Personality Profile Sponsored by :
DERRICK CRAIG :
IDEAS FOR DEVELOPMENT AND THE RIGHT SOLUTIONS
Compiled by Benjamin Brits
Growing up in Boksburg and having completed his schooling , Derrick Craig completed his BSC Mech Eng degree at the University of the Witwatersrand .
Thereafter , Craig completed one year ’ s military service as second lieutenant after his officer ’ s course in the Airforce . Furthering his career , he received a Government Certificate of Competency ( GCC ) – factories in 1995 , and further completed a BCom part time by 2006 .
After his military service , he worked at a power station for Eskom near Middelburg on a bursary , whereafter he joined Watson Edwards van der Spuy ( WEVS ) and remained with them for 21 years , working up to director level . WEVS went through various acquisitions and ended up as WSP Group Africa . During this period Craig worked in various departments including the projects division , wastewater treatment works , and the consulting division on HVAC initially , and then later also refrigeration .
Craig notes , “ My main focus then moved from wastewater ( due of the lack of development in that sector ) towards supermarket Freon refrigeration , as well as HVAC projects . I always had an interest in heat transfer , but never realised I would end up in this particular industry when I was studying .”
Due to company restructuring , Craig then started his own consulting service business , however with the state of the economy , conditions were not great in terms of gaining traction as projects decreased dramatically . He then joined Metraclark , now part of the Beijer Ref Group , in 2019 , as engineering manager .
Craig is a member of SAIRAC , SAIMechE and UKIMechE . Outside of work , Craig has always enjoyed being around water , used to do a lot of swimming and recently became involved in rowing , also an activity his son is involved in , and further where he is a national umpire . “ I started rowing as a means to de-stress and get fit and now this is the first year ( 2021 ) that I have become more competitive in it ,” he adds .
Craig also enjoys the general outdoors and off-road adventures , and tinkering on his Land Rover , and various home projects and tasks he says “ take up a lot of time – the list never seems to end .”
When considering his most significant achievements , Craig notes : being registered as a professional and chartered engineer and developing to the point of being a director in business and managing a team . “ Having both a South African and UK-equivalent registration not only holds industry recognition in the processes involved – having to show your work in design , installation and project management
Derrick Craig , engineering manager at Metraclark .
– but also enhances an engineer ’ s credentials by association with international bodies .”
Looking forward , Craig would like to evolve and enhance his contribution to his department , and in future would like to do consulting work again . He further intends on giving back to industry through involvement with the local institutions and mentoring young engineers . “ I enjoy seeing young engineers develop their careers , and when looking to the future , when you retire , you really need to have a purpose – hence my idea of keeping myself busy through consulting .”
A particular point for Craig , when considering bettering the industry , is the utilisation of the technology available that improves efficiencies and project costs . “ Everything today , and for the future , is about efficiency and preserving the environment . That also means ensuring the correct design and correct solutions for the application and therefore using the best developments to make that a reality ,” he concludes . RACA
© RACA Journal | Benjamin Brits www . hvacronline . co . za RACA Journal I June 2021 21