Company takes delivery of its first fiber laser, a Bodor 12kW, and adds a Durma press brake to its bending department.

Staluform is a company specialising in formwork manufacturing that has roots going back to 1979 but was officially named as Staluform in 1998. The company was mainly involved in general engineering work but had slowly been changing its product mix with involvement in formwork and scaffolding, over and above general engineering. The company had a big boost when it won a contract to export product to Europe. At the time they were shipping a container a week but they knew it would not be a long-lasting contract.

“I only joined the company in 2004. Fortunately for me the previous owner was keen to retire and I got the opportunity to purchase the company from him,” said majority shareholder Louis Pieterse.

Last year a Bodor 12kW fiber laser was installed by Spectrum Machine Tools Africa at Staluform

“The decision to purchase the company was very timeous as it was a very busy growth period in South Africa, in general, and not just in the construction industry. We had been awarded the 2010 football World Cup and the various stadiums and infrastructure projects were beginning to be awarded.”

“The company had already moved into manufacturing formwork and scaffolding so we were in a position to capitalise on this boom period. National government put in some R33 billion into preparations for the World Cup, investment that we saw as part of the long-term development plan for the country, rather than funding a once-off event. Hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup acted as a catalyst for expanding our infrastructure base, skills development, employment creation, and economic growth. The legacy, besides the beautiful stadiums and the Gautrain, was that South Africa was put on the map as a country.”

“However, the South African construction industry was particularly hard hit when the infrastructure development highs leading up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup were followed by a global recession and/or depressed growth. From 2008 the construction industry went very quiet for 10 years. It has only really started to recover in recent years.”

The new Durma AD Servo 40220 hydraulic press brake that has a bending length of 4 020mm and a bending force of 220 tons installed by Spectrum Machine Tools Africa

“I give you an example of how tough it was. There were five manufacturing companies during that period that did formwork. Then slowly, they started closing down because there was no work. We had specialised in formwork for all types of civil work where concrete was involved in large quantities. Not your usual bricks and mortar. By that stage we had diversified out of scaffolding because of the number of companies that had started and margins were very tight.”

“Formwork is a temporary, engineered structural system used to shape, support, and mould concrete for railway or highway bridges, including piers, abutments, and decks. These systems must withstand significant vertical and lateral pressure from wet concrete and construction loads.”

“We continued to get the formwork and we also stayed busy with our general engineering work. To survive we had to. At one stage we even made pole bases for Eskom.”

“As you know, with manufacturing concerns, you’ve got big overheads, you need to keep the skills and you have invested in expensive machines. All of this comes at a price and you need to cover these costs.”

Partners Michael van der Merwe, Louis Pieterse and Martin Ludik

“They were tough years and when Covid took the world apart in 2020 it put real pressure on many companies besides all the personal heartache. We had begun plans to expand and moved into our current facility, which is 3 500m², at the beginning of March 2020 – not very good timing.”

“We had to be very creative quicky. One product that did keep us busy was the foot operated soap or sanitising dispenser. It includes a refill bottle with actuator for soap and/or sanitiser, designed to adapt to different bottle sizes.”

“Another product I designed was a walk-through spray tunnel but that was not that successful. I am an industrial engineer that has also learnt to do drafting and drawings – all things civil, structural and mechanical when working with concrete. Still today I get involved on that side of the business.”

Staluform is a company specialising in formwork manufacturing

“By the time Covid hit there were only two companies manufacturing formwork and the pandemic led to our opposition closing its manufacturing side. Form-Scaff, a leader in the hire and sale of scaffolding, formwork, falsework and associated services. They are now our clients and through them we have been able to increase our capacity.”

“Since 2023 there has been a recovery in the construction industry and the majority of our work is forming related. They say 2026 could reach pre-World Cup levels, only because government is starting to spend on infrastructure again.”

“As I said before, formwork is the essential temporary or permanent mould used in construction to hold wet concrete in place while it sets, ensuring structural components like walls, slabs, and columns take the correct shape and position. It is a critical, high-cost component (30-60% of concrete costs) that requires rigidity, strength, and precise installation to support loads.”

Staluform’s product range consists of form systems, column boxes and push-pull props, stadium and staircase formwork, dolos moulds, steel coffers and troughs, culverts, pipes and kerb moulds, bridge formwork, road forms, safety products, material handling and when requested kwikstage scaffolding

“What very few people know is that this formwork is generally custom designed and manufactured and is only used once. Custom-built formwork systems are designed and manufactured specifically to meet a project’s individual requirements. Rentable standard parts may also be integrated into the special forms, but at least some of their components should be custom-made and produced separately. Custom-built formwork systems are generally used for concrete structures with complex architectural requirements that cannot be accomplished with only standard formwork systems.”

“If you look at bridge ends as an example. There is nothing standard about them except for the material used – concrete. Each one has its specific requirements.”

