Independent lubricant manufacturer Fuchs Lubricants South Africa on May 13 officially launched its newly built head office and warehouse in Isando, Johannesburg.

The company has invested over R250-million in the expansion at its existing location, noting that this came in the wake of rapid growth in demand for its products in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Phase 1 expansion of its facilities consisted of the new office complex and new warehouse.

Phase 2, which is now being undertaken, would comprise a new lubricants plant to bolster the company’s strong growth and expansion plans for the continent.

Speaking at the launch, MD Paul Deppe said the completion of Phase 1 showcased the continued progress and sustained growth by the company over the years, and continued investment in the region by the German group despite macroeconomic challenges.

He elaborated that, over the past six years, Fuchs South Africa had a compound yearly growth rate in volume of 6%, and 12% in sales. Therefore, since six years ago, the company increased volumes by 31%, and sales by 70%, he said.

The expansion project began about five years ago, with the company realising the need to accommodate for bigger space requirements in the future.

Deppe explained that, in 2018, a team was assembled to start working on the requirements and specifications for the project. In 2019, the property for the expansion was bought from Komatsu.

At the same time, towards the end of the year, Fuchs appointed three consultants for the project.

In April 2020, the project and its costs were approved by the German group and construction began in June.

Deppe indicated that, at the time, the company was considering undertaking the entire project, which consisted of development of the new office block, expanding the capacity of the warehouse and building the new lubricants plant in one go.

However, owing to the considerable size of the investment and the amount of construction work required, it was split into two phases. This would also ensure a return on the investment, he said.

He expanded on the timeline of Phase 1, namely from August 2020 to October 2020, outlining that a three-month demolition process took place to make way for the new office block.

Following this, a five-month earthworks and piling project, from October 2020 to February 2021, was undertaken.

This was followed by the start of construction.

Deppe explained that the company undertook a staggered construction approach.

He noted that the warehouse construction was a 15-month project, starting in March 2021, while the office construction was an 11-month project, starting in June 2021.

He acclaimed that the project was completed on time and within budget.

The office building has space for about 120 people, with employees expected to move into the building in June. The office block comprises three floors with different department divisions, hot seats for external sales reps, several meeting areas, boardrooms, a multi-purpose medical room, a canteen with indoor and outdoor seating, coffee and tea stations and a rooftop entertainment area.

In terms of sustainability, there is solar power capacity, double glazing on windows and automatic light switches, Deppe highlighted.

There is also scope to increase the size of the office in the future, if required.

The new facilities will be used to support and service the South Africa region, but also for export purposes, with Deppe stating that this constitutes the company’s biggest sales division, and this mainly being within Africa.

Deppe said Phase 2, which will involve an investment of about R500-million, is already under way, with design and conceptualisation completed and construction to begin in staggered stages.

"We envisage to complete our investment in Phase 2 over the next five to ten years as economic conditions permit," he indicated.