WRITTEN BY KATIE RICHARDSON

Power Group is at the forefront of South African engineering and building development. An innovative industry leader with 31 years experience in the sector, the civil construction company is initiating an exciting new project in 2014, expected to be the biggest of its kind in the country’s history. The Group’s marketing manager Gary Power offers insight into the ways in which the company is making a real impact to business and the local economy through this lucrative venture.

CONSTRUCTING Sustainability

“Initially, Power Group started only as a small construction

group and has since grown into the largest non-listed

construction group in South Africa,” says Power, “The Power

Group is split into Power Construction, which incorporates both

Power Civils and Power Building, and Power Developments, the

property development division. Power Construction is responsible

for forty seven percent of all the civil infrastructure and basis for

the new wind farms in South Africa. This is more than any other civil

contractor in South Africa.”

The group’s national activities certainly span an impressive

field: from property development; turnkey housing and road and

earthworks construction, to rehabilitation and renewable energy,

and is acknowledged to be one of South Africa’s most innovative and

influential contractors. Active in the Western, Southern and Eastern

Cape, as well as in Gauteng, one of the nine provinces of South Africa,

the company operates nationally from the Head Offices in Cape Town.

Power Developments is the property division of the Power

Group, formed in 1991 and started by constructing small residential

developments. Since the early 90s, the South African government

has been actively rolling out subsidised housing for the poor which

accelerated the company as a housing developer and to date, it has

constructed over 50,000 houses. The company’s branch initiates

and manages multi-million Rand turnkey developments – developing

and building residential, industrial and commercial properties within

a wide-ranging portfolio: from high-density housing projects, to

prestigious developments and commercial course developments. It

is planning to add to this already notable profile by embarking on an

POWER GROUP

A simple pledge made by a fledgling organisation in April 1983 remains its cornerstone today. The words “to improve the quality of life in Africa through infrastructure development” marked the beginning of a company that has changed both cityscapes and landscapes, constructed profitable luxury residential estates, built industry-changing road and office blocks, developed economic housing schemes and above all, provided the solid groundwork to service it all.

16552_RED_ConstructionReview.indd 1 2011/09/23 10:51 AM

upcoming and crucial role in community housing, an ambitious project

that will see the company construct 3,200 subsidised and private

homes at the Pelican Park Project in Cape Town this year – the biggest

integrated development ever in South Africa.

Cementing the landscape Buyers are offered several choices on different types of property

to suit various budgets; Pelican Park will include 2100 BNG (Breaking

New Ground, government subsidy housing) houses to beneficiaries

earning less than R3500 (£197) per month, 720 GAP houses, open to

anybody earning between R3500 – R15000 (£197- £844) household

income per month, and open market housing, open to anybody/

household earning above R15000 (£844) per month, all in one

development.

The BNG houses are 40m² two-bedroom houses with basic

amenities, given to beneficiaries at no cost and are funded by the City

of Cape Town. The single and double storey GAP units, launched at

a record R290 000 (£16,280) are the cheapest new freehold house

available in South Africa, and the essence of the flagship project.

These GAP houses are 42m² and consist of two-bedroom, single

storey, semi-detached units as well as double storey two, three and

four-in-a-row 42m² units. There are 359 Open Market units with

three optional sizes of 48m²m (two bedroom), 56m² (two bedroom)

and 74m² (three bedroom) free standing houses, with an optional

single garage as well. To date, the company has already completed just

over 400 houses and has a further 2,800 to build by the end of 2017,

“The landmark development will include a primary and a high school;

a health clinic; library; community shopping centre; fuel station and

various commercial sites,” says Power, “Residents can work, play and

live without leaving the development and send their kids to school

across the road.”

To bolster such an ambitious project, the Power Group has

already delivered significant success with the first FLISP (Financially

Linked Individual Subsidy Programme) units in the Western Cape.

The programme is open to any South African who is 18 years or older

and has never received a government subsidy before. Applicants

apply for a bond first, and then a FLISP application is handed in. “It

assists those buyers who earn more than the R3500 (£196.50) cap

for BNG housing and could never afford a bond before,” explains

Power, “This has taken huge innovation from the Power Group as

there is currently only two other developments that are able to sell

homes at under R300 000 (£16,842) in the Western Cape. There is a

cap house price of R300 000 (£16,842) on FLISP but we are trusting

this will be increased to R400 000 (£22,457) shortly.”

