Company Reports - PBA Projects
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PBA Projects
Engineering a Partnership
Written by Sarah Rowe & Produced by Oliver Bishop
The past year has seen a number of successes for South African-based PBA Projects but it is in a new joint venture that director Andre du Toit currently sees the most potential.
PBA Projects, which is part of the PBA Group, offers services to the mining and minerals processing industry. Now it has entered into an alliance with ELB Engineering Services, which trades in intellectual property in order to build solutions to the benefit of its clients, and has set up ELB PBA Engineering Solutions (EPE).
“We formed EPE specifically for the process plant side of our business,” explained Mr du Toit. “The idea was that we would design, build, erect and commission the plant and ELB would specialise in the materials handling, civil work and surface infrastructure. We want not only to be providing process plants but to be providing total solutions.”
In its current incarnation, PBA Projects was established in 2001. Headquartered in Cape Town, the idea was to provide engineering services to the mining and minerals processing industry. It now offers multi-disciplinary engineering services, from conceptual to construction phase, comprising of feasibility studies, engineering design (process, mechanical, structural, electrical and instrumentation), estimating, planning, detail design, procurement and cost control. It also focuses on project management, testing and commissioning.
The company works with the latest design packages such as 3D systems, CAD draughting systems and project planning. It associates with strategic companies and partners to ensure it achieves its project technical requirements and timelines, and uses a systems engineering approach to execute projects to ensure that it develops solutions that exceed its customers’ expectations.
Expanding the business
“I am one of two directors and we have other PBA companies,” he explained. “PBA Engineering focuses on manufacturing, then there’s PBA Electrical and Automation, and PBA Specialised Equipment.”
Mr du Toit continued: “PBA Projects originally just did design and engineering. We then added project management although we sub-contracted implementation work out to other companies to execute. But as we grew, and more and more projects came up, we began to look at including other value added services.
“We started to sub-contract less, implementing more of our own design work right through to execution.”
EPE was established in 2008. The aim was to build and supply modular process plants in the diamond, gold, chrome and coal sectors. Since the partnership’s formation, it has undertaken in excess of R300 million of work.
Its first project was the EPCM contract for Coal of Africa Limited’s (COAL’s) initial coking coal project in Limpopo. Subsequently EPE has received an order for a turnkey design, supply and commissioning of another modular coal handling and processing plant in Zambia.
Total solutions
PBA Projects currently employs between 25 and 35 people in its project house and last year saw an annual turnover of R70 million.
“At the moment we’ve got two projects on the go and one at completion stage,” said Mr du Toit. “For the last two years all our work has been in the field of coal - diamond mining is fairly quiet at the moment. I think the diamond industry is probably still a year away from going back into expansion.” Prior to the financial slump, PBA Projects’ main work was for the offshore mining industry, particularly in diamonds.
He said PBA Projects was ideally placed to focus on medium-sized mine projects.
“Because we do modular plants that tend to have a slightly lower capacity, we have not focused on the corporation-size projects,” he added.
Geographically, the company has a strong presence in South Africa and Namibia. The recent project in Zambia has seen it expand beyond those boundaries, however.
“I think where we see potential for the style of plant we do, we will be prepared to expand out beyond our home base now,” he stressed.
Overall, as well as considering environmental issues and continuing to focus on efficiency, total solution providing is where the future lies for PBA Projects, Mr du Toit emphasised.
“This means that EPE is really the focus of our future strategy. We are now in a position to not only provide process plants, but to also provide total solutions,” he said.
“Customers want a solution that includes the peripherals. They want to be able to come to a one-stop-shop.”
PBA Projects, which is part of the PBA Group, offers services to the mining and minerals processing industry. Now it has entered into an alliance with ELB Engineering Services, which trades in intellectual property in order to build solutions to the benefit of its clients, and has set up ELB PBA Engineering Solutions (EPE).
“We formed EPE specifically for the process plant side of our business,” explained Mr du Toit. “The idea was that we would design, build, erect and commission the plant and ELB would specialise in the materials handling, civil work and surface infrastructure. We want not only to be providing process plants but to be providing total solutions.”
In its current incarnation, PBA Projects was established in 2001. Headquartered in Cape Town, the idea was to provide engineering services to the mining and minerals processing industry. It now offers multi-disciplinary engineering services, from conceptual to construction phase, comprising of feasibility studies, engineering design (process, mechanical, structural, electrical and instrumentation), estimating, planning, detail design, procurement and cost control. It also focuses on project management, testing and commissioning.
The company works with the latest design packages such as 3D systems, CAD draughting systems and project planning. It associates with strategic companies and partners to ensure it achieves its project technical requirements and timelines, and uses a systems engineering approach to execute projects to ensure that it develops solutions that exceed its customers’ expectations.
Expanding the business
“I am one of two directors and we have other PBA companies,” he explained. “PBA Engineering focuses on manufacturing, then there’s PBA Electrical and Automation, and PBA Specialised Equipment.”
Mr du Toit continued: “PBA Projects originally just did design and engineering. We then added project management although we sub-contracted implementation work out to other companies to execute. But as we grew, and more and more projects came up, we began to look at including other value added services.
“We started to sub-contract less, implementing more of our own design work right through to execution.”
EPE was established in 2008. The aim was to build and supply modular process plants in the diamond, gold, chrome and coal sectors. Since the partnership’s formation, it has undertaken in excess of R300 million of work.
Its first project was the EPCM contract for Coal of Africa Limited’s (COAL’s) initial coking coal project in Limpopo. Subsequently EPE has received an order for a turnkey design, supply and commissioning of another modular coal handling and processing plant in Zambia.
Total solutions
PBA Projects currently employs between 25 and 35 people in its project house and last year saw an annual turnover of R70 million.
“At the moment we’ve got two projects on the go and one at completion stage,” said Mr du Toit. “For the last two years all our work has been in the field of coal - diamond mining is fairly quiet at the moment. I think the diamond industry is probably still a year away from going back into expansion.” Prior to the financial slump, PBA Projects’ main work was for the offshore mining industry, particularly in diamonds.
He said PBA Projects was ideally placed to focus on medium-sized mine projects.
“Because we do modular plants that tend to have a slightly lower capacity, we have not focused on the corporation-size projects,” he added.
Geographically, the company has a strong presence in South Africa and Namibia. The recent project in Zambia has seen it expand beyond those boundaries, however.
“I think where we see potential for the style of plant we do, we will be prepared to expand out beyond our home base now,” he stressed.
Overall, as well as considering environmental issues and continuing to focus on efficiency, total solution providing is where the future lies for PBA Projects, Mr du Toit emphasised.
“This means that EPE is really the focus of our future strategy. We are now in a position to not only provide process plants, but to also provide total solutions,” he said.
“Customers want a solution that includes the peripherals. They want to be able to come to a one-stop-shop.”
