28 Sep 2016

By Road or by Rail ….

by | posted in: Construction Chat, General, Uncategorized | 0

By Road or by Rail

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According to Wikipedia : “Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people for decades from the first half of the 20th century.”

Transnet Freight Rail is a freight logistics and passenger transport railway. It is the largest freight hauler in Africa.

The company comprises several businesses:
GFB Commercial (General Freight Business) – Transnet’s largest division; handles over 50% of its freight;
Coal Line, serving coal exporters on the Mpumalanga – Richards Bay line; second largest coal railway in the world, delivering 62 million tonnes of coal (also known as “Black Gold”) in the year ending 31 March 2010;
Ore Export Line – dedicated to iron ore transport on the Sishen to Saldanha line;
Luxrail – The operation of the Blue Train, which is designed as a five-star hotel on wheels.

After doing some in-depth research on this subject (thanks Google!) as why transporting of goods is currently preferred by road over rail. I managed to source the following information :

Offering greater flexibility, speed and adaptability than the alternative of rail, transporting goods between cities by road has long been the chosen mode for most industries. However, the impact of heavy vehicles on the roads is considerable and the cost of maintenance and upgrades is increasing as traffic demands grow. Whilst work on the national road network may be keeping up with the demand, not so on the provincial roads.

The benefits of shifting freight from road to rail would have other transport-related spin-offs such as reduced road congestion and accidents, and less maintenance on road surfaces. Costs, particularly for movers of bulk commodities, would also drop. Rail transport also is regarded as three to four times more efficient than road.
But whether South Africa’s rail system will cope with increased freight demand is questionable. If there was a reliable, safe, efficient, and cost-effective rail service that could meet the need of customers then goods would definitely travel by rail. But there isn’t, so that is why 80% of goods are currently transported by road for the efficiency, cost, reliability, tracking and door-to-door service.

Improving the country’s 20 247 km rail network is now a top government priority and rail volumes are expected to grow to about 350 million tonnes by 2020.
According to Transnet’s website: “ Expanding the country’s infrastructure by successfully implementing the Market Demand Strategy (MDS) will see Transnet’s revenue almost triple from R46 billion to R128 billion over the next seven years.” Transnet’s MDS is a fine-tuned strategy to expand and modernise the country’s ports, rail and pipeline infrastructure with a view to achieve a significant increase in freight volumes, particularly in commodities such as Iron Ore, Coal and Manganese over a period of seven years to promote economic growth in South Africa.

Through investment, Transnet Freight Rail will be able to optimise it’s capital portfolio, build a world-class capital execution function and leverage capital procurement and localisation. In accordance with the strategy, the company has committed itself to railing more than 350.3 million tons of cargo a year by 2018 / 2019, the financial year when the MDS will reach its maturity.

Bearing that in mind, If we do a comparison of Fleet Management tenders on our database, compared with Transnet tenders :
Currently on our database we have 11 live tenders for Fleet Management versus 40 live tenders for Transnet.

Rail vs Road…what would your choice be?

 

 

References:
http://mg.co.za/article/2015-07-17-investment-still-needed-in-transport-infrastructure
http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/transport/2015/01/27/road-is-still-king-of-freight
http://www.transnetfreightrail-tfr.net/MDS/Pages/Strategy.aspx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnet_Freight_Rail

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.
To view more articles, please visit our blog.

About Marlaine Andersen

Leads 2 Business Advertising Co-ordinator and Digital Designer

21 Sep 2016

On time, Online with Transnet

by | posted in: Construction Chat, Frequently Asked Questions, General, Uncategorized | 0

On time, Online with Transnet

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These days it’s the norm to find most businesses online. I don’t know about you but if I’m looking for company info in any form should it be trading hours, contact info, services they offer or any news regarding that company, I head straight to Google. The easier it is to find the company website the better and if it contains all the relevant info I need it definitely goes a long way toward a first impression. Suffice to say a company’s online presence not only saves you time but in the end money too and that is no different when it comes to business, the well known phrase ‘time is money’ comes to mind.

