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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
APRIL
2017
48
CEMENT AND CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY
“Times have been tough for most sectors
in recent years, and AfriSam is extending
its partnership with customers to offer
an Efficiency Audit that highlights areas
where CPMs can streamline their operating
processes making them more profitable,”
says Amit Dawneerangen, AfriSam national
sales manager.
“We have a close relationship with our
customers and this partnership is based
on always striving to do things better,” says
Dawneerangen. “So the conversations we
have with them often touch on a range of
technical and commercial challenges that
we work to resolve together.”
The Efficiency Audit is conducted
by a team of AfriSam experts, who are
invited into the customer’s production
facility to collect information on a range of
operational areas, from raw materials and
testing systems, to production processes
and quality controls.
“Taking on the role of a technical
consultant, some of the industry’s most
experienced professionals are made
available to the customer, so they can
engage on how best to drive down unit
costs and improve business sustainability,”
he says.
Experts in materials
He emphasises that while CPMs have
experienced production managers and
staff, it is seldom affordable to have their
own materials experts. This is where
AfriSam’s Efficiency Audit teams can play
a valuable role.
Implementing the initiative is AfriSam’s
Centre of Product Excellence and according
to manager, Mike McDonald, the Efficiency
Audit team focuses on improving the overall
cost of production, which may require
changes to any of a wide range of variables.
“We are specialists in the materials that
make up concrete, so most of our value is
added on this side of the business, which
also makes up a large part of a customer’s
operating cost,” says McDonald. “We
can ensure that their material quality and
mix is optimal at the lowest possible cost
to the business.”
Strategic partner
For various reasons including down-
scaling and retrenchments during the
current downturn, many companies do
not have a concrete technology specialist
in-house. This is a role that AfriSam is well-
placed to provide, as a strategic partner,
says Dawneerangen.
“Conditions are tough with low growth
in the demand for cement and cement
products since 2010,” say McDonald. “The
focus on cost efficiency has led to a lot of
rationalisation, where inefficient plants were
closed down and industry had to find ways
to consolidate production.”
Dawneerangen highlights the fact
that the current industry mindset often
focuses only on the cost of materials
in terms of Rand-per-ton, leading many
businesses to buy the cheapest available
materials without carefully considering the
impact of this decision on other important
business objectives.
“For example, admixtures can be a
vitally important ingredient in the success
TRIMMING COST
of
PRODUCTION
Sharing its expertise to help customers build their businesses is a vital
part of the way AfriSam works, and now the company has developed
a special value-added service to boost efficiency among concrete
product manufacturers (CPMs).
Sharing its expertise to help customers build their businesses is a vital part of the way
AfriSam works.
Amit Dawneerangen, AfriSam
national sales manager.