FOREWORD (by Gino Stefanutti, executive chairman – Stefanutti Stocks)

As 2008 draws to a close we can look back on an exciting chapter in the histories of the companies within the group and there is no better time to reflect on the respective roads we have travelled, leading to where we are today. We are on the verge of a new era and to celebrate and capture the rich heritage and history of the companies that now form Stefanutti Stocks, we have published this coffee table book and called it: A Solid Foundation.

It is a difficult task to do justice to so many years worth of collective history in 138 pages, as I think that you would all agree that just one day in the life of anyone in our industry could read like a novel. We have endeavoured to recount as accurately as possible the rich history of companies by using whatever resource material we could lay our hands on, incorporating personal recounts, books, magazines, clippings, photo albums and archive material.

Since inception in 1971, our strategy has remained the same – to embark on a road of strategic growth. Our strategy remains growth. Our objective is to ensure that wherever we venture, we create an infrastructure that will support future growth of our people and our vision. Our aim is to take our people on this exciting journey with us and continually provide them with opportunities to grow and
excel - both in the company and within our industry.

We will always take full advantage of each opportunity afforded us, undaunted by any challenge thrown our way. Looking back, a few such opportunities in our history that spring to mind include:

• In 1992, taking on the massive Tugela River Bridge project, without prior experience in incrementally launched bridges, but with an unwavering belief that we had the technical skills to rise to the occasion.
• In 1995, recognising that if we were to grow the company we would have to expand into the Gauteng region. Then tendering for and winning of the Majuba Power Station project, worth R140 million. Again a project we knew we could handle, not the least bit intimidated by the fact that it had a nett worth more than any annual turnover the company had seen in its 24 years of existence.
• Making the decision to take our company public and listing on the JSE in August 2007.

Tugela Bridge and Majuba Power Station were award-winning successes; Majuba Power Station was completed one year ahead of schedule and our maiden year results exceeded forecasts.

We firmly believe that our latest milestone - the acquisition of international construction company Stocks Limited - will contribute to the future success of our company as we tackle the challenges that lie ahead with combined confidence across South Africa, Southern Africa, the Gulf region and, in time to come, Australasia.

There is not one single person, decision, project or characteristic that makes a company successful - it is always a combination of factors, all guided by our code of conduct, our company focus, our core values and our conviction in our mission.

Looking back at the history and heritage of the companies that now make up the Stefanutti Stocks group, I would summarise that what we all have in common is: our passion, grit, determination and focus, our self-belief and our skills that have taken us where we are today – even on the odd occasion having thrown caution to the winds!

The principle that the whole is greater than the sum of individual parts certainly applies to our new group. Over the years we have been fortunate enough to meet, befriend, work and socialise with many special people who have made their mark on the culture of each individual company and have helped us become what we are today.

As we enter this new era, our enthusiasm and dreams are set for the stars. Enthusiasm is the core of all progress, and we will continue to strive to achieve even more, based on another critical ingredient of success in our industry – A Solid Foundation.

Contents

Stefanutti & Bressan – The History

Stefanutti & Bressan – Acquisitions

ECMP
Civil & Coastal
Skelton & Plummer
Stocks

Project Portfolio

Stefanutti Stocks - A New Era

STEFANUTTI & BRESSAN – THE HISTORY

A truck, a concrete mixer and two dumpers

From a young age Gino Stefanutti was fascinated by bridges, referring to them as monuments and landmarks on the landscape of the country. As a child, in Italy and later in Zululand, South Africa, he would spend hours visualizing and building intricate structures with whatever materials he could lay his hands on. After finishing school he studied civil engineering in Natal and, once qualified, tried his hand at employed life.

After 16 months in permanent employment, Gino’s father convinced him to join the family building business, based in Empangeni, Zululand. However, Gino’s heart was not in building and ten months later he packed all his belongings into his Alfa Romeo and headed for Durban to fulfil his dreams of engineering an empire. In Durban Gino met up with Ivo Bressan and Vico Gollino, two friends who, by pure coincidence, stemmed from the little town of Pioverno in northern Italy, only six km from Gemona, Gino’s birthplace.

Ivo, a carpenter by trade, had registered a company called I. Bressan Construction (Pty) Ltd in 1971. From 1971–1972 he worked on the Vryheid to Richards Bay railway coal-line as a labour-only subcontractor for Mattioda Construction, the main contractor on this project. Vico at this time was also working on the same project, as a carpenter for Carbonari Construction, another subcontractor
to Mattioda Construction.

In 1973 they both left their respective employers in Zululand and teamed up to build a major culvert at Esperanza on the South Coast Freeway for Sangro Construction. The company assets at the time included a truck, a concrete mixer and two dumpers. In mid 1973, after leaving his father’s business, Gino joined Ivo & Vico, completing the trio that would be responsible for laying the foundation of the Stefanutti group. In 1973, on completion of the Esperanza culvert, the founding trio decided to be masters of their own destiny and embarked on securing their own projects directly for the client. In 1974 they were awarded their first contract, the Phala Rail Grade Separation near Amamzintoti, for the then Natal Provincial Administration (NPA). The contract value was R185 000 and this project was successfully completed by mid 1975. Armed with more resolve than resources the journey of Stefanutti & Bressan had begun.

The early years

In 1975 accounts clerk Sunny Singh joined Stefanutti & Bressan – starting a career with the company that would span three decades. At first his main function was to manage salaries, wages and the cash book. In later years his sharp negotiating skills ensured that the relatively small contractor enjoyed the highest early settlement discounts and discount pricing structures with many large suppliers in Durban.

The company was enjoying its first spurts of growth. However, being privately owned and under-capitalised and having a sole main client, namely the NPA, it was still in a vulnerable position. Many small contractors were tendering for a lot of work, but more often than not the small players would only secure contracts once the big companies had filled their order books. What set Stefanutti & Bressan apart from the other multiple small-time contractors at the time was their relationship with the NPA, Gino’s engineering skills and vision, as well as his ample energy, passion and unwavering resolve to succeed. During this decade the company confined its operations to the KwaZulu region, building bridges and culverts and undertaking small industrial work for the sugar industry. Their reputation for quality and commitment grew, and with a growing order book, Stefanutti & Bressan was at last able to acquire their own plant, enabling them to start tendering for larger contracts in the province.

1978 was an eventful year during which Stefanutti & Bressan purchased their first major piece of plant – a bright red Poclain excavator, with a price tag of R25 000. In the same year the company bought a 4 000m² plot of land in Westmead for the purpose of erecting company offices and a plant workshop. General foreman, Custodia Caloba, also joined in 1978 and became the third shareholder in the company. On 30 August 1979 the company name was changed to Stefanutti & Bressan (Pty) Ltd.

The booming eighties

The company had cut its teeth on building bridges and the eighties kicked off with the R3 million award of the Tongaat and Verulam Bridges for the NPA. Stefanutti & Bressan went on to build many more bridges and culverts in Natal during this decade, soon becoming one of the most prominent and respected bridge builders in the province. On the company payroll at the time were Gino, supported by Ivo and Sunny, with the backbone of the operations consisting of a group of loyal Portuguese foremen. In order to support further growth, Gino recognised that he required financial expertise and set about recruiting old school friend, Glynn Williams, a chartered accountant.

Glynn was brought in as financial director and tasked with introducing systems and managing the finances in order to enable growth. It was during this period that Stefanutti & Bressan was granted their first overdraft of R100 000 from Volkskas Bank – the bank that would play a critical role in the future growth of the company within the province.

The company broadened its field of operations and reservoir, pump station and sewerage works contracts complemented the traditional bridge and culvert work, resulting in substantially increased staffing, plant and turnover. In 1984 two bridges that had been destroyed by Cyclone Demoina were rebuilt within a record six months, restoring access across the Umfolozi. More concrete structures followed, including silos for Nestlé, using the concrete sliding technique and the remotely located Mtamvuna low lift and high lift pump stations.
By the late eighties further growth aspirations set Gino’s sights on diversifying from civils and buildings into earthworks and in 1988 he recruited Deryck White. Together they established an earthworks company, based on a 50% partnership. With the earthworks company established, Gino then focused on increasing the specialist skills base within the civil company, which would allow Stefanutti & Bressan to take on more technically challenging projects. He set about wooing John Jackson, at the time employed by the largest construction company in the province and, in 1989, John joined the civils division as a director and shareholder. Stefanutti & Bressan started to move into another league – and with Deryck and John joining the small Italian contractor, notice was served on the market that this was indeed an organisation to be taken seriously.

The booming eighties - Building

In 1981 a building division was established at Stefanutti & Bressan and in 1982 Harry Reed joined to head up Stefanutti Construction (Pty) Ltd. The division started off with a bang working on major extensions to Barclays Bank in Durban North and soon thereafter on a 2 000m² Prestige Lingerie factory at Phoenix Industrial Park. During this period, the conversion of a warehouse at 58 Moor Road, Durban into a showroom and workshops for Imperial Motors (Pty) Ltd marked the beginning of a long-standing relationship with the motor industry in general. Over the next 26 years, countless motor dealerships and showrooms across South Africa were built and now form part of the Stefanutti & Bressan portfolio.

The first company venture outside South African borders came in 1988 when the particularly prestigious and challenging project to build a palace for King Mswati III of Swaziland “in true James Bond style” was successfully negotiated. On completion of the new home for King Mswati III and his wives, Stefanutti & Bressan decided to put roots down in Swaziland. The company with capabilities of building,
civils, earthworks and roads very soon became the biggest contractor in the country.

