Construction industry supplier Hilti launched its new building in the Waterfall Logistics precinct in Midrand, Gauteng, last month.

“We are investing in our tool service centre (TSC) because we now have so many more tools in the market and we want to deliver on our one-day turnaround-time promise,” says Hilti head of the subregion Southern Africa Dirk Dijkstra.

He notes that the new building also features a 600 m2 training centre.

“All employee training can now take place at the new premises, as well as the training of Hilti’s partners in neighboring countries. The training centre will also be used to train customers on how to use Hilti tools,” he notes.

Dijkstra adds that Hilti did a detailed study on locations using criteria such as safety, accessibility, proximity to Hilti’s existing office, security and flexibility, as well as professionalism of the developer.

“We [had] a shortlist, but Waterfall was a clear winner: perfect location and image, many multinationals and close to exciting new developments such as Mall of Africa.”
Dijkstra says Hilti signed the lease in 2014 and started site preparation in January last year before moving in October.

Construction costs amounted to R56-million, excluding joinery, furniture and investments in the training centre and TSC.

“The total size of the building is 3 800 m2, with 2 000 m2 comprising office and meeting space, 1 100 m2 the TSC and 600 m2 the training centre,” he notes, adding that a retail outlet for Hilti’s customers comprises another 100 m2.

He says about 80 employees work in the office and the TSC, with another 130 employees on the road in South Africa.
“In South Africa, we have a wholly owned Hilti organisation; in Southern Africa, we work through our distribution partners that we support from the South African office, including training in our new training centre, as we pride ourselves in having the best-equipped and -trained account managers in the industry. “This aligns well with our ranking as the top employer in the South African construction services industry for the second year in a row,” Dijkstra concludes.