 

Some of the Key reasons to have your business online are:

 

Anyone can ‘visit’ your business

Portrays your Company’s Image

Offers Customer Support

Availability of information

Streamlining

24 hour access

Relatively low start-up costs

Communication

Going Global

 

If you have ever ventured over to Transnet’s website you will notice there is a huge amount of information provided from the usual contact information to investor relation reports and a whole lot of tender related info. The website looks organised and seems to have all the relevant details one might need. Now I must confess that I am not very familiar with Transnet’s website as we don’t deal with the website much in my department. Thus I looked outside for review/comment from the Tenders Department who regularly peruse the website. According to my sources in our Tenders Department they haven’t had any issues regarding the website and check it as frequently as possible. Additionally Transnet also publishes their tenders on CIDB and eTenders timeously which makes it easier for interested parties to obtain the relevant information they seek.

At L2B we research all the relevant websites and divisions within Transnet that publish tenders and publish them on our site daily for easy access and updates for our subscribers.

Do you feel that Transnet meets the above aspects of an online business and does it assist you with being on time? Do you have any feedback or views you would like to add regarding Transnet’s online presence? Contact us in the comment section below.

Interested in Transnet Tenders and want an easy way to find them online, in one place, daily? Contact me on SashaA@l2b.co.za

 

 

Sources:

http://www.transnet.net/AboutUs/Overview.aspx

http://www.dbwebdoctor.com/article_why_companies_need_a_website.asp

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.
To view more articles, please visit our blog.

About Sasha Anderson

Millennial Mom + wife living the hash-tag life. Remember: If You Fail - Fail Forward

14 Sep 2016

Types of Tenders offered by Transnet

by | posted in: Construction Chat, Construction Events, General, Uncategorized | 3

transnet-1

Well, well, well, just look at this, my second blog 🙂 (Pat on the back for me). I am excited and nervous at the same time, but let me take a deep breath…relax…and do this. This month I will be chatting about the types of Tenders that are offered by Transnet. OK, this can’t be that bad a topic, can it? I mean, it’s just Transnet right? This will be a quick one, phew, definitely relaxed now, easy peasy lemon squeezy. With my fingers doing the walking I search for the Tenders offered by Transnet on our awesome website, and low and behold, there they are…wait…what!? This can’t be right, looking at the screen with wide eyes and slowly but surely starting to hyperventilate, I begin to realize that this is not going to be as easy as I thought. Upon my lovely search I discovered that we have housed a whopping number of 13 030 Tender Notices for Transnet so far. Breathe…Breathe….Breathe…ok, I am running for the hills! Goodbye….

transnet-2transnet-3

 

 

Ok ok ok, I am back from Bora Bora with a new mindset about this blog, I can do this. Where were we? O yes, that’s right, 13 030 Tender Notices are housed by L2B to date, but what can you expect from the largest and most crucial part of the freight logistics chain that delivers goods to each and every South African through its pipelines and both to and from its ports? Moving cargo onto ships for export while it unloads goods from overseas. So, lets dig a little deeper shall we? Transnet operates an integrated freight transport, formed around a core of five, yes five, operating divisions that complement each other (which we will look at shortly). These are supported by a number of company-wide specialist functions such as Transnet Projects which underpin the group as a whole.

transnet-4 transnet-5

 

Transnet is made up of the following operating divisions:

 

  1. Transnet Freight Rail (formerly Spoornet – the freight rail division)
  2. Transnet Rail Engineering (formerly Transwerk – the rolling stock maintenance business)
  3. Transnet National Ports Authority (formerly the NPA – fulfills the landlord function for South Africa’s port system)
  4. Transnet Port Terminals (formerly SAPO – managing port and cargo terminal operations in the nation’s leading ports), and
  5. Transnet Pipelines (formerly Petronet – the fuel and gas pipeline business, pumps and manages the storage of petroleum and gas products through its network of high-pressure, long distance pipelines)

 

Here are just a few of the Tenders that Transnet offers:

With a variety of Facilities Management, Electrical & Instrument, Plant & Machinery, Mechanical, Materials & Supplies, Infrastructure, Security & Fire, IT & Telecom and plenty more, you can see that Transnet offers a tender for each and everyone, which is only a click away on our website 🙂 www.l2b.co.za

You can contact me on 087 150 1465 or by email nadinev@l2b.co.za #justsaying 😉

Phew, now that wasn’t so hard, was it?  So what are you waiting for, get clicking and have a look at those tenders 🙂

transnet-6

 

