Inyatsi Construction
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For the past 27 years, Inyatsi Construction has been operating as a premiere construction company in Swaziland. The company started out on doing parking lots and driveways, and as their reputation grew alongside their construction work, Inyatsi became Swaziland’s largest road construction company acquiring the expertise and capability of undertaking major contracts anywhere in the continent.
Over the past two decades, Inyatsi has incrementally grown and expanded, most recently acquiring the backing of Litfole Lenyatsi, another Swazi company, and is itself proudly 100 per cent Swazi-owned. Despite the steady and constant rise of the company, the past few years have seen astronomical growth for Inyatsi which has gone to a new level in terms of complexity and size of projects.
Dave Roberts, Managing Director of Inyatsi, credits much of this acceleration to the company’s decision to re-strategize and diversify four years ago. “We concentrated mainly on roads and earth works, but after diversifying over the past three years, that focus has grown to include civil work, bridge construction, buildings, township infrastructure and houses, specifically high quality, fast-track houses to accommodate the establishment of new mines, for example. To get into this new sector, Inyatsi bought a Swazi-based construction services group, Construction Associate—a building company with a reputation for delivering quality buildings.
Expanding beyond Swaziland
The impetus for the diversification came after the results from a risk analysis. Upon taking a wider view of the Swazi construction industry, it was apparent that, ultimately, the Swaziland Government was the sole client. Be it in different sectors, or different departments, there was only a single client, which the Inyatsi team realised was not a business model without enormous risk.
“To carry on in a market like that was too great a risk,” says Roberts. “We made the decision to operate in at least four different countries with at least two clients per country four years ago—the strategy which has taken us to where we are today.”
Inyatsi today carries out projects in Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Botswana, South Africa and, of course, Swaziland. With the headquarters in Swaziland, the company’s ready access to local resources and manpower present an advantage to its clients that international competitors, less established in the communities and less familiar with the environments, cannot offer.
Bridge work, storm water drainage, water reticulation, water treatment plants, sewer work, dams and reservoirs are all taken care of by Inyatsi, in addition to plant management, for its international clients.
Inyatsi has been on one such mining project for Lumwana Mining Town, Zambia. “We did the roads and services, sewage, water, electricity, telephone lines and constructed many houses of the township where the miners will eventually stay,” says Roberts. As has been the way for over 25 years in the business, good work begets more contracts. “We have had a good relationship with the mine and it has been a pleasure working with them in Zambia. And from there we have grown into Zambia and have other projects in that country,” says Roberts. Inyatsi is also currently working on the Sikhuphe International Airport which will be operational in 2010. This is an ambitious project that will have very positive spinoff for the Swaziland nation.
The Inyatsi vision is to continue to be “a successful company by delivering a world class ‘product’,” says Roberts, “and deliver it on time and on budget and really service our client.” Inyatsi has found if you do these things, the client will come back to you to ask for more work. “We focus on that,” he says.
The company is named after the Swazi word meaning buffalo. It captures the indigenous and hard working heart of the company. When asked how Roberts fells about the work at Inyatsi, he replies, “It’s absolutely stimulating.” The company is going to continue to grow and keep that balance of being big enough that the scale of economics is in their favour, yet intimate enough to be experts in their field and communities. TAB
www.inyatsi.co.sz
Over the past two decades, Inyatsi has incrementally grown and expanded, most recently acquiring the backing of Litfole Lenyatsi, another Swazi company, and is itself proudly 100 per cent Swazi-owned. Despite the steady and constant rise of the company, the past few years have seen astronomical growth for Inyatsi which has gone to a new level in terms of complexity and size of projects.
Dave Roberts, Managing Director of Inyatsi, credits much of this acceleration to the company’s decision to re-strategize and diversify four years ago. “We concentrated mainly on roads and earth works, but after diversifying over the past three years, that focus has grown to include civil work, bridge construction, buildings, township infrastructure and houses, specifically high quality, fast-track houses to accommodate the establishment of new mines, for example. To get into this new sector, Inyatsi bought a Swazi-based construction services group, Construction Associate—a building company with a reputation for delivering quality buildings.
Expanding beyond Swaziland
The impetus for the diversification came after the results from a risk analysis. Upon taking a wider view of the Swazi construction industry, it was apparent that, ultimately, the Swaziland Government was the sole client. Be it in different sectors, or different departments, there was only a single client, which the Inyatsi team realised was not a business model without enormous risk.
“To carry on in a market like that was too great a risk,” says Roberts. “We made the decision to operate in at least four different countries with at least two clients per country four years ago—the strategy which has taken us to where we are today.”
Inyatsi today carries out projects in Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Botswana, South Africa and, of course, Swaziland. With the headquarters in Swaziland, the company’s ready access to local resources and manpower present an advantage to its clients that international competitors, less established in the communities and less familiar with the environments, cannot offer.
Bridge work, storm water drainage, water reticulation, water treatment plants, sewer work, dams and reservoirs are all taken care of by Inyatsi, in addition to plant management, for its international clients.
Inyatsi has been on one such mining project for Lumwana Mining Town, Zambia. “We did the roads and services, sewage, water, electricity, telephone lines and constructed many houses of the township where the miners will eventually stay,” says Roberts. As has been the way for over 25 years in the business, good work begets more contracts. “We have had a good relationship with the mine and it has been a pleasure working with them in Zambia. And from there we have grown into Zambia and have other projects in that country,” says Roberts. Inyatsi is also currently working on the Sikhuphe International Airport which will be operational in 2010. This is an ambitious project that will have very positive spinoff for the Swaziland nation.
The Inyatsi vision is to continue to be “a successful company by delivering a world class ‘product’,” says Roberts, “and deliver it on time and on budget and really service our client.” Inyatsi has found if you do these things, the client will come back to you to ask for more work. “We focus on that,” he says.
The company is named after the Swazi word meaning buffalo. It captures the indigenous and hard working heart of the company. When asked how Roberts fells about the work at Inyatsi, he replies, “It’s absolutely stimulating.” The company is going to continue to grow and keep that balance of being big enough that the scale of economics is in their favour, yet intimate enough to be experts in their field and communities. TAB
www.inyatsi.co.sz
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