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STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

Much is written about the technologies, processes and

equipment behind turning wood and other materials into pulp

and, ultimately, into paper and other wood based products. However, there is seldom a

mention of the civil, structural and building aspects of projects

undertaken to produce those wood based products, or the

people behind the designs, drawings and documentation

required to create the mill site infrastructure, to construct

the buildings that house the technologies and processes and

to make the foundations that support the equipment.

years of service

to South Africa's pulp and paper industry.

A company that can arguably claim to have provided

longer service than any other to the South African pulp

and paper industry is CBI Consulting Engineers, which

in 2012 merged with one of South Africa’s leading

and longest established black owned companies, P D

Naidoo & Associates (PDNA) and in turn became part

of the international Mott MacDonald Group in 2013.

Mike Franklin, former Managing Director of CBI until

its merger with PDNA in March 2012, has provided

over 32 years’ service to the pulp and paper industry

through the above group. He explains the history

behind the company and how it established itself as

the leading civil and structural consulting practice in

our industry.

Early beginnings

CBI was established in 1944 when Mark Bernstein

formed the partnership Campbell & Bernstein, with

Walter Campbell, retired City Engineer of Durban.

Four years later, Hugh Irving joined the practice and it

became Campbell, Bernstein & Irving (CBI) - a growing

Water Engineering practice.

It was not long after its establishment that CBI became

closely involved in the pulp and paper industry. In

1949, the original owners of Sappi’s Saiccor mill,

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Courtaulds, approached CBI to investigate

a water scheme and rail siding, and the

present mill site in Umkomaas was found.

Three years later, in 1952, CBI was asked

by Courtaulds to convert the Italian

drawings, prepared for some of the first

mill buildings and equipment foundations,

from metric to imperial dimensions.

Beyond their infrastructural services, CBI

was also appointed for the structural and

architectural design of all of the buildings.

As the mill began to establish itself and

expand, CBI was appointed to undertake

the engineering of all subsequent major

expansions. This relationship has spanned

60 years and the company has seen the

mill grow to become a world leader in the

production of cellulose pulp. Mike recalls

his most memorable, major expansions

at the Saiccor mill as the new Magnesium

Plant, which took place between 1983 and

1985, the Mkomazi Project (1993 to 1995)

and the Amakhulu Project (2006 to 2008).

Saiccor: the catalyst for further growth

As a result of CBI’s contribution to the

Saiccor mill, the company was invited to

assist in the creation (1997-1998) and

expansion (2001-2002) of LignoTech, a

factory built alongside Saiccor to produce

Lignosulphonate from Saiccor’s effluent,

and a joint venture between Sappi and

Borregaard. CBI has also carried out

smaller projects at Sappi’s Tugela mill near

Mandini.

Andrea Rossi, Group Head Technology

Manager for Sappi, comments that Sappi

has had “a long and successful history with

CBI, particularly at our Sappi Saiccor Mill

where CBI have participated in all our major

expansions. They are an exceptional and

most professional organisation who have

many years of hard earned experience in

our industry. They have a strong work ethic

and service orientated approach that has

resulted in our long and mutually beneficial

relationship.”

CBI’s involvement in the early beginnings of

Saiccor proved to not only be the catalyst

behind the firm’s growth into a multi-

professional practice, but also the strong

foundation on which it has built a secure

relationship with South Africa’s pulp and

paper industry as a whole.

Following the success of the Saiccor

development, in 1958 CBI was again

appointed by Courtaulds for the structural

and architectural design of the new Usutu

mill in Swaziland, which also included the

development of two new towns for 7000

workers – including all housing, social and

commercial buildings required.

Moving into Mondi

In the early 1960’s, CBI participated in

a feasibility study to utilise wattle in the

production of paper. After several technical

partners withdrew, CBI approached the

CBI formed its first link to the pulp and paper industry through the early days of Sappi Saiccor (pictured above, in 1955). It has since been instrumental in establishing and developing most of South Africa's large mills, including Mondi Merebank (pictured top, in 1988) - from identifying its original 40 acre site on the bank of the Umlaas Canal to involvement in its Blue Sky upgrade and beyond.

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

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Anglo American Corporation of South Africa, who

showed considerable interest and, with the help of

Durban’s City Engineer, a 40 acre site was found on

the north bank of the Umlaas Canal at Merebank

in Durban, on which the Mondi Merebank mill was

developed.

Construction of the mill’s infrastructure and first two

Paper Machine halls, PM31 and PM32, commenced

in 1967, with a third machine hall, PM33, added

between 1975 and 1976 and a further two machine

halls, PM34 and PM35, in 1980 and 1981.

CBI has been integrally involved in Mondi Merebank’s

growth over the years, including such notable

expansions as the new Log Debarker Building (1989),

the PM31 Rebuild (1990), the Recycled Fibre Plant

(1991), the Blue Sky Project (a major rebuild and

conversion of PM31 from 2002 to 2004), the new

PCC Plant (carried out for one of Mondi’s suppliers,

Specialty Minerals, in 2005) and the Multifuel Boiler

and Turbine Hall (2005 to 2006); along with countless

other minor projects.

