24 - BENCHMARK VOL 15

A| Benchmark Volume 15 | May 2016 |

Continuous pursuit of higher levels of performance VOLUME 15 | MAY 2016

Mining Infrastructure reaches new heights in the Lesotho Highlands .........................................................Geotechnical division completes yet another project for Sasol’s Oxygen Train Plant.........................................................Transport Infrastructure projects spanning trains, planes and automobiles.........................................................Stefanutti Stocks Swaziland builds the landmark International Conference Centre.........................................................Müller Verpress piling at Maydon Wharf a fi rst for South Africa

A Stefanutti Stocks Publication

Benchm

B | Benchmark Volume 15 | May 2016 |

Contents From the CEO 1

ProjectsMining & Mining Infrastructure 2Transport Infrastructure 6Industrial Plants, Oil & Gas 20Water, Sanitation & Pipelines 21Energy Generation 26Bulk Earthworks & Geotechnical 28Building 30

Stefanutti Stocks City 22

Safety News 36/39

Company NewsParting Shots - Frik Venter 4Meet Russell Crawford, new MD of the RPM business unit 5Parting Shots - Johan Brink 34Events 37Parting Shots - Aubrey Michel 38Meet Marius Botes, new MD of the Mechanical division 39 A trip down Memory Lane 40 Gauteng offi ce celebrates 20th anniversary 41Meet Werner Jerling, new MD of the Structures business unit 43

Group overview and contacts 44 ________________________________________________________

p.42

Senior Appointments & PromotionsBuilding• Theunis Eloff has been appointed as director in the Building

business unit, eff ective 1 April 2016. • Natalina Singh has been appointed as alternate director in the

Building KZN division, eff ective 1 April 2016.• Mark Stewart has been appointed as alternate director in the

Building KZN division, eff ective 1 April 2016.

Mechanical & Electrical (M&E)• Marius Botes has been been newly appointed as the managing

director of the Mechanical division, eff ective 1 March 2016.

Roads, Pipelines & Mining Services (RPM)• Russell Crawford has been promoted to the position of managing

director for the RPM business unit, eff ective 1 March 2016.• Derek Du Plessis has assumed the role of regional managing

director responsible for Botswana, Swaziland and Zambia, and other opportunities in the SADC region, eff ective 1 March 2016.

• Mike Welsch has assumed the role of regional managing director responsible for operations in West Africa, eff ective 1 March 2016.

• Shaun White has been promoted to the position of managing director of Stefanutti Stocks Swaziland, eff ective 1 March 2016.

SS Construções (Moç) Lda• Nathan Singh has been promoted to fi nance director, eff ective

1 March 2016.

Structures• Werner Jerling has been promoted to the position of managing

director of the Structures business unit eff ective 18 November 2015.• Mark Stannard has been promoted to the position of managing

director of Stefanutti Stocks Civils eff ective 1 January 2016.

p.25 p.26 p.29

p.30

Stefanutti Stocks Holdings LimitedTel: +27 11 571 4300 | www.stefanuttistocks.com | [email protected] would like to thank all contributors to the publication and welcome any suggestions or articles. This publication is also available online on our website.

Volume 15 of the Benchmark was compiled on behalf of Stefanutti Stocks by Gerbera Brand Management. Cell: +27 82 371 1005 / www.gerberabm.co.za

1| Benchmark Volume 15 | May 2016 |

From the CEOI am sure every single one of us is fully aware

of the extremely challenging market conditions that we as a company and an industry currently face. Notwithstanding this, I am pleased to report that our group has once again produced another good performance. Although contract revenue decreased by R900 million toR9,7 billion compared to the previous year (Feb 2015 restated: R10,6 billion), the group’s operating profi t increased by 10%, from R335 million to R370 million in the current year. Importantly, the corresponding year-on-year margin improved from 3,2% to 3,8%, for this fi nancial year

In spite of current market conditions, we have still managed to maintain the order book in most of the divisions on the back of small- to medium-sized projects (R20 million to R250 million). As at April 2016 the group’s order book was R12,7 billion with 38% of the total comprising work from outside of South Africa.

The South African construction market continues to be particularly challenging and competition for available work is escalating. Given the pressure on local and national government to address ageing and absent economic and social infrastructure in South Africa, we remain optimistic that government will have to address these shortcomings with the award of public sector projects. We believe these will start coming to market in the medium term.

There remains potential growth in certain sectors of the economy, which provides opportunities for our Roads & Earthworks, Building, Oil & Gas and Electrical & Instrumentation operations. Our re-sized Structures business unit has, for example, a signifi cant portion of water treatment plant projects in its order book, which supports our strategy of focusing on public and general infrastructure work.

Our primary focus in obtaining work in sub-Saharan Africa is to increase our footprint in countries where we have already established a presence.

In the short term, it is encouraging to note that most of our divisions are currently expecting contract awards. In terms of recent awards, some of the more prominent ones include: the award of the Wellington Water Treatment project (Structures); the award of the Dainfern to Diepsloot pipeline project (Roads, Pipelines & Mining Services); the award of the R289-million BMW project (Building); and the award of the R495-million 17th Oxygen Train to the Mechanical & Electrical business unit’s Oil & Gas division.

The Botswana operation, which was previously overseen by the Building business unit, has been repositioned as a general contractor, and now falls within the Roads, Pipelines & Mining Services business unit.

Across the group we are committed to enhancing health and safety policies and procedures, and constantly strive to improve the group’s safety performance. Our group’s Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) improved to 0,1 (as at end February 2016) from a rate of 0,2 during the comparative year.

Many of our sites are boasting a zero LTIFR, with other notable achievements including the achievement of 2,6-million accident-free man hours at the Cecilia Makiwane Hospital (page 30) and 1,5-million accident-free man hours at the Maydon Wharf joint venture project at the end of March (page 15). The Mechanical division has maintained its LTIFR of zero, and the Building business unit has implemented successful campaigns that have improved its LTIFR from 0.31 to 0.03 since 2014 (page 36). In addition, Mr Price’s distribution warehouse was placed fi rst in the Master Builders Association Regional Safety Awards (page 35).

A number of senior executive staff have recently retired or resigned, and on behalf of the board, senior management and the entire group, I would like to thank Frik Venter, Aubrey Michel, Johan Brink and Schalk Ackerman for their invaluable contributions made to Stefanutti Stocks during their tenure with the group.

In addition to introducing the individuals who have taken over from them, we have also given the three seasoned contractors retiring from our industry the opportunity to pass on a fi nal ‘Parting Shot’ of wisdom later on in this Benchmark.

Russell Crawford, who has been with the group for 26 years, has been promoted to the position of managing director of the Roads, Pipelines & Mining Services business unit, following Frik Venter’s retirement as of end May 2016 (pp 4-5); Marius Botes was appointed to the position of the Mechanical division’s managing director, taking over from Aubrey Michel (pp 38-39); and Werner Jerling, who fi rst joined us in 2007, has been promoted to the position of managing director of the Structures business, following Schalk Ackerman’s resignation towards the end of last year. Johan Brink leaves us with his fi nal thoughts on page 35 of this issue.

Stefanutti Stocks has acquired two empowered construction businesses active in the South African petrochemical market. They are respectively KLB Mkhize Electrical Projects Proprietary Limited (KLB), an electrical and instrumentation company, and Celik Engineering Proprietary Limited (Celik), a mechanical and structural piping engineering company.

The deteriorating market conditions in the Middle East, specifi cally within the electromechanical sector, has resulted in Stefanutti Stocks withdrawing from its investment in Zener Steward Electromechanical LLC.

It is hard to believe but it has been 20 years since we fi rst established operations in Gauteng in 1996, and we accordingly celebrate a few of the milestones achieved over the past two decades on pages 40 to 43. Our journey of growth, from a medium-sized, mainly KwaZulu-Natal based contractor, into a multidisciplinary, geographically diverse, listed entity has been nothing short of phenomenal.

We remain grateful to our customers, suppliers, service providers and shareholders for their ongoing support. Our business performance and strong values are driven by our people - from board level, through to management, as well as all of our offi ce- and site-based colleagues. Your loyalty and hard work is highly appreciated and invaluable to Stefanutti Stocks, to our brand and our future success. In spite of the challenging times we face together, I am confi dent that the resilient, entrepreneurial and pioneering spirit, that has brought us this far, will stand us in good stead for the decades to come.

2 | Benchmark Volume 15 | May 2016 |

The surface below the Liqhobong Mine in Lesotho contains four differently coloured diamond gems all stemming from separate pipes that over the course of millions of years have amalgamated into a single pipe. Although the mine has been operational for several years, recent feasibility studies revealed lucrative resources, motivating owners the Liqhobong Mining Development Company (Pty.) Ltd. to upgrade the entire facility.

A joint venture (JV), comprising of Stefanutti Stocks Roads and Earthworks and Stefanutti Stocks Civils, was tasked with the construction of all early earthworks and civil works required for the Liqhobong Mine Expansion Project. The work commenced on 9 June 2014.

In addition to the project scope growing as a result of the design being adapted to suit previously unforeseen conditions, further work was awarded to the joint venture, resulting in a final contract value higher than the original contract value award.

Climatic and topographical conditionsThe project is situated at an altitude of approximately 2 650 metres

above sea level, with night time temperatures that can drop as low as -20 degrees Celsius.

The final 20 kilometres to site are up a pass, just wide enough for two bakkies and with a drop of approximately 600 metres into the valley below. A total of 84 items of plant including excavators, dozers, ADTS, concrete mixer trucks, rollers, graders, a crushing unit and a batch plant, had to ‘walk’ this final stretch, as low beds could not access this stretch of road.

The geology of the mountains, with an average working slope at 1:2 (V:H), also provided a challenge to construction, and in particular the operation of heavy equipment on such inclines had to be undertaken, taking special cognisance of safety.

Initial studies undertaken prior to the commencement of the project indicated that suitable rock for the construction of the main plant terrace would be encountered at a shallow depth. However, not long into the earthworks, it became apparent to the teams excavating and stripping topsoil that the rock was situated much deeper than anticipated.

“In many areas, after stripping topsoil up to a metre thick, a large layer of overburden, containing a large boulder matrix, was revealed,” says Stefanutti Stocks Roads & Earthworks’ site agent Michael Majoor. This material proved to be unsuitable construction material, and in order to reach suitable rock, it also had to removed. “This impacted both on the design and quantity of material required to complete the work and thus extended the contract completion date from November 2015, to the end of July 2016,” explains Majoor.

Scope of workThe scope of work on the project undertaken by the JV included

the construction of:

• A two-level main plant terrace (excavation of approximately 200 000m3 of overburden and hill wash material; 275 000m3 of blasted cut to fill in hard rock; and the construction of a 468m2 reinforced earth wall to achieve the height difference of six metres between the two levels).

• An accommodation terrace (120 000 m3 cut to fill; 3-kilometres of sewer line; 3-kilometres of water line).

• A new 5.8km access road (the road is cut into the side of the mountain to allow the movement of larger equipment up to site. Lesotho’s average annual rainfall of 934mm necessitated the installation of 1.2-kilometres of Armco pipes, coupled with 1 500m3 of gabion baskets to ensure sufficient protection from erosion.

• A network of internal roads (requiring 440 000m3 of fill).• An inventory stockpile and primary crusher (construction of

a level terrace; cut to fill operation of approximately 90 000m3; construction of an 18-metre high reinforced earth wall).

• Crushing (4 000m3 of 19mm concrete aggregate; 3 000m3 of crusher sand; and 72 000m3 of layer work material).

• The concrete scope of work included approximately 6 661m3 concrete spread across the following structures:

- primary crusher, - ROM transfer tower, - scrubber, - secondary crushing, - tertiary crushing, - work shop, - coarse surge bin, - fine DMS surge bin, - coarse DMS, - fines DMS, - tertiary screening, - de-grid, - de-slimming, - thickener, - sort house, and - conveyors, MCCs and transformer bays.

“During the construction of the two-level main plant terrace a team of peckers worked around the clock, breaking the boulders down,” says Majoor. “This team was supported by a blasting outfit, that would break down the boulders that were simply too big for the peckers.”

The civil work overlapped with the earthworks activities, with early access being a priority. “The joint venture was performing both operations, so facilitating early access was a goal within our control,” says Majoor.

In spite of the complex nature of the civil scope of work the team performed incredibly well under difficult circumstances in particular with

Stefanutti Stocks JV poised to deliver challenging Liqhobong diamond mine expansion in LesothoSource: Michael Majoor

1


Mining & Mining Infrastructure

regard to the temperature and the interfaces. The cold temperatures encountered in Lesotho meant that cold weather concreting techniques, including making use of thermal blankets and heating equipment, had to be adopted. “The limited space, as well as follow-on contractors streaming onto site, resulted in many interface challenges,” explains Majoor. “These were handled impeccably by Stefanutti Stocks Civils’ site agent Themba Nkoana and his team, who even managed to provide early access to some areas to the steel and electrical contractors.”

A large part of the civils scope dealt with the casting of hundreds of bases and plinths and required precise attention to detail to ensure that the concrete structures met the positional tolerances, so that the erection of the steel structures could follow on seamlessly.

ProgrammeThe project programme was an intensely-debated topic throughout

the project. With the unforeseen increase in the earthworks quantities the client, consulting engineers and the Stefanutti Stocks JV entered into negotiations on how time could be pulled back to allow the mine to achieve its targeted date of first diamonds to the market.

“These negotiations resulted in the team commencing a daunting four months of night shift, executed throughout the heart of winter in 2015,” elaborates Majoor. “With the Lesotho Mountains already providing dangerous working conditions under the light of day, we put extensive safety measures into place to ensure the night shift was executed without incident.”

In order to further accelerate progress and to allow a greater number of areas to be handed over to follow-on contractors, the originally planned six work faces on the civil scope of work was extended to ten work faces.

Additional teams were also mobilised to focus on pre-fixing steel, as well as pre-casting smaller bases and plinths. Once work areas became available these could be loaded and placed into position, allowing for a significant pull back on the programme.

In conclusion“This has been a successful contract for Stefanutti Stocks and

credit must go to all individuals involved in the joint venture,” says Majoor. “The Earthworks and Civils divisions worked as one team, side-by-side, under difficult circumstances to meet tight deadlines.”

Captions:1. The majority of the civil and structural work, undertaken by Stefanutti Stocks

Civils (and required for the erection of the mine's process plant and associated infrastructure), took place on the main plant terrace that was constructed by Stefanutti Stocks Roads & Earthworks.

2. Nhlanhla Mbhele, in front of the sort house construction site.3. Bulk cut from the primary crusher to the main plant terrace.4. The inventory stockpile.5. The primary crusher wall situated behind the dam.6. The gabion walls being constructed for lateral earth support on the main

plant terrace. 7. A Stefanutti Stocks batch plant was erected at the mine to ensure a steady

supply of concrete to ensure efficiency of site operations.

2 3

4 5

6 7


have ended up with a business that has entrepreneurial fl air yet still operates within certain parameters and structures, and has the systems to support our endeavours into Africa. The management is now well-equipped to take this business unit forward. Their experience and training, now gives them the necessary confi dence, which in turn gives them the strength and courage to take calculated risks as we enter new markets. I am fully confi dent that the incumbent team will take the RPM business unit to new heights, and that they will continue to contribute more than their fair share to the success of the Stefanutti Stocks Group.

What is the wisest thing anyone has ever said to you?Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people

won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.

Is it a ‘mantra’ that you’ve used throughout your career?Not so much initially. The early stages of my career were really

focused on procurement and the successful execution of contracts, within a well-structured and systemised environment - my focus was managing the risks associated with these. However, as one progresses in one’s career, identifying special opportunities becomes more important to sustain the growth of an organisation. This is when entrepreneurship starts to matter.

Was there any moment when your learning curve was on a sharp upward trend?I was fortunate enough to have been schooled in a smaller

company where all the senior management got involved with the risk-taking processes. We were guided well, by people with lots of experience. There was never a sink or swim mentality.

Leaving Group Five after 26 years of service greatly infl uenced my personal growth. Although I spent my formative years within the sector with them, staying for so long with only one company (especially since I was fi rst employed as a student), can slow down one’s personal growth. Learning never stops, and with every career change and with each new company the opportunity to hatch fresh ideas presented itself to me.

What do you miss, if anything, about your early career?In construction we have two primary risks to consider, fi rstly relating

to your tender and procurement process and secondly the eff ective execution of the works in line with your tender assumption. We hardly ever discussed payment risk or the ability of a client to pay for work when it was due, as this was a given.

Nowadays poor or non-payment is one of our major risks, especially as we move further north into Africa. I therefore miss the simplicity of the past procurement process of tendering for a contract; if you are the lowest, to be awarded the job; followed by the eff ective execution; and timeous payment thereof!

