The past decade has seen phenomenal growth in the readymix industry as South African contractors migrate from in-situ batching to sourcing their concrete requirements from specialists who guarantee a high-quality, uninterrupted supply of concrete.

AfriSam has been at the forefront of this growth with its readymix concrete continuing to meet the exacting standards of leading consulting and structural engineers who have been tasked with designing and building infrastructure projects for the country’s top client bodies.

Some of the company’s recent achievements include supplying readymix concrete for the construction of Statistics South Africa’s head office in Pretoria, Gauteng; Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme Memorial Hospital in the KwaMashu area, KwaZulu-Natal; and the upgrade of the National Route 7 between the Melkbos and the Atlantis intersections in the Western Cape.

Amit Dawneerangen, national sales manager, AfriSam, tells IMIESA that contractors involved in building these projects appreciate the consistent performance of the company’s readymix concrete materials.

The compressive strength and durability of its product can be attributed to the quality of the constituent materials AfriSam uses in its batching processes. This includes its own high-performance cement that complies with the stringent South African National Standards (SANS) 50197 specification and ensures a high-performance concrete that meets early and late strength requirements.

Meanwhile, AfriSam has a quality supply of slag that not only enhances the concrete’s durability requirements, but plays a critical role in fulfilling industry’s green infrastructure drive by replacing the use of cement in concrete mixes.

 

Hybrid cement designs

“We have undertaken a lot of research and development (R&D) in the field of hybrid cement designs and have proved that it is possible to substitute more cement with slag than with fly ash. Typically, fly ash is able to replace up to 40% of the clinker content of cement, whereas slag can replace up to 70%,” he says.

Importantly, quality fine and coarse aggregates are won from AfriSam’s own sizeable fleet of quarries that are strategically located throughout the country and produced according to the SANS 1083 quality specification.

Dawneerangen says that these quarries are complemented by AfriSam’s vast readymix batching production capacity, allowing the company to service the infrastructure requirements of most provinces in the country through its readymix concrete plants.

Importantly, this large national footprint also enables the company to guarantee a substitute point of supply should an unforeseen incident hinder the primary point of dispatch. AfriSam is one of the only companies that are able to do so and this remains a major competitive edge on most large builds that are undertaken on a fast-track basis.

The company’s largest cluster of readymix concrete operations is in Gauteng, giving it a significant competitive edge over its closest competitors operating in the province. A total of 21 strategically located plants are currently supplying essential transport-related infrastructure projects in Johannesburg, as well as a myriad of commercial property development projects in Sandton and Midrand.

These plants are supported by critical aggregate supply from AfriSam’s seven quarries in Gauteng. These AfriSam quarries are also well known for the dominant role that they have played in supplying the road stone needs for the very important high-specification Gauteng freeway upgrades.

AfriSam’s Jukskei readymix concrete facility remains a flagship operation in this market, and features a state-of-the-art wet-batching plant that allows for unrivalled homogenous mixing: a critical requirement for supplying some of the mix designs needed to build many of the complex high-rise structures in the Sandton and Midrand growth points.

 

Phoenix plant extends Durban footprint, supports infrastructure plans

KwaZulu-Natal is home to as many as nine AfriSam readymix plants, and the company’s latest investment into readymix production capacity in the province is based in Phoenix.

Dawneerangen says commissioning the Phoenix plant was a very strategic move for AfriSam, boosting the company’s readymix production and supply abilities in a region of Durban that is set to receive major investment in infrastructure by eThekwini Municipality.

“This plant has been supplying concrete for the building of the Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme Memorial Hospital that will service communities in the Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu areas. This area is also expected to be the beneficiary of a large low-cost housing project, and there are many industrial projects planned for the region,” he says.

These readymix production plants source their aggregates from six AfriSam quarries, which also continue to be a point of supply for other important infrastructure delivery programmes, such as ballast supply for important railway upgrades and maintenance activities.

Five readymix batching plants and two quarries in the Western Cape and three batching operations that source their aggregates from a quarry in Mpumalanga, as well as plants in the North West province, solidify AfriSam’s ability to supply public and private sector construction projects on a national scale.

 

Saldanha growth node

However, it is AfriSam’s commissioning of a readymix concrete batching plant in Saldanha that best demonstrates its long-term outlook for the country’s construction sector, as well as its commitment to government’s planned infrastructure spend.

As Dawneerangen explains, this region of the Western Cape is expected to receive significant investment in infrastructure by government. This will also act as a catalyst for further construction activity by the private sector.

This region is linked to the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission’s Strategic Infrastructure Project 5, which involves expanding the Saldanha-Northern Cape Development Corridor by investing heavily in rail and port-handling capacities to service the mining as well as the oil and gas industries.

Importantly, AfriSam is a member of the Aggregate and Sand Producers Association of Southern Africa (Aspasa) and the Southern Africa Readymix Association (Sarma), both voluntary bodies that promote best practice in the local stone mining and readymix production industries.

Not only do they promote quality production and service from their member companies, but they also place significant credence on health and safety, as well as the environmental performance of the local quarrying and readymix sectors.

AfriSam’s Newcastle quarry was nominated Aspasa’s top performing quarry for 2015. This is the second year that it received this recognition following an extensive audit of its operations by independent auditors.

At the same time, the company’s Ladysmith, Verulam and Umlaas Road operations achieved showplace status, one of the highest achievements possible, for five consecutive years.

Importantly, membership of Sarma requires having a thorough quality management system in place and a proven track record in the readymix industry.

AfriSam has also been called upon by government bodies to undertake essential concrete durability tests at its Centre of Product Excellence, which houses state-of-the-art laboratories.

“There are only a limited number of laboratories in the country that are able to undertake these specialised tests, which are also extensively used by a leading South African road agency,” Dawneerangen says.

AfriSam’s Centre of Product Excellence is also the cornerstone of the company’s extensive R&D programmes into hybrid cements with their lower carbon footprint, better performing concrete products and innovative concrete mixes.

It also played an instrumental role in helping AfriSam develop the red pigmented concrete for the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality’s Bus Rapid Transit lanes in the Cape Town central business district.

Some of the other unique AfriSam concrete products that were developed with the help of the Centre of Product Excellence include exposed concrete aggregate, polished concrete surfaces and jointless concrete floors, all of which are some of the latest trends in commercial property development projects.

It is clear that AfriSam has the skills, capacities and infrastructure in place to continue serving South African professional teams involved in delivering essential services to the country.