Construction World October 2021

MARKET PLACE

“The loss of lives and destruction of livelihoods associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has been painful to witness. Like everyone else, our business has had to do everything possible to survive the pandemic,” says Richard Vries, Group CEO of engineering firm GIBB. V ries says the challenge is far from over. “The construction industry is currently the worst performing economic sector in South Africa. As a share of nominal GDP, fixed investment has fallen to critically low levels, down to 15%, which is similar to the troughs experienced towards the end of apartheid and after the emerging market crisis of 1997/98 (Nedbank Capital). “The consulting engineering industry market size has shrunk from a peak of R27b 2017 to R10b in 2020. Our concerns are not only the lost economic opportunities and reduction of inequality in our society that would come from fixed investment, but also the loss of the globally recognised talent pool available in South Africa. It might take us many years to regain the lost engineering and architectural know-how necessary to create a globally competitive South Africa,” he adds. Within this milieu, GIBB has drawn strength from its heritage and people to use the opportunities presented by the pandemic to build resilience and institute new ways of doing business. “We have found ways to optimise our operations while also creating a better work-life balance for our people and we are actively transforming our business to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the digital evolution,” notes Vries. Despite the various market challenges, Vries says history has shown that the market will improve. “Now in our 65 th year, our company has not only survived six decades of construction and engineering industry boom and bust, but our people have first-hand knowledge of many facets of the industry and the challenges related to developing sustainable infrastructure solutions. Because of this, we see opportunities when others may have lost hope. This understanding has set us on a new path to ultimately evolve into an infrastructure asset owner and operator,” says Vries. Reflecting on the company’s history, Vries says he invited one of the founders of the South African chapter of GIBB, David Hill, to join him at the company’s excellence awards celebration in Cape Town in 2014. “Notwithstanding his frailty due to his advanced age at the time, Hill shared his immense pride in how GIBB had become a leading success in the field of engineering and reminded me that good people built great companies. HARNESSING 65-YEAR HERITAGE TO OVER- COME CURRENT-DAY CHALLENGES

“Our ability to develop these projects is enhanced by our integrated approach and the various partnerships we have created over the years. We always seek out partners who share our drive for excellence – be they local or international.”

Richard Vries, Group CEO of engineering firm GIBB.

This was the motto of Hill Kaplan Scott (HKS), the company that became the cornerstone of GIBB in South Africa, from its inception in 1956.” The British firm, Alexander GIBB, founded by Scottish engineer Brigadier-General Sir Alexander GIBB, subsequently merged with an Atlanta based American company, LAW to form LAW GIBB. LAW GIBB (now part of Jacobs) acquired HKS in 1994, just as South Africa entered the miracle of its new democracy and set in motion a step-change for Hill Kaplan Scott to become an Africa-based world-class engineering house. The company was rebranded LAW GIBB and immediately adopted an international best-practise approach to project delivery and client services, reflected in its recognition of being one of the first engineering companies in South Africa to become ISO9001 accredited. Vries attributes the company’s

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