Frik VenterFrik, how did you begin a career in construction?

I’ve been in the construction game for forty years. I started off working for Savage & Lovemore (in Port Elizabeth), which later became part of Group 5. I transferred to Gauteng during 1996 to start Group Five Roads Africa, and from there joined Concor, where I stayed for about eight years. When I joined Stefanutti Stocks almost six years ago on 1 October 2010 , the timing seemed right for a new challenge - although Willie and Gino did have to court me on and off for a good few months before I made the move.

What has been your experience at Stefanutti Stocks?It amazed me how easily I was accepted in the business unit - I had

actually been employed to oversee R&E but ended up with a whole handful of divisions. The ease with which senior management accepted me surprised me. I thought my arrival may put a few noses out of joint, but it wasn’t the case at all. I was accepted and appreciated for my experience and for the knowledge I could put to use for the benefi t of the business unit.

If I look at my time at Stefanutti Stocks I would say my highlights have been not so much from a contracting point of view, as from a developmental perspective. When I walked through these doors I realised that not enough money or eff ort had been spent on the development of people, systems and procedures. I made it a priority to install proper systems and introduce procedures, as well as to ensure that knowledge transfer was taking place. My aim was to enhance the managerial and operational skills through extensive professionally-assisted development from director level right down to our operators. This development was done on a professional platform and many employees now have industry-recognised qualifi cations.

The ease with which the high cost of these personal development plans was accepted by the executives of the Group surprised me. It is also pleasing to witness how eff ective the training programmes have been and is also evident in the fi nancial results produced by the RPM business unit.

Knowledge transfer and development usually takes about three years, and nearly six years on, I’m confi dent that we are stronger than ever before. As a business unit we are more structured and focused. We operate professional offi ces here in South Africa, and in other Southern African countries, where we have also spent time and money on developing our people, and of course the markets.

What do you see as Stefanutti Stocks’ key strengths? The key strengths here are the quality of people. And their

entrepreneurial fl air, which is something I didn’t experience as keenly in my other jobs.

When I joined Stefanutti Stocks I made a conscious decision not to tamper with the entrepreneurship of the individual leaders. It is quite a risky managerial style, but it has worked so far and we

Parting shotsFrik Venter, outgoing managing director of the Roads, Pipelines and Mining Services (RPM) business unit hands the RPM reins over to Russell Crawford


Most of all I miss the amicable yet very professional relationship between the contractor, engineer and client that allowed for quick and professional solutions to any contractual or construction issues.

What has infl uenced you most, people, projects or places?Probably projects - large dam or large road projects are my

favourites. I’m not that easily infl uenced by people, however having said that, the person who infl uenced my career the most was the fi rst managing director I worked under in Port Elizabeth.

I am also impacted by people when I witness what one can achieve with a team of people who are given the correct guidance and whose personal development is properly engineered. These interventions and concomitant results are some of the most satisfying experiences of my career.

What advice would you give to engineers entering the industry?I maintain that there will always be work for a good engineer - if you

are a bit of a go-getter, an entrepreneur, and are prepared to rough it on a construction site, then there will always be a job in the industry for you.

Probably the best advice I could give a young engineer is to learn about all aspects of construction during your time spent on site. Be inquisitive; learn from the old hands; don’t be afraid to ask; and steal with your eyes. Above all, remember as an engineer you have been trained to solve problems from “fi rst principles” – use these skills when you are faced with a diffi cult problem. Too often I see young engineers run for cover when apparently insurmountable problems occur, which I fi nd most disappointing. Lastly, learn how to manage people and get the best out of them - always remember in a managerial position you will be required to “get results through others”.

Engineering is an incredibly fulfi lling career, and a large part of the reward is that you leave behind physical evidence of your labours - in most other glamour industries this is not the case.

What will you miss most about going to work?I’ll miss the excitement of the construction industry - from work procurement

and the anticipation of being awarded work right through to execution - it’s high adrenalin stuff ! And then of course the people, I will really miss the people and the special teams. I have always said that you will recognise a real team, when someone drops the ball and another unwittingly picks it up!

Any other thoughts and where to now?The traffi c - I can’t wait to leave that behind! I would rather spend quality

time with my family, especially my wife who has stood solidly behind me for many tough years in the industry. Construction is one of the most demanding sectors to be in, and running a construction company is probably one of the most diffi cult businesses to manage. It takes its toll on you, and there comes a time when the next generation must have their turn…

It is entirely possible that I could get used to chasing that little white ball around a golf course. If that doesn’t work, fi shing will be a good alternative. Willie has requested some of my time after May so it won't be complete cold turkey!

We will be moving down to Keurboomstrand near Plettenberg Bay, so if anyone is passing by ….please pop in.

26 years after fi rst joining the company as a site agent, Russell Crawford has taken over at the helm of the Roads, Pipelines and Mining Services business unit.

A number of things have kept me with this group for this long. Firstly, I felt like I was part of a family - and I still feel that. Secondly every few years there was a new challenge or opportunity to grow that presented itself, so it was impossible to stagnate.

As a youngster I aspired to one day having my own company, yet I have always felt that same sense of ownership at Stefanutti Stocks. Throughout my career I have always been allowed the freedom, just as we allow our senior managers, to look after what we have, as though it was our own. We have never felt confi ned or the need to be part of the herd. We were encouraged to express ourselves, to be entrepreneurial and to do things diff erently. I strongly believe that if given the freedom to express yourself, you do achieve better results.

Key infl uencesThe key infl uences in my career have been Deryck White, Gino

Stefanutti and more recently Frik Venter. Each of them had diff erent strengths, qualities and skills set that I could learn from. My exposure to these men allowed me to grow and mature, to hone my skills and mature into a better contractor and manager.

My career path has also been assisted by the competent people I have been working with. I have a wonderful director core here, many of whom have been with Stefanutti Stocks for a long time. They all have a diff erent skills-set and as a team this has enabled us to take on very diffi cult circumstances and end up creating a success of our endeavour.

I am also inspired by the diversity and ambition of employees in our business unit - we have really been blessed with an unbelievable pool of people.

Going forwardCurrently I am fulfi lling the dual role of divisional and business unit

managing director. We didn’t feel that it would be appropriate, in the current economic climate, to employ someone new, in particular as we are seeing more growth from our cross-border markets where we have appointed strong regional managing directors.

I’d like to believe that we saw this coming a few years ago already, hence our drive into Africa. Our current order book sees around 50 per cent of work coming from outside of South Africa, in countries where we have established localised general contracting operations, have put down roots and created employment opportunities.

MantraYour attitude determines your altitude!

Thoughts on successA key ingredient of success is passion. And recognition - but not

just fi nancial. I encourage my people to step up to play a part in writing our success story; to be adventurous and have an open mind; to think about how one can do things diff erently; and not shy away from a challenge.

It is because we do all these things, that we will never be just another contractor.


Gautrain'sinnovative train platform extension nears completion Source: Glen Deyzel

At the end of April 2016 work on the 55-metre long platform extension at OR Tambo International Airport’s Gautrain station was approximately ninety per cent complete. The project, that will enable passengers to utilise a full four-car Gautrain service to and from South Africa’s largest airport, is currently running on programme.

Work on the northern section is almost complete and included the installation of struts, platform slabs, balustrade walls, a steel roof canopy and sheeting; a fire escape staircase; water, fire water and drainage systems; cable management systems and CCTV; signage and the reinstatement of the overhead traction equipment (OHTE).

On the southern side the steel roof canopy and fire escape staircase have been installed and Stefanutti Stocks Civils’ subcontractors are currently installing sheeting, gutters, and a sky light; as well as the water, fire water and drainage systems. Tiling of the platform on the southern side was completed at the end of April.

“The key to the success of this project includes a strong team of people and proper up-front planning, starting well before we even arrived on site,” says Stefanutti Stocks’ contracts manager Glen

Deyzel. “Our site motto has also been to do it right the first time, and we set ourself realistic goals, that have been achievable.”

Key project highlights included:• The installation of the entire platform extension took place at 20

metres above the ground;• Train operations continued as normal while construction was

underway - this is a first for South Africa;• A protection deck, consisting of a girder system that spanned the

18-metre wide main access road into the airport, was designed and constructed prior to work being allowed to commence over vehicular traffic.

• The existing parapet walls were saw-cut by means of diamond rope and blade cutting in order to accommodate the new struts and slabs.

• The precast concrete elements that were manufactured and installed included 5-ton struts, 20-ton slabs and balustrade walls;

• To accommodate the increased loading of the structure the struts were transversely post-tensioned and the existing viaduct was longitudinally tensioned;

• A new 68-ton steel roof canopy was manufactured and installed; • The design had to take into consideration the mere 150mm distance

between the southern side and the adjacent multi-storey carpark; and• The largest tower crane in Africa was utilised on the project.

The platform is due for final handover at the end of May 2016. The site will then be demobilised and the long-term parking area utilised for the site office and storage yard, will be reinstated by end June 2016.

Captions:1. The Northern side of the newly constructed platform extension, with the largest crane

in Africa taking up a man cage with contractors who will install curved awnings. 2. Contractors installing the cable management system, column cladding and

tiling on the Southern platform.3. The 68-ton steel roof canopy as viewed from the roof of the airport's City Lodge Hotel.

1

2

3

Transport Infrastructure


The City of Johannesburg’s Housing Department awarded the construction of an access road, stormwater pipeline and a car bridge across a river in the Elias Motsoaledi District in Soweto, to Stefanutti Stocks Civils / A Re Shomeng Joint Venture. The project commenced in February 2016 and is due for completion in February 2017.

The fi ve-span, 65-metre long, 14-metre wide continuous composite deck bridge will be supported on two reinforced concrete abutment walls and four piers supported on spread footing. The supports will be founded on mass concrete underlain by a rock layer. The access road is approximately a kilometre long, with a 750-metre long stormwater pipe (consisting of concrete pipes between 450 and 900mm in diameter) running alongside.

The main purpose of the new bridge is to link two newly developed Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) housing communities that are currently separated by a river. The project is being executed within what is currently a politically charged environment. “Prior to commencement of road construction the services and shacks in the road reserve needed to be removed and people relocated to their RDP houses,” explains contracts manager Glen Deyzel. “At the end of April the area had been cleared.”

The bridge is being constructed in an environmentally sensitive area, specifi cally within wetlands where it will cross a ravine and a small river. In order to be permitted to construct the bridge a Record of Decision (ROD) and WULA (Water Use License Application) must be approved by the Department of Water Aff airs & Forestry. Once the application has been successful, construction work must remain within the boundaries of the ROD, in order to avoid heavy fi nes.

Caption:Figure 1: The support system being used consists of 457x191x98kg/m I-beams

at 1.2-metres centre. A support tower is positioned mid span to deal with the span and the wetlands below.

An innovative bridge-deck support solution is required to overcome various considerations including the ravine that is situated under the bridge location, weak ground conditions, a fl owing river and the threat of the support work being stolen. A suitable decking system has been designed by the Stefanutti Stocks technical department which incorporates the suspension of the deck formwork from beams and supported by towers at the piers (see Figure 1).

To ensure involvement in the construction project, community members will participate in the precasting and installation of the kerbs and F-shape barriers, which will be constructed in a precast yard located on site. Community members will also receive on-site training in the civil trades as well as formal construction training via the Stefanutti Stocks Solid Foundations Training Programme.

A further community initiative sees the construction of a soccer fi eld, which will be formally handed over to community leaders, complete with two goal posts.

“This is an incredibly interesting project that requires team work, an open mind, a community-based approach and technical know-how to succeed,” says Deyzel. “Building a concrete structure that grants access and enables a rural, undeveloped community to become part of the developed, successful and growing Soweto community is one I will be proud to show my own children one day.”


Joint venture constructs rural river-bridge and access road for City of JohannesburgSource: Glen Deyzel

Figure 1



Stefanutti Stocks Civils adds PRASA platform and track rectification to its portfolio Source: Chris Tshivhidzo

Stefanutti Stocks Civils recently undertook three rail rectification projects, the first of which was a turnkey project for the rectification of platforms at two KwaZulu-Natal stations (Durban and Pietermaritzburg) and was undertaken for PRASA in a joint venture (JV) with 4Phase Railtechnik. The second project, also undertaken by the JV, was a design and construct platform rectification project at Gauteng’s Cleveland station.

The third rail project, known as the Stray Current Mitigation Project, is situated in Sunnyside, Pretoria and is being undertaken for the Oteo/4Phase JV, the project’s main contractors. This contract sees the construction of a 2.4km-long PY track slab, starting just outside of the Pretoria station and finishing just after the Walker Street station.

RCE Consultants were employed by Stefanutti Stocks (and later by the Oteo/4Phase JV) to undertake the design of the track slabs, as its considerable rail expertise and PY Track Slab system offered an efficient track slab solution.

The rectification of platforms in KwaZulu-Natal (Durban, Pietermaritzburg) and Gauteng (Cleveland) called for the design and construction of track-slabs in conjunction with the rectification of the vertical and horizontal alignment, within a specified standard, between the rails and the platforms. In Pietermaritzburg the platform was raised, as, due to the subway, it was not possible to drop the track levels. The

scope of work also entailed the improvement of the drainage system of all three stations.

An unusual aspect of these rectification projects saw the design of the line layer works taking place as construction progressed. “The soil classification and soil profiling should ideally have been done while in the design phase,” explains senior contracts manager Chris Tshivhidzo, “however, as we were only granted access to the sites once all our safety, quality and technical submissions were approved, this only took place a week into the project”

Soil sampling and DCP tests of the layer works in Pietermaritzburg indicated that the entire layer works needed to be replaced as it was not in accordance to the S410 Transnet specification. “Another issue we faced at all three stations was the poorly maintained stormwater drainage system,” says Tshivhidzo. “We commissioned RCE to design and introduce a new drainage system at Pietermaritzburg, and we improved the stormwater drainage systems at Durban and Cleveland.” Pietermaritzburg’s new drainage system meant that contingency funds needed to be requested. Available funds were only ten per cent of the value of the project, making it vital that the new design did not exceed the available funds.

The majority of the work was undertaken within the permanent way, making the safety aspect of these projects, due to the proximity to operational trains, an incredibly important focus. “Our teams had to remain alert at all times, be incredibly safety conscious and adhere to the prescribed rules - or worst-case scenario there could have been loss of life,” says Tshivhidzo.

The successful delivery of these projects’ was driven by skilled supervision and an understanding of precision work; surveying ability up to a tolerance of 1mm; and proper planning in terms of sequencing of activities to avoid any access problems. The utilisation of a PY track slab jig system resulted in a reduced construction period and a high quality end-product.

The Gauteng (Cleveland) station rectification project was well-received by commuters and the community at large. The workforce was constantly complimented and the project was lauded as a successful project in the State of the Gauteng Province address, even before its completion.

The two KwaZulu-Natal sites were audited by the Department of Labour that awarded them 100 per cent for operating in accordance with required safety and legal requirements. “The civil team completed the sites without a lost time injury (LTI) an achievement made possible by dedicated staff and a labour force that took its safety seriously.”

1

9| Benchmark Volume 15 | May 2016 | 9| Benchmark Volume 15 | May 2016 |

“These rail projects have provided a good development ground, in particular for the site agents, whose people-management and planning skills grew when faced with challenges,” says Tshivhidzo. “At the heart of our successes here are the site teams, and we commend them for executing a project with which PRASA has expressed great satisfaction.Captions:1. The Cleveland site team, with trainee Kgololesego Lethoko on the far left; Moses

Tlou in the centre; and junior foreman Always Rambebu on the far right. 2. Andries Phetla operates the scabbier in preparation for the installation of Tac-Tiles.3. Moses Tlou, Stefanutti Stocks site agent and Kgololesego Lethoko, trainee

safety offi cer from 4Phase Railtechnik inspect the work at Johannesburg’s Cleveland station.

4. Jigs for the track slab are placed at the Pietermaritzburg Station.5. Preparation for the Tac-Tiles (on the platforms) and earthworks in preparation

for the slabs at the Cleveland station.6. The track slab is poured at Cleveland.7. Operations at Cleveland station taking place in an operating station.

2 3

4

5 6

7


Concrete barriers completed forstretch of eThekweni Municipality’s IRPTN Source: Siyabonga Hlophe

eThekwini Municipality is in the process of restructuring Durban’s public transport infrastructure network with the objective of delivering a safe, sustainable and efficient service through the establishment of an Integrated Rapid Public Transport Network (IRPTN).

This includes an integrated package of rail and rapid bus trunk routes with dedicated “right-of-way” feeders and a complimentary service for public transport. The concrete scope for Work Package 3 is being undertaken by Stefanutti Stocks Civils KZN, for a Stefanutti Stocks Roads & Earthworks/ Five and Only Developments joint venture.


