JCB Fleet Provides The Foundation For DP2 Construction’s Growth

DP2 Construction, a Cape Town-based civil engineering and construction company, has loaded up with an impressive fleet of JCB machines supplied by Bell Equipment, which has quickly become the backbone of their operations, helping them deliver on a wide range of projects.

The company was started by André and Julian du Preez in August 2016. André entered the industry in 1978 as a learner surveyor when he joined Savage & Lovemore, which later became Group 5. He moved up the ranks and, in 1984, joined Graham Power in his startup company, Power Construction. He worked for 30 years and retired as CEO in 2013.

Julian, who also worked and studied through Power Construction, resigned in 2016 after 16 years of service, and the two of them started DP2 Construction in August of that year.

Alicia Robertson, the other director and shareholder, studied and worked at Power Construction for 20 years and joined DP2 in June 2019. She is the company’s Technical and Administration Director, responsible for all office and legal administration, and the fully functional tender department.

André’s son, Julian, takes up the story: “DP2 Construction is a bit of a family affair as my uncle, Jacques, joined DP2 in January 2022, and his mentorship and knowledge that he freely shares are invaluable.

“On our very first contract, which was a subcontract in Ceres, I ended up being roller operator, mechanic, clerk, bricklayer and a general handyman to make sure that the contract ran smoothly.”

Since then, DP2 has employed many capable and experienced site agents, foremen, surveyors, and supervisors to maintain focus on the company’s core values: performance, trust, quality, and integrity.

DP2 Construction focuses primarily on the private sector, where it constructs civil infrastructure like bulk earthworks, water reticulation, roads, platforms, and other infrastructure that makes housing and retail developments possible. The company primarily works in the Cape Peninsula, Winelands, and Swartland areas.

“In the last two years there has been a surge in flood repair works in more rural parts of the country like farms and general watercourses,” Julian adds, “There has also been work for the film industry where we’ve constructed platforms and roads for various scenes in different locations. It is fascinating work, which always sees us working under pressure.”

DP2 Construction had, until recently, maintained a strategy of hiring in earthmoving and material handling equipment for its various projects. The amount of repair to damaged infrastructure in and around the Cape Peninsula following the floods of 2023, plus the commencement of various renewable energy projects, has reduced the availability of much of the reliable plant available for hire in the area.

When faced with a shortage of plant in early 2024, DP2 Construction’s directors put on their thinking caps.

“We researched the market and got advice from a former colleague who had been a plant manager for a large civil engineering company. He advised us to look around and see what machines were the most used. We noticed that JCB-manufactured machines were the most prevalent on construction sites, which clearly reflected the brand’s quality and popularity,” Julian explains. “André Jordaan of Bell Equipment had been calling on us from our inception and it was to him that we turned for further advice on which machines to consider for our purposes.”

Working with Bell Equipment, the distributors of JCB equipment in South Africa, DP2 Construction was pleasantly surprised to learn of the different financial options from JCB and ABSA Bank. This convinced them to place orders for two JCB 3DX Plus Backhoe Loaders, one JCB JS140 Excavator and a JCB CT260-120 Ride-on Roller in February 2024. With financing in place, all the equipment was delivered to DP2 Construction in April 2024. A JCB JS205 Excavator followed in September later in the year.

“Having one’s own equipment available at all times is such a bonus and especially our excavators are clocking up the production hours,” Julian says. “We have very good operators on the machines, and on the JS140 we have a lady operator who is really gentle on the machine, but gets the job done efficiently.”

“As we don’t have our own full-time mechanics yet, we’ve included Bell Care Packages for all the machines, and this gives us the assurance of solid maintenance leading to longer machine life and good returns on our investment.”

According to Julian, the two excavators are used extensively for trenching for services, excavations for platforms and box-cuts for road construction. The JCB CT260-120 Roller is delivering good compaction on newly constructed platforms and roads, and the versatile 3DX Plus Backhoe Loaders are used to dig, load, stockpile and backfill, with housekeeping duties thrown in to keep construction sites tidy.

“We have a clear understanding of what constitutes heavy, medium, and light work for the machines, and how this impacts fuel consumption, which is factored into our contracts,” Julian continues. “For example, it makes sense to rather run the JCB JS140 Excavator in certain situations rather than the heavier JS205, resulting in fuel savings.”

All DP2 Construction’s machine operators have daily checklists to complete before starting a shift, and Julian is of the opinion that checking the machine ties in with onsite health and safety protocols too.

“We enjoyed the sales experience with André Jordaan and we found his vast product knowledge to be a real help,” Julian says. “With so much middle-income housing being initiated in Cape Town, especially to the northwest in towns like Malmesbury and Moorreesberg, we’re bound to consult André in the not-too-distant future about more yellow machines that bear the JCB logo.”

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