Rock Africa's Capabilities

Due to the association of Geobrugg South Africa, ASC and GeoZone, Rock Africa has immense capacity to carry out the work.

Nautical Steel
The Geobrugg product marketing and distribution is managed by James Page-McDonald from his Cape Town office. He has a long and established track record of running Nautical Steel and incorporating the Geobrugg product line is a natural extension to his nautical rope and rigging business. The flagship South African installation of the Geobrugg rockfall protection systems was Chapman’s Peak Drive, the famous tourist route along the Cape Peninsula. This is where everyone cut their teeth on the Geobrugg systems, and armed with this new knowledge the product has been carried into the rest of Africa, most notably in a number of mining operations. James’s dedicated approach and Geobrugg’s Swiss efficiency guarantees timely manufacturing and distribution, bearing in mind of course the exigencies of the African leg of the journey.

Engineering Design
The design of the systems is the responsibility of Gerald Davie, who runs his own consulting business in KwaZulu-Natal. He as an M.Sc degree from the University of Leeds and in excess of 25 years experience in the geotechnical industry. He is currently involved in rock and geotechnical engineering projects for a number of mining houses and civils projects and the Geobrugg systems are an extension of this capability. This is backed up by Geobrugg's dedicated in-house engineers who are totally au fait with their product and the dark arts of rock mechanics and slope stability. It is always reassuring to know that the product is backed up by Geobrugg's technical expertise.

Installation
Installation falls under the auspices of Alpinist Safety Consultants (ASC) which is headed up by Mark Campbell. Mark is a chartered accountant by training but is a climber by calling, and the combination of these two skills led to the formation of ASC. The company has been involved in a number of civil engineering projects which include the Hex River cuttings remediation, the Chapman’s Peak Drive rock barring and catch fence installation, the Tradouws River Pass, Kaaimans Pass, and the St Faiths Rd in KwaZulu-Natal. Over the years they have developed drilling, anchoring, soil nailing and grouting skills, no mean feat when one considers that all this is done dangling from a rope. Rope access is the quickest and most cost effective way of accessing difficult terrain and for stringing up any form of cable work. It is far superior to scaffolding or cranes and at times helicopters, although these do have their appropriate time and place.

Rock Africa's Capabilities