The Civils KZN division is constructing two four-kilometre long concrete barriers that will separate the road and create a central, dedicated bus transport route.

Ancillaries to this dedicated bus lane include the widening of a road-over-rail bridge, as well as the construction of concrete F-parapets, bus station foundations and median barriers around the pedestrian piers.

Certain aspects of the project have taken place in close proximity to operational train traffic requiring interfacing with the Passenger Rail Association of South Africa (PRASA). Applications for a window to work on the railway line without rail traffic interference needed to be submitted to PRASA a month in advance. Once a window was granted, the project required precise planning in order to proceed as seamlessly and efficiently as possible. Particular cognisance also had to be taken of potential difficulties that may be experienced when a site is located in the heart of a community, where public safety and security is a key consideration.

The project, which is due for completion in July 2016, will have utilised a total of 12 500m³ of concrete, 33 000m² of formwork and 650 tons of rebar.

Captions:1. Work underway on the widening of road-over-rail bridge. The embankment is

protected and stabilised by means of a grouting/lateral support; an abutment wall is constructed; precast beams are installed and the deck is cast. An eight-metre fence has been erected as per PRASA specification in order to maintain a safe working distance of three metres from the centre of the railway track.

2. An aerial view of the construction of the barriers (comprising of two-by-five metre panels) along the route.

1

2


Constructionof ten SANRAL bridgesto improve N7 road infrastructureSource: Stefan van Vuuren

Stefanutti Stocks Civils, in consortium with Power Construction (consortium leader), is working on a three-year road improvement project for SANRAL which entails the construction of ten bridges between Abbotsdale and the Voortrekker Road interchange in Malmesbury, Western Cape. In addition, two causeways, three culverts and a 2,4km-long retaining wall form part of the scope of work on the project.

Five of the ten bridges are multiple span, four are single-span bridges and the tenth is a rail bridge, that is being constructed over an operating railway line on which three trains run daily. The bridges are being cast in situ, and are all post tensioned (bar the rail bridge), inverted, box, rib type bridges.

While demolishing three of the existing bridges, originally constructed in the 1950s, an abundance of glass was unearthed. “The approach fill of these bridges was constructed with material obtained from an old dump site and our drilling operations revealed old, and in some cases intact and collectable bottles in the fill,” says Stefanutti Stocks Civils' project manager Stefan van Vuuren. To deal with the safety risk of the sheer quantity of shattered glass flying out of the drill holes during drill operations, a safety net was placed around the drill rod at the front of the drill rig.

In an otherwise relatively straightforward bridge construction project a further unusual occurrence was the discovery of a live fountain under the approach fill at one of the bridges. “The fountain caused a buildup of hydrostatic pressure behind the lateral support which was a serious concern to us,” says Van Vuuren, “and the design of the bridge will need to be altered to accommodate the drainage of excess water.” The fountain has maintained a continuous flow throughout one of the driest summers in many years, and is still going strong.

On average the construction of a bridge takes between six to eight months, and multiple teams are working across the five kilometre stretch of road. “The weather conditions, in particular with regard to high winds and winter rainfall, present a larger obstacle than we initially expected, and maintaining the programme is a challenge,” says Van Vuuren.

The project consists of two phases, and once the first causeway has been completed (scheduled for August 2016), traffic will be diverted onto it, and work on the second causeway will commence, with a targeted completion date of end of 2017. At the end of April 2016 the project was about 20 per cent complete.

Captions:1. An aerial photograph showing the new Darling intersection.2. The south abutment of the rail bridge that is being constructed over an

operational railway line.3. The bridge piers for a triple-span bridge under construction. 4. A selection of the intact and collectible glass bottles unearthed during drilling

operations at an approach to one of the bridges.


1

2

3

4



Botswana's Kasane Airport well underwaySource: Hugh Atkinson

The remote town of Kasane, home to an international airport that serves as a tourist gateway to Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, lies approximately 925 kilometres from Gaborone. In November 2014 Stefanutti Stocks Botswana began improvements to the Kasane Airport on behalf of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAAB) of Botswana.

The scope of work on the project includes the construction of a new 6 400m2 terminal, followed by the refurbishment of the existing 1 500m2 terminal. The original scope grew with the recent award of the airport IT systems to Stefanutti Stocks, which increased the contract value by around 20 per cent, as well as resulting in the completion date being extended to early 2017.

“Work on the new terminal building is progressing well, and once this has been handed over to CAAB we will begin upgrading the existing, smaller terminal,” says contracts manager Hugh Atkinson. “We have completed six new staff houses and are currently refurbishing eight existing staff houses, which entails demolishing and rebuilding them from the foundations up.” Stefanutti Stocks is also constructing a new pump house and water tanks, a workshop, a large vehicle bay to the fi re station, a new store-room, an ablution block and further ancillary buildings.

The team is rising to the challenge of creating a fi rst-world terminal in an area that is essentially in the heart of the beautiful African bush. The remoteness of the location does provide its fair share of challenges, mainly pertaining to the availability of material, skilled labour and site staff accommodation. “An occasional encounter with

some wild life on our way to or from work also serves as reminder that we need to be cautious and respectful of the setting we are building in,” says Atkinson.

Captions:1. Progress at the airport terminal.2. Pictured are some of the new staff houses. 3. From left to right are, standing: Lindela Ntombelaa, Dichtba Romontsho,

Gustav Mofekeng, Cobus le Roux (who recently completed ten years of service), Emmanuel Boleseng, Dan Tsele, Jacques Wilbers, Oabile Pilane, Joe Maake, Frank Wisotzki and Doug Wilson. Front row, from left ot right are Solomon Ditsele and Theunis Schreuder. Inset top left is Tony Bothma, and top right are Jerry Ferghese and Mick Sheerin. Not pictured is foreman Alphas Kopano who completed his thirty years of service for the company this year.

1

2

3

13| Benchmark Volume 15 | May 2016 | 13| Benchmark Volume 15 | May 2016 |


Stefanutti Stocks constructs 107 kilometres of road for Road Development Agencyin ZambiaSource: Wantz Klopper

The Bottom Road road construction project, being undertaken by Stefanutti Stocks Zambia for the Road Development Agency (RDA), lies in the Southern Province of Zambia. It spans a distance of 107,5 kilometres and runs along Lake Kariba in a north-south direction from Chaboboma via Sinazeze to Sinazongwe.

The time that passed between the tender closing date in June 2013, and the fi rst upfront payment in September 2015 meant that the entire project needed to be re-scoped to account for two-years’ worth of escalation and forex fl uctuation.

Originally the entire road was meant to be surfaced with an asphalt pavement, but due to the increased costs only 17 kilometres will now be constructed with an asphalt pavement, with the remainder of the

road to be constructed with a gravel-wearing course. Furthermore, in order to accommodate the client’s cash fl ow plan the contract period has been increased from 24 months to 48 months.

A substantial accommodation camp, including offi ces, ablutions and a workshop was constructed over four-and-a-half months using prefabricated units that were dismantled at Mulilansolo in the Northern Province and transported the 1 550 kilometres to the Gwembe Valley. “Our home-away-from-home for the next four years has cheekily been nicknamed the Southern Slums Hotel by its residents, and boasts a swimming pool, lapa and bar built around a huge Baobab tree. It would rival most luxury game lodges!” says Wantz Klopper, senior contracts’ manager. As the average summer temperature is around 42 degrees with uncomfortably high humidity, all the units have been fi tted with air conditioners.

The road project will entail:• 650 000m3 of earthworks;• 325 000 m3 of layerworks; • construction of six bridges with precast beams of diff erent spans; and• 26 500 m3 in situ, reinforced concrete culverts.

At the end of March approximately ten per cent of the project, entailing ten kilometres of earthworks and sub-base, have been completed.

Captions:1. The accommodation camp for the project has been built using prefabricated

units, and has a swimming pool, lapa and a bar at its heart. 2. Pictured is the site team, from left to right: James Rosslee, Fabian Wino, Idi

Chisanga, Killian Bboloka, Shaddrick Chipasha, Raphael Ndlovu and Rulof Nortje.

1

2


As the upgrade to Maydon Wharf enters its third year, work at Berth 1 and 2 is nearly complete. The final elements of the revised back-of-quay-drainage design are being installed, layer works are being finalised and once these are completed, the final surfacing will follow. The coping structure is complete, with the exception of bollards and fenders, which will be installed once the scour rock installation, currently in progress, is completed.

Similarly, the drainage, layer works and surfacing are nearing completion at Berth 13 and 14, which in addition will require the installation of a rail track prior to completion.

“Once Berth 1 and 2 are handed over, we will be granted access to the final two berths, number 3 and 4, and the project will hit the home straight,” says Stefanutti Stocks Marine contracts’ director Andrew Pirrie. “We intend to put all the lessons learned on this mega project over the past two years to good use, in order to make a strong finish!”

The project has seen the Stefanutti Stocks Axsys joint venture team achieve a number of milestones and highlights, most notably

in the areas of safety and training, as well as in technical and logistical aspects.

SafetyBy the end of March 2016 the project had passed the 1,25-million

lost time injury free hours mark. “This is no small achievement, given the congested nature of the site and the extensive range of activities interacting over land and water,” says Pirrie. “This safety milestone is a result of the collective efforts of the site team, with dedicated support from the safety team whose attention and initiatives keep things on track.”

Incentives, such as the safest team of the month award, have helped to keep everyone focused on working safely. In addition, much hard work and energy has gone into ensuring successful visible felt leadership (VFL) and planned task observations (PTOs). Detailed trend analysis on these lead indicators have been used to identify potential issues, thus enabling these to be addressed and incidents avoided, through early action.

2

1

High profile marine project at Maydon Wharf sets new standardsBy Andrew Pirrie


TrainingIn addition to achieving an exemplary safety performance, the

project has also aff orded many participants the opportunity to increase their skills and gain promotion.

Many employees were promoted to various positions after completing the requisite training and certifi cation process, as well as customised internal training tailored to marine work.

Ongoing theory and practical assessments ensure that are all operators continue to develop and maintain the necessary specialist skills required to carry out the work safely and eff ectively. In order to ensure that our foremen and production crews are aligned with the internal safety training given to operators, they too participate in the same training.

The project has also aff orded the opportunity to several operators to train and up-skill as specialist operators for our growing fl eet of long-reach excavator dredging equipment, a rare and essential skill within the marine construction environment.

“The process for training and providing clear career direction for our piling crews is also becoming more formalised, and is being implemented to ensure that we maintain the level of skills required to grow within this specialist industry, with its unique skills-set requirements,” says Pirrie.TECHNICAL

With four of the six berths substantially complete, the following technically challenging aspects of the project have been mastered:

Installation of anchor piling (please see article by Tim Milner, page 16)The Müller Verpress or HP piling technique posed many

challenges to the team, ranging from grout mix issues due to cement supply problems, through to breaking grout pipes - all of which were overcome. “The team involved must be given credit for its determination in working through each challenge as it arose and fi nding innovative solutions to address these,” says Pirrie. “It is only a pity that, just as they were getting into their stride they reached the end of the current berths. We look forward to seeing them back in action soon on Berths 3 and 4.”

Successful completion of the fender structureThe ‘fender panel’ portion of the coping structure has been one

of the real challenges on the project. The specifi cation calls for this element to be cast in the dry, by means of a de-watered shutter. This is easier said than done when the bottom part of the pour is permanently below the water line; the shape of the piles that the shutter needs to seal to is almost infi nitely variable; the existing and new piles to which the shutter is applied are to a large extent prone to leaking; and fi nally, above mid-tide the shutter fl oods with water from all directions regardless of the eff ectiveness of the shutter.

These ‘wet challenges’ meant in addition to having to be painstakingly surveyed, each and every pour required the design and construction of a new seal. Divers are required to tighten and align the shutter at its base, and then the pour must be perfectly timed to coincide with the low tide. This means a fl eet of ready-mix trucks on site, ready to discharge in order to stay ahead of the tide as it rises. “Should the tide get ahead of the pour when the ‘fl ood’ level is reached, then all is lost,” explains Pirrie. “The team certainly felt the pressure to bring it all together, and managed to beat the tide each time while learning a few new tricks along the way.”

These elements have been completed on current berths, and the shutters are now stacked up waiting to be deployed on the remaining berths.

LogisticsMention of the tricky logistics of managing the project, which is spread

over four working areas, must be made. These are spread out across the Maydon Wharf precinct, placing speed and effi ciency of movement between them at the mercy of the traffi c congestion in the precinct.

With no real storage area on the berths, keeping the teams moving - without either jamming the site due to an excess materials, or grinding to a halt due to lack of materials, requires a fi ne balancing act.

“While communication and coordination can be diffi cult, our teams are getting it done, and continue to persevere to ensure we hand over a project we are proud to have on our portfolio,” concludes Pirrie.

Captions:1. Berth 13 and 14, similar to Berths 1 and 2 are nearing completion on drainage,

layerworks and surfacing. However, berth 13 and 14 will still require the installation of a rail track prior to completion.

2. The coping structure construction nearing completion at Berth 14.3. The specifi cation for fender structures calls for the structures to be cast in the dry,

by means of a de-watered shutter, pictured above. Each and every pour requires the design and construction of a new seal to overcome water and tidal challenges.

4. Berth 2, with its existing gantry structure blocking access, must be noted for its awkwardness.

3 4


The berth reconstruction begins with demolishing the existing cope beam and excavating behind the quay wall to reduce the active pressure acting on the aged wall. This ensures the wall does not fail due to imposed loads during the construction phase. The specifi cation prescribed the use of impact hammers in lieu of vibratory hammers as it is a known fact that these hammers have the potential to induce a vibration into the surrounding soil matrix due to the high frequency of the hammer. This vibration could liquefy the soil in a localised area around the toe of the existing wall which would reduce the soils shear properties, most likely causing the toe of the existing sheet pile wall to rotate inducing a catastrophic failure.

The specifi ed combination wall supplied by Arcelor Mittal comprises of Double I section HZ 1180M/Sol 24 piles (king piles) which form the structural elements and AZ 18-700 sheet piles which act as fi ller sections. The team makes use of a 7-bay pile guide frame (modifi ed from lessons learnt on the previous Berth 12 contract) to ensure the piles are kept within their vertical and horizontal alignment tolerances and do not twist.

PilingBefore the piling can begin the piles are prepared in Lot 3 (an area

allocated by Transnet for the duration of the contract) where there is only suffi cient space for one third of the project’s piles. This creates a logistical challenge to keeping the site supplied with material, while timing the incoming shipments of piles from the Netherlands.

In Lot 3 the king piles are profi led with a curved cutting edge to aid installation, and the anchor piles are prepared for the grout system. To ensure the king piles are transported and off -loaded in good time, bespoke pile bogeys and crawler cranes with the capacity to offl oad the piles on land and place them onto the supply barges, are utilised.

Piling is undertaken by a seasoned team from their 40x15 metre fl oating offi ce, equipped with a 180-ton crawler crane, hydraulic piling hammer and additional personnel facilities. The hammer with a 16-ton ram drives the 27-ton king piles into position in quick succession (piling rule of thumb recommends a hammer of minimum half the weight of the pile being driven).

While the Marine team is driving the combination wall the land-based crew immerse themselves (literally! due to the tidal variances) in the work of removing the timber piles which formed part of the old quay structure. These piles are removed by means of a vibrator hammer and a 110-ton crawler crane. Even with a custom hydraulic clamping device the team still battles to extract the piles as the wood exposed in the tidal zone has decayed at an accelerated pace leaving a very thin hourglass-shaped section which often shears during extraction.

Anchor PilingBerth 12 made use of a dead-man anchor wall to tie back the

combination wall, however this is not possible on the current project as there are access restrictions and existing structures impeding the placement of the dead-man wall. RCE, the design consultant for Transnet Capital Projects, proposed that a new technology be used in place of the dead-man anchor wall.

Although a fi rst for South Africa, the Müller Verpress Pile (MV-Pile or HP) has been used extensively in Germany, the Netherlands and the United States for anchoring large combination-wall systems (both grouted and un-grouted) as an alternative to the traditional dead-man anchor solution and is known to be exceptionally economical both in terms of cost and performance.

The system makes use of H-section bearing piles supplied with thickened fl anges by Arcelor. The piles are usually driven at 45 degrees to the combination wall and through the centre of the king pile to which it is later pinned. While the pile is being driven to level, grout is pumped out near the toe of the pile at 10 bar through modifi cations made at Lot 3. The grout acts as lubricant during driving and once set it bonds to the steel pile and the surrounding substrate increasing the frictional resistance of the anchor, as well as as protecting it from the adverse eff ects of corrosion.

