Laduma October 2016

October 2016

LADUMA

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ONE TEAM - ONE GOAL !

MESSAGE FROM THE MD In my Quarter 1 message I forecast that 2016 would be a tough year.

Unfortunately this is proving to be an accurate assessment and if anything with an increasing number of external issues and stresses to distract us.

I highlighted that in times like this we need to focus on controlling those things where we have the greatest impact, make the necessary adjustments and not to be distracted by the “noise” of the factors outside of our control. The entire team at NCP has done exactly this and you are all to be congratulated for your sustained commitment to the company and our customers.

Having had poor sales during the first half of the year, the turnaround entering the second half has been dramatic; sales for the month of August were the second highest in NCP’s history and Quarter 3 volumes increased 75% on the prior quarter. The plant will be operating at full capacity for the remainder of the year, we continue to trade alcohol from Mauritius and Swaziland and are sold out for the

remainder of 2016 and early 2017.

As we are all well aware, rainfall is improving and although meteorologists report that normal rainfall patterns are not yet fully recovered, the indications are that the 2017 cane crop will be much improved.

Although the raw material supply constraints have impacted negatively on NCP Alcohols’ performance, our longer-term opportunities are promis-ing. The project team has been working hard on developing an alternate raw material and production option for NCP Alcohols, the technical assessment and project development has advanced well with the Board approving all proposals to date, and negotiations are under way regarding financing the significant changes envisaged.

Further afield, the Alcogroup successfully completed the acquisition of the Abengoa production facility in Rotterdam in July; this positions the Group as the fifth-largest ethanol producer in Europe, with 720,000kl ethanol production capacity and total

global capacity slightly in excess of 800,000kl.

g

lin Peter Star

Shift managers training for the future Two of our shift managers, Vicky Singh and Nomsa Mabaso, recently completed an eight-week training and development course called Trace which was run by the Durban Chamber of Commerce along with B&M Analysts. It was both on and off site.

This kind of training adds value to the business in that it equips managers in their respective roles.

The course content included Lean, Problem Solving, 5S, TQM, TPM, Project Management and Leadership.

2

Seen during the training course are, from left, Kelley Rowe (B&M Analysts), Nomsa Mabaso, Adhil Goga (Durban Chamber of Commerce), Zinhle Mdadane, and Gary Bregovits, with Vicky Singh, inset.

We congratulate Nomsa and Vicky on completing the course successfully. May they go from strength to strength.

Safety comes first

On the cover Winners of the company’s Casual Day initiative to walk a 2km action route around the plant in support of persons with disabilities. See page 12.

Water found on site!

Underground water has been found on the NCP Alcohols site. This would be excellent news at any time, but especially when a drought is gripping the area – as it is now.

Explains Project Manager Stephen Kitching, “We recently employed a contractor to drill for water on site, and in August water was located in two areas, one near the molasses offloading area (Borehole 1) and one in the western yard near the scaffold container (Borehole 2). Both boreholes are of a similar depth at between 60 and 70 metres. Borehole 1 will be able to deliver between 5 and 7 cubic metres of water an hour, and Borehole 2 will supply 8-12 m3 an hour.

“NCP Alcohols uses between 1.5 and 1.7 million litres of water every day. This water is supplied via Durban’s municipality as piped domestic water. Due to the drought, the municipality has requested that our water consumption is reduced by 15%. Without another supply of water, the only way for us to achieve this would be to reduce production which of course would have a negative impact on the business.

“We are delighted that the water we have found will meet 25% of the site’s needs, thus enabling us to meet the target of a 15% reduction in municipal water consumed.”

Water samples have been sent for analysis and the results are still pending, but initial indications are that the water is slightly brackish. This may mean that additional treatment is required for the water.

Where the water is used will depend on the quality of the water. The best two options are to supply this water to the cooling towers or to treat it using reverse osmosis and use it as boiler feed water supply.

Naturally, a lower water bill can be expected, but there will be costs related to treating the water. In general terms,

A drilling rig seen in operation for the establishment of Borehole 2 in the western yard. (Photo: Ashika Jithoo) however, it is expected that the cost of drilling, installing piping etc will be covered within a year by the reduced water bill.

As Stephen says, “This is good news, but even more important is the improved water security we have achieved without incurring high additional costs.”

And in addition there are potential environmental benefits.

“Water extracted from a borehole so close to the sea would effectively be lost to the sea if is not extracted. Our boreholes will result in a slightly reduced water need from the Umgeni water catchment areas, and to that extent will benefit the environment.”

