NPC & Huaxin officially break ground on the Simuma Expansion Project

In line with the recent acquisition of NPC by international building materials giant, Huaxin Group, and its growth strategy for NPC, we officially broke ground on the Simuma Expansion Project on Tuesday, 2 April 2024. These upgrades will transform our Simuma Plant into NPC’s biggest facility in South Africa, with an increased production capacity and enhanced employment and upskilling opportunities for the surrounding community.  

Founded almost 120 years ago, Huaxin is one of the top 10 cement companies worldwide, and we are proud to have them as NPC’s new 100% shareholder. The company produces a range of building materials, with a production capacity of 123 million tons of cement per year, and provides equipment manufacturing, engineering, procurement and construction services for cement projects. 

As part of the Huaxin family, NPC has been empowered to strengthen its operations with a substantial investment from Huaxin to improve operational capacity and drive expansion. The Simuma Expansion Project is the first step in this drive to improve our offering for all our customers and stakeholders.  

With the name of our project, SEP, inspired by September – a season of spring in South Africa and harvest in China – the Simuma Expansion Project aims to inspire hope. This project acts as the foundation in NPC and Huaxin’s strategic goals that will empower us to deliver even more value to our customers and stakeholders. Through the planting of hope with this expansion project, we look forward to reaping an impressive harvest with the plant’s upgraded operations. 

The launch of this project marks the official beginning of the implementation of Huaxin’s strategy for NPC. As such, this ceremony was a momentous occasion, attended by notable leaders from NPC, Huaxin, the Chinese Embassy and local government.  

Directed by NPC’s Transformation Manager, Smangele Tshabalala, the ceremony took place at our Simuma Plant in Port Shepstone, starting with the introduction of our guests and an opening, welcome and safety briefing from Plant Manager Mr Hannes Smith.  

Next, the new NPC CEO from Huaxin, Mr Wang Xuanqian, gave attendees some background into the project and his vision for NPC going forward. Mr Xu Gang, the Huaxin representative, followed Mr Wang, providing even more insight into Huaxin’s strategic plans for NPC.  

Following these speeches, we were honoured to hear from various members of both local and Chinese government: Minister-Counsellor of the Embassy of China, Ms Liu Yu; Mayor of Ugu District Municipality, His Worship, Councillor IS Mqadi; Mayor of RNM, Her Excellency, Councillor Z Mzindle; and the Honourable Premier, Ms Nomusa Dube-Ncube. Our Legal Director, Mr Christopher David, gave a vote of thanks to the Honourable Premier. 

After our notable guests had shared their thoughts, it was time to officially break ground, marking the beginning of an exciting project as well as the launch of Huaxin’s strategic goals for NPC. The ceremony closed with a vote of thanks from our Commercial, Mining and A&C Director, Ravi Ramsaroop, followed by light refreshments for all attendees.  

We would like to thank our honoured guests for joining us on this significant occasion, and we are excited to have officially taken this remarkable step on NPC’s journey towards a brighter future for all our staff, customers, shareholders and South Africa as a whole.