 

 

About Nadine Vermeulen

I started working at Leads 2 Business in October 2014 in the Leads 2 Quotes Department. I managed all the Daily Tender Bill Requests and followed up on BoQ's for our Daily Tender Subscribers. In 2017, I was promoted to L2Q Assistant and now work with Bill of Quantities for Contractors. 🙂

7 Sep 2016

Keep on track with Tender opportunities

by | posted in: Construction Chat, General, Uncategorized | 1

90-blog-tracking-tender-opportunities-that-will-derail-your-competitors

Tracking Tender Opportunities that will derail your competitors

 

Like most things in life, knowing is half the battle. If you don’t know about a potential tender or opportunity, your option to take advantage and pursue it has been removed. To ensure that you’re always in the know, at least with Leads 2 Business, your Advisory Settings need to be set up to meet your needs. Leads 2 Business hinges on two parts; the daily Advisory email and the website (www.L2B.co.za).

 

The Advisory email is sent out each afternoon and delivers that days’ information straight to you. The email is based on the your Advisory Settings, so it stands to reason if the Advisory Setting isn’t set up satisfactorily then the Advisory email isn’t going to meet the your needs. Our subscribers have two complaints concerning the information we provide; there’s too much and there’s too little. Understandably this is a very precarious line to walk. Too little runs the risk of missing pertinent information; and too much means an information overload. I tend to favour ‘too much”. Better I decide what’s best for me rather than have someone or something else do it for me. But that’s just me. To reach a happy medium, is a combination of training (given by L2B staff), communication on the part of our subscribers (telling us what you want/ need & expect) and working through what you receive each day. You have full access to alter and update your Advisory Settings at any time, so if your company has expanded or diversified in some way; it follows that your Advisory Settings need to be updated to meet the new changes. The Advisory is sent out each day. This is extremely important because time is money. The earlier you are aware of a potential tender notice or new project; the more time you have to prepare for it.

 

The Leads 2 Business website is where you work through the information you’ve received. The most important aspect would be the ability to Search. The Search is now a global search, meaning one search field searches through our entire database (Private Projects, Daily Tenders, Directory and News). From this you can filter down further and get more specific. Why search when you receive the Advisory email? It’s a good safety net. It allows for the Advisory email to be super specific (so you aren’t scrolling for days), and the searches to be very general. Reaching that happy medium spoken of above. You even have the ability to “Dismiss” a tender from your search result should it not be what you are looking for, and never have to see it again. My advice when searching? Always ensure you’ve got “Newest” selected. L2B has been around for awhile, and information is our business, and we have a lot of it. “Newest” ensure the most recent results appear first.

 

Once you’ve found a tender you are interested in, whether tendering directly or subcontracting, you have the ability to Monitor the tender notice. Once you’ve Monitored a tender notice, you will receive updates on that particular tender notice, should there be any. Examples of these updates are addendums: changes to site inspections and closing dates. When documents are attached (for example: Site Inspection and Bidders Lists), you will be notified. These are helpful for pricing and subbies. Then you’ll be notified in the change of Status of the tender notice. Has it been cancelled or has it been retendered prompting you to go to the new tender notice. Has it been awarded, and you now have the awarded companies details. You can Monitor a tender yourself, or assign one of your Monitors (a colleague perhaps) to monitor a tender. The Monitors you add to your Profile will have access to those tender notices you assign to them. This allows you to assign potential opportunities to your colleagues and reps, and they will have all the necessary information at their disposal.

 

The various features available on the individual tender notices, are as follows:

Email the Researcher that created the tender notice for assistance.

Set reminders on Site Inspection dates and Closing Date

Request Site Attendance Registers & Bidders Lists – If there are Documents already attached, they are available to the right of the tender notice.

Request BoQ (Bill of Quantity) – If there is a BoQ already attached, it is available to the right of the tender notice.

Make your Own Notes

Download the Tender Notice

What’s the point of all of these features? To work the information. There are a variety of companies out there can benefit at a variety of stages in the procurement process. Consultants are required very early on, and sometimes through out the process. Contractors are interested in the tender stage and subcontractors and vendors can benefit from putting forward their company details even after completion.

