Projects Magazine

[Johannesburg, 13 March 2018]: A more than customer-supplier relationship between specialist pipeline contractor, JDC, and thermoplastic piping supplier, Plasti-Tech, was the recipe for success on a challenging pipe installation project recently completed by JDC for Henric Ferro Chrome in the North West Province of South Africa. In business, maintaining strong working relationships means everything. Strong working relationships are entirely possible, but it takes trust and transparency on both sides. A case in point is the relationship which JDC’s HDPE Piping Division has over the past four years forged with thermoplastic piping specialist, Plasti-Tech. The significance of such a strong customer-supplier relationship was recently demonstrated on a challenging pipe installation project which had a very short and stringent timeline where material shortages were out of question. According to Nadine Roussouw, Contracts Administrator at JDC, the scope of the over R1-million project...

Growthpoint Properties is the first South African company to issue a Green Bond on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The Growthpoint Green Bonds, for terms of five, seven and ten years, were issued and listed on the JSE on Friday, 9 March 2018. Green Bonds raise money that is specially allocated for funding projects that result in positive environmental and climate benefits. The R1.1 billion (USD94 million) Green Bonds issued by Growthpoint will be used to fund the green buildings and green initiatives of South Africa's leading REIT. The Green Bonds form part of Growthpoint’s R20 billion Domestic Medium Term Note (DMTN) Programme. Growthpoint has a national scale Aaa.za Moody’s rating, with many banks opting to hold Growthpoint paper as High-Quality Liquid Assets (HQLA). The Green Bonds are priced at 139 basis points (1.39%) for the five-year term, at 169 basis points (1.69%) for the seven-year term and at 200 basis points (2.00%) for the 10-year term above three-month J...

Growthpoint Properties, the leading JSE-listed international property company, has commenced excavation for its new 35,000sqm premium-grade office development in Rosebank, called 144 Oxford. In prime position at the gateway to Rosebank, 144 Oxford features two P-grade office towers of some 17,500sqm each. All of this is located directly opposite the landmark Hyatt Regency, and a short walk from the Rosebank Gautrain Station and other public transport which is plentiful in this well pedestrianised quarter. Taking a step out of its front doors will connect you to the vibrant restaurants, food, lifestyle, shopping, hospitality and entertainment offered by the popular hub of Rosebank Mall, The Zone @ Rosebank and The Firs. Growthpoint Properties Office Division Director Rudolf Pienaar says: “We are excited to develop this new prime property with its prominent Oxford Road address and unrivalled exposure. Growthpoint is creating high-performance workspace in a sustainable office building...

Growthpoint Properties Limited today posted distribution growth of 6.5% per share for its six-month interim period to 31 December 2017, confidently achieving on-target performance. Growthpoint increased total distributable income by 10.6% from its prior half-year to a substantial R2.9bn. Group property assets increased 4.4% to R127.7bn and group net asset value grew 3.9% to R25.93 per share. Norbert Sasse, Group Chief Executive Office of Growthpoint Properties, attributes this positive performance to the strong contributions from the V&A Waterfront and Globalworth Real Estate Investments (GWI), solid performance from the South African property portfolio, and stringent cost controls. Growthpoint continued to streamline and optimise its South African portfolio of properties during the half year, recycling capital out of non-core assets and into strategic accretive investments. It also expanded its international investment. Sasse reports: “This solid set of results was achieve...

In a landmark partnership for collective economic growth in South Africa, the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) is joining forces with Property Point, a Growthpoint Properties initiative, to develop more small businesses for South Africa’s property sector. DSBD has allocated a R5 million grant to Property Point for a one-year small business development programme as part of its Enterprise Incubation Programme (EIP). This breakthrough initiative is the first public-private partnership of its kind in the property sector. It will develop 16 small businesses in the property sector of which two-thirds are youth- and woman-owned. Shawn Theunissen, head of Property Point and head of Corporate Social Responsibility for Growthpoint Properties, says: “Property Point’s objective has always been to contribute to South Africa’s economic growth. Using a best practice model, we have delivered positive results in the property sector for the last decade. Now, our new partnership wit...

WINSTON, Georgia (March 8, 2018) — Solesbee’s, a premier equipment and attachment manufacturer, offers its series of manual and hydraulic excavator thumbs for any size and model excavator. The thumbs allow operators to move from one application to another, such as moving dirt or material, without changing attachments. This versatility significantly increases efficiency for a variety of applications, including land clearing, site preparation, demolition and recycling. “There are many contractors who need to increase the efficiency of their machine on the jobsite,” said David Jenkins, Solesbee’s Equipment & Attachments LLC president. “We design thumbs to be paired with any size and model excavator, and back them with our industry leading 2-year warranty.” Solesbee’s engineers its thumbs with efficiency and safety in mind. The company works closely with customers to ensure each model is optimized for the excavator bucket and/or coupler to provide a perfect fit, enhancing versatilit...

