Company looks to expand into West and North Africa

2nd August 2013

  

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Having already established a strong foothold in Southern and East Africa, internationally recognised consultancy firm SMEC is looking to further expand its presence in West and North Africa, says SMEC South Africa CEO Thomas Marshall.

With main market indices in countries such as Nigeria and Kenya having risen by more than 50% in the past year and with investor confidence in Africa rising at a rapid rate, Marshall says SMEC is targeting West and North Africa as potential growth areas for the company.

“Within West Africa, where we are currently operating in a limited number of countries, we are focusing our expansion plans on mining-related and developmental infrastructure projects. In North Africa, we are targeting transport infrastructure, water- and power-related projects,” explains Marshall, adding that “countries such as Libya, Algeria and Morocco hold a vast amount of potential when it comes to structural development and reconstruction”.

He says, since locally based consulting engineering company VelaVKE’s merger with SMEC group in June 2012, SMEC South Africa has become involved in several projects across the traditional SMEC footprint with both private- and public-sector clients.

“Being part of the larger SMEC Group has given us access to greater resources and a larger skills base for servicing African clients. This also enables us to service new geographic market areas within other growth regions. An example would be our large bridge design capacity – we have become one of South Africa’s biggest large bridge design companies, with engineers currently working on bridge- related projects in Asia, as well as on proposals for bridge-related projects in Australia,” he notes.

Meanwhile, SMEC Gauteng South office head David Gertzen points out that the group’s acquisition of maintenance and supply chain management consultant GMC Global in January last year will be a priority for the company going forward.

With the addition of GMC Global, SMEC’s mining consultancy and management capabilities will be substantially improved, he says, noting that combining the expertise and experience of both companies may prove beneficial to clients in Africa.

“For the next two years, we plan to focus on rolling out GMC Global’s services and products in Africa, which are aimed at assisting clients in establishing and executing their visions and strategies, as well as supporting leadership capabilities and enhancing technical skills through people, processes and skills,” explains Gertzen.

He says GMC’s history of enterprise planning and development, paired with experienced consultants, has benefited the mining sector in over 115 productivity projects worldwide. The GMC Global consultants have an understanding of a mine’s operations and are actively involved in operational productivity improvement.

Australia-based SMEC has more than 5 000 employees and an established network of over 70 offices in 36 countries worldwide. SMEC provides consultancy services throughout the life cycle of a project to a range of sectors, which include hydropower, transport, water, natural resources and environmental, geotechnical, mining, tunnelling, urban development, renewable energy, power generation, oil and gas, government and advisory services as well as social infrastructure development. SMEC Group now has an established network of offices throughout Australia, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Pacific and North and South America.

Edited by Tracy Hancock
Creamer Media Contributing Editor

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