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Materials & Equipment News

Holistic approach to lifting projects saves time, money

By: Shannon de Ryhove 19th April 2019 Germiston-based mobile crane hire company Johnson Crane Hire tells Engineering News that the heavy lifting capacity of the company’s modern mobile crane is transforming industrial project roll-out. “Twenty years ago, our heavy-lift fleet consisted of 350 t mobile cranes, which were the biggest... →

Patented solution aims to free up working capital for construction firms

By: Schalk Burger 19th April 2019 A patented working capital solution ‘Sponsored Advance Retention’ – developed by insurance major Santam and local specialist capital consulting firm Capital Breakthru Solutions business development director Wayne van Houten – will release working capital for construction contractors and... →

Pilot Crushtec partners with Sanral to help smaller contractors tender for projects

18th April 2019 The South African National Roads Agency has signed a memorandum of understanding with rock crushing equipment supplier Pilot Crushtec to engender relationships with smaller contractors in the lower end of the construction industry, as part of the organisation’s transformation drive. Tasneem... →

Pilot Crushtec partners with Sanral to help smaller contractors tender for projects

NUM members on strike at PPC Cement in Pretoria

By: African News Agency 17th April 2019 The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on Wednesday confirmed a strike by workers at cement producing company PPC, at Hercules, in Pretoria, over wage increases. NUM PPC branch secretary Surprise Baloyi, said workers were embarking on a protected strike over the company’s refusal to bargain on... →

Construction industry remains under pressure

12th April 2019 Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Irma Venter about the ongoing decline of the South African construction industry, what this means for the country in the long term and industry body, the South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors’ request... →

Construction industry remains under pressure

SME building and construction industry in the doldrums, says CIDB survey

By: Irma Venter 9th April 2019 The 2019 first quarter Construction Industry Development Board small and medium-sized enterprise Business Conditions Survey, released on Tuesday, suggests that the South African building and construction industry remains under pressure. General building confidence declined by one index point to 33. →

Universal considering offer from Afrimat

By: Esmarie Iannucci 8th April 2019 South Africa focused coal miner Universal Coal has received a conditional, non-binding indicative counter offer from JSE-listed Afrimat to rival a previous offer from a consortium headed by Ata Resources. Universal on Monday reported that Afrimat was proposing to acquire all the shares in the... →

Universal Coal operates the Kangala mine.

Construction industry in rapid decline as work wanes, ‘mafia’ takes over, warns Safcec

By: Irma Venter 8th April 2019 The South African construction industry is in a state of accelerated decline, says South African Forum of Civil Engineering Contractors (Safcec) CEO Webster Mfebe. This is caused mainly by a lack of new contracts flowing from government’s purse, as well as increased violence and thuggery on local... →

Afrimat expects 20% to 30% increase in full-year earnings

By: African News Agency 5th April 2019 Building materials company Afrimat said on Friday it expected earnings per share of between 216.4 cents and 234.4 cents for the year to February, up 20% to 30% from 2018. The company, which is due to publish its results on May 23, said headline earnings per share -- the key measure of... →

Power tools manufacturer rebrands

By: Mc'Kyla Nortje 5th April 2019 Power tools and life‐science equipment manufacturer Hitachi Koki has changed its corporate name to Koki Holdings and rebranded its full line of power tools, known as Hitachi Koki, under the new HiKoki name, effective from May this year for the South African market. “The new corporate name, Koki... →

PPC Zimbabwe to adjust to RTGS dollar reporting

By: Marleny Arnoldi 27th March 2019 PPC Cement will consolidate PPC Zimbabwe financial results in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards. This follows after Zimbabwe changed the functional currency of Zimbabwean businesses to the real-time gross settlement (RTGS) dollar in October. →

Growth strategy prompts innovation

By: Mamaili Mamaila 22nd March 2019 Technologies design, production and marketing company Tesmec Group is constantly improving, adapting and evolving its machine concepts. Owing to its pursuit of a “glocal” growth strategy, this means that Tesmec is global, but at the same time they have a local presence in strategic areas of the... →

GOING GLOCAL Tesmec seeks to expand local presence in the most strategic areas of the world

Local industrial waste being made into paints

By: Schalk Burger 22nd March 2019 Local construction materials firm Amoriguard sustainably consumes recycled industrial waste to produce construction products and paints and, in certain applications, improve the performance of the products compared with conventionally produced products, says Amoriguard developer and founder... →

BUILDING MATERIALS The company is finalising a basic colour range for cement tiles