 

What you put in, is what you get out. To be competitive is to be in the know. That involves being pro-active in all things. Leads 2 Business is a tool that can be hugely beneficial when used correctly. Talk to us. Training is free and there are various avenues to contact us. Email directly off of the tender notices and projects; LiveHelp allows you to chat to a L2B researcher directly; call us or submit Feedback. Suggestions are always welcome. The more we learn about the companies that subscribe to us, the more we understand how the information we provide is used. We work and learn together to keep on the right track.

About Claire Donaldson

I started working at Leads 2 Business in February 2005, and have served as Head of Department of Daily Tenders from 2007 until the present. I oversee both the Daily Tenders South Africa and Africa Departments.

3 Aug 2016

Which Municipalities produce the top Tenders in Gauteng?

by | posted in: Construction Chat, Uncategorized | 0

86-Blog-Which-Municipalities-produce-the-top-Tenders-in-Gauteng

Gauteng which means “place of gold”, is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa’s first democratic elections on 27 April 1994. It was initially named Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging (PWV) and was renamed “Gauteng” in December 1994.

Situated in the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province in South Africa, accounting for only 1.5% of the land area. Nevertheless, it is highly urbanised, containing the country’s largest city, Johannesburg, its administrative capital, Pretoria, and other large industrial areas such as Midrand and Vanderbijlpark. As of 2015, it has a population of nearly 13.2 million, making it the most populous province in South Africa.

As of May 2011 Gauteng is divided into three metropolitan municipalities, and two district municipalities which are further divided into seven local municipalities.

Metropolitan municipalities:

  1. City of Tshwane (http://www.tshwane.gov.za)

  2. City of Johannesburg (http://www.joburg.org.za)

  3. City of Ekurhuleni (http://www.ekurhuleni.gov.za)

District municipalities:

  1. West Rand (http://www.wrdm.gov.za) containing Randfontein (http://www.randfontein.gov.za), Westonaria (http://www.westonaria.gov.za), Mogale City (http://www.mogalecity.gov.za) and Merafong (http://www.merafong.gov.za)

  2. Sedibeng containing Emfuleni, Lesedi and Midvaal

Westonaria Local Municipality is set to amalgamate with Randfontein Local Municipality after the 2016 Local Elections, set to become the new Rand West Local Municipality.

Below are some Tenders and Projects of interest involving the Municipalities of Gauteng:

City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality:

DTA 589550 – Construction of Phomolong Multi-Purpose community centre.

PPA 12354 – Tshwane Hammanskraal BPO Park – Phase 1 to 3

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality:

PPA 16853 – Construction of roads and a stormwater management system for Vlakfontein Extension 2 in Gauteng.

PPA 16068 – Upgrading of road Intersections in Matholesville extension 1 and 2 in Gauteng.

City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality:

DTA 588075 – Technical Resource Teams (TRT) consisting of a multi-disciplinary professional team to render full built environment related consulting services

PPA 15240 – Ekurhuleni IRPTN / BRT – Infrastructure (Phase 1)

PPA 17402 – Etwatwa Sewer Pipes

Randfontein Local Municipality:

DTA 585051 – Rehabilitation of Roads in Mohlakeng and Toekomsrus Phase 4

Westonaria Local Municipality:

DTA 591181 – Simunye: Construction of Internal Streets with associated Stormwater for Westonaria Local Municipalty – Phase 7

DTA 591176 – Roads in Zuurbekom (Phase 2)

DTA 591187 – Construction of Westonaria Borwa Switch Station (Phase 4)

Mogale City Local Municipality:

PPA 15434 – Magaliesburg WWCW

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauteng

http://localgovernment.co.za

About Claire Donaldson

I started working at Leads 2 Business in February 2005, and have served as Head of Department of Daily Tenders from 2007 until the present. I oversee both the Daily Tenders South Africa and Africa Departments.

27 Jul 2016

At which point in the Project Life Cycle can your business find Value?

by | posted in: Construction Chat, Frequently Asked Questions, General, Uncategorized | 6

At which point in the Project Life Cycle can your business find Value?

84-Blog-Project-Lifecycle-Business-Value

 

At which point in the Project Life Cycle can your business find Value?

 

To answer the above lets break it down.