IT’S ALL ABOUT WATER SECURITY South Africa is currently in a water crisis. The limited groundwater reserves have given rise to the expectation that, unless something is done, the country could face a water deficit of between 2% and 13% in 2025.

And in KwaZulu-Natal the situation is worse. For example, in 2030 there will potentially be a water deficit of 20%-80%.

Water security thus becomes more important than ever, expecially when, for example, the National Water Resource Strategy forum warns, “Water-dependent businesses can no longer take water for granted regardless of the industry sector they operate within.”

Soil cup samples taken every metre when drilling the borehole.

Stay alert, don’t get hurt

3

Criminals beware, Robert is near When it comes to security, you don’t mess with our Security Manager, Robert Quansah. He’s a man who eats, breathes and sleeps security – he even lives in a flat high above NCP Alcohols so that he can keep an eye on the site whenever he likes.

Recently, a thief got onto the site and stole some electric cables so Robert went down to the river one evening and found the cables. With assistance from his employer, Marshall Security, he located and arrested the criminal, getting home around 3 am.

Of course, for a man like Robert, this is all in a day’s work – and strong-arm tactics are not to be shied away from. Going the extra mile is the basic minimum. He absolutely loves keeping the business secure, says working at NCP Alcohols is “like working in your own family’s business” and “the integrity of any business depends on security”. That’s Robert for you.

He heads a department of 17 contractors, hails from Ghana originally, was previously in shipping, works out in a gym regularly, and has a diploma in security studies.

Those are handcuffs (not a bow tie) and you had better believe it or Robert Quansah, our Security Manager, will clap them on you.

How we find the cream of the crop Many thanks to all NCP Alcohols staff for making the company proud with their team effort to set up and manage a great stand during the recent World of Work Career Fair held at the Durban University of Technology on 16 and 17 August.

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Say no to carelessness

Said stand manager Lumeshni Pillay, “This fair helps us to attract the cream of the crop of students. And many of the current in-service trainees that were on duty at the WOW fair got to work at NCP Alcohols as a result of the exhibition.

A really BIG thank you to Ricardo for his diligence and just ‘getting things done’; Rodgers, Prudence and Sue for their ‘behind the scenes’ work; Lumeshni for sharing her technical knowledge and passion for NCPA with visitors and for managing the stand; and lastly to our In-service Trainees, Sandile Msibi, Saranessa Edward, Stembiso Mkhulisi, Sphelele Ndaba, Claude Premjith and Sashen Ballaram for being great ambassadors for NCP Alcohols.

The NCP Alcohols stand at the World or Work careers fair.

2015 Sustainability Overview COMPLIANCE NCP Alcohols believes that people’s health, safety and the environment are our highest priorities. We know that we must be environmentally responsible and protect the health and safety of our employees, customers, suppliers and the public.

To achieve this we expect our employees to ensure that our products and operations comply with the most stringent laws, regulations and standards.

We provide appropriate training to prevent adverse impacts that may be caused by any aspect of manufacture, supply or use of our products. We regularly audit internally and externally while continually improving our systems and we undertake to recognise and respond to community concerns.

NCP Alcohols boasts a host of certifications namely, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, SANS 10330 (HACCP), OHSAS 18001, Halaal certification and Kosher certification.

OUR EMPLOYEES Training NCP Alcohols strives to constantly increase the awareness and skills level of its employees; hence extensive training is conducted both internally and externally. Training completed in the past year includes fire training, SHEQ induction training, forklift training, incident investigation training, OHS Act legal liability training, hazardous chemical substance training, noise induced hearing loss training, first aid training and permit training. Courses in risk assessment, HACCP awareness and HAZCHEM (handling of dangerous goods), hearing conservation, HIV/Aids awareness, management training and safety representative training were also presented.

Our in-service training programme offers students a year of on-the-job training in the fields of food technology, biochemistry, chemical engineering, biotechnology, mechanical engineering, analytical chemistry, microbiology, electrical engineering – heavy current, electrical engineering – light current process, and instrumentation & control. The total number of students doing this programme is 14, of which two are apprentices in the mechanical and electrical fields.

Clinic Medical facilities on site include a clinic sister and doctor. The clinic sister and the doctor manage the occupational health programme to ensure general wellness of all employees.

There were 706 healthcare visits for the year compared to 587 for the same period in 2014. The number of clinic visits increased due to our health awareness campaign: ‘The BMI Biggest Loser challenge’. Participants visited the clinic weekly for weigh-ins and health checks.

