Building better cities™
Contents 3
Cement
Earning your trust An eventful 2013! Focused on achieving Customer Delight The Secret is out! A million people a day Think Lafarge!
6
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Buildcrete for Bushbuckridge Radio Station Better bricks with Buildcrete Accommodation for rhino staff
7
PEOPLE
Meet the team Quality service with a smile A tribute to ‘The Doctor’
9
CUSTOMERS & INNOVATION
Lafarge solution for a challenging road SupaSet a winner in KZN A customer’s view of Lafarge Building better cities RoadCem chosen for major national road upgrade projects
12 Hole in one! Strong demand for Specifier Handbook and training course Aiming for excellence: Our Cement Customer Service Centre Building a better South Africa
GENERAL
CEMENT
Earning your trust: the solutions and service mix
Our Managing Director - Cement, Desmond Maharaj, comments on the business environment and outlines how the Lafarge cement business line aims to earn your trust as the building material solutions provider and leader in customer service. The Lafarge cement operation has a proud and well-established tradition for providing the construction industry with innovative solutions, products and services but we are very aware that we cannot rest on that background in today’s increasingly competitive market. We will continue to focus on managing our costs to be able to provide customers with products that are the best value. Managing costs is an ever present challenge when we are determined to maintain our world-class quality standards in the face of rampant inflation in energy and fuel costs. My firm belief is that the prospects for our future business are totally dependent on us being able to contribute value to your growth and success. We have unparalleled technical strength, quality products and the ability to apply best international practices to develop innovative solutions. However, first and foremost, we must ensure that we properly understand what your needs are and channel our skills to addressing them effectively. Throughout our team structure, we are engaged in a major effort to enhance customer service. In the past, service tended to be measured in percentage delivery-on-time terms, which obviously is relevant but far from the whole issue. The true measure of successful service is whether our customers are surprised and delighted with the way we treated them and are positive about doing further business with us. To achieve that, we are looking at every facet of our organisation, from our quarry to delivering to the customer, in order to assess how it can contribute to a better, totally positive customer experience. In particular, to make interaction with Lafarge easier for customers, we are reviewing every ‘touch point’ between customers and ourselves - from how you place an order through to ultimately paying for it - to ensure it is a good experience. Success in this endeavour will be achieved when our customers immediately ‘Think Lafarge’ when they need building materials or help with a construction solution. Customers will be confident that we are a trustworthy partner, who they can rely on totally for consistent high quality and a special ability to provide innovative solutions when required. In April this year, the international Lafarge Group, including South Africa, launched its new brand positioning Building Better Cities. In addition to our ambition to contribute to better cities, it also emphasises our position as a solutions provider, helping to create more desirable living environments for all South Africa’s people.
DESMOND MAHARAJ Taking a quick look at the business environment for next year, the prognosis is that the general economy will remain subdued with minor growth in the construction sector. This will be sustained by the housing sector, characterised by the accelerating trend to urbanisation and smaller families with smaller houses, more townhouses and flats. Government infrastructure projects, mainly in the roads and water sectors, will be important but none of them on a large enough scale to have a strong influence on growth in the industry. We look forward to working closely with you and earning the position of your top-of-mind supply partner for whatever market challenges we may both be faced with in the coming year. In closing, I wish you and your family everything of the best for a safe and happy Festive Season.
My regards
Desmond Maharaj Managing Director – Cement Lafarge Industries South Africa
2013 | CEMENT NEWSLETTER | PAGE 3
CEMENT
An eventful
2013!
Looking back on an eventful year, it is hard to know where to begin with all the highlights. We had a non-stop stream of exciting events such as ConcreteWeek, our Contractors’ Day breakfast, the Rhino Run, and our annual Golf Day, to name but a few. In this issue, we describe how we gave our successful ‘Think Lafarge’ advertising campaign a vibrant new life; we look at some examples of where we have provided solutions to help in Building Better Cities; we meet a community of builders in KZN who are building better bricks by hand, and we welcome some new faces on our Cement team.