 

  1. What is the Project Life Cycle?

One of the services we offer at Leads 2 Business is Projects and the various phases within these Projects are known as the Project Life Cycle. The Stages in a Project Life Cycle are Conceptual, Procedural, Design, Tender, Awarded & Underway, Complete and Postponed.

To learn more about each Life Cycle you can check out How Projects Work

 

  1. What is Value?

According to the Business Dictionary value is described as, “The extent to which a good or service is perceived by its customer to meet his or her needs or wants, measured by customer’s willingness to pay for it. It commonly depends more on the customer’s perception of the worth of the product than on its intrinsic value.”

 

In short the answer to the question, “At which point in the Project life cycle can your business find value?” is simple: you can find value in every point in the Project Life, depending on what your business does.

 

You may be asking, “How?”

 

Here are a few examples:

Professionals like Architects, Engineers and Quantity Surveyors can contact the Client/Developer directly at the Conceptual/Procedural stage to be appointed as part of the Professional team.

Project Managers can contact the Client/Developer directly at Conceptual/Procedural/Design Stage to get involved. They can also contact other Professionals appointed on a Project to market and build relationships.

Subcontractors like plumbers, electricians and painters can contact Companies at Tender/Awarded Stage to provide quotes.

Vendors, Suppliers, Manufacturers and Fabricators can contact the Architect/QS during Design Stage if they have a product that can be specified on the BoQ and supplied later.

Property Managers can contact the Client at Conceptual Stage and start building a relationship while the project is still being developed in order to be appointed once Complete. They can also contact the anchor tenant at Completed Stage to get involved.

IT, Security and Cleaning Services can get involved at Tender/Awarded Stage to provide quotes and offer subcontracting services to Contractors that may be awarded the Project.

Landscapers can contact the Landscape Architect or Architect during Design Stage or contact the Client directly at Underway Stage to offer their services. They can also look at completed projects and offer services in the future as a marketing tool.

All of the above can benefit from the Postponed Stage so they are aware when the Project is going ahead in order to manage their work flow efficiently.

Finding Value in the Project Life Cycle couldn’t be easier with Leads 2 Business.

Want to know more about Projects or any of the other Services we offer? Contact me on SashaA@L2B.co.za

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.
To view more articles, please visit our blog.

About Sasha Anderson

Millennial Mom + wife living the hash-tag life. Remember: If You Fail - Fail Forward

20 Jul 2016

Do Private Tenders exist….

by | posted in: Construction Chat, Construction Events, General, Uncategorized | 0

blog

Pfft….everything exists…you just need to know where to look!

There is going to be a 30 000m² mall situated on the N3 / London road interchange within Alexandra township, Gauteng. The mall includes 5 entrances, extensive taxi rank facilities, ample parking, two flood-lit mini soccer courts surrounding a 250 seater feature restaurant plus a children’s play area within the food court. And contractors are sitting around scratching their heads wondering “how did I miss this tender”??

Quite simple really. Firstly you have to be invited to tender for it. It is not a Government funded project. It is being done by a Private Developer who already has contractors in mind that will be invited to submit prices. So, yes, Private Tenders do exist. They are just known in construction circles as “Invited Tenders”.

So…. how can you get invited to tender on this mall? You would have to approach the developer or the professional team involved and sell your company to them. But firstly you have to find out who is developing the mall? Who is the architect? Who is the consultant and quantity surveyor…not to mention you have to find the contact details for them too…phew…that is quite a lot of work just to be invited to tender.

At Leads 2 Business we make this easier for the contractor. We source all this information for them. We source these private leads from conceptual stage to procedural stage, where the feasibility and EIA consultant are appointed to ascertain whether the project would be feasible and to ensure environmental authorisation is applied for and received. Yes, yes, we source this information too. Then, once all this is approved the architects are appointed to design the mall. They and the developer put their heads together to see which construction companies they should send the invited tender to. Here you put your foot in the door, a spanner in the works and say hey…what about me…this goes for the vendors too. You can say to the architects and quantity surveyors, well we have this amazing roofing, flooring, walling, windows etc and get your products listed on that BoQ.

It all boils down to … Sell your business. We can only provide the Leads but it is up to you to be “Invited to Tender”.

So to recap…do Private Tenders exist? Yes they do, but do not expect them to come knocking on your door. Go out and find them.