Müller Verpress Pilingat Maydon Wharf - a First for South Africa By Tim Milner

(an extract from an article written by Tim Milner, Stefanutti Stocks Marine’s tender manager. The full article was published in the SAICE magazine and is available in the news section at www.stefanuttstocks.com)


Every HP pile is prepared with a cutting toe, grout shoe and steel grout tubes prior to installation.

The grout tubes terminate at the toe of the pile in the ‘shoe’, which creates a void around the pile as it is driven into the soil which is fi lled with grout.

Section from a temporary works drawing depicting maximum load capacities behind the quay wall.


27t king piles driven with a hydraulic impact hammer from a fl oating plant. Driving infi ll AZ sheets.

The piling rig is mounted on a hydraulic platform allowing the rig to be shifted incrementally during the alignment of the pile prior to driving.

Extraction of timber piles with hydraulic vibrator and clamp, note clamp is semi submerged due to pile shearing off below the low water level.

Raking the pile line prior to driving ensured no obstructions within the top 2m of the seabed could aff ect the piling. Once the HP piles are driven they are pinned to the king pile.

The anchor piling barge, The Niord, is the price of the project. It is a bespoke piling barge capable of driving the 33-metre long HP piles, while grout is simultaneously pumped at 10 bar from a colloidal mixing plant on land. The grout acts both as a lubricant for driving and a bonding agent.

A converted Hitachi piling rig is mounted on a hydraulic platform which in turn is fi tted to the barge. It was procured in the Netherlands along with the expertise of a Dutch piling engineer (who better to learn from than the masters of piling?). The engineer assisted the team to set up the piling rig and was present during the driving of the fi rst few piles. Stefanutti Stocks’ local team soon learnt the ropes and can now install piles at a rapid rate. (This is defi nitely the right tool for the job!)

The HP piling rig makes use of an IHC 70 hydraulic piling hammer to drive the piles, the barge is capable of jacking itself out of the water which prevents it from being aff ected by the waves of passing vessels, the swell in the harbour and also prevents the piling being aff ected by tidal variations. By operating on a hydraulic platform the rig can

be positioned to an accuracy of a millimetre as well as track to three positions per barge movement.

The success of the HP piling can be measured through the results of the test piles which have passed the stringent testing and specifi cation requirements set out in the contract.

The Stefanutti Stocks Axsys JV has proudly accomplished the successful implementation of Müller Verpress Piling - for the fi rst time ever in South Africa - at Maydon Wharf.


on progress, the management style of TCP has mitigated these delays as much as possible. “TCP and Stefanutti Stocks have embraced the spirit of clause 10.1 of the New Engineering Contract (NEC) which states that The Employer, the Contractor, the Project Manager and the Supervisor shall act as stated in this contract and in a spirit of mutual trust and co-operation,” says project manager Sheldon Randall. “Completing this project with minimal disruptions to traffic and port operations, while not compromising on safety or quality is a daunting yet exciting challenge that we look forward to delivering on.”

Captions:1. An aerial perspective of the main access road into Pier 2 at Durban's container terminal.2. Figure 1 shows the layer work design of the high-spec pavement that is being

constructed.

Durban Container Terminal’s Pier 2 carries approximately 2-million TEUs1 - a figure that is expected to grow to 3,3-million TEUs by 2017/18. The large volumes of cargo are transported either into, or out of the terminal via Langeberg and Bayhead Road. These roads carry a high proportion of heavy-vehicle traffic that services the southern port precinct and often reach gridlock during peak periods of the day. Interestingly, Bayhead Road is reportedly one of the highest axle-loaded roads in Southern Africa.

This high volume of heavily laden traffic has taken its toll on Transnet’s internal roads network and in September 2015 the rehabilitation contract for the main access road into Pier 2 at Durban’s Container Terminal was awarded to Stefanutti Stocks Civils KZN.

Stefanutti Stocks has been mandated by project managers Transnet Capital Projects (TCP) to ensure that construction operations result in minimal disruption to Transnet operations and that traffic into the continent’s busiest container terminal continues to flow as smoothly as possible.

The work scope on this engineering and construction contract includes the construction of temporary deviations with a full traffic management plan; exposing, relocating and encasing a labyrinth of existing services; and the subsequent construction of a high-spec pavement. The requirement that this “super” pavement withstand the heavy-loads entering or exiting Pier 2, and do so for a lifespan of thirty years, resulted in a highly specified layer works design, as indicated in Figure 1.

The layer work design culminates in a base layer consisting of a 180mm high modulus asphalt (EME) chosen for its high elastic stiffness, high resistance to permanent (plastic) deformation and fatigue failure. It is also easy to work with, resistant to moisture and suitable for high-traffic, high-load surfaces.

The EME is covered by a 50mm layer of asphalt-wearing course with Salvicum, which is a strong, multi-purpose semi-rigid industrial surfacing system from Salphalt. It was chosen for its outstanding physical qualities and durable wearing course, as well as its ability to meet the high-specifications required.

The project is being approached in a phased manner whereby once the first carriageway has been completed, traffic will then be diverted onto the rehabilitated section, and work will begin on the second carriageway.

The full-extent of the underground services only became apparent once the contract had commenced, and while this discovery impacted

Civils KZN divisionrehabilitates mainaccess into Transnet'sPier 2Source: Sheldon Randall

50mm Asphalt wearing course with Salvicum180mm High Modululs Asphalt (EME)150mm C3150mm C3150mm C3150mm G6150mm Insitu material

1

2

1 TEU stands for Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit which can be used to measure a ship's cargo carrying capacity. The dimensions of one TEU are equal to that of a standard 20' shipping container. 20 feet long, 8 feet tall. Usually 9-11 pallets are able to fit in one TEU.


Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) Terminalnears completionSource: Bradley Randall

Stefanutti Stocks Civils KZN is nearing completion on the 16-month contract to upgrade the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) terminal in Ambrose Park on Bayhead Road in Durban’s Bluff .

The project scope entails the construction of a 116 600m2 430-mm thick concrete platform (equaling 24 rugby fi elds alongside one another), and all associated services to the project.

These include storm-water, sewer, and a water-ring main with fi re hydrants; the perimeter concrete fence; an asphalted access road; as well as the installation of lights around the perimeter and electrical cable ducts for future works.

“Since we arrived on site on 2 February 2015, our construction activities have not been allowed to impede operations at the container terminal,” says site agent Bradley Randall. “This has required clear communication, clever planning, and setting and meeting milestones to ensure operations continue as normal.”

Further critical success factors on the project have included the delivery of workmanship of consistently high quality across the large volumes of earthworks and concrete construction, as well as an unwavering commitment to safety that has resulted in a lost time injury free rate (LTIFR) of zero to date (mid-April 2016).

“Other highlights on the project include a glowing review from the design engineer, regarding the quality and execution of works to date, as well as the celebration of fi ve long-service awards,” concludes Randall.

The project is on track for completion in June 2016.

1

2Captions:1. An aerial photograph of the container hard stand taken in early April 2016.2. Celebrating their twenty years’ long-service awards are, from left to right:

Voni Simelane, George Khumalo, contracts director Clive Reucasell, Bhekizenzo Maphumulo and Bhekinkosi Nsele. (Beryl Nxumalo who also celebrated 20 years of service is not pictured).


Industrial Plants, Oil & Gas

Civils KZN completes fourth oil & gas project for Sasol in MozambiqueSource: Bob Fordyce

In March 2016 Stefanutti Stocks Civils KZN completed its fourth project for Sasol Petroleum Mozambique Limitada. This entailed the construction of access roads and five well pads spread across the Temane and Inhassoro gas fields, and located over a 50-kilometre distance from the central processing plant (CPF) in Temane.

The first three projects were undertaken at the CPF and included the bulk earthworks and substation construction of the low-pressure compression (LPC) project; the civil construction for the LPC project; as well as the electrical and super heater expansion project.

The Temane fields will increase the supply of gas to the CPF, while the Inhassoro fields will produce light crude which will be supplied via flow lines to the new liquids plant in the CPF.

The scope of work included associated civil construction, earthworks, roads (gravel as well as chip and spray) and early drilling operations. The early drilling component was subcontracted to a company from Botswana whose equipment convoy of seventeen trucks was held up at the border for over two months. “Mozambique is an interesting and unique country and in spite of having worked here for decades, occasionally it still manages to surprise us!” says contracts manager Bob Fordyce.

The early drilling, or ‘top hole drilling’ was a first for Stefanutti Stocks and its subcontractor, and saw the 19- and 23-inch casings being installed and grouted at 170-metre depths. Sasol will drill vertically and horizontally to much greater depths to get into the gas source.

In order to achieve Sasol’s target dates a Vilanculos-based contractor was used to supply the bulk of the plant utilised for the earthworks component. The locally procured fleet included 20 tipper trucks, four dozers, five excavators, eight graders, seven water tankers and seven 10-ton rollers.

On the safety front, one of the measures included the 24/7 presence of a full-time paramedic and a fully-equipped ambulance on the Inhassoro

sites. “We’re proud of the site team’s achievement of a total of 380 739 man hours, with a lost time injury free rate (LTIFR) of zero,” concludes Fordyce.

Captions:1. Top hole grouting at the well pad.2. The drill rig is set up prior to top hole drilling commencing.3. The well pad earthworks in full swing.

1

2 3


Stefanutti Stocks Zambia completes agricultural irrigation dams and spillwaysSource: Reece Bester

Stefanutti Stocks Zambia has completed the construction of two clay-core earth-fill dams for its agricultural client Amatheon-Agri Zambia. The 500-metre long Abba Dam and the 1 050-metre long Katanga Dam will be used for the irrigation of a 12 000-hectare farm that primarily grows maize and keeps cattle.

The project also included the construction of two unique spillways. The 200-metre long Abba Dam spillway was designed as a straight spillway and has a 36-metre wide, and up to seven-metres deep stilling basin that has been lined with a two-millimetre thick HDPE liner. A total quantity of 7 100m3 of gabion baskets and reno mattresses were installed at a daily production rate of 150m3/day in order to meet the contractual programme.

The 375-metre long Katonga Dam spillway was designed as an arched spillway with a 36-metre wide, and up to two-metres deep stilling basin that has been lined with a two-millimetre thick HDPE liner. A total quantity of 7 060m3 of gabion baskets and reno mattresses were installed at a daily production rate of 170m3/day.

The project included a development initiative whereby smaller contractors and 150 members of the surrounding community were trained by senior foreman Sipho Mlambo on how to tie and pack gabion baskets and reno mattresses. The newly-developed trainees worked side-by-side with the Stefanutti Stocks teams who worked 12-hour shifts per dam daily in order to achieve the required completion date.

Fortunately it was possible to source sufficient, good quality material for the gabions within the project’s location and the crushing of all gabion rock was undertaken on site. This would usually have been procured from a commercial source, the closest of which is located 250km away.

“In order to achieve on programme delivery of this fast-paced dam construction project we hauled and processed in excess of 400 000m3

of core-and-fill material in the six weeks preceding the Christmas shutdown,” explains site agent Reece Bester. “In order to achieve our client’s December target we pulled out all the stops, and the site could easily have been mistaken for a contract mining operation due to the pace at which the team was moving material!”

Captions:1. The completed Abba Dam spillway.2. Pictured inside the completed Abba Dam spillway are from left to right: Kelvin

Banda (foreman), Sipho Mlambo (foreman), Lesedi Masenya (sub-agent), Jairos Phiri (mechanic), Reece Bester (site agent), Kingsley Booi (grader operator), Adelino Manrique (mechanic), Bennie Summers (production manager) and Elton Chirwa (site engineer).

Water, Sanitation & Pipelines

1

2



Landfill sites

Overburden stripping Surface &

underground conveyor

construction & refurbishment

Concrete & earth canals

Effluent & water treatment plants

Office accommodation

Educational institutions

River protection

Retail & parkades

Shopping complex

Airports

Airport aprons & taxiways

Petrochemicalplants

Hotels & leisure

Earthdams

Power plants

Pipelines

High-rise residential

Dams

Mill & kiln installation

Industrial plants

Golf course construction

Storage facilities

Greenbuildings

Stadia

Bulk excavations

Healthcare facilities

Plate work

Tank building

Piling

Sewer /storm waterreticulation

Directional drilling

Duct reticulation

Earthworks

Bridge & structural jacking

Bridges- incrementally

launched, conventional, cable stayed,

balanced cantilever.

Transport nodes

Large industrialfactories

Reservoirs

GunitingQuay walls

Caissons

Marine piling

Structural repair & rehabilitation

Control buoy gravity bases

Precast concrete for marinestructures

Jetties

Container terminals

Docks

Slipways

Railways& stations Breakwaters

Surface & underground

piping


lighting

Decline shafts

Tailings dams

Discard heaps

Lateral support

Structural & concrete repairs

Structural rehabilitation

to power plants

Material handling

infrastructure

Mechanical & electrical & instrumentation


fibre optic

Interior fit-out & refurbishment

Design & build

Marinas

Open cast mining

Structural, mechanical, piping,

electrical & instrumentation

Industrial parks

Office parks

Structural, mechanical,piping, electrical& instrumentation

Structures• heavy industrial structures• power projects • mining infrastructure • bridges • water & wastewater treatment • concrete rehabilitation

Middle East• general construction • electromechanical • interior fit-outs & refurbishment

Mechanical & Electrical• structural steel erection• mechanical equipment installation • pipe spool fabrication• installation of process piping systems• plant shut down & maintenance• water treatment plants• switchgear & motor control centre installation • control system installation• electrical field device installation • field instrumentation installation• commissioning assistance

Mining Services contract mining• open pit mine design, planning & optimisation• fleet simulation & selection• contract mining• crushing and screening• rehabilitation and closurematerials handling• energy coal processing• discard and fine coal disposal & recovery• coal managementtailings management• design solutions and construction management• waste facility operations & management• hydraulic mining and dredging• rehabilitation & closure

Roads & Earthworks• bulk earthworks• road construction & rehabilitation• crushing & screening• asphalt manufacture & paving• fibre-optic infrastructure• dam construction• mine infrastructure & development• agricultural development

Building Construction• commercial buildings• high-rise buildings• industrial & service buildings• hotels• shopping centres• mass housing• township and residential developments

Pipelines• large/small diameter welded steel pipe• HDPE pipelines• ductile pipelines• oil & gas pipelines• pump, mechanical & electrical installations• in-situ concrete lining of pipelines

Marine• jetties• quay walls• breakwaters• scour protection and dredging• caissons and pre-cast structures• slipways and boat ramps• marine furniture• design and construction• revetments and shore protection

Geotechnical • geotechnical investigation & reports• installation of different types of piles• lateral support• rock anchoring & shot-creting• consolidation & other grouting• diaphragm walls

Housing

Pipe spoolfabrication

Roadconstruction

Stefanutti Stocks - multidisciplinary construction group


Landfill sites

Overburden stripping Surface &

underground conveyor

construction & refurbishment

Concrete & earth canals

Effluent & water treatment plants

Office accommodation

Educational institutions

River protection

Retail & parkades

Shopping complex

Airports

Airport aprons & taxiways

Petrochemicalplants

Hotels & leisure

Earthdams

Power plants

Pipelines

High-rise residential

Dams

Mill & kiln installation

Industrial plants

Golf course construction

Storage facilities

Greenbuildings

Stadia

Bulk excavations

Healthcare facilities

Plate work

Tank building

Piling

Sewer /storm waterreticulation

Directional drilling

Duct reticulation

Earthworks

Bridge & structural jacking

Bridges- incrementally

launched, conventional, cable stayed,

balanced cantilever.

