressive past. African expansion is also on the charts with recent contract gains in West Africa.

“ People’s perceptions are important. Mouth to mouth selling does a lot for us.”

In the security industry perceptions play a big part in making decisions and the Protea Coin Group is held in high regard by its partners in the mining business.

The reputation is strong and that is important as a measurement of success achieved.

The goal for the company overall is to become the security provider of choice for the South African market and to be known and respected for their ability to deliver – a realistic target for an true industry leader. ●

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COMPANY REPORT

One of those brands with no off button…

IndustrySA finds out the science behind Nando’s as the international super brand enters its 25th year of trading with a view to grow and expand even further.

On the cusp this year of celebrating its 25th anniversary since its inception in 1987, the Nando’s group has seen its original Johannesburg restaurant develop into a near-ubiquitous casual dining hotspot operating in thirty countries across five continents.

With its origins in Rosettenville, south Johannesburg, the eatery came about via the visions of Robert Brozin and Fernando Duarte, with the latter lending his own name to coin that of the Portuguese-Mozambicans’ nascent project. It is the influence of Rosettenville’s mining communities that has remained perhaps the most enduring feature of the restaurant; the pursuit of gold drawing many Mozambicans of Portuguese origins to the town and subsequently spreading far wider the recipes based around the Peri-Peri spice now synonymous with the restaurant.

The growth of the Nando’s brand in the 25 years following its launch has been almost unreasonably swift,

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blossoming from its original South African home in a converted branch of Chickenland to its present position at the forefront of casual dining worldwide, with its recognition in 2010

by Advertising Age as one of the world’s top 30 hottest marketing brands underlining the importance of its cuisine in the modern era.

Whilst it is seemingly impossible to know whether the Peri-Peri is itself indigenous to South Africa, it is entirely fitting that the country boasting the first ever branch of the chicken specialisers should also provide the perfect climate for its growing, with its rich fertility allowing the chilli to flourish.

Quinton Cronje is the marketing director for Nando’s South Africa. He took the time away from discussing Nando’s current advertising campaign to tell IndustrySA about the future for Nando’s and the secret behind their quite remarkable success.

Mr Cronje is a really enthusiastic person. His vibrant, get-up-and-go style is typical of the Nando’s brand as he explains: “It’s always fun at Nando’s. You come to work and you never know which ten things are going to hit you that day which you never expected. It’s always non-stop busy, it’s one of those brands where there is no off button.”

One of the ten things to hit Mr Cronje most recently

NANDO’S

was unexpected feedback on a current advertising campaign. Described by some media outlets as a ‘xenophobia ad’, the proactive ‘diversity campaign’ received several complaints through the Advertising Standards Authority. This was the catalyst behind the major TV channels (DStv, e-tv, M-Net, and SABC) taking the ad off the air.

Nando’s is known for its innovative advertising campaigns and Mr Cronje was keen to defend the advert and for people to understand the message. “It’s quite an important one because I think our intentions for that ad have been completely misinterpreted. It is strange but true for Nando’s, people always read a lot more into things than we actually intend.”

What makes them special?

The 25th anniversary of Nando’s actually takes place in September and after looking at the history it is clear that a very strong, business focused way of thinking has been vital to the growth over the years.

“The brand comes from humble beginnings in Johannesburg, South Africa and we opened this month our 1000th restaurant in the world,” says Mr Cronje. Away from the global fast food giants (McDonalds, Burger King and KFC) can you think of another restaurant chain that

has such an international presence?

What is the strength? What makes the brand such a powerhouse? According to Mr Cronje, it’s all in the product. “The product is unique. When you talk to customers they say it’s different. There is addictiveness through Peri-Peri, it gives people a buzz.”

There are proven scientific benefits from the food and it is not just put together just for the quality taste.

“People say to me, it’s like my three fixes are coffee chocolate and Peri-Peri. They put it into that addictive category. It gives people a natural high and there is a feeling of upliftment that surrounds the whole experience.

“The African bird’s eye chilli, from which the Peri-Peri is made, has been proven to lift metabolism and release endorphins. It also gives out vitamin C and anti-oxidants so there are amazing qualities from these chillies,” says Mr Cronje.

Can this expansion continue?

Now the Nando’s brand is found in 30 countries across the world, on five different continents. South America is the only untapped continent for Nando’s and while there are more than likely plans afoot to increase market share there, Mr Cronje explains that the goal in the short term is the USA.

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COMPANY REPORT

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NANDO’S Caption “ The African bird’s eye chilli, from which the Peri-Peri is made, has been proven to lift metabolism and release endorphins. It also gives out vitamin C and antioxidants”

“There are some key initiatives underway to make it a global brand as there is differentiation from one country to another, so there will be some consolidation. There is certainly an intention to open another 1000 restaurants in the next five years. The marketing strategy is aggressive with America being a key focus. We have seven restaurants in the US right now but one of our big, big global strategies is to push there even further.”

South Africa is the home of Nando’s and any business will know that expansion into international markets is important but you can never alienate the local market. It is vital that they continue to grow at home and increase relationships with long standing partners.

“In South Africa we will continue to open restaurants but something that is very important to us is that our existing portfolio continues to do well. We will definitely open at least 20 restaurants a year and we are trying to do 80-90 revamps a year so we will get through the whole portfolio in the next three years.”

Product innovation and fresh ideas are things that drive Nando’s as a business. If every business had such commitment to these visions we would see a much higher number of businesses making that jump into the category of ‘large scale’ organisation “We have a constant flow of product innovation and an aggressive promotional calendar. We are consistently doing more and more launches. One of our launches this year is Vida E. A South African-Portuguese coffee brand with the same sort of heritage as ourselves. We just launched that in London and in exclusively in our restaurants so that’s a big innovation,” says Mr Cronje.

Innovation is more than just being inventive or improving processes and the origins of the word come from the Latin innovatus or innovare meaning ‘to renew or change’. Nando’s are constantly changing their marketing, their premises and their menus to keep the experience fresh for customers. “We try and innovate every quarter and have one big idea for customers so that’s always a focus. Expanding stores and improving stores and making crazy advertising is all part of the plan.”

The idea of constant innovation and revolutionising of

organisations is an idea which was well supported

by Joseph Schumpeter, one of the world’s great economists, and a great contributor to the studies of innovation.

