Having already established a strong foothold in Southern and East Africa, SMEC is looking to further expand its presence in West and North Africa.

With main markets indices in countries such as Nigeria and Kenya having risen by more than 50% in the past year and investor confidence in Africa rising at a rapid rate, SMEC South Africa CEO Dr Thomas Marshall,explains that the companyis targeting West and North Africa as potential growth areas.

“Within West Africa where we are currently operating in a limited number of countries, we are focusing our expansion plans on mining-related and developmental infrastructure projects, while in North Africa we are targeting transport infrastructure, water and power-related projects. Countries such as Libya, Algeria and Morocco hold a vast amount of potential when it comes to structural development and reconstruction,” continues Marshall.

He adds that since VelaVKE’s merger with the SMEC Group in June 2012, SMEC South Africa has become involved in a number of projects across the traditional SMEC footprint, with both private and public sector clients.

“Being part of the larger SMEC group has allowed us access to greater resources and a larger skills base for servicing African clients, but also enables us to service new geographic market areas within other growth regions. An example would be our large bridge design capacity – we have become one of South Africa’s biggest large bridge design companies, with engineers currently working on prestigious bridge-relatedprojects in Asia, as well as on proposals for bridge-related projects in Australia,” explains Marshall.

Meanwhile, SMEC head of the Gauteng South office, David Gertzen, points out that the SMEC Group’s acquisition of GMC Global – an internationallyrecognised leader in the productivity improvements, cost control and infrastructure management services to the mining industry – will be a large focus for the company going forward.

With the addition of GMC Global, SMEC’s mining consultancy and management capabilities will be substantially improved, says Gertzen. Combining the expertise and experience of both companies will prove to be highlybeneficial to clients in Africa.

“GMC, which improves productivity and cost control at mines, joined the SMEC Group in January last year. For the next two years, we plan to focus on rolling out GMC Global’s services and products in Africa, which are aimed at assisting clients in establishing and executing visions and strategies, as well as supporting leadership capabilities and enhancing technical skills through people, processes and skills,” explains Gertzen.

He says GMC’s history of enterprise planning and development, paired with experienced consultants, has benefited the mining sector in over 115 productivity projects worldwide. GMC Global consultants have an in-depth understanding of a mine’s operations and have hands-on experience in operational productivity improvement.