“Therefore, we make to order. So, we’ve got a job shop environment and are geared towards this type of manufacturing now. In the old factory, which was only 1 000m², everything was geared towards general engineering and fabricating. This has all changed now. If we get a client that says they want to cast concrete we will visit the site, get all the drawings and calculations and then design accordingly.”

Staluform also manufactures chutes for clients

“We understand how concrete works. The pressure of concrete is 2.5 times more than water. So if you need to pour a high structure, the massive amounts of pressure at the bottom are tremendous. You have to take into account how do you support this, is it strong enough and many other influencing factors. It involves a lot of engineering calculations and making sure everything works because you don’t want your shutter strips being set in concrete.”

“One of the more recognisable projects that we have been involved in is the columns at Cape Town International Airport. You will easily recognise them.”

“We got some interesting projects on the horizon and our clients are already involved in others. The N3 upgrade between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal is a massive 5 to 8 year, R30 billion plus project (part of SANRAL’s N2/N3 programme) designed to widen the highway to 4 to 5 lanes per direction. The project is transforming this vital freight corridor to improve safety and ease congestion, featuring significant engineering works, including new bridges and realigned curves.”

The paint department – clients do request their own colours

“The N2 Wild Coast Project, which is a major South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) initiative upgrading the 410km stretch between Durban and East London. It features a new greenfield highway, cutting travel distances by about 80km and reducing travel time by up to 3 hours, with key components including the massive Msikaba and Mtentu bridges.”

“Our product range consists of form systems, column boxes and push-pull props, stadium and staircase formwork, dolos moulds, steel coffers and troughs, culverts, pipes and kerb moulds, bridge formwork, road forms, safety products, material handling and when requested kwikstage scaffolding.”

“Recently we got an order to export formwork for the manufacture of dolos in New Zealand. Dolosse are the most successful concrete structure to protect coastlines from the mighty ocean force and is a South African invention. The oddly shaped concrete structure closely piled in its thousands to arm harbours, ports and shorelines from strong erosive ocean waves. These moulds must be able to accommodate between 20 and 30 tons of concrete.”

New equipment: Bodor 12kW fiber laser and Durma press brake
“For a long time now I have been nagged by production manager Martin Ludik and factory manager Michael van der Merwe, who both have purchased shares in the company, to upgrade our bending department and add fiber laser cutting to the floor. I did the calculations and just with outsourcing our laser cutting for upcoming projects it would cost us R6 million. It definitely made sense to buy a laser and at the same time add a new press brake that has all the modern and productive features.”

“We are processing in the region of about 200 tons of material each month. This does not include the 47mm x 5mm flat bar that we import. The bar is generally only used in the forming industry for creating structural type components like braces, support straps, clamps, brackets and custom components but is used in other areas of fabrication.”

Last year a Bodor 12kW fiber laser was installed as well as a Durma AD Servo 40220 hydraulic press brake that has a bending length of 4 020mm and a bending force of 220 tons. Both machines were installed by Spectrum Machine Tools Africa, who have supplied us with most of our equipment.”

“Most of our laser material that we cut is between 3mm and 6mm mild steel. The 12kW laser can cut up to 20mm mild steel and we are glad we have that capability because we do need it every so often.”

“Besides our pipe bending machines that we use for scaffolding, we already have three Durma press brakes, two guillotines, three croppers/ironworkers, 10 presses, two plate rollers, one section roller and plenty of bandsaws and welding equipment.”

“We also have a CNC milling machine for our toolroom work. We custom design and manufacture a number of tools for the formwork that we supply.”

Staluform has a milling machine in the toolroom department where they custom design and manufacture a number of tools for the formwork that they supply

“We are processing in the region of about 200 tons of material each month. This does not include the
47mm x 5mm flat bar that we import. The bar is generally only used in the forming industry for creating structural type components like braces, support straps, clamps, brackets and custom components but is used in other areas of fabrication.”

“Another component we import is a bolt that has rough edges and is used extensively in the forming industry. It is not made locally. We can import up to 50 000 of them at a time from India.”

“Our product is made in a modular format and is assembled in the factory for testing before being shipped to site.”

“Our staff compliment varies between 65 and 75 depending on our requirements.”

Staluform make use of a Nargesa machine for bracket manufacture

“We have earned the trust and loyalty of our customers over the years by providing a range of goods and services, from large ‘one off’ special products to high volumes of standard formwork and scaffolding.”

“We work with our customers to provide them with the optimum formwork solution that offers flexibility and cost effectiveness. Our diverse manufacturing capability allows us to offer general steel solutions as well. Our customer base includes all the leading formwork and construction companies locally. We have also supplied formwork to a number of countries in Africa and Europe.”

For further details contact Staluform on TEL: 012 804 0905 or visit www.staluform.co.za