Construction World January 2015

MARKETPLACE

ENGINEERING FIRM OF THE YEAR

> Also to its credit, Adele Lombard, a structural engineer at GIBB, clinched the coveted title of Young Professional of the Year competing against candidates from prominent legal, financial and engineering institutions. Other winners for the evening included Grant Thornton (accounting); GAPP (architectures); Norton Rose Fulbright (legal) and Accenture (management consulting). Lombard was grateful for the opportunities presented to her by GIBB, and looks forward to making her mark in Africa. “It is an incredible achievement to receive this award against strong competition. My mentor, Pat Masterson stood by me over the past five years and I have him and others at GIBB to thank for their guidance in helping me achieve my goal. As a young engineer in this dynamic industry, I truly value the opportunities that I have been afforded by GIBB. Through my experience at the firm, I have had the opportunity to work on huge projects in Africa and the skills gained catapulted me to become a recognised structural engineer,” said Lombard. The premier event is likely to remain a feature on the conference calendar given the exceptional turnout and the number of entries from A-List firms. GIBB Group CEO, Richard Vries marked the achievement as a celebra- tion of ‘just how far we have come as a firm’. “GIBB prides itself on investing in future leaders and of course engi- neering excellence – and this was indicative of the awards received on the evening. “The firm has grown from humble beginnings, and has not lost its roots in ensuring that excellence is never compromised,” he said. KC Rottok, project manager of SAPSA said, “The SAPSA awards recognise companies and individuals who have excelled within the professional services industry. GIBB has made a significant contribu- tion to the consulting engineering profession and its professionalism is commendable. The awards received by the firm are testament to the firm’s outstanding demonstration of technical excellence.” GIBB Engineering outdid the competition at the recent South African Professional Services Awards (SAPSA) when the firm was named engineering firm of the year. GIBB was judged on business pedigree, transformation, empowerment among other rigorous criteria. Other finalists in the category of engineering firm of the year included WSP, Worley Parsons, Fluor Africa and Arup.

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GIBB Group CEO, Richard Vries and Adele Lombard, structural engineer: GIBB at the SAPSA awards.

GIBB is regarded the largest South African black employee-owned consulting engineering firm and boasts more than 900 employees in South Africa and several offices on the continent. The multi-disciplinary firm recently acquired a 70% stake in lead- ing architectural firm, SVA International to further diversify its offering to market. With major projects such as the Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme in Little Drakensburg and Port Harcourt in Nigeria to its stable, the firm is growing at an impressive rate, competing in a space largely dominated by multinational firms.

DIRECTORS HONOURED BY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

Two of L iv i ero’s execut ives have been honoured with top appointments in leading industry associations. Liviero Group CEO Neil Cloete has been appointed President of Master Builders South Africa, the fore- most national representative body in the building industry in South Africa. Stuart Knight, managing director of Liviero Civils, has been appointed head of the North Branch of SAFCEC, the South African Forumof Civil Engineering Contractors. Founded in 1939, SAFCEC is an important voice and advocate for its members in the civil engineering contracting sector.

LEFT: Liviero Group CEO, Neil Cloete and Stuart Knight, managing director of Liviero Civils.

CONSTRUCTION WORLD JANUARY 2015