The booming eighties – Earthworks

Stefanutti & Bressan’s time operating as a subcontractor was drawing to a close. In a strategic move Gino decided to establish an earthworks company and in 1998 he managed to talk Deryck White, director of a large construction company, into establishing an earthworks company, based on an equal partnership with Gino. The company operated as a private company, working together with Stefanutti & Bressan’s civils and construction divisions, but also as an earthworks contractor in its own right. This move paved the way for the group to participate successfully at all levels of projects that were underway in KwaZulu, including freeways, bridges, silos, pipelines, residential and industrial buildings.

Coming from a large structured company with capex, guarantees and established service departments, to the relatively small Stefanutti group, was quite a culture shock for Deryck. However, the timing was perfect as Cyclone Demoina had recently swept through the province leaving a trail of devastation to railway lines, roads and general infrastructure. After three short months the earthworks company was in a cash positive situation – a position it has remained in for the past 20 years. In 2005 Deryck and his team were incorporated into the Stefanutti & Bressan group of companies – with some of the initial team, including Mike du Plessis, Russell Crawford and Anton Salzgeber still remaining with the company in 2008.

The nineties – A decade of growth

During the 1990s the company experienced exponential growth – and took on technically challenging projects, including the Tugela River Bridge in 1992, the Majuba power station in 1996 and the Nchwaning Shaft No. 3 at Black Rock in the Northern Cape.

Glynn Williams left the company in early 1990 and after several unsuccessful replacements Dermot Quinn joined Stefanutti & Bressan in 1992 as financial manager. Coming from a listed environment he was surprised to find a company being run by a group of engineers who felt safer test-driving new plant in the yard than test-driving the new computer equipment in the office. At the time the company owned one XT computer and the director’s secretary was still using a trusty IBM typewriter to type up all correspondence and tenders. In terms of engineering the spirit of the company had always been entrepreneurial and the nineties would prove to be both ambitious and adventurous for the group.

With the recruitment of John Jackson (who was faced with the same initial culture shock as Deryck White), the company now had in-house expertise in the incremental launching of bridges. When a tender was put out for the construction of a four-lane divided carriageway with two alternative bridge decks, Stefanutti & Bressan (Pty) Ltd submitted a proposal for a bold single deck with an overall width of 20.75m accommodating a four-lane undivided freeway. The Tugela Bridge project was awarded to the company and construction of the largest incrementally launched bridge in the country was completed in 1993, winning the prestigious Fulton Award in 1994 for excellence in the use of concrete.

In 1994 Stefanutti & Bressan built the first concrete sugar conditioning silos in the world for Big Bend Sugar Mill in Swaziland. The cylinder is 30m in diameter and 60m high! The company also built the second concrete sugar conditioning silo in the world for Mhlume Sugar Mill in Swaziland in 2004.

The move to Mozambique

In 1993 the second foray into Southern Africa occurred when Stefanutti & Bressan undertook major repairs to a group of cylindrical silos in Maputo, Mozambique. The project was in excess of US$1 million and upon completion a Mozambique office was established.

The civil war was officially over. However, the country was still littered with landmines, materials were a commodity and resources scarce with the majority of the locals never having been exposed to any construction work due to the long civil war. The pioneering team included Martin du Rand (who had just joined Stefanutti), Louis Pereira (the only Portuguese speaker in the group), Anthony Pillay and a core team of six skilled staff members. Once on site 95 local people were employed and, against difficult odds, the team managed to find a place to stay; train the local workforce; find usable scaffolding in the old Maputo building yards; get all the relevant materials to site; and complete the project to the German client’s satisfaction. The Mozambique office went on to work on many projects, including the BP fuel depot, MIPS container terminal Chicumbane, Maputo fishing port, Tshai Tshai (a joint venture), a sugar terminal for the Sugar Association, the Japanese Embassy, Encell offices, the EU Embassy, the rehabilitation of Ximavane and the Polano Casino.

1996 – Exponential growth

During the mid-90s Gino recognised that the KwaZulu-Natal construction market could not satisfy the company’s expansion needs and set his sights on the bigger market of Gauteng. Through Martin du Rand he approached Willie Meyburgh to start up a civils operation in Gauteng and, in April 1996, Willie left the major listed construction group he had been working for to establish Stefanutti & Bressan Civils (Pty) Limited.

The company initially operated from a humble 100m² of prefab offices in Kempton Park, but the promising prospects in the province would bear much fruit in the years to come. Willie brought with him a good knowledge of the market conditions in Gauteng and the adjoining provinces. He also brought a vast number of new clients with him and introduced a “wishing well” concept whereby it became a company tradition to place a silver coin into the first structural concrete placed on site – to date a ritual that has stood the company in good stead! The first major project of the Gauteng office was to construct the Majuba cooling towers near Standerton for Eskom. Client DB Thermal awarded the contract to a Stefanutti & Bressan joint venture, valued at R149 million.

At the time the project value was R50 million more than the combined group turnover of R89 million for the financial year ending February 1996. The four-year project was completed one year ahead of schedule and the company was catapulted into another dimension. Clients and competitors in the province started paying attention to the new entrant into the Gauteng market and fierce competition ensued as Stefanutti & Bressan began to muscle in amongst the bigger contractors.

The pioneering group successfully priced and completed technical projects such as the Nchwaning decline shaft near Black Rock and the AAA plant for Sasol, using a precast method. A number of other projects with blue chip companies followed soon and, by the turn of the century, Stefanutti & Bressan was established and recognised as a worthy competitor in the civil construction market in Southern Africa.

The Majuba cooling towers and Nchwaning decline shaft both received the Fulton Award for excellence in the use of concrete.

The twenty-first century

It had always been part of the Stefanutti & Bressan vision to start operations on the international front. During the period 2001 to 2004 efforts were made to expand the business into the United Kingdom and Australia and, although this was not accomplished, international expansion remained on the radar screen. Whilst international efforts had proven unsuccessful, new South African operations, a piling operation (headed up by Shaun Nell) and the new Gauteng-based earthworks company spawned from the civils company in Gauteng. Expansion followed into Botswana, Zambia and Angola in 2003.

The building operations became more prominent and Howard Schwegmann joined the group in KwaZulu-Natal to boost this discipline. The building boom gripping South Africa from around 2004 further motivated the opening of a Gauteng building operation in 2005 which was rapidly followed by a Cape Town operation in 2006, headed up by Peter Leppan. In 2004, due to ill health, Garth Perry, who had been with the company since 1995, stepped down and sold his shares back to the company.

In 2005 the group’s annual turnover had increased to R652 million and market indicators showed that positive growth lay ahead. The group, at this stage, consisted of 10 private companies, all with various degrees of shareholding by management. (Part of Stefanutti & Bressan’s success and growth was due to the principle of giving equity to management whenever a new company was established.) In order to raise capital for further growth, other than by means of internal funding, listing on the JSE was a serious consideration.

Up until 2004 the group had grown amorphously by uniting certain common shareholdings with new management skills and forming new companies. The directors of the group realised that, in order to meet their long-term objectives, the group would have to be restructured into a formal group structure. This process was completed by Dermot in October 2005 as a pre-requisite to the listing and, in February 2006, the first consolidated results were presented, reflecting a group turnover of over R1 billion. In late 2005 a BEE deal was entered into with partner Mowana Investments acquiring 11.3% in the group. Over the last three decades company growth had been via organic means – and growth by means of acquisitions now presented a new and challenging concept to shareholders.

Following a very long internal process and much soul searching, Stefanutti & Bressan entered into discussions with ECMP in early 2006. The transaction with the civil engineering company (specialising in the design, construction and maintenance of tailings dams and open pit contract mining for the mining groups), was concluded in early 2007. In August 2007, after 34 memorable years and four months of intense work and negotiation as a private company, Stefanutti & Bressan listed on the JSE. To afford employees the opportunity to also ‘own a piece of Stefanutti & Bressan’, an employee share trust was established, using some of the shares that Garth Perry had sold back to the company on his departure in 2004.

A listed company

By the time of its listing the group almost covered the full spectrum of civil engineering and building contracting. Two further acquisitions followed in 2007 – a controlling interest in Skelton & Plummer, a mechanical and electrical engineering company and a controlling stake in Civil & Coastal, civil & marine specialists. The acquisition of Civil & Coastal afforded the group entry into the marine works market, as well as an opportunity to increase the group’s footprint in the Western Cape and Angola.

Post listing, Schalk Ackerman and six other directors joined the civil company in Gauteng to boost operations. However, with the construction market increasingly buoyant, skills at all levels were at a premium.

When it became known that that international construction group Stocks Limited was planning entry into the listed environment, negotiations were entered into whereby it was proposed that Stocks joined the Stefanutti group. A few days before Christmas in 2007, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean from the terrace of the Radisson Hotel in Cape Town, Gino Stefanutti, Willie Meyburgh and Dermot Quinn from Stefanutti and Stephen Pell, Rob King and Willie Erasmus from Stocks agreed that there was indeed synergy and merit for Stocks to join the Stefanutti group of companies. The transaction was concluded on 23 July 2008.

Stefanutti & Bressan Acquistions

Environmental, Civil and Mining Projects (Pty) Limited

ECMP was established in July 1991 and provides professional engineering services to a wide range of clients across the African continent in the fields of design, construction and operations of tailings disposal and tailings recovery facilities. Over the past five years, ECMP has expanded its services into surface mining where it is involved in open pit mining operations, including the design and management of mine spoil dumps.

