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Geomechanics: 25 years old and still growing strong

4th December 2014

  

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Geomechanics  (0.17 MB)

Company Announcement - Geomechanics has grown over the last 25 years from a one man, one drill-rig concern to a thriving group of companies employing over 280 people….. and with Dave Rossiter still at the helm you can be guaranteed that the growth isn’t over yet. From the day in 1989 when Dave Rossiter bought out his two partners in Ground §Mechanics and changed the company’s name to Geomechanics, he has maneuvered the company for growth. Geomechanics’ first job entailed geotechnical investigations for the N2 at the Amatikulu Bridge.  This one project for SANRAL became two, then three and so on until Dave and his only permanent employee at the time, Barry Kruger, had done the geotechnical investigations for the whole length of the N2 from Amatikulu to Richards Bay. As the job progressed it required doubling of the workforce and the number of drilling rigs. In the next 25 years of steady growth Dave has never lost sight of the fact that his company originally grew because he was able to deliver good quality services, on time.  The resultant trust from his clients is the basis for his success and longevity.

As core clients required more varied services, Geomechanics diversified to deliver those services and now the company operates over 60 drill rigs throughout Southern Africa. Geomechanics is undoubtedly the most diversified geotechnical and exploration company in South Africa.  Geomechanics is now able to offer rotary core drilling, percussion drilling, reverse circulation drilling and most recently sonic drilling. When geotechnical projects became harder to find in the 2000’s Geomechanics expanded its portfolio of services to include exploration drilling and also expanded beyond the borders of South Africa with projects in Namibia, Tanzania, Angola, Madagascar, and more recently Sweden. In 2013, Dave added rock and soil monitoring and measurement services with the acquisition of the company he originally worked for before starting Geomechanics, and in 2015 will add laboratory testing. Again the expansion is customer driven - consultants are increasingly asking the geotechnical service providers to not only provide sampling but also to provide some analysis as well.

The company has moved to a facility of over 5000m2 out near Lanseria International Airport in Gauteng, 2500m2 of which is dedicated to manufacture and maintenance of machinery. Only by continually updating and replacing outdated equipment has the company managed to deliver on its promises to its customers.

Over the years Geomechanics staff has developed a vast array of experience with working in the African environment. Often the crews are the first contractors to arrive at a new site where there is nothing but bush for kilometers in all directions. They have had to set up self-sufficient camps in remote locations. They have had to clear tracks and build roads to access drill locations. When drilling for dam and hydroelectric projects, they have even had to build platforms on the side of cliffs to drill from. Access in these cases is by helicopter. The natural environment in which they often find themselves, presents many challenges. The company personnel have had to deal with flooding rivers, wild animals, poisonous snakes in remote areas and sometimes game reserves. Health and safety is paramount and the company has developed a mature health and safety component which ensures the safety of personnel and equipment at all times.

The remote locations have also necessitated the use of some serious equipment over the years. Geomechanics owns a big fleet of 27 Trucks, 13 people carriers and 27 bakkies that it uses to move its people and drilling equipment around the continent. The Geomechanics crews are well experienced in working with helicopters, gained since the first helicopter project in 1996. Geomechanics is equipped with 3 barges of various sizes and jack up capability. When asked what he thinks his biggest achievement is over the 25 year history of Geomechanics, Dave says, “It has to be the good reputation we have with our customers. We have worked very hard to establish and maintain this reputation. It was the foundation for our growth from a one man and one machine start-up to the multi-million rand organization we have today.”

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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