French Foreign Affairs Minister visits local construction academy

By: Schalk Burger 22nd March 2019 The French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian visited construction materials and infrastructure components multinational Saint-Gobain Construction Training Academy, in Germiston, Ekurhuleni, earlier this month to inspect its work and its youth development partnership. The... →

PRACTICAL TRAINING SESSION The youths are trained to install drywall and ceiling installation, as well as insulation or sound-proofing systems

Localisation seen as key to stimulating struggling capital equipment sector

By: Natasha Odendaal 22nd March 2019 The growth of the capital equipment sector, and the manufacturing sector in general, is being stifled by South Africa’s heavy reliance on imports, and its inability to deliver on its localisation promises. The manufacturing sector has the potential to significantly accelerate South Africa’s... →

New excavator set to launch in South Africa end of March

22nd March 2019 Capital equipment manufacturer Komatsu's PC210-10MO hydraulic excavator will make its local debut when the first unit lands in South African at the end of this month. →

Zimbabwe currency crisis robs Bell of record year

By: Irma Venter 18th March 2019 A new currency regime in Zimbabwe robbed Bell Equipment of a record financial year, giving the company a R87.4-million “ankle-tap that went straight to the bottom line”, said CEO Leon Goosen on Monday. “It happened right at the end of the year. It’s incredibly sad.” →

'No tomorrow' for many unless consumption falls – UN

By: Reuters 13th March 2019 Global exploitation of natural resources – from water, sand and timber to oil, coal and gemstones – has more than tripled in 50 years, the United Nations (UN) said on Tuesday, warning of devastating environmental impacts unless demand is reduced. Surging consumption of natural resources –... →

AMSA says contingency plans in place as Numsa strikes over ‘labour brokers’

By: Terence Creamer 12th March 2019 Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) says it has introduced contingency plans at its various plants to minimise the potential impact on production of a National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) strike. The union indicated on Tuesday that a strike had been declared, owing... →

Photo by Creamer Media
AMSA's Vanderbijlpark steel mill

Rolfes investigating nanotechnology paints to diversify business

By: Schalk Burger 8th March 2019 Local solvents and chemicals company Rolfes Chemicals is investigating the applications of nanotechnology in coatings to diversify its business in Southern Africa, says Rolfes Chemicals MD Clive Govender. Nanocoatings contain particles in the nanometre scale. These nanoparticles build a... →

PPC says Zimbabwe business has remained resilient despite challenges

By: African News Agency 7th March 2019 Cement company PPC said on Thursday its Zimbabwe business had remained resilient despite the economic challenges in the country over the last 12 months. It said PPC Zimbabwe had kept its pricing in line with inflationary increases in the economy and demand remained strong, while EBITDA (earnings... →

SepCem reports lower FY18 sales volumes in constrained, competitive cement market

By: Marleny Arnoldi 5th March 2019 JSE-listed Sephaku Holdings on Tuesday reported that its subsidiary Dangote Cement South Africa, or Sephaku Cement (SepCem), had been heavily affected by the depressed macroeconomic environment during the year ended December 31, 2018. The company stated that low cement demand, owing to the weak... →

Melbourne road project takes heavy toll on WBHO

By: Irma Venter 26th February 2019 A botched roads project in Melbourne, Australia, saw operating profit at Wilson Bayley Holmes-Ovcon (WBHO) nose-dive from R510-million for the six months to end December 2017, to R3-million for the same period last year. The Western Roads Upgrade (WRU) design and construct project consists of the... →

Aveng outlines piecemeal sale process being pursued at Grinaker-LTA

By: Terence Creamer 26th February 2019 JSE-listed construction and engineering group Aveng says the disposal process for Grinaker-LTA is well advanced, but has also confirmed that the company will not be sold as a single going concern. The R95-million sale of Aveng Water has already been agreed and newly appointed CEO Sean Flanagan... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Dylan Slater
Aveng executive chairperson Eric Diack and CEO Sean Flanagan

Cashbuild interim earnings down 11%

By: African News Agency 26th February 2019 Southern Africa’s largest retailer of building materials and associated products Cashbuild on Tuesday reported an 11% decrease in interim headline earnings per share. Cashbuild still declared an interim dividend of 435c per ordinary share for the six months to December. →

Promising growth in construction sector brings hope for 2019

By: Halima Frost 22nd February 2019 Despite the contribution of the construction sector to local economic activity being inconsistent, and having decreased significantly over the years, Constructional Engineering Association (CEA) executive director Anthony Boy is hopeful that there will be an upturn in investments in the sector... →