Mike Smith and John Robbertze had worked together for 17 years at SRK Consulting and whilst they were both doing well, found themselves hankering for more. Both were over 40, in secure jobs as directors, and supposedly set for life. However, the desire to do more than merely sell their professional time was stronger than their need for stability and, much to the surprise and shock of their colleagues, the two resigned in 1991 to venture into the construction side of tailings operations.

In the early nineties, the Fraser Alexander Group had a monopoly of the tailings operations in Southern Africa, but Mike and John decided they had what it took to take on the big boys! Their venture was self-financed and they took out extra bonds on their houses. Within a month of registering, ECMP was awarded their first contract at the Randfontein Estates Gold Mine (owned by JCI) – a R 90 000/month service agreement (which incidentally they still have now 17 years later with mine owners Harmony Gold Mine Limited).

To work efficiently the company required specialist equipment and initially set to work using their 4 x 4 Landini tractors with agricultural disc ploughs, until the first ECMP ditchers arrived in South Africa from Italy.

The award of the Randfontein project marked the start of the company’s tailings operations, followed by further offices opening across South Africa, including Welkom (for Anglo Gold); Kimberley (for De Beers); Barberton (for ETC); and Richards Bay (for Ticor).

From the early days, ECMP undertook construction work affiliated with tailings, and this business grew parallel to the operational side. In November 1996, Vaughan Shaw joined ECMP to head up the construction division, growing the business both in South Africa and Zambia with the construction of the Chambishi tailings dam and operation thereof. Vaughan left in 2006 to pursue other prospects, but by then had made his mark on the growth of ECMP.

In 1994, motivated by Wits University’s Professor Geoff Blight, ECMP started exploring opportunities in Ghana which soon led to design work and project management across West Africa, including Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Niger. The company suffered a setback when Mike was involved in a serious car accident in Ghana in 1998. However, he was back to working full steam within three months.

At the beginning of 2000, ECMP had a dedicated design division, lead by Guillaume de Swardt, in Randfontein and Centurion. Struggling to find talented people willing to work in the company’s remote locations, ECMP in 2003 decided to consolidate their head office, moving the Randfontein and Centurion design offices, as well as all the support services to Broadacres. The more central location made it easier to recruit talented engineers, designers and support staff.

The design, construction and operations were all run from the Sandton office, but when both Vaughan and Guillaume resigned to pursue their own ventures, the original partners decided to regroup and refocus on growing the business. Mike and John decided to revitalise the construction division, employing estimator Peter Troward and contracts manager Stephen Goodhead to inject new zest into the division. At the same time John re-established a design team to service turnkey projects.

The operations side of the business continued to grow steadily with the now experienced area managers (Mike Abbott – Randfontein; Kobus Kirchner – Welkom; Marc Elliott – Kimberley; Freddie Strydom – Barberton; and, more recently, James McAlister – Richards Bay).

In 2004 ECMP ventured into the open pit mining arena, when Freddie Strydom, the entrepreneurial area manager in Barberton, offered ECMP’s services to the Nkomati Mine after they had identified the requirement to start open pit mining. ECMP has always aimed to stay a step ahead in terms of technology, offering the best operational, design and construction solutions to their clients.

Mike has been publishing papers since the mid-70s and has become a regular speaker at mining and industrial waste management conferences. ECMP’s working relationship with Wits University led them to implement trials for erosion control at Doornkop Mine, which resulted in the award of some large projects in the early 2000s.

ECMP pioneered the international trend of paste technology in South Africa and was involved in the first South African project that implemented thickened tailings/paste rather than conventional tailings. In this regard they played a major role (design and construct) in the first “true blue” paste disposal facility at CTP in Kimberley. This pioneering work on paste technology was taken a step further when, in 2006, they won the contract to design, construct and operate the new paste tailings dam at the BKM Mine, which included the design, construction and operation of the thickener – the first time this was done as an integrated project.

ECMP has recently been awarded the operations of a paste facility at the new De Beers Voorspoed Mine near Kroonstad. Until 2006, ECMP had continued to experience significant annual growth. However, capital was needed to grow the company further. Mike and John found themselves at a cross road, well into their fifties by now and seriously looking at succession planning. The approach by civil engineering and construction company Stefanutti & Bressan in 2006 offered a desirable solution to ensure that their legacy lived on and, in March 2007, the acquisition of ECMP by Stefanutti & Bressan was finalised.

In addition to partners Mike and John, the company directors include Stephen Goodhead, Freddie Strydom, Craig Morris and Ross Cooper. The two partners are contracted to stay on until 2009, but until then it’s business as usual.

Civil & Coastal Construction

Civil & Coastal Construction is a specialised marine and structural rehabilitation contractor, priding itself on undertaking technically challenging projects. One of Civil & Coastal’s great strengths is the ability to produce alternative designs to postulated schemes, that are innovative and provide savings in terms of safety, cost, quality and time.

After working in a corporate environment for many years civil engineer Greg Moore decided he wanted to be his own master and started up his own construction business in the Western Cape. Armed with experience, skills and confidence in his abilities, he founded Civil & Coastal in October 1992. At the time there were very few companies in the marine and structural rehabilitation market. However, times were very tough in the early years. The very first project the young company undertook was to construct five tank bases for Cape Bulk Storage in Table Bay Harbour in 1993.

In early 1994 Simon Allen, also a professional civil engineer, joined Greg at Civil & Coastal. At that time the company was based in Greg’s back garden flat/office in Pinelands, Cape Town. Previous experience and achievements of the partners did not count much with South African banks who were loathe to back the small unknown company and initially, when the money wasn’t coming in fast enough, the partners went without paying themselves a monthly salary.

Determined to make their venture succeed, the partners investigated working in Angola and in 1994 they successfully negotiated the US$1.5 million Malongo Dock wavewall installation in Malongo, Cabinda (Angola) with the Cabinda Gulf Oil Company (CABGOC), where they still operate today. CABGOC’s willingness to take a chance on employing and bankrolling such a small enterprise paid off handsomely for both CABGOC and Civil & Coastal. The bulk of Civil & Coastal’s profits went to purchase land at Airport Industria, Cape Town, from where they still operate today. Further contracts ensued with CAGOC for sleeving of piles and bulk storage tank foundations.

In 1996 Civil & Coastal entered a second specialist contracting market offering structural rehabilitation services of concrete structures, in particular bridge jacking and bridge bearing replacement. The first contract of this kind was lifting up the Olifants River bridge over the N7 (the West Coast Road), replacing the cross beams and bearings. At the same time they secured more marine construction work, with projects getting bigger and bigger both in stature and value.

The R2.1 million Granger Bay concrete works project in 1995/6, designed by consulting engineers Entech, entailed constructing a marina and structures on land that were towed and floated into place. This was the beginning of a long-term relationship with Entech, who became a favourite consultant to work with, especially for alternative design solutions.

Civil & Coastal’s reputation for “quality and on time” project completion was becoming cemented and a steady stream of projects from the Western Cape kept them busy. In 2000 they were awarded the prestigious R13.4 million design and construction of a control buoy reinforced concrete gravity base for the Mossgas EM Gas Field Development in Mossel Bay. The structure was constructed within a dry dock and then towed 85 km out to sea and lowered approximately 100m to the seabed. This project won them several awards, including the SAFCEC President’s Award, the Western Cape SAICE Award for Technical Excellence and as runner up at the National SAICE Technical Excellence Awards.

Many personal and financial sacrifices were made by the partners over the years and as the relationship between Greg and Simon proved durable, the company continued to grow from strength to strength.

By 2003 turnover was around R10 million, rocketing to nearly R100 million in 2007. Headline projects include the design and the construction of fenders at Saldanha Bay and reconstruction and rehabilitation of several slipways, quays and jetties up and down South Africa’s West Coast (at one time even including Walvis Bay). Further work in Table Bay was also secured with the design and construction of a new chemical berth for Portnet. Civil & Coastal had also kept in touch with its Angolan client and was rewarded again in 2005 with the repair of Malongo Dock and, more recently (2007), with the design and construction of a new dock facility in Malongo; the overall project being valued at some US$45 million.

With risks and rewards in running their own businesses proving to be worth it, the partners set their sights on even bigger projects and growing the company even further. The need for more resources was a limiting factor and led to negotiations with civil engineering and construction company Stefanutti & Bressan in May 2007.

By September 2007 negotiations were concluded and Stefanutti & Bressan acquired a controlling shareholding - a difficult move for the partners, but a necessary one in order to grow the business to its fullest potential. Restructuring left the same management structures in place, augmented by Stefanutti & Bressan. Both Simon and Greg believe Civil & Coastal will go from strength to strength and are looking forward to the many more mega projects that lie ahead.

Skelton & Plummer

The Skelton & Plummer Group undertakes mechanical, electrical and instrumentation construction work in the industrial, mining, manufacturing, and petrochemical sectors. Work undertaken in the mechanical construction field includes tanks, piping, structural steelwork and mechanical equipment installations such as pumps, mills, thickeners, stacker reclaimers, kilns and conveyor equipment. The group also has a plant suppliers division.

In 1983 Harry Skelton, Colin Plummer, Richard Leitao, Aubrey Michel, Ian Wright and Roy Dukes left Group Five to set up their own business. The vision shared by the six participants and an unwavering faith in their skills & abilities led to the establishment of a company, which 25 years later is still going strong.

When Skelton & Plummer was formed, a 50% shareholding was held by Peter Bayly, with the other 50% split amongst the six directors. The company operated out of the Peter Bayly premises in the Midrand Industrial Park in Johannesburg. In pursuit of their first contract the six competed against their former employer – tendering for the piping and mechanical work for the ERGO CIP Plant in Springs successfully. Despite this coup the first few months of operation were touch and go and many a breath was held in anticipation of clients’ cheques arriving at the bank….