Transport nodes

Large industrialfactories

Reservoirs

GunitingQuay walls

Caissons

Marine piling

Structural repair & rehabilitation

Control buoy gravity bases

Precast concrete for marinestructures

Jetties

Container terminals

Docks

Slipways

Railways& stations Breakwaters


piping


lighting

Decline shafts

Tailings dams

Discard heaps

Lateral support

Structural & concrete repairs

Structural rehabilitation

to power plants

Material handling

infrastructure

Mechanical & electrical & instrumentation


fibre optic

Interior fit-out & refurbishment

Design & build

Marinas

Open cast mining

Structural, mechanical, piping,

electrical & instrumentation

Industrial parks

Office parks

Structural, mechanical,piping, electrical& instrumentation

Structures• heavy industrial structures• power projects • mining infrastructure • bridges • water & wastewater treatment • concrete rehabilitation

Middle East• general construction • electromechanical • interior fit-outs & refurbishment

Mechanical & Electrical• structural steel erection• mechanical equipment installation • pipe spool fabrication• installation of process piping systems• plant shut down & maintenance• water treatment plants• switchgear & motor control centre installation • control system installation• electrical field device installation • field instrumentation installation• commissioning assistance

Mining Services contract mining• open pit mine design, planning & optimisation• fleet simulation & selection• contract mining• crushing and screening• rehabilitation and closurematerials handling• energy coal processing• discard and fine coal disposal & recovery• coal managementtailings management• design solutions and construction management• waste facility operations & management• hydraulic mining and dredging• rehabilitation & closure

Roads & Earthworks• bulk earthworks• road construction & rehabilitation• crushing & screening• asphalt manufacture & paving• fibre-optic infrastructure• dam construction• mine infrastructure & development• agricultural development

Building Construction• commercial buildings• high-rise buildings• industrial & service buildings• hotels• shopping centres• mass housing• township and residential developments

Pipelines• large/small diameter welded steel pipe• HDPE pipelines• ductile pipelines• oil & gas pipelines• pump, mechanical & electrical installations• in-situ concrete lining of pipelines

Marine• jetties• quay walls• breakwaters• scour protection and dredging• caissons and pre-cast structures• slipways and boat ramps• marine furniture• design and construction• revetments and shore protection

Geotechnical • geotechnical investigation & reports• installation of different types of piles• lateral support• rock anchoring & shot-creting• consolidation & other grouting• diaphragm walls

Housing

Pipe spoolfabrication

Roadconstruction

Stefanutti Stocks - multidisciplinary construction group


The uThungulu District Municipality awarded phase 1D of the upgrade of the bulk water supply and reticulation to Kwahlokohloko SSA1 to a joint venture between Stefanutti Stocks Pipelines and Letsatsi Civil Construction and Plant Hire.Project overview

This 50-week long project forms part of an overall scheme to improve water supply to the Kwahlokohloko and Eshowe supply areas. The joint venture is undertaking Phase 1D (of a total of six) of the bulk water supply scheme project, which comprises the construction of approximately 4.6 kilometres of new ND900 steel rising main, and appurtenant pipeline works.

Extent of the worksThe contract is for the supply of all labour, plant and materials

required to complete the full scope of work of Phase 1D, which comprises the following elements:• Site establishment and removal of establishment on completion;• Compliance with relevant health, safety and environmental regulations;• Site clearance, excavation and bedding to the 4.6-kilometre long

ND 900mm Class X42 welded -steel pipeline, with cement mortar lined with Sintakote;

• Specials, fittings, valve installation and chambers;• Gabion, stone pitching and headwall protection works;• Fencing and re-instatement; and• Corrosion protection.

Location of the worksThe project is situated between Eshowe and Empangeni within the

uThungulu District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. The supply area is situated along the R66 to the Goedertrouw Dam (also known as the Phobane Dam).

Contract participation goalThe objective of uThungulu District Municipality's targeted

procurement policy is to bring about meaningful transformation in the built environment through economic participation, transfer of technical, management and entrepreneurial skills as well as the creation of sustainable large black enterprises. Stefanutti Stocks Pipelines are achieving this goal through a joint venture with Letsatsi Civil Construction and Plant Hire that sees the company actively engaging and mentoring Letsatsi employees.

Project progressThe project commenced in late October 2015, site establishment

was completed in November 2015 and pipe delivery started in December 2015. Site activities such as clearing and grubbing, stripping

Stefanutti Stocks-Letsatsi Joint Venture constructs 4.6-kilometre pipelineBy Richard Harrison

topsoil, trench excavations and bedding started in January 2016 and pipe-laying began in February 2016.

By the end of March 1 850-metres of trench had been excavated, and a total of 1 100-metres of steel pipe had been laid. The joint venture is on schedule for practical completion on 10 November 2016.

Captions:1. A sideboom prepares to lay a 900ND steel pipe.2. Stefanutti Stocks' team of welders weld the newly laid pipe.3. The site team, front row from left to right are Jan Smit, Daniel Modiba and

Sam Mabela. Back row left to right are Walter Mukosi, Rudi Stander, Matimba Mkhwanazi, Stevan Haley, Brian Jali and Anton Brink.

1

2

3


26 500 low-income dwelling units in surrounding residential areas, as well as the Mangaung Correctional Services.

An unusual aspect of the project is the elevated inlet-works structure. “Traditionally inlet works are built into the ground, however, the inlet works we are constructing here are elevated to accommodate gravitational fl ow of sewerage throughout the plant,” explains senior site agent Craig Cock.

The new lane will initially provide a process capacity of 14 Ml-a-day with a hydraulic capacity of 20 Ml-a-day. Ultimately it will have a combined process and hydraulic capacity of 20 Ml-a-day.

Captions:1. A 3D view of the Sterkfontein WWTW inlet works.2. The general arrangement of the Sterkfontein WWTW inlet works.


The New North Eastern WWTW

The New North Eastern WWTW project, also being undertaken for the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, is being constructed to relieve the load on an existing, hydraulically overloaded facility that services the greater Bloemfontein area.

Phase 1, completed by Stefanutti Stocks Civils KZN in 2015, entailed the civil construction of new waste-water treatment infrastructure elements and included new inlet works; secondary settling tanks; chlorination tanks and buff er ponds; concrete lined sludge lagoons;

pump stations and associated pipe works; a chlorine-dosing building and an administration building.

Stefanutti Stocks Structures’ strategic enterprise development partner Axsys Projects undertook certain elements of the work on Phase 1.

A further extension at the New North Eastern WWTW, encompassing construction of a biological reactor; blower room building and the laying of 1 080m-long, 1 500mm HDPE outfall pipeline, was awarded to the division.

Once complete, the 45 Ml-a-day works will be the largest of its kind in the Mangaung District.Captions:1. The chlorine dosing channels at the new North Eastern Waste Water Treatment Works.2. The bio reactor at the new North Eastern Waste Water Treatment Works.3. The bio reactor at the new North Eastern Waste Water Treatment Works.

1

2

1 32

Construction of new lane commences at Mangaung’s Sterkwater Waste-Water Treatment Works Source: Craig Cock

Repeat client Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality awarded the construction of a new treatment lane at the Sterkwater Waste-Water Treatment Works (WWTW) to Stefanutti Stocks Civils KZN.

The new lane is being constructed on the existing Sterkwater WWTW site located south-east of Bloemfontein that serves approximately

2


Energy Generation

Stefanutti Stocks rebuilds and strengthens coal silos and other coal handling infrastructure atMajuba Power Station Source: Francois Vermeulen

In late 2014 the collapse of Coal Silo 20 at the Majuba Power Station in Mpumalanga made headlines across South Africa. Investigations by an Eskom engineering team observed further external cracks and damage on Silo 20’s lift shaft, conveyor piers and two more silos (Silos 10 and 30).

During the technical pre-qualification stage Eskom shortlisted several contractors and, in late 2015, awarded this tender to a Stefanutti Stocks RULA consortium. The project was awarded to the consortium on the basis of a fixed lump-sum project for the design and construction of earthworks, civils, mechanical and electrical & instrumentation (E&I).

Work commenced on site on 4 January 2016 with a targeted completion date for the civil construction component of 2 August 2016. The mechanical and electrical installations undertaken by RULA Bulk Material Handling, is to be completed by December 2016.

The scope of the Engineer-Procure-Construct (EPC) project includes the dismantling of existing structures; new designs; procurement, fabrication, and manufacturing; delivery to site of new components and material; followed by erection and installation. The civil silo repair was designed by Eskom’s engineers, while the structural, mechanical and E&I is designed, fabricated and erected by RULA.

Stefanutti Stocks’ civil scope specifically includes the reinstatement of Silo 20, as well as the strengthening of Silos 10 and 30, and all supporting systems including lift shaft, transfer houses, conveyor gantries and two new piers comprising of 65m-high rectangular hollow concrete columns.

The reconstruction of Silo 20 includes demolishing about half of the silo, strengthening a third with an additional outside wall, and reconstructing the remaining two thirds with a new outside wall. The strengthening of Silos 10 and 30 will see an additional single wall installed to two thirds of

the existing silos. Stefanutti Stocks has three 72-metre high, self-standing tower cranes situated at each of the silos respectively.

Scheduling“The programme is very tight with specific key milestone dates that we

are working on 24 hours per day, seven days a week to meet,” says Francois Vermeulen, Stefanutti Stocks Civils contracts director for the project. “RULA’s access to Silo 20 is critical as they need to first install transfer grillage to the main structure, after which the steel conveyor gantry sections will be installed.”

The transfer house (the main structure) is located on the top of Silo 20 with the overhang structural beams resting on the two new piers. Access to the top of Silo 20 is via the lift shaft which is also being rebuilt after being damaged in the collapse. The piers and lift shaft are scheduled to be completed shortly after the completion of Silo 20. “The lift shaft structure is currently being reinstated by means of slip-forming,” explains Vermeulen, “whilst the piers are being constructed using a conventional hand-over-hand formwork system.”

This project is unique in that it is a full EPC design and construct project in which all different role players are working as one team, thus making the interface between the consortium parties critical in achieving the project's success. “The unusual interface and the niche construction methodologies applied mean that the project team must plan and act as a unit in order to achieve the fast track schedule,” concludes Vermeulen.

Captions: 1. Silo 20, the piers and the lift shaft under reconstruction.2. Silo 10 after it has been cleaned and 8000 chemical anchors installed in preparation

for strengthening.

1 2


Divisions from all four of the multidisciplinary construction group Stefanutti Stocks’ business units (Building; Structures; Mechanical & Electrical; Roads, Pipelines & Mining Services) have participated in the construction of the Kusile Power Station in Mpumalanga.

The most high-profile and visually evident aspect of this mega-project, was the civil works contract undertaken by the Kusile Civils Works Joint Venture (KCWJV) with Stefanutti Stocks Civils as the lead partner. This was completed in September 2015, after a seven-year construction period, during which some of the JV highlights included:• The construction of the dewatering building base - a continuous

concrete pour over three days and using a total of 3 636m3 of concrete.• The successful construction of four Turbine Generator Blocks in

one year.• The successful sliding of 120 55-metre high Air-Cooled

Condenser columns.• The completion of three boiler units in one year (combined these

three boiler units have around 55 000m2 of apron slabs). • The boiler house team alone poured just over 46 886m3 of

concrete in 2014.• The achievement of the safety milestone of 10-million lost time

injury free (LTIF) hours worked in July 2015.

Currently the KCWJV is working on the civil completion works phase.

Stefanutti Stocks Roads & Earthworks commenced the bulk and restricted excavation for the power station in 2009, a contract which saw the division excavate in excess of 1,5-million-m3 and backfill in excess of 1-million-m3. The division’s scope of work also included blasting, construction of three dirty dams, laying of pipelines and the construction of access roads.

South Africa’s largest piling contract, awarded to Stefanutti Stocks Geotechnical (lead partner) in a Joint Venture, was completed in 2011. The project entailed the design and construction of 8 540 auger cast-in-situ piles (800 - 1 200mm diameter) designed to carry their loads in a combination of side shear and end bearing. Other highlights included

the removal of boulders and obstructions using coring barrels, and the utilisation of 77 725m3 of concrete and 9 229 tons of rebar.

Stefanutti Stocks Civils in a separate Joint Venture, also undertook the design and construction of the material handling silos including six 5 000-ton fly-ash storage silos, two 1 000-ton coal surcharge silos, the ash-conditioning building and fly-ash dump. A further project the division undertook at Kusile saw it apply its resources and skills to the structural concrete construction of the coal stock yard, terrace material handling and limestone material handling facilities.

Stefanutti Stocks Building, again in a Joint Venture, is currently undertaking a building contract that sees the JV constructing a total of 84 buildings and structures that form an integral part of the 4 800MW Kusile Power Station. These structures include conventional buildings, 27 sub-stations, a water treatment plant, wastewater treatment plant, access control building, workshop, administration offices as well as the masonry and finishes within the six-storey auxiliary bays that alone comprise of 20-million bricks.

Stefanutti Stocks Mechanical undertook the fabrication and erection of steel work to six miscellaneous structures, as well as the erection of free issue steel work to a further five structures.

“A project like the construction of the Kusile Power Station project only comes along once or maybe twice in your lifetime,” says Mark Stannard, KCWJV’s project director and Stefanutti Stocks Civils managing director.

“In addition to contributing via our multidisciplinary capabilities, these Kusile contracts have all provided an incredible learning ground for professionals, the workforce, graduates, interns and apprentices - all of whom have benefited from their participation in this technically exciting mega project.”Caption:The aerial photograph show the vast construction scope of the Kusile Power Station project.

Construction group Stefanutti Stocks puts its multidisciplinary skills to playat Kusile Power Station By Chrissi Maria


which needed to be drilled through in order to achieve the minimum required rock sockets, impacted on the production schedule.

Furthermore unexpected water seepage below eight metres deep required proper planning for drilling, pile-base cleaning and concrete pouring. In some of the piles, mainly in the backfi lled areas, severe water ingress and associated side-wall collapses required the utilisation of temporary casings.

This project had very tight milestones and required sections to be handed over in early January 2016, with heavy penalties as a result of not completing on time.

“Our planning in terms of material procurement, mobilising to site and the execution of the works had to be very precise,” says Motaung. “We put a sound strategy in place and completed the overall works and sectional hand overs two weeks ahead of schedule!”

Quality control - pile compression load testsSasol technology partner Air Liquide's, specifi cation required

pile compression load tests be done on three 750mm-diameter piles carrying a working load of 2 765kN. The piles were loaded to 1.5 x working load as per the testing specifi cations.

“The main purpose for conducting the pile compression load testing is to validate and to check compliance with the design specifi cations,” explains project manager Teboho Motaung. “In order to allow the application of a load to the test pile for an extended period of time this method of testing involved the use of a reaction system, using a 500-ton jack to apply the required test load of 4 147kN.”

As pile-compression load testing is regarded as temporary works, the method and assembly of the tests were carried out in accordance with the requirements of SANS1200F, British Standard and the South African Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act.

Captions:1. Stefanutti Stocks Geotechnical's piling rigs on site, with the Sasol plant in

the background.2. A typical pile compression load test assembly used at Sasol Train 17th Plant.

Stefanutti Stocks’ Geotechnical division has successfully executed numerous geotechnical projects for Sasol, including the Oxygen Train 16th project, completed in 2009.

In November 2015 the piling works contract for what will be the worlds’ largest Oxygen production facility, the new Oxygen Train 17th Plant, was awarded to Stefanutti Stocks Geotechnical.

The scope of works on this piling contract included the following:• Preliminary designs at the tender stage and further auger trial

holes to verify the founding conditions.• Final construction design with piles carrying loads in side-shear

only, including client’s minimum requirements based on the auger- trial holes information.

• Installation of 516 temporary cased and uncased Auger-Cased In Situ (ACIS) structural piles, with diameters ranging between 450mm to 750mm.

• Installation of three 750mm-diameter compression-load test piles, with four anchor piles for each test.

The project was not without its challenges. The discovery of an unforeseen hard rock layer of dolerite beneath 83 per cent of the site,

Geotechnical completes another piling project for Sasol's Oxygen Train PlantSource: Teboho Motaung

1Bulk Earthworks & Geotechnical


Geotechnical division undertakes piling

to admin craft basin in Transnet's Port

of NgquraSource: Lindsay Sugden

The Port of Ngqura is a deep-water port located on South Africa’s east coast, about 20km northeast of Port Elizabeth. In addition to being the country’s newest port it is also the deepest, with an entrance channel, and one of the four berths, at 18 metres deep.

In October 2015 the piling works for the improvements to the Port of Ngqura was awarded to Stefanutti Stocks Geotechnical by Basil Read. The piling scope consists of 24 temporary cased oscillator piles, of 1 250mm in diameter, installed in the proposed Admin Craft Basin Finger Pier. A further six 1 100mm diameter piles are being installed in the pontoon section area.

The geology in the fi nger pier area consists of an up to ten-metre deep sand layer measured from the platform level of +3.5 Chart Port Datum (Port of Ngqura), where a 500mm-layer of pebbles was encountered. Below these layers lie another fi ve to ten metres of mud rock, below which slightly weathered sand-stone is established.

The piling design requirement for the Finger Pier is mainly based on friction with a small portion relying on an end-bearing capacity of a 90/10 split. The project’s piling specifi cations fall under British and European Standards, which diff er from South African National Standards. The concrete mix designs, on the Finger Pier’s piling design, are more intricate with various hold points that need to be inspected during the installation process.

Originally the deepest piles were estimated to be at a depth of 17 metres, shallowing out to around 11 metres. “We drilled additional ground investigation holes that indicated the piles would need to be drilled deeper than originally estimated, and that a number of pile depths needed to be revised,” says Stefanutti Stocks Geotechnical’s site agent Lindsay Sugden.

The piling commenced on 17 February 2016. The fi rst two piles were drilled to 23.1-metres and 24-metres respectively, the piles that followed were installed to around 17.5-metres deep.

“Our night works proposal to continue drilling between 00h00 and 07h00 was approved, meaning that we are able to install one pile per day," says Sugden.

