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

  • Growing WIM demand in Russia and South America
    April 4, 2014
    One Eastern European WIM manufacturer is finding commercial success in Russia, while another leading manufacturer is in demand in South America, as Guy Woodford reports Since Czech WIM technology manufacturer Camea secured type approval for its UnicamWIM system in early 2013, the firm has been installing a number of the systems in different Russian regions. These have included two UnicamWIM stations in Novosibirsk, one in the Kostroma region, and another on the M20 Highway between Belarus and Russia.
  • The Sir Ambrose Shea lift bridge wins key award
    April 25, 2017
    The Sir Ambrose Shea lift bridge has received a transportation award of merit. The structure was designed by Parsons and has been given the 2017 Transportation Award of Merit from the Consulting Engineers of Ontario (CEO). As sole prime consultant, Parsons also provided project management and engineering services during construction. Located on the Avalon Peninsula in the town of Placentia, NL, the Sir Ambrose Shea Lift Bridge provides a connection while supporting the region’s commercial fishing industry.
  • More efficient asphalt output from new plants
    November 20, 2015
    Advances in asphalt plant design offer major gains in product throughput and quality, while also allowing for warm asphalt and increased recycling The asphalt sector is constantly looking for ways to optimise production, lower costs and improve product quality and consistency. Competition is fierce in the asphalt plant market, with several of the key companies working hard to develop new and more efficient technologies, as well as equipment that is more versatile and more mobile. Advances have been made
  • Grading in tough conditions
    July 6, 2012
    Volvo graders have made an important contribution on upgrades to a 150km stretch of the NH7 highway, one of India's most important road links. The NH7 highway is an impressive 2,369km in length, linking the town of Kanyakumari, perched on the southern-most point of the Indian mainland where the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean meet, with the north-eastern holy city of Varanasi on the banks of the river Ganges.