People make the chicken The saying at Nando’s is it’s the people that make the chicken’. The staff and people at Nando’s are the foundation and the core of the business. Similar to every global brand, the people that are behind that brand are the key. Nando’s has 7000 employees in South Africa and 30,000 around the world and Mr Cronje states: “Happy people means happy product, happy product means happy customers.”

One of the main targets is obviously full restaurants and this is achieved through a quality product coupled with a quality service and the employees are the drivers of this service and, ultimately, the product.

Nando’s is one of the organisations that have felt the smallest of impacts from the global economic slowdown. Financial uncertainty in the Eurozone and in other prominent world trading markets has caused international dips in confidence. Mr Cronje and Nando’s are not losing sleep over the whole situation: “We’ve been hit but we’ve been quite successful. The brand is growing.

In South Africa the fast food market is growing between six and eight per cent and we are doing double that growth. “ The constant positive growth provides a secondary focus for the upcoming 25th anniversary celebrations.

There are plans on several levels to make the most out of the occasion. “It’s very important to celebrate internally so we’ll be doing that. We’ll do a three month customer facing campaign with some amazing advertising and product innovations.” Something to look forward to if you are a fan of the Nando’s brand and the Peri-Peri chicken servings. The whole business will get a boost from the celebrations and customers and suppliers will see the rewards from this.

The last question we put to the flamboyant Mr Cronje was if he would ever consider becoming a vegetarian… “[Unlikely]” was his response. ●

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COMPANY REPORT

Merpak: Keeping envelopes relevant (in a digital era)

By Tim Hands

The coming of the digital age could easily have spelled the end for a manufacturer of something as traditional as the envelope, with the wealth of communicative options available digitally. Instead, the online clutter has actually helped Merpak’s cause, with the advent of new printing technologies allowing it to remain firmly at the forefront of envelope production.

The past 40 years or so has been a particularly fast-moving time in terms of technology and everyday essentials: many inventions and products have arrived with great fanfares and in the ensuing years been bettered, replaced and quickly rendered obsolete. It is therefore an even greater testament to Merpak Envelopes’ ability to negotiate not only the changing expectations of its customers, but also the ways in which the world as a whole has progressed exponentially during its existence, that the company is capable of maintaining its strong foothold in South African industry.

The decade of the 1960s brought with it an

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innumerable quantity of never-before-seen creations, some of which still play a vital role in the workings of day-to-day life, but the large part of which have since been consigned to a position whereby their influence has proven crucial, but the artefacts themselves are now only of real use in a sentimental sense; a recognition of their role of yore rather than any real importance to contemporary operations. The 60s, for instance, saw the arrival of the audio cassette tape, irrefutably key to the communication of both music and information, but long since usurped by the invention of both the compact disc and, yet more recently, the MP3. Even the handheld calculator, a universally celebrated piece of kit, is quickly

MERPAK

becoming irrelevant by the prevalence of such functions on any newly-released mobile phone. The computer mouse and soft contact lenses are examples from the decade which still enjoy pivotal roles in a fast-moving society, but largely a span of greater than 40 years is a long period for any product to endure.

By rights, then, the humble envelope should have long ago met the same fate as all those innumerable onceessential implements which are now condemned to, at best, minimal usage, or worse, relics of the way we used to live. Nowadays, at a time when more than ever before just about any mail imaginable can be created with the luxury of any internet-equipped device and delivered near-instantaneously, the technologically superior version of mailing communications should, if precedents are to be applied, have taken over and left behind its precursor.

A glance at any office, school, even home of today reveals that this is patently not the case, with this staple piece of stationary seemingly an unmovable fixture in the workings of modern life. Undoubtedly it is the personal touch forever associated with the concept of traditional

postage, in comparison to the faceless, generally anonymous electronic communication seen in such abundance in the present day, that helps it to endure the pressures of time. Consider the emotional impact created by the receipt of a handwritten birthday card or letter thoughtfully crafted and hand-sent, compared to the everyday normalcy associated with the muchmaligned ‘e-card’ or a slapdash, bulk-sent e-mail so easily discarded or overlooked.

Deon Joubert, Managing Director of Merpak Envelopes, describes the “dying art” of letter writing in this day and age, especially with the surge in usage of social networking sites, but maintains that there is still a healthy demand for “nice quality paper and stationary,” underlying his confidence that envelopes will not disappear in the short- to medium-term. It seems that it is the very simplicity and immediacy of sending e-mails and their resulting abundance that is in fact a veritable upside for direct mail, with Mr Joubert asserting that “many people rely still on postal services, and direct mail marketing is having a resurgence in first-world markets,” attributing this upturn to an all too familiar modern

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COMPANY REPORT

Deon Joubert

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MERPAK day phenomenon; “this is simply because of the clutter coming in on social networking feeds and e-mail.”

Rather than rendering direct mail obsolete, then, the pervasive presence of the Internet has in fact, in many ways, aided the growth of Merpak’s operations and the diversity of services it can offer. Clearly these are not easy times for a business such as Merpak; “sadly in our country we’ve had two of our competitors closing down in the last 12 months, so volume’s definitely under pressure, no question about that.” However, for Merpak it is the online “clutter” that Mr Joubert depicts that lends so much more impact to such a product as the advertising catalogue received directly from a business, which in turn provides a personal touch so important in attracting potential customers. Equally, the “massive, fast-growing business” of Internet shopping has been another area from which the company is confident of profiting, lending its packaging know-how to the transportation of such everyday goods as CDs, DVDs and books, the volumes of which increase as the ease of their purchasing grows.

When technology progresses at such an overwhelming rate, it is imperative that a product so traditional in scope and delivery has the capacity to continually render itself relevant and attractive to the modern consumer.

Established in 1969, and with branches in both Johannesburg and CapeTown, it is from the somewhat unassuming offices depicted at the head of its website, www.merpak.co.za, that Merpak Envelopes has honed

“ Many people rely still on postal services, and direct mail marketing is having a resurgence in first-world markets” its craft over the ensuing 43 years. Now employing 180 personnel across its two factories, it has the capacity to produce 900 million envelopes annually, of the estimated three billion manufactured across the market.