Growthpoint Properties Limited today posted distribution growth of 6.5% per share for its six-month interim period to 31 December 2017, confidently achieving on-target performance. Growthpoint increased total distributable income by 10.6% from its prior half-year to a substantial R2.9bn. Group property assets increased 4.4% to R127.7bn and group net asset value grew 3.9% to R25.93 per share. Norbert Sasse, Group Chief Executive Office of Growthpoint Properties, attributes this positive performance to the strong contributions from the V&A Waterfront and Globalworth Real Estate Investments (GWI), solid performance from the South African property portfolio, and stringent cost controls. Growthpoint continued to streamline and optimise its South African portfolio of properties during the half year, recycling capital out of non-core assets and into strategic accretive investments. It also expanded its international investment. Sasse reports: “This solid set of results was achieved ...

Are you an entrepreneur committed to solving environmental challenges? Can your product or service unlock possibilities in water and resource sustainability? Business development specialists Fetola are launching GROUNDSWELL, a new initiative to accelerate the success of small businesses offering products and services in the water, sustainability and resource efficiency sectors. This practical programme, supported by seed funding from J.P. Morgan, builds entrepreneurial skills and helps big corporates and small business owners do better business together. Thirty South African entrepreneurs will benefit from an intensive 18-month growth programme of business skills training, mentorship, supply chain inclusion, investment readiness preparation, and access to markets. Enviropreneurs, waterpreneurs and greentrepreneurs are invited to apply. Established enterprises with growth potential and start-ups or emerging businesses that have already invested in their initial concept are welcome. ...

RENSSELAER, Ind. (March 12, 2018) ¬¬— Talbert Manufacturing, a North American leader in specialized heavy-haul solutions, marks its 80th year in business. Austin Talbert started the company in 1938 as a heavy haul, crane rental and construction equipment business in Lyons, Illinois. He quickly became known as a pioneer in heavy-haul trailer safety with his invention of the industry’s first gooseneck model with removable rear suspension. Since then, the Talbert name has become synonymous with multiple other industry innovations, including removable goosenecks and beam deck units. “We’ve been in this business for a long time,” said Andrew Tanner, Talbert Manufacturing president. “But we’ve always stayed true to that same mission Austin Talbert had in 1938 when he set out to change the heavy-haul industry: to design and build safety, quality and durability into every last detail of our trailers.” Talbert offers a comprehensive approach to trailer design, bringing in representatives fr...

Sibanye-Stillwater (Tickers JSE: SGL and NYSE: SBGL) and Lonmin Plc (“Lonmin”) advise that Sibanye- Stillwater has filed a submission with the South African competition authorities, with regard to the proposed acquisition of Lonmin which was announced on 14 December 2017 (the “Proposed Transaction”). As is required by the South African Competition Act No. 89 of 1998, the required stakeholders have also been duly notified. Sibanye-Stillwater and Lonmin remain fully committed to the Proposed Transaction which they continue to expect to close in the second half of this year. Neal Froneman, CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater, and Ben Magara, CEO of Lonmin, commenting on the filing, said: “We are delighted to have filed the submission with the South African competition authorities. The Proposed Transaction remains in the best interest of stakeholders and will create a leading mine-to-market producer of PGMs in South Africa.” FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS This announcement includes “forward-looking ...

With 2018 bringing new opportunities to challenge South Africa's persistently low growth rate, the role and value of entrepreneurs in our economy is sure to remain in sharp focus. To this end, "big" business needs to continue working to overcome barriers to entry for smaller suppliers to ensure meaningful transformation. Kervin Ali, Head of Group Procurement at PPC, argues that the process of value chain integration is a complex one which corporates often take for granted. By creating an engagement and on-boarding process where assumptions aren't made and "standard practices" are actively communicated, SMEs can potentially start delivering far sooner and as per expectations - challenging entrenched status quos and adding new value. As formal economies around the world continue to grapple with sensitive markets and new market drivers, more entrepreneurs are taking their own destinies in hand and stepping out to pursue opportunities they can own and control. ...

SKF SimPro Quick is a single-shaft bearing simulation tool that has been developed to quickly evaluate the design of bearing arrangements and their field performance based on relevant application requirements and conditions. Industrial manufacturers are facing new challenges every day when it comes to rapid design of more robust and more cost efficient machines. To maintain a competitive edge in product performance through innovation, design engineers are increasing the use of computer software all the way through their design cycle; exploring new design alternatives, including more parameters, and reducing time to market. Design engineers recognise that critical bearing arrangements are fundamental for machine performance, especially with the increasing variety of application conditions. An effective evaluation of bearing performance without compromising on time and flexibility is crucial in order to choose the best possible arrangements for machine design. SKF has core expertise...

(Johannesburg – 6 March 2018) The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade (DIT) says it has the ability to facilitate the provision of billions of Pounds Sterling in lending and guarantees to African countries to help them address a chronic infrastructure backlog that the World Bank estimates to be about US$93 billion a year in the Sub-Saharan region alone. DIT in Africa has a presence in 21 countries across the continent, can enable the provision of these facilities through UK Export Finance (UKEF), the United Kingdom’s export credit agency, a part of DIT. Loans can be extended in the local currencies of 9 African countries for projects ranging from transportation, mining and general construction, though they must include at least 20% UK content and meet all other lending criteria. For example, UKEF has the ability to support infrastructure projects in South Africa (up to £4 billion), Kenya (up to £1 billion) and Nigeria (up to £750 million). “Africa’s infrastructure ch...

