Semane celebrated its 20^th anniversary at the end of 2018: no trivial achievement in the mining and public infrastructure environment.

When I look back on what has made Semane successful it becomes evident to me. From the outset, the twin strands of our DNA have been our technical expertise and an ethic that runs through everything we do: we understand that our clients truly value peace of mind.

We take our role as a trusted advisor seriously. We take the quality of our work seriously. Because we are risk-averse, our clients get what they truly value: reliable outputs. There is every likelihood that their design solution will be totally compliant.

Every successful company needs to keep its eyes wide open. It needs to keep examining the business environment – and itself.

After the euphoria of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, South Africa’s civil engineering sector went into a downturn. We had to dig deep and be ready for the upswing.

In hindsight, it was this difficult period that matured Semane. We emerged as a robust company with enviable credentials. Today, I’m proud of our portfolio of clients. It has both breadth and depth: Seriti, BHP, Rio Tinto, as well as our enduring relationships with Anglo.

Growth is vital. Every company has a choice: to use its strengths to defend its territory – and to use them to explore new territory. At Semane, we are always busy renewing ourselves. We use our strengths as the source of growth and its rewards.