The ERGO job put them on the map and a great deal of work followed, particularly for Goldfields. Before long Skelton & Plummer became established in the mining industry and, in 1985, they were awarded the project management and design of the new Rand Refinery. They established an in-house design division to deal with all the civil, mechanical and electrical design elements of this and future projects.

Skelton & Plummer was left very much to its own devices and, when in the late eighties Wilson & Holmes bought Peter Bayly, the directors acquired the Peter Bayly interest for the bargain price of R1 million. By the end of 1988 all shares were owned by people active within the business. In the same year the company formed a plant suppliers division and started developing the Skelton & Plummer high-rate clarifier (S&P HRC) used for the clarification of dirty water and aimed particularly at the mining industry for underground and on surface applications. The clarifier proved to be very successful with over 70 installations in place by 2008.

After the management buy-out, the group continued to operate from its original premises until 1994 when, much to the surprise of many and amidst the country’s first democratic elections, they started building their own head office and plant yard in the same industrial estate. Around the same time the group acquired the Setpoint R.S.A. agency for their computer software, but disposed of it in the late 1990s as they felt it didn’t add value to the company offering.

By the mid to late 90s there was not a mining house in South Africa the company had not done work for. A number of prestigious projects were undertaken, including the construction and installation of a big kiln at Middelburg Steel and Alloys for Krupp and the installation of an 80m long 5m diameter kiln, dust chamber, mill and associated piping and cutting for the Karbochem factory in Newcastle in 1998. As a newcomer to the Gauteng market, Skelton & Plummer awarded a small contract for pipeline bases to Stefanutti & Bressan.

In 2001 Eddcor Electrical & Instrumentation Projects was formed to grow the group’s electrical and instrumentation activities. They quickly secured their first jobs – amongst them the supply, installation and commission of the main electrical & instrumentation installation for the Mozal expansion project in Mozambique and the electrical installation of 1 600m 7.2KV 70mm² XLPE 3 core cable at Hernic Ferrochrome.

Apart from having built a reputation for professionalism and a solutions-driven approach, Skelton & Plummer are renowned in the industry for their unwavering commitment to their company policies concerning quality, health and safety, the environment, road safety, employment equity and skills development.

In 2007 negotiations with civil engineering and construction company Stefanutti & Bressan started, resulting in the acquisition of a controlling share by the company in January 2008. The acquisition is mutually advantageous, giving Stefanutti & Bressan a further foothold in the mechanical and electrical construction field, whilst creating an opportunity for the middle management of Skelton & Plummer and Eddcor to grow and advance. Of the old guard, Harry Skelton, Colin Plummer and Ian Wright retired and Aubrey Michel and Roy Dukes remained.

Skelton & Plummer currently employs approximately 380 salaried and waged staff. They continue to enjoy repeat business from many loyal clients, whilst exploring new opportunities within the mechanical, electrical and instrumentation construction industry across Southern Africa.

STOCKS

Stocks & Stocks started as a building contractor in 1946 and, over the decades, branched out into other disciplines including civils, housing and property development, and later built up a portfolio of hotels and resorts. At the end of the 20th Century the sustained high interest rates resulted in the company no longer being able to fund its loans and the group assets and businesses were sold, with the company delisting in April 2000. The construction part of the company had always remained profitable and through a management buy-out of the building businesses, Stocks Building Africa was born in 2000, focusing once again on its core capabilities of building and developing its Middle Eastern businesses. In 2008, following the acquisition of the old Stocks Housing business and launching a civils operation the company re-branded to Stocks Limited. The new name reflected the fact that they were no longer only builders and that they operated wider afield than only Africa.

The first quarter of a century

On 6 November 1945, brothers Hugh and Mike Stocks registered a building company, Stocks & Stocks (Pty) Ltd. The brothers had served in the war and all they had going for them was a lot of ambition and a government grant for ex-servicemen – giving them the capital needed to start their business in Pretoria.

In the early years small projects were tackled, mainly on residential properties, where they added on garages, bathrooms and bedrooms to private houses and took on all sorts of small contracts, doing much of the trade work themselves. Early in 1947 they started building homes – one at a time. At first they rode to work on bicycles, acquiring vans only later when the cash flow of the company improved.

They worked during the day and studied and did the company paperwork at night and in 1946 Hugh Stocks became a graduate engineer and obtained his charter in 1951.

The Stocks brothers were soon known for the quality of their workmanship, as well as their strict moral code of conduct and soon their reputation preceded them. As Pretoria began to grow and the building industry started booming the brothers started tackling bigger contracts. In March 1949 they landed their first multi-storey project – the Citrus Exchange, and in 1952 one of the most modern buildings at the time was commissioned for Volkskas Bank an eight-storey building at a project value of R791 000.

In 1953 they launched out into civil engineering, undertaking two large contracts – the 60 million gallon reservoir at Meyers Hill and the grain silos at Bon Accord. The latter was one of the first continuously sliding form jobs in what was then Transvaal. Both projects were technically challenging and well constructed. However, they resulted in heavy losses to the growing young company.

In 1955, amongst others, the original Loftus Versveld stadium was completed in time for the test match against the British Lions. Stocks had by now begun taking on much larger, multi-storey contracts and in 1956 their biggest contract to date, the Transvaal Provincial Administration (TPA) building was awarded to the company.

Founder brother, Mike Stocks, opened the Durban branch in 1957. During the following year the company commenced its property development and investment programme in Pretoria with numerous blocks of flats, offices and shops. In 1961 similar projects in Natal followed.

In 1967 work started on the Poyntons Building – at 37 storeys high the tallest building in South Africa at the time. On completion in 1969, Stocks moved out of their ground floor office at the Van der Stel building in Schoeman Street into office space on the 22nd floor of Poyntons. From here they could enjoy a great view over the growing city and the many landmark buildings they were constructing in the capital. They remained in this building until 1981.

By the time Stocks celebrated its 25th anniversary it had travelled a far way from its humble beginnings of working on small residential additions with a limited staff contingent… and was well on its way to building a significant construction business.

The seventies

Back in 1960 Stocks worked in Bloemfontein on the tank workshops for the S.A. Army in Tempe and, by 1970, with many more contracts coming in at Bloemfontein the company opened its third provincial office in the Free State.

In the seventies the company was kept busy building the skyline of Pretoria and many of South Africa’s landmark buildings, in particular UNISA, Sanlam Park (the biggest high-rise residential complex in South Africa at the time), the Post Office headquarters, Sunnypark, Natalia, Civitas and the Microwave Tower in New Muckleneuk were built in this decade. The Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) marked the entry of the company into the Rand area and, after its completion in 1975, Stocks established a Johannesburg office, based in Parktown.

Founder and group chairman Hugh Stocks passed away on 10 October 1975. He had, by this time, made his mark in the South African construction industry. However, with the departure of Hugh Stocks the company faced a difficult period. Following his wishes the group restructured and under the leadership of chief executive Reg Edwards the company continued to expand, not only geographically, but also by discipline.

Soon the group was active in all provinces of South Africa, including the former Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Ciskei and Venda and also in Swaziland. Activities in Bophuthatswana contributed to its success story, in particular when Stocks was awarded its first project for hotel tycoon Sol Kerzner, the Mmabatho Sun and, at the same time, found themselves in the running for a lot of government work, especially in Mmabatho. Stocks went on to complete the largest hotel complex and first casino in Southern Africa, the well-known Sun City resort. The company built over a dozen hotels for Sun International over a period of 15 years and the Stocks name became synonymous with Sun International, Sun City and later the Palace at the Lost City.

During the seventies the fear and threat of a recession in the building industry did not materialise and projects continued to pour in. By the end of this decade the company had a list of achievements – foremost completing the Sun City complex in world record time, seven safety awards, a R200 million strong order book and R10 million worth of property deals. The future was looking very bright.

The booming eighties

The eighties started off on a high with turnover at record levels. In the financial year ending February 1982, the Stocks group generated a gross turnover of about R250 million – making it the largest independently owned construction business at the time.

There was a lot of construction to be done country-wide, with great prospects across South Africa. Hotel work came in from Sun International and Stocks was awarded many projects by the Bophuthatswana government. The property development arm was also doing well with over R40 million worth of development in Pretoria and Johannesburg.

Despite concerns about resources, the building industry proceeded to enjoy a good decade with Stocks building more high-rise buildings, shopping centres, institutional buildings, hotels and hospitals.

In 1981 Stocks & Stocks acquired civil engineering company Aquacrete (Pty) Ltd, thus entering the infrastructure and mining market and, in 1983, Stocks Civils acquired Peter Faber. The new enlarged civils operation then comprised three main operating companies – Civils, Structures and Roads, which were active across the country.

1984 was a year filled with exciting and challenging events including the first endeavour into the United States, when Stocks bought a golf course/ condominium scheme. The venture unfortunately did not achieve the desired outcome.

In 1984 the Kwa Maritane time-share scheme was completed and was proving to be a very successful property development for the group, paving the way for more developments of this nature.

In the same year Stocks, in a joint venture, was awarded the Reserve Bank project – a prestigious building, valued at R117 million - which was completed in 1986.

Stocks Housing, established in 1978, was mainly involved in the construction of affordable mass housing. In 1985 the group acquired Habitech, which gave them access to the growing market of middle-class housing.

During the eighties the Stocks Bophuthatswana office was booming with work mainly for Sun International and the government. It is said that Stocks virtually built the city of Mmabatho.