The Pelican Park Project has already garnered significant

encouragement and approval, both in South Africa and further afield,

and has been nominated as World Design Capital focus project

this year. A further coup for the company is a partnership with the

International Nelson Mandela Build, hosted by Habitat for Humanity

South Africa, where more than 3,000 volunteers will work onsite at

Power Group and donate their time to build 100 houses in just one

week. This innovative consumer education, backed up by service

and product aims to achieve great things. “It is another way of

integrating different cultures and income brackets,” says Power, “It is

only through these strategic partnerships and those with the banks,

local and provincial government that makes these developments

possible. A number of local businesses are in fact benefitting from

their contribution on this project and moving forward they will

put a massive amount of money back into the local economy with

businesses.”

Power to the people The Power Group prides itself on having a progressive and

innovative Organisational Development department, that has not

only paved the way for the Group, but spearheaded civil industry

training programmes and even assists smaller companies with

advice and guidance. Training and development for its 1800 staff is

compulsory and part of the culture; all employees complete a PDP

(Personal Development Plan) which is reviewed annually. “We believe

that any other construction and development company can have the

same machines and similar products, but ultimately the staff make

[the company] different and you will often hear the term the “Power

Family”, says Power.

The last 15 years has seen significant change at Power Group,

both structurally and strategically. One of the more notable

commitments to employees, and

by extension, the South African

community, the company offers

co-ownership to staff affiliated

with the company for five years

or longer. Thus, employees can

have a direct share in the profits

generated from the financial

successes of each year alongside

the three shareholders, Power

Group Holdings; the Power

Group; and the Power Group

Employee Trust. “A few years ago,

all 450 staff members that have

been working for the Group for

five years and longer were given

30% shares in the company,”

Power explains, “Many of our

management and staff have

been working for the Group for

more than 20 years and some for

even more than 30 years, which

is very unusual in the tough

construction industry.”

These trusts are proving

effective: the 420 unit holding

employees now hold the same

share of ownership in both

Power Construction and Power

Developments, meaning at

least 20% of shareholding

of both companies through

the Investment Trust and

the Employee Trust will be in

workers’ hands at all times.

“While projects, plant, tenders

and technology keep these

different companies performing,

the Power Group is ultimately

about people . . . People joining

hands, working together towards

a shared vision,” says Power.

The ‘sharing of knowledge’

within the company manifests

A&M Plaster

Reliable and dependable plasteringBest value for money

aslamwilliams055@gmail.com

POWER GROUP

itself in many ways – from formal training courses and ‘learner-ships’

to experiential training and workshops. Annually, Power Group

enrols a vast number of students, either as bursary holders, or as

trainees and eighty percent of these students come from previously

disadvantaged communities, “Because we care about the wellbeing

of our staff and their families, we are committed to maximising our

peoples’ potential through ongoing development and coaching,” says

Power, “Knowledge sharing through skills transfer is a vital way of

achieving and maintaining this culture of ongoing improvement.”

In addition, these strong principles of corporate responsibility

transfer neatly over to customer focus. A dedicated PR division

that actively focuses on client relationships coupled with an annual

internal and external customer evaluation has resulted in significant

customer loyalty; the majority of clients have been making use of the

Power Groups services for more than 20 years.

“It is testament that we are not a company that comes in, does a

project and walks away afterwards,” says Power, “We pride ourselves

on completing work ahead of schedule and beyond our clients’

expectations. We are only one of the very few companies that have

an internal civil and building construction and property development

division, complimented with expert project managers to offer a

turnkey service.”

Keeping promises “The Power Group has proudly completed over 31,300 BNG

houses to date, which is more than 1,000 units per year since our

existence,” remarks Power. “The new integrated model is more

sustainable, and I believe is the future of housing in South Africa.

“Pelican Park is an R660m (£37m) development, started in 2012

and will be completed by 2017. We are currently completing roughly

80-100 houses per month. Over 450 houses have already been

handed over and construction on a 6000m² shopping centre will

begin in June 2014. More than 600 jobs have been created on the

Pelican Park development alone.”

How will these plans adhere to the company’s core pledge and

principles, I ask. “We need to move away from a hand-out mentality

and specifically, from creating an entitlement culture,” asserts Power,

“The GAP market is a new market for the Power Group, and we look

forward to assisting in providing homes to the more than 500,000

families in this bracket in the Western Cape alone. We look forward to

continuing to be a market leader in South Africa and we are also very

excited about our new venture in Namibia and looking at expanding

into the rest of Africa.”

“ The Power Group is ultimately about people: people joining hands, working together towards a shared vision.”

www.littlegatepublishing.com

POWER GROUP

0027 219071300

WWW.POWERGRP.CO.ZA