About Melanie Miles

One girl who would rather wear boots than high heels...

6 Jul 2016

Developments coming soon in Africa

by | posted in: Construction Chat, Construction Events, General, Uncategorized | 0

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Due to severe lack of adequate housing for the burgeoning populations in the various countries in Africa, more and more private developers are looking at building, not just housing estates, but whole new cities with the “Live, Work, Play” concept. Some of these new cities or mixed-use developments are still in the planning stages, but some are already underway :

Some of these developments are :

Pearl Marina – Uganda – is a development located on a 300 acre prime property located on the Garuga Peninsula in Uganda. The property is to be developed as a premium integrated water front destination, resort town and a premier Uganda tourism asset. The development will provide premium tourism and residential facilities, including hotels, conference facilities, luxury apartments, villas, a golf course, marinas, hospital, international school, modern office park and a retail centre. This is already under construction.

Tatu City – Kenya – is the development of a new, world class mixed use and mixed income city centre for Nairobi, approximately 15km north of the current Nairobi City Centre in Kenya, East Africa. It covers an area of approximately 1 000 hectares and when developed, it will provide a comprehensive mix of land uses, including residential, retail, commercial, tourism, social facilities and recreation and will be privately managed. The developer, Tatu City Ltd, will undertake the servicing of the land parcels for onward sale to developers. The infrastructure includes roads, electricity, water, waste water and solid waste infrastructure as well as public landscaping and (possibly) some simple municipal building. Construction on the residential component is underway.

Vision City – Rwanda – The proposed development is set on a prime 158 hectare tract of land in Gaculiro, Kinyinya Sector of Gasabo district, this high end estate is adjacent to RSSB constructed Vision 2020 Estate and approximately 3 km from the proposed Central Business District (CBD) at Muhima and 6 km from Kigali International Airport. It will consist of over 4 500 units in different configurations ranging from luxury villas to apartments to be built in 4 phases over 8 years. Phase 1 is already underway.

Eco Medical Village – Ghana – This is a proposed medical village project development which is located in Accra, on a 30 acre site acquired adjacent to Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration in Ghana. The construction of a medical village in Ghana that will consist of: a 380 ward hospital, 120 ward women and children hospital, underground parking space for 1 000 vehicles, 120 ward housing for the elderly, 17 storey doctors’ offices, a medical shopping mall; all things health; 40 x unit studio apartments for medical trainees; a medical research center in collaboration with world renowned hospitals; a 4 star medical hotel, a 2 star medical hotel, air ambulance and paramedic services and a housing facility for medical staff. The sod-turning ceremony is scheduled for October this year.

Sharm El Sheikh – Egypt – The development is to consist of villas, townhouses, apartments, offices, hotels and shopping malls. The property is located on the edge of the Red Sea, the development spans a massive 437 000m² and features residential components including villas, townhouses and apartments with all properties created to maximise sea view. A seaside, 5-star hotel with 118 executive rooms, 30 suites, 10 Spa Suites, a Presidential Suite Villa and a Royal Suite Villa further complements a thriving community. The entire development is surrounded by a lushly landscaped, one-of-a-kind greenbelt orienting the hotel and the residential properties. Construction has commenced on the hotel.

Even in North Africa, there are new cities being considered :

Tunisia Economic City – Tunisia – This new city is located in Enfidha District in Tunisia (North Africa) in close proximity to the Enfidha Al-hammamat International airport which can help initially to speed up the building of the city. The 90 square kilometer project with an 18 kilometer beach front modern sustainable and Eco-friendly metropolis will be the home of 500 000 inhabitants and will provide 250 000 jobs once completed within 15 years from now. Construction has not yet commenced on this.

There is also a whole new capital city planned in Egypt, just outside Cairo :

New City – Egypt – is the construction of a whole new city, outside Cairo. This new city will become the country’s new capital. The new city is meant for the low and middle income earners and will include an airport, shopping mall, hotels and amenities such as schools and hospitals as well as providing homes to low and middle-income buyers. The new city is still to be named and will be built near the Suez Canal. A Chinese construction company have been awarded the contract to build the city and the infrastructure & civil works have started.