Jéanne de Power
Our World reveals the secret regarding the performance of our innovative general purpose cement Buildcrete – look out for it on Page 5. You will also be pleased to know that Buildcrete continues to support the Rhino Orphanage all the way and a portion of the proceeds from sales of the product are still being donated to this wonderful cause. While we can assure our customers of the finest range of quality cement products, we are also committed to working with you to provide the best customer service. One of the events geared to achieving this ambition was our internal Customer Service Week, which saw creative action plans on customer service improvement being implemented. We congratulate our Customer Service Centre Manager, Kumie Daniel and her hardworking team. Best wishes to you all for a safe and happy time with family and friends over the December break. Regards Jéanne de Power Editor Marketing Coordinator – Lafarge Cement
Focused on achieving
customer delight With the end of the year in sight, we take the opportunity to thank you for your loyalty and support during 2013 and look forward to working with you in an exciting 2014. At Lafarge, focusing on customer service will continue to be of paramount importance next year in order to build long-term relationships with our customers: we recognise that this requires more than maintaining service levels, it means continually improving them. Lafarge product quality is a constant and absolutely non-negotiable. We deliver value through innovation in the formulation of our products, our market-leading technical back up and our commitment to achieve all-round service excellence. In a word, it means always aiming to delight customers. Our sales team is committed to ensuring customers and users of our cement have total confidence in their purchase and are delighted with the service they received. To help us achieve this, I hope that you will feel free to give us your feedback on whether we are meeting and preferably exceeding your service expectations. Our ‘Think Lafarge’ campaign has been well received and can be spotted on billboards and heard on radio stations around the country. It expresses how we pride ourselves on being solution providers. Through understanding your business and market, we endeavour to anticipate your need for value, productivity, ease of use, performance and technical support, and provide optimum solutions. On behalf of the Lafarge cement team, I wish you everything of the best for a safe and enjoyable Holiday Season with your family and friends. Best regards Maria Sazeides Sales & Marketing Manager – Lafarge Cement
PAGE 4 | CEMENT NEWSLETTER | 2013
Maria Sazeides
CEMENT
THE SECRET IS OUT!
Our Buildcrete 32,5R has always performed as a 42,5N It will not come as surprise to our regular Buildcrete customers, to be told that our remarkably versatile 32,5R cement has always performed as a 42,5N. It enabled general purpose cement users to make considerable savings in cement for general building applications. Following our continual innovative formulation development, we have now launched Buildcrete produced at our Lichtenburg Cement Works as a 42,5N, offering customers even better strength and all-round performance. What is more, this has been achieved while still retaining the userfriendly and environmental benefits of a CEM IV – the only Pozzolanic CEM IV produced by a major cement manufacturer. Buildcrete 42,5N exceeds all the requirements for a general purpose class of cement. Its strength and versatility give customers the freedom to: Use less cement and save on building cost or Make significantly more concrete than is possible with a normal 32,5N general purpose cement or Use it for all building applications: concrete foundations, floors, slabs and driveways; easy to use buttery mortar (it’s even ideal for making the bricks!), and quality plaster In keeping with our concern for the environment and nature conservation, each bag of Buildcrete 42,5N will continue to display the Rhino Orphanage logo, which is our promise to contribute part of the proceeds from every bag sold to the Orphanage. If you are one of our regular Buildcrete users, we thank you for your loyalty and support. We encourage all our customers to experience the benefits of Lafarge’s world-class formulation technology. We are committed to providing you with innovative solutions for all your construction needs.
A million people a day
Think Lafarge!
From Tembisa to Dobsonville, from Seshego to Soshanguwe, Lafarge South Africa is providing an income for many homeowners in the communities, and the homeowners are broadcasting the name of Lafarge to almost a million passers-by a day. Our innovative advertising campaign is painting the town Lafarge green and making sure that local homeowners, hardware stores and small contractors know that the country’s top cement products are available to them.
High definition paint work brings these walls to life with Lafarge!