The booming eighties were delivering and there were more prospects the company wanted to explore. Listing was realised in November 1988 with a share price of R1.15. In their maiden year on the JSE the company reported turnover topping R1 billion.

The decade ended on a high note with the listing raising the profile of Stocks & Stocks and affording the company additional financial capacity for its expansion plans.

The nineties

The early nineties saw Bart Dorrestein promoted to managing director for the group with Reg Edwards taking on the position of executive chairman with the retirement of George Riche.

In the new decade conditions in the construction industry toughened substantially and Stocks sought to sustain turnover and profits by becoming heavily involved in property development. At the time the headline project for this division was Sandton Square, which was developed in conjunction with several pension funds and insurance companies.

The building division of the business continued to undertake work for the Bophuthatswana government and, in 1992, built The Lost City, a prestigious addition to the Sun City complex, which is still an iconic building in world terms today. They also became involved in design and build government projects such as the Namibian Goethe Street government offices. The housing division was once again concentrating on low-cost housing in order to grow in the recession.

Stocks Hotels & Resorts was launched following the successes of the company’s time-share resorts across South Africa and the property development side of the business began building up a large property portfolio, focusing on leisure and tourism resorts, particularly hotel ownership and management. In 1994 Stocks entered into the casino market in Namibia by developing two casino/
hotels - one in Swakopmund and one in Windhoek.

As the political environment, post the 1994 elections in South Africa began to settle, the group, in addition to moving into Namibia, targeted the new provinces for expansion. The Gulf region was also identified as a strong growth region and in 1998 Stocks acquired 50% equity in the electromechanical business Zener Steward and established an interior fit-out company (Al Tayer Stocks) together with the Al Tayer family.

Tom forged strong partnerships with Salim Ahmad S.M. Sharif Al Olama (chairman) and Muneer Sharif (managing director) of Zener Steward, as well as with the Al Tayer family, Obaid Al Tayer (chairman) and Tariq H. Al Tayer (board member) - relationships which have become cemented over the years and are still in place today.

Back in South Africa, the predicted housing boom hadn’t materialised, the international exchange rates dropped drastically and the interest rate started spiralling.

The growth in property development had resulted in Stocks increasing its bank borrowings substantially and rising interest rates and the downturn in the appetite for property investments by financial institutions in the mid to late 90s resulted in heavy interest costs to the group.

The USA venture – the Miracle Centre - which had been embarked on at a cost of $18 million dollars escalated to a cost of $37 million – and eventually a debt of R237.1 million had to be written off.

Sustained interest rates of 25% in 1998 proved to be the final straw when the 52-year-old construction giant could no longer fund its loans, the property portfolio and the casino hotels.

In 1999 a consortium of banks was appointed to dispose of all Stocks & Stocks assets. Reg Edwards was called out of retirement to manage the disposal of the assets and businesses within the group.

The building company, which had continued to be profitable throughout its 52 year existence, was ring-fenced in order to facilitate its sale as a single business unit.

Hotels & Resorts was sold off and renamed Legacy Hotels. Both Stocks Civils and Stocks Housing were bought out by management and a few months later Stocks Civils was again sold on.

Stocks delisted from the JSE on 25 April 2000.

The birth of Stocks Building Africa

In 2000, after exploring many possible scenarios, including selling the building division to competitors or overseas investors, an acceptable solution was brought to the table by Rand Merchant Bank - at a cost of R35 million.

The consortium activities were kept outside of the business while management and their teams were pivotal in keeping existing construction activities running smoothly. Lombard Insurance and other financial guarantors did not pull the plug and at no time did the business default on any payments to creditors, subcontractors or employees.

On the delisting and disposal of the Stocks group’s assets, the building division was acquired as a going concern by a consortium comprising existing senior management, RMB Ventures, a company within the FirstRand Banking Group, and WIP Private Equity (Pty) Ltd, a private equity fund within the WIPHOLD stable.

The senior management team, nicknamed the “Nifty Nine”, included Johan Brink, Willie Erasmus, Farid Hartnick, Luc Jacobs, Piet Postema, Casper Steenkamp, André van Zyl, Mark Vinjevold and Tom Hendry.

CEO Tom Hendry recognised that, in order for the company to survive, it had to focus on what it did best – building quality buildings and good relationships with clients – the principles that the original Stocks & Stocks had built its foundations on from 1946. The company was renamed Stocks Building Africa and it was launched on 7 February 2000 by a management team full of trepidation at the challenge that lay ahead but optimistic about their future.

2000 – 2003: Survival

A great deal of time and effort was spent on identifying the best way to re-establish the company. There were many challenges, including the loss of reputation and a loss of confidence with many sceptics expecting failure.

The strategy was to target a number of high-profile projects across South Africa to re-establish the company name and reputation in the building industry as quickly as possible. The company went on to successfully secure projects in Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, across South Africa and in the Gulf. High-profile projects included work at the OR Tambo airport, Naspers, Telkom, Unilever, the Mpumalanga government offices, the Michelangelo Towers, MTN, uShaka Marine World (a joint venture with Stefanutti & Bressan), and the refurbishment of the Pretoria Station.

2003 saw the first public private partnership project (PPP) with the award of Maropeng, where Stocks Building Africa led a consortium of seven companies. More PPPs followed in Botswana with the award of the Ombudsman and Land Tribunal offices and later the SADC Headquarters in Gaborone in 2007.

2004 – 2006: Repositioned as a reliable building contractor

In 2004 a BEE deal was entered into with Leswikeng Minerals in a move to position the company as the leading building contractor in the region with a strong black economic empowerment profile. Herman Mashaba was appointed as non-executive chairman and was very upbeat about the 30% acquisition of Stocks Building Africa by Leswikeng.

By October 2006, following the award of projects at the Cape Town and Johannesburg airports, the order book was at a record high for the young business. The construction industry was booming and the company was reclaiming its rightful place in the building industry.

2007-2008: A period of growth

Tom had taken the business through the years of survival and re-establishment in the market. In 2006 Stephen Pell joined to assist with growing the business, as it had repositioned itself in the market as a reliable large building contractor. Together they restructured the building business in the SADC region, focusing on growing their existing operations, starting up new operations and looking at acquiring other complementary businesses. Due to ill health, Tom stood down as CEO in July 2007 and Stephen Pell was appointed as the new CEO.

In 2006 Major Projects was established to work on landmark developments across the country. The operation provided a catalyst for growth in all regions, without exhausting the region specific resources and is involved at OR Tambo International and Cape Town international airport.

In 2007 the concessions operation signed its second public private partnership with the Botswana government for the prestigious SADC Headquarters in Gaborone. Later in the same year a new business unit was opened in the Eastern Cape, followed shortly by the start-up of an industrial civils operation based in Johannesburg.

On the international front, the two businesses in the Gulf, Al Tayer Stocks and Zener Steward Electromechanical had expanded their operations from Dubai to Abu Dhabi in order to take advantage of the significant growth opportunities within the region.

At the beginning of 2008 the company name was changed from Stocks Building Africa to Stocks Limited – to reflect the fact that the company activities were no longer confined to building and that they operated further afield than Africa. A few months later Stocks Limited acquired 100% of Housing Africa Developments (previously Stocks Housing).

The company was preparing to enter the listed environment with a target date of April 2008, but had simultaneously been approached by listed civil engineering and construction company, Stefanutti & Bressan. On 11 March 2008 a merger between the two was announced, to be effected through an acquisition of Stocks by Stefanutti & Bressan.

PROJECT PORTFOLIO

Stefanutti & Bressan projects

Tugela River Bridge (1992)
When the Tugela River Bridge was originally put out to tender, it was designed as a four-lane divided carriageway with two separate 11.4m wide bridge decks. Stefanutti & Bressan submitted a tender with a bold alternative single structure design with an overall width of 19.8m to match the four-lane freeway on each side of the river.

The contract was awarded to Stefanutti & Bressan for their alternative design. This single carriageway structure offered an 11% saving over the originally designed dual carriageway bridge with its 15% larger plan deck area. The bridge deck was constructed, using the incremental launching technique (using Dywidag bars) and at 460m long and 14 6000 ton sitting on piles 50m deep, is still today the widest and heaviest bridge deck launched in the Southern Hemisphere.

The success of the project was further acknowledged with the Fulton Award for excellence in the use of concrete in

Intershore (1995)
One of Stefanutti & Bressan’s first marine civils contracts was for Intershore in Durban Harbour’s Bayhead area. The project included the construction of the yard for the Intershore oil rig construction programme. This included major earthworks and layer-works, site drainage, water and power reticulation and the large concrete foundations on which the oil rig structures would be built.

In addition, the load-out quay wall and the associated bank protection and mooring work were constructed to enable the oil rigs to be loaded onto the transport barges en route to the Angolan oil fields.

Durban International Road System (1997)
The ‘gateway’ feeder ramp over the Southern Freeway leading into the Durban airport was restricted, necessitating the construction of a bridge. This structure was launched on a global curve, i.e. combined horizontal and vertical curves and further complicated by the fact that it required pulling initially and, when nearing completion, it required restraining.

Majuba Power Station (1996)
The first major project of the Gauteng offices was to construct the Majuba cooling towers near Standerton for Eskom. Not only was this project worth more than the company’s annual turnover at the time, the company had also never built a cooling tower before. However, the company was undaunted by the challenge, confident in its technical skills and the competence of its teams and excited to tackle a project it knew would establish Stefanutti & Bressan in the province.

A massive ring beam of reinforced concrete of some 3 400m², measuring 300m in circumference, provided the springing level for the tower. The shell structure consists of an 88-side polygon, with the precast columns and lintels being able to incorporate the changing geometry as the vertical height increased.

