Engineering and project management business UMS Group (UMS) has achieved significant growth in its short history – transitioning from a company in the throes of a turnaround strategy in 2018 to a company that reached financial stability in 2020 and has seen rapid growth ever since. LAURA CORNISH caught up with CEO DIGBY GLOVER to unpack a true success story that continues to unfold.
For new entrants aspiring to break into the mining market, one requirement is key: they must prove their abilities, sustainably. Although this is no easy feat, UMS has done this, fortunately on the foundations established by two strong market brands – UMS Shaft Sinkers and UMS METS.
Today, its reputation in the market is clear: UMS can comfortably deliver on its full span of capabilities, adding value to the project process, right from the early feasibility stages through to execution and mine handover. The journey to reach this point has seen Glover focus on growing the front end of the business, bringing in high level engineering skills capable of designing and engineering projects (both large and small).
“This has been a steady process but now we are starting to reap the rewards of the efforts we have made and that is evidenced in the number of large-scale projects we have secured,” Glover highlights.
This includes engineering, design, construction and commissioning of process plants, shaft sinking, decline and underground projects secured or underway across the globe – and more specifically, the United States, Brazil, Botswana and most recently South Africa.
Having secured most of its larger-scale work outside of South Africa, Glover reveals that the company always included serving the local market in its strategy. This required serious evaluation of how to remain competitive in this market despite the challenges in it.
Having secured most of its larger-scale work outside of South Africa, Glover reveals that the company always included serving the local market in its strategy. This required serious evaluation of how to remain competitive in this market despite the challenges in it.
“Importantly, we believe our South African presence is set to grow – we are seeing many new opportunities emerging in the market which appears to be entering a growth phase, but it’s important to be selective about the work we take on and ensure our appetite for growth does not exceed our capabilities,” Glover notes.
“We are in the fortunate position now where our work pipeline is strong. And to a large extent, it’s now about delivering on the work that we’ve brought in, and that does require a huge amount of focus on continually nurturing the key skills to perform this work,” he further points out.
“UMS Group has experienced very high growth over the past two years. Growth will however never be at the cost of our not being able to provide our clients with a highly professional service. We believe that a ‘growth at all costs’ mentality would ultimately be highly destructive. Our driver is to deliver on our commitments and ensure we add real value to clients on their projects. This will ensure long-term sustainable growth for us.
“We will always be reviewing our strategy in terms of connecting with the market in a different way to better serve it in the medium term. Synergies are a great way to do this – either through joint ventures or more formal transactions,” Glover concludes.