Central to its continued industry-leading position is its policy, described by Mr Joubert, of “continually investing in the latest manufacturing technology, from the world leaders in envelope manufacturing equipment coming out of Germany.” Combined with what he terms Merpak’s “first-world operations” this

allows the company to tend towards being, in terms of Caption its production scope, a “jack of all trades, and hopefully a master of a few of those,” with a factory providing a level of integrated service uncommon throughout its European equivalents.

“We would manufacture from 500 envelopes all the way up to 35 million, all in one factory,” describes Mr Joubert, a figure which in itself has seen Merpak required to obtain its own solutions to the ever-changing demands of its consumers. “This means we’ve had to develop skills around planning, around different types of equipment and new pieces of machinery, which allow us to do just that.” The expectations of today’s consumers are, almost universally, that one’s specific needs should, no matter the scale or difficulty in realising these desires, be catered for efficiently and effectively. For the envelope manufacturer, this has thrown up the “advent of print on demand,” to provide for which Merpak has had to align itself with the very forerunners of the modern manufacturing process, investing in the digital presses which allow it to meet far more resourcefully the requirements of today’s clients.

The integration of this new wave of technology into the company’s operations has been invaluable in Merpak’s own development as a manufacturer, bringing with it a whole new level of efficiency to a process which had been notoriously difficult to complete with haste.

“Traditionally, envelope manufacturers have not been particularly ‘clever’ about meeting customer demand from a time perspective. We’ve always needed two or three weeks to deliver an envelope campaign, whereas the rest of the printing industry has become very quick and very prompt, so we’ve had to do something about it.” In line with the hasty turnarounds so often required presently, this digital equipment has helped to continue Merpak’s dominance within the field, ensuring they remain at the very vanguard of the competition, developing along the way “probably the largest market in South Africa,” over the ensuing years.

Merpak Envelopes sets out this ability to “meet the changing and exacting expectations of our many loyal customers” as a key factor in its market leader status, both in the expertise gained through the past four decades within the business, and in the efforts made to persistently refine the craft. It is the “continual investment,” not only in the printing equipment and machinery at its disposal, but also in the training of its personnel, that ensures this ever-important ability to “meet any changing technical and print specifications.”

Clearly, then, this is a company with the exact resources and competences requisite in order to remain in its hard-fought position, but this would all be

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COMPANY REPORT rendered redundant if the resulting product could be shown to be in any way flawed, or below the exacting specifications dictated by the consumer. As such, Merpak again ensures that, unequivocally, it is in a position to offer the absolute highest standard of service, promising to, “Unconditionally guarantee [our] products against manufacturing defects,” and thus gain the all-important confidence of those electing to use this particular manufacturer.

When a company can offer such a contemporary, high-quality end product, it usually follows that the most important communications are transported therein. As such, Merpak’s target market is the financial services sector, with its envelopes used in the conveyance of highly important, usually confidential documents such

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as statements and communications from banks and insurance companies. Mr Joubert attributes its strength within this sector to the development of “the right sort of quality product that runs on high-speed printed post inserting machines. Part of the trick is to have troublefree inserting; you can’t have those processes held up.”

Not content with having cornered this valuable sector of the market, whose billing-type envelopes account for around 60% of its output, Merpak has also earned the custom of several other eminent users who entrust the company with their correspondence. These are many and varied, and include “all different sectors; any bureaucratic operations, quasi-state companies that use large volumes of envelopes. The South African Post Office is one of our big customers, and there is massive

MERPAK potential in direct mail in this country, which is not as robust as it is in Europe and in the States.”

With its proven ability to align its techniques with those required of the contemporary process, Merpak also places great emphasis on the diversification of its products. “We offer a complete range,” states Mr Joubert on the array of which it is capable; “all in different qualities of paper and with different prints available.”

Constantly on the lookout for these new opportunities, Mr Joubert describes the great difficulty in growing a business “when the market is in fact declining at worst, and is stable at best.” It is this capacity to change and adapt to the requirements of the present-day that allow Merpak to weather the “perfect storm” of the present worldwide economy. Not only does Merpak find itself affected by the “natural attrition” generated by the

outlines the collective response of the various paper Caption makers, printed post mailers, and members of its own industry, working to make clear that there is in fact “no practical evidence to suggest that an e-mail is any more environmentally friendly than a letter or a bill.” Clearly a major aspect of modern business, Merpak is also working closely with the UK-based organisation ‘Two Sides,’ with a view to “countering those myths,” with a particular focus on educating young, technologically-savvy people as to the true outcomes of using a sheet of paper, negating the image of paper as a rainforest-destroying material, an image which “couldn’t be further from the truth.” In fact, Mr Joubert points to the evidence that shows “managed forests have contributed significantly to the sequestration of carbon dioxide,” and uses the phrase “greenwashing” to describe the current depiction of paper when placed against its electronic equivalent.

This important environmental work is backed up Merpak’s employment of Sappi Fine Paper, a substance free of both acids and elemental chlorine.

Wishing to squander as little as possible in the production of its wares, the consumer waste of the South African populace is put to environment friendly use in the 50% recycled white envelope, bettered still by those made from fully recycled brown paper. All achieved through manufacturing processes which have been changed as far as feasible in continual efforts to reduce both air and noise pollution.

Responding unequivocally then to these most pressing of modern-day questions, Merpak looks set to further refine the craft it has continued to advance since its inception. Mr Joubert outlines the company’s intentions that aim to keep its service set apart from the rest in the following terms; “it really is about understanding customers and satisfying their requirements. Not only this, but it’s also about value for money and quality. These are the issues on which we focus on a day-to-day basis.” With a level of service that sees Merpak’s dedicated sales force paying personal calls to guarantee that sales deadlines are met, coupled with the development over the years of a “solid IT background,” it is a company that is perfectly placed to fend off the advancing challenges of the digital age. ●

“ Once people lose their jobs they don’t have bank statements, or accounts open, or even credit extended to them, so with every person that loses a job comes a loss of envelopes to us” poor economies experienced worldwide, but also by what follows the losses of employment so common to such times as these. “The struggling economies affect, directly, mailings, “ explains Mr Joubert, “once people lose their jobs they don’t have bank statements, or accounts open, or even credit extended to them, so with every person that loses a job comes a loss of envelopes to us.” Another scalp in the age of technology and its purported greater security is the traditional payments by cheque, reported to have “all but disappeared,” a practice recently usurped by the ease of banking online; “we get invoices online and we can we pay people online, so that’s another chunk that’s been lost to technology.”