COMMUNICATION We believe in honest and constructive communication with and between staff and our stakeholders who promote and

The Training and Employment Equity Committee and Management attended a training session in 2015. sustain the relationships we have with one another. Our communication mediums include monthly communication facilitator meetings, news boards, flashboards, e-notices, an intranet page, online and printed newsletters as well as a website.

CORPORATE SOCIAL INVESTMENT Our CSI programmes are based on the real needs of the people in the area where we operate and the majority of our beneficiaries are disadvantaged communities and individuals. We focus our initiatives in areas that are relevant in the South African context, namely education, health and welfare, safety and environment conservation.

Activity # 1 The Kenville Primary School Feeding Scheme project provides one meal every Friday to 60 primary school learners in need.

Activity # 2 Two programmes have been addressing the physical wellness of employees – a body mass index ‘Big Loser’ competition, and the birth of the company’s own running club, the Leafy Leapers Athletics Club.

Activity # 3 The company sponsors a football team, NCP United Football Club (NUFC) with gear, transport and basic refreshments during their friendly matches.

Activity # 4 We are also a monthly sponsor of the Look Good Feel Better Foundation, alongside members of the Cosmetics Toiletries and Fragrances Association (CTFA), who run make-over workshops for female cancer patients at Durban’s Addington and Parklands Hospitals, and at Mkuhla House.

Intervene when necessary

5

2015 Sustainability Overview internally and through legal audits by December 2015. All legal compliance findings raised were addressed.

Objective 3 To manage static safety risks on site.

The target here was to develop action plans and a budget to address high safety risks by December 2015.

We set out to implement fall protection at the fusel oil and raw material off-loading bay by 2016; review existing fall protection at CMS loading bays, already 100% completed; implement fall protection at CMS loading bays, 100% completed; and implement fall protection at potable receiving by 2016.

• Safety Incidents increased compared to 2014.

• Safety near misses increased, meaning more people reported near misses.

NCP Alcohols staff got down and revamped a science lab at the neighbouring Sea Cow Lake Secondary School.

Activity # 5 As part of the company’s celebrations of International Mandela Day, a Sea Cow Lake Secondary School science laboratory received a total makeover. In addition, weekly science classes are presented by three in-service trainee students at NCP Alcohols to the school’s grade 12 learners.

ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH AND SAFETY Hazard Identification and Risk Assessments These assessments form the basis of our Safety, Health, Environment and Food Safety (SHE & FS) management system. Risks associated with all work on-site are evaluated to determine whether or not they are acceptable. Hazards are also identified from job observations, audits and general inspections.

To reduce risks, the following hierarchy of control is chosen: Elimination, Substitution, Engineering, Administration and PPE. Safety objectives Objective 1 To achieve zero fatalities and reduce permanently disabling injuries by identifying and controlling extreme potential risk situations.

The target was to achieve no fatalities and O DIFR by January 2016 and to conduct job observations on high-risk activities.

A DIFR of 0.9 was achieved and job observations were done on activities for which safety incidents were reported.

Objective 2 To maintain legal compliance with regards to safety.

The target was to address legal compliance issues highlighted

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Report all near misses

Safety: Two-year trend July - December 2014

July - December 2015

25

23

20 15

17

16

14

10 6

5 0

2 Safety near misses

Safety injuries

Total

• Over the years we have noticed that more safety incidents occur toward the end of the year – this could be due to the festive season mood.

• In future, at the end of the year we will take extra precautions to prevent safety incidents.

Environmental objectives Objective 1 We will maintain environmental legal compliance. The first target was to develop an environmental management plan for effluent quality compliance by the end of 2015.

A buffer tank for settling out sulphates with lime and the pH trim project were 100% achieved.

The second target was to classify all waste on site and create safety data sheets for the various waste streams by June 2016.

Waste streams on site were identified to determine which are pre-classified and which are not.

This resulted in separating pre-classified waste streams and

2015 Sustainability Overview obtaining safety data sheets.

Sample waste was classified and submitted for analysis and classification results were obtained to create safety data sheets. All of the above was 100% accomplished.

Objective 2 Minimise environmental impacts and pollution in three areas – water, land and air.

Target 1 – Reduce storm water contamination to achieve storm water discharge specifications by December 2015.

Re-direct effluent from the North site and CMS area to North site sump and install a valve at the North site sump to control storm water and effluent discharge. 50% of this target was achieved.

The boiler house (by hopper) was drained to be re-done and the pump removed, 100% completed.

Bund fusel oil and raw material off-loading area was also to be addressed in 2016.

