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Case Study - Africa
South Africa - Lonehill
T
he opportunity lay in the location of the land – near
Lonehill, north of Johannesburg. Because of the premium
attached to land in the affluent northern suburbs, there
is currently a shortage of storage facilities in the area.
However, there was a massive challenge too – cost.
To build the number and size of storage units Stanton
envisaged was going to break the bank. “The cost of
transporting the raw materials or even bulk purchases
always killed the project,” he explains.
But then, after much frustration and disappointment,
Stanton came across the perfect solution: the Hydraform
Building System. By purchasing a single Hydraform
blockmakingmachine, along with a few bags of cement
to help with binding, he could use the soil at his building
site and a little water to create his own dry-stacking,
interlocking building blocks.
All he’d have to ship in to complete the job was the
doors and windows, plus roofing material. And even
that could be mitigated because Hydraform also has a
machine for making roof tiles. Suddenly the project was
up and running with some real impetus.
In Stanton’s own words: “We looked at several options
for sourcing material and equipment to reduce costs.
The Hydraform system, however, made total sense: it
gives economy of scale by using the soil on my property,
offers full control of the quality of the bricks, avoids
excessive transport costs, uses unskilled labour, and the
speed of construction using dry-stacking blocks is truly
impressive.”
He is also favourably impressed with the speed and
low cost of construction. The first unit was completed
after only 18 months – including training his unskilled
labour in optimal use of the equipment and establishing
a “brickyard” for curing blocks and having the blocks
close to the construction site.
When completed, the complex will comprise four
double-storey buildings, each 16m by 36m and
containing 57 individual storage units. For additional
security the roof is a concrete waterproofed slab, and
solar panels have been installed to provide up to 17.5
kW hours of electricity for the site.
Also in the plan is a boundary wall around the property
and a guardhouse, which are virtually completed.
Interestingly, the site also incorporates a cellphone base
station tower, the control room of which is also built using
the Hydraform Building System to ensure a consistent
aesthetic in the complex.
At the current speed of construction, Stanton expects
the three remaining units to be finished in about two
years. Thereafter, he says the Hydraform equipment will
be put to work on other projects he has in mind.
South African businessman Gavin Stanton had a prime piece of land and a dream: he
wanted to start a storage business.
When the
just make sense
Economics