Commenting on Mondi’s history with CBI, previous

Technical Director for Mondi South Africa, Casper

Nice explained: “What has struck me most about CBI

over the 20 years that I have been involved with them

in a variety of pulp and paper expansion projects is

the professional manner in which they approach and

solve problems, no matter how big or small. Over

the years CBI has also built a reputation of being

reliable in providing accurate cost estimates for major

expansions and it is no wonder that the name CBI has

become synonymous with the pulp and paper industry

in South Africa.”

It was this established and close working relationship

with Mondi that led to CBI’s involvement in the

development of Mondi’s greenfield pulp mill site

in Richards Bay where, with the use of fast track

overlapping design and construction techniques, and

using standardised procedures developed through

experience gained over previous projects, CBI was

able to complete all civil, structural, building and

architectural engineering for what became the Elater

Project in less than two years (1982 to 1984). At the

time, Mondi’s Richards Bay mill included the largest

single pulp line in the world, with a nominal starting

capacity of 450 000 tonnes per year.

The capacity of Mondi Richards Bay mill has grown

significantly over the years, with CBI assisting on major

projects such as two mill optimisation projects (1995-

1996 and 1998-1999), an Oxygen Delignification Plant

(2000-2001), the RB720 Project (a major expansion

of the mill from 2003-2005), a new Gas Turbine and

Precipitator (2005-2006) and the relocation of a

Chipping Line from another mill; along with numerous

smaller projects.

Wayne Mundy, Project Manager at Mondi’s Richards

Bay Pulp Mill, says: “CBI has always been a project

partner we could count on, always exhibiting a high

level of integrity and professionalism, and always

prepared to go the extra mile in the interests of the

client.”

CBI has been extensively involved in the Mondi Richards Bay mill (pictured left, in 1984) - beginning with all civil, structural, building and architectural engineering in its initial construction, and continuing to the present day with extensions like the RB720 Project (pictured right, in 2003).

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“We have also undertaken various projects at

Mondi’s Umgeni, Felixton, Springs & Piet Retief

mills,” explains Mike, “and have further assisted with

the development in 2000-2001 and 2002-2003 of

Mondi’s SilvaCel Chipping Plant, in Richards Bay.”

Beginning Belville too

CBI shares its history in the pulp and paper industry

with Nampak too, most notably its appointment

in 1983 by Nampak Paper Limited as consulting

engineers, architects and quantity surveyors for the

civil and building works for a new Tissue Wadding

Machine at Bellville, Cape Town. Since then, CBI has

provided consulting engineering services for Nampak

for their Tissue Wadding Machine in Kliprivier, for

Nampak Corrugated in Rosslyn, and also at various

related packaging plants that Nampak operates

around the country. In recent years, CBI has

performed a few feasibility studies for Nampak and

the company hopes that some of these will come to

fruition soon.

Following its merger with PDNA and Mott MacDonald

in 2012 and 2013 respectively, CBI continues to

match its internal growth with its contribution

to the growth of South Africa’s pulp and paper

industry. “We have a close working relationship with

Abakali, a wholly black owned practice of Quantity

Surveyors, with whom we have shared most of our

quantity surveying work on large industrial projects

since CBI assisted in their formation in 2002, and

a workstation is available in our Durban office to

accommodate one of Abakali’s quantity surveyors,

who operates in-house,” explains Mike.

And so the growth continues...

The company’s latest project has been a commission

by Sappi to carry out all of the civil, structural

and building engineering design and contract

administration for Sappi’s GoCell Project - an

expansion and conversion of their Ngodwana mill to

produce Cellulose Pulp as a supplement to Sappi’s

Saiccor production. At the time of going to print,

Sappi had just produced the first A-grade pulp from

its new line.

When asked about the part that CBI/Mott MacDonald

PDNA played in Sappi’s GoCell Project, Andrea Rossi

explained that CBI’s experience and knowledge

enabled Sappi to meet the project’s building/civil

and structural schedule. “CBI /Mott MacDonald once

again delivered a professional job,” says Andrea. “It has

been a pleasure working with the professional team that

we have come to respect and admire.”

“Our absorption into the Mott MacDonald Group in 2013

has provided us with the depth of resources to expand

our, until now, South African based experience and

expertise more broadly, but the unique relationships we

have with South African pulp and paper giants - Sappi,

Mondi & Nampak - will always be highly valued. Pulp and

paper is entrenched in the psyches of the dedicated staff

who have contributed to all of the above projects and who

form the core of our Industrial Structures Division.”

Mott MacDonald PDNA looks forward to assisting long

into the future with expansions, upgrades and rebuilds

at the mills they are familiar with, and also on new

greenfield projects, wherever these may be in South

Africa or elsewhere. ■

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

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