NAMIBIA CONSTRUCTION GROUP: Cornerstone of Namibian Construction
For the past 75 years, Namibia Construction Group has been realising its vision to uplift the country one world-class project at a time, employing and developing the skills of thousands of Namibians along the way. Four highly specialised divisions boast national footprints and industry-leading expertise, relays MD Hans-Peter Schulz, as projects of scale and significance continue to abound in this milestone year for this truly Namibian, family-run business.
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“We have become a trusted leader in Namibia when it comes to any civil engineering and building project,” opens Hans-Peter Schulz, MD of 100% Namibian-owned Namibia Construction, based in the capital city of Windhoek, which has accrued generations of success in civil engineering and building projects across the whole territory.
“Namibia Construction’s rich history has been a journey of progress, transformation and change,” the company describes, founded in 1949 by Hans-Heinz Schulz and initially trading under the name HH Schulz. It earned its stripes in an initial project consisting of an outhouse toilet construction in Okahandja, and in 1977, some years before Namibia’s independence, became Namibia Construction.
“From these most humble of beginnings we have evolved and are now executing multi-million-dollar projects and contributing like no other to the nation’s infrastructure,” Schulz states of the hard-fought progress. “There are many roads, towns, shopping centres, mines and other noteworthy projects throughout Namibia that have been constructed by our company.”
PROUD PIONEERS
“We are proud to consider ourselves pioneers and key players in the construction and development of this wonderful land of the brave.” Namibia Construction has unquestionably succeeded to date in what it rightly terms its ‘quest’ – to continue to be the contractor of choice in an environment where it can uplift Namibians through a succession of world-class projects.
A harmonic quartet of divisions constitutes the full Namibia Construction orchestra, details Hans-Peter Schulz. “Our building division specialises in just about everything – the likes of hospitals and shopping centres, as well as multiple-storey, high-rise constructions – we take care of the full picture,” he begins, with this segment behind the construction of many architectural marvels through the years. It is a similar story on the roads and earthworks side, explains Schulz of its civil division.
“The company has developed strong leadership and highly skilled teams specialising in complex roads, structures and services. We can do anything from reticulation and infrastructure to bridges and wastewater treatment plants, and at the same time we undertake a lot of civil work in the mines.
“This division possesses significant plant and equipment to afford us the capability to successfully execute large and multifaceted civil engineering projects,” is Schulz’s assessment.
Namibia Construction’s City Concrete is one of the country’s largest ready-mix concrete suppliers. “With plants in Windhoek and Swakopmund,” Schulz informs, “City Concrete provides excellent service and quality for residential, commercial or other construction projects from an innovatory batch plant, equipped with Namibia’s first 42m pump, capable of delivering 90 cubes of ready-mix concrete an hour at optimal efficiency.
“City Concrete can deliver the required needs within time and expected quality and over recent years has delivered top quality concrete to several major projects.”
Namibia Construction also operates commercial crushers in Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, was well as contract crushing and screening for various road projects throughout the country.
Namibia Construction evinces remarkable longevity and staying power, and shows no signs of slowing in any dotage: construction of the all-new Bank Windhoek 15-storey head office is set to commence in the coming days, Schulz indicates, while the company has been kept busy finishing both a new retail outlet for CYMOT and a luxurious housing project for high-profile clients, worth between N$350-500 million. “We also have an infrastructure project here in Windhoek,” he further describes, “building a six km dual carriageway out of the township, and in Rosh Pinah we are completing an extension to the existing zinc mine.
“We are busy, too, on the Navachab Gold Mine, near Karibib, where we do extensive infrastructure work,” Schulz concludes of just a selection of Namibia Construction’s most notable current concerns, of which there appears to be no let-up in sight.
LASTING LEGACY
“We have an excellent relationship with our clients, most of whom are long-standing and with the majority of whom we have come along way together,” Schulz outlines this as a key differentiator for the company, also speaking at length and with real nuance of the ‘skills drainage’ which he sees as having descended on the country, particularly in the wake of the COVID pandemic, with the company anxious to overcome the risk thereof.
“Our main focus is our human capital, and this is a continuation of the exact same philosophy that my father held – that our biggest asset is our people, and we are only as good as they are,” he shares. “Competitive and attractive work packages is just one way in which we seek to avoid being affected by the vacuum that we have seen left by skilled people emigrating overseas in pursuit of work,” Schulz details
“Construction can be a hard sell in terms of its lure to young people starting out these days, as well,” he adds, “long hours, and working away from home, and we do everything in our power to keep it attractive and prosperous, with training, apprenticeships and bursaries. Most of our employees come from our own school; equally, through that we can embed our culture and our way of thinking right from the outset.
“Namibia Construction has developed a team-orientated, patterning approach in working with our clients which is filtered down and instilled in all our employees, which is fundamental in achieving our values of providing our clients with a professional and ambitious serviced approach. As a company, we remain committed to improving and growing talent in-house.”
Schulz himself is the perfect example of these values, joining his late father’s business alongside his brother immediately after having finished his education. Since 2016 he has taken the reigns, following a whole career preceding living out the philosophy instilled into the organisation by Karl-Heinz Schulz, leveraging himself more than 30 years of civil and construction management experience.
Building on the foundations of the company founder and his successors, Schulz has established a well-respected name by growing a team of construction experts who are committed to serving clients with integrity. Through the years Namibia Construction has availed its lofty position to inspire upliftment and growth, and has employed thousands of Namibians, developing their skills and ultimately affording greater prosperity.
“Namibia Construction has an unwavering commitment to excellence, our respect for heritage, our team of industry experts, our drive for success, our pursuit of quality, our spirit of innovation, our consistency, our integrity, and our professionalism defines us,” Schulz concludes. “These values have shaped our journey and brought us to where we are today. As we look to the future, we are committed to continuous improvement, striving to be better every day.”