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

  • Lagos state lights up with Low Energy Designs
    June 27, 2018
    Nigeria’s Lagos state government has outsourced around a third of its street lighting under a deal with UK manufacturer Low Energy Designs. The partnership deal will see LED replace up to 10,000 lights over 300km of state roads within the next year at a cost of US$7 million, Nigeria’s media reported. Products will be from Low Energy Design’s Phoenix Ultra and Norrsken ranges. Included is the deployment of the company’s HESS - hybrid energy storage system – units of which will also be installed across the h
  • Trans-Saharan highway project on schedule
    October 31, 2014
    Work on the Trans-Sahara highway is on track with its construction schedule.
  • Getting a foothold on road safety
    September 3, 2012
    The Indian businessman, Rohit Baluja, has become one of the most articulate and outspoken advocates of road safety in developing countries. A leading figure in his country’s shoe industry, Baluja was converted to the cause that has become his lifelong passion during regular business trips to Europe
  • Koh Samui-Surat Thani bridge still on
    April 14, 2025
    Surachet Laopoolsuk, head of the Expressway Authority, Exat, reportedly said that the bridge could be open by 2034.