ASLA Plant Director Nicolaas (Kalla) van den Heever is “born and bred” in Springbok, in the Namaqualand near the Namibia border and travelled many interesting roads prior to joining ASLA, almost seven years ago, to run our Plant Department. And if you have had the opportunity to meet, and hear “Kalla”, you will know that the man from Namaqualand is a positive personality whose glass is always half full, never half empty. He is passionate about family, community, education, studying, work, yellow plant, personal growth, and golf… a sport that he approaches with the same professionality, determination, commitment and engagement with which he approaches most things in life.
After completing his national service as an officer, he moved to Cape Town for three years where he qualified as a Diesel Mechanic in 1988. He then became a teacher for twelve years. While teaching at Namaqualand High School in Springbok he completed his National Teachers Diploma (Technical) at the old Cape Technicon in 1992. “In the army I studied lecturing the troops, as a trained instructor, so that laid a foundation – teaching was like a second nature to me,” says van den Heever. “Also, my mom was a teacher, and my father was in construction, so during the first part of my career I followed my mom’s footsteps, and in the second I followed my dad’s.”
As a Mechanical Teacher, he taught Technical Drawings and Motor Mechanics. And as much as he taught people, he too had an appetite for learning and consumed courses related to Business Management, Construction, Training of Operators and the Mechanical Engineering field.
His career path saw him become Workshop Manager and later a Plant Director at Botes & Kennedy & Manyano – a civil construction company that worked mainly in the mines. And in 2018 when one of the ASLA founders, Siebrits Laker (who was getting ready to retire from full-time duties at ASLA) was looking for a new Plant Manager, Kalla’s name came up. Kalla was a fantastic fit for ASLA, and he was hired as the new Plant Manager, and promoted to Plant Director earlier this year.
A student and a teacher
The walls of his office, situated above the ASLA workshop, are ‘wall papered’ with diplomas and certificates. He is a facilitator, a moderator and an assessor; has completed his N4 and N5, holds licence for a yellow machinery, and certificates in general first aid, hydraulic fault finding, and 22 other courses on the ever-popular Caterpillar construction machinery. He also completed an online senior management diploma, graduating BA (Hons) Business Management from University of Lincoln at the age of 49.
Van den Heever has written training manuals (small and major plant maintenance) and presented to supervisors, managers and operators, as well as a mechanical training manual for site mechanics. “I have a passion for machinery but also a passion for people and training them,” he says.
Although his appointment doesn’t necessarily require him to offer training internally, he feels it is a natural extension, as he has the capability, and provides training about three to four times a year, sometimes visiting the sites to do so. He is armed with theory and knowledge of most vehicles, old and new, and has been christened a walking encyclopaedia by an ASLA colleague. His wisdoms include providing economical and sustainable solutions (on site and in the workshop), the importance of building relationships, as well as being kind to oneself.
A provincial golfer
Somehow, despite his busy schedule, he still found the time to play provincial golf for twenty years in Namaqualand. And although he retired from provincial golf when he turned forty, it was only to start working on the golf administration side of things – an endeavour he earned a green jacket for serving GolfRSA as an Executive.
These days he may still play once a week on a Saturday (if his programme allows it) and will practice a bit more when he plays the Senior League in Strand. He also recently helped organised a fund raiser for his old local Springbok Golf Cub. “Golf clubs around the Western Cape are big businesses, but maintaining and running one up country, back in Springbok is not an easy job, which is why I am still involved.”
Delivering Dignity through infrastructure
“Dignity through infrastructure is a wonderful slogan and I’ve been privileged to see new occupants move into their new ASLA built homes a few times. That makes me very proud. Sometimes I see them move in, and sometimes we help them to move in. Not all of our personnel at ASLA is so fortunate to see our housing teams in action on the ground… once you get to take it in, especially for the first time, the moment will stay with you for the rest of your life – the joy is unbelievable, and I’m lucky to have seen it a few times, and they have been very special moments.
He is looking forward to delivering in his new role as Plant Director and being an asset and benefit to ASLA. “I enjoy the operational side – our machinery is running, our fleet of approximately 500 is well-maintained, and seeing the smiles on the people’s faces that I work with are a daily highlight,” concludes van der Heever.