We commissioned Keys Communications, a 100% black female-owned company to use their high definition airbrushing to create vibrant ‘Think Lafarge’ murals on township walls at high pedestrian and vehicle convergence points throughout the area. Our artwork is achieving huge exposure from dawn to dusk every day! 2013 | CEMENT NEWSLETTER | PAGE 5
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Buildcrete for Bushbuckridge
Radio station Community radio is a crucial part of the South African broadcasting landscape. Since the liberalisation of broadcasting in 1994, community radio has expanded rapidly in spite of the ongoing challenge to gain advertising and other financial support. One of the success stories is Bushbuckridge Radio (BBR) on 88,4FM, a registered Section 21 company owned and managed by community members. BBR broadcasts to an audience of almost 200 000 listeners from its position some 20 km north of Nelspruit, with coverage of Bushbuckridge and the surrounding areas. To contribute to the continuing development of this valuable community service, Lafarge donated a load of Buildcrete cement for the construction of the new station building. We also placed a series of radio advertisements on our versatile Buildcrete product that will run until December. If you are in the area and tune in to 88,4FM, listen out for Lafarge!
New station building for Bushbuckridge Community Radio progressing well thanks to a donation of Buildcrete cement from Lafarge South Africa.
Better bricks
with Buildcrete
Sales Consultant, Tsholofelo Hlabangane, relates an interesting experience he encountered while conducting Lafarge cement roadshows in KwaZulu-Natal: “We met an informal group of brickmakers that had tried a variety of cements for their ‘bush’ brickmaking operation but they fell in love with Buildcrete. They are each running their own business but work in harmony together making bricks manually one by one. We spent time with them and gave some tips on making even better bricks. They said the reason they like Buildcrete so much is that they are able sell the bricks the next day and they can always rely on the quality.”
How to make better bricks with Buildcrete: Lafarge’s Martin Dube from QDSA gives KZN brickmakers some useful tips.
PAGE 6 | CEMENT NEWSLETTER | 2013
Community brickmakers in KwaZulu-Natal know that Buildcrete is good for their business.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Accommodation
for rhino staff “Thanks to tremendous support from our customers BUCO Honeydew and BUCO Nelspruit, we are making good progress converting a standard shipping container to provide accommodation for the volunteer carers at the Rhino Orphanage, in Limpopo. BUCO Honeydew donated interior fittings such as a geyser, shower cubicle, toilet and washbasin, while BUCO Nelspruit provided two huge air conditioning units.” Bruce Tucker, Sales Consultant – Gauteng Resellers
Equipping the Rhino container: BUCO Honeydew’s Gavin Vorster hands over a generous donation of interior fittings to Lafarge’s Bruce Tucker.
PEOPLE
We introduce new members of
THE cement sales team Kumeshree (“Kumie”) Daniel, previously Cement Sales/Orders Administrator, was appointed Customer Service Centre Manager with effect from 1 October. She has certainly embraced her new role and the changes in service levels are evidence of her strong customer satisfaction focus.
Tazio Agrela, previously from the Customer Service Centre, was appointed a Sales Representative in the bulk cement market. Tazio is a real go-getter and has seized this opportunity to meet his customers face-toface after dealing with them on the phone.
Philile Miya recently joined Lafarge as the area Sales Manager for Soweto and the surrounding townships. She comes to us from SAB/Unilever and has already shown she is determined to “paint the town green”!
Wayne Beyers was appointed Sales Consultant for Soweto in January. He has considerable experience in looking after the needs of customers and will be a familiar voice to many of you, after previously working as a Lafarge Cement Customer Service Centre consultant.
Johan Nawrattel started with the company in September last year as Sales Consultant for Mpumalanga, which includes responsibility for the Lowveld and Swaziland. He was previously in the timber industry but is taking the cement market by storm with his charming personality.
Linda Mathenjwa has joined the cement sales team from the Logistics Department, as a Sales Consultant. Experienced in providing customers with an high quality delivery service, Linda is looking forward to meeting all our customers in the Limpopo region in person.
