32
PRACTICES
Tell me why you became a plumbing contractor – Mduduzile Antony Memela
By
David Smith
This month we chatted to Mduduzile Antony Memela of Plumb Easy about the story of how he became a plumber and the value of doing a job well .
David : Hi there Antony , I am here today to find out why you became a plumber , tell our readers the story of what brought you to the current point .
Antony : Hi David , well at present I am the owner of Plumb Easy . I began my apprenticeship in 1998 and I completed my trade test in 2005 . After I did that , I worked for Ryan ’ s Plumbers for about three or four years until I was approached by a gentleman by the name of Bevin Webb , who came to me and said , “ Hey Antony , I want you to come and work for me .” I replied that I was already working somewhere but he said , “ No man , I can give you a better offer . Don ’ t stress , just come work here .” I insisted that I was happy and I just laughed it off . At the time I was working on a hospital , putting in a 200l geyser if I remember correctly . I received an SMS the one day from Bevin saying , “ I ’ d like you to join my company for two years , and then after that time I will give you the company because I want to move to Australia .” I said to myself , “ What does this gentleman want ? I ’ m just a plumber , I don ’ t know anything about running a company . I just want to wake up in the morning and go do my plumbing work .”
Eventually he came to my house one day and when I met him at the gate he gave me a book which he wanted me to read very carefully . He said we could go over any aspect of what it said and that I could show it to a lawyer so they could explain it to me if I wanted . So I found someone and showed it to him , and he told me that the document had a plan for me to take over the company – all I had to do was join him and sign the contract . I signed and gave it to Bevin and then went to work for him . Something I will tell you is that I am very passionate about plumbing , I eat plumbing , I smell plumbing , I
Mduduzile Antony Memela
Mduduzile Antony Memela of Plumb Easy .
walk plumbing every day , being a plumber is what I enjoy in life . So after working for Bevin for a year and a half with all my passion , he called me and told me that in two months ' time he would be leaving for Australia so it was now time for me to take over and he asked , “ Can you handle this company ?”
I almost thought he was joking so I said yes and then he told me that the next day he would introduce me to all his clients and also show
www . plumbingafrica . co . za @ plumbingonline @ plumbingonline @ PlumbingAfricaOnline July 2023 Volume 29 I Number 5