F E A T U R E

www.brtsima.co.za

e s s e n t i a lm

ag

az

ine

. . .essent ia l ly your bus iness

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

1

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

2

e s s e n t i a lm

ag

az

ine

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,”

“

3

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

5

e s s e n t i a lm

ag

az

ine

Shareyourstory

www.essentialbusinessmag.com

e s s e n t i a l

ma

ga

zin

e

Send your success story to:production@essentialbusinessmag.com

Physical Address

2nd Floor, Section 41,

Stellinryk Building

Constantia Square Office Park

526 16th Road

Midrand

1682

011 315 9574 / 5Tel:

011 315 9576Fax:

admin@brtsima.co.zaEmail:

Contact our office

Contact Details

www.essent ia lbus iness.com

e s s e n t i a l

ma

ga

zin

e

. . .essent ia l ly your bus iness