Construction World Septemer 2017

MARKETPLACE

Historic win for young South African welder Samukelo Mbambani from ArcelorMittal has won first prize in the student category at the 5 th International Arc Cup Welding Competition in Shanghai, China during the week of 24 – 28 June 2017. In total 16 countries participated in the event with Russia alone entering 26 competitors.

“This is an absolutely amazing result,” says Etienne Nell, SAIW business development manager, SA team leader in China and senior category judge. “Mbambani simply blew everyone away with his attitude, skill and application. Given the facts that he had never even been on an overseas trip before, that he competed against dozens of the best young welders in the world in a strange country and that the marking was amongst the strictest of any world competition, what he achieved was nothing short of miraculous,” Nell says. He adds that Mbambani’s relaxed, humorous and easy-going approach was matched with an incredible discipline and willingness to give of his best. “He was the perfect competitor and was a credit to himself, the SAIW and South Africa.” There were four categories of welding in the competition: • Student welder (max. age 22) – here

the competitor firstly welds a plate, pipe and fillet weld using a specific process – GMAW in the case of Mbambani. Then they enter the Finished Welding category where they assemble and weld, in all positions, a carbon steel project with all four processes i.e. GTAW, GMAW, SMAW and FCAW. Mbambani participated in both categories. • Senior welder (max. age 35) – process as per the student welder above. Houston Isaacs the multi-winning welder in the various local SAIW welding competitions represented South Africa in this category. While Jaco van Deventer achieved second place in this category last year, Houston was unable to attain his usual winning standards this year. • Robotic Welding (no entry from SA) • Technology/Theory (no entry from SA) Mbambani was thrilled with his achievement. “China and the Arc Cup was an incredible experience. I never expected to

Samukelo Mbambani won first prize in the Student category at the 5 th International Arc Cup Welding Competition in Shanghai, China. win, but it goes to show that one can only do one’s best and hope that it’s enough. This time it was. I must thank Etienne, the sponsors and the whole team for their support,” he said. The ARC Cup is the Chinese version of the WordSkills competition and this highly regarded by the welding industry globally including the International Institute of Welding (IIW). The South Africa Welding Team was sponsored by the Merseta. The team consisted of four people: Etienne Nell, team leader and senior category judge; Valencia Hendriks coach and junior judge; and competitors Houston Isaacs and Samukelo Mbambani. 

Continuing a culture of success Studies have shown that a company’s culture – the unique business environment that results from the values and actions of management and staff – has a major impact on its bottom line. This is because the culture has a direct bearing on employee turnover, which influences productivity and, in turn, success.

Krause, were involved in the business for so long. Their values have been the backbone of the business for decades and remain instilled in the numerous individuals with long service. These employees are prepared to go the extra mile and have a strong sense of entrepreneurial ownership.” He continues: “With the growth of the business necessitating the recruitment of new staff, particularly from the millennial talent pool, we wanted to ensure that we maintain our unique culture and perpetuate the core beliefs upon which our company was built for future generations of GVK-Siya Zama family members.” Regarding the roadshow, Meyburgh shares: “Such a refresher does wonders for existing staff and also assists us in pursuing our objective of becoming the employer of choice in the construction industry by attracting and retaining talent whose values align with our own.” GVK-Siya Zama’s values – such as learning and sharing, working and winning in teams, respect and care as well as accountability with integrity – have been distilled into a range of relevant, work- related, desirable behaviours. These will form an integral part of the company’s quarterly performance appraisals and each employee will be measured on how they live these values. The aim is to entrench these behaviours in service to the company’s culture. “I believe that a values-based business provides a fertile ground for talented employees to excel. Furthermore, a skilled, engaged and energised workforce who are united around shared values is integral to the delivery of consistent quality and exceptional service to clients. Ultimately, values provide the foundation and framework to build a successful and sustainable business,” concludes Meyburgh. 

Recognising this, GVK-Siya Zama, one of the most successful and profitable privately-owned and empowered construction companies in South Africa, has recently embarked on a roadshow – driven

by the group’s CEO, Eben Meyburgh – to educate employees across the country on the values that are core to its culture and have been crucial to its success over the past 57 years. In addition, a short animated video, which lives on the company’s website, was created to appeal to the growing millennial workforce. Meyburgh says: “We have a long-standing reputation for our family feel – valuing our employees, treating them as partners, engaging and motivating them as well as encouraging an owner-management style. I believe that this unique culture

was established because the original founders, Gordon Verhoef and Earl

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD SEPTEMBER 2017