WINNING ENTRIES SET NEW BENCHMARKS AT THE ECA(SA)'S PRESIDENTIAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2019

All the winners at the 2019 ECA(SA) Annual Presidential Excellence Awards.

Another spectacular ECA(SA) Presidential Excellence Awards took place at the Serengeti Lapa at the Birchwood Hotel on 14 November 2019. Past entrants and new contenders vied for top honours and by the end of the evening, new benchmarks for excellence had been set in the 15 categories.

The 400 guests celebrated in fine style at what turned out to be the best awards yet – due in part to comedian, Mpho Popps who doubled up as MC; and, while keeping the evening flowing seamlessly, he kept everyone amused with his forthright brand of South African humour.

One of the most prestigious events on the ECA’s calendar, the awards banquet was made possible by the sponsorship of Associate Members: Brother, Comtest, Copper Development Association Africa, HellermannTyton, Major Tech, Nestlife, Voltex, Schneider Electric, and newcomers SALT Employee Benefits and Citilec.

Industry stalwart, Gary Abrahamson of Standard Electrical was awarded a Meritorious Award for his lifelong commitment to excellence in the electrical contracting industry and his unselfish mentoring of many of today’s top people in the industry, including the ECA’s National Director, Mark Mfikoe.

There weren’t too many dry eyes when Regional Director for the East/South Cape, Lucas Bowles – who has been with the ECA since 1983 – received a long service award as he retires on 15 December. His PA for eight years, Wilmarie Smith, gave an emotional farewell speech and presented Lucas with a special clock and wished him Hakuna Matata. Lucas thanked the ECA for the ‘journey of his life’ and his wife, Victoria, for her unwavering support.

One huge cake and 400 Individual ‘70^th’ birthday cakes sponsored by Citilec were given to all the guests – and HellermannTyton sponsored another two enormous cakes for dessert – to celebrate the ECA’s 70 years of existence, having been registered on 1 July 1948.

As has become customary, each guest received the September-October issue of SA Electrical Contractor magazine in a goodie bag, along with various gifts sponsored by Citiq Prepaid, Major Tech and Brother with discount vouchers from Comtest.

Apprentices from SNC Lavalin, Datalec, Edison Power, Vinnie’s Electrical, and Masedi were all finalists with Petronella Khakhu from Edison Power taking the Female Apprentice of the Year, and Vincent Masuge from Masedi Electrical taking both the Male Apprentice of the Year and Overall Apprentice of the Year. Vincent won prizes from HellermannTyton to the value of R30 000 along with the opportunity of an apprenticeship.

A Special Achiever Award was presented to Philile Mngadi, an apprentice at Edison Power, KwaZulu-Natal, who won the South African WorldSkills Competition and represented South Africa at the WorldSkills Competition in Kazan, Russia in August.

The full list of winners:

Installation of the Year – Industrial

Sponsor: Comtest

Winner: RTC Control Systems (McCain, Delmas)

Runners up: Dan Electrical (Denver Warehouse); and JBN Power (Macbean Beier Plastics t/a Neucote)

Installation of the Year – Residential Housing

Sponsor: Voltex

Winner: Vyfster Elektries (House Cesar)

Runners up: Vyfster Elektries (House Kluge); and Vyfster Elektries (The Hills)

Installation of the Year – Residential Complexes

Sponsor: Copper Development Association Africa

Winner: MLE Electrical Contractors (Blyde Lifestyle Centre and Jade Lifestyle Centre)

Runners up: Turner Electrical (1253 on Edge Hill, Queenswood, Pretoria); and Vyfster Elektries (Heritage Hill)

Installation of the Year – Office Blocks

Sponsor: Citilec

Winner: W Edison Power (Nedport Developments – Park Square)

Runners up: MLE Electrical (Adapt IT Project); and Sensor Electrical (University of Pretoria Javett Arts Centre)

Installation of the Year – Hotels and Hospitals

Sponsor: Major Tech

Winner: Motlhakola Projects (Sparkling Tower)

Runners up: JNB Power (Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital and St Paul’s Anglican Church); and PJB Electrical (Dugong Beach, Mozambique)

Installation of the Year – Retail and Shopping Centres

Sponsor: SALT Employee Benefits

Winner: Dan Electrical (Tramshed Shopping Centre)

Runners up: DuziCube (Checkers, Noordheuwel); Edison Power (KwaDukuza Mall)

Reticulation Contractor of the Year

Sponsor: Citilec

Winner: Besamandla (Cape Town Data Centres)

Runners up: Designer Lighting (Buffalo City Municipality – Fynbos, Kanana and Bisho to Stoney Drift); and Edison Power (Bidvest Tank Terminals – 132 kV Line Deviation)