The completion date for the Finger Pier is 5 May 2016, after which work on the additional piles in the Pontoon Section will commence.

Following the required testing the piling project at the Port of Ngqura will be completed by end May 2016.

Captions:1. Dusk falls on the night works at Transnet’s Port of Ngqura.2. Stefanutti Stocks' piling rig with the calm waters of the port in the background.

1

2

Bulk Earthworks & Geotechnical


Building

Cecilia Makiwane Hospital project makes its mark on Mdantsane communitySource: Charles Mayne

The new Cecilia Makiwane Hospital (CMH) project was awarded in May 2011, to the joint venture partnership consisting of Stefanutti Stocks Building Eastern Cape (as the lead contractor), Simunye Developers and Sakhekhaya Contracting.

The construction of this state-of-the-art healthcare facility in Mdantsane, the second largest township in South Africa after Soweto, commenced in June 2011 and on 4 February 2016 the project was inaugurated by the MEC of Health for the Eastern Cape, Ms Pumza Patricia Dyantyi.

Client Coega Development Corporation (Pty) Ltd (CDC) is acting as the implementing agent on behalf of the Department of Health.

The modern 530-bed hospital includes many features which positions it as a service provider of choice and will signifi cantly improve the quality of public healthcare in the region, and will replace the original hospital built in the 1960s.

The fi ve-year long contract has seen the construction of a 50 000m2, double-storey, 530-bed, main hospital building inclusive of:• three general patient ward blocks;• nine clinical ward blocks;• two administration blocks; • maternity wing; • new substation;• upgrades to parts of the existing facility; and• external roads and parking area.

“During construction we adopted a multi-phased approach that enabled progressive unbundling of the project, in order to create opportunities for established as well as small and medium enterprise subcontractors to be engaged on the project,” says project manager Charles Mayne. “In excess of 100 subcontractors have participated on the project, with daily attendance during peak of over 1 500 workers.”

Safety highlights included: • DIFR (disabling injury frequency rate) of zero achieved during

more than 2.5-million man-hours; • 1st place for 2012, 2013 and 2014 in the Regional Master Builders

Safety competition; and • 1st place in the Master Builders National competition for 2012 in

the greater than R500-million category.

Socio-economic highlights included:• 3 200 jobs were created since project commencement.• SMME participation target was exceeded by more than ten per cent. • Opportunities for 32 SMMEs were created.• The local enterprise participation target, as set by the CDC

to promote and stimulate local businesses and economy, was surpassed.

• The internships target, as set by the CDC was surpassed and saw 15 interns participate in the Stefanutti Stocks cadet foreman training programme.

• The requirement to train 270 general workers has been surpassed and has seen many employees go on to become semi-skilled and sometimes skilled workers.

“We have also taken the time to understand and listen to the needs of the community and the unions, and have utilised what remained of the life skills training budget to be relevant and add value to the existing skills base in the area,” explains Mayne.

In spite of the busy construction site, it was imperative not to disrupt the existing hospital operations and comfort of its patients during construction. Careful planning and scheduling was put in place to ensure that noise and other construction-related disturbances were kept to an absolute minimum.


Cecilia Makiwane Hospital project makes its mark on Mdantsane communitySource: Charles Mayne

Building

1

2

3

4

“This state-of-the-art facility combines patient comfort and well-being with modern designs and colour schemes, which will compliment the high standard of healthcare provided, and create a positive environment for both patients and hospital staff ,” says Mayne.

As with any large project of this nature, this one has not come without its challenges. “As we push forward to have the facility completed and handed over by the end of July 2016 we are pleased that most of these challenges are well behind us now, and that the hospital will be ready to receive the fi rst patient in October,” concludes Mayne.

Captions:Main picture: Cecilia Makiwane, also refered to as CMH4C, is currently the biggest hospital development in Southern Africa.

1. The specialist pediatric care unit at the hospital incorporates the latest in medical technology.

2. The maternity operating theatre forms part of the state-of-the-art maternity wing.3. A typical ward corridor, incorporating modern designs and bright colours.4. The hospital is set in landscaped gardens and the buildings boast various

external fi nishes that have been incorporated into the façade designs.


Building KZN demolishes, refurbishes and constructs industrial distribution warehouse forBata ProductsSource: Dave Lourenco

Stefanutti Stocks Building KZN is constructing an industrial distribution warehouse that will be used by Bata Products in Hammersdale. The project, being undertaken for repeat client KZN-based Collins Property Development, entailed demolition, new construction and refurbishment elements and is due to be completed at the beginning of June 2016.

Prior to construction of the new distribution warehouse a large part of the existing facility had to be demolished. This required technical and sensitive work fi nesse, in order to minimise any disruption to the tenants trading in the existing adjacent structures. The demolitions included that of an existing structure comprising prestressed concrete roofi ng, major support beams; two three-storey air stations running through the footprint of the site; existing surface beds; external hardstands; and the demolition of two out-buildings.

Following the phased demolition works, a signifi cant network of tunnels below the existing 16 700m2 surface-bed area needed to be backfi lled, requiring a total volume of 9 600m3 and resulting in tighter programme. The backfi lling utilised processed material from the demolished concrete roof structure and surface beds which was crushed and processed to a specifi ed G5 grade material. “The project’s critical path was ultimately governed by the timeous screening of approved backfi lling material for the tunnels, as this had to precede the casting of column base foundations, in order for the structural steel to be erected,” says senior site agent Dave Lourenco.

Tunnels that incorporated live services had to be de-commissioned at a very late stage to facilitate the existing tenants, which also delayed the start of casting various concrete support elements under tight programme restraints. “To accelerate the programme’s operations, we

Building

1

7 July 2015

increased resources and adopted precast columns in certain locations of Phase 1 to enable the structural steel erection,” explains Lourenco.

The new build elements of the project encompassed a technical erection of structural steel, a structural concrete framework for docking and loading bays, the casting of a new 16 700m2 surface bed as well as 12 200m2 of new concrete external hardstands. Stefanutti Stocks’ scope of work also included refurbishing existing structures to facilitate new ablutions, changerooms, a canteen and offi ces.

“Despite, the ongoing variation of works and signifi cant work scope changes on the project, we are committed to handing over this project on time, and to a happy client,” says Lourenco.

At the end of April 2016 the site had achieved a lost time injury-free rate (LTIFR) of zero.Captions:1. An aerial perspective (taken 7 July 2015) of the existing facility that was

demolished to make way for the construction of a new structure.2. An interior photograph of the distribution facility shows some of the precast

columns, taken 21 April 2016.

2

21 April 2016


Building

Swaziland'sInternational Convention Centrepromises to be a landmark development Source: Hannes Geyser

Swaziland’s Ministry of Economic Planning and Development awarded the construction of the landmark International Convention Centre (ICC), located in Ezulwini, to a joint venture between Stefanutti Stocks Swaziland (50%), Inyatsi Construction Ltd (30%) and Kukhanya Civil Engineering Contractors (20%).

“This is the largest single project in Swaziland at the moment and the largest ever undertaken in this country,” says contracts’ manager Hannes Geyser. “The concept design was completed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the working drawings were done in South Africa and Swaziland, and the day-to-day administration of the project is being handled in Swaziland.”

The ICC building contract consists of the construction of a single building, with an approximate fl oor area of 40 000m2, that will house a 1 800-seat theatre, an exhibition centre, conferencing chambers, a restaurant and a multi-purpose hall across its two basements, a ground fl oor and a fi rst fl oor.

The roofs will consist of a combination of concrete roof slabs and a structural steel roof structure, which will be covered either by steel roof sheeting or by glass. Some of these curved structural steel roofs will span 56 metres, and there is also an elliptically-shaped dome which will span 48 metres.

The building fi nishes are of very high specifi cations and the facades are a combination of specialised cementitious coatings, aluminium


cladding and plaster and paint. “There are some very interesting concrete features on the façade of the building, including a 22-metre high concrete wall on a curve, with circular and shield-shaped openings in the walls,” explains Geyser. Some of the concrete columns will be built at angles and a number of concrete beams will be curved in both planes.

The building has been divided into three similar-sized zones, with a team deployed to each of these zones. “The success of this project hinges on each individual team driving progress on each of the three zones, while still working in synergy with one another, to complete the project as a whole,” says Geyser. “Our project slogan One Team. One Goal. emphasises our commitment to achieving a high-quality, on-budget and on-time completion for our client.”

The project is set to run over three years, from its commencement date 15 October 2015 through to the targeted completion date 15 October 2018. Once open, the ICC is set to host many illustrious events including the 2020 African Union (AU) summit.Captions:1. A photograph of a 3D model of the International Convention Centre demonstrates

some of the grandeur of the new facility.2. The construction site with foundations underway and the magnifi cent Mdzimba

Mountains in the background.

1

2


Johan, how did you begin a career in construction?When my family moved house to Walvis Bay I found tremendous

satisfaction in helping my mom fi gure out ‘issues’ in our new home. I also enjoyed drawing at school, so when it came to enrolling at university I chose to study Architecture. After my fi rst year I decided to change to something less ‘arty’ and more practical, and moved over to study BSc Building Management. In spite of work being scarce I fortunately managed to fi nd a placement with Van Streepen & Germs for my practical experience. They were building the 1-Military Hospital in Voortrekkerhoogte Pretoria. It was quite exciting to be involved in such a large site and learn about all aspects of building structures and the magnitude of fi nishes and services involved… the rest is history.

Which career highlights stand out most, and why?I’ve been involved in such a diverse spectrum of projects, that

it’s diffi cult to make a selection. The most exciting project was probably building The Palace at Sun City in 1991. I was young and energetic, and gave my all to my role as full-time project leader on site. While working with Sol Kerzner was an eye-opener and added to a fantastic learning experience, this project was also the most taxing of my career. I had to fi ght hard to stay on top, we worked extremely long hours, and my family never saw me - thank goodness I have a supportive wife!

We worked 18-hour days and sometimes I wasn’t clever enough to do it the smart way and did it the long way - that’s how you learn… However, we did manage to deliver the project in 18 short months…

Other highlights were working on the 39-storey, Michelangelo in Sandton, as well as building the Ushaka Marine Aquarium complex in Durban, which was a civil challenge of note!!

Was there a time that your learning curve went up signifi cantly?There are certain times in your career during which you accelerate,

and these are closely related to the experiences you are gathering. My big step was during The Palace contract where I had observed how Sol handled the professional team and dealt with issues and decision-making relating to architecture, building details or access. Sol had a philosophy that the builder was always part of the team, - that didn’t mean he always listened to you, but it was good to be part of fi guring out the fi ner details.

Do you think that today things function better than when you were at the coalface?

I think technology has paved the way for us to do things faster. The advances in communication for one have made it possible to be reachable anywhere, at all times. I remember in 1988 having to travel 20 kilometres from site in Taung to a landline in order to be able to communicate with ‘civilisation’ each time we needed to communicate, order material, request information or co-ordinate subcontractors.

In principle we still have the same type of plant, it is just a lot more advanced and state-of-the-art. The formwork systems have advanced tremendously and today we have a variety to choose from.

Parting shotsJohan Brink retires as contracts director at Stefanutti Stocks Building after 42 years in the industry.

My only criticism of the technological advances is that the ease of communication has taken some of the discipline away. Prior to the communication explosion, when a drawing arrived on a site, it had been checked and double checked for its accuracy and constructibility, as it was hand drawn and hard copies were printed.

Today, the ease with which one can revise and re-issue drawings at the click of a button, has replaced this discipline and it can become frustrating, as it does not support the project’s progress.

What do you miss about your early career?In my early career, aside from a few droughts, we had a lot of

work. These days, with the increased competition all bidding for the same pot, it’s a tougher and more insecure environment. I do miss the camaraderie of the old days - there were many of us who walked together. Today we have more staff turnover and are constantly working with new teams, making it more challenging to deliver projects on time and on budget, as you constantly have new players on the team to integrate.

What has infl uenced you most - people, projects or places?When I started off working, I was very focused on my career, and

the projects that I was working on fascinated me. Over a 12-year period I worked on various projects at the OR Tambo International Airport and I made it my business to understand the client’s requirements. Understanding how they function made it easier to plan projects around their house rules and operational requirements and public standards.

My people-focus developed following the realisation that I wasn’t just a cog in the wheel, but often head of a team that I had to get on board and mobilise in the same direction. In our industry, achieving this unifi ed action, is one of the toughest parts! Two of the wisest things ever said to me were by my father and by Sol Kersner. Kersner’s advice was: “Never present something to the client or team, if you have not yet fully understood what is required; or if it is not 100 per cent completed or functional. YOU must believe in it!!” My father told me never to do business with friends or family as it will always end up in a fi ght!

With regard to places, I have worked in all the provinces of SA as well as in Dubai, Botswana, Swaziland, Mozambique, and most recently on the Swakopmund Strand Hotel in Namibia. This was the fi rst time I have worked in the place of my birth - it feels fi tting to retire on the back of that.

They say construction is in your blood - is this true?In my case it was certainly my passion to do what I have been doing.

I really enjoyed physically seeing what we created rising and growing out of the foundations we cast in the ground. Reading, understanding and coming to grips with how to translate the designs into a reality was a buzz. I never had any hobbies outside of my work… my only team sport was working and building. It consumed me.

What advice do you have for people entering the industry?Varsity will teach you the theory, but your success will be a product

of what eff ort you put in. If you are a go-getter who has perseverance, then you are in the right place. Also, it’s a team sport - no one can deliver a construction project alone. Train people for the future as the industry is losing its experience and capability fast!

If you had your life over…? My career has been so intense that I spent little time investigating

anything else. Seeing the results of my labour is a great story for me to tell, but knowing what I know today I might choose diff erently, but to be truthful, I‘m not sure there is anything else I would have enjoyed as much.


extension project that entails the construction of fi ve new classroom buildings, a cafeteria, indoor sports facilities, two soccer fi elds and a fi re-fi ghting system.

Two unusual aspects of this upgrade included an imported sewer treatment plant that uses UV chambers, and the sound-proofi ng requirement for the music room. Both of these are not very common in schools in Mozambique and personnel with experience in these specifi c areas were sourced for this niche element of the scope of work.

“The project programme has set completion dates for specifi c areas within the school that must be met, so that students can begin using the new facilities,” says contracts’ director Luis Gaspar. “We are currently on course to deliver the completed project at the end of May, and will complete it within the client’s budget.”

SS Construções Moçambique upgrades American School in Maputo

Source: Luis Gaspar

SS Construções (Moç) Lda completed the fi rst extensions to the American International School of Mozambique in Maputo in 2010. In September 2014 the general contractor commenced a further

55 000m2 distributioncentre for Mr Price excels on safetySource: John Dorning

Stefanutti Stocks Building KZN its nearing completion of a new KZN-based distribution centre for Mr Price. The project includes the construction of a 55 000m2 under roof area which includes a 15 000m2 mezzanine area, 45 000m2 of external concrete hardstands and ancillary buildings. These consist of a main offi ce and change rooms, two sub-stations, a trucker’s node, a battery bay, a sprinkler and hydrant pump room, water harvest tanks, a concrete bridge, a perimeter water channel, a guard house and canopies over the dock bays.

In order to deliver a completed project within a tight construction programme Stefanutti Stocks split the project in half, approaching the construction of the distribution centre as though it were two separate construction projects.

The project, that has a targeted completion date of July 2016, was placed fi rst in the Master Builders Association Regional Safety Awards and has thus far achieved a lost time injury free rate (LTIFR) of zero.

Stefanutti Stocks Building wins PMR Diamond arrow awardBy Chrissi Maria

In the recent Professional Management Review (PMR) Africa survey of the construction industry, Stefanutti Stocks Building achieved the highest rating of all the companies surveyed. This recognition resulted in the building contractor being awarded the Diamond Arrow Award. “We are not taking this accolade lightly as this acknowledgement by the professionals that we work with, and for, essentially tells us that we are doing something right,” says Howard Jones, managing director of Stefanutti Stocks Building.

Respondents were asked to rate South African construction companies based on their perceived performance across 13 attributes, including capacity, pricing, continuity of management, empowerment, co-operation, quality, responsiveness, sustainable practices and so forth.

“This award tells us that we are on the right track and encourages us to continue working towards delivering a solution-oriented, constructive and innovative service as construction partners to our clients,” says Jones. He continues, saying that he is proud of Stefanutti Stocks Building’s track record of successful projects, its ability to forge strong relationships with both its clients and their professional teams; and its drive to continually improve industry practices.

