Skip to main content

Remote working for Avery Dennison on the island of St. Helena

Constructing the airport on the remote island of St. Helena has been one of the largest projects for a South African construction group. It’s the site of one of Avery Dennison Refiective Solutions most remote traffic sign projects. The 121km² island is a British Overseas Territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean, just under 2,000km from Angola on Africa’s southwest coast and 4,000km from Rio de Janeiro on Brazil’s east coast. St Helena is noted for being where French Emporer Napoleon was exiled in 1815 af
March 22, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Constructing the airport on the remote island of St. Helena has been one of the largest projects for a South African construction group. It’s the site of one of 1540 Avery Dennison Refiective Solutions most remote traffic sign projects.

The 121km² island is a British Overseas Territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean, just under 2,000km from Angola on Africa’s southwest coast and 4,000km from Rio de Janeiro on Brazil’s east coast. St Helena is noted for being where French Emporer Napoleon was exiled in 1815 after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. He died there in 1821.

Today, the island’s population of just over 4,500 is hoping that the new airport – when opened - will boost tourism to make the island self-sufficient. To replace the five-day boat trip from Africa, the UK government ploughed upwards of US$346 million to build the airport which has yet to open because of remaining concerns about wind shear affecting landing aircraft.

However, the road infrastructure for the design-build-operate airport project is in place, thanks to work by Basil Read. Deon De Jager, Basil Read’s director for St Helena, contracted Repro Signs, a South African traffic sign fabricator, to supply signage for the project. Repro Signs chose products from Avery Dennison Refiective Solutions.

Avery Dennison products, sent by Repro Signs from South Africa, included reflective sheeting and sign-converting supplies required to create all of the project’s highway signs. Given the sea voyage delivery time, all orders had to be filled perfectly first time every time, said Johan Winterbach, southern Africa area business manager for Avery Dennison.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Minimum of US$1.99bn for Rio de Janeiro state motorway works
    May 2, 2013
    Several motorways in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro will undergo construction works costing at least US$1.99 billion (BRL 4bn) in 2013 as part of the state's economic growth plan. On 25 April 2013, work began on turning a 70.9km stretch of BR-101 Norte into a dual carriageway, creating around 400 direct jobs. The next expansions will be on Via Dutra, on Ponte Rio-Niteroi's connection with Avenida Brasil and the Linha Vermelha, and on BR-040's stretch between Duque Caxias and Petropolis
  • New surface for Dubai’s busy airport
    January 6, 2015
    Dubai’s busy international airport is now benefiting from new runway and taxiway areas that will help boost capacity. The upgrades are much needed as the airport is one of the world’s busiest in terms of international flights. Data from the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) says that in 2013, air passenger traffic worldwide topped 3.1 billion, and demand is expected to continue to grow. The combination of more flights and growing numbers of larger and more sophisticated aircraft like the A
  • Liebherr tower cranes operating at Santiago airport
    January 14, 2019
    the Santiago Nueva Pudahuel International airport development is benefiting from the proximity of Liebherr’s branch location in Chile. At the moment, 18 of the 23 Liebherr tower cranes are in operation on the large-scale construction site. Of the machines in use, three are high-top models and 15 are flat-top types. The airport in Santiago de Chile is expanding its position as a key hub airport for South America. The operators are extending the site to 265,000m² and have commissioned the construction of a
  • Nepal plans road infrastructure expansion
    March 12, 2014
    Major road expansion is planned for Nepal, but will face huge challenges due to the country’s geography - Mike Woof reports, with local information from World Highways' Nepal correspondent, Ram Krishna Wagle The tiny, landlocked nation of Nepal lies sandwiched between two of the world’s largest countries, China and India and maintains good relations with both. Politically Nepal has strong links with China, while culturally its ties are close with India and these relationships work both ways. Despite bein