Brickmaker Corobrik plans to open another manufacturing plant in the next five years, after the completion of an R800m factory in Driefontein, Gauteng, that will produce environmentally friendly building material.
The Kwastina factory, which was officially opened this week, is the first factory Corobrik has built in almost 37 years. It is expected to produce 100-million bricks a year, 20-million more than the company now makes at its existing manufacturing facilities.
CEO Nick Booth said Corobrik will open a new factory where there are clay reserves and demand. Currently, there is demand from the residential market for bricks and that is likely to continue, he said.
“There is pickup in the residential market, the demand for housing is very strong. There has been a decline in commercial office sites,” he said.
Demand from the corporate sector has declined because of the Covid-19 pandemic that led companies to scale down on space as some adopted a hybrid model of allowing employees to work from home and office.
Corobrik also expects to benefit from the government’s rollout of infrastructure, such as clinics, hospitals, police stations and schools, saying “Kwastina is ideally placed to make those projects more cost-effective and efficient”.
Speaking at the opening of the Kwastina factory, President Cyril Ramaphosa said: “Corobrik has made a significant contribution to our efforts to extract greater value from our natural resources by making its bricks from raw materials extracted from South African soil. This is an important part of government’s efforts to support localisation, supplier and enterprise development, as well as empowerment.”
As infrastructure plans are implemented, “demand for building materials will grow substantially. It is our intention that as much of these materials as is possible should be sourced locally,” said Ramaphosa.
“For an economy like ours, which was precariously positioned over a number of years, to lose 2-million jobs in just 12 months [during the pandemic] is quite a devastation,” he said. “Corobrik is making a vital contribution — in a very literal sense — to rebuilding SA’s economy.”
Other companies operating in the construction industry value chain are also experiencing demand from the residential market, and expect more opportunities to materialise.
Davin Giles, MD North Cluster at Afrimat, said the company had experienced a reduction in demand on the industrial side with some growth in the residential area, but more so in rural areas.
“We are also seeing a resurgence of the government low-cost housing projects in a number of the geographical areas that we supply,” he said.
Giles said despite the increase in interest rates and inflation, “we will see further growth in the residential market, not only private but also the larger developers”.
Afrimat supplies construction materials (aggregates, bricks, blocks, pavers and ready-mix concrete), industrial minerals (lime and lime products) and bulk commodities (iron ore, anthracite and manganese).
Overall, he said, “we have seen a decline in the demand for concrete products (such as bricks and blocks) this year across all our regions. This could be attributed to the affect that the weather is having on the industry with the high volumes of rain experienced to date. This not only affects the construction works taking place, but also the accessibility of the sites.”
Giles said: “We believe that despite the slow start to this year we will see growth in the construction materials sector. A number of national and local road contracts are finally commencing, together with upgrades on other infrastructure items such as municipal waste water treatment plants and reservoirs. Our road and rail networks require drastic attention, and government will need to invest further in these.
Corobrik has made a significant contribution to our efforts to extract greater value from our natural resources by making its bricks from raw materials extracted from South African soil
— President Cyril Ramaphosa
“Assistance will need to be given to the KwaZulu-Natal area to rectify the damage caused by the recent floods and all this will assist to grow this construction materials market, which is now at a low point.”
Cement maker PPC said, “assuming that about 10% of the R595bn strategic infrastructure projects [as mentioned in the February 2022 budget speech] are implemented”, it expects upside in demand.
PPC estimated that domestic cement demand will grow 2.5% a year.
Corobrik has 1,600 employees in 13 factories across the country..
Booth said Kwastina is not only one of the largest brick manufacturing plants in Sub-Saharan Africa, but also one of the most modern and energy-efficient in the world.
“What makes this factory so exciting is that 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,” said Booth.
Corobrik exports to countries such Malawi, Namibia and Zambia, has had small orders from Indian Ocean islands and occasionally the Middle East, said Booth.
At present, 7%-8% of the group's revenue is generated outside SA.
Booth said the factory “is going to give us an advantage in the market, not just in terms of technology, but also in quality and consistency, which are critical for specifications involving tight tolerances”.
Booth said Corobriks' bricks are low-maintenance, durable and environmentally friendly. He said technology has helped the company reduce its carbon footprint significantly. According to Booth, urban areas are requiring more green products, and lighter materials for high-rise buildings, he said.
Corobrik is extending its product range and trials are being carried out with brick glazing for bespoke projects, as well as the clay raw material to produce different colours to give Kwastina a unique footprint in the country, said Booth.
He said production at Kwastina is 25% faster than at other factories because of the size of the plant. “In terms of volume per unit of time, it is 25% higher,” he said.
