Regus, the global specialist in serviced office space, are expanding their flexible offering to three more South African cities in December 2017, growing to 3000 plus locations worldwide with over 55 centres in South Africa. The opening of the new centres in Bloemfontein, Paarl and Pietermaritzburg, are part of a strategic focus to provide world-class workspaces and infrastructure, that will accelerate growth in small businesses and corporates in oft-forgotten, but booming areas. 

Since its expansion into South Africa, Regus has provided over 55 locations with co-working and meeting spaces to accommodate the increasing demand for flexible, technologically advanced, professional work areas. The centres support corporates, start-ups, entrepreneurs, students, freelancers, business tourists and creatives with an all-inclusive package at an affordable rate.

The new centres will provide cutting-edge business solutions for cities with lucrative business interests and tourism, the size of which, place a strain on local infrastructure. The timing of the opening provides start-ups and businesses the opportunity to commence 2018 with a fully equipped, professional working environment.

Bloemfontein, Free State

Hailed as legislative capital of the country, three major national highways converge in Bloemfontein, with economic hub Gauteng being the closest destination for travel by car or plane. The city’s relaxed atmosphere, bustling economy, busy university culture and lack of major corporates, place a strain on the local infrastructure. The new centre provides meeting spaces, catering, fast internet, networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities of global standards. Served by two airports, this centre is also an ideal location for business travellers. 

Paarl, Western Cape

This culture-rich, picturesque area in the Winelands, through no inclement of its own, has been identified as an area requiring support as a result of the local and international business travel born from the wine export industry. The new Regus centre will provide local businesses and international travellers with state of the art, professional, co-working spaces and impressive offices for corporates wishing to relocate from the busy mid-city or those implementing a flexible work policy.

Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu Natal

The unsung capital of Kwazulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg is a hub to the aluminium, agricultural, manufacturing and tourism sectors. Its proximity to Durban, one of the busiest ports in Africa, results in promising local business growth while maintaining some of its sleepy charm. This made it an obvious choice for Regus, who identified the need for professional, world-class working spaces that will support business growth in the area. 

According to Joanne Bushell, Country Manager Regus South Africa, “The three new Regus locations were strategically chosen to support areas in our country integral to the agricultural, manufacturing and services growth, but which often don’t have commensurate support of much-needed technological infrastructure and services. We have seen our business centres boost economic growth in all the locations where we put down our footprint.

”With more centres set to open in South Africa in 2018, this footprint is steadily growing to include centres nationwide, after establishing their current business centres in the main economic hubs such as Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg.

For further information on Regus business centres, to find a global working environment near you:

CONTACT PERSON: Louise Rebstein
Regional Marketing Manager – REGUS
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
+2711 534 8697 / +27 766776397 

FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Gidgette Osborne
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
082 574 2308

Water leakage and non-revenue water have become two of the biggest problems facing municipalities around South Africa in recent years. Under the leadership of André Kowalewski, Senior Engineer: Water Services, and in line with their vision of being a “City of Excellence” the Drakenstein Local Municipality in Paarl, Western Cape, began a 20-year master plan to replace old or aging asbestos pipes with HDPE pipes, thereby allowing them to achieve significant successes in reducing water loss throughout the municipal area. 

Background to the problem

Ever-increasing water losses in the Drakenstein Municipality were surpassing demand growth. By 1999, the water losses stood at 34% and were increasing, thereby forcing them to investigate the reasons for the high water losses and find ways to mitigate these on a broader front. 

The municipality began prioritising projects that included pipe replacements, the replacement of bulk and domestic water meters, pressure management, leak detection and repair, public awareness and upgrading information and management tools. Reaction time to attend to burst pipes was also reduced to less than one hour.  These initiatives have brought water losses down to an average of 16% – and 11% at its lowest. 

The lower losses enabled the municipality to delay the construction of reservoirs and large pipelines for several years. There was also a decrease in the occurrence of burst pipes. However, the reduction in residual pressures in various pressure zones had the biggest water saving effect. 

Replacing aging pipes with HDPE Pipes 

The municipality has placed significant emphasis on replacing 14.2 km of old asbestos pipes with new HDPE pipes, at a value of R120 million. 

“Prior to embarking on the project, we carefully compared steel pipes with HDPE pipes. We were fully convinced that the latter offered us significant more advantages and impressive cost saving benefits. Taking the life cycle of the HDPE pipe as a material into account, it surpasses most other pipe materials. The pipes can also handle the fluctuation in water pressure and flow characteristics within the pipe design limits better than any other flexible pipe systems. If correctly designed, and with proper installation, an HDPE system – together with the fittings – will provide the lowest maintenance compared to any other pipe material system,” Kowalewski explains.He adds that the most attractive advantage of HDPE is a pipe system without pipe joints. “We no longer have the issue of corrosion, failing joints or costly maintenance issues due to downtime, as most of the fittings used in HDPE systems are moulded out of polyethylene material. 

Other fittings used by the municipality include flanges and tee-pieces predominately manufactured using grade 316 stainless steel. 

“The philosophy behind the use of a high-grade material is to have a total system where the pipe material and fittings, when used together, will guarantee a useful operating life that surpasses 50 years. It means that the chemical resistance and durability of the fittings must be the same as those of the pipes,” states Kowalewski. 

Tests and calculations done on HDPE have shown that the pipe material’s useful lifespan runs up to 100 years. In addition to this, HDPE is the most popular pipe material to use when replacing pipes using trenchless construction methods, and downtime due to repairs on pipes is no longer an issue. 

Insisting on SAPPMA and IFPA certification 

“Workmanship is very important when it comes to the manufacturing of HDPE pipes,” Kowalewski says. He explains that they’ve had incidents in the past where pipes not bearing a mark of quality fails soon after installation.  

“It is almost impossible to identify whether or not a pipe is of inferior quality prior to installation and purely based on appearances. However, we have learned through trial and error and the school of hard knocks that unless a pipe bears a SAPPMA mark, it will not meet the quality standards of certification bodies such as the SABS or SATAS.” 

“For this reason, we have changed our tender specifications by insisting that all suppliers of HDPE pipes are members of SAPPMA, and that all welders and installers of the pipelines are IFPA certified.  When we see the SAPPMA mark on the pipes of the IFPA stamp on the welds, we know that the pipeline will stand the test of time and that we have recourse if it fails to deliver,” he concludes. 

For more information, visit www.sappma.co.za 

Sources
André Kowalewski
Senior Engineer:
Water Services, the Drakenstein Local Municipality,
Paarl Western Cape (www.drakenstsein.gov.za)

Danielle Petterson, 3S Media (www.3smedia.co.za)