BUTEC positioning itself as significant player in Southern Africa

A s one of Africa’s largest  electro mechanical contractors and facility management service providers, BUTEC aims to solidify its position as a significant player in the Southern African market through its ability to offer top-notch turnkey solutions.

Currently operating in 21 countries across Africa and the Middle East, BUTEC is committed to offering suitable solutions that constantly surpass its clients’ expectations.

Notably, over the last 15 to 20 years in South Africa, many facilities management companies have shifted towards outsourcing certain services to subcontractors, whereas BUTEC has established many of these services internally, highlights BUTEC services director Robbie Di Giovampaolo. 

The company was established as the African subsidiary of United Arab Emirates-based construction and services market leader BUTEC Group in April 2022.

That same year, the group acquired 17 entities from French multinational utility company Engie. These acquisitions included local commercial and industrial heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) powerhouses Thermaire Investments – a Level 2 broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE), Level 9 Mechanical Engineering Construction Industry Development Board (ME CIDB) rated company – and Ampair, a Level 1 B-BBEE and a Level 7 ME CIDB-rated company.

“These companies were attractive acquisitions not only because of the systems they already had in place but also because of the successes that were accumulated over Ampair’s 32 years and Thermaire’s 40-odd years of operation. As leaders in the market, they also boasted healthy order books,” explains Di Giovampaolo.

“Through the Thermaire and  Ampair acquisitions, the group acquired two giant air conditioning companies that have given it a footprint in Southern Africa and the basis of that footprint is to grow the group’s electro mechanical and facility services business,” he explains.

By leveraging the internal services of Ampair and Thermaire to its customers’ benefit, BUTEC expects to deliver superior electro mechanical solutions and top-tier facility services in Southern Africa.

While Thermaire undertakes megaprojects involving the design, supply and installation of HVAC equipment, Ampair handles the maintenance associated with the 12-month warranty, explains Di Giovampaolo.

African Expansion

BUTEC Group is committed to ensuring the success of its Northern, Western and Southern African operations.  The group is putting its global resources at the disposal of these entities, bringing overseas expertise to areas where it is needed most. This strategic and continued support will be the key to the group’s success on the continent, asserts Di Giovampaolo.

The rebranding of Thermaire and Ampair backs the strategic expansion of 60-year-old BUTEC Group’s portfolio as a global leader in the engineering and contracting industry.

The group is currently rebranding Thermaire as BUTEC – an electro mechanical solution provider – and Ampair as BUTEC Services – a facility management and maintenance service provider. Additionally, the manufacturing arm of Butec remains DUCTSHOP, which manufactures high-quality metal and PAL ducting at its state-of-the-art facility in Johannesburg. 

“The support that BUTEC Group has brought to the table is complementing the existing infrastructure and managing the two companies, enabling them to continue to operate as usual while benefiting from the group’s financial support and business experience,” notes Di Giovampaolo

Projects in Progress

BUTEC is targeting projects above R200-million to ramp up Thermaire’s activity to pre-Covid levels, while Ampair is expanding into facilities hard services, such as electro mechanical and general building preventative and corrective maintenance.

BUTEC is currently undertaking various significant HVAC projects, with the three key projects involving exclusive residential development Oceans, in Umhlanga, the Midlands Mall, in Pietermaritzburg, and Teraco’s CT2.2 data centre, in Cape Town.

Work on the Teraco facility will start soon, with the project scheduled to be completed a year later. The Oceans project, which started in January this year, should be finalised in December, while the Midlands Mall project – started in August 2023 – is scheduled to be completed in February 2025.

“Data centres currently comprise a substantial chunk of our business,” advises Di Giovampaolo, highlighting that the company also offers portable load simulator technology for data centres to test and ensure that the HVAC and electrical installations are performing satisfactorily.

“There has been a boom over the last ten years in the development of data centres. We’ve been fortunate enough to be part of the growth of this industry.”

He adds that BUTEC Services is one of the biggest maintenance companies in the country at present, concentrating on planned preventive maintenance in hotels, hospitals, office blocks and shopping centres, to name a few.

In Johannesburg, the division has various maintenance contracts in place at shopping centres such as Nelson Mandela Square, Mall of Africa, The Glen Shopping Centre and Mall of Rosebank. In addition, BUTEC Services also has branches and diverse contracts in Durban, Cape Town, Botswana and Mozambique.

There has been an uptick in shopping centre projects, with a lot of revamp work taking place in the retail industry while office buildings are also being refurbished. However, Di Giovampaolo admits that the upcoming national elections is having an impact on projects activity, with companies waiting for the outcome before investing in new projects.

BUTEC has about 370 employees and a fleet of more than 77 vehicles across its offices in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Botswana and Mozambique. The company boasts in-house teams specialising in engineering, installation, maintenance and commissioning, complemented by experienced project managers. Butec is committed to the highest quality standards and a safe work environment. It is proud to hold ISO accreditations, including ISO 45001:2018 (Occupational Health and Safety), ISO 14001:2015 (Environmental Management), and ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management). These certifications demonstrate its dedication to excellence in everything it does. 

Further, BUTEC’s computerised maintenance programme ensures real-time updates for the planned preventative maintenance system, overseeing maintenance schedules and enabling live tracking of all maintenance services provided to clients. This information is conveniently accessible via an online application.

Moreover, BUTEC has an in-house, accredited skills development centre which offers comprehensive training programmes presented by a full-time training officer. The courses cater to various industry needs such as trade test preparation, National Qualifications Framework Level 1 to 4 short skills programmes, safe handling of refrigerants, HVAC learnerships, HVAC apprenticeships, first aid, welding and brazing, and working at heights.

Created for learners and experienced employees, BUTEC’s courses aid career development and skills enhancement. The company’s accreditations include that of the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority and the Quality Council for Trades & Occupations.

In addition to its comprehensive services, BUTEC’s operational excellence extends to its control room, which is at the heart of the company. Operational round-the-clock, 365 days a year, and manned by highly efficient staff, including technicians available at a moment’s notice, the control room ensures the quickest response time to all critical alarms during working hours as well as after hours. This commitment to prompt action and continuous monitoring under-scores BUTEC’s dedication to delivering top-tier services to its clients.