Stefanutti Stocks Building is currently engaged in some exciting projects including a a distribution centre for Mr Price, a production facility for BMW and various other industrial warehousing projects where it is utilising precast concrete and tilt-up technology. Across the borders of South Africa the group is involved in the construction of Mbabane’s International Conference Centre and the United Nations House, and in Mozambique it recently completed the iconic Horizon Towers. In Namibia, in 2015, it successfully completed a retirement village, a hospital and the 4-star Swakopmund Strand Hotel, and is currently constructing a multi-purpose high-rise development on Freedom Square in Windhoek.


Safety

Building Business Unit’s OHSE-strategy drives culture change across the industrySource: Jaco Underhay

The Stefanutti Stocks Building business unit’s success in the Occupational Health, Safety and Environment (OHSE) sphere is evident in its year-on-year injury statistics improvement, which has seen a drop in the Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) from 0.31 to 0.03 since 2014. “This remarkable improvement has been driven by all levels of employees within the organisation,” “says Jaco Underhay, the business unit’s SHEQ manager. “The change in behaviour and culture across the business unit (BU) has been driven by greater employee understanding of safety and environmental matters. By empowering them, we have laid a progressive platform - which, with their hard work, commitment and endurance has become the catalyst for success.”

In a bid to change the industry’s view of OHSE the Building BU embarked on some initiatives, specifically across some of its operations in Africa.

In 2015, following the logging of six lost time injures (LTIs) in Namibia, which significantly impacted the BUs LTIFR, the business embarked on an OHSE awareness campaign that targeted not only the company but the Namibian industry as a whole. This culminated in the realisation of a 12-month zero LTIFR period in the country’s operations and prompted the organisation to develop more initiatives in an effort to contribute towards SHEQ within the broader South African construction industry.

“We approached industry bodies like the Master Builder Association of South Africa (MBASA) and partnered with the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) of Namibia with the express purpose of impacting OHSE-compliance and performance by creating a wide-spread Occupational Health and Safety Educational drive,” says Underhay. This initiative also resulted in the incorporation of an MBASA service called “Training-on-the-Move”, that sees a vehicle, equipped with visual and auditory features, travelling between construction projects to provide essential construction-

related OHSE training. Training in different modules is offered with each fifteen-minute session able to accommodate 35 participants.

“This training is further enhanced by industrial theatre, specifically Stefanutti Stocks’ “Mr Zee” who plays an exceptional role in driving the OHSE culture change which is specifically aligned with Stefanutti Stocks’ values.”

This mobile approach has yielded multiple benefits including:• a non-conventional classroom set-up that encourages participation;• practical work environment examples that encourage

interactive engagement;• better awareness is created by the participative and interactive

nature of the training provided; • training costs are reduced as they are shared between all role players; • loss of production is minimised as employees do not leave the

work area for long periods at a time; and• operational site employees get the benefits of valuable OHSE training.

“We are pleased with the results the campaigns have realised and will over the next twelve months focus on maintaining and improving them to ensure that safety remains entrenched within our business culture,” concludes Underhay.

Captions:1. Mr Paul Adams from the MBA North introducing the “Training-on-the-Move” vehicle2. Mr Zee encouraging participation from a group of employees.3. Mr Zee explaining Occupation Health Safety Educational (OHSE) concepts utilising

some props.

1

2 3


People

The Cape Town Building divisiongets active!Source: Brandon Goldsworthy

The Western Cape Building division has thus far had an incredibly active year by taking advantage of the numerous sporting events happening in and around Cape Town.

On 6 March 2016 Amorene Kleinschmidt, Jacqueline Pryra, Faried Rinquest, Mark Frans, Donny Petersen and Brandon Goldsworthy donned their lycra outfi ts to embark on the annual Cape Town Cycle Tour (formerly known as the Argus). The weather on the day was perfect and a number of personal best times were recorded, with Donny leading the way in an impressive time of three hours and 26 minutes! As there is no shortage of cycling events in the Mother City the team can often be spotted sporting the Stefanutti Stocks colours whilst competing, both on the road and in the mountains.

Two weeks later Mark and Faried swopped their bikes for running shoes, and were out pounding the tar in the Two Oceans Marathon. Faried completed his fi rst half Marathon, while Mark went all out and ran the full 56-kilometre ultra marathon. It’s no secret that Mark is a veteran of the sport, and has completed numerous ultra-marathons including the Comrades Marathon.

On 10 April “Ironman” Gabriel Kriel took part in the Port Elizabeth Ironman triathlon event, which he completed in an excellent time of ten hours and 41 minutes! An Ironman triathlon consists of a 3.8-kilometre swim followed by a 180-kilometre cycle and a 42-kilometre run. Just to get to the fi nish line is an incredible achievement!

While Gabriel was showing his grit in Port Elizabeth the Stefanutti Stocks Building WC indoor football team was competing in the annual Childhood Cancer Foundation known as “CHOC” seven-a-side football tournament. A total of 56 teams were entered, with eight teams per group. The event kicked off at 09:15 and continued until dark… for some. Unfortunately the Building WC team lost a vital match, resulting in them being a few points shy of proceeding to the play-off s – however, their ten points did see them placed in the middle of the group.

“Win or lose this was a great charity event to be a part of, and, at the end of the day people less fortunate than ourselves benefi ted from the event,” says team captain Mathieu Carpentier. “We’re looking forward to the 2017 event for which we hope to gather more support and for which we plan to enter two teams. In keepinig with our competitive spirit, we hope to progress further next time.”

On 21 April, back on two wheels, and following his speedy Cape Town Cycle Tour, Donny went looking for a bigger challenge, which he found in the form of the 36ONE mountain bike race. Known as the ultimate single-stage race in South Africa, the 361-kilometre non-stop event is known as one of the toughest endurance events there is. There is a 36-hour cut-off to complete the race, which Donny easily achieved by coming in at 26 hours!

Winter is a surprisingly active time in Cape Town and the Western Cape Building teams are all training hard for some upcoming exciting running and mountain bike events. Watch this space…

Captions:1. Western Cape Building’s own iron man Gabriel Kriel - “Gaffi e” completing his race.2. Mark Frans taking the Cycle Tour in his stride.3. Donny Petersen and his team mate Chris after their 36ONE fi nish4. Western Cape Building’s GM, Mauro Donato racing to the fi nish line.5. The ever-energetic Mark Frans still strong after 56-kilometres of the Two Oceans

Ultra Marathon.6. Brandon Goldsworthy and Donny Petersen “fl ying” down the mountain.7. From left to right, at the Durbie Dash ride fi nish, are: Faried Rinquest, Amorene

Kleinschmidt, Jacqueline Pryra, Brandon Goldsworthy and Mark Frans.8. The enthusiastic Western Cape football team!

1 2 3 4

5 6

7 8


Stefanutti Stocks buy out and adjusting to the Stefanutti Stocks’ way of operating.

What do you miss, if anything, about your early career?I miss the effi ciency of undertaking a project. Compliance

requirements were minimal yet adequate. In addition, all engineering and fi nancial problems were speedily resolved.

What has infl uenced you most, people, projects or places?The loyalty, honesty and commitment of people have had a major

infl uence in my life.

What advice would you give to engineers entering the industry?

• Ignore your job description and get involved with every aspect of the industry.

• Have patience, hang in there. • One thing that is guaranteed in life, is that

change will happen. • Be ready when the opportunity arrives.What do you see as Stefanutti Stocks’ key strengths?

The exceptional leadership qualities of senior management and of Willie Meyburgh and Gino Stefanutti before him are defi nitely the company’s key strengths.

What will you miss most about going to work?I will miss working with a great team of people and the social

occasions we enjoyed together.

What are you plans for retirement? At present I am working harder than ever setting up hydroponic

tunnels and enjoying the sea, fi shing, family and old school friends. I might need to go back to work for a rest!

Do you have any other thoughts?It’s time to move on, and let the younger generation take over.

Some of the people in management were only three years old when I was made managing director… I have taught them all I know, add that to what they have learned along the way, and they are now far more experienced and capable than I am.

Aubrey, how long have you been in the industry?I have been in the construction industry for about 45 years.

Firstly, with Roberts Construction from 1972 to 1980, then Group Five Projects from 1980 to 1983. In 1983, together with Harry Skelton, Colin Plummer, Richard Leitao, Ian Wright and Roy Dukes, I left Group Five and we set up our own business Skelton & Plummer, which later became Stefanutti Stocks Mechanical. What is interesting to note is that I ended my career with Stefanutti Stocks at the Barbara Road offi ces - the very same offi ces I started out in, with Roberts in 1972.

You started Skelton & Plummer (S&P) in 1983, and a controlling share was acquired by Stefanutti Stocks in 2008. Can you mention one or two career highlights please - one as S&P, and one under the SSK banner?

With S&P the award of our fi rst major project at Ergo was defi nitely a highlight - we had no plant or equipment and offl oaded our containers from a truck by anchoring them to an electrical pole and dragging them off (note to everyone reading - please don’t do this at home. Note to the safety offi cers - yes, we know…)

At Stefanutti Stocks I would say a project highlight was the multidisciplinary Life of Mine project for Kumba Iron Ore, which was successfully completed by the group.

What is the wisest thing anyone has ever said to you?There have been a few - “Keep to your knitting”, in other words,

do not get involved in projects you know little about, and “We all put our underwear on one foot at a time” – be humble and respectful to everyone.

Is “Turnover is vanity, profi t is sanity, cash fl ow is reality” a ‘mantra’ that you’ve used throughout your career?

Yes, defi nitely. These are the basic cornerstones of a successful organisation.

Was there a period in your life when the learning curve was on a sharp upward trend?

At 23 I was appointed contracts manager for the low pressure piping at the Kriel power station. I was thrown in at the deep end and had no clue what an “allowable” was! Then, it was being made managing director of the Skelton & Plummer Mechanical Division and having to deal with the old guard of the mining houses. And finally ‘surviving’ as managing director after the

Parting shotsAubrey Michel retires as managing director of Stefanutti Stocks Mechanical after 45 years in the industry.

Aubrey Michel


Safety

“Safe Flight to Safework” campaign demonstrates it pays to work safely!Source: Jos De Clercq

During the last quarter of 2015 staff at the Glencore site, where Stefanutti Stocks’ Tailings division is operating the Boshoek and Wonderkop tailings dams, embarked on a safety campaign entitled “Safe Flight”. The campaign ran from 1 November 2015 to 31 January 2016 and all employees, including long term contractors, were eligible to participate. “Participants committed to staying safe during the three month period, with the campaign’s aim being that everybody would take ownership and responsibility for their own safety and that of their fellow workers,” explains Jos De Clercq.

In order to participate in the “safe fl ight” campaign each person was given a boarding pass for each month that they worked and remained injury free. Everyone who remained injury free could then enter their three boarding passes into the draw and also qualify for the Golden First Class Ticket!

Two of Stefanutti Stocks’ Tailings employees, Patrick Morake and Solly Molelekwa, won two of the major prizes, with Patrick walking away with a cheque for R30 000 and Solly with R20 000!

“The Tailings management team salutes all employees who performed well and took responsibility for their own safety. In particular congratulations go to these two dedicated employees.” says De Clercq. “The whole campaign just reiterates the notion that working Safely Pays!”

Captions:1. Pictured is Patrick Morake, one of the campaign's winners.2. Pictured is Solly Molelekwa delighted to receive his campaign reward for his

commitment to safety.

Marius Boteshas spent the past 22 years in the structural, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation and piping (SMEIP) industry, the last four of which were as a business-owner. He started his career in 1994 with Grinaker-LTA, where he climbed the ladder to eventually become the managing director of the Metals & Minerals division. In 2012 he left Grinaker-LTA to start two companies - Celik Engineering and KLB Mkhize Electrical Projects, both of which were sold to Stefanutti Stocks, prior to Botes joining the group. He made the following comments on his new position:

Taking on the role as managing director of the Mechanical division sees me back in an environment that I’m very comfortable in. This is where I have been for pretty much my entire working career, and it is an environment I understand well. Nonetheless before taking on the full responsibility of the position, I spent two months working alongside Aubrey getting to know the business. I was pleasantly surprised in that I was handed a sound business, with quality systems and experienced people with great integrity. These sound fundamentals mean that going forward we can focus on what we need to do in order to realise opportunities and our growth potential.

Currently business in South Africa, to say the least, is under severe pressure, and we will be focusing our eff orts on business development across our borders. In my previous life, about forty per cent of our annual turnover was generated by projects on the continent. As some of the group’s business units, in particular the Roads, Pipelines & Mining Services business unit, are well-established in cross-border markets, we plan to ally ourselves with them and make use of their experience and infrastructure to target relevant opportunities.

In terms of the kinds of contracts we will target, we will work wherever we feel we are able to add value and have the appropriate skills sets whether it is in the mining, heavy industrial or power generation and renewable energies. There is work to be had out there, and we are currently focusing on realigning our business with our strategy and objectives.

I believe that this division hasn’t stretched itself as far as it is capable of in terms of targeting large projects. We must address this, as well as the perception in the market that we shy away from participating in large contracts. We certainly have the skills and technical resources to deliver a R500-million project as much as we are able to deliver one that is valued at R200-million.

“One of my challenges is going to be retaining the strong resources we have, while further strengthening our position. Our business development drive will also see us pursuing opportunities with our existing clients in their cross-border operations and I am looking forward to further strengthening our relationships with them, as well as growing our sub-Saharan African contract base.

1

2


right about the risk, as at that time we didn’t have the facilities, the equipment or the funds. However, after sleeping on it he called me and asked if we could fi nd a partner with whom we could undertake the contract in a joint venture. We both knew that if we were successful in ‘pulling’ this project off , it would put the company on the map and the industry would certainly take notice. To cut a long story short we did fi nd a partner in Basil Read (owned at the time by Bouygues), with whom we completed the cooling towers a year ahead of schedule. The construction techniques we applied had not been used in this country before and the success of the project was further acknowledged with a Fulton Award for Excellence in the use of concrete.

In the early 2000s the business grew from strength to strength and in 2005 we began restructuring in preparation for entering the unknown, which was to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. During the build-up to the listing date Gino, Dermot and myself underwent media interview training by David Williams and during one of these sessions David got confused as to what our respective titles would be in the listed entity. Gino certainly has his own way of doing things, which usually involves as little fuss as possible, and right then and there he casually ‘offi cially’ appointed us as Executive Chairman, CFO and CEO. No further announcements were ever made and we successfully listed Stefanutti & Bressan under his strong leadership in August 2007.

Chapter 7: Johannesburg (pp 102-103 from Gino Stefanutti's perspective.)

By the mid-nineties we had become one of the most prominent construction companies in Natal and were close to celebrating the milestone of twenty-fi ve years in the business. The province, however, was a small pond and Johannesburg as a business prospect had always been close to my heart.

The Johannesburg pond was home to some big fi sh, but I thrived on the competition and the challenges inherent therein. Willie’s defection to S&B inspired a few cynical and snide remarks in established construction circles as most thought he had joined a backyard bakkie builder – but it didn’t take long before we awoke them from their false sense of security and into high alert.

Nineteen ninety-six marked not only our company’s 25th anniversary it was also the year we moved in on Johannesburg, under the radar at fi rst, but not for long. As we raised our heads above the parapet the established fi rms tried to squash us, but we had great fun playing the construction game of ducks and drakes, especially when we were awarded projects that they felt entitled to.

Prior to relocating with my family to Johannesburg I used to commute between the cities – either by plane or by car. On one of my drives back to Durban, Willie called me saying he had just gotten off the phone to Heinz Spreitzer from DB Thermal, who had enquired if we could build three cooling towers for him. I said: “Willie, three cooling towers, we have never built one - don’t you think it’s a little bit on the big side.” He said: “Yes, no, but… let’s think about it.”

He went back to Heinz saying that the job was a bit on the big side for us, to which Heinz responded that he had no intention of awarding the project to our competition saying that their price was exorbitant. Following his suggestion that we look for someone to partner with, Willie approached Trevor Jackson, the managing director of Basil Read, and we reached an agreement to tackle the project as a joint venture. Three years later and 12 months ahead of schedule, and probably to the disappointment of our opposition, we successfully completed the Majuba power station cooling towers.

From then on, the industry knew our name.

Chapter 7: Johannesburg (pp 111-112 from Willie Meyburgh's perspective)When we started as a relatively unknown entity in Johannesburg

potential clients would sometimes ask the question “Who is this Stefanutti & Bressan?”, and in response I would introduce them to Gino, who with his charismatic, larger-than-life personality would quickly win them over. Sometimes he would talk of our capacity and assets and punch much higher than our weight, but he certainly had the knack of convincing clients to give us the work and we never failed to deliver, in fact we often exceeded expectations and undertook a lot of ‘fi rsts’ for the industry in South Africa.

His initial reaction to taking on the Majuba Cooling Towers project was “We’re too small, you’re mad, it’s too big for us,” and he was

Gino's book "Conversations, with and about Gino Stefanutti" is available on Amazon. All proceeds from the sales go to The Love Trust.