An ever-present concern, and even more so for a company dealing primarily in paper-based products, is that of environmental sustainability; the ‘greenness’ it achieves in its activity. With the popularity of e-mail has also come the assumption, the “myth” that this is a greener way of going about the business of communication, a trend Mr Joubert attributes to the desire of big businesses to save costs and thus promote the electronic version as the more ethical method.

In an effort to dispel these assumptions, Mr Joubert

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COMPANY REPORT

A solid investment

By Tim Hands

Hyprop’s acquisition in September 2011 of the Attfund portfolio, a collection of investments worth in excess of R8 billion, bolstered its own assets to a total value of R20 billion. With a focus on the development of its 12 shopping centres, it has seen consistent growth and looks to further augment this, all whilst maintaining the economic and environmental sustainability of its operations.

Operating within the listed property sector, Hyprop is the fourth largest fund Operating within the listed property sector, Hyprop is the fourth largest fund therein and the extent of its assets sees it ranked third in terms of size. Hyprop sets out as a key factor in its own success the need to “find a niche or opportunity in the market on which to focus your business,” and in this way it is a unique fund among the listed group, focussing as it does exclusively on investing in large shopping centres. It maintains the importance of this facility to differentiate a business as key to the ability to “become a market leader in your field of expertise,” and under its management are assets totalling R20 billion, a resultant figure of Hyprop Investments’ 12 leading shopping centres, spanning collectively an area greater than 809 700 m². The fund has occupied a place

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on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange since 1988, after its establishment the previous year. Perhaps most crucial in this dwindling economic climate is what makes it in its own terms a “top performer”, sustaining those so often elusive year-on-year growth in returns, increases which are in excess of local and international industry averages.

When founded in 2002, Attfund held a portfolio totalling a worth of R670 million, growing these assets in the following years to achieve a figure in excess of R8 billion. The fundamental aspects of its success story are laid out by Louis Norval, then CEO of Attfund, as, “a well-defined business strategy, a formidable selection criteria and utilising the considerable expertise of Attfund’s executives and core officials in a continuous hands-on approach.”

It is undoubtedly a shrewd combination of these

HYPROP/ATTFUND

“ Hyprop will remain focused for the foreseeable future on investing in high quality, sizable shopping centres, primarily in South Africa.”

SUPERCARE

All points to a new direction

By Sheree Hanna

Multi-award-winning company Supercare is looking forward to continued growth and expansion following its acquisition by one of the world’s leading food and support service companies, namely Compass plc.

In March this year, Supercare, which employs 21,500 people and operates from four main regional bases with some 12 branches in South Africa, was taken over by Compass.

Supercare’s chief executive Philip Kruger said: “It became apparent during the early stages of talks that we shared the same values as Compass.

“We have agreed the two businesses will operate independently and Supercare’s management will run the business until any further notice.”

Compass is the world’s leading supplier of food and support services employing nearly 500,000 people and has operations in 50 countries. It serves around four billion meals a year in schools, universities, hospitals, sports and cultural venues and remote mining camps and offshore platforms.

“Compass is looking to expand its soft services in cleaning and hygiene. We are certainly hoping that we can assist them to do this,” said Mr Kruger.

“The acquisition will allow us to benefit from Compass’s international best practice standards and hopefully assist them to grow soft services in other countries where they already operate.”

Supercare has been cleaning up since 1963 and has changed ownership a couple of times before the recent Compass takeover.

Its core business of contract cleaning has been further augmented by its hygiene solutions business, which started in 2000 and pest management services, which began five years ago.

The company’s customers include organisations within

the commercial, healthcare, retail, industrial, hospitality and education industry sectors.

“We have seen five years of solid growth in these areas,” said Mr Kruger. “While the economy in South Africa is not fantastic, growth is still relatively slow and not as good as the Government predicted, but it is definitely not as tough for us as it is in Europe.

“We have to make sure that we keep our productivity levels up with the resources we have available,” he said.

Supercare is proud to be on top of its game and has scooped many awards recognising its high standards of service, health & safety.

Most recently it claimed the Kimberly Clark Cleaning Company of the Year Award for two successive years in 2010 and 2011.

“We are up against some stiff competition as always, but we are hoping to retain the 2012 award in October,” said Mr Kruger.

“The awards recognise the overall success of our company and what the very fabric of our business is,” he added.

“We have five points to describe it which are to respect our staff, suppliers and customers; to be transparent both internally and externally; a service excellence ethic; be professional in all our endeavours and finally, honesty.”

Supercare has also been awarded the National Service Provider of the Year by the South African council for shopping centres and a large industrial customer has recognised it for working one million injury free hours.

As for the future, Mr Kruger says the company is always looking to improve and seeking new and better types of cleaning equipment.

“We have extremely good relationships with many of our customers such as Hyprop who operate many shopping facilities here and we hope to continue to do so,” he said. ●

JUNE 12 PAGE 81

COMPANY REPORT

PAGE 82 JUNE 12

HYPROP/ATTFUND

“ Hyprop can now leverage the increased scale to benefit from economies of scale in supplier contracts, better negotiate funding and qualify for alternative funding such as debt capital markets.” key facets that afforded Attfund a certain freedom in selecting the investments it would go on to make, opting for those where the expertise of the company in the high income market could prove most useful. This philosophy informed the decision to invest solely in office parks, whose vacancy levels can be kept much lower than may traditionally be expected, due to the flexibility the tenants are afforded over the space they occupy.

Attfund’s burgeoning South African investments came to be augmented by the company’s decision to branch out from its already impressive retail holdings in upmarket shopping centres and corporate office parks with similarly high-value investments offshore.

Focussing on like-minded businesses, this expansion constituted a “broadening of [its strategy],” with its opting for stakes in both the New York Stock Exchangelisted Simon Group and Deutsche Euroshop, which, akin to Attfund itself, focused on quality shopping centres in Germany and its neighbours, and followed the by now common thread with its listing on major German exchanges.

Sticking with this newly-discovered offshore niche brought the 2007 acquisition of 22.5% of Stenham European Shopping Centre Fund, and a resultant interest in the Leipzig-located Nova Eventis. Among the largest shopping centres throughout Europe, the giant boasts an array of 217 stores and parking for more than 7000 potential customers; it has aspirations evidently in line with those expected of a centre occupying more than 97,000 m². There were parallels of this grand scope in Attfund’s existing malls too, with both the Clearwater centre and its Woodlands Boulevard complex seeing the

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COMPANY REPORT

completion in October 2010 of expansions of 24,000 square metres and 29,000 square metres respectively.