Now an established brand within the SKF Group, Cooper Roller Bearings product ranges will henceforth be marketed as 'SKF Cooper split bearings'. SKF acquired Cooper Roller Bearings Co Ltd in 2013 as part of the US based Kaydon Corporation, Cooper's parent company at the time. Following a period of consolidation within the SKF, it has now been decided that all Cooper Split Bearings ranges will be marketed under the name of SKF Cooper going forward. SKF Cooper products will continue to complement the growing SKF portfolio of complete solutions for the marine, mining, quarrying, construction and energy sectors. In addition to the brand name change, the channels to market for SKF Cooper products, including responses to customer enquiries, product supply and after-sales support, will be handled on a global basis through local SKF sales outlets going forward. SKF Cooper split roller bearings can be fitted, removed and inspected without having to dismantle surrounding equ...

Simplified inspection, process and machine health data collection and analysis are now within everyone’s reach with SKF Enlight QuickCollect. SKF has made it possible for anyone to monitor machine health without the need for extensive training or diagnostic expertise. Combining an easy-to-use sensor with mobile apps, users can quickly and easily identify machine condition and share inspection, process and machine health data company-wide. Customers can also tap directly into SKF’s remote diagnostic centres for expert analysis and advice. It’s easy to get started and with entry-level setup costs, there’s no need to make the case for capital expenditure. Handheld sensors and mobile apps make it easy to capture, share and store inspection, process and machine health data. In the past, collecting machine and process data required expensive equipment and relied on high levels of in-house expertise to understand the data and diagnose machine problems effectively. SKF Enlight QuickColl...

“The 8 Series Utility air compressor range delivers our value proposition of lowest overall cost of ownership which differentiates us as a preferred supplier of portable energy products to diverse industries,” states David Stanford, Business Line Manager – Portable Products, Atlas Copco Power Technique. Designed for secure integration into utility trucks and other OEM applications, the Utility range incorporates the latest advances in Atlas Copco’s pioneering air element design, offering improved efficiency, unmatched reliability, increased machine lifetime and longer service intervals. The current Utility line-up comprises three compressors (U130, U175 and U190) available in flow ranges between 3.7 to 5.4 m³/min, working pressures between 7 and 12 bar and FAD (free air delivery) up to 190 cfm. Stanford adds that the range will be extended during 2018 which will not only expand application opportunities but will also offer customers a wider choice. “The efficient, reliable, con...

SKF Enlight Centre is an internet-enabled condition-based maintenance (CBM) and condition monitoring (CM) system designed for the global marine industry. This first-of-its-kind, asset based (as opposed to measurement focused) machine health monitoring system has been designed to meet the changing needs of today's marine asset management professionals. This web based ‘software-as-a-service’ tool represents the first phase of a multi-segment software development strategy from SKF’s machine health software team based in Gothenburg, Sweden. The goal is to roll out this comprehensive, standardised machine condition monitoring offering across all sectors of industry and transportation, where remote monitoring and operation is required. The new software which features a radically simplified user interface, will eventually replace SKF's existing @ptitude Asset Management System. Easy and intuitive to use, this next-generation system identifies potential machine anomalies before...

Chicago Pneumatic Business Development Manager Eben vd Vyver (left) & dealer Johnathan Cassell from Grinding Power (right) with Heinrich Drews, Modikwa Mine, the winner of the second CPPG5 generator sponsored by Chicago Pneumatic at the Mining & Technical Exhibition (MTE) which was held at Modikwa Mine on 22nd February 2018. Chicago Pneumatic is sponsoring a CPPG5 portable generator at all MTEs held during 2018. About Chicago Pneumatic Since 1901, the Chicago Pneumatic name has represented high-performance tools and equipment designed for an extensive range of applications. Chicago Pneumatic offers a wide range of pneumatic, hydraulic and petrol-driven equipment, portable compressors and generators, light towers, rig-mounted attachments, and compaction equipment for the construction and demolition industry. With a global network of distributors, Chicago Pneumatic provides customers with worldwide sales and service support. To learn more about the extensive range of Chicag...

thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions is proud of its time-honoured history as a leading partner of engineering, equipment, technology, plant and service solutions to mining, cement, chemical, fertilizer and oil & gas industries across the African continent. In a bid to further strengthen its longstanding business partnerships and expanding its footprint in Africa, thyssenkrupp hosted four customer conferences during Mining Indaba 2018 which took place at the International Convention Centre in Cape Town from 5 to 8 February. During the conferences, thyssenkrupp senior management unpacked the engineering group’s structure which enables the company to draw from five main business areas and combine local experience with global knowledge to offer single-source solutions across the entire value chain. thyssenkrupp’s sustainable engineering solutions and cutting-edge technological breakthroughs were also shared with more than 40 customers. The conference was extremely successful with cu...