There is a very exciting project currently underway in Nigeria :

Eko Atlantic Development – Nigeria – This development is to be built on about nine million square metres of reclaimed land, 2.4 kilometres south of Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos in Nigeria. Once completed it will be one and a half times the size of the current Victoria Island. It is estimated that it will accommodate 250 000 residents and 150 000 commuters. The city will cover seven districts : Ocean Front, Harbour Lights, Business District, Eko Drive, Marina, Avenues and Downtown. The Business District will also house a convention centre, auditorium and hotels. Construction is well underway.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of new mixed-use developments up and coming in Africa.

If your company is looking for Leads on Construction Projects in Africa, you would need to subscribe to Private Projects to get information on these and many more up-and-coming projects in Africa. Please email me on MarlaineA@L2B.co.za so that I can assist you further.

About Marlaine Andersen

Leads 2 Business Advertising Co-ordinator and Digital Designer

29 Jun 2016

Our Online history…. and so much more #whatacompany

by | posted in: Life Lessons, Uncategorized | 0

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This blog has got me so nervous and excited all at once, which in my experience is usually the start to something magical…. so lets see if I can pull this off!

 

To be perfectly honest, there is no way I can truly bring to life exactly how Leads 2 Business came about, but I will tell you this, this story has the makings of a great movie!  A little bit of rags 2 riches, some deviant play, hard work and reward and even a little romance in the form of a persistent wife who was adamant to buy her dream house, which in turn, turned out to be the step that took a “two man band” company to a company with over 80 happy employees:) …… woman really do always know best, you see:)

So what started as a dream back in 1998/1999 for two friends wanting to give “online” access to a Directory (“Find a Business” astutely named) for all and for free, relying only on advertising in a time when the INTERNET was still something most people had only heard about, soon turned in to a realisation that this was gonna take a lot of time and dime with very little reward…..

Now don’t get me wrong, this is NOT a story of failed attempts and umpteen restarts….on the contrary, this is a story of evolution!!!

Being previously in the Construction Industry, it wasn’t a far stretch for Mr Victor Terblanche – Founder & Chief Cook and Bottle Washer, and by that I’m referring to the fact that he was doing all his own programming, developing, sales and marketing at the time, well anyway, they decided to reach out to the construction industry – converting BoQ’s….. yes, that’s where it all really started –

1 2 3 Contracting, services including selling of Internet services and Fax Services lol!

“As long as you are solving a problem you will never go hungry“ And that’s what they did, they solved problems!

They went on to identify the need for easily accessible tender notices – and Daily Tenders was born, with Private Projects and Price Assist Life (PAL) which is now our L2Q service right behind!

 

But lets just picture this for a minute, you now have an “online” business you need to convince your clients to subscribe to, but first you need to convince them to get “The Internet” first.

At this stage most businesses didn’t even have an email address, meaning the only way to get brochures to anyone was to do it the old fashioned –

Lick-Stick-Snail-Mail-Way …… this is what I call pure determination right there!

 

The Companies First Ever Brochure.

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With some cunning maneuvers, crafty investigation, pure wit and I’m sure some brawn to endure the late nights and many trips to Johannesburg, Victor and his small team convinced the construction industry and some key players into believing in this site, some of whom are still subscribed to us today!

4 people strong at that time (if my scribbles from the “interview” I had with Victor serve me correctly)…. all working in a sloped floored garage, weathering the rain with towels and strategically high placed computer boxes and cables, the struggle was real!

And what most people don’t know, while this was all happening, someone else was discovering a dream….. Victor’s wife… she had a dream for a bigger better home!  and without going into all the details, let me just say that because of one woman’s persuasive ways, this little garage company was enabled the cash injection it needed to get to where it is today!…. Leads 2 Business incorporating,
Daily Tenders, Private Projects and a Pricing Platform like no other, L2Q!

 

So now that you have a little back ground let me show you just how this site and company has evolved visually and technically.

First to go was the 1 2 3 Constructing website.

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And so the evolution of Leads 2 Business started to take place!

 

This is one of the company’s very first Daily Advisories way back in 2003.

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This was the very first brochure slash application slash user manual and application forms from 2007

 

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2008 we saw a logo change:

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2009 was somewhat of a new look once again.

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And the 2009 brochure was our first offer to our clients: the ability to choose their own Daily Advisory filters.

