br tsima construction
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Marketing Brochure for BR Tsima Construction: Building a Better FutureTRANSCRIPT
F E A T U R E
www.brtsima.co.za
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Building A Better Future
Building A Better Future
BrTsima Construction Pty Ltd began back in 2003 as a Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) subsidiary of construction giant Basil Read. Over the last twelve years, the company has grown into a celebrated firm of its own, and is making a serious impact in the construction industry.
www.brtsima.co.za
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Building A Better Future
Building A Better Future
An entirely black-owned and
managed building and
construction firm, BrTsima has
tackled a good many projects since its
first contract with the Limpopo Road
Agency in 2003. Today, the company
prides itself on the quality of its
construction services, and has been
commended within the industry for its
professionalism and dedication.
“We actually became involved with the
company in 2009 when I negotiated an
empowerment programme with Basil
Read's then-CEO Marius Heyns, with the
aim of helping our company to grow in
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the industry,” begins Ndendwa. “Back then,
it was a subsidiary of Basil Read, and we
owned 80% of the company. Now we own
100%. In fact, as it is now, our enterprise
development is not even done by Basil
Read, it's being done by Group Five,” he
says. “Since 2009, we have grown into a
Grade 8CEPE and 7GBPE construction
company, and we've done a number of
projects across South Africa.”
In addition to completing several large
projects last year — including the new
Trompsburg district hospital in 2014, in
joint venture with Basil Read — BrTsima
has been busy building a reputation for
quality and reliability in the industry.
“We won the Govan Mbeki award for Best
Quality Housing in Mpumalanga, and a
Master Builder Association's award when
we were building the hospital with Basil
Read,” recalls Ndendwa. “I also personally
won the SMME Infrastructure Development
Businessman of the Year Award from Black
Business Quarterly in 2014.”
Ndendwa attributes the firm's success to its
ability to work as a team, as well as its
ongoing dedication to quality — both of
which are core values for BrTsima.
“The market generally has had a strange
feeling towards black-owned firms. There's
a feeling that if you work with a black-
owned firm you're going to be
compromising on quality,” explains
Ndendwa. “We didn't just want to meet
standards. We wanted to exceed the
expectations and break that stereotype.”
The process of doing so has not been too
difficult, he tells us. “It's something that
we've adopted as a second nature. Also,
our teamwork helps us a great deal.”
While many construction firms in South
Africa are currently struggling with
recruiting and retaining talent, BrTsima's
dedication to quality has allowed them to
avoid such trouble altogether. The firm's
training programs make it possible for
them to ensure a consistent supply of
qualified workers — providing employment
in a time when the country desperately
“ We're a construction company, so developing workers is much easier for us. You don't develop contractors in a boardroom with an air conditioner, you take them to the site where you've got projects, and you develop them there, and they are good people,”
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needs it, and also avoiding the workforce
issues that the skills shortage has caused
for so many other South African firms.
“The problem for some companies is that
they are not prepared to invest in their
people,” explains Ndendwa. “If you invest
in your people, you can build a very good
company — but if you would rather look
for ready-made people, then you'll have a
problem. A lot of people are unemployed
and unqualified, but these people can be
fully trained and developed to become very
good workmen,” he continues.
“We're a construction company, so
developing workers is much easier for us.
You don't develop contractors in a
boardroom with an air conditioner, you
take them to the site where you've got
projects, and you develop them there, and
they are good people,” he says. “There are
a number of people that want to be
contractors, and want to sit in one of these
comfortable restaurants and drink red
wine, but that is not a real contractor. A
real contractor has got helmet and boots
and is working right on site.”
In addition to training workers themselves,
BrTsima maintains its high quality
standards by nurturing strong relationships
with its suppliers.
“Suppliers are very important because
they're the people that make you look
good,” says Ndendwa. “If the guy says he'll
deliver the bricks tomorrow, he needs to
deliver them tomorrow — if he delivers in
ten weeks time, we're going to be very
behind. So we make sure our relationship
with our suppliers is good, particularly in
terms of communication and reliability.”
Several of the firm's biggest projects are
coming to an end this year. While BrTsima
is certainly busy, Ndendwa tells us they
could always be busier.
“We've got the Twhala Road project in
Pietermaritzburg coming to an end in June,
and we've got the housing project in Peddie
coming to an end in April. Then we've got
the construction of Taleni Senior Primary
School — big, precast structures — coming
to an end in another three to four months,”
he says. “All of our development happens
when we have real projects going on. We
don't have as many projects lined up as
we'd like to, but it's still looking good.”
Mr. Bafana NdendwaChief Executive Officer
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