The leading supplier of superior quality construction materials and technical solutions.
Since establishing its first cement plant in 1934, the company has grown into a formidable group with operations in South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini.
Our name, AfriSam, stems from the word ‘Afri’, which refers to our proud African heritage and ‘Sam’ comes from the word samente or disamente, which means cement in six of South Africa’s official languages.
We are committed to building a positive African future. It is this passion and commitment that we are most proud of, not of the products we make, but rather of what our products make possible – we create concrete possibilities.
Our three core values guide the way we conduct our business.
Our national footprint, production capacity and technical expertise make us the perfect partner for any construction project, big or small.
Eric Diack joined AfriSam as the Executive Chairman in May 2020. Eric has extensive experience of the South African construction, industrial and mining landscape. He has been integral to the negotiation and successful conclusion of a multitude of transactions during his corporate and entrepreneurial career. He was until recently the Executive Chairman of Aveng. Eric has served on numerous major listed company boards, namely: AMIC, AECI, ArcelorMittal, Daewoo, Dorbyl, Haggie, Highveld Steel, LTA, McCarthy’s, Terra and Tongaat. He is a Chartered Accountant and holds an AMP from Harvard University.
Next Team Member
Chief Financial Officer
Leon Serfontein was appointed as the Chief Financial Officer in September 2013. Since joining the company in 2000 he has held a number of financial management positions and was AfriSam’s Financial Manager since 2009. Leon has an intimate understanding of our business and expert knowledge gained through years of experience. He was also instrumental in the restructuring of AfriSam’s capital structure. He holds a B. Comm Accounting and Finance Honours Degree from the University of Johannesburg and is a registered Chartered Accountant.
Cementitious Executive
Vishal was appointed as AfriSam’s Cementitious Executive on 1 January 2025.
Since starting his career at Alpha (Pty) Ltd in 1996 as a Process Engineer, Vishal has held various key positions within AfriSam, including Quality Assurance Manager at the Roodepoort plant, Process Manager at Dudfield, and Process Technology Manager at the AfriSam Shared Services Centre. In 2018, he became the General Manager at AfriSam’s Dudfield Operation and was later transferred to the Technical Services Department in 2022. Before being appointed as the Cementitious Executive, Vishal served as the General Manager: Cementitious Central since 2023.
Sales and Marketing Executive
Richard Tomes joined AfriSam in December 2014 as the Sales and Marketing Executive. Preceding his appointment, he held the position of Joint Managing Director at PPC for the company’s South African business since 2012. He held the position of Sales and Marketing Executive between 2009 and 2012; and General Sales Manager between 2006 and 2009, as well as various other positions in the sales and technical departments of PPC. Prior to him joining the cement industry, Richard worked as a concrete technologist at one of South Africa’s leading construction companies, Concor Construction, where he was involved in various infrastructure projects, some of these include the Katse Dam in Lesotho, the New Road interchange on the M1 highway as well the Majuba Power Station, to name but a few. Richard holds an MBA from the University of Stellenbosch, a National Higher Diploma in Civil Engineering as well as an Advanced Concrete Technology Diploma. He is a member of the international institute of Concrete Technologists and is the current chairman of the Cement & Concrete South Africa, an industry body representing the local cement industry, the concrete society as well as other associated bodies.
Construction Materials Executive: Sales & Product Technical
Amit was appointed as Construction Materials Executive: Sales & Product Technical on 1 November 2023. Prior to this appointment he held a number of positions over a 20-year tenure at AfriSam. These positions, most recently, included National Multi Product Solutions Manager, National Sales Manager: Gauteng, General Manager: Readymix and General Manager: Sales and Product Technical for the Construction Materials business. His tenure at AfriSam and prior employment has given Amit a wealth of knowledge and experience in the Construction Materials industry. He holds a Masters of Engineering from the University of Witwatersrand and is a member of the Engineering Council of South Africa, South African Institute of Civil Engineering and Concrete Society of South Africa.
Construction Materials Operations Executive
Glenn was appointed to the AfriSam Executive Committee in November 2023 as the Construction Materials Operations Executive. Glenn has vast experience and depth of knowledge garnered over many years in the Construction Materials industry. He joined AfriSam in 1995 and has held a number of positions within the Aggregate and Readymix business, including General Manager of both AfriSam’s Aggregate and Readymix operations. Glenn is a Registered Professional Certificated Electrical Engineer and completed his MBA in 2002. He currently serves on the executive of both ASPASA and the Institute of Quarrying SA and is a member of the Engineering Council of South Africa and the Institute of Mechanical & Electrical Certificated Engineers in South Africa.
Information Services Executive
Louise van der Bank was appointed as AfriSam’s Information Services Executive in September 2010. Prior to joining the company, she held the position of Chief Information Officer at the South African Post Office. Her extensive experience in Information Management includes Director for SAP Core Banking at Standard Bank as well as holding various positions within the Information Technology division at Iscor Ltd (now ArcelorMittal). Louise holds a degree in BSc Computer Science from Potchefstroom University (now University of the North West) as well as a Higher Education Diploma from the same institution. She graduated from the executive programmes of Assessment Technologies International in 1997 and Darden Business School, University of Virginia, USA, in 2001.
Legal, Governance, Risk and Compliance Executive
Sibongile Miya was appointed Legal, Governance, Risk and Compliance Executive on 1 December 2018. She joined AfriSam on 1 July 2007 and has since held a number of positions within the company including Legal Service Manager and Corporate Governance and Compliance Manager. In her current executive position she is responsible for managing all Group matters related to regulatory risk, governance, compliance and legal and serves as the Group’s Chief Compliance Officer as well as Chief Risk Officer. Sibongile is an admitted attorney and holds both an LLB and B.Comm Law Degree.
