Landscaping company is able to employ many

HIGHVELD – CEO of a landscaping company said it is a crucial operation and safety requirement to maintain commercial grounds and surrounding vegetation even during the lockdown.

Although Sasol had to severely cut back on costs due to the lockdown, Sasol continued to support its suppliers.

One of these suppliers, Rothe Plantscapers that does work in Mpumalanga, Gauteng, North-West, the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape, continued to work at Sasol.

The CEO of Rothe Plantscapers, Mr Sello Malatji, said: “The grass is always going to grow and if it is not cut it poses the risk of fires, which is extremely dangerous for an industrial operation which manages chemicals, fuel and electric equipment.

“Also, weeds and other invasive species need to be controlled so that existing resources, such as water and plant nutrition, are sustained.”

Rothe Plantscapers’ other functions include managing all areas of horticulture, including cutting edges, plant management, invader weed control, landscaping design and installation, environmental rehabilitation, indoor plants, irrigation, and rooftop gardening.

Mr Malatji said that an area of the business that made up only 10 per cent, training, is being geared up for substantial investment and upscaling in order to improve the professional ability of employees and also to generate new jobs in the face of the Covid-19 economic crisis.

“We already have agreements with four major corporations as well as with our industry body, the South African Landscapers Institute, to absorb as many as 1000 newly-trained people in the industry, half of whom we can absorb at Rothe,” said Mr Malatji.

“By growing our training division from 10 per cent of our business to more than half, we will not only train more of our own staff, but professionals in the broader industry as well, while creating new instructor jobs in the process.”

Despite the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, Mr Malatji said that Rothe is able to take on more people thanks to existing expansion plans and support from the Sasol Siyakha Trust Fund.

The Siyakha Fund was founded in 2007 and grants commercial loans on very favourable terms to Sasol suppliers to help them service their contracts and grow their businesses.

Upon approaching Siyakha in 2014, Rothe received a loan of R5 million and a further R7.2 million to fund expansion of the business across the country, particularly the purchase of equipment and property.

“By switching to Siyakha, we were able to save approximately R2.2 million in interest charges that we would have had to pay a bank,” said Mr Malatji.

“Also, while many companies in our industry rent their properties at exorbitant rates, we are able to control our monthly overheads by owning our own property.

“While our industry can be seen as an essential business, and largely immune to market volatility, we realise that, as with any business, we need to constantly be adapting with the times.

“For us, that means the combination of cost containment, constantly improving the skills base and diversification.”