Opening of plant heralds community growth
The plant, which was initially envisaged as a brick-making project, expanded to include by-products such as ready-mix, lintels, precast walling and crushed stone products.
STEELPOORT – Samancor officially opened a brick-and-batch plant called Phabema Enterprises on December 11. It has been developed for the communities of Phasha, Benwenyama-Ya-Maswazi and Mampuru. The event was held at Winterveld Recreation Hall and afterwards everyone was escorted to the plant to witness the grand opening.
The plant, which was initially envisaged as a brick-making project, expanded to include by-products such as ready-mix, lintels, precast walling and crushed stone products. Samancor spent R10,84 million on the construction of the plant, with a capital cost of R9,18 million and working capital of R1,66 million. The plant consists of three operational activities namely crushing and screening, concrete batching and brick making. The products made there are sustainable.
“One of the mines ordered 240 cubes on opening day. It shows the great potential the plant has,” said Mr Rudi Conrad, who runs the whole project.
“The theme of the project is moving forward. This means the settling of the business, the possible growth and the sustainability of the plant. We want to build a strong community. Before construction there was only bush, but our dedicated team turned it into what it is today,” Conrad added.
“This project was created to benefit communities and not individuals. We want to uplift and develop the community. I believe in this project. Commitment is to make a change and to not work according to a ticked box. Personally, I am happy and can see the commitment,” reported Mr Jurgen Schalamon, Samancor CEO.
MEC Mr Seaparo Sekoati said, “We want to congratulate Phabema on the grand opening. We know that this is not an act of charity, but an effort to empower communities and fight against unemployment and poverty. As government we appreciate it and encourage many more projects like this.”