The acquisition by Hyprop of the Attfund Retail portfolio became effective as of September 1st, 2011, in itself a major factor in what the South African fund describes as its “considerable growth” over this past year. It was a period that saw Hyprop’s portfolio increase to the tune of 76%, with an increase in its assets to a total of R20.2 billion, a growth also reflected in the total value of the tradable shares, with its market capitalisation having risen by 37% to R12.9 billion. As with the philosophy of Attfund towards the occupying of its spaces, Hyprop was able to maintain an extremely low level of vacancies across its portfolio, with these totalling just 4.1% at the end of the year in question.

Completing this impressive set of figures for the year ended 31 December 2011 is the “pleasing performance” of the defensive quality of the property assets, showing an increase in total distribution of 7.3% to 383 cents.

In a universal atmosphere of financial unease and economic downturn, the retail environment has felt perhaps more sharply than most the ensuing effects of the crisis, which makes Hyprop’s “continued growth in distribution” in the face of these challenges all the more remarkable. Undoubtedly the conclusion of the Attfund acquisition played a considerable part in the increase in Hyprop’s portfolio size, bolstering its existing fund with the estimated R9 billion comprising the deal. Billed not only as the “single largest acquisition in the company’s history,” but also constituting one of the most significant property investments by a single buyer, the investment cemented Hyprop’s already strong position and proved pivotal in making it “the unrivalled leading retail fund” in South Africa.

Of pivotal importance in the ability Hyprop has shown to combat the negative effects of the global decline have been both the “proactive management team” it employs to continually ameliorate the strength of its position, and the sheer quality of the assets it possesses. A combination of the know-how underpinning the company and the investment capabilities this has afforded, not least in the high-profile Attfund procurement, leaves it in a position now not only to consolidate the potential in its existing properties, but perhaps more significantly, to “leverage the increased scale to benefit from economies of scale in supplier contracts, better negotiate funding and qualify for alternative funding such as debt capital markets.”

With such potential in these varied aspects of the field, Hyprop finds itself perfectly placed to yet further improve performance in the universally uncertain times

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ahead, honing its sharp talents of investing in large shopping centres, while “leveraging off its increased size in reducing cost, negotiating better lease terms with tenants and being the preferred shopping destination for customers.”

Evidently Hyprop has the retail spaces, the vast array of impressive, regularly award-winning shopping centres at its disposal to cater for the discerning consumer, and so it follows that putting these to the most effective use possible and making them the preferred destinations throughout South Africa should be so paramount in its plans. Over the last year its malls have garnered a nigh on full set of honours in recognition of everything from the South African Council of Shopping Centres’ Spectrum Award, for delivering the single most innovative shopping centre marketing campaign at the company’s Canal Walk centre, to the success enjoyed by Johannesburg’s Clearwater Mall, awarded the prize for Recognition for service excellence in the community by the Roodepoort Chamber of Commerce.

Hyprop’s shopping centres can be broadly split into four categories; Super Regional, Large Regional,

HYPROP/ATTFUND

Regional, and the Value/Lifestyle Marts exemplified by Pretoria’s ‘one-stop shop-and-go shopping experience’ Atterbury Mart.

Located in the heart of Johannesburg’s sophisticated Rosebank, the aptly named Mall of Rosebank falls into the regional class, and stands as Hyprop’s main development focus for the coming year. The scheduled refurbishment and extension of the centre will see it spread to occupy the Rosebank Gardens site; its already substantial 120 stores set to be supplemented significantly with retailers even now displaying ‘keen interest’ in the proposed construction. The opportunity is further strengthened by Hyprop’s integration of the exciting new Gautrain rail link to Rosebank, the ideal addition to cement this node as “a premier retail, commercial and residential hub in the city.”

Hyprop will remain focussed for the foreseeable future “on investing in high quality, sizable shopping centres, primarily in South Africa.” The rising tenant demand will result in necessary extensions to the Canal Walk super-regional shopping centre and the refurbishment of Willowbridge South during the same impending period.

Their mission appears clear: “The focus remains on the disposal of non-core assets, expanding and enhancing existing shopping centres and continuously improving operating efficiencies.” That said, for such a force in the field as Hyprop, a certain amount of diversification also becomes feasible, an avenue which looks set to lead to its investing in “suitable opportunities elsewhere, which may also include investments in the rest of Africa.” Unequivocal in its “commitment to responsible corporate citizenship - economic, social and environmental sustainability,” Hyprop has undertaken the measures necessary to ensure that “its buildings are managed in an environmentally sustainable way with the minimum negative impact,” cognisant as it is of the impacts its operations may have on the environment, local communities and on the users of its buildings. Hyprop’s success is attributed to “having a simple, easy to understand investment model, clear focus and a strong, dedicated management team,” principals that perfectly complement its aim to further develop the assets in its charge and build on recent successes. ●

JUNE 12 PAGE 85

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Cape Town Office: Johannesburg Office: Empangeni Office: +27(0) 21 9305790 +27(0) 11 431 4335 +27(0) 35 792 2327/8 LNW is a Level 3 BBBEE accredited service provider and is also ISO 9001 (Quality and OSHAS 18001 Safety) certified.

COMPANY REPORT

Providing

The Missing Link.

By Tim Hands

Pretoria and Johannesburg. Two of the country’s most important cities. Now connected, hassle-free, by the Gautrain.

With the announcement in 2000 of the Gautrain project, the 80 kilometre route set out to eventually provide a more immediate, congestion-free link between the Gauteng province’s two major cities, Johannesburg and Pretoria. The massive construction project also brought opportunities for further economic development in itself, while changing the way the route had been travelled for so long prior to its inception.

Widely regarded as the economic hub of South Africa, the Gauteng province’s 1.4% share of the country’s land area belies the extent of its importance to and

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influence on the successes and operations taking place today. Within this diminutive expanse is based around 20% of the total population and with this figure secures its status as the most populous province throughout South Africa. A similarly disproportionate figure results when the question of economic prowess abounds, with Gauteng producing collectively an enormous 33% of the country’s GDP within its boundaries. It is not the case that this is merely a place purely functional, serving only the business needs of the country; Gauteng is visited by more than half of the seven million international tourists welcomed each year by South Africa.

