BUD RENTAL SERVICES

do something outside, and civil engineering ticked that box for me,” he recalls.

“I managed to get a bursary from a company called CMGM, which helped me to complete a four-year diploma. This was in the early 1980s, and after completing my period of national service I joined Stefanutti & Bressan in 1990, so I’ve been with the organisation for nearly 30 years.”

This period has involved working up through the ranks, Crawford starting out as a site agent and then a contract manager before moving to Swaziland where he ran the earthworks division. At the end of 2003 he returned to South Africa, the company listing in 2007 and renaming itself as Stefanutti

Stocks in 2008. After being promoted to a divisional MD and then head of a business unit, Crawford now serves as group CEO.

“The experience has been extremely valuable,” he adds, “especially the period working outside of South

Africa, as I became responsible for growing the business outside of the home country.

“Through my career with Stefanutti I have spent time in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Zambia, all countries where we have completed projects. It has taught me the value of patience, and I have had the privilege of meeting ministers and working with governments, as well as meeting locals on the ground. I would say it has been a humbling experience also.”

The Stefanutti Stocks Way

That Stefanutti Stocks is still in rude health is testament to the company’s multidisciplined capabilities and geographic reach. Asked how the company has emerged through challenging times, Crawford elaborates on these two key facets of the business.

“There are several reasons why I believe Stefanutti has been able to survive this period,” he answers. “First of all, we are operating over a wide geographical footprint, something which some of our competitors have not had. This includes our reach into Africa and also the UAE, and allows us to absorb downturns in some markets as we can balance it out with our activity elsewhere.

Indeed, this footprint covers many Sub-Saharan African nations, including Benin, Botswana, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia. In the UAE, the group has established businesses in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

“We are also multidisciplinary and cover a huge array of expertise,” Crawford continues.

Bud Rental Services was established through the collaboration of leading industrial brands, Concord Cranes, Goscor Access Solutions and Uni-Span Formwork and Scaffolding. As part of the Bud Group, we have the ability to offer Bobcat equipment and Goscor Earthmoving Equipment as part of our BRS service offering. Our business model and strategy is based on the partnerships we have created with both our clients and within our businesses.

The BRS partnership provides a collaborative approach to offering a bespoke and advanced service offering for our partners in the market. Part of this offering includes:

• +51 000 tons scaffolding

• +180 cranes ranging from 7T-750T

• Straight boom extending up to 57m

• Scissor lift payload 1 ton @27.5m

high

• Extendable trailers of to 57m in

length

• Highly qualified in-house design team

• CAD based rigging studies

With 18 branches covering 4 countries in Africa, our footprint is well established across Southern Africa and Ghana and we are continuously looking to expand to cater to our customers’ requirements, and in particular, those in remote geographical locations.

Please get in touch with our industry specialists for further information on how we can assist in meeting your business requirements.

T +27 11 462 8965

E info@budrental.co.za www.budgroup.co.za