Housing in Southern Africa October-November 2016

Major masonry, paver and clay brick manufacturer, Corobrik has developed a number of products for the affordable housing market. Affordable housing and public Bricks & Paving

L eading manufacturer of brick, block and paving machines on the continent, PMSA, and Original Equipment Manufacturer continues to focus on technological development, such as the introduc- tion of its new Ultravibe vibrating system. P MSA has been fine-tuning its internal processes and systems over the last five years, from automated tracking of spares and parts to a new CRM system. “We have expended a large amount of effort and energy on putting systems in place to allow the company to grow,” commentsManag- ing Director Walter Ebeling. The company is now in an ideal position to focus on ongoing techni- cal innovation not only can the new technology be retrofitted to its large range of existing machines, but it will also form the basis of a brand- new machine under development T he Durban based group intro- duced the Coro Jem, specifi- cally aimed at low cost housing and a range of economically priced faced brick such as the Namaqua- stone and Moroccan Blend. Musa Shangase, Corobrik Com- mercial Director explains that the Coro Jem is a larger brick so it can be used ‘through the wall’ instead of needing a double skinwall. The bricks are designed for single skin face brick walls and still get the benefit of face brick. This includes a lighter mass per m² to transport compared to conven- tional twin-skin walling. Corobrik has a national footprint says Shangase with Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal representing the lion share of sales and production. He says, “Corobrik’s diverse range of products allow us to supply face brick solutions to all the sector in the

public sector is a critical sector for Corobrik with specific product and supply strategies inplace to capitalise on infrastructure spending. Almost half of all our current specification projects across South Africa is in the public sector and this has continued to be a significant sector.”

South African building industry rang- ing from private/public residential and private /public non-residential sectors. Growth in the residential sec- tor remains optimistic. This is driven largely by the increase in demand for formal housing, which supports the National Development Plan. The

PMSA’s innovations

by PMSA. “This will be a large pallet, 1 400 mm by 1 100 mm production board machine incorporating all of our latest advances in its design,” Ebeling reveals. “We undertook these latest de- velopments in order to allow our customers to be more productive. The best means of achieving this is if your equipment ismore reliable. That iswhywe have been inbusiness for 40 years, as we are continually improv- ing our machines and technology,” Ebeling elaborates. An example of PMSA’s ongoing product development is its new Eco range of automated handling sys- tems. This gives customers the option of automated handling plants at a far more affordable price compared to the more costly top-of-the-range systems. The new Eco range includes forklift options as opposed to more

conventional but higher-cost finger and transfer car systems. “With the building and construc- tion industry facing pressure from reduced margins and a lack of new projects, PMSA is ideally positioned to help its customers fine-tune their existing assets so as to boost pro- ductivity and final quality,” Ebeling stresses.” ■

October/November 2016