Construction is an important facet for any country across the globe as it helps in building the infrastructure. In general it is recognised as a very large, diverse and complex industry.
Similarly in South Africa, the construction industry is extensive and strives to improve its peoples living and working conditions. Enhancing these conditions is the Devco Property Development Corporation (Pty) Ltd. commonly known as Devcor.
Mr. Johann Lubbe, Managing Director of Devcor started the company after working with Concor Construction for 20 years. Formerly known as Cape Devco Building (Pty) Ltd.the company has its primary focus on residential property development, project management, commercial and residential building and construction.
Devcor’s Focus
- To manage property developments for property owners or aspiring developers.
Project Management
- To manage all Devcor developments and construction projects.
Property Development
- To expedite residential property development projects in the Western Cape.
- To form joint ventures with other developers or interested parties.
Construction
- To tender or negotiate building contracts in the Western Cape.
- Be responsible for all building contracts associated with Devcor developments.
Most of the properties developed by Devcor are affordable. The company is currently working on a project of 300 apartments for the Cape Town Community Housing Company, wherein mid-range apartments cost approximately from 300,000 to 600,000 South African Rand per unit.
Other than residential development the company has constructed a number of commercial projects like the largest floor space for the automotive giant Honda in the Southern Hemisphere, and various schools and fire stations.
Growing up with the construction industry of South Africa, Lubbe believes that the construction business is big and important for creating employment in South Africa. He reinstates that “although the industry plays a key role in improving the lifestyle of the people, it has its shortcomings.”
With the South African Government passing the National Credit Act of 2006, the banks became stringent. Prior to the law, banks extended a 100% bond to the end users, this made residential properties affordable. However, now the envelope of buyers has turned smaller.
As a strong residential property developer, Devcor focuses on offering quality. “South Africa has a booming construction industry and the competition is stiff. In such scenarios, we differentiate ourselves by extending quality on time. Our clients borrow large amounts of money on higher interest rates and if we fail to deliver projects on time, they’ll never come back to us,” said Lubbe.
When questioned about moving from a large corporate firm to starting his own business, Lubbe revealed that “I did have a strong construction background, but a major challenge for me was managing finances. In a construction business all its factors are equally important to get the company running. However, we have the bank loans to fall back on and I used a large amount of my pension from Concor. Even during recession, I managed to get lucky and had the support of friends from the industry.
Business in today’s age is global and it’s not like living on an island. With the global financial and economic downturn and with the subprime lending in America, our business had major setbacks,” said Lubbe.
In 2009, the company went through tough times with not much work for 3 to 4 years. “We battled to keep our people busy. As a construction company we can do the management and buy the materials but we need labourers and contractors to finish our project. There is a certain kind of continuity which has to be maintained,” added Lubbe.
For every successful company, a major part of the credit goes to its employees. Devcor believes in maintaining an extremely casual culture among its workforce. Lubbe believes that it is necessary for such environments to exist in order to help employees to express themselves. He further added that “we’ve got employees for around 10 years and our staff turnover is to the minimum.”
With updated quality assurance systems and financial systems, the company’s employees are well-equipped to ensure that the projects are delivered on time and company does not suffer any losses.
According to Lubbe, such systems cannot exist without latest technology. But roping technology in to construction is still not contemporary in South Africa. A majority of the residential properties which are more like apartments are expensive. Lubbe revealed that “we have looked at different systems like composite steel but we always come back to the old system of brick-on-brick. Even the poor want to live in brick houses. I don’t believe that there is anything new which is cheaper than brick houses.”
Technology and green initiatives are given high importance in South Africa. Day-by-day the government is empowering laws for incorporating solar-friendly equipments in property developments. But maintenance takes a major setback in the country. “People acquiring these residences neglect many of the living conditions of their apartments. Once we’ve constructed the place we give them pamphlets which help generate awareness about the importance of cleaningtheir gutters every three months, checking their waterproofing every 12 months, servicing the aluminum sliding doors every 2 years,” said Lubbe.
When talking about some of Devcor’s proud projects, Lubbe asserted that “we have built many factories for a company called Rheinmetall Denel Munition, they are exporters of explosives. One such unique project for this company was to build a long concrete tunnel for the testing of grenades.”
Accelerating in to the future, Devcor has major construction plans. Lubbe considers his company and employees to be ready for running projects of every kind.
– Original Post: http://www.businessworld-africa.co.za/african-business-profiles-and-featured-articles-bwa-magazine/african-construction/devcor/