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE Anthony Boy and Louis Breckenridge speak of their hopes for the future

Rubber company to focus on automotive sector

By: Cameron Mackay 15th February 2019 Premium rubber products manufacturer Hudson Rubber plans to focus on the localisation of rubber products for the automotive sector this year. Following its merger with rubber retail and wholesale specialists Pro-Auto Rubber’s manufacturing operation in November 2016, the most significant... →

Photo by Bloomberg
VITAL INDUSTRY The rubber industry is linked to the state of the economy, as it services various sectors of the economy

Operations to be ramped up at edible-oil plant

By: Halima Frost 15th February 2019 Civil and structural engineering firm ADA Consulting is set to complete the upgrade of edible-oil supplier CEOCO’s Boksburg plant, in Gauteng by September. ADA Consulting MD Paul Maitre tells Engineering News that the project, although well on its way to completion, needs “an extra boost just to... →

NO CROP CIRCLE The circular foundation where the storage silos will be placed can be seen from an aerial view of the plant

Hostile construction environment to persist until infrastructure spend recovers

By: Nadine James 15th February 2019 Construction is a depressing place to be at the moment, says Hogan Lovells partner and construction head Clive Rumsey, citing the lack of large infrastructure projects, deriving from lacklustre economic growth and a backlog in tender adjudication, as some of the reasons why the sector is... →

Green solution used for retaining walls

By: Halima Frost 15th February 2019 Geotextiles manufacturer Fibertex SA is working on a project that entails the supply of more than 12 000 geosynthetic sand container (GSC) bags that are being used as a green wall solution rather than using conventional retaining blocks. The GSC bags – being supplied to a project in Salt Rock, on... →

RETAINING THE GREENERY A green-wall solution was found to make retaining walls more aesthetically pleasing

Open day highlights new offerings from Upat

15th February 2019 Last month construction material and fastener distributor Upat hosted an open day at its head office in New Doornfontein, Gauteng, where customers were given a foretaste of the latest innovations which will be introduced locally in 2019. Upat provides solutions for construction, general industry,... →

MEASURING UP The new Stabila app makes measuring information quicker to archive and easier to access

Concrete paver launched at Las Vegas Expo

15th February 2019 At the World of Concrete 2019 Expo held in Las Vegas last month construction solutions provider Wirtgen Group introduced the new AutoPilot 2.0 – a pour in place concrete paver – showcased three Wirtgen slipform pavers and a texture curing machine, as well as displayed an aftermarket specialist... →

PAVING THE WAY The mobile paver has a 3D integrated control system for varying offset applications

Raubex warns of 20% drop in FY earnings

By: Simone Liedtke 12th February 2019 Infrastructure development and construction materials group Raubex has warned that its earnings for the financial year ended February 2019, will fall by at least 20%, owing to continued weak trading conditions in the South African construction industry, particularly in the road construction... →

DST to showcase benefits of using STI in designing future human settlements

By: Simone Liedtke 8th February 2019 With a surplus of drivers for the adoption of alternative and innovative technologies in the built environment, particularly in the human settlements sector, the effective application of science, technology and innovation (STI) can be a transformative instrument in addressing South Africa’s most... →

What needs to be done to make SA’s buildings fire safe

By: Natasha Odendaal 8th February 2019 In the wake of a deadly fire at the Bank of Lisbon building, in Johannesburg last year, along with a spate of fires at other buildings, questions have been raised about the safety and compliance of South Africa’s high-rise buildings. In September, a fire broke out on the 23rd floor of the... →

Construction professionals test latest tools and consumables

7th February 2019 Professionals in the construction industry interrogated and tested the latest building tools and consumables at local construction equipment distributor Upat’s open day, in January. Schalk Burger has the story. →

Construction professionals test latest tools and consumables

Subdued construction activity, higher imports cut PPC's sales volumes

By: Marleny Arnoldi 5th February 2019 JSE-listed cement producer PPC has reported difficult trading conditions for the nine months to December 31, 2018, with cement volumes down between 2% and 3%, against a backdrop of estimated market contraction of between 4% and 5%. The company said an uncharacteristically weak December retail... →

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Construction Germiston Derby Expertise Johannesburg Paris Cape Town Pretoria Soccer City Addis Ababa Nairobi Boksburg Westbury Township Building Casting Components Concrete Cranes Engineering Environment Heavy-Lift Industrial Installation Johnson Crane Hire Lifting PROJECT Projects Safety Systems Technology ... more

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