Construction World October 2015

COVER STORY

AfriSam delivers

VALUE- ENHANCING concrete solutions As a leading supplier of concrete materials in southern Africa, AfriSam has the capacity and scale to deliver value-enhancing benefits to customers through its bespoke concrete solutions offering.

numerous advantages as it removes the issue of operating an on-site batching plant with the associated aggregates and cement stock requirements. It minimises the number of deliveries reducing traffic to and from the site, a major advantage on already congested roads. This, with the reduced dust and water consumption on site, is far kinder to the envi- ronment as well. Innovative partnerships AfriSam is also unlocking value for its customers by partnering with innovative companies that specialise in the application of its products and services. Through its partnership with Concrete Laser Flooring (CLF), AfriSam is pioneering some of the latest trends and developments in concrete technology in the South African construction industry. These include a patented seamless concrete flooring system and the introduction of the ‘tilt-up’ construction method of using the floor of a building as a casting bed for the wall panels, then lifting these panels into position using a crane. In addition, the partnership has pro- duced a more environmentally friendly floor concrete by replacing cement in the mix design with activated slag and admixtures. This specialised concrete mix for floor appli- cations sees a significant reduction in the use of cement. “Our partnership with both CLF and Concrete 4 U is in line with our vertical inte- gration and brand extension strategy. It positions AfriSam as an integrated concrete solutions company. We do not only supply cement and concrete, but offer a total solutions approach to our customers’ varied needs. We are always on the lookout for new solutions, innovations and opportunities to bring to the attention of customers, as well as advancing the knowledge and skills base of the industry itself through our active partic- ipation in The Concrete Institute,” says Tomes. Concrete solutions technology Another and equally important area where AfriSam supports its customers is with concrete solutions technology. With changes in the market in recent years, few construc- tion companies have in-house concrete technologists and do not have the specialist concrete technology skills to proportion mixes, thus relying on suppliers like AfriSam who have the in-house expert skills. AfriSam believes it creates concrete possi-

nlocking value for its customers is a primary focus for AfriSam, especially in the current economic situation where contractors in the construction and infrastruc-

in Waterfall, but will also effectively transform the transportation systems within the area,” Tomes explains. Having product available where its customers need it is exactly what AfriSam specialises in. “Being close to the industry has seen us strategically and systematically increase our readymix capacity to ensure that customers have access to consistent quality concrete solutions for these major projects. At the same time it was important for the company to ensure that supply requirements of smaller contractors are also catered for. “We have a number of plants servicing these areas and are able to provide a combined capacity of 300 m 3 per hour. The clustering of readymix plants provides a valuable back-up service enabling contractors to successfully complete large and continuous pours,” Tomes adds. While the individual plant operations are different, the batching interface is identical across all AfriSam’s readymix plants. Use of the same interface ensures consistent batching, minimises errors and provides the ability to deliver supply backup from various locations. Customers, therefore, have the absolute assurance that potential disruption to an individual operation will be minimised. Given the reality of operating plants in South Africa, Tomes says that all AfriSam readymix operations are equipped with generators to ensure that the supply of readymix will not be interrupted, should there be any power outages. This is an important advantage for all contractors in these growth nodes where the construction programmes are tight and disruption in supply of the concrete materials can result in bottom line penalties and losses. “We maintain close interactive relation- ships with our customers and industry, and this has facilitated an in-depth understanding of the challenges faced by contractors and developers,” Tomes continues. He explains that the use by contrac- tors of readymix concrete brings with it

ture sectors are hard pressed to reduce costs wherever possible, while still ensuring optimum productivity and final quality of the project. This is according to Richard Tomes, sales and marketing executive at AfriSam, who says that AfriSam has a legacy of more than 80 years and is today the largest concrete materials producer in the country with the capacity to produce in excess of 2 million cubic metres of readymix concrete, 10 million tons of aggregate and over 5 million tons of cementitious products per annum. “AfriSam is continuously looking to expand its operating presence and in line with this the company recently acquired an equity stake in Port Elizabeth based, Concrete 4 U thereby expanding its readymix footprint to the Eastern Cape,” Tomes says. “It is AfriSam’s size, scale and experience as well as our innovative approach to partner- ships and concrete technology that enables AfriSam to create concrete possibilities for our customers,” states Tomes. Scale, size and experience Tomes points out that there is a growing trend where contractors, particularly those on larger projects, seldom make their own concrete leading to an increased demand for readymix concrete. This is particularly apparent in the burgeoning Sandton, Midrand, Centurion corridor where numerous buildings are being upgraded, refurbished and a number of very modern facilities are being constructed. “The general upgrade of the Sandton inner city area will not only dovetail with a number of high profile projects such as the Discovery Head Office, Alice Lane Phase III, Mall of Africa and the new PWC headquarters

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD OCTOBER 2015