Musa Shangase has been appointed as the new commercial director for Corobrik.

Shangase joined Corobrik in July last year as the national commercial manager. He sees the company as one of the leaders in the clay brick industry and says that this and the fact that the staff own 26% of the level 4 BEE company drew him to it.

He has considerable experience in the building and construction industry. Before joining Corobrick, Shangase held senior management positions at both PPC Cement and Saint Gobain Construction Products SA and was managing director of African Brick.

One of his first tasks as commercial director has been to set up a database of stakeholders, community leaders and government officials who he will meet with to discuss the qualities of Corobrik’s products. “I want those responsible for facilitating and providing infrastructure to fall asleep peacefully at night, safe in the knowledge that they have given South Africans the best schools, houses and hospitals that they can give,” he says.

Shangase notes that the past three years have been tough for the construction industry but that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. “Residential is coming up, public works is coming up and infrastructure is coming up. It is also nice to see that provinces that have in the past been neglected, such as Mpumalanga, the Northern Cape and the Eastern Cape, are turning,” he says.

The commercial director also has an eye on the future. “Mentoring youngsters is one of my values; I believe that you cannot go forward without developing people beneath you to keep the ball rolling as a company.”