2013 | CEMENT NEWSLETTER | PAGE 7
PEOPLE
Quality service
with a smile
On 1 July 2013, Sibusiso (‘Sibu’) Hlatshwayo took over the reins of Lafarge South Africa’s highly regarded Quality Department Southern Africa (QDSA), from Dr Reinhold Amtsbüchler on his retirement. As a Chemical Engineering student, Sibu did his experiential training with QDSA and was mentored by Dr Amtsbüchler. He joined Lafarge on a permanent basis in 2005 as a Project Engineer with responsibility for quality improvement projects in South Africa. He also gained extensive experience providing technical support for Lafarge cement facilities throughout South East Africa. Sibu was transferred to our Lichtenburg Cement Works as Quality Manager in September 2007 to manage the quality of incoming and intermediate materials, and the final product. Prior to his appointment in QDSA, he had been Plant Manager of Randfontein Grinding Station since July 2011. “This was a tremendous experience,” comments Sibu. “The world-class plant was only two years old and I had the opportunity to build a proud workforce, committed to international standards of excellence in operational and safety performance.” Sibu is an enthusiastic ‘can-do’ manager, who is focused on providing his customers with quality solutions to their problems as rapidly as possible. He is set to maintain QDSA’s proud tradition of excellence.
Manager of QDSA, Sibusiso (‘Sibu’) Hlatshwayo
A tribute to
‘The Doctor’ After 31 years of dedicated service to the company, Dr Reinhold Amtsbüchler (‘The Doctor’) handed over the management of Quality Department Southern Africa (QDSA) to one of his past protégés, Sibusiso (“Sibu”) Hlatshwayo on 1 July. Although retired, Dr Amtsbüchler will continue to provide consultancy services for Lafarge. Renowned throughout the South African construction industry and the Lafarge companies in sub-Saharan Africa, people have come to know that they can always rely on ‘The Doctor’ for wise advice on cement plant quality issues or general building materials problems. Undoubtedly his greatest legacy will be the dozens of chemistry and engineering graduates that have acquired the skills and passion for the cement and concrete trade under his mentorship. Since 1996, he was in charge of QDSA’s SANAS accredited Civil Engineering testing facility at Industria, Johannesburg. The facility provides technical and laboratory services support for the Lafarge South Africa cement and fly ash operations. In addition, it assists other Lafarge operations in sub-Saharan Africa with special testing requests, as well as quality and process related training and projects.
Dr Reinhold Amtsbüchler has retired after 31 years of dedicated service to Lafarge.
PAGE 8 | CEMENT NEWSLETTER | 2013
thirtyONE years
CUSTOMERS & INNOVATION
Lafarge
solution for a challenging road The N14 freeway between Sannieshof and Delareyville, in North West Province, carries a high volume of heavy vehicles and had been put out to tender for reconstruction. Lafarge was approached by Bigen Africa Services earlier this year to develop a concrete mix for the intersections. The concrete specification was 25MPa in 24 hours, while the key requirement was to have high early strength in order to allow the contractor, Concor Roads, to open the intersections in as short a time as possible. “It was an interesting and challenging exercise to come up with a solution,” says Dirk Odendaal, Lafarge Technical Sales Consultant. “To keep the water:binder ratio as low as possible while still retaining a slump of at least 100mm, we used a combination of a high-end water reducing admixture and a slump retention admixture. Fibres were incorporated in the mix to help minimise the risk of shrinkage cracking on the concrete surface after placement. Added to this, the mix needed an open time of at least two hours for journey time.” The site trials of Lafarge’s concrete mix design demonstrated that Concor would be able to reopen intersections within 20 hours of placing the concrete.
Lafarge designed the concrete mix for rapid intersection repairs on the N14 project.
Supaset: the ideal solution for fast installation of fencing poles.
SupaSet a winner in KZN The quick setting solution: SupaSet proves a boon for Ethekwini Fencing in KZN.
