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Materials & Equipment News

Construction companies urged to streamline businesses

24th May 2019 With South Africa’s construction sector under growing pressure as a result of slow government infrastructure spending and a tightening economy, construction companies should be looking at ways to streamline their business processes, improve cash flow management and tighten risk management,... →

Software provides support for project’s design phase

By: Thabi Madiba 24th May 2019 To help avoid construction failures for building contractors and consulting engineers, construction fastening and fixing supplier fischer fixings SA’s design software FIXPERIENCE has been developed as a tool to provide safe, reliable and professional support for the design phases of construction... →

Photo by Creamer Media
ON ITS KNEES The construction industry is currently “dismal and pitiful” considering the inherent infrastructure that exists in South Africa and the opportunities that abound

Full-size wheel loaders now boast advanced features

24th May 2019 Earthmoving equipment supplier CASE Construction Equipment South Africa’s range of full-size F-series wheel loaders has advanced features for faster operation, higher productivity, lower fuel consumption and improved safety on site. “The F-series wheel loaders, with reduced emissions, also offer... →

EFFICIENT AND SAFE OPERATION There are four working modes – max, economy, normal and auto – which allow the operator to maximise productivity and reduce fuel consumption

Embattled sector necessitates cost containment measures – AfriSam

By: Simone Liedtke 24th May 2019 With the South African construction industry remaining under pressure and in a state of accelerated decline, the need to contain costs continues and correct specification of construction materials remains critical. Construction materials company AfriSam construction materials executive Avi Bhoora... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Dylan Slater
AVI BHOORA AfriSam remains hopeful that the country’s embattled construction industry is at the end of the downward cycle

Tanzania's China-backed $10bn port plan stalls over terms – official

By: Reuters 23rd May 2019 A planned $10-billion port project in Tanzania backed by China has hit an impasse, with the two sides disagreeing on terms of the infrastructure investment, a senior Tanzanian port official said on Wednesday. In 2013, Tanzania signed a framework agreement with China Merchants Holdings... →

Minerals Council welcomes safety improvements, but warns of continuing policy concerns

By: Nadine James 22nd May 2019 The Minerals Council South Africa will, later this year, launch a new health and safety initiative called Khumbela iKhaya, council chaiperson Mxolisi Mgojo revealed on Wednesday. Addressing the council's annual general meeting, he noted that appreciable improvements in the health and safety... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Dylan Slater
Minerals Council chairperson Mxolisi Mgojo

ARM Cement's Kenyan assets sold for $50m – statement

By: Reuters 21st May 2019 The assets of Kenya's ARM Cement have been sold to the National Cement Company for $50-million, its administrator said on Tuesday. ARM Cement was put under administration last August by some of its creditors over a $190-million debt and its shares were suspended from the Nairobi bourse. It has... →

Buoyed by mining recovery, Barloworld looks to Mongolia for growth

By: Irma Venter 20th May 2019 Barloworld’s results on Monday reflected some of the biggest trends in the South African economy, with the company reporting a sharp drop in equipment sales to the troubled construction industry, as well as a decline in new-vehicle sales and car rental days, but with the mining industry seemingly... →

Rescue practitioners expect proceeds of R709m from initial Group Five disposals

By: Terence Creamer 15th May 2019 Business rescue practitioners (BRPs) at construction firm Group Five reported on Wednesday that the disposal of stakes in three companies, together with sale of plant, assets and property, is expected to yield proceeds of R709-million. Group Five’s shares were suspended in March after the company... →

LafargeHolcim CEO eyes up to ten deals this year

By: Reuters 15th May 2019 LafargeHolcim expects to increase the number of small acquisitions it makes this year after buying four businesses so far in 2019, CE Jan Jenisch said on Wednesday. "We are trying to get a more dynamic start to the process to do bolt-ons this year," Jenisch told reporters, noting that... →

World's coal miners may be digging themselves into another glut

By: Bloomberg 13th May 2019 A global push to dig new mines for steelmaking coal is drawing warnings that a supply glut could push the industry from a boom to a bust, mirroring the brutal 5-year price slump that ended in 2016. Coal’s use to generate electricity has declined precipitously in the US despite a revival push by... →

Rising demand for versatile mini cranes

By: Schalk Burger 10th May 2019 There is growing demand for the versatile and compact Unic Spider Mini Cranes in South Africa’s construction and mining sectors, says local distributor B & B Group CEO Bob Fogg. The cranes range from 1 t to 10 t cranes, and many are small enough to fit through doors and into confined construction... →

TANDEM LIFT Two 2.9 t cranes and a 6 t crane in a tandem lift move an imported fish tank

South African company secures Potain distributorship

By: Nadine James 10th May 2019 Having secured Southern African distributorship for French tower- and self-erecting crane producers Potain, service provider Crane & Hoist Equipment SA expects to continue its sustainable growth path over the next five years, says sales director Louw Smit. The distributorship, effective as of... →

Sand mining 'mafias' destroying environment, livelihoods – UN

By: Reuters 7th May 2019 Sand mining is eroding the world's river deltas and coastlines, damaging the environment and hurting livelihoods from Cambodia to Colombia, as government regulation fails to keep pace with rising demand, the United Nations warned on Tuesday. Global demand for sand and gravel, used extensively in... →

Partnership aims to enhance local fluid power sector

3rd May 2019 Incorporated fluid power technology provider Hyflo Southern Africa has been incorporated into engineering products and service provider Bearing Man Group’s (BMG’s) fluid technology division. →

OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH PARTNERSHIP With access to BMG’s central support functions, including engineering, technical expertise and manufacturing skills, Hyflo can further improve its service to its customer base

Builders Warehouse unveils new Boksburg store

By: Marleny Arnoldi 30th April 2019 Builders Warehouse has opened its latest store in Boksburg, which was developed as a replacement to its former store. The new 15 170 m2 box format store’s design entailed a new layout and look and feel, to align with Builders’ digitalisation and counter-driven strategy. →

Photo by Creamer Media's Dylan Slater
Builders Warehouse CEO Llewellyn Walters

Global steel production increases to 444 Mt in first quarter

By: Schalk Burger 29th April 2019 Global crude steel production for the first quarter of this year increased by 4.5% year-on-year to 444.1-million tonnes, global industry body, the World Steel Association (worldsteel), said in a statement on Monday. Asia produced 312.9-million tonnes of crude steel during the first three months... →

Sanedi’s reflective roof coatings pilot moves to scale

By: Schalk Burger 24th April 2019 The South African National Energy Development Institute (Sanedi) on Wednesday announced that its Cool Surfaces Project has moved from collaboration to a completed, scaled-up project in Groblershoop, in the Northern Cape. Reflective roof coatings have reduced the indoor daytime temperatures at a... →

Reflective coating

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... →

Photo by Johnson Crane Hire
PRECISION PLANNING Johnson Crane Hire heavy lift and support cranes were used for the installation at height of heavy equipment, requiring precision planning and lifting on a confined site

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

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