If you have ever wondered which is more valuable, platinum or gold, just ask a member of the customer service team at NPC Concrete.   As a member of the Southern African Readymix Association (SARMA), NPC’s Margate concrete plant is audited on a yearly basis for product quality as well as health and safety practices.  This year, 2008, NPC Concrete scored a significant Platinum score (well above 90%) in the SARMA audit, which is an improvement over last year’s Gold score, an accomplishment in itself. 
 
The most recent audit had the added challenge of being held just a few days after the June floods which devastated many areas of the South Coast, including some very heavy damage to the Margate Quarry and Readymix plant.  NPC Concrete Margate General Manager Jaco Bezuidenhout says, “Some suggested that we even postpone the audit but we decided that we needed to show that we were capable of running our plant properly even under adverse conditions.  What was perhaps even more impressive is the fact that following the floods we were producing concrete within a couple of days for our customers.”
 
NPC Concrete Managing Director Avi Bhoora points out that their Platinum rating bears testimony to the dedication of the whole team at NPC Concrete.   “Everyone at the plant working together is the reason for this success.  For our customers, this is beneficial in a number of ways.  First of all, it’s a reminder that we’re very dedicated to both product quality and the health and safety of our employees.”
 
Also working in NPC’s favour is the far-sighted investment in a wet-batching concrete system for their Margate plant.   Wet batched concrete is also known as central mixed or pre-mixed concrete.   The difference is that, unlike typical mixed concrete which is mixed in the truck itself, wet batched concrete is produced under more controlled conditions.  It goes into the delivery trucks “wet”, i.e. already mixed with all ingredients including water.   NPC Concrete Technician Rolf Schutte says, “With wet batched concrete the standard deviation can be expected to be much lower which means that the materials are more accurately batched and mixed. In the mix design process one can more accurately target the desired strength (MPa), while reducing wastage.”
 
NPC’s ready-mix concrete is always guaranteed to be up to strength and they have a substantial fleet of mixer trucks constantly on-call to service the region’s concrete requirements.
 
NPC Aggregate, Margate Quarry’s stone side of the business, also received high marks in an environmental audit by Aggregate & Sand Producers Association of Southern Africa (ASPASA).  They received a full 5 Fish Eagles which is a score of above 90%. 

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