“Following a professional, smooth and synergistic transaction with Aveng, which is effective from June 1, the two precast concrete facilities will be rebranded under the new company Colossal Concrete Products: a proudly black women-owned and controlled precast concrete manufacturing company,” said Colossal Concrete Products CEO Gwen Mahuma who also heads up MIH.
According to Mahuma, “The transaction included the retention of all staff, the relevant plant equipment, core assets and facilities, intellectual property (IP) and licences for a wide range of precast rails, poles, masts, pipes, culverts, enclosures and related specialised product ranges."
Mahuma and co-investor in the Colossal Concrete Products consortium and the company’s COO and director Mmapitso Kiewiet believe that the company - with the Brakpan and De Aar facilities - is well-positioned in terms of its capabilities and capacities to service new maintenance and rehabilitation projects in various vertical industries. These include the energy, renewable energy, telecommunications, infrastructure development in housing, municipal development, and water and sanitation and rail sectors.
“Notably, the De Aar facility is strategically located in De Aar in the Northern Cape, which not only serves as one of the most important railway junctions for the lines connecting Cape Town, Johannesburg and Kimberley; but is central to the current hub of many renewable energy projects,” Kiewiet says.
As such, the facility will be pivotal in supplying products for the rail industry; as well as products such as concrete towers for wind turbines in the wind farm projects which form part of the local renewable energy sector.
“We are optimistic that there is enormous scope for Colossal Concrete to service this market - and in so doing, to support the retention of investment locally, and to create more sustainable employment opportunities over a substantial period of time - as well as generate additional upstream and downstream manufacturing opportunities,” Kiewiet says.
“Considering our pan-African outlook, there are colossal opportunities for us to support rail projects across Africa, from Kenya, to Malawi, Namibia and Swaziland, notwithstanding the new projects and rail rehabilitation initiatives locally,” Mahuma says.
Kiewiet agrees, adding that, considering the overall economic recovery plans and infrastructure expansion strategies, a marked investment into rehabilitation and repairs of the rail network could further be enhanced by the need for mining companies’ private sidings to transport product onto the main railway lines.
“We are therefore confident that rail will remain a relevant opportunity in our planned strategy and growth trajectory,” Kiewiet says.
