Modern Mining May 2015

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MODERN MINING

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May 2015

COMPANIES

eadquartered in Brisbane, Aus-

tralia, and listed on the ASX,

Sedgman provides engineer-

ing and project solutions to the

global resources industry with

its services ranging from concept to defini-

tive feasibility studies and design through to

project execution, commissioning and opera-

tions. Established in 1979 by John Sedgman,

it founded its reputation on the design and

construction of coal handling and preparation

plants (CHPPs) and is now regarded as one of

the global leaders in this field. In recent years,

however, it has diversified from coal into the

metals and minerals sector to give it more flex-

ibility in coping with current market condi-

tions in mining.

Like all engineering groups serving the min-

ing industry, Sedgman has been challenged by

the current downturn in the global resources

industry leading to the organisation revisiting

its global strategy and structure. The measures

have been effective and have contributed to

the group returning to being a major player in

delivering EPC projects globally.

According to Berger, the change in focus of

the South African office forms part of a global

streamlining of Sedgman’s activities. “The idea

is for certain of the regional operations to retain

strong core skills but not a full standalone capa-

bility,” he says. “This means that when projects

move into the execution phase, the resources

required will be delivered by Sedgman glob-

ally rather than by the regional office. Typically

this might mean that the detailed engineering

for a plant in Africa, for example, would be

undertaken by our Santiago office, which is

our low-cost engineering centre. From the cli-

ents’ perspective, nothing really changes as the

whole process is seamless. From Sedgman’s

perspective, however, it allows a much more

Sedgman’s South African office – located in Centurion,

near Pretoria and servicing the African continent – has

streamlined its activities and is now focusing on the

‘Create’ phase of Sedgman’s ‘Create, Build, Operate’

business model. The implications of the changes were

recently explained to

Modern Mining

by Mark Berger,

Sedgman’s newly appointed Manager Business and

Projects, and three of his senior colleagues – Steve van

Barneveld, Regional Development Consultant, Kent van

Twest, Group Manager Engineering, and Danie Coetzee,

Group Manager Project Delivery.

Sedgman streamlines

in Africa