A trip down memory laneAn extract from: Conversations, with and about Gino Stefanutti


This year Stefanutti Stocks celebrates its 20. year since expanding its operations from its KZN home-base to Gauteng in 1996.

Over the past two decades the contracting group has grown its capabilities and skills in response to market demand and today, as a multidisciplinary listed construction group, it off ers a range of niche construction skills across South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.

The Gauteng chapter, which catapulted the group into another league, began with the award of the Majuba Power Station cooling towers - a project, that at the time was valued at R50 million more than the combined group turnover of R89 million. Twenty years later, the group turnover totals almost R11 billion, and it employs over 11 000 people.

A few of the company milestones since 1996 include:• 1996 - Opened Stefanutti & Bressan offi ce in Kempton

Park, Gauteng.• 1996 - Three major cooling towers for Eskom’s Majuba power

station awarded.• 1998 - First project undertaken on the Copperbelt in Zambia. • 2000 - The Civils company undertook the complex construction

of the access decline at Assmang’s Black Rock Mine in the Northern Cape in 2000. In 2015 the Roads & Earthworks and the Civils division were back on site at the mine undertaking mass earthworks and constructing concrete structures.

• 2003 - Established Angolan offi ce.• 2003 - The fi rst project undertaken in Angola was a Grant Aid

project (by the government of Japan) for the state-owned Josina Machel Hospital. The neglected hospital was restored, refurbished and turned into a fully-operational modern healthcare facility.

• 2004 - Established Gauteng-based geotechnical operation.• 2005 - Group is restructured.• 2005 - Earthworks company is incorporated into the group. • 2006 - Opened offi ce in Cape Town.• 2007 - Acquired ECMP. • 2007 - Listed on JSE main board. • 2008 - Merged with Stocks Limited and gained entry into

UAE markets.• 2008 - Rebranded as Stefanutti Stocks.• 2008 - Majority stake in Skelton & Plummer Investment Holdings

Company (Pty) Ltd acquired.• 2008 - Majority stake in Civil & Coastal (Pty) Ltd acquired.• 2009 - Stefanutti Stocks ranked as top empowered company in the

'Basic Industries' sector.• 2009 - Established Power division.• 2010 - Waste Energy Recovery and Management (Pty) Ltd, Apollo

E&I Construction (Pty) Ltd and RGF Power Projects CC acquired.• 2012 - Cycad Pipelines (Pty) Ltd acquired.• 2012 - Established an Oil & Gas division.• 2013 - Acquired Energotec, an electrical & instrumentation (E&I)

installation business operating primarily in petrochemical sector.• 2014 - Gino retires as chairman of the board.• 2016 - 20th anniversary of Gauteng operations.

2007Stefanutti & Bressan

Earthworks undertook the

rehabilitation and upgrading

of the Bospoort Dam in the

North West Province which

included blasting the rock to

tight tolerances. The spillway

was constructed by Stefanutti

& Bressan Civils.2005The PFG glass factory contract saw the excavation undertaken by Stefanutti & Bressan Earthworks and the accompanying lateral support work for a nine-metre deep excavation undertaken by the newly established Johannesburg piling division.

Company enters third decade of operationssince establishing in Gauteng in 1996

19 96 - Majuba Power Station cooling towers


Company News

A few company highlights 2007 - 2016

2008With effect from 19 September 2008,

and following a merger

with the building

company Stocks, new

group formally changed its

name to Stefanutti Stocks

Holdings Limited.

2007 In August 2007, after 34 memorable years and four months of intense work and negotiation as a private company, Stefanutti & Bressan listed on the JSE.

2010The Flying Saucer (R21) and Brakfontein Interchange in Pretoria was completed in 2010.

2009Stefanutti Stoc

ks Mechanical undert

ook the

supply, installation and

corrosion protection

of the majority of

the piping at the P.P.

Rust 600 KTPM

Concentrator Projects.

2011Stefanutti Stocks

Mining

Services supplied a one-

stop-solution to Universal

Coal’s Kangala Mine, which

included three Mining

Services’ divisions (Contract

Mining, Material Handling

& Technical Services) as well

as the Roads & Earthworks

division which undertook that

infrastructure construction.

2010Stefanutti Stocks Building completed the construction of the multi-storey car parkade and new terminal building for the Cape Town International Airport.

2012The multidisciplinary

construction project for

Kumba Iron Ore saw fi ve

Stefanutti Stocks divisions

working in a joint venture,

led by the Civils division.

2014Construction starts on the mega Maydon Wharf in Durban. The project is being undertaken in a joint venture between Stefanutti Stocks Marine and it’s strategic enterprise development partner Axsys Projects.


Serial Engineer to head up Structures business unit

Werner Jerling, previously managing director of Stefanutti Stocks Civils, was promoted to the position of managing director of the Structures business unit, eff ective 18 November 2015. The 50-year old engineer has spent practically his entire life in the construction industry, growing up on his father’s construction sites. He was awarded a bursary from LTA at the age of seventeen; graduated with a BSc in Civil Engineering from Stellenbosch University in 1987; completed a B Comm in 1993; and MSc in International Construction Management from Bath University in 2009. After a 20-year career with LTA and later Grinaker LTA, he joined what was then named Stefanutti & Bressan in 2007.

In 2007 I was ready for a change. I met with Willie Meyburgh and Gino Stefanutti here at the Chloorkop offi ces, and in that one meeting they reminded me of the reason I had pursued construction as a career in the fi rst place. Construction is a game where people make the diff erence, and where working in a team enables you to achieve the unimaginable. It’s a place where a strong hand shake and a keen eye still have merit - and a strong handshake sealed my renewed enthusiasm just over eight years ago. Stepping into the shoes of managing director of the Structures business unit at the beginning of this year has presented me with yet another exciting and challenging chapter in my career.

Key infl uencesThe early days spent with my father on site certainly set me on the

construction path. I also think that this grounding made it easy for me, once I started working, to relate to everyone on site from general workers to engineers. During my school holidays I was sent to work on construction sites where I lived in the singles quarters with the foremen. I remember listening as they discussed progress - what was needed, how they were going to approach the next day’s task on site and so forth. It was the informal version of the toolbox talks we have daily on our sites today.

As a youngster I found myself in my father’s workshop being trained how to weld under the supervision of Danny Da Silva, whose

patience and willingness to share knowledge with the boss’s ‘lightie’ I have never forgotten.

Once I was offi cially in the work place as a young engineer I gained a lot of insight from, and respect for, the general foreman who’s experience translated into remarkable fountain of knowledge I could tap into.

My work career has also been infl uenced by projects, and the teams I’ve worked with in achieving them. My fi rst job as site agent at the Harper Road Cable Stay Bridge (Boeing Road overpass) was a fantastic, technically challenging and highly visible project. And the Nelson Mandela Bridge - certainly a once-in-a-lifetime project every engineer dreams to be able to work on during their careers. I saw this project through from pre-qualifi cation through to the bidding phase (which included design), through to construction. Another, of many highlights, that come to mind, is when Stefanutti Stocks Civils won the Kusile bid as joint venture leaders.

MantraIt’s not a mantra per say but I do often tell my colleagues that a

contract is like water fl owing downhill - it will always fi nd a way. The focus isn’t on the downhill, but the fact that it becomes a force of nature, moving along, steadily gaining momentum, until it becomes unstoppable.

I also advocate that the word 'cannot' must be removed from the contractors dictionary!

Going forwardIt’s not an easy time in the industry, but for me the future is not

just about surviving the pitfalls - I have a dream that we are going to emerge on the other side of these tough times stronger than before. We are without a doubt great contractors, our people know how to do their jobs, and I have tremendous faith in them. Professionalism in construction is of utmost importance to me and I believe that we can add further value by stepping into the space of leading projects, rather than being led by others.

I am a bit of a serial engineer, with all aspects of my life being consumed with some or other engineering type of activity. I spend a lot of my time outside of the work place with the next generation of engineers where I hope to share the passion and lay the foundations for their future careers in the industry.

Thoughts on successThe words I would associate with success are innovation,

dedication, focus, resilience, and professionalism. In business it is about being better than the opposition, and revelling in challenges. On a more personal front I believe success eventually becomes about transitioning from success to signifi cance, whereby your aim is to leave a legacy, rather than just a string of successes.

2016Twenty years after

opening

a Civils company in

Johannesburg, the company

is back at the Majuba

Power Station where it is

rebuilding and strengthening

coal storage silos and

other coal handling

infrastructure.2015The Civils, Roads & Earthworks, Geotechnical, Building and Mechanical divisions have all participated in the multidisciplinary Kusile Power Station construction project.


Stefanutti Stocks Holdings LimitedProtec Park, Cnr Zuurfontein Avenue & Oranjerivier Drive,

Chloorkop, Kempton Park, South AfricaPO Box 12394, Aston Manor, 1630, South Africa

Tel: +27 11 571 4300Fax: +27 11 571 4370

www.stefanuttistocks.com

the future willonly be as goodas we build it.

Stefanutti Stocks

Building Business UnitManaging director: Howard JonesTel: +27 11 244 0300E-mail: [email protected]:• Commercial buildings;• High-rise buildings;• Industrial & service buildings;• Property development facilitation;• Hotels;• Healthcare facilities;• Shopping centres;• Township and residential developments;• Mass housing, low-cost/aff ordable housing;• Community Residential Units (CRU) and co-operatives; and• Specialist fi t-out.

Divisions:Building Africa (SADC)Mozambique - managing director: Lucas LabuschagneTel: +258 21 471 604/5/6Namibia - general manager: Dietmar Scriba Tel: +264 64 405 041Building Coastal (Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KZN)Managing director: Howard Schwegmann Tel: +27 31 700 1416Western Cape - general manager: Mauro DonatoTel: +27 21 386 6336Building Inland (Gauteng) Managing director: Andrew Owens Tel: +27 11 244 0300Housing Managing director: Bheki VilakaziTel: 27 11 820 4600

Middle EastMiddle East executive: James SimpsonTel: +971 50 902 2958

Divisions:Al Tayer Stocks CEO: Jorge AreosaTel: +971 4 503 4888

Al Tayer Stocks is an interior-contracting and niche building fi rm that provides turnkey contracting solutions in the UAE and Qatar. It undertakes contracts for a wide variety of blue chip clients for the retail, residential, offi ce accommodation and hotel and leisure industries.Rabban Stefanutti StocksTel: +9714 4444-4045

Rabban Stefanutti Stocks Qatar is a partnership between multidisciplinary construction group Stefanutti Stocks and the diverse Rabban Group and undertakes building construction within Qatar.

Group overview and contacts

Mechanical & ElectricalBusiness UnitManaging director: Vince OlleyTel: +27 11 820 4600

Divisions:Mechanical & Piping - Mining Infrastructure:Managing director: Marius BotesTel: +27 11 820 4600Capabilities:• Supply, fabrication and erection of steelwork, plate work, tanks and

conveyors (on-surface & underground).• Supply, installation and corrosion protection of piping including

overland lines, pump stations, plant piping and high & low pressure lines (on-surface & underground).

• Installation of mechanical equipment including pumps, thickeners, fl otation cells and stacker reclaimers.

• Supply and installation of patented high rate clarifi er and sand fi lters.Electrical & Instrumentation:Managing director: Leon KappTel: +27 11 820 4600Capabilities:• Electrical supply, installation and commissioning;• Instrumentation supply, installation and commissioning;• Maintenance; and• Sub-stations and switchyards.Mechanical & Piping - Oil & Gas:Managing director: Jose FariaTel: +27 11 820 4600Capabilities:• Structural steel erection;• Mechanical equipment installation;• Pipe-spool fabrication;• Installation of process piping systems;• Shut down & maintenance; and• Painting, insulation and scaff olding.

Roads, Pipelines & Mining Services Business UnitManaging director: Russell CrawfordTel: +27 11 552 4200

Divisions:Stefanutti Stocks BOTSWANA (general contracting) / Stefanutti Stocks SWAZILAND (general contracting) / Stefanutti Stocks ZAMBIA (general contracting)Tel: +267 397 4773 (Botswana)Tel: +268 518 5006 (Swaziland)Tel: +260 211 285623/4 (Zambia)Managing Director Botswana & Zambia: Derek du PlessisManaging Director Swaziland: Shaun WhiteCapabilities:• Civil Works, bridges.• Airports.• Commercial building.• Bulk earthworks.• Road construction and rehabilitation.• Dam construction.• General contractor.Stefanutti Stocks WEST AFRICA (general contracting)Tel: +27 83 444 5075Managing director: Michael Welsch Capabilities:• Civil works including water treatment works, reservoirs, bridges, among others.• Airports.• Commercial, light industrial (eg factory shells) and heavy industrial (eg.

sugar mill infrastructure) buildings.• Agricultural land development.• Bulk earthworks.• Road construction & rehabilitation.• Dam construction.


• Hydraulic mining.• Open pit contract mining.• Mine development and planning service.• Materials handling.• Crushing and screening.

Structures Business UnitManaging director: Werner JerlingTel: +27 11 571 4300Email: [email protected]:• Design and construct solutions.• Collaborative execution models, i.e. early contractor involvement.• Co-ordination of multi-disciplinary tenders and projects.• Tendering and execution of major projects.• Heavy industrial plants, i.e. mining infrastructure, process plants, factories• Marine construction.• Geotechnical investigation and construction.• Dams.• Effl uent and water treatment plants.• Structural rehabilitation, concrete repairs and waterproofi ng.

Divisions:CivilsManaging director: Mark StannardTel: 27 11 571 4300Civils KZNManaging director: Matthew HorwillTel: +27 31 700 1416MarineManaging director: Brian McDonaldTel: +27 21 386 2610GeotechnicalManaging director: Shaun ButlerTel: +27 11 571 4300East AfricaRegion manager: Willem MeyerTel: +255 22 266 4115

Group overview and contacts

Stefanutti Stocks Roads & EarthworksTel: +27 11 552 4200E-mail: [email protected] Africa - managing director: Russell CrawfordCapabilities:• Bulk Earthworks.• Road construction and rehabilitation.• Crushing and screening.• Asphalt manufacture and paving.• Fibre-optic infrastructure.• Dam construction.• Mine infrastructure and development.• Township infrastructure.• Asphalt paving manufacture.• Chip and spray seals of bituminous products.• Slurry seals.• Demolition.• Directional drilling.• Landfi ll construction and blasting.Stefanutti Stocks PipelinesTel: +27 11 552 4200E-mail: [email protected] manager: Julian DoveyCapabilities:• Large/small diameter welded steel pipe.• HDPE pipelines.• Ductile pipelines.• Oil & gas pipelines.• Pump, mechanical & electrical installations.• In situ concrete lining of pipelines.Stefanutti Stocks Mining Services Tel: +27 11 552 4200E-mail: [email protected] director: Ian FergusonContract Mining - contracts director: Freddie Strydom Tailings Management - contracts director: Marco PasqualiMaterials Handling - contracts director: Marco PasqualiTechnical Services - contracts director: Lourens de KoningCapabilities:• Design and construction.• Operations & management of tailing facilities.

J Simpson

W Jerling

I Fer

guso

n

Roads, Pipelines & Mining Services

Structures

Corporate ServicesMiddle East

Building

Open Pit Contract Mining

Materials Handling

Tailings OperationNam

ibia

Inland

Coastal

HousingCo

nstru

ctio

n

Al T

ayer

Sto

cks

Risk

FinancePayrollHR/IR & Safety

Information Technology

Electrical & Instrumentation

Mechanical (M

ining Infrastructure)

Mechanical (Oil & Gas)

Marine

Geotechnical

Civils KZN

H Jones

D du Plessis

Stef

anut

ti St

ocks

Sw

azila

nd

Civils

Moz

ambi

que

East Africa

Mechan

ical &

Elec

trica

l

V Olle

y

(gen

eral

con

tract

ing)

Stef

anut

ti St

ocks

Zam

bia

(gen

eral

cont

ract

ing)

Stefa

nutti

Stoc

ks Bots

wana

(gene

ral co

ntrac

ting)

R Crawford

Pipelines

Roads & Earthworks:

West Africa

Roads & Earthworks:

South Africa

W Meyburgh(CEO)

A Cocciante(CFO)


Tel: +27 11 571 4300 | www.stefanuttistocks.com

Experience. Expertise. Excellence.

Stefanutti Stocks - a multidisciplinary construction group with a footprint in South Africa, Sub Saharan Africa and the Middle East.

We undertake projects in the following sectors: Building; Bulk Earthworks & Geotechnical; Energy Generation;Industrial Plants, Oil & Gas; Mining & Mining Infrastructure; Transport Infrastructure; and Water, Sanitation & Pipelines.

Documents

24 - BENCHMARK VOL 15