GAUTRAIN

Much of Gauteng’s importance can be attributed to the location of two of the country’s principal cities within the province. The capital of the province has such a population as to render it South Africa’s largest city, with Johannesburg also named the world’s largest city situated apart from river, lake or coastline. It is a city served by O.R. Tambo International Airport, Africa’s busiest airport and one boasting the capacity to handle and connect up to 28 million passengers each year. Within such a prosperous province as Gauteng, it follows logically that the economic and financial hub of the country should lie within, with Johannesburg providing as it does 40% of

the impressive GDP generated by the Gauteng area.

Holding its own fair share of the prestige in the province is the executive national capital, the city of Pretoria, located in northern Gauteng. While it may not possess the economic or financial clout of the nearby Johannesburg, more of the focus here lies in the aesthetics of the ‘Jacaranda City’, so called for the wealth of the striking purple trees which occupy its streets. It provides the more sedate, leafy antithesis to the relative bustle of the nearby Johannesburg, offering the important balance between its role of hosting the headquarters of the main government departments and

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COMPANY REPORT

ministries, while still affording the potential visitor and resident the utmost range of commercial opportunities within the sheltered valley.

Announced in 2000, the first phase of the Gautrain project was opened on June 8th, 2010, bestowing upon the province an all-important link between the Sandton CBD and O.R. Tambo International Airport.

Bucking what has come to be the expected trend associated with a project so ambitious in scope, in which it would be customary to anticipate lengthy delays or periods of frustrating inaction, the initial phase was in fact completed three weeks ahead of its expected culmination, having taken just 44 months from its commencement. Crucially, this also meant that it was ready to provide its services as the first match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup® was on the cusp of its kick off, despite the Gautrain project having been announced before South Africa had even won the rights to host the historic tournament.

This could hardly have given the new high-speed urban train service a better opportunity to show off exactly what it was set to offer to the diverse range of its users. The onset of this scale of fervent football fans can easily prove too demanding for the existing infrastructure and public transport of the quadrennial

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host city, but with Gautrain’s timely opening it was able to offer an unprecedented solution to Johannesburg’s jammed roads and lengthy airport trips, instead ferrying passengers between the two destinations in just 15 minutes. This had the effect of simultaneously bypassing the unwelcome clamour of the city’s roads and drastically reducing the time required to make the short trip, a successful high-profile introduction to the initial phase of the Gautrain project.

The 13 months that followed its launch tell the story of an extremely successful opening period for the foundations of the route: the cumulative ridership of three million passenger-trips evidence in themselves of Gautrain’s own claim that its project had proved “extremely popular with the public” – a claim evidently not rooted in any fanciful bias, but based on its repeated usage by the millions of annual commuters it has the capability to handle.

With Gauteng encompassing two such pivotal cities as Johannesburg and Pretoria and the amassed importance of their respective activities and the ensuing traffic this inevitably creates, it stands to reason that of primary concern is a high-speed link between the two destinations, a “viable, safe and convenient” way to negotiate a formerly overfilled passage. Having

GAUTRAIN

experienced such an overwhelming response to its introductory operations, the natural progression to this primary stage of the line resulted on 2nd August 2011, with the commercial opening of the much-anticipated

“ The future lifestyle trend in Gauteng will be to live, work and seek entertainment along Gautrain’s route.” route linking Johannesburg’s Rosebank Station to Hatfield Station in Tshwane.

This North-South route allows passengers to bridge the gap between the two major cities with a journey time of less than 40 minutes, a span previously unimaginable for commutes by road, with a rush-hour trip capable of dragging beyond the two-hour mark. Eschewing a road dubbed one of the busiest throughout South Africa, the rail link fits in perfectly with the government’s stated aim of “radically changing the way South Africans travel”,

with Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele adding yet further weight to the gradual evolution of primary transport towards that based on the country’s rails. At the time of opening of the main Phase Two link, the traffic passing along the major N1 Ben Schoeman motorway was seeing an annual increase of seven per cent, a rise curtailed by the arrival of Gautrain to the extent that up to 30,000 fewer cars are required to utilise what is purported to be the busiest stretch of road in Africa.

Currently spanning a total length of 76 kilometres, the Gautrain service has at its disposal nine stations along this route, a distance which will soon increase to 80 kilometres with the completion of the final tenth stop, the Johannesburg Park Station. This last stretch of tunnel has proved problematic in throwing up the issue of underground water ingress that is much higher than had been anticipated, and one which is currently receiving the requisite remedial work in order that this final link can complete the project. It is quite an achievement in itself that such a comparatively small section of the 80 kilometre alignment has run into such difficulty, with 15 kilometres of this located underground in a tunnel spanning from Park station in the Johannesburg CBD, “eventually daylighting” in its Malboro Station.

Coupled with the trains providing the main flow of transport along the route is a dedicated fleet of

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COMPANY REPORT

complementary buses, akin to the trains in their ability to transport passengers with disabilities. Also a running theme throughout the two transports is the focus placed on a comfortable commute, with the modern touch of air-conditioning enjoying a similar billing to the emphasis placed by Gautrain on safety and reliability.

A paramount concern in the initial stages of its development was that this project should significantly promote socio-economic development, black economic empowerment and skills development in the region.

As such, Gautrain proved a valuable source of job opportunities locally, overseeing the creation of more than 100,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs, and providing training for 15,000 unskilled and semi-skilled staff involved in the project. Alongside this emphasis on local economic empowerment runs a more international current, with the home-grown expertise complemented by specialist personnel representing 26 different nationalities. The Bombela Concession Company, appointed by the Gauteng Provincial Government to oversee such key areas of its development such as the design, operation and maintenance of the finished article, have also ensured that a broad array of parties are reached with its corporate social investment initiatives, with programs ranging from system tours and school presentations, to its partnership with the South African Guide-Dogs Association, training the specialist dogs on its facilities and filming the associated promotional advert.

A process described by the Gautrain as a civil engineering project of immense proportions, the actual construction of the hundreds of structures which constituted the design of the Gautrain system required the shifting of over six million cubic meters of earth and the excavation of around 15 kilometres of tunnels over a period of 24 months. The scale of the operation is also evidenced by the length of the viaducts erected

by Gautrain as part of the project; a length in excess of ten kilometres achieved largely using pre-cast segmental technology, as well as the air of balanced cantilever viaducts, themselves boasting clear spans of around 120m. In addition to these structures came nearly 50 smaller bridges, all created with the pouring of a nearunimaginable 100,000 cubic metres of concrete.

