South African cement producer AfriSam dominated at the recent Southern African ReadyMix Association (SARMA) awards by winning two of the four accolades bestowed on the industry’s top performers for 2017.
SARMA’s annual awards, held in Gauteng during the Concrete Conference in August, saw AfriSam receive both the 'Best Plant' award for its Wynberg ready-mix facility and the 'Best Fleet' award for its Gauteng ready-mix fleet.
"The team is justifiably excited about winning this prestigious honour," says Kevin Naidoo, AfriSam’s operations manager for the company’s central cluster, which includes the two large plants that share the site at Wynberg.
Mr Naidoo says it was a significant achievement given the size and output of the Wynberg plants, which are among the busiest in the country. These plants serve the fast-growing region that includes Sandton and Rosebank.
"There is an added pressure on a plant when its production demands are high, and we feel proud that we can maintain such high levels of safety, quality and other standards while still meeting the output that our customers need," he said.
On the transport side of the business, AfriSam’s outbound logistics manager, Rob Sansom, said it was a great reward to be recognised as the best fleet.
"It is worth remembering how important our fleet is to the image and reputation of the company as a whole,” said Sansom. "While members of the public seldom drive past one of our plants, they will often see one of our branded ready-mix trucks out on the road. Each vehicle is like a billboard for the company, so it must always deliver a positive impact."
The SARMA awards are based on detailed compliance audits that measure safety, health, transport, environment and quality at members' ready-mix plants. The wide range of criteria includes hazard identification, risk assessment, legal requirements, communication, participation and documentation.