Target 2 – To develop a strategy for waste reduction on site

by September 2015 and to quantify the amount of waste being removed from site to determine the associated costs, 100% achieved.

We also identified which waste streams could be lessened, and these were reduced to 20%.

Target 3 – To maintain air emissions to below legal specification and keep stack emissions below the legal limit during 2015.

CO2 emissions from combustion at boilers was 80% maintained below 0.1 Mt per annum.

Objective 3 Target 1 – To reduce site water usage to <9.9kL per klAA by December 2015 Some of the actions taken to achieve this was to determine the acid condensate deficit during evaporators CIP’s. If so evaluated, the use of an industrial rectifier dunder was to replace acid condensate for the evaporators. Re-issue acid condensate balance prior to, during and after the evaporator

CIP (~2Kl estimated saving) was 100% achieved.

The viability of flash cooler condensate for nitric dilution or for other possible uses was evaluated and a detailed analysis profile was circulated, showing that this was a viable option.

The feasibility of transferring the rum condensate to the main condensate tank was also 100% determined, equating to ~0.5 Kl possible savings.

Viable options for rainfall recovery were considered and a meeting was set up to discuss potential options. ~2Kl estimated savings were realised from this initiative.

Target 2 – To reduce electrical energy by 120kW By December 2015 MB7 Power factor correction project was completed. Other initiatives considered were switching off Hydroboil units at night, determining the safety margin on the vinegar chiller operation, and skimming the impellers on corporation water pumps.

The savings from the upgrade to the administration building compressor was also quantified.

Type

2014 Q4

General Waste (8m3)

2015 Q4

Total 2014

Total 2015

2

3

23

12

Paper Recycled (kg) 323

391

1369

1201

4

16

18

Cardboard Recycled (1-ton bag)

4

Glass Recycled (box)

0

1

1

2

Aluminium Recycled (1-ton bag)

1

1

3

3

Target 3 – Energy (Steam), Reduce steam usage by 150kg/ hr by December 2015 Bottom Distillery Recovery column steam to optimise operations for ~600kg/hr savings was considered.

Aerosol steam supply by installing a plate and frame heat exchanger for 17kg/hr savings was also considered.

WASTE

Sandile Msibi points out the rainwater on top of the molasses dam’s cover membrane; the water is pumped away and used on site.

• General waste has decreased, indicating employees are recycling and reusing waste.

• In terms of paper recycling, going forward we will encourage staff to print less and reduce the amount of paper used. One way of doing this is to encourage meeting minutes to be available electronically instead of each individual printing a copy.

Work safe, play safe

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2015 Sustainability Overview substances. Should abnormalities be raised from medical assessments, then the necessary investigation and reporting will follow.

The company launched a wellness campaign, namely the BMI Big Loser challenge, to encourage healthy weight loss.

Several employees took part and regularly weighed in. The overall winners were announced during the company’s yearend function. Safety Talks are also held every month. These talks focus on various topics, one being health awareness to encourage employees to live a healthy lifestyle.

NCPA employees manage their own Soccer and Athletics Clubs with support from the company. NCP Alcohols Football Club was established in 2009 and hosts friendly matches at least every quarter. The company’s athletics club, the Leafy Leapers, is affiliated to the KwaZulu-Natal Athletics Federation and employee members are sponsored to take part in four events per year.

ENERGY AND CARBON FOOTPRINT NCP Alcohols is committed to reducing and/or eradicating harmful environmental factors such as:

Part of the staff culture at NCP Alcohols is celebrating the year’s achievements. Here, a team takes part in a ‘Barrel Braai Master’ competition.

HEALTH At NCP Alcohols we are passionate about living a healthy lifestyle and recognise the impact that health issues such as hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, smoking, obesity, alcohol and drug abuse can have on the well-being of our employees. Our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and on-site clinic with trained occupational health practitioners assist employees to prevent serious diseases and effectively manage chronic conditions so that we can have a positive impact on our employees’ quality of life and our bottom line. Ongoing awareness campaigns are scheduled to communicate pertinent health issues to our staff. The results from our annual wellness day checks are used to gauge the health and wellness of our staff with the aim of providing the necessary guidance and support. Our Occupational Health Programme is based on routine health risk assessments that are done by approved inspection authorities. Some of our risks include noise and exposure to hazardous chemical

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Work safe, go home safe

Land pollution: No littering is allowed on site and waste bins are provided in all areas of the plant. Specially marked bins are provided for the recycling of cans and paper. Cardboard is also collected for recycling. Process areas around the plant are bunded for the containment of spillages for recovery. All process effluent is directed to the effluent treatment plant and thereafter it is led into the municipal sewer system.

