CoEng celebrates 14th anniversary as it continues to box above its weight

CoEng COO Takalani Mbedzi and chairperson Rain Mudadi

Speaking at a company event in Krugersdorp, Rain Mudadi, cofounder and current chair of CoEng, said: “They say time flies when you are having fun – and I can’t believe it has been 14 years. But time must have moved because when I look at our company today, we look very different to 14 years ago. Our team has grown extensively over the years, and we have opened new branches in other areas of South Africa where we see opportunities. I look forward to seeing our CoEng village grow more in the coming years.”

He noted that the company's resources have doubled in the past year, with new faces joining the team every month: “I believe the future is bright, and we will see continued growth in the coming years. I love thinking back on where we came from but it doesn’t actually matter. What matters is where we are going, and I believe where we are going is very good.”

Mudadi shared with us more about CoEng's beginnings, the challenges it has had to overcome, and the long-term vision the leadership has for the organisation.

CoEng staff at the 14th-anniversary event in Krugersdorp.

Describe for us what CoEng does?

Rain Mudadi: CoEng is a multi-disciplinary engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) house in the mining and mineral processing, oil and gas (petrochemicals), energy, food and beverages, and built environment industries.

We are proudly Black-owned with a huge majority of our workforce being historically disadvantaged people.

Who is the leadership behind CoEng?

Mudadi: CoEng’s leadership is made up of Rain Mudadi, chairperson; Casian Dendere, chief executive officer; Takalani Mbedzi, chief operations officer; and Jemina Skosana, corporate services director.

Give us a brief backstory on the company's beginnings?

Mudadi: When CoEng started, we were sub-leasing a room from another company who had an office. We couldn’t even have our own branding to advertise and no access to the office keys. We had to start our day when the company opened up for the day and had to leave when they locked up for the evening.

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What sort of growth has CoEng seen over the last 14 years?

Mudadi: It was a few guys at the beginning. We now have over 120 employees with five offices in four provinces. The company has been organically grown by a few engineers coming together, and we had a vision and a dream. The vision has been manifesting as we grow.

This is now a village. It used to be a household, but we have grown immensely over the past couple of years.

What are some of the challenges that CoEng has had to persevere through?

Mudadi: The biggest challenge occurred when we started out because we all had to use one desk which we shared for a while. We couldn’t showcase our branding and the office hours were linked to the sub-letting company’s. Our first major contract opened up opportunities for us which was a major breakthrough.