companies
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08.13
the Elandsrand gold mine and as Head of Engineering
and Capital Projects for AngloGold Ashanti. He also
worked for Rio Tinto and was Project Director of the
Palabora Underground Mining Project, which saw the
mine transition from an open pit into a block cave
operation.
While Hatch, both locally and globally, derives
over 50 % of its revenues from its metals and min-
ing business, it also focuses on two other sectors –
infrastructure and energy. Its infrastructure work, in
fact, was what originally brought it into contact with
Goba (Pty) Ltd.
“Back in 2005, we teamed up with Trueman and his
people on Transnet’s capital expansion programme,
which saw us jointly deliver R60 billion worth of port
and rail refurbishment – over a period of six years –
which was completed on time and also on budget,”
recalls Kirk. “Six months after the completion of the
The Port of Ngqura in the Eastern Cape. Both Hatch and Goba were involved in the second phase of the development, which saw the
construction of a four-berth container terminal and South Africa’s longest breakwater.
The Gillooly’s flyover in Johannesburg – one of the most visible projects to have been undertaken by Goba over the past several years.
The flyover – opened to traffic in mid-2010 – was constructed using the incremental launching technique.
programme, every contract had been wrapped up and
closed, with no disputes or claims pending – which is
exceptional. At the end of this process, we were very
keen to retain a high profile in infrastructure work and
indeed expand this part of our business and in 2011
we started to talk to Trueman about a possible merger.
Two years on and these negotiations have borne fruit
– we’re now a single organisation with 1 500 employ-
ees, roughly 1 000 from Hatch and 500 from Goba.”
The merger gives Hatch Goba true ‘heavyweight’
status. As Kirk notes, “In this game you either need
to stay small and be a niche player or go big, prefer-
ably on a global scale. In the mid-tier space you’re an
orphan and will struggle to maintain viability.”
It is not hard to understand why Hatch Africa was
so keen to link up with Goba (Pty) Ltd. Founded by Dr
Keeve Steyn in 1952 (the year, incidentally, in which
both Trueman Goba and Rory Kirk were born), the