Even with a finished product of such monolithic, abjectly contemporary proportions, another significant challenge for the Gautrain concerned the conversion of its target market, one which had been traditionally so fixed on the usage of a car to complete this regular journey. Still, with the comparative convenience and cost

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effectiveness introduced by the innovative services, it was somewhat inevitable that the informed consumer would gravitate towards something clearly so beneficial to them. This information, twinned with a comprehensive marketing and advertising campaign aimed at further informing the populace as to the incontrovertible benefits on offer to its users, saw the attraction of a ridership which not only exceeded the concessionaire’s forecasts, but also, perhaps more importantly with an eye to its future developments, reflects a fundamental change in consumer behaviour.

Plainly an important aspect of this flourishing project, the future development Gautrain seeks to accomplish is evidenced again in its statement that, the future lifestyle trend in Gauteng will be to live, work and seek entertainment along Gautrain’s route. In this way, the stations along its route boast an array of attractions and destinations, all central to its desire to achieve economic development as a spin-off Clearly, the main aim of the project remains the need to connect the core economic areas of the province, with its ever-growing ridership evidence of the impact this had had on the previously arduous commute. Alongside this growth, the influx of inner city rejuvenation projects which are mushrooming, suggest that its influence is set to have far-reaching benefits for the totality of its diverse users and residents alike. �

COMPANY REPORT

Total unification

By Roland Douglas

Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the country and the body that governs the sport in South Africa is Cricket SA. It is widely recognised that the first South African cricket match was played in 1889. Cricket is now one of the most popular sports in the country and South Africa is one of the leading cricket playing nations in the world.

The origins of cricket stretch a long way back into history. Roots can be traced back to England and the 1500’s. These records indicate a children’s village game and a coroner gave evidence in court referring to ‘running and playing on the common land’. These are the very first official records of a game resembling the modern day sport but historians believe that the origins can be traced even further back in time.

The modern game is regulated the International Cricket Council (ICC). There are now three main forms of the game: test cricket, one day cricket and twenty20 cricket. South Africa competes at international level and domestic level across all three platforms of the game. From grassroots level up to the top performers

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and large scale international matches, the uptake of the game in South Africa has always been relatively good and because of this there is a need for a professional outfit to administrate the game. This is where Cricket SA comes in.

The governing body of South African cricket has undergone many cosmetic changes over the last few decades. In the 60’s South Africa left the ICC and the South Africa Cricket Association (SACA), South African Board of Cricket Control (SACBOC) and the South African African Cricket Board (SAACB) ran the domestic game. Eventually these three organisations consolidated in 1976 and became the South African Cricket Union (SACU).

Initially a small group from the SACBOC decided not to join with the rest of their peers and formed the South African Cricket Board (SACB). It is all very complicated and the reasons behind the changes in name, changes in personnel and changes in organisational structure relate

CRICKET SA

to the apartheid laws of the country at the time. In 1948 laws were introduced which prevented non-white players from participating in the game. The ICC imposed a suspension on international cricket in the country in 1970. In 1991 the SACU and SACB finally merged to form the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCB).

The formation of this new board signalled the end of enforced racial separation and in July 1991 South Africa was re-admitted as a full member to the ICC. If all those abbreviations have left you slightly confused hopefully the next part of this article will clear things up slightly. As mentioned above, the current governing body of South African domestic and international cricket in Cricket SA. The UCB took this name in 2006 to avoid confusion and create a better sense of national identity.

Cricket SA as a sporting body has two main areas of focus. The first, policy making, this is overseen by the general council. The second, operational issues and the

running of professional cricket, this is undertaken by the board of directors.

Today’s challenges On an international scale the South African cricket team is a successful organisation. The team has remained competitive in the various forms of the game for a very long time. If you ask a real cricket lover for a historical overview of the success you may find a slightly more disenchanted honesty. Some of the greatest modern day cricket players have been South African but the team has struggled in the big matches, failing to win a world cup despite being among the favourites on numerous occasions. This inability to win on the big stage has given Cricket SA a challenge as a business. Continue to produce world class cricketers and increase the uptake at grassroots level so that the amount of world class players will increase and eventually make an assault on all forms of the game and fill the trophy cabinet.

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COMPANY REPORT

Cricket South Africa’s vision is to make cricket a truly national sport of winners. This will be achieved by through two elements: Ensuring that cricket is supported by the majority of South Africans, and available to all who want to play it and pursuing excellence at all levels of the game. As sporting governing bodies all over the world will tell you, this is a task that is a lot easier to say than do.

Where do you start with a project like this? Firstly, development of the game. Cricket SA must assist in establishing cricket as a people’s game which integrates all communities into cricket activities, thereby contributing to the shaping of a future cricket culture.

Cricket SA has a working style which would not be out of place in a modern day business corporation and it is this approach which has seen the organisation to success in a range of areas. Youth cricket is on the rise according to Cricket SA’s Niels Momberg. In the 2010/11 annual report he stated that there has been renewed energy at entry level in the game thanks to

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support and sponsorship from KFC. There was also help from mini cricket ambassadors AB de Villiers, Makhaya Ntini and Trisha Chetty. Their involvement has served as inspiration to young players and administrators.

To continue the rise of the sport at youth level Cricket SA has identified three key areas: The extension of the age of girl’s playing Mini-Cricket to 13 to encourage the growth of girl’s cricket in South Africa.

A minimum of 20 schools per union will join the minicricket programme in the 2012/2013 season.

20 rural schools must be added to each union during the same period and the number of schools involved in the programme must increase by 10%.

The results of this drive to increase youth participation are already being seen. The under 17 and under 19 teams have benefited from the talent acceleration program that provides a real professional approach to the scientific side of the game. The Standard Bank Pro Schools Challenge had at least

CRICKET SA 650 participating schools which increased interest greatly thanks to televised matches and a competitive approach.

Continued growth Max Jordaan, senior cricket manager, has given an indication that senior cricket as well as youth level activity is continuing to flourish. He says: “The student cricket affairs ably run

by University Sport South Africa (USSA) Cricket Committee has shown signs of maturation at both administrative and competition level.”

