Cyril opens new brick factory
AUTOMATED PLANT IN FULL SWING
Company delivers on its 2019 investment conference pledge.
SA manufacturer and distributor of clay bricks, pavers and building materials, Corobrik, launched its new Kwastina – “Home of the Bric” – factory in Driefontein near Carletonville on Wednesday.
The factory is fully automated and entered full production at the end of March.
According to Corobrik CEO Nick Booth, Kwastina produces clay face bricks, while the company’s concrete operations in KwaZulu-Natal are targeted at the plaster brick and block market.
Booth says the factory can produce 100 million bricks per annum, which will help the company meet larger volume demands. It is expected to broaden its export market to countries across Africa, including Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The plant also has room for the smallscale production of bespoke products for architectural segments.
“It allows us to compete anywhere in southern Africa, landing product in regions traditionally not in Driefontein’s market as the new factory is more cost-effective,” says Booth.
Investment pledge and then some
The technologically advanced plant is the outcome of Corobrik’s R800 million investment pledge made at the South African Investment Conference in 2019.
The company made an additional R200 million investment to further its concrete operations in KwaZulu-Natal.
Speaking at the launch, President Cyril Ramaphosa described Corobrik’s investment as an integral contribution to the government’s ambitious investment drive of R1.2 trillion over five years.
Ramaphosa says the plant furthers efforts to capitalise on natural resources, by making its bricks from raw materials extracted from South African soil.
“This facility is indeed impressive … I am told it is the largest brickmaking project in the world outside of China.”
Ramaphosa voiced his enthusiasm about the plant’s adoption of fourth industrial revolution technology, which he says will enhance human-machine interaction for efficient production, subsequently encouraging the development of new skills.
‘Productive partnership’
“This investment is an example of the productive partnerships that have been forged between business and government to grow our economy and create jobs.”
Ramaphosa says the construction of Kwastina created 1 000 temporary employment opportunities and that 30 people from the surrounding community participated as bricklayers after receiving training for the project.
The Kwastina plant was delayed by three months due to the hard Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020 – but was completed within budget. “We believe we invested at the bottom of the cycle,” says Booth.
“All things being equal, if the government rolls out what it plans to in terms of infrastructure – like clinics, hospitals, police stations and schools – Kwastina is ideally placed to make those projects more cost-effective and efficient.
“It is going to give us an advantage in the market, not just in terms of technology, but also in quality and consistency.”
Significance
Ramaphosa noted the significance of infrastructure projects, saying they “are vital to our economic recovery due to [their] multiplier effect throughout the economy and throughout society”.
This follows Cabinet’s approval of the Infrastructure Investment Plan in 2020, which consists of 62 projects from three spheres including government, stateowned entities and the private sector.
The projects were gazetted as Strategic Integrated Projects in terms of the Infrastructure Development Act, which ensures that projects follow a planned trajectory and implementation.