Metallurgical Engineering manager

Curriculum Vitae

Gerbrand Francois Haasbroek

Birth Date: 9 September 1959 - age 51 years

Marital Status: Married with two children aged 16 and 20

Country of birth and residence: South Africa

Postal Address: P.O. Box 35886 Menlo Park Pretoria 0102

Telephone: 083******* (Cell)

012-******* (Work)

012-******* (Home)

086-******* (Fax)

E-Mail: ********@********.**.**

Honours degree in Metallurgical Engineering - University of Pretoria.

Studied for my first degree from 1978 to 1982

My experience can broadly be divided into 5 categories:

1. Engineer in training 2 years

2. Senior management 13 years

3. Company director 3 years

4. Managing Director 5 years

5. Project manager/consultant 4 years (Current)

My experience was gained in the following industries:

1.Coal and Iron ore beneficiation (Engineer in training)

2. Manufacturing of Vanadium chemicals inclusive of milling, granulation, calcining, leaching, precipitation and smelting technologies. (Production Superintendent and Metallurgical Manager)

3. Manufacture of Ferro Chrome inclusive of submerged arc and direct reduction technology. (Production Manager)

4. Manufacture of raw materials for the refractory industry. This included the calcining of Dolomite, clay and Chromite. (Plant Manager)

5. Manufacture of ceramic glazes and enamels, powder coating paints and plastic master batches (Production Director, Marketing Director and Divisional Director)

6. Manufacture of continuous casting mould fluxes, welding fluxes and foundry products for the steel and casting industry (Managing Director)

7. Manufacture of Aluminium rolling ingots (Operations Manager)

8. Owner of flux and Potassium Silicate manufacturing facilities supplying the foundry, welding and Agricultural industry.

9. Project Manager for the erection and commissioning of a chromite spiral facilities and PGM flotation plants.

10.Project manager for the construction of a 5MW DC arc furnace for the smelting of PGM’s.

11. Consulting to Alluvial gold mining companies in the DRC and Mozambique.

The largest facility I have managed was the four and a half years that I was the Operations Manager - Metal of three production plants that manufacture Aluminium rolling ingots. I had approximately 250 people reporting to me, and an annual budget in excess of R 100 000 000.

The most senior position I have held was that of Managing Director, (5 Years) in this position I had full bottom line responsibility and was heavily involved in international marketing of the company’s highly technical products. Some of the clients I dealt with were British Steel, BHP Port Kembla, Tata Steel and ISCOR in South Africa.

Currently I am self employed as a project manager and have in the last 4 years been involved in the project management of 3 large chrome and PGM recovery facilities (Value of between R 50 mil and R150 mil)

1. Coal beneficiation: Plant design of spiral concentrators- Savings of R6 million/year (1985)

2. Vanadium manufacture: Increased plant throughput by 25%. Improved plant recovery (yield) by 15%. Reduced fuel consumption by 10% Improved V2O5 manufacturing process to eliminate secondary calcining (Chemically pure) reduced fuel consumption on smelting operation by 50%. Extended the life of the company by 9 months due to the use of ore that was deemed unsuitable for the process.

3. Dolomite calcining: Increased plant throughput by 30%, reduced fuel consumption by 40% (Actual consumption was within 5% of the theoretical achievable amount) dramatically improved the product quality of dolomite and chamotte products. Reduced labour by 15%. During my period with the company this division was the most profitable in the company and exceeded previous profit records.

4. Plastic master batch manufacture (colorants for plastics) Through aggressive marketing and product development I turned a loss making division into a very profitable division, thereby forcing the competitor to sell his operation to us, thereby creating a dominant marketing position that still exists today.

5. Powder Coating paints: By improving customer service, reduced factory lead times and improved product quality turned a marginal operation into the company’s flagship division.

6. Mould fluxes (Steel Industry): Turned the companies smallest division into a separate company that in 5 years had continuous growth, had been profitable from the first year, had been awarded ISO 9002 quality standard, been awarded the status of preferred supplier by ISCOR and successfully entered the export market. The company’s staff compliment was reduced by 55% while the plant capacity had been increased 100 % above the initial design capacity. Inventory levels were dropped while sales increased, thereby increasing cash flow and profitability. The company achieved an ROI of 42 %.

7. Aluminium cast house: Was asked to take on the most problematic division in Hulett Aluminium, it had been commissioned 4 years before my arrival but could not meet the required ramp up curve and hence was throttling the total company’s manufacturing capability. Within one year I turned the very depressed and negative workforce into an enthusiastic and motivated team that increased throughput by 22.5% and reduced the manufacturing cost per ton by 24%. A real saving of R9 million was achieved. Within the next 2 years the plant reached its design capacity and was the world leader in cost per ton ingot produced. Major projects were also conducted that reduced dross formation, reduce gas consumption and improved net. melt loss.

1. University of Pretoria - 1978 to 1982 – Metallurgical Engineering

2. South African defense force – 1984 to 1985 – Lieutenant

3. ISCOR - 1986 –1987 - pilot plant – engineer in training

4. Transvaal Alloys- Vanadium Producer - 1987 to 1989 - Metallurgical Manager.

5. Middelburg Steel and Alloys - 1989 - 1993 - Production Manager Chrome direct reduction kiln

6. Cullinan Refractories - 1993 - 1994 -Operations Manager rotaries.

7. Ferro Industrial Products- 1994 - 2002 - Production Director, Commercial Director (Sales and Marketing) Divisional Director and finally Managing Director of a division that I turned into a separate company - Thermochem (Pty) Ltd.

8. Hulett Aluminium (Pietermaritzburg) - 2002 to 2006 - Operations Manager Metal, In charge of Melt shop facilities.

9. Feza (Pty) Ltd – 2006 – current - Director – Project Engineer/consultant to the Pt, Chrome and Gold industries.

I am an outgoing and dynamic person that achieves results through a team approach. I am a good communicator and have achieved success in all my appointments. As a hands-on engineer with many years of experience in project, business and process management, I have the ability to create value for my employer.

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