FIBERTEX SA – specialists in the manufacture, supply and support of a comprehensive range of Geosynthetic products – hosted a ‘Women in Engineering Workshop’ at the KZN manufacturing plant recently.
“Fibertex marked women’s month as a platform to showcase the company’s commitment to empowering through diversity,” said Technical Sales Engineer Meera Govender. “And to celebrate female engineers working in the built environment, we invited ladies from all sectors of our business to attend our event, including guests from engineering consulting and architectural firms, educational institutions and the eThekwini Municipality.
“A highlight of the day was a motivating address by the key-note speaker, Jeshika Ramchund, Lead Engineer – Developments, for Bosch Projects. Jeshika, who is passionate about the Engineering industry and who is committed to working hard to improve the lives of many South Africans, had a powerful message of encouragement – we must all simply focus on being the best at what we do. This made her the ideal candidate to partner with the Fibertex team to present the common message.
Govender said Ramchund shared her journey, highlighting the challenges she faces and tools she utilises, to allow her to achieve her success. In the last year, she has been awarded the 2019 CESA Young Engineer of the Year Award, the 2019 SAICE Durban Young Engineer of the Year Award, the 2018 SAPSA Engineering Young Professional of the Year Award and was also selected as one of the Mail and Guardian’s 200 ‘Young South Africans to Watch’ in 2018, in the Science and Technology category.
The workshop proper comprised a technical presentation on the Introduction to Geosynthetics and its applications; an interactive discussion about the challenges of gender diversity and a tour of the plant.
Guests were shown the process of nonwoven staple fibre geotextile products being manufactured from raw polypropylene (PP) fibres and informed that Fibertex UV stabilised virgin PP geotextiles are the only nonwoven geotextiles produced in Africa, with certification for durability of over 100 years.
The company has recently achieved Continuing Professional Development (CPD) accreditation from the South African Institute of Consulting Engineering (SAICE) for its specially-developed course on the “Introduction to Geosynthetics and Soil Reinforcement”. It plans to obtain further accreditation for other courses, which will be presented to the local market by company technical specialists.
