Leon Wentzel once raised a lion on his business premises.
He still owns her but she was relocated to a private game reserve where she is now kept safe from poachers and "canned lion" hunters.
The above mentioned little snippet – by no means apocryphal – from Leon Wentzel's full and varied life illustrates a few things, as much about him as about CIVILCONSULT, the business he started in 1999 and still manages successfully.
First, expect the unusual. Second, expect things being seen through to the end... and beyond. Third, expect a "can do" attitude: things get done, and get done well. Fourth, and overarching all these aspects: expect care, intense and personal, for everything and everyone within his life and work spheres. The lion's share of care is directed outwards, to others. Business is business, as always, but here it is done with friendliness, personality, insight and flair.
This also extends to the relationships with CIVILCONSULT's 24 employees.
As one client remarked: nobody would ever want to leave this company! Trips with both educational and recreational value, subsidized visits to the theatre, participation in the annual Jacaranda relay race, successful touch rugby team, an employee gymnasium being developed on site and employee share holding incentives, it is little wonder that CIVILCONSULT employees live the ideals of "work hard, play hard".
In addition, this is reflected in CIVILCONSULT's firm commitment to the development of our country and the African continent. When Leon Wentzel talks about emigration, it is only to point out that it is no route for him to take. He and his colleagues are here for the long haul, developing a region that abounds in opportunity for growth and development.
The latter extends as much to executing large engineering projects as it does to facilitating low cost housing projects, thus serving the needs of the people of the region. This has been done so well by CIVILCONSULT, that the company is now regularly consulted by engineering, government and financial institutions for advice on projects and policies. This is the kind of positive feedback in which Leon Wentzel revels: it energizes him. All he needs more of, Leon Wentzel insists, are good engineering graduates and people skilled in such technical backgrounds.
Naturally, there are other challenges around: the country and the continent are changing swiftly, as are technologies, infrastructure, legal and social requirements, and environmental sensitivities. Within such a dynamic context, there are only a few answers that work well: adaptability, creativity and tenacity – all the while never letting go of that one fundamental trait that ensures success: quality of work. This has worked so well for CIVILCONSULT, Leon Wentzel indicates, that the company has never had to advertise or tender for work.
Clients are referred to CIVILCONSULT by word of mouth: there's no keeping the good guys down when their name is kept high by satisfied clients.
This is the kind of attitude and track record that hold much hope for a country and a region on a path of economic growth. Towards the end of the previous century, Asia had its economic tigers. Here, in the opening years of this millennium, we see the kind of signs that may yet see this economic region rise as the African economic lion.
Social Responsibility
Engineering is not only about providing new infrastructure, but also about improving and enhancing the quality and value of living.
Engineering is about living harmoniously: adapting the environment to benefit human needs, and doing so in such a way that humanity and the environment co-exist in a sustainable, beneficial way. Quite naturally, this broader context includes the historical and the social environments in which we live and work.
At CIVILCONSULT we strongly believe that a just existence should also be served in these respects.
That is why our Board of Directors, shareholders, contractors and clients reflect our social responsibility directly. We work towards the wellbeing of society as a whole. We care for people and the environment, serving progress in all these respects, and more.
Want to know more? Just ask us, and we’ll show you how!
Professional Activities & Services:
Our staff members are registered as individuals with various professional bodies:
- Engineering Council of SA (ECSA)
- The South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE)
- Water Institute of SA (WISA)
- Institute of Municipal Engineers of SA (IMESA)
- Association of Arbitrators (A ARB)
- Project Management Institute of SA (PMISA)
WATER:
- bulk water supply
- water reticulation and distribution networks
- water resource studies
- water demand management
SANITATION:
- outfall sewers
- pumping stations and rising mains
- sewer reticulation
ROADS AND STORM WATER DRAINAGE:
- rural and urban roads
- storm water reticulations
- storm water management plans
- flood lines
STRUCTURAL:
- reservoirs
- building structures
- attenuation dams
- reinforced concrete designs
- steel designs
PROJECT AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT:
- site supervision
- contract administration
TOWNSHIP ESTABLISHMENT & REZONING:
- services impact assessment reports
- services provision details reports
- storm water management reports
HOUSING
- low cost and affordable housing
- real estate development
- asset audits
MASTER PLANS
- water and sanitation planning
- network analysis
- mathematical and physical modelling and analysis
MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION ISSUES
TRAINING
DRAUGHTING OF ENGINEERING RELATED POLICIES
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
- bulk electrical supplies
- electrical reticulation and distribution networks
- street lighting
- energy resource studies
- electrical demand studies
- project and construction management