NATIONAL NEWS - A severe storm struck Piet Retief in Mpumalanga yesterday causing significant damage across several areas as strong winds and heavy rainfall hit businesses infrastructure and residential neighbourhoods Disaster management teams are assessing the situation and providing urgent support as the municipality works to ensure the safety and well-being of affected residents Laerskool Wittenberg Schule took to its social media pages to inform the public of its closure due to the storm damage that left roads inaccessible the municipality urged all the townspeople to remain indoors and prioritise their safety Motorists were advised to exercise extra caution eMkhondo Local Municipality’s executive mayor Ngelosi Ndhlovu is in the process of meeting with key stakeholders to assess the situation.  The municipality said it is committed to addressing all concerns.  Photo: Supplied/eMkhondo Local Municipality ‘We bring you the latest Garden Route announced a R2 billion capital investment to be rolled out over the course of three years allocated to a major capacity expansion to its existing facilities in eMkhondo (Piet Retief) as well as an additional new medium fibreboard (MDF) plant at the same location a manufacturer of decorative wood-based panel products is part of KAP Industrial Holdings Limited a diversified industrial group consisting of industrial The first phase of the upgrades at eMkhondo commenced in 2015 with the installation of the German Siempelkamp Contrioll press the first project of R500 million involved replacing the old forming press we installed and commissioned a second melamine faced board (MFB) line with a capacity of 18 000m2 a day We were also able to ensure that we optimise the use of raw materials through improving the press process” The completion of the second MFB line has provided the group with significantly increased capacity to service market demand with its MelaWood the company commissioned a refurbished Siempelkamp short-cycle press “The refurbishment was managed completely in-house by the PG Bison project team” notes Pienaar “This included all the electrical cabinets the hydraulics – basically a complete rebuild We also performed the installation and fitted the line with three Kuka robots for out-feed and inspection it is the only roboticized MFB line in the world” Pienaar says the project team is now busy with the complete replacement of its preparation line for the eMkhondo plant which includes a state-of-the-art Austrian Büttner energy plant and driers The project is due for completion in early 2022 and it will result in a 25% capacity increase at the plant The value of the project sits at R560 million PG Bison has received approval from its shareholder for the next stage in the eMkondo development which entails building an additional medium density fibre (MDF) plant Pending utilities supply and various regulatory approvals the project will commence in 2022 and it is expected to be completed by mid-2024 Sales and Marketing Executive at PG Bison says the capital investment project and localisation opportunities it will create have been positively received by government at all levels “A total of R1.85 billion will be invested in this new plant we produce 400cubic metres per day at our MDF plant in Boksburg When the additional eMkhondo plant comes online with an additional 800 cubic meters per day of MDF This will give PG Bison a total installed capacity on MDF of 1 200cubic metres per day between our two MDF plants We believe the impact of these investments will be significant contributing to the creation of direct and indirect jobs as well as skills and enterprise development The Büttner equipment for the new energy plant and driers is being installed by a team from SGS Industrial Services an Austrian-headquartered global industrial service provider and the remainder of the project will again be handled by PG Bison’s in-house project team “We have manufactured over 500 tonnes of platework for this project between our own workshops in Boksburg and eMkhondo,” says Pienaar PG Bison has strategically developed its own project management capabilities to allow for major upgrades to be undertaken internally and our workshops can manage everything from detailing design procurement to the quality of throughputs from the workshops supported by the detailing draughtsman,” says Pienaar “We have also invested in our own state-of-the-art workshop equipment and software packages There is a massive skills shortage and generation gap in South Africa we have been working to bridge that gap by investing in our own teams It takes time to build skills and resources but we have always understood that for the sake of our own long-term sustainability and the leading manufacturer of wood-based panel products has announced a R2 billion ($131.5 million) capital investment to be rolled out over the next three years The capital projects include a major capacity expansion to PG Bison’s existing facilities in eMkhondo (Piet Retief) as well as an additional new medium density fibreboard (MDF) plant at the same location we’ve seen increased appetite for import replacement and an uptick in people investing into their homes as remote work becomes the norm,” says PG Bison CEO Gerhard Victor “We have been investing in upgrading our eMkhondo operations since 2017 through a multi-stage capital investment programme to help us increase our production capacity and ensure that we can sustainably supply the long-term local market demand.” PG Bison is investing an additional R560 million ($36.8 million) into a new front-end dryer for its particleboard plant moving the eMkhondo plant to more than 1,000 m3 per day of particleboard production This additional investment comes on the back of the R600 million already spent on a new Siempelkamp Contiroll press and forming line The project is due for completion by December 2021 The next stage in the company’s plans is to build a new additional MDF plant The project will commence in 2022 and the 1st board is expected off the line in the middle of 2023 The capital investment project and the localisation opportunities it will create has been positively received by government at all levels A total of R1.42 billion ($93.4 million) will be invested in this new plant we produce 400 m3 per day at our MDF plant in Boksburg With the new additional plant coming online we will ramp this up by 200% with an additional 800 m3 per day of MDF This will give PG Bison a total installed capacity on MDF of 1,200 m3 per day between our two MDF plants,” says Victor Republication of Lesprom Network content is prohibited without the prior written consent of Lesprom Network General Terms and Conditions and Privacy policy Questions have been raised about the much-publicised Mkhondo Boarding School in Piet Retief, Mpumalanga over unprecedented delays in completing the project Four years later there is no end in sight with funding challenges cited as the reason the Mpumalanga department of finance allocated additional R140-million towards the project translating to more than R500-million that has been used despite the initial projected budget of R200-million The DA is the latest party to raise its reservations saying the project is being used as a cash cow for ANC members is that the main contractor who has now abandoned the project and subcontractors are complaining about not being paid or sometimes paid half for invoices submitted,” said Jane Sithole the DA’s provincial spokesperson on education  “The question is where is the money going if contractors are not paid?” She also raised the alarm that although more than R525-million has been spent in the project the boarding school is not even half-complete “During an oversight visit of the building site we were also shocked to see shoddy workmanship,” she said “There are also incidents of vandalism with some doors and windows missing.” It has been reported that roof trusses have been left uncovered and bags of cement have been left lying in the open It was also clear that the contractor used in the project was mediocre as the gradient of the ground was not built at the right angle evident from accumulating water dams when it rains in turn causing more damage to the buildings The project was launched amid much fanfare and hailed that it would assist pupils around different farms in Mkhondo and surrounding areas who have to walk long distances to reach their respective schools only about 75% of construction had been finished with noticeable delays experienced on site because of funding challenges Visit SW YouTube Channel for our video content Tel: +27 11 268 6300 Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms & conditions and privacy policy.