AECI
Encyclopedia
AECI Limited is a South Africa
n chemicals group and is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange.
and the manufacturing arm of De Beers
Consolidated Diamond Mines of Kimberley
. The company's primary purpose was to provide blasting explosives and detonators to South African gold
and diamond
mines but AE&I was also the only South African producer of phosphatic
fertilizer
.
The AECI Group operates companies in the following market segments:
AECI's principal manufacturing sites are located in the following cities in South Africa:
AECI is a specialty product and services Group of companies which provides value-adding solutions to customers through science, technology and industry knowledge. The focus is on serving the mining and manufacturing sectors. As part of enhancing this strategic thrust, the Dulux decorative coatings business was disposed of in 2007 and the unprofitable segments of the SANS Fibres business were closed.
At the same time, the Group confirmed the investment of substantial sums in its future growth. Construction is in progress on five significant projects related mainly to the mining sector, with capital expenditure of about R1.1 billion in total over the next two years. Capital is also being invested to augment the Group’s ability to meet escalating demand in consumer-driven markets. This increase in demand is attributable, in large part, to the ongoing growth of South Africa’s Black middle class.
AECI’s core businesses serve both global and regional markets. They are characterised by application know-how and service delivery, operate in niche markets, and are supported by leading international technology alliances.
Both African Explosives and Chemical Services have expanded their presence throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, in mining solutions, the DetNet joint venture aims to be the international leader in the design, production and sale of specialised electronic detonators.
Both businesses continue to explore opportunities to take their proven products and service packages to niche markets in countries beyond their traditional areas of activity. In specialty chemicals, for example, a stable and proven presence has been established in Brazil and more acquisitions are being sought using the existing business as a platform for growth.
The Group is fortunate that, in addition to its core businesses, it has a most valuable land bank, the release of which it can control and influence. The realisation of land and the utilisation of built assets that have become surplus to AECI’s requirements are managed in the property portfolio, led by Heartland Properties. These activities are significant and offer prime land holdings near Johannesburg and Cape Town for commercial, residential and industrial development and leasing purposes. By the end of 2007, 14.5 square kilometres of the 37.7 square kilometres of excess land available had been sold.
At the end of 2007, AECI had a total employee complement of about 6 000, many of whom are engaged in the Group's extensive sales, technical service and distribution networks.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n chemicals group and is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange.
History
The company was registered as African Explosives and Chemical Industries (AE&CI) in 1924, with its headquarters in Johannesburg. It was formed as the result of a merger between the South African interests of Nobel Industries of the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the manufacturing arm of De Beers
De Beers
De Beers is a family of companies that dominate the diamond, diamond mining, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. De Beers is active in every category of industrial diamond mining: open-pit, underground, large-scale alluvial, coastal and deep sea...
Consolidated Diamond Mines of Kimberley
Kimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...
. The company's primary purpose was to provide blasting explosives and detonators to South African gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
mines but AE&I was also the only South African producer of phosphatic
Phosphate
A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...
fertilizer
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
.
The AECI Group operates companies in the following market segments:
- Mining solutions (explosives and initiating systems)
- Specialty fibres
- Specialty chemicals
- Real Estate
AECI's principal manufacturing sites are located in the following cities in South Africa:
- JohannesburgJohannesburgJohannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
(mining solutions and specialty chemicals) - SasolburgSasolburgSasolburg is a large industrial town in the far north of the Free State province of South Africa. Sasolburg is further sub-divided into three areas: Sasolburg proper, Vaalpark and Zamdela...
(specialty chemicals) - DurbanDurbanDurban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
(specialty chemicals).
AECI is a specialty product and services Group of companies which provides value-adding solutions to customers through science, technology and industry knowledge. The focus is on serving the mining and manufacturing sectors. As part of enhancing this strategic thrust, the Dulux decorative coatings business was disposed of in 2007 and the unprofitable segments of the SANS Fibres business were closed.
At the same time, the Group confirmed the investment of substantial sums in its future growth. Construction is in progress on five significant projects related mainly to the mining sector, with capital expenditure of about R1.1 billion in total over the next two years. Capital is also being invested to augment the Group’s ability to meet escalating demand in consumer-driven markets. This increase in demand is attributable, in large part, to the ongoing growth of South Africa’s Black middle class.
AECI’s core businesses serve both global and regional markets. They are characterised by application know-how and service delivery, operate in niche markets, and are supported by leading international technology alliances.
Both African Explosives and Chemical Services have expanded their presence throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, in mining solutions, the DetNet joint venture aims to be the international leader in the design, production and sale of specialised electronic detonators.
Both businesses continue to explore opportunities to take their proven products and service packages to niche markets in countries beyond their traditional areas of activity. In specialty chemicals, for example, a stable and proven presence has been established in Brazil and more acquisitions are being sought using the existing business as a platform for growth.
The Group is fortunate that, in addition to its core businesses, it has a most valuable land bank, the release of which it can control and influence. The realisation of land and the utilisation of built assets that have become surplus to AECI’s requirements are managed in the property portfolio, led by Heartland Properties. These activities are significant and offer prime land holdings near Johannesburg and Cape Town for commercial, residential and industrial development and leasing purposes. By the end of 2007, 14.5 square kilometres of the 37.7 square kilometres of excess land available had been sold.
At the end of 2007, AECI had a total employee complement of about 6 000, many of whom are engaged in the Group's extensive sales, technical service and distribution networks.
Company structure
The AECI group of companies consists of:- African Explosives LimitedAfrican ExplosivesAfrican Explosives is a company based in Johannesburg. The company's principal activity is the manufacture of explosives. It serves the mining and construction industries throughout Africa...
- Chemical Services Limited
- DetNet (Pty) Limited
- Heartland Properties (Pty) Limited
- SANS Fibres (Pty) Limited