Construction World September 2019

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R aseroka’s current portfolio includes being Chairman of multiple companies while Letsoalo has over 16 years of corporate experience with various blue chip companies. Liz Brinkmann says the deal will open up opportunities for Jet Demolition. “Our clients are often multinationals who are concerned about meeting their own commitments for B-BBEE and want to work with companies that have at least 51% black ownership. “We have reached a point where Jet Demolition wants to be involved with people who are passionate about making South Africa a better place. We see that in Lebogang and Vincent. It will be a partnership to build and transform the company internally and externally. Jet Demolition has areas of true excellence, and this can be passed on to other companies. This is how we can make a difference to South Africa as a whole,” says Brinkmann. Finding the right partners The husband and wife team has been working on the deal for more than a decade. ”It may be a long time, but it was crucial to find partners that share the company’s value systems. We believed that we would rather have nobody than the wrong partners. In Vincent and Lebogang we have found the right partners. They both have the value systems that we were looking for,” explains Brinkmann. The deal will assist Jet Demolition especially in the area of middle management, as it will provide access to people that it wants to grow and mentor. Letsoalo says that the impact of successful transformation will be seen through the deal with Jet Demolition. “It is a rightful BEE transaction that allows the Non-Executive directors to also participate in growing and strategically lifting the organisation to the next level.” “It is fortuitous that we met Liz and Joe Brinkmann at a time when we have a new President who has indicated that he will improve the country,” says Raseroka. “We have had a drought in terms of infrastructure development, but there is no choice, as this will have to be improved and maintained for the country to grow. Jet Demolition would like to be one of those companies that raises a hand to say ‘you can count on us’ to make sure that everything that is not needed can be responsibly disposed of so that we can clear the way for the country to develop.” A strategic contribution There will be no direct change to the management of the business. Raseroka and Letsoalo will add strategic resources to Jet Demolition through their backgrounds, and so complement the existing operators of the business. “Increasingly we are finding that we need

to develop local suppliers at all of our sites. Lebogang, with her many years of experience in supply chain management, can bring that knowledge into the company, while Vincent can assist with bringing new talent into the company,” says Brinkmann. “Most businesses battle to find talent and many potential young people were misguided by ‘tenderpreneurship’. We want to provide a safe home to young people who want opportunities to learn good working principles, skills and good governance that will see them well into their future. The last 25-year period of entitlement and ‘tenderpreneurship’ is unsustainable,” says Raseroka. Ratsoalo has been involved in supply chain for many years, where she mentors and coaches entrepreneurs in the various sectors that drive the country’s GDP. “ Enabling African growth Raseroka says the increase in foreign direct investment in Africa increases multinationals’ need for safety standards, high ethics, and doing business the right way in African countries. “Jet Demolition’s aim is to increase its activity elsewhere in Africa. We have done work throughout Africa, including Mali, Sierra Leone and Algeria,” says Brinkmann, “but this has found us by referrals. We need to focus on business development in Africa and hope, through this new deal, that we will find the right people with the skills needed for such an expansion.” Passion for excellence Brinkmann says that passion and wanting to be excellent are what sets Jet Demolition apart. This passion has led to two consecutive World Demolition Awards, while the latest of many NOSCAR awards had a score of 98,15%, indicative of the company’s world-class safety system. ”We have a very entrepreneurial approach to things. If something needs to be done, people from all levels assist to make it happen rapidly. In addition, we have a very strong engineering approach to everything we do. We work as a team: We employ many engineers and brainstorm issues with our operations teams. This implies that people cannot merely be brought in; they have to become part of the team. Finding the right talent to enable us to do this sustainably is partially why this deal was vital,” says Brinkmann.  Joe and Liz Brinkmann will become Executive Directors, Lebogang Letsoalo will become a Non-Executive Director, and Vincent Raseroka will become the new Chairman. Pictured (from left) is Brinkmann, Raseroka and Letsoalo.

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD SEPTEMBER 2019