Despite Africa’s holding much promise in terms of business development, the business dynamics in African countries have been severely affected by the effects of Covid-19.

Construction connection technology supplier Peikko South Africa MD Daniel Petrov tells Engineering News that in general, job creation will be the most affected.

He does, however, note that Africa is the future and remains so, even in a depressed economic environment, as it is the land of opportunity, with so many untapped resources.

As the company has cemented its presence in South Africa, it has also earmarked other markets for expansion on the African continent.

Peikko’s strategy, Petrov says, has been to create a hub in South Africa for penetration into the rest of Africa. “We are actively looking for partners to collaborate with in these countries”.

Peikko’s products and innovative solutions offering, with a range of systems for several applications, contribute to the speed of construction, providing cost-effective and competitive pricing in precast or reinforced concrete segments of the construction market.

“Early return on investment and occupancy is the ultimate benefit of our products and service offering,” he enthuses.

The company supplies a large selection of bolted connections and composite beams for precast and cast-in-situ concrete for a number of project applications.

Petrov highlights that the market has responded positively, with a number of construction companies having adopted the Peikko bolted connections as their preferred solutions.

Although enquiries for its products are “definitely on the rise”, the company plans to continue creating awareness about its products and systems, with a strong focus on increasing market visibility.

“We have been conducting a series of technical webinars that have been very well received by customers who are eager to learn more about our range of cutting-edge products.

“Customer enquiries have increased despite the pandemic; however, owing to financial constraints and the impact of the global pandemic outbreak on their businesses, it has proven challenging to get customers to commit due to uncertain market conditions,” says Petrov.

The company continues to regard Africa as a viable business destination in the long run, as business models for property developers are changing, which will lead to the industry following suit, he adds.

“The focus is shifting to the development of medium and high-rise buildings that will require Peikko involvement, owing to the need for innovative approaches to support this type of development. We have noted that current and potential customers are impressed by the Peikko line-up of products and systems,” he concludes.