Algoa Oil is a company at the top of its game in the oil, diamond
and mining industries. Exec Digital discovers how the company’s
commitment to quality and its employees has seen it grow year-on-year
By Ellie Duncan
The oil industry, as Richard Lane will attest, is challenging at the best of times. But the Managing Director of Algoa Oil seems to thrive on the unknown; after all, he has been in the industry since the early 1970’s.
“The oil business and all our businesses have challenges, more specifically today because of the financial restraints we find ourselves under,” Lane says.
“The challenges mean we have to be very flexible. We’re a relatively small company, we can act very quickly and very positively, and that’s probably part of our success.”
When Dieter Rohrich started the company back in 1968, he surely cannot have envisioned the success it would go on to have. Today, it is a major engineering service company to the oil drilling industry in Africa.
Oil, Diamonds and Mines
As Lane says, “Africa is oil, diamonds and mines”. Algoa is fortunate enough to work in all three industries.
“Algoa has three main arms; one is oil business, one is offshore diamond mining and the other one is general mining, which is mines on the reef and overseas,” he explains.
Part of its success and growth must be attributed to Lane himself, who joined the company in 1996.
“I think I wanted to stabilise the company when I came down and use that as a platform.
Then when that was achieved, we started up in Cape Town, then on behalf of an overseas associate company opened offices in Luanda and also Equatorial Guinea,” he says.
“In Port Elizabeth we have a full machine shop to undertake repair, maintenance and manufacture. In Cape Town, we have a smaller workshop, which tends to look at the diamond mining side and oil related work passing through Cape Town, and we have more NDT inspection there; also we have an office in Parys to look after our mining
interests on the Reef,” he adds.
Quality and Delivery
So how is it that Algoa has achieved longevity?
“We’ve got a very good name for quality and delivery,” replies Lane. “On our niche market, where we actually operate in very remote or logistically tight areas, we’ve got that reputation for quality and delivery.”
Such a reputation is often hard to achieve when a company offers such an extensive range of services. Perhaps it is Algoa’s continual investment in the business that has ensured it stays at the top of its game. “We’re always looking at new machinery. All our machines are virtually brand new, most of our machines are in very good condition;
everything is CNC operated and welding heat treatment equipment is first class.
“Our equipment and training is second to none,” Lane justifiably boasts.
With an ISO 9000 accreditation to its name, Algoa operates to a “world standard”.
The company operates to API (American Petroleum Institute) and Norsok standards,
according to Lane.
“We have agreements with a lot of major oilfield supplier companies where we have licences or agreements to repair and manufacture their products,” he adds.
Lane insists that the company must pass high standards at an international level in order to build its reputation globally.
The Algoa Apprenticeship
Uniquely, Algoa runs apprenticeships in what is yet another string to its bow. It is now one of the few companies in South Africa still taking on
apprentices.
“We do apprenticeships for fitters, turners, boilermakers and welders, so we supply
our own workforce per se,” explains Lane. “When we go and look outside of our industry, unfortunately South Africa is very limited in expertise on our field and our actual resources are dwindling fast. It’s very difficult to maintain a workforce of high quality.
“Saying that, we look to the future and hope that will be turned around in the New
South Africa.”
Algoa has an annual intake of apprentices, according to Lane: “At the moment, we’ve got
about 30 apprentices in our system. Yearly, it can vary but normally between five and eight a year.”
Such a steady stream of young blood in the company has meant that while some stay on as employees, others leave to work elsewhere.
However, Lane insists that any departures are always on good terms and Algoa frequently welcomes its former apprentices back with open arms.
The company is also attentive to its longstanding employees and has a “great responsibility” to its workforce. “Without the employees, there’s not much point,” admits Lane.
“The senior management here is tasked with maintaining the company in a profitable
condition for the welfare of its personnel and the continuation of the company – that’s the
name of the game.”
A future of opportunity
So to what does it attribute its success? “I think at Algoa we’ve got a good blend; a dynamic management team to see the way forward and we have got a very strong personnel resource – highly qualified and highly motivated – so we’ve done very well,” he says.
So far, Algoa has seen year-on-year growth. But what are its prospects for 2009?
“In actual fact, I think it will flatten against last year and the years before, because for the last 15 years we’ve been continually growing year-onyear,” admits Lane.
“Saying that, I think now is the time for opportunity and I think a lot of opportunities will now become apparent. That’s where we will move in because, as I say, we are very flexible.
“So I see flattening but great opportunities at the other end,” Lane predicts.