The Infrastructure Specialist Group (ISG), the umbrella company that owns clay brick manufacturer Oconbrick and precast concrete manufac-turers Technicrete and Rocla, was officially launched last month.

All of the businesses were acquired last year from construc-tion company Murray & Roberts by a consortium consisting of private-equity firm Capitalworks, RMB Ventures, Pan African Group and senior executives in the businesses.

“All three brands are well established in the construction industry, which is why we decided to continue marketing them independently. Each business is run separately under the ISG umbrella,” CEO Albert Weber tells Engineering News.

He notes that these acquisitions have been well received by indus-try owing to their record of professionalism and expertise.

“Going forward, we are looking at various opportunities to see where we can expand in the mar- ket. Rocla has a [cross border] footprint, with factories in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. Technicrete has factories located in the inland areas of South Africa and we are looking into expansion plans for the coastal and central regions,” he says, adding that the group recently acquired a small player in Stilfontein in the North West province, and has increased its capacity in Witbank.

“The opportunities within Africa are a priority for us to explore in order that we expand our footprint within this region, ” he says.

“The biggest challenge the company has had to overcome to date has been the reduced infrastructure spend in South Africa; however, Weber states that when the infrastructure plans do kick in, this will be a bonus for the company, as it will have extra capacity to service those contracts.

“Both Technicrete and Rocla products carry the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) mark and completely adhere to the ISO 9001:2008 quality manage-ment system and Oconbrick is currently working towards attaining its ISO 9001:2008 certificate,” he says.

Weber adds that ISG Group is a long-standing member of the Concrete Manufacturers Association of South Africa and the Clay Brick Association of South Africa.

“ISG Group is proud to be a South African company and is committed to the sustainable development of the region and its people. The group will continue to make a meaningful contribution through infrastructure and related products to improve the lives of the people of South Africa and the neighbouring countries,” he says.

He points out that the group is a market-driven com-pany, where design, engineering capability and manufacturing expertise are paramount.

“We are confident that this will translate into further success for the group companies as we pursue our growth strategy across all three businesses,” he says.