After demonstrating our innovative SupaSet product, the ready-to-use quick setting solution for erecting fencing posts, to Ethekwini Fencing, we donated some pockets for an on-site trial. The owner, Ronnie Moonegha, had secured contracts to fence various rural schools throughout KwaZulu-Natal and was so impressed by the high speed performance of SupaSet that he immediately ordered a truck load. Operating out of a small factory in Durban, Ethekwini Fencing has been appointed as a distributor of SupaSet to the KZN market and is featuring SupaSet in its advertising campaigns. With the extremely positive impact the product has had on the success of his company, Ronnie is an enthusiastic ambassador for SupaSet. 2013 | CEMENT NEWSLETTER | PAGE 9
CUSTOMERS & INNOVATION
A CUSTOMER’S VIEW of Lafarge
Providing cost-effective solutions
The Lafarge Cement business line concentrates on building long-term customer relationships by understanding a customer’s needs and supplying solutions that add value to their businesses. Protech Readymix, a subsidiary of listed civil engineering and construction-related services group Protech Khuthele, has six branches engaged in the production and delivery of ready-mixed concrete and also offers a concrete pumping service. The company’s primary supply footprint is Gauteng, together with Brits in North West Province. Its Chloorkop branch has been using Lafarge Powercrete Plus premium technical cement and now other branches are following suit. To obtain the customer’s views on Lafarge products and service, Our World spoke to Charles van Wyk, Technical Manager of Protech Readymix:
Are the benefits of the cement replacement in a CEM II of value to you? The fact that the Lafarge product is ‘greener’ is important to us because it helps our customers to win tenders with tight environmental specifications. The product is formulated with fly ash that reduces its carbon footprint. Thank you Charles, we look forward to hearing that your other three readymix branches are also enjoying the benefits of Powercrete Plus.
How long have you been with the Protech Khuthele group, Charles? I have been with them four years. At the Readymix company, we pride ourselves on developing specific concrete solutions for each project based on the latest readymix concrete technologies, as well as personal service. How long have you been using Powercrete Plus? Chloorkop was the first branch to move from a CEM I product to Lafarge’s CEM II product, Powercrete Plus, in April this year. We have now also switched over at our Randfontein, Muldersdrift and Rosslyn branches. What are the main applications that it is being used for?
Charles van Wyk, Technical Manager at Protech Readymix: “Our plants and our customers are very happy with Powercrete Plus.”
Our readymix concrete with Powercrete Plus is being used in the housing and industrial sectors – in fact in all applications. What motivated the switch to our product? We trialed it extensively and found that it was a versatile cement that performed as well as a CEM I but more cost-effectively – a major benefit for our company. Most important of all, our plants and our customers are very happy! This is helped by your service levels being of a high standard.
RoadCem chosen
for major national road upgrade projects Lafarge South Africa was awarded the contract to supply its specialised cementitious roadbinder, RoadCem, for the rehabilitation of Section 2 of the R23 national road between Standerton and Greylingstad in Mpumalanga. The main contractor for this R637 million Phase 1 upgrading contract is Roadcrete Africa, a subsidiary of Basil Read. It
PAGE 10 | CEMENT NEWSLETTER | 2013
covers a distance of 52 km, and has contract duration of 36 months. The work involves rehabilitation and strengthening of the existing road by removing the thick bituminous layers and adding a new sub-base stabilised with Lafarge RoadCem, crushed stone and surfacing layers. The road will also be widened.
CUSTOMERS & INNOVATION
Building
better cities
The Group’s new brand signature ‘Building better cities’, launched globally in April this year, emphasises our position as solution providers rather than purely manufacturers of building materials. It expresses our ambition and commitment to help construct better cities and better developed rural areas that can provide everyone with decent housing: cities that are more compact, that are more durable, that are better connected and are more beautiful.