“At club level, the university teams continue to be dominant.

This is evident in the national club championship at national level, as well as the number of university clubs that win their club competitions at local level,” he adds.

Blind and deaf cricket has also seen an increase in activity with the deaf team touring Australia and the blind team hosting Pakistan recently.

Women’s cricket is also on the up and Cricket SA has announced it will continue to make things better and better. CSA,

take unpaid leave to be able to play and the match Caption fee helps a bit,” says Mr Jordaan.

Cricket SA has a moral duty to ensure that cricket grows and flourishes amongst the disadvantaged who come from black African communities. This involves a commitment to the development of potential amongst black African people at all levels of the game. This programme reaffirms its mission to bring cricket to all the people of South Africa and to facilitate a culture of non-racialism.

Commitment to this duty starts with the coaches and up-skilling these coaches is something which continues to happen through Cricket SA. The number of coaches completing the highest cricket qualification increased again this year and there are four areas identified to ensure that quality coaches continue to be produced.

These four aspects include: On-going skills development through comprehensive training programmes, the need for a holistic coaching programme, uniform development programme across the country and capacity building and creating windows of opportunity.

Domestic cricket has gone from strength to strength gaining significant sponsorships and audiences in the last three years. Cricket SA has also recently announced that a new deal has been signed off to introduce a further sponsor to the game with details to be revealed at the end of June.

The Cobras and the Warriors have been the dominating names in the domestic game. The SuperSport Series and the Standard Bank Pro20 competition are examples of how Cricket SA has managed to up the levels of interest at corporate level in terms of sponsorship and involvement and this all comes from the strategic organisational goals that have been set and the decision to run the organisation like a business with the pursuit of financial success kept firmly in mind as well as success on the fields.

The benefits from involvement in any sport has been well documented and the job that Cricket SA has done in turning what has been a difficult period for the game into something very positive. With participation levels increasing in all forms of the game and a continuing drive towards being the best, it is probably just a matter of time before the success at the youth and domestic level filter through to the top level and those elusive trophies will become so much easier to achieve. ●

“ At club level, the university teams continue to be dominant. This is evident in the national club championship at national level.” with support from the National Lottery Distribution Fund, has put in place a high performance programme for the top players to help them compete at the highest level. In 2009 the women’s team were ranked 5th in the world following an outstanding performance in the ICC Women’s Cricket Challenge Tournament.

The challenge was set to maintain and improve the international ranking. “We have introduced a match fee for international matches. Many of the players have to

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INDUSTRY RECOMMENDED

This is the first instalment of our Industry Recommended directory, a list of companies across a range of industry sectors over SA.

YOUR INDUSTRY, THEIR FUTURE, OUR SOUTH AFRICA MINING HARMONY GOLD The fifth largest gold producer in the world, primarily based in South Africa. +27 11 411 2000 www.harmony.co.za Page TECHNOLOGY ALTECH UEC Manufacturers of set top boxes and digital technology for the African Broadcast industry. +27 31 508 2800 www.uec.co.za Page EVENT SOLUTIONS COCA COLA DOME One of Johannesburg’s most recognisable landmarks, an events hosting venue flexible enough to accommodate any event. +27 11 794 5800 www.coca-coladome.co.za Page JUST SETS One of South Africa’s most well-known theatre construction companies specialising in a range of solutions including construction of sets. +27 11 882 9347 www.justsets.co.za

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COMMUNICATIONS CELLUCITY The first mobile phone retailer in South Africa, and still going strong – providing handset, call package and accessories options www.cellucity.co.za RESEARCH IN MOTION RESEARCH IN MOTION (RIM), A global leader in wireless innovation, revolutionised the mobile industry with the introduction of the BlackBerry® solution in 1999. +27 11 510 0000 www.rim.com www.blackberry.co.za RISK MANAGEMENT INDWE RISK A leader in providing insurance packages and risk protection products for domestic and corporate clients across the country. +27 11 912 7300 www.indwerisk.co.za ZURICH A short term insurance company headquartered in Johannesburg, offering a range of products suited to individual, commercial and corporate customers. +27 11 370 9111 www.zurich.co.za

BMS SYSTEMS CONSULTANTS Providing clients with in depth risk analysis using many years’ experience in the field of electronic engineering. +27 11 432 3573 www.bmssc.co.za

INDUSTRY RECOMMENDED VEHICLE TRACKING TRACKER South Africas leading vehicle tracking company since the 1990’s with a range of fleet management and telematics solutions available. +27 11 380 0300 www.tracker.co.za

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT HYPROP Africa’s leading specialist retail property fund following the acquisition of Attfund’s portfolio of shopping centres across SA. +27 11 447 0090 www.hyprop.co.za

SECURITY PROTEA COIN GROUP Southern Africa’s leading provider of security services and solutions operating nationally with a host of regional offices available. +27 12 665 8000 www.coin.co.za

SUPERCARE One of Africa’s leading contract cleaning companies offering a range of specialised solutions whilst ensuring constant innovation. +27 11 709 8100 www.supercare.co.za

STATIONERY MERPAK Market leaders in the manufacturing of envelopes with a huge focus on the development of environmentally friendly products. +27 11 719 7700 www.merpak.co.za

TRANSPORT GAUTRAIN Driving rail travel into a new era in South Africa connecting the two business hubs of Johannesburg and Pretoria. +27 11 997 8000 www.gautrain.co.za

SSI A mulit-disciplinary firm of consultants with a track record spanning 90 years in southern Africa. +27 11 798 6000 www.ssi-dhv.com SPORT CRICKET SA Shaping the future of the sport in South Africa, organising the elite side of the game whilst developing aspects of grass roots cricket. +27 11 880 28100 www.cricket.co.za FOOD NANDO’S One of the most popular and well known restaurant franchises in the world, celebrating 25 years in South Africa. www.Nando’s.co.za COMPUTER PROGRAMING ESTEQ The leading supplier of engineering solutions in SA focusing on providing solutions to their clients across many industries in as short a time possible. +27 12 809 9500 www.esteq.co.za STEEL SCAW METALS An international group that manufactures a diverse range of steel products principally operating in SA, South America and Australia. +27 11 621 1555 www.scaw.co.za For more information about how your company can be recognised for excellence across many areas please get in touch.

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