Consulting engineering, project management and implementation firms Hatch and Goba last month announced that the two businesses have finalised their merger and will now operate as one entity, under the name Hatch Goba.

The new entity, which forms part of the global Hatch group, is a multidisciplinary and multisectoral engineering consultancy delivering infra- structure; mining and metals; and energy projects using best practices and processes, which it believes will assist clients in achieving their goals.

Goba’s already established reputation for delivery infra- structure in the four primary fields of expertise in transpor-tation, namely major roads, highways, airports and bridges; water and wastewater and mining and industrial infra-structure, coupled with Hatch’s African and global expertise and presence in the mining and metals, energy and infrastructure sectors, has resulted in a new entity with complementary skill sets, regional presence and an expanded client base.

Hatch Goba says it is now able to provide a more comprehensive service to the mining and metals, energy and infrastructure sectors while ensuring that insight into project management practices is combined with a deep level of understanding of the local environment to produce excellence for public and private sector clients.

“In the public sector, Hatch Goba is now able to offer a differentiated service to those clients who need to fulfil the mandate of the National Planning Commission and the National Development Plan which are key to the growth that South Africa needs,” explains Hatch Goba chairperson Trueman Goba.

Having worked together on a number of projects over the past six years, Hatch and Goba have developed a strong relationship with a good cultural fit, says Hatch Goba director Rory Kirk.

“Hatch Goba will have a combined workforce of over 1 500 personnel in South Africa and will continue to prioritise developmental programmes and career opportunities for its employees. Further, ongoing investment in developing local staff will ensure that the specialist skills base in both engineering and large-scale project delivery, which is greatly needed in South Africa, continues to grow,” he states.

Looking back, Goba and Kirk agree that the two com-panies have come a long way together, beginning with the work done by the joint ven- ture on State-owned transport entity Transnet’s capital expan-sion programme, through to the initial merger discussions which began in 2011.

“It has been a journey trav-elled with vision, integrity, fair-ness and excitement and we look forward to what the future holds. “We are committed to supporting the development and implementation of efficient projects, which Southern Africa needs in order to grow the economy. “Our mission is to bring ‘smart’ solutions to our clients through broader skills and global experience,” concludes Kirk.

Hatch Goba’s targeted goal is to obtain a minimum Level 3 contributor status in terms of the current Broad-Based Black Economic Empower-ment (BBBEE) codes, which will be driven by an active BBBEE strategy, to ensure that it contributes positively to transformation within its sector and to society as a whole.