More beautiful cities The attractive Gert Sibande Municipal Offices complex is located in Ermelo, the primary town in the Gert Sibande District Municipality, and one of three districts in Mpumalanga. While the municipality needed more offices, the complex was designed to symbolise the area’s future development ambitions and brings together 182 council offices, a modern reference library and information centre, together with facilities for exhibitions and conferences. The council expressed the concept as: better space, better location and better services for the Gert Sibande District citizens. They also showed that providing the functional space did not need to be an ugly structure but could be a landmark and source of pride for the District. The project took 17 months to complete and provided muchneeded work for 650 local people, while consuming 2,4 million bricks and 82 000 bags of Lafarge cement.
Contributing to more beautiful cities: cement from Lafarge South Africa was used to build the Gert Sibande District Municipality’s new offices.
Auto and General Headquarters The dramatic porte-cochère of the new Auto and General headquarters building reaches out to the Helderfontein Spruit on a site alongside the William Nicol highway, north of Fourways in Johannesburg. Designed as four separate double storey office blocks sharing superb facilities and landscaping, the project was built to demanding Green Star sustainable development standards. “5 000 tons of our Powercrete Plus CEM II 42,5R was used in the construction of this striking building,” says Mike Fisher. “Powercrete Plus was the preferred cement solution for this project both for its allround high performance and for its lower carbon footprint.” Building more compact cities Lafarge South Africa helps to build compact cities by using our technical strength to create innovative products and solutions for the efficient construction of dwellings, commercial and retail facilities and leisure infrastructure. A recent example of our involvement in the transformation of the retail and entertainment environment for rural towns is:
The dramatic porte-cochère of the new Auto and General Headquarters.
Mall of the North The 75 000 m² super-regional Mall of the North retail development provided the residents of Polokwane in Limpopo with top-class city shopping and other amenities for the first time. The ground-breaking complex is an example of responsible development with the design, construction and operating systems all embodying sustainable environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient features. “We supplied 7 500 tons of our premium technical CEM II cement Powercrete Plus for the construction of the Mall,” says Mike Fisher, Key Accounts Manager – National Construction. “This costeffective solution for the concrete mix designs gave the same performance as competing CEM I class cements, while its lower environmentally-friendly formulation contributed to lowering the carbon footprint of the Mall project. Lafarge’s Gypsum business line also supplied product for the mall. “It was especially pleasing to win this major contract, as the competition in the roads sector has intensified considerably in the last six months,” comments Mike Fisher, Key Accounts Manager - National Construction. “Important contributors to winning the award were the track record that RoadCem has built up in the last three years for consistent high performance.”
As far as the eye can see: RoadCem is providing the solution for soil stabilisation on the R23 national road rehabilitation contracts.
Roadcrete Africa also awarded Lafarge the supply contract of RoadCem for Phase 2 of the R23 rehabilitation, covering Section 1 of the national road between Platrand and Standerton, a distance of 26 km. Valued at R358 million, the project started in July this year and is a 24-month contract. As for Phase 1, the project includes rehabilitation and strengthening of the existing road, as well as the upgrading and widening of several bridges and major culverts to accommodate the widening of the road.
2013 | CEMENT NEWSLETTER | PAGE 11
GENERAL
Hole in one!
A highly successful Cement Golf Day We were delighted to welcome our customers to our annual Lafarge Cement Golf Day, held on 18 October at the popular Randpark Golf Club. Among the highlights that made the day such a success was Rudi De Beer from our Lichtenburg Cement Works hitting a hole-inone! His good fortune won him R10 000. Congratulations Rudi! Even the courtesy drinks cart for players was a special surprise with rugby legend, Kobus Wiese, serving the refreshments. At the evening prize giving function, Kobus also regaled the audience with a fascinating talk on South African rugby to illustrate how motivation and team spirit are essential to any form of success.
The 16th hole was the fund raiser with golfers challenged to chip their ball closest to the horn of a rhino figurine to compete for a two night stay at the Legend Golf & Safari Resort. We congratulate Ludwig Hefer from Tanker Services, who emerged the winner. Sales of rhino stickers at this hole also raised R2 500 towards the upkeep of the Rhino Orphanage at the Legend Resort that is sponsored by the Lafarge cement business line. To all our golfing customers, we say a big thank you for your part in making the day such an enjoyable one and we look forward to seeing you again next year!
