The Civil Engineering Contractor May 2019 | Page 31

FEATURE: PILING AND LATERAL SUPPORT
earthmoving vehicles were unable to
work efficiently. In this regard, Franki
requested a thick stone mattress in
lieu of the soft soil platform. This
was provided, drastically improving
productivity.
The piling works started early June
2018 and, in terms of budget, the
cost of Franki’s alternative solution
will still be less than the original
alternative solution — hence the
project is within budget.
Competition is fearsome
The sector is “probably in its worst
position in 50 years”, says Whittaker.
But in fact, MegaPile Inland has
recently enjoyed a growth spurt.
Whittaker had until last year been
under a restraint agreement from his
previous Durban-based partnership
(MegaPile) and on its expiry, from 1
March, has opened a new operation
in KwaZulu-Natal called KZN Piling,
as well as in the Cape Town market,
where there had been a close-knit
number of players. The company has
also expanded into the mining sector
with Mega Mining.
Being coastal locations, Durban and
Cape Town require a different type of
pile because it is typically soft sands and
saturated ground, explains Whittaker,
and for this reason, not many inland
companies have ventured to the coast.
It does sometimes work in reverse:
Whittaker himself commenced his
career in Durban in 1996.
Another KwaZulu-Natal-based
piling company to have gone national
is VNA Piling, which describes itself
as “well acquainted with demanding
soil profiles in South Africa —
and particularly in the Durban
and Richard’s Bay areas with high
water tables and collapsing ground”.
Almost two decades ago, it took this
experience to Gauteng, Cape Town,
and surrounding areas as well as
neighbouring states, where numerous
projects have been successfully
undertaken. VNA Piling has now
taken to the lateral support market
— and has already successfully
www.civilsonline.co.za
Errol Braithwaite, MD of Franki
Africa [profiled in Civil Engineering
Contractor’s October 2018 issue]. MegaPile Inland MD, Greg Whittaker.
completing numerous projects in
Gauteng and neighbouring states.
The piling industry mirrors the
tough times being experienced by the
broader construction sector, with a
number of closures:
• Franki (internationally owned by
Keller) is the biggest player in
the market and one of the few
national players;
• 
MegaPile (both Inland and
Coastal, separate companies);
• GEL (Ground Engineering Limited)
may be in the process of being
sold off by troubled parent company
Aveng, which is selling off its civil
engineering business piecemeal;
• Dura ceased trading last year after 55
years, having been an industry giant
in the 1980s employing 200 people;
• Gauteng Piling, which is wholly
owned by the Maas family;
• Stefanutti Stocks;
• Terra Strata Construction;
• VNA Piling; and
• Fairbrother Construction.
Whittaker says his business is thriving
despite this environment, and it
has developed a model “which is
working”. It retains essentially a small
company culture, which embraces
personal family values amid a close-
knit dynamic, with “a hallmark of
innovation”, he explains.
Whittaker says that notwithstanding
the demise of so many contracting
companies — like Liviero Building, Group Five, Basil Read, Esor, NMC
Group and more — the piling and
lateral support market remains
fiercely competitive, though the
fallout presents a real opportunity to
expand. Consequently, he has ordered
additional plant and equipment.
He describes the company strategy
as being to remain in the mid-tier
market, which is able to take on
the bigger competitors for mega
projects due to a lower overhead
structure, but also able to compete at
the bottom-tier (residential) end of
the market where the bigger players
simply could not operate with their
corporate overheads.
“It’s difficult for these big corporate
contractors to survive because they
need large infrastructure projects and
the government isn’t putting those
jobs out at the moment, and even if
they are, they’re not paying [on time].
We’re satisfied to be where we are in
this mid-tier market.”
Innovations in piling and lateral
support tend to be in installation
techniques and small, everyday
improvements in efficiency in
concrete, grout, shotcrete, and
slurry mixes. “We will always look
at these to see how we can make
it more cost-effective. You gain an
edge in this sector by installing
more metres production a day than
your competitors.” nn
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