" Montigny continues to look to the future as the company grows aggressively , including plans to develop and construct a renewable energy biomass power plant within the next three years ."
COVER STORY
Transmission poles .
" Montigny continues to look to the future as the company grows aggressively , including plans to develop and construct a renewable energy biomass power plant within the next three years ."
It is a completely different thinking around fire-fighting that is based on scientific and accurate measurement ,” says Rijkenberg . The approach seems to be working with impressive , immediate results with a significant reduction in hectare of timber lost to fires .
Montigny ’ s commitment to adding value extends beyond its core business into the neighbouring communities and the country at large . Whenever possible , Montigny looks for ways to share knowledge and integrate sustainable development initiatives into their portfolio . Shying away from traditional charity initiatives , the company prioritises job creation and skills development through a breadth of value chains and projects that continue to evolve with the company ’ s business .
Presently Montigny is ramping up two large-scale community based projects , Resin Tapping and Acacia Mearnsii or ‘ Wattle ’ Jungle Rehabilitation , which collectively expects to provide income and employment for more than 700 community members in the next four years . By offering training in resin tapping and smallholder forestry , both programmes offer additional income to interested members in Usutu ’ s 30 neighbouring chiefdoms , which can be done in conjunction with existing employment commitments . Similar programmes have been successful in Montigny ’ s other locations where the model allowed Montigny to share the fruit of its endeavours with neighbouring communities .
The company ’ s leadership has been instrumental in one of the country ’ s great success stories , the transformation of decommissioned mining village Bulembu . Bulembu has been granted a new lease of life through Bulembu Ministries Swaziland , the NGO responsible for starting several sustainable businesses and restoring basic social services to the community including a health clinic , schools , churches , training centres and other community organisations .
Montigny continues to look to the future as it continues to grow aggressively , including plans to develop and construct a sustainable biomass power plant within the next three years . In a country dependent on neighbouring countries for electricity , Montigny has the capacity to displace 23 % of the country ’ s imports with locally produced , renewable energy .
Swaziland has the unique capacity to be the first country in Africa to generate 100 % of its power requirements from renewable resources , which include biomass , hydro , solar , energy efficiency measures and wind . By unlocking Swaziland ’ s biomass energy potential , Montigny is leading the way for other aspiring Independent power producers by working closely with biomass consortiums and the government to develop policy and procedure .
Montigny ’ s innovative approach to business and development offers a fresh model to the well-established sawmilling industry , as the company paves its own road into the future , one aspiration at a time . The company ’ s ambitions for growth and continuous improvement have not abated as the operations stabilised , following the purchase of Usutu from Sappi South Africa three years ago . With the success of their non-traditional approach to forestry and sawmilling , many in the region will continue to follow the company ’ s movements with interest in the months and years to come .
16 APRIL / MAY 2017 //