The construction of the tower shells required concrete that had a very high workability and rapid strength gains in the first 20 hours. The inclined formwork and the width of the shell wall demanded concrete that would flow from the skip into the form without bridging on the reinforcement and with the minimum of moving with vibrators. The strength at 20 hours of 8Mpa allowed the formwork to be removed early the following morning, allowing the cycle to start again.

A project that would normally take four years was completed one year ahead of schedule. The success of the project was further acknowledged by the Fulton Award for excellence in the use of concrete.

Sasol Solvents Butanol & Acrylates Complex (2001)
The civil portion of this project comprised the construction of an N’ Butanol plant and an acrylic acid and acrylates (AAA) plant, along with a control building complex from where the whole process is controlled. The plants consist of a process plant where the chemicals are produced and tank farms where the chemicals are stored.

The project also provided for a complete infrastructure, including the construction of numerous substations, roads, a firewater ring main, underground services and ancillary structures. The civil works involved the use of almost 30 000m³ of concrete in a multitude of infrastructural elements such as a 120m long, 9m high process structure and a 134m long, 40m wide tank farm raft foundation. These structures were adorned with mechanical and electrical equipment, thus virtually hidden from sight in the final state. The tank farms are large reinforced concrete raft foundations with bund walls designed specifically around environmental considerations for the containment of any spillage of chemicals into the surrounds.

Woodchip Plant Richards Bay (2001)
This project for the Central Timber Co-operative in Richards Bay was for the construction of the woodchip plant, including the link conveyor and gantry. The conveyor gallery, in excess of 200m, was incrementally launched from an elevated casting bed across marshalling yards with no disruption of traffic.

Nchwaning No.3 Shaft (2000)
The extremely poor ground conditions, coupled with the large 9m span tunnel at Nchwaning No. 3 Shaft, required an innovative solution for safely completing the mining and lining of the material/access decline at Assmang’s Black Rock Mine in the Northern Cape.

The project managers had identified the poor geological conditions (calcretised sands, gravels and clay) in their feasibility study and proposed the conventional in-situ reinforced concrete lining solution, to be undertaken by a specialist civil engineering contractor. In response to a quotation request, Stefanutti & Bressan Civils proposed a unique precast concrete tunnel lining system that they felt would be safe, reliable, cost-effective and an alternative to the conventional in-situ lining option.

With a precast lining system the permanent support is immediately available at the face and the tunnel advance (mining and lining) is driven primarily at the speed at which the excavations can be safely done. During the process of driving the decline tunnel through the clay formation, various collapses of the hanging wall occurred, attesting to the resilience and safety of the system to mishap and abuse. It was established that the installation could successfully be done by the mining contractor, allowing them to stage the programme to suit production needs. After successfully installing 436m of precast lining Stefanutti & Bressan handed the patented system, placing devices and systems equipment over to the mining contractor for an equitable consideration.

Simuma Extension (2006)
This project for Natal Portland Cement at Simuma near Port Shepstone, involved the design and construction of the new cement milling circuit at the plant. The scope of works included all the conveyors, substations, the new mill building, packaging plant and the fire cell cement blending silo. The above were constructed with concrete batched on site, using materials supplied by Natal Portland Cement.

The project also achieved 100 000 man hours worked without a lost-time injury.

PFG Glass Factory (2005)
In 2003 Stefanutti & Bressan established a piling division, mainly operating in the Durban and coastal areas. Two years later an independent piling company in Gauteng was established and one of the company’s first contracts was for the PFG glass factory in Springs.

The contract comprised the excavation by Stefanutti & Bressan Earthworks and accompanying lateral support work for a nine-metre deep excavation. In total, 160 lateral support piles, 260 ground anchors (450 and 600kN), 100 nine-metre soil nails and 1 650m² of shotcreting were required for the support of the excavation sides. It also required the installation of 600 load-bearing piles for the structure encapsulating the new furnace and associated works. Piling consisted of CFA pressure grouted, cast-in-situ uncased and cast-in-situ temporarily cased piles, ranging from 500mm to 900mm in diameter and going to depths of 23m.

As newcomers to the market both client and engineer kept a close eye on the progress. However, Stefanutti & Bressan met all milestone dates and was soon awarded more work on site. The successful project was the first of many in the province and the company is currently looking to expand operations into other Southern African countries.

Roodeplaat Dam (2005)
Undertaken as a joint venture, this contract for Roodeplaat Temba Water Services Trust was to construct a 60Ml water purification plant to supply purified water from Roodeplaat Dam to the northern suburbs of Pretoria. The scope of work included:

Construction of:

• dam abstraction works;
• raw water pump station, inclusive of pumps and associated pipe-work;
• flocculation units, sedimentation tanks, filters and purified water reservoirs and sludge dams, including associated mechanical pipe work and electrical work;
• a high lift pump station together with pumps and pipe work; and
• chemical closing buildings and the installation of chemical closing equipment.

Installation of:

• 23km of steel pipe lines, 700mm in diameter and greater; and
• bulk electrical supply to the works.

Just prior to the completion of the contract, the client identified the need to draw more water from the dam, whilst ensuring that the dam supply level did not drop. In conjunction with Prof. Nick Dekker of the University of Pretoria, an innovative engineering solution was found. A dry concrete chamber was built and installed upstream, under water and pumped dry. Diamond coring and diamond wire rope were then used to cut a small tunnel through the wall to install and grout-in a steel pipe in four locations.

SAFA House (2006)
The first major building contract related to the 2010 Soccer World Cup was awarded to Stefanutti & Bressan in 2006. The South African Football Association’s (SAFA) office building was built near the NASREC Show Grounds at the FNB Soccer Stadium site in Johannesburg. The building has a unique triple-volume entrance atrium and “soccer ball” roof and houses the Fédération International de Football Association (FIFA) delegation, who will remain in this office until the finals of the Soccer World Cup have been concluded in South Africa in 2010.

Polana Casino (2006)
Stefanutti & Bressan’s Mozambique-based operation built the new beach front casino at Maputo’s renowned Polana Hotel. Located just 30m from the sea, the structure is built on 140 piles driven into the sea sand. The casino’s striking architecture and design included specialised mouldings on the wall, with all materials for the finishing imported from Indonesia, Brazil, the United Kingdom and South Africa.

Bospoort Dam (2007)
The earthworks contract for the rehabilitation and upgrading of the Bospoort Dam in the North West Province involved:
• removal of 16 000m³ dimension rock;
• blast and removal of 60 000m³ rock;
• pre-splitting rock face up to 18m in height;
• blasting the rock to a 400mm grade to be used for the rock fill;
• raising of three existing dam walls by 1.6m with blasted rock; and
• constructing toe drains at the foot of the earth dams.

Elements of this project that provided the team with challenges included:
• removing the dimension rock (the size of a small utility vehicle) without blasting;
• blasting the rock to tight tolerances;
• achieving the required grading of the blasted rock;
• placing the screening sand on the existing dam walls;
• creating cougher dams to excavate below water level; and
• relocating the existing indigenous flora and fauna for later use.

The project maintained a 100% safety record.

SA Bulk Terminals (2007)
SA Bulk Terminals in Durban Harbour required storage capacity from an additional six grain silos. These were to be positioned parallel and south of the existing line of six silos and north of the newly constructed tippler station. These silos are founded on 170 piles, which are capped with a continuous 0.9m ground beam. The hexagonal shaped walls, cast in one complete 9.9m high lift, together with internal columns and interlocking beams, support the 1m thick transfer slab. The ‘storage cells’ of the silos were slip-formed from the transfer slab to a height of 46.45m above the ground, and completed with a cast in-situ hopper. Finally the roof, consisting of precast beams and planks, topped with a reinforced concrete slab, was put in place. Weighbridges, rail sidings and storm water works completed this multidisciplinary project.

Stocks Projects:

Volkskas (1952/1975)
In 1952 one of the most modern buildings in Pretoria at the time was commissioned for Volkskas Bank – an eight storey high building with a fantastic view over the city, the Union Buildings in the east and the fresh produce market across the road. This market would later make way for the new modern Volkskas Headquarters on Strijdom Square – a building Stocks was to build 24 years later.

In February 1976, Stocks commenced work on the intricate 136m high, 36-floor building. The new Volkskas building was not only the tallest in Pretoria at the time of its completion in 1978; it was architecturally also set to be one of SA’s most spectacular structures in the seventies. The project comprised four parking levels, a basement and ground floor, 36 floors including two large service lifts, 12 escalators and 23 lifts - one of which rode up and down on the exterior of the building. Each floor was about 1 500m², requiring 2 300m² of vertical formwork and 750m³ of concrete (in total 132 000 ton of concrete was used for the structure).

Poyntons (1967)
In the late 1960s, Poyntons was a foretaste of what Pretoria was going to look like in the future. At the time it was built it was the tallest building in South Africa with its top floor being 375ft above ground. It was built as a fully self-contained complex with two office buildings, a pedestrian mall and adjoining retail, restaurants, banks and a six-storey parking garage, all served by 22 lifts.

Completed in 1970, the main building consisted of two wings overlapping a central core. The taller of the two, at 37 floors high, was mainly used for office space and the second 31-storey building was occupied by government.