Water pollution: All spillages must be reported so that we can prevent water pollution. It is imperative that spillages are minimised or timeously cleaned up in an appropriate manner.

Air pollution: We have changed from coal boilers and now utilise gas boilers in our plant. CO2 gas from our fermentation plant is sold to a gas company and is eventually utilised in the beverage industry.

Preservation of resources: We pride ourselves in saving the environment! So please conserve resources, especially regarding water.

PROCUREMENT & SUPPLY CHAIN NCP Alcohols seeks to ensure that the products it procures for its production of ethanol are sourced from suppliers that are sustainable and environmentally responsible.

We ensure safe disposal of all our waste through recycling and disposal suppliers who are evaluated from time to time, and we undertake audits of suppliers to ensure compliance.

New sister company on board Alcogroup with its partners Groep Vanden Avenne Commodities and Vandema have purchased the Abengoa Rotterdam Plant assets, and the plant has been restarted.

This new sister company has been named Alco Energy Rotterdam BV. The Rotterdam plant is one of the largest Biorefineries in Europe, with an annual production capacity of 480 million litres of ethanol for fuel use, 360.000 Mt of Dried Distilled Grain with Solubles (high protein feed products), 48 Mw of electricity and 300.000 MT of CO2 for greenhouses.

This strategic acquisition, finalised on 7 July, reflects our strong belief in the positive contribution of low-carbon emissions bioethanol to the European Union’s ambitious decarbonisation targets as set out in the 2030 Framework for

climate and energy. Both the Rotterdam plant and our Alco Bio Fuel facility in Ghent (Belgium) can achieve significant Green House Gas savings above 70%

compared to fossil fuels.

Ethanol is today the most efficient and competitive product for cleaner fuels in the transport sector.

Dream team display true grit, loyalty The outward bound distribution team is made up of true warriors, not only did they move the secondlargest volume exported in one month in the history of NCPA, they took on this momentous task with a number of staff short. This took true grit, nerves of steel and an enormous display of loyalty, sacrifice, courage, focus and determination.

Said Marketing and Distribution Manager Elaine Wilson, “NCP Alcohols wants to acknowledge the outstanding achievements of this team for their dogged determination and hard work. I am proud of this Dream Team.”

The Dream Team are, from left, Raj Mothi, Janine van der Westhuizen, Zakia Agjee, Ranjini Madanjith, Romy Hancock, Ashley Sathdav, Elaine Wilson and Sibusiso Mthabela.

Accidents hurt, safety

doesn’t

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Whew! Another successful audit Three auditors from SGS spent a week at NCP Alcohols in September doing an integrated audit, and it was a very pleased Lorraine Mudaly who said afterwards, “Only minor findings and observations were highlighted through the audit which proved to be a success as NCP Alcohols was given approval for certification of the Integrated Management System.

Said Lorraine Mudaly, “Since the elements of the three standards are aligned, they can be integrated to form one system, which we have done. So, it makes sense to have one audit looking at all three systems instead of three separate audits looking at individual systems. This also helps from a people point of view. Having an integrated audit means that people will only be pulled out of their functions for audit activities once, as opposed to three times.”

NCP Alcohols’ systems and processes were given approval to be a Compliant Integrated Management System.

This, says Lorraine, is thanks to staff standing together as a team during the five days of intense auditing by SGS. The audits covered: • OHSAS 18001, an Occupation Health and Safety Assessment Series for health and safety management systems.

It is intended to help NCP Alcohols control occupational health and safety risks.

• ISO 14001 which specifies the requirements of an environmental management system (EMS) for NCP Alcohols.

Our EMS is a systemic approach to handling environmental issues.

In the thick of it ... Lorraine Mudaly with the auditors, from left, Jabu Nkwe, Ed Tison and Jan Grobler.

• ISO 9001:2008 which drives continuous improvement of our quality management systems (QMS) and processes.

In turn, this improves the ability of our operations to meet customer requirements and expectations. n A SOLAS audit was successfully concluded on 20 June for the approval of NCPA’s Gross Mass Verification processes for Containers and Isotanks. Said Lorraine, “We met with all the legal requirements and have received SOLAS certification.”

Bravo! NCPA is truly inspiring

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Safety in, we win

When Doctor Ngema was a science student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2004, he benefitted enormously from a class visit to NCP Alcohols. “It was fascinating to relate what we were learning in class to what we were seeing happening in industry.”

