INTERVIEW Newlyn is a
INTERVIEW Newlyn is a home-grown company that has invested and continues to invest in long term capital intensive transformational infrastructure in South Africa. We believe in the economic potential of the country and don’t have any investments outside South Africa. Our future is inextricably linked to and fully aligned with the success of SA Incorporated. We proactively Going contribute beyond to the success of our country by investing the for the long term, securing leading global supply chain technology, facilitating technology and skills transfer to South Africa, to raise the standards across the entire bulk materials logistics supply chain ecosystem. In so doing, we have demonstrated that we contribute to meaningful socio-economic development in all the regions in which Newlyn operates. conventional to achieve the exceptional CEO and founder Raj Balmakhun ESG and Supply explains Chain Optimisation how the Newlyn Group’s bespoke and innovative solutions are aligned • Near zero dust with emissionsthe growth and development of South Africa Contact us: 031 313 6500 Firdhose Coovadia firdhosec@newlyngroup.com Sagie Chetty sagiec@newlyngroup.com Newlyn CEO and founder, Raj Balmakhun https://newlyngroup.com • Rapid unloading of trains (6,500tph) • High speed shiploading of up to 10,000 tph • Vessel turnaround sub 20 hours • No product degradation • Catalyst for jobs and economic development • Common User Infrastructure: market access for emerging miners • Significant financial benefits to miners, Transnet and the fiscus smart spaces. transformational infrastructure What is the mission of Newlyn? We are proudly South African and Afri-optimists. While our country has many challenges and complexities, this spawns innovative solutions. The cost of logistics significantly impacts the competitiveness of an economy. Our mission is to make South African businesses more competitive by developing innovative logistics storage infrastructure focused on greater efficiencies anchored in sustainable design, construction and operations. We fully subscribe Back of to Port the spirit Manganese of Ubuntu, “I am because you are”. This guides our Terminal value system – Ngqura and we believe in making a difference socially as well as The economically. future of sustainable operationally efficient export logistics When was the company established? The Newlyn Group was established in 1996 to engage in opportunities for black participation within the Port Logistics sector, a sector which previously precluded people of colour. CONSTRUCTION & COMMISSIONING – 2 YEARS BIOGRAPHY Raj began his career practicing law, but he has always been an entrepreneur at heart. This led him to founding the Newlyn Group in 1996. Under his stewardship Newlyn has become a leading private developer of transformational logistics storage infrastructure and the group is synonymous with innovation, speed of execution and world-class quality. Raj is the visionary and dealmaker for the Group. He is a firm advocate of social entrepreneurship, which aims to uplift the communities within which Newlyn operates. To what do you ascribe the growth the company has enjoyed? Dogged perseverance, speed of decision making and implementation as well putting clients first. Whilst we have faced many challenges, including the formidable disadvantage of starting from a zero capital base, we remain committed to the logistics investment theme in and around ports and major trade corridors and focus on delivering a topquality logistics solution to our clients. How do you define “bespoke storage and logistical solutions”? One of my core principles is “you cannot do the conventional and expect the exceptional”. Our design approach addresses the logistical issues common to traditional warehousing including inter-modal optionality, truck reticulation and optimum stacking densities. These specifications differ from client to client depending on the type of product being handled in the facility, how product is received or special regulatory requirements. Examples are our sulphur storage facility in Richards Bay and the Ashgate Chemical Storage facility in Durban. How do you see your company’s mission as linked to the success of South Africa Inc? South Africa has a development problem. We desperately need SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2023 38
investment in infrastructure, but these are long gestation investments that will underpin a sustainable economy for decades to come. We believe we cannot leave it to government – we as business have to be part of the solution. Our projects speak to capacity building, technology and skills transfer, community engagement and upliftment, innovation and long-term investment. We are ready to collaborate with government, with communities and with our clients to deliver transformational infrastructure projects that address national objectives including the migration of cargo from road to rail, environmental sustainability, job creation and fixed capital investment. The work we do needs to be judged by its criticality to the economy – for example our PX development in Durban or the planned Coega back-of-port manganese development unlock value in the mining sector, a major contributor to the South African economy. What is Newlyn doing in terms of running sustainable operations? The Newlyn Group is committed to “leaving the planet in better health than we found it”. We will deliver our projects in a sustainable manner, by systematically reducing our environmental impact and improving the quality of life for communities. Newlyn projects are designed to reduce water consumption and carbon footprint. We deploy translucent sheeting in warehouse design to maximise natural light, we use LED lighting in all new builds and we deploy sisalation to enhance cooling. Nowhere is our commitment to sustainability more evident than our joint development, with two global OEMs, of near-zero dust emission mineral storage and handling solutions for manganese and iron ore. The first such project is currently under development in the Coega Special Economic Zone. The global engineering firm undertaking the EPCM work on our behalf has hailed the solution as a global game changer in sustainable, operationally-efficient bulk mineral storage. In addition, Newlyn has invested in its own internationally experienced energy team which has developed proprietary process technology Silo-based; manganese back-of-port facility planned for Port of Ngqura that results in a lower cost of electricity generation coupled with significantly lower CO2 and NOx emissions. Is Newlyn exploring power generation projects? We are leveraging our substantial rooftop space to generate solar power where we act as the promoter and developer. For example, our roof at the PX project in Durban is capable of generating 30MW of solar power, sufficient to meet our clients’ needs but also ensure the entire Durban port can been powered by green energy. In addition, we have an EIA-approved land parcel for a gas to power project which we intend to develop as part of a consortium led by a Tier 1 power block developer. What is the Boegoeibaai project? The proposed Boegoebaai Port with dedicated new rail connectivity to the mines of the Northern Cape is an exciting project which speaks to government’s objectives to migrate road to rail, optimise cargo distribution, reduce dependency on single ports and facilitate access to export markets for emerging miners. The development of this port is also key to unlocking South Africa’s immense green hydrogen potential and further paves the way for in-country mineral beneficiation. It will also result in great job creation and billions of dollars of fixed-capital investment. Newlyn has teamed up with an international consortium with global credentials in port and rail infrastructure development, to pre-qualify as a potential developer of the Boegoebaai Project. This collaboration is an example of another one of our core principles – harnessing the power of collective effort and collective intellect. ■ 39 SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2023