Rand Afrikaans University (1971-1975)
The RAU project launched Stocks into the lucrative Johannesburg market in the 1970s. The sheer size of the project resulted in some of the work
being subcontracted. However, Stocks built most of the central educational buildings, lecture halls, administration offices, library and the university club, including student facilities such as the cafeteria, dining hall, indoor sports facilities including five squash courts, and an auditorium seating 1 000 people.
During its busiest time almost 1 000 people were employed and the site had a total of 12 tower cranes at work. The volume of equipment and machinery on site led to the establishment of a temporary plant yard on site for efficient access to maintenance and repairs.

Sun City & The Lost City (1978/1972)
In 1978 Sol Kerzner came up with the concept of building a fantasy magic entertainment centre in a remote and wild area of Southern Africa, Las Vegas style… Stocks & Stocks, who had already built a number of hotels for the hotel tycoon, helped to realise this dream by building the world- famous Sun City Hotel and entertainment complex. A project of this scale would, under normal circumstances, have taken three years to complete. However, the project was completed in a record time of 17 months. A firm pace was set, work was done around the clock… and Sun City was opened in time for Christmas 1979. In April 1984 Sun International threw the Stocks team another challenge in the form of the Cascades Hotel project – a 223 room, 14-level pyramid-shaped hotel with all public facilities. The hotel was handed over seven months ahead of schedule – in time for the team to sit
back, crack open a beer and watch the famous 1984 Page/Coetzee Christmas fight.

In 1992 Stocks found themselves back at Sun City, tasked with building the Lost City – the latest addition to the resort. The Lost City’s centre piece, The Palace, stands seven storeys high in places, with a lift tower and viewing platform rising to 14 floors, 340 bedrooms, a four-volume entrance foyer and, in the grounds, an olympic-size pool. The seasoned resort-building team in Bophuthatswana was again up to the challenge and, with nine tower cranes on site, at times up to 3 500 people and various divisions, including Stocks Civils and Housing on site, one of the most prestigious construction contracts of the 90s was built within a 19-month period.

Mpumalanga Government Offices (2001)
A joint venture with Stocks Building Africa as lead partner was formed for the construction of this office complex on the banks of a pristine river in Mpumalanga. The area has an abundance of indigenous flora and fauna and priority was given to the preservation of this natural habitat. The contract, therefore, included an environmental management plan that was structured to protect and preserve the environment and minimise any long-term impact of the construction activities.

In total, 7.5 million bricks were laid end-to-end with the gross building area being 95 000m². The complex is vast and impressive with a ceiling area that would cover 11 soccer fields and roof sheeting enough for eight! The 11-storey dome weighs 140 tons, the air-conditioning ducting measures 16 kilometers and weighs 340 tons. A grand total of 200 000 litres of paint was used for the entire project. This landmark project employed 1 800 people during peak times and 2 700 jobs were created directly and indirectly.

Ushaka Marine World (2002)
The uShaka Marine World project comprised of four components:

• An oceanarium, designed to conform to international benchmark aquarium standards and facilities, it includes the aquarium comprising seven large tanks and 25 small exhibits; a snorkel lagoon; a 2 200-seat stadium and dolphinarium; a 90-seat stadium and seal tank and a penguin rookery. An 80m-long rusting 1930s merchant marine ship, ‘wrecked’ on the reef, provides access to the aquarium, as well as to up-market restaurant and bars. The 320 tons of structural steel, with a supporting structure weighing 150 tons, constitutes the aquarium retail area. The steel is clad with fibre-cement sheeting and themed to create a weathered and distressed appearance.
• The Wet ‘n Wild water adventure park with a number of adrenalin rides and a 480m-long lazy ride through the park.
• The Village Walk – a retail outlet and restaurant section.
• The Oceanographic Research Institute offices, including educational facilities, veterinary facilities and a plant room. The scope of work included large-scale dewatering, because the founding levels were up to 1.5m below the water table, and extensive piling (involving some 600 piles) was called for in the sandy beach terrain.

The volume of earth moved amounted to 250 000m² of which 170 000m² was stockpiled for later use. The total volume of concrete required for the marine park was 43 000m² with 98 000m² of formwork, 3 300 tons of reinforcing, and 4.2 million bricks were used. The concrete for the project comprised 40MPa for the structural work, up to 50MPa for some of the columns and 30MPa for the retail section. The plant on site, during the busiest construction period, included six tower cranes, one self-erector, five mobile cranes, two concrete pumps and several dumpers and trucks.

Sandton Square & Michelangelo (1996/2003)
The Square’s North, West and South wings provide 15 500m² of retailing and 19 000m² of prime office space.

• The North Wing of the development contains a lower retail mall abutting the square itself and the service core rises a further seven storeys. It consists of a 240-room luxury hotel with conference rooms and extensive public areas.
• The impressive West Wing contains two ritzy levels of high fashion and specialty retailing, topped by three floors of office space.
• The South Wing houses two levels of retailing space plus three storeys of offices. At the center is a square of 6 000m². This is the largest public open space inside any commercial development in South Africa. A random pattern was followed in the paving, adding to the aged and welcoming look of a Mediterranean piazza. Marble inserts bring additional visual interest to the paving, but the most unusual feature is the fountain created on the floor of the square. The feature does not stand square, but is integrated into it. The nozzles are retracted to create a single, trafficable block. One hundred adjustable nozzles are used to build a two-metre high mist, while a ring of eight spouts sends up columns of water, providing a spectacular display. Within the shopping malls, elaborate, clover-shaped barrel vaulted roofs provide additional points of interest.

MICHELANGELO TOWERS:
Topping out at 146m above street level, the Michelangelo Towers overwhelmingly dominates the Johannesburg northern suburbs urban environment. Yet, its graceful architecture, detailed external forms and perfectly calibrated sandstone and glittering glass façades are surprisingly delicate for a structure of this size. The exterior combines an intricate, classically inspired design with suave, sharp-edged, 21st Century precision. Its sandstone finished façade suggests timeless elegance. The extensive use of aluminium and glass sliding doors and windows, stainless steel handrails and glazed balustrades are a powerful reminder of the development’s uncompromising focus on modernism. Eight secure parking floors (four located below street level), two retail levels and three levels of “gallery” apartments form the Michelangelo Towers podium. The 4 500m² contemporary shopping mall can be accessed from Nelson Mandela Square (previously known as Sandton Square) on two levels. There are 13 levels of Michelangelo apartments, four levels of penthouse suites, two levels of king penthouse suites and the three-level observation suite, capped by the stainless steel arches and floating “jewel” of the spectacular Renaissance-inspired cupola dome that provides the building’s unique illuminated signature form. The project took 33 months to build and was constructed as joint venture.

Maropeng (2005)
The Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site is a vast area spanning 47 000ha in the north-western part of Gauteng. Stocks Building Africa (in a joint venture) was responsible for the design and construction of the Interpretation Centre Complex (later named Maropeng) and the Sterkfontein Caves visitors facility. The project is based on government’s public private partnership approach and was the first of its kind in South Africa. Partners include the Maropeng a’Afrika Consortium (private sector), the University of the Witwatersrand (owner of the Sterkfontein Caves and the main excavator in the Cradle of Humankind) and the Gauteng Provincial Government, with Standard Bank donating 100ha of land for Maropeng. Maropeng a’Afrika was granted a ten-year concession, with a performance-based option to be renewed at the end of this term.

Sterkfontein Caves underwent a major revamp and a brand new facility was built, including a restaurant, conference centre, retail shop and a scientific exhibit. Maropeng, located eight kilometers away from the Sterkfontein Caves, is an entirely new development and consists of a main building, called the Tumulus (including offices, a large conference venue, restaurants, a visitors attraction with a kiddies cave, a bar and viewing deck), a marketplace,
including a restaurant and destination retail store, a 5 000-seater outdoor amphitheatre, a 120-bed learners’ quarters and a four-star, 24-bed boutique hotel.

Maun Hospital (2003)
The Maun Hospital, built in a remote town in Botswana, included a number of firsts for the area – the first district hospital, the first time slabs were precast on site in that particular town, the first lift in a building in Maun and the first time that a revolutionary new heating and cooling process would be implemented in Africa! About 78 000m² of fill was imported for the platform on which the main hospital buildings and service buildings were built. The building area spanned 26 000m² on two levels and the complete hospital boasts 271 beds, an outpatient clinic and medical, surgical, gynaecology,
pediatrics, psychiatric, maternity and tuberculosis units. The complex building included a unique air-conditioning system that cools the structural mass of the building rather than just the air within it. This allows temperatures within the structure to be contained for up to a week before
reaching uncomfortable levels with the system being switched off.

In addition most of the services installed in the hospital have back-up installations. As there are no service providers in the near vicinity, in the event of a breakdown, the hospital has, by design, the ability to sustain itself for a much longer period of time until the arrival of support crews.

ACSA Airports (since 1996)
The list of projects the company has been involved in at OR
Tambo International includes:
1. East-wing offices at the international terminal on the lower roof (1996)
2. International terminal upgrade (1999)
3. International terminal retail development (1999)
4. Multi-storey parkade and bus station (1999)
5. International terminal basement upgrade (2001)
6. Domestic terminal bussing gates (1999)
7. New international terminal viewing deck (2002)
8. International terminal fire escapes upgrade (2002)
9. Domestic terminal pier (2003)
10. Extensions to the multi-storey parkade (2003)
11. Transfer corridor from the domestic terminal to the international terminal (2003)
12. Swissport warehouse and offices (2004)
13. AHS warehouse on airside (2005)
14. KB1 and KB2 plant rooms and basement upgrade (2006)
15. New central terminal basement enabling works (2006)
16. ABSA International Trade Bureau (2006)
17. International pier development phases 1,2 & 3 (Stefanutti & Bressan in a joint venture, 2007 – 2008)
18. Multi-storey parkade 2 (2007 – 2009)

Al Tayer Stocks LLC
Deira City Centre: The Deira City Centre project included renovating and upgrading one of the first shopping malls built in Dubai. Part of the ground floor car park was converted into an extension of the mall; the 15 000m² car park was upgraded; new mall entrances were added; and all mall floors were retiled.

