Management Board

Management Board

The ISF Management Board are selected by the ISF members during the Annual General Meeting.

Board members are selected to ensure experienced leadership and knowledge of the international markets and typically are well established exporters themselves.

ISF Chair – Mr Kobus de Beer (Board member since 1999)

Kobus have been involved in the industrial manufacturing, rail and construction industries for the past fifty plus years. He was based for many years in the UK as the CEO of Dorbyl International, the global representative arm of the Dorbyl Group.

Since his retirement a decade ago, Kobus has been ploughing his knowledge and experience back into the steel industry as a director of industry associations and also was the founder of the Powerline Association of South Africa. Kobus was involved in the ISF since 1991 and has served for decades on the ISF Management Board as Director and Chair. He currently also serves currently as a Trade Commissioner of the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC).

ISF Vice-Chair – Mr. Bryan Wilken (Board member since 2012)

Bryan has been responsible for sales and marketing at B&T Steel for the past ten+ years. B & T Steel was established in 1995 in Delmas, Mpumalanga and specialises in the design, detailing, fabrication and erection of structural steel & cladding in South and Sub Saharan Africa. Bryan has been a valuable ISF Board member for the past decade, serving as Director, Treasurer and Vice-Chair.

ISF Chief Executive Officer – Neels van Niekerk (CEO since 2005)

Neels started his career in IT about fifty years ago and entered the steel merchant and construction industry ten years later for the following twenty years in various roles including IT, procurement, marketing, exports and general management in the Dorbyl Group.

He was responsible as Project Director for the Governmental / Columbus Stainless / SA Stainless Development Association’s development project from 2000 to 2004. The main objective of the Stainless Steel Co-operative Development Initiative (SSCDI) was to double the local apparent consumption of primary stainless steel which was mainly achieved by the growth of value-added exports. His passion is the growth of the industrial capacity and capabilities of the African Continent.

ISF Director (Mozambique) – Mr. Francis Braz (Board member since 2008)

Francis has been involved in the supply and erection of steel structures and mine processing equipment from Southern Africa to many destinations around the globe for the past five decades. The bulk of projects delivered has been to new soft and hard rock mining projects in Africa and South America.

Francis is the sole owner of Francis Braz Consultoria based in Maputo, Mozambique and serve as the Business Director / Country Manager for FL Smidth in Angola and Mozambique.

ISF Director – Mr. Lawrence Bartlett (Board member since 2014)

Lawrence is the Group CEO and co-owner of Steel Services and Allied Industries, Gear Mining Construction and Crane Corporation with its Head Office in Carltonville and operations in other Southern African countries.

He has a proven track record of working in the construction and mining industry across Africa and beyond. He is skilled in Operations Management, Construction, Mining, Management, and Steel. He is a strong business development professional and certified Professional Mechanical Engineer.

ISF Director – Ms. Rita Maki Sello (Board member since 2021)

Rita is the Marketing Director for Bareng Engineering Services
Metal Engineering and Fabrication
Marketing Director

ISF Director – Mr. Shavhani Mutshutshu (Board member since 2021)

ISF Director – Mr. Franck Wandji (Board member since 2021)

Franck is currently the Executive: Group Marketing

ISF Value Proposition

As the ISF mainly operate in the bespoke project construction markets, the value proposition of the ISF will vary from member to member and project to project.

Standard Steel Stocks

Southern Africa is served by an excellent network of steel merchants and service centers supplying a wide range of primary and intermediate steel products ex-stock.