Mulwane Trading makes a great start in business
When he was in high school, Dumisani Mazibuko (25) often dreamt of becoming a successful businessman. His father was a long-distance truck driver, and the young man from Bronkhorstspruit envisioned owning heavy vehicles himself as a route to building wealth and realising his dreams.
His ambition grew as he attended financial literacy classes with his Prestige College high school teacher, with whom he discussed the principles of wealth covered in his reading materials. “I read a book about Donald Trump and it made a big impression on me,” says Dumisani. “It led me to dream that I would buy my own vehicles one day.”
The bright-eyed matriculant chose to study a B.Com degree at the University of Pretoria. During his studies, he was deeply influenced by his entrepreneurship lecturer, Dr Botha, who thoroughly prepared his students for doing business. “Dr Botha helped to shape me,” reflects Dumisani, “as he demanded that we work out every detail of our business plans, clearly showing how we were going to make our ideas work.”
““I have never been afraid of taking risks” says the young man, who has an open, friendly face. “The risk lies in not taking action.””
Dumisani’s studies led him beyond the pages of books as he started working on buying trucks and securing transport contracts.
“I have never been afraid of taking risks,” says the young man, who has an open, friendly face. “The risk lies in not taking action.”
In 2016, when Canyon Coal first moved into Bronkhorstspruit to build the Khanye mine, Dumisani had decided to pursue his dream with new determination. He discussed his intentions to do business with the mine with Canyon’s head of procurement and submitted a business profile with his business partner, Berry Masingi (28), who has experience in mining operations.
“We initially wanted to transport some of the mine’s coal. But after considering all the opportunities, we decided to start by supplying small machinery to the mine,” says Dumisani.
With its detailed business plan and accredited operators, Dumisani’s company, Mulwane Trading, secured a contract to supply and operate a tractor loader backhoe (TLB) at Khanye. But the company was new and could not secure banking finance of the equipment. “So we borrowed the machine knowing that we would generate more income with our own!” says Dumisani, with a good-humored smile.
“Getting to this point was not easy. We explored a number of avenues to obtain the machine, travelling across Mpumalanga and following up every lead. We reached a dead end time and again, until an operator in Delmas finally provided us with the right solution.”
At this stage, Berry dreamt of mines and machinery every night, while Dumisani practised visualisation techniques and tried to rest at night. “I knew I would need all my strength the next day, when I would wake up and find myself in the same predicament as the day before.”
Fortunately, the pair’s perseverance paid off and Mulwane Trading moved its first machine onto the Khanye site in March 2018. “When the machine finally arrived on site, I was elated,” says Dumisani. “It felt like a victory.” Barry adds proudly that he is on site monitoring his operators every day, as their goal is to deliver quality service and build a solid reputation.
Mulwane Trading has established a good track record in their first months of operating at Khanye. The company has secured finance for the acquisition of a Bobcat skid-steer loader after impressing the bank with immaculate management accounts, a VAT number and neat paperwork. The yellow machine was employed on site in October last year and works efficiently.
Observing how the skid steer skilfully removes excess coal from under the interim coal plant’s conveyor belt, Guy Thompson, general manager of Khanye, comments that Mulwane Trading has made a great start in business. “Mulwane’s service is excellent. They are always on site, checking that their operators are doing a good job. They show true commitment and are very keen to learn.”
Dumisani reveals that it is no longer money that drives him. His biggest objective is to build his company’s brand and seize opportunities to learn. “It takes a lot of time and effort to build a business,” he says.
Dumisani and Berry are not afraid to pursue their dreams. Revealing that they want to open a plant business in future, Dumisani says passionately: “The world is ours for the taking. We need to go out and get what we desire.”
