The extensive experience of Gordon Anderson, one of South Africa’s foremost authorities on waterproofing, has been engaged on a consultancy basis by a.b.e. Construction Chemicals.

a.b.e, part of the Chryso Southern Africa Group, has for close to 75 years been manufacturing products that have become synonymous with waterproofing in South Africa. Over the years, the company’s wide range of waterproofing products have provided maximum protection to multi-million rand projects such as uShaka Marine World, various soccer stadia for the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup,  Gautrain, and Vodaworld’s Vodacom Data Park, to name just a few. Furthermore, it has been estimated that a.b.e. has already supplied products to waterproof close to 800 000 houses in southern Africa.

Gordon Anderson’s reputation in the field of waterproofing – as well as his array of industry contacts - is equally impressive. He started his career in waterproofing when he joined the Gundle Group in 1979 and subsequently became MD of Gundle Coatings, the Group’s waterproofing division, which later became Barrier Coatings.

In the early 90s, he joined the Derbigum Group as consultant and later became a member of the board of directors. He resigned from Derbigum in 2006 to pursue a career as private consultant and his waterproofing skills and experience have now  been retained by a.b.e..

A man who says he is “passionate about waterproofing,” Anderson says a.b.e. products are already present on virtually every building site in the country, but he sees tremendous potential for developing the brand even further in future. “My role will be to promote a.b.e.’s waterproofing range to the professionals and applicators whose trust and confidence I have acquired over my 35 years in waterproofing.  I not only want to introduce the range to new specifiers and users but also to revive interest among stagnant customers,” he explains.

It is a challenging assignment as Anderson believes there is still tremendous ignorance and apathy about the importance of waterproofing among architects and designers. “The budget for waterproofing in this country has been estimated to be less than 0,5% of the total cost of a new structure. This apathy – which is a global problem - inevitably boosts the number of waterproofing failures. A recent study in the U.S.A., for example, showed that 59% of the call-outs contractors had to contend with in the first year of completing a project were caused by waterproofing defects.

“My task for a.b.e. is to convince professionals and applicators to spend more time and money on waterproofing,” he adds.