February 2011
The February issue of Construction World features an interview with the COO of Basil Read, Chris Erasmus. He is upbeat about the future - especially as Basil Read's focus has always been on road construction and civil engineering and the roads industry is not as depressed as other sectors in construction. As road projects in South Africa are ring fenced for all intensive purposes, he is of the opinion that growth - particularly for road construction but for other construction too - is going to come from the rest of Africa.
Basil Read is in the fortunate position that their Roads division - the only buoyant sector in South African construction - and which has always been their strength and core business, is managing to secure contracts, both in South Africa and in Africa.
This was a sentiment shared by the vast majority of construction executives that attended the release of the findings from the KPMG 2010 Global Construction Survey, Adapting to an Uncertain Environment in Johannesburg recently.
The issue also features an article by Rob Wright, director of Workplace Strategy at Johnsons Controls in which he emphasises the importance of workplace design to fit the workforce that now consists of four generations.
The drivers for workplace design or re-design are multiple: organisations want to lower costs, better utilise available space and improve productivity.
Related to this is the project profile on the new Brandvlei Prison in the Western Cape. The prison was designed and developed as a sustainable prison on the back of Government's concerted effort to address problems in correctional facilities. The result is a prison that addresses the three Ps - people, profit and planet. Brandvlei should be regarded as a blueprint for future correctional facilities.
The issue features the success of Pilot Crushtec that recently celebrated 20 years in the industry. Here is an example of how a forward-thinking company can survive the ups and downs of the economy.
Terex Finlay representatives hand over a congratulatory award to Frank Scherf for 20 successful years in business.
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Driving Eye of Africa project forward
The development of the first golf and residential estate in the south of Johannesburg is going smoothly with the help of Incledon and DPI Plastics' range of efficient Pumps and Piping solutions.
Phase 3 of the asphalt trials now complete
The first Warm Mix Asphalt trial took place in eThekwini back in 2008. Since then significant progress has been made in the just more than two years since those trials.
Strongly leading by example
Prudent financial management, a black economic empowerment (BEE) deal that has not indebted the staff and sound business principles bolstered Corobrik's bottom line and are key elements of Corobrik's success.