Now a science teacher at Ukukhanyakwezwe Secondary School near Maphumulo, and wanting to inspire his learners in the same way, he gave NCP Alcohols a call and brought a group of learners to visit.

Said Doc, “Once again, I saw minds open.

They could now see how the theory is applied in the real world.

“At a time when many companies are no longer allowing visits for health and safety reasons, it was refreshing to see that NCP Alcohols’ doors are still open. They may never see the result of the effort they made, but it has an enormous impact. I wish more industrial companies would get more involved in inspiring the youth.”

Lots of gees at business relay No less than 40 staff, that’s nearly half, took part in the 5km KPMG Relay on 24 September at Growthpoint Kings Park Stadium. Talk about gees!

NCPA entered 11 teams of which seven were running and four were walking. The fastest running team was ‘The Speedsters’ (Lucky Ntuli, Vukani Ndlazi, Sazi Thango and Sanele Mazibuko) who came 12th out of 90 running teams; and the fastest walking team was ‘The Sprinting 3’ (Mark Norton-Amor, Janine van der Westhuizen and Prudence Gabela) who finished 61st out of 100 walking teams.

Some of the 45 NCP Alcohols staff that got together to exercise and fly the company flag.

Staff painted rescue station for Mandela The staff of NCP Alcohols chose the National Sea Rescue Institute’s Station 5 (Durban) as their ’67 minutes for Mandela’ focus this year.

Donning overalls, and armed with brushes and paint sponsored by NCP Alcohols, they added some colour to the station on 18 July. Doors to the crew room, store room, and ladies and gents changerooms all received a splash of colour in keeping with the station’s “home away from home” initiative. Additionally, a storage area which was recently

About 20 NCP Alcohols staffers painted the NSRI red ... and blue on Mandela Day in July.

converted, was cleaned and painted, making it ready to house advanced medical equipment.

The crew of Station 5 extended their heart-felt gratitude to all staff and management that participated. The station looks fantastic!

NCP Alcohols is also a proud Silver partner of the Water Wise Academy, teaching children water safety to prevent drowning tragedies in rivers and the sea.

Success is no accident

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d e k l a w y a We D l a u s a C n o d e l b a for the dis

their tunity to show or p op n a en people Staff were giv the world for ng vi ro p im walk commitment to part in a 2km ng ki ta y b s, with disabilitie 31 August. asses dam on ol m e th d un aro ING and e NO RUNN er w s le ru ly sual Day The on -sponsored Ca ny a p m co e th wearing of stickers. gold, silver ng awarded rli a St r te Pe of the four MD to the winners ls a ed m e nz er and under and bro nd female, ov a le a m s: ie categor 35 years.

ood cause. selves for a g em th d ye jo en As usual, staff

Fantastic, say applied chemistry visitors NCP Alcohols hosted a Student Production Observation Tour group from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in May. The 58 second-year applied chemistry group were hosted by Ace Govender, Carl Freyer, Arthur Ndaba, Siphokazi Majozi, Lumeshni Govender and Sandile Msibi.

In a follow-up letter, lecturer A. Bissessur thanked NCPA for a â&#x20AC;&#x153;highly informative informative and fantastic tour of the

plant and the laboratories. Your knowledge of the process is highly admired and students were in awe of your ability as human beings to know so much. My students have been extremely motivated about their future careers. Thanks must go to the wonderful and hospitable team at NCPA for this positive injection of chemistry.â&#x20AC;?

Yoga postures introduced on wellness day NCP Alcohols hosted a Discovery Wellness Day for staff on 26 July. Staff were able to have a number of wellness checks as well as voluntary confidential HIV counselling and testing. In addition, they were given a pedometer to count the number of steps they take each day, and to encourage them to get up and walk at least every hour.

An innovation this year was the half-hour Yoga Stress Relief sessions that were presented by yogi Charlize Tomaselli-Topham and held across the plant. Staff learned to stretch and bend to relieve stress through a sequence of postures which can be done in an office chair. They were also taught a few easy breathing exercises that can be performed during the day. Breath work has a direct link to calming the mind and relieving stress, something that people with busy work schedules need!

People who spend more than four hours a day sitting at a desk are more likely to get tension headaches,

12

Never break your safety habit

neck pain and tight shoulders. Busy schedules and deadlines often mean that office workers do not have the time to exercise and release tight muscles. This leads to ill health and stress issues both physically and mentally.

Published by NCP Alcohols (Pty) Ltd www.ncpalcohols.com