Hosting the event were Maria Sazeides, our National Sales and Marketing Manager and Desmond Maharaj, General Manager. They gave after dinner talks and presented the winners with their prizes.
Winning fourball:
Longest drive:
Marais Gelendhuys – Build It Hammanskraal Bertus Myburgh – BUCO Hoedspruit Peter van Wyk Jnr. – Build It Dundonald Johan Wasserman – Build It Dundonald
Louis Lourens: BUCO Klerksdorp • Pheelo Manama: Boitshoko
Closest to the pin (4 prizes):
Johan Ackron: Raubex • Louis Lourens: BUCO Klerksdorp Dharmesh Desia: Bricks Galore • Rudi de Beer with a hole-in-one (Lafarge)
Strong demand for Specifier Handbook and training course
The Lafarge South Africa ‘Specifier Handbook’ provides a convenient reference guide to the selection of cement and readymix concrete solutions for main applications, and outlines the relevant advantages and benefits. The handbook has been introduced to many civil engineering laboratories and civil engineering firms around the country, in conjunction with a roadshow training programme for their staff. The training is accredited by the South African Institute of Civil Engineers and brings engineers up to date with the latest developments in cementitious materials and concrete durability. Participating engineers earn points towards their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirement. The training sessions are proving to be extremely popular and, to date, over 300 engineers have participated with many more showing interest. If you would like your staff to attend a course, please make a booking with Jeanne De Power at our Longmeadow head office: Jeanne.DePower@lafarge.com
PAGE 12 | CEMENT NEWSLETTER | 2013
Building better cities™
Aiming for excellence: Our Cement Customer Service Centre Earlier this year, we changed the name of the Cement Call Centre to the Cement Customer Service Centre but this was much more than a name change! With the aim of giving our customers the best possible service, we carried out a complete review of the Centre’s procedures such as order processing and delivery monitoring. An important attribute of a call centre is responsiveness and our service rating in this respect over the last six months was 99% meaning that 99% of all calls were answered within 20 seconds. This is monitored on a daily basis through our computerised telephone system. In October, to motivate and encourage professionalism among all departments at Lafarge, we celebrated Customer Service Week. Ideas on service improvement were exchanged and internal competitions held to reward creativity. Our ambition is to set ourselves apart by consistently providing a Customer Service that complements the excellence of our innovative products.
Our highly motivated Customer Service Centre team: (l to r back) Paul, Darryl, Roberto, Khaya, Gareth, Jean, Calvin, (front) Kumie, Thembi and Loshinee.
Building
a better South Africa News snippets from our sales team
Welma De Senna Sales Consultant Free State and Northern Cape
Vryburg’s Game Store takes shape “Contractor Stroncon is on track to complete the new Game Store in Vryburg by April 2014. Build It Vryburg is supplying the project with 10 000 bags of our Buildcrete and Powercrete Plus cements.”
Road stabilisation around Rustenburg “Construction of the Rustenburg Bus Rapid Transit route is underway using our Buildcrete for road stabilisation, supplied through Build It. Esorfranki are spreading Lafarge RoadCem for soil stabilisation on the upgrading of the N4 between Brits and Mooinooi.”
Philile Miya
Area Sales Manager Soweto
Jaco Kruger Sales Consultant
North West Province
Township business takes off “Our promotion campaign in township hardware stores, complemented by the wall mural advertising campaign, has been highly successful. Dozens of small hardware stores now stock Lafarge cement for the first time and several distributors of competitor products have added us to their range.”
Eskom power “Buildcrete is being used by Roshcon to build the foundations for the Eskom power lines in Nkomazi, Mpumalanga.”
Johan Nawrattel
Sales Consultant Mpumalanga
2013 | CEMENT NEWSLETTER | PAGE 13