CELEBRATING
CORPORATE PROFILE
50 Years
functions; Neil Mole is the contracts director looking after
local contracts and currently focused on operations in its
Secunda-based companies performing ongoing contracts
for Sasol.
Plumbing Africa’s (PA) Q&A with finance director,
Enzio Zambetti (EZ)
PA: What strategic relationships does the business have, and
why are these suppliers/partners important to your business?
EZ: Our relationships with our suppliers, which have been
built up over many years, are extremely important to us, as
we rely on competitive pricing and the credit terms we get
from them, without which we would not be able to purchase
the materials needed to complete our projects. Plumblink
has a national network of branches and has become our
leading supplier.
PA: Describe the importance of SABS marks or other forms
of quality control.
us with a challenge, so where no SABS mark is available,
we will use other relevant certifications to ensure that all
products that we use are of the right standard.
PA: What are the challenges and opportunities the company
faces in growing its market footprint?
EZ: The biggest challenges we face are:
• The construction industry as a whole is in dire trouble
in this country, with the demise of many long-term
players in the industry. There seems to be a lack of
morals and ethics in the business environment, and it
is difficult deciding on who we are comfortable working
for so that we can be confident that we will receive
payment for
our work.
• Another major challenge is the dearth of suitable skills
in the industry which perhaps can be blamed on the
failure of the technical education system, and the
rampant corruption which leads to untrained people
receiving trade certificates.
• A major problem on some sites has been having to
work with local labour consortiums imposed on us by
local labour organisations.
EZ: Clients will inevitably require comfort that the materials
and products we install have been certified by SABS or
another accredited body, so this is a policy that we have
always applied. We strive to use only SABS approved
products, and the demise of the SABS has certainly provided
59
The Bank of Tanzania project was Industrial Plumbers’ first in Tanzania.
January 2020 Volume 25 I Number 11
www.plumbingafrica.co.za