HOT SEAT
Turning the corner on
the road to recovery
Tosas’ re-ascent as a trusted bitumen
supplier to the road-building
industry is in full swing. Deon
Pagel, the man leading the way,
takes IMIESA’s Hot Seat and
frankly unpacks the company’s
return to its trusted position.
T
HE LAST TIME Deon Pagel spoke to IMIESA, Tosas was
focused on becoming the efficient, customer-centric organisation it had always been. Its reputation had to be rebuilt,
following its acquisition by the Raubex Group some 12
months earlier. This time, most of the structural and operational
challenges have been solved and Pagel presents a company that has
earned considerable market confidence and is gearing itself, through
innovation, to align with broader national goals.
You have managed
some serious changes
internally; can the
market see the
difference? DP Evidence
that we are regaining the trust
of the industry is coming in
much sooner than anticipated.
We regularly receive written
commendations that show
great appreciation, not only for
the quality of product we are
delivering but – crucially – the
efficiency of our service.
Because of the nature of the
products we provide, efficiency
from a turnaround point of view
is non-negotiable. The written
appreciation of this aspect of
what we do really assures me
that we are out the ICU phase
of our business rescue and
well into full recovery in the
general ward.
14
IMIESA January 2015
Rubber bitumen used in
a single reseal is a great
maintenance option
So the market is
confident in Tosas again?
There are many signs that this
is the case. Our order book is
growing and, importantly, many
of these orders come from
existing clients and older clients
who had left Tosas due to its
struggles. That these clients
are remarking on our service
is a definite indication that
we are restoring confidence in
the market.
What has been the
biggest struggle? In a
word, efficiency. The services
and products we specialise in
are the core component of a
very expensive daily operation
on any construction site. One
slip on our side carries the risk
of a chain reaction that incurs
huge costs.
Downtime on these sites is
extremely expensive, not just in
terms of the cost of personnel,
which carries massive
hourly rates.
The downtime of the
infrastructure on-site is also
very expensive. Our efficiency
problems were the result of a
business structure that didn’t
accommodate the kind of
operational agility demanded of
a bitumen supply company.
Procurement had been
centralised and this had really
hamstrung Tosas’ ability
to meet orders flexibly and
efficiently. Fixing this demanded
a massive amount of energy to
turn around.
What was your main
focus? Simply by demanding
a back-to-basics approach,
combined with elevating the
operational standards to
match and exceed current
market developments. We
re-established the processes
that had previously worked, and
built on them smartly. It has
been especially gratifying to
see the staff that bridged these
periods jump at the opportunity
to excel again. They were freed
up to deliver as they had always
wanted to.
Now that you are well
on the road to recovery,
how would you describe
Tosas’ offering to the
market now? It really is
our capacity for delivery in
the context of today’s market
HOT SEAT
THE BENEFITS
OF NEW CRUMB
RUBBER
TECHNOLOGY
Rubber bitumen remains
an ideal solution to prevent
reflective cracking
conditions. This includes the
increased need for labourintensive technologies and the
demand for better and more
innovative products.
The Department of Public
Works just launched
Phase 3 of the EPWP.
How is Tosas supporting
it? A large portion of the
products we supply are highly
adaptable for labour-intensive
work methods, including
bituminous binders that are
aligned with labour-intensive
road-surfacing methods and we
are actively involved in skills
transfer as well.
A very specific labourintensive technology that
we sell is the Chippy handoperated aggregate spreader,
which we are now beginning
to market in conjunction
with NCA, the manufacturers
of the equipment. This is a
very effective tool for labourintensive road construction
that replaces automated
aggregate distribution with
manual distribution.
It was designed to construct
thin seals for both new roads
and maintenance projects in a
labour-intensive manner retaining the quality of automated
methods at a comparable cost.
As well as selling the equipment and the appropriate binders, we also supply full training on the proper use of the
chip-spreading equipment.
What innovations is
Tosas contributing to the
market? We have New Crumb
Rubber Technology (NRCT) – a
highly innovative product – to
offer the market. We have done
a lot of successful trials and
performed a number of different
applications with different roads
authorities, and we expect to
put down a substantial amount
of this product over the next
year. Some of the larger metros
have shown strong interest for
maintenance and new builds.
What are main
advantages of NCRT?
The product is very crack- and
rutt-resistant and has a longer
lifespan than other binders,
whether modified or not.
These ‘new’ properties are
dependent on the pretreatment
of the rubber crumbs, and
it is our licensed technology
that distinguishes NCRT from
conventional bitumen rubber.
It is also this pretreatment
that lowers the working
temperature and increases the
lifespan of NCRT, and delivers
the more environmentally
beneficial attributes.
Traditional bitumen rubber
is usable for four to six hours,
after which a phenomenon
known as over-digestion
can occur, and the product
can no longer be used in its
current form.
It has to be reconstituted
through the introduction of
additional rubber crumbs. The
new technology overcomes
this, extending the window
period to as much as seven
days and beyond. You can work
with the product at 170°C and
store it at 140°C. This makes
a profound difference to the
energy consumed in working
with the material, as well as to
the practical handling of it.
Can you expand on
NCRT’s impact on the
reduction of life-cycle
costs? While it appears
to be more expensive than
conventional rubber and some
other modified binders upfront,
when you take the higher
actual application rates of the
product and factor them in
to the extended lifespan, the
perceived initial costs become a
non-issue.
In fact, it saves you money.
NCRT eliminates the need
to establish expensive
bitumen-rubber-blending
plants on-site and it can be
directly transported from the
manufacturer’s fixed operations.
Traditionally, bitumen rubber’s short shelf life was risky
and logistically challenging and
some people felt uncomfortable
specifying it. Now, with NCRT,
they can do so, risk-free, knowing it is a superior product. This
product solves a multitude of
problems, from point of specification to full life-cycle value.
It is also a major boon for
maintenance work.
(NCRT), the Rolls Royce
of bitumen rubber and
the road-seal binder of
the future:
• reduced manufacturing,
paving and spraying
temperatures
• reduced binder ageing
• safer working conditions
• increased energy
efficiency, reduced
emissions during
production, paving
and spraying
• lower viscosity at lower
temperatures
• increased shelf-life of
seven days
• longer lasting road surface
• reduced road
maintenance intervals
• better rut resistance
• higher tolerance for high
traffic volumes
• more environmentally
friendly and sustainable.
extremely happy to say that,
within 12 months, we are better
geared and ready to thrive and
exceptionally well geared to
make a substantial contribution
to South Africa’s road industry.
The need for reliable, innovative
and policy-supportive products
and services is more important
than ever before in achieving
national goals.
While this much has been
achieved in a relatively short
period of time, Tosas has also
kept its eye on further research
and development, and we have
a number of new initiatives in
the pipeline to be introduced
in the short to medium term
amplifying the company’s goal
to be a positive contributor to
all stakeholders in the roadbuilding sector.
How would you describe
Tosas’ recovery? When
Raubex first took over, we soon
discovered that Tosas was in
intensive care and needed a
radical business rescue. I am
www.tosas.co.za
IMIESA January 2015
15