PROJECT
43
On the fateful day, a set of circumstances trig-
gered a disastrous wildfire of unprecedented
proportions in the Sedgefield-Knysna-Pletten-
berg bay area. Not only were vast areas of
commercial plantations consumed, 400 homes
and businesses devastated, but lives were lost,
and damage in the billions of rands caused to
properties and infrastructure. It was probably the
biggest fire disaster in South Africa in modern
times, with over 1 000 fire-fighting personnel
from all over the country deployed to combat it.
Immediately after the fires, the decision was made to
rebuild Knysna Hollow – a landmark resort attracting
many European and other foreign visitors. The ambitious
owners reimagined it as a modern, ‘green’ 4-star
property that was to have not only upgraded rooms,
restaurant and atmospheric function space, but energy-
efficient savings of 50% to 60% of the electricity bill by
replacing its 50 energy-guzzling electrical geysers with
a dozen industrial heat pumps. The water heat pump
market is growing from the requirement that 50% of
energy in developments derive from alternative energy
sources, stipulated by SANS standard 10400-XA.
JJ Strydom Plumbing is managed and owned by
father-son team Japie and Juan Pierre ‘JP’ Strydom.
Strydom Senior is one of a dwindling number of master
craftsmen in South Africa, having started plumbing in
1965 and qualifying as a master in 1969. With 55 years’
experience. He and JP relished the job at hand.
“There are only six plumbers in Knysna trained to install
heat pumps, and three of them work for our firm,” says
Strydom Junior. It was consequently a shoo-in that they
would get the job. It was also a major project of its kind
for the Southern Cape.
The project commenced with the professional team
using Japie Strydom’s experience in past commercial
installations, on the plumbing design for the chalets,
restaurant, conference hall and facilities such as
kitchen and laundry. “From the get-go we were
involved with the design and layout of all civil services
in conjunction with the two consulting engineers, Dave
Hall and Rob Hall.”
Management team (from left): Charl Nothnagel, Japie Strydom, JP Strydom.
“One of the biggest challenges with this
project was the timeframe and logistics
in getting material on site in a timeous
manner. The Knysna area is quite remote
and all stormwater and piping parts had to
be couriered in from Johannesburg.”
Strydom Junior explains that nothing was simple about
this as all the buildings were different and had different
requirements. When work commenced, the pressure
was immediately intense. “The hotel already had
December pre-bookings from Europe and all work had
to be completed well before. We had to meet deadlines
and high-cost late penalties would be incurred on all
parties involved in the project.” In the end, JJ Strydom’s
14-man team completed the job well in advance.
“It was the first time that any company of our size in this
area had installed industrial heat pumps in a project of
this magnitude. The installation of heat pump systems
is a fairly new market. With our number of heat pump
technicians, it’s quite a focus of ours that we attend as
many webinars as possible that are provided by IOPSA.
We encourage our staff to watch the weekly training
webinars provided by the PIRB on furthering their
knowledge base in the plumbing industry. As a general
September 2019 Volume 25 I Number 7
Plumblink Knysna Team (from left): Hennie Theron, Reginald Prins, Wilson Peyi,
Samuel Matthys, Wayne Tshoko.
www.plumbingafrica.co.za