Murray & Roberts Construction earlier this month announced the integration of its Concor Civils and Concor Roads & Earthworks divisions into a new single business unit, called Murray & Roberts Infrastructure.
Proceedings for the merger started in March and will be completed by the end of June, in time for the start of the new financial year in July.
“There was a large overlap in the Concor Civils and Concor Roads & Earthworks divisions and we wanted to create a single division that could address all infrastructure needs in the market, thereby creating a single point of contact,” says former Concor Roads & Earthworks MD Eric Wisse, adding that he will head up the new business in July.
He states that Concor Roads & Earthworks, acquired by Murray & Roberts in 2006, will be rebranded under the Murray & Roberts name.
“The Concor name has been on the market for a long time and, since the acquisition, there has been some confusion in the market,” he states, adding that the shedding of the Concor name will provide more clarity for the company’s customer base in terms of how the business fits into the Murray & Roberts group.
“As a group, Murray & Roberts frequently provides the same clients with a variety of service offerings and we want to make this experience as simple and effective as possible,” explains Wisse.
He adds that the new company will encompass all bulk infrastructure services, including mining infrastructure, dams and water infrastructure, heavy civils infrastructure, pipelines infrastruc-ture, road construction and rehabilitation and airport infrastructure.
Wisse notes that from an overhead point of view, the merger will also make the company more efficient.
He comments that this development has been positively received by clients with which the company has engaged with to date, and Murray & Roberts Infrastructure looks forward to delivering on their confidence in the new brand.
“Existing contracts will run out under the Concor name for contractual reasons; however, if there are long-running contracts, we will engage with our clients and explain the name change to them. The regulatory company is still Murray & Roberts Construction and we are a division of that company, so it should not affect clients as such.”
He notes that the integration will also have positive spin-offs internally, notably in terms of career development for the new business’s personnel.