Harvey Nichols: The scope of works at Harvey Nichols included the complete fit-out of this high-street designer store, covering 10 000m² over three levels in the Mall of the Emirates. An exotic Moroccan style restaurant was also constructed as part of the Harvey Nichols store offering.

The Magic Planet: The Magic Planet entertainment centre is underneath the Mall of the Emirate’s indoor ski slope. The 6 000m² complex rises to a height of 17m and is filled with fairground rides and children’s play areas.

Zener Steward LLC
Zener Steward Electromechanical specialises in the design and installation of electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems within the residential, financial, commercial, industrial and the leisure & retail sectors in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The business works mainly as a sub-contractor to Al Tayer
Stocks and directly with select contractors.

ECMP Projects:

Finch Mine Tailings Disposal (2007/2008)
ECMP constructed the new Britz tailings disposal facility at the Finsch Mine in the North Western Cape. The project included the earthworks for the starter embankments, the side cladding to the waste rock dump and the return water dam. The project also included all the tailings pipe distribution systems and pump stations. Upon completion of the construction phase, the project was handed over to the ECMP operations division for the ongoing management of the facility

BKM Tailings Dam Thickener (2007/2008)
ECMP designed and constructed the BKM paste disposal facility. The workscope included the earthworks for the tailings dam, return water dam and thickener terrace, as well as all the civil, mechanical and electrical works for the construction of paste thickener. Upon completion the
project was handed over to the ECMP operations division for the ongoing management of the paste thickener and disposal facility.

Civil & Coastal Projects

Control Buoy Gravity Base (2000)
In May 1999, Civil & Coastal Construction was awarded the design and construction of a control buoy gravity base structure by Dresser Kellog South Africa. The structure was to be deployed in the Mossgas EM Field development, some 85km south-east of Mossel Bay, anchoring a taut-moored controlbuoy. The gravity base would eventually rest on the sea-bed, some 100m underwater. The structural design was subcontracted to Entech Consultants from Stellenbosch and the foundation design to Advanced Geomechanics from Perth, Australia. The gravity base was constructed in the Selbourne Dry Dock facility in Simon’s Town. The footprint of the base is 15.47m², with a 25 cell 11.5m-high wall structure, capped by a 600mm-thick roof. The walls were slip-formed. An extremely high reinforcing density of 210 kg/m³ was necessary in order to satisfy Marine Warranty and Lloyds
Register requirements. Reinforcing detailing and fixing proved highly complex. However, all deadlines set by the client were met.

Although the gravity base was towed to site and installed by an offshore contractor, model testing of the tow and lowering to below 100m was undertaken by the CSIR and Entech as part of the Civil & Coastal contract.

Saldanha Fender Support (2004)
This contract involved the alternative design and construction of a “launched” cantilever fender support from an existing caisson on the Saldanha oil jetty berth, saving Portnet nearly 50% on the postulated scheme by minimising floating plant, and employing launch-type construction and pre-cast systems.

Skelton & Plummer Projects

Namakwa Sands (1994)
The scope of works included the electrical design, supply of electrical equipment and cabling, supply of all steelwork and pipe-work; and erection and commissioning of a mineral sands pilot plant. The mineral sands pilot plant was erected and water commissioned in the Skelton & Plummer yard before being stripped and transported to the Namakwa Sands site and re-erected over a total project duration of seven weeks.

Orapa Diamond Mine (1994)
In 1994 the Orapa Diamond Mine in Botswana invested in the construction of the Orapa Tasster in a bid to further conserve scarce water resources. At this time, the Tasster, built by Skelton & Plummer under licence for a French company, was the biggest Tasster built in the world. The Tasster presented marked water saving in comparison with thickeners; the Tasster sludge product was mixed with other plant tailings and discarded to the tailings dump thus eliminating the need for slimes dams and, in the long-term, the Tasster proved more economical than thickeners.

STEFANUTTI STOCKS - A NEW ERA

Merged group unveiled as Stefanutti Stocks

With effect from 19 September 2008, our new group formally changed its name to Stefanutti Stocks Holdings Limited.

Our new name and logo retain elements of both Stefanutti & Bressan and Stocks Limited and serve as a reminder of the pioneering spirit and rich heritage of entrepreneurship and ambition that both companies laid claim to in times gone by. We will now actively move forward, embracing this change and the new challenges and opportunities it affords our group, as we start writing a new chapter in our success story.

The synergies within the companies’ business models, growth strategies, management styles and cultures, as well as the fit of operations will combine to ensure our growth and sustainability. We aim to nurture a unified business mindset and promote a culture based on our entrepreneurial spirit in order to ensure that our new brand fast becomes a recognised and respected entity in the industry.

Skills shortages within the industry have presented challenges for a number of decades and our strengthened and expanded skills pool, particularly at management level, where an industry-wide skills shortage is set to continue, is an important advantage. This enlarged combined pool of people allows us to pursue opportunities of a scale and complexity not previously attainable.

Business Units

BUILDING
Our building business unit undertakes contracts in all commercial, industrial, residential, institutional and leisure fields and is very active in the public private partnership sector. Building operates throughout South Africa, Southern Africa and the Gulf region.

CIVIL STRUCTURES
Our civil structures business unit executes the construction of reinforced concrete works for mine infrastructure, industrial and petrochemical plants, power stations, storage silos, bridges, marine works and effluent and water treatment plants.

We are a leading specialist in the construction of bridges and structures, cooling towers and high-volume storage facility construction. The business unit includes Civil & Coastal, a specialist marine and civil rehabilitation contractor.

Our piling and geotechnical operations are currently active throughout Southern Africa and specialise in geotechnical surveys, lateral support, rock anchoring, shotcrete, grouting and the installation of concrete piles

MATERIALS
Our materials business unit was established to invest in the construction supply chain and will be developed in the future.

MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL PROJECTS
Our mechanical & electrical projects business unit undertakes mechanical, electrical and instrumentation construction work in the industrial, mining, manufacturing, and petrochemical sectors. The business unit incorporates Skelton & Plummer, a specialist in mechanical, electrical & instrumentation construction. We are well-established with companies such as Anglo Platinum and Impala Platinum and operate throughout the Southern African region, including South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique.

MINING SERVICES
Our mining services business unit specialises in mine residue disposal facilities (tailings & dams) and open cast contract mining. The business unit incorporates the wholly owned subsidiary ECMP - a civil engineering company specialising in waste, civil and environmental engineering.

Mining services operates across South Africa and we are currently undertaking a number of large mine infrastructure projects for major mining houses.

PROPERTY & CONCESSIONS
Our property business procures mainly cross-border contracts by facilitating property development in Zambia and Mozambique. Our concessions business partners with government in the provision of facilities or services through concession contracts (public private partnerships) and is currently building the new SADC Headquarters in Gaborone, Botswana.

We also service other business units within the group to facilitate EPC and turnkey contracts through our design and build project delivery approach.

ROADS & EARTHWORKS
Our roads & earthworks business unit has been responsible for the successful completion of numerous major contracts throughout Southern Africa. The business unit focuses on the construction of roads, bulk earthworks, landfill sites, golf course developments, terraces for new developments
and municipal services. We operate throughout South Africa, as well as in Swaziland, Mozambique and Zambia.

GULF
Our operations in the Gulf cover interior fit-outs, refurbishments and electromechanical installations undertaken by our subsidiaries, Al Tayer Stocks and Zener Steward Electromechanical.

Al Tayer Stocks is an interior contracting firm that provides turnkey solutions and offers a range of services, including plastering, furnishing and electrical and mechanical systems installation.

Zener Steward Electromechanical specialises in the design and installation of electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems. The business works mainly as a subcontractor to Al Tayer Stocks and directly with select contractors.

We currently operate in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and will leverage this platform to exploit opportunities in the Middle East.

The journey forward

Reflecting on our legacy better prepares us for the future. It is only through understanding the events of the past and building on the expertise and experience that have moulded our success to date that we are able to embark on our journey forward. While we enter this new era with excitement – under a new name, with new branding and in a larger restructured group – we are aware that we have built a strong foundation over the past decades; one that will enable the group to take full advantage of our bright future.

We are very privileged to still have Gino Stefanutti, founder of Stefanutti & Bressan, actively involved in the business – the man who years ago dreamed of “building monuments” and went on to do just that! However, it takes a team to truly realise a vision and our structures bear testimony to our strength and capability as a group.

A special thank you to all the people, both past and present, whose input and memories made it possible for us to write this story! This brief journey through our past makes reference to specific names, events and projects. Yet, there are countless more colourful memories that give colour to our heritage.

Our entrepreneurial spirit has served us well, culminating in the listing in 2007 and the acquisition of a number of companies, including Stocks Limited in 2008. We have now developed into a multi-disciplinary multi-national company with operations in Africa and the Gulf and future expansions plans elsewhere.

The spread across disciplines, as well as our broad geographical footprint, will enable the group to better withstand market cyclicality and mitigate against specific risks, ensuring at the same time sustainability and a wide scope for the growth and advancement of our people.

As we take our first steps as Stefanutti Stocks we are confident and in control.

After all – the future will only be as good as we build it!

Willie Meyburgh (chief executive officer, Stefanutti Stocks Holdings Limited)