Established in 1994 by John Cullum, Johan Scriven, and Alex von Klopmann, CSV Construction started operating from small premises in Ceres. The three partners had derived their company’s name from the first letters of their surnames.
Celebrating 30 years in business, CSV Construction has grown to be one of the largest diversified civil engineering companies in the Western Cape, which is a tribute to the tenacity of its founders and the continued quality of the company’s work.
Alex von Klopmann, his fellow directors and management team attribute the company’s success to their focus on training. In addition to upskilling their own people, they go a step further by assisting promising Grade 11 and 12 learners at selected schools. They founded the CSV Academy in 2015 and Human Resources Officer, Charmaine Duke, leads the initiative.
In 2024, the Academy partnered with Kayamandi Secondary in Stellenbosch, Zandvliet High in Macassar, and Hottentots Holland High in Somerset West. Twentyfour students received specialised math and science tutoring during afternoon and evening classes and after matriculating they will pass through a training facility where they will be considered for bursaries or trade training. “This we believe will allow us to leave a lasting legacy as a company and make a real difference,” says Alex.
This commitment to nurturing future talent reflects CSV Construction’s own journey. From humble beginnings where each partner worked with a bakkie and five labourers, CSV Construction now employs over 700 people.
“Since the world economic downturn in 2008/2009 and the recovery since then, we’ve shown rapid growth and our portfolio of successfully completed projects grows every year. We’re proud to say that as a company we’ve evolved from a construction company to one that is known for executing specialised civil engineering projects, and we are always challenging ourselves.”
CSV Construction’s impressive portfolio includes retail outlets, office parks, warehousing, wine cellars, township developments and student accommodation.
“It’s exciting and challenging to now work in renewable energy and provide structures for solar and wind turbine complexes,” Alex adds. “We’re also seen as the ‘go-to-company’ when it comes to large-scale water management and all its related challenges along with micro-tunnelling, for which we’ve imported specialised tunnel-boring machines from Europe.”
Despite an influx of work in the company’s order book, Alex and his fellow directors are conservative when it comes to investing in new earthmoving equipment.
“Yes, we have enjoyed the ramp-up in construction activity in recent years, but it’s still vitally important to manage the peaks and troughs of the business cycle by applying cash flow gearing and not overcapitilising on equipment purchases,” he cautions. “We firmly believe in analysing the triggers that indicate when the time is right to invest in equipment as those have proved accurate indicators over the years.”
One such trigger was a contract to upgrade the passage and direction of the Sir Lowry’s Pass River. This seemingly gentle flowing stream that runs across a potential flood plain in Gordon’s Bay can turn into a raging torrent when enough water enters it from the heights of the Hottentot Hollands mountain range that the famous Sir Lowry’s Pass transcends.
“With our company and its engineers recognised as specialists in working with water, our task is to reshape the river, reinforce its banks, and incorporate many changes to make the flow of the river more userfriendly for the proposed housing which is said to be developed on both the eastern and western sides,” Alex explains.
The extensive upgrades include berm construction, grade levelling, and rectification of the Sir Lowry’s Pass River’s alignment between the N2 in the north and False Bay (Indian Ocean). This will create land for development and drastically reduce the flooding risk.
The upgrade further includes the construction of bridges, erosion control measures like riprap, gabions, berms, and small concrete structures, the creation of non-motorised transport facility pathways, service provision, landscaping and the demolition of various walls and structures.
“When we analysed what we’d need in terms of loading and haulage equipment for this challenging project, we realised that two additional 30-ton articulated dump trucks (ADTs) and one large excavator would fit the bill,” Alex says. “With the project due to run for at least 40 months, it justified the purchases as we generally finance our yellow metal equipment over 36 months.”
CSV has a long and solid relationship with Bell Equipment and their Bell Sales Representative, Fiona Johnson, had sent CSV a list of equipment that was considered essential to this project with Bell B30E ADTs heading the list.
CSV took delivery of two Bell B30E ADTs in April 2024. One is deployed on the river site and the other at a quarry from where the rock fill and aggregate material is supplied some 15km away. Although these are not seen as production machines, as one would have in mining, CSV is pleased with their average fuel consumption, which is monitored.
As the Sir Lowry Pass River project progressed, the need for a large, powerful tool for massive excavations came to the fore and CSV ordered a new Kobelco SK520XD-10 Excavator and added a Kobelco SK380XD-10 Excavator for a pipeline project in Montagu Gardens. Both machines were delivered in September 2024.
Although CSV Construction has long relied on the solid performance and reliability of Bell ADTs across various sizes, they are new to the Kobelco brand. However, Alex notes that they have been highly impressed by the overall performance, powerful breakout force, and fuel efficiency of their two Kobelco Excavators. “Interestingly, the Kobelco SK380XD-10 Excavator is being used where 1,2m diameter pipes are laid in a 5,5km long tunnel that has been created with a tunnel boring machine in the middle of a busy Cape Town suburb,” he adds.
While under warranty, and especially Kobelco Excavators’ extended warranties, all servicing will be done by Bell Equipment Cape Town technicians. CSV Construction employs a plant manager, a workshop manager, seven mechanics, who all assist the machine operators and ADT drivers to keep their pre-shift checks up to date and do preventative maintenance.
These regimes have evolved over time as CSV Construction’s own fleet of vehicles and machines numbers more than 100. “Much as we believe in building long and lasting relationships with our clients, so we believe in building long and lasting relationships with our suppliers and Bell Equipment has for a long time been part of our business,” Alex says smiling.