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2010, this was a good year in particular for me, it was when I got to join this ever progressive Company:) Screen Shot 2016-06-21 at 9.05.24 AM

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It was only two short years later on 23 March 2012 to be exact…. when we ditched our comfortable “Yellow Site”  and were thrown head first, with very little warning, (some kicking and screaming I might add) but ultimately SAFELY into what is now the current site we have all come to know, and love…..

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But…. if I can give you any advice, never get too comfortable with Leads 2 Business, it is ever evolving & change is always inevitable, and this year is no exception as we stand on the brink of another HUGE & exciting upgrade to our website.

Now believe me, when I heard this, the mere thought sent cold shivers down my spine, made my blood run cold and ……..I even glimpsed at the door, purely out of fear of course ;)….. but then I remembered,

That without change, there is no growth…. and that’s what I am here for, and I’m sure you are here for that too, and when you stick with L2b you are guaranteed to be taken with on their revolutionary train of discovery in the Online industry!

Competitors have come and gone, brochures have changed as well as our site but one thing is certain, Victor Terblanche’s early vision to “solve your problem” has never changed and now runs through us all at Leads 2 Business 🙂

And so in closing I would like to express the privilege it is not only to work for this company, but to work for this man:)

Vic

Victor Terblanche – Chief Executive Officer

and Our Directors

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This Blog has really been a pleasure to write and I got to find out what I’m really a part of,  and I was right…. it is pretty magical:).

 

About Sherina Shawe

"You have to do everything you can, you have to work your hardest, and if you do, if you stay positive, you have a shot at a silver lining." from: Silver Linings Playbook.

22 Jun 2016

The On-Line Construction Directory

by | posted in: Construction Chat, Construction Events, Uncategorized | 4

79-Blog-header-Online-Construction-Directory-can-it-get-you-noticed-by-Industry-giants

 

Also known as the Leads 2 Business Platinum Directory Listing (PDL). This directory is a simple tool that has evolved into a remarkable business system which has many benefits for the vendor. As a vendor, registering on the Platinum Directory Listing, your company has the opportunity to generate new business leads with a well-defined market niche.

By registering your business on the Leads 2 Business directory :

  • Your company will gain exposure to the various Buyers from the various construction companies.
  • It stimulates on-line pricing awareness on prospective tenders.
  • There is an optional SMS notification facility, should a Request for Quotation (RfQ) be sent to you.
  • You can specify where your product/service is labour & materials or labour only. You can define your BBBEE status and indicate your CIDB grading; list all necessary company contact details and give a detailed description of your company’s products/services rendered.
  • You are improving your company’s exposure and position as you price.
  • You can broadcast items that you have priced to other buyers who may be looking for the same pricing information.
  • You can manage your listing to dictate which Requests for Quotes are appropriate to your particular trade profile.
  • You will receive award notifications on the contracts you have priced.

In addition, Leads 2 Business takes a proactive approach to support, if we receive notification of an email problem from your ISP, we will contact you to try and sort it out.

We also offer Online support via Livehelp which can be accessed anytime you may need assistance or have a query you need to raise, we are only a click or a call away.

So, now you are listed on the Leads 2 Business Platinum Directory and ready to acquire more business, more often. Here is how it works in order to expose your business to target industry listings and securing new contacts :

A Buyer/Contractor sends out Requests for Quotes (RfQs) to specific Vendors/Suppliers listed on our directory.

When a Vendor/Supplier receives the RfQ, they have the option to price it or to decline the request.

Vendors can respond to the RfQ via : Online pricing, email or fax (If the Buyer/Contractor has drawings associated with the Bill these will be available online and accessible with your Vendor/Supplier username and password).

Vendors/Suppliers who haven’t responded are contacted by the Leads 2 Business Control List Team for follow up.

Prices submitted by Vendors/Suppliers are used by the Buyer/Contractor to formulate their tender pricing.

And Platinum Directory Listed Vendors/Suppliers will receive Award notifications on RfQs received as long as they have acknowledged the RfQ.

So, can being listed on the Platinum Directory get you noticed by the Industry Giants???
Having read the above, what do you think?……

About Marlaine Andersen

Leads 2 Business Advertising Co-ordinator and Digital Designer

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