As a dynamic industrial services provider offering comprehensive turnkey solutions, TMS-Redec is a true leader of the South African energy and utilities sector. Nico Schoeman, Managing Executive, tells us more about his introduction to the field and the company’s plans for supporting the country’s future.
A POWERHOUSE OF POSSIBILITIES
At TMS-Redec, ‘do it once, do it right, do it safely’ is how we plan, execute, and hand back every job.”
This steadfast sentiment towards quality, safety, and successful outcomes – as stated by Nico Schoeman, Managing Executive of TMS-Redec – is evident in the company’s position as an industry stalwart in South Africa (SA).
Established in 1998, TMS-Redec is a turnkey industrial services provider to the energy, petrochemical, oil and gas, mining, marine, manufacturing, and construction sectors. The company’s core disciplines include everything from access scaffolding and abrasive blasting to high-pressure water jetting and asbestos removal, and much more.
“We operate nationally from Waterfall City in Midrand, with branches in Cape Town, Durban, Richards Bay, Sasolburg, and Secunda, as well as a regional footprint including Mozambique and Tanzania. We support leading brands across power, fuels, petrochemicals, mining, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG),” details Schoeman.
With a career at the intersection of complex operations and people-centred leadership, Schoeman initially trained as an engineer before moving into industrial services.
“What drew me to energy and utilities was the real-world impact – when you keep a refinery, mine, or power station running safely, you keep communities and economies moving,” he insights.
Currently, Schoeman views the energy and utilities industry as particularly exciting, as the South African power system is gradually stabilising but remains sensitive to shock, making high-quality maintenance and disciplined shutdown execution more critical than ever.
Simultaneously, mining is gaining momentum because when commodity prices strengthen, capital budgets unlock, thus driving infrastructure upgrades, enhanced maintenance routines, life-extension work, and larger, better-planned shutdown scopes.
TMS-Redec is also witnessing a drive towards clean fuels, which is catalysing capital projects. Meanwhile, many ageing petrochemical plants are facing heightened reliability and compliance pressures, translating into a greater need for integrated maintenance solutions.
“For us, that convergence makes this a demanding – and very exciting – time to deliver multi-discipline outcomes safely and at speed,” expands Schoeman.
MERGING TWO INDUSTRY GIANTS
TMS-Redec is a merged entity of the businesses formerly known as TMS Group Industrial Services and Redec Services and is a proud member of the Sekta Group – a company providing clients with a simple route to plan, execute, and commission projects through one aligned ecosystem, thus reducing interfaces and delivering safely at speed.
As part of Sekta Group, the company integrates the planning, commissioning, and construction capabilities for end-to-end delivery with fewer interfaces.
This merger consolidated deep capability sets, from heavy-duty industrial cleaning and access to coatings, corrosion protection, and specialist repairs. It also provided the platform for an expanded services offering and geographic reach into Africa.
“This union simplified contracting for clients by delivering more disciplines under one accountable partner with common systems, supervision, and reporting,” informs Schoeman.
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TMS-Redec continues to differentiate itself from the competition through this unique and powerful merger alongside other factors.
Notably, the company’s position as a frontline solutions partner allows it to work shoulder-to-shoulder with site teams to diagnose root causes and design fit-for-purpose methods. It consistently leads with innovative approaches, bringing new solutions to old problems. From alternative access strategies and accelerated surface-prep to specialised linings and catalyst-handling methodologies, TMS-Redec is always aligned with safety and schedule.
Equally, the company prioritises safety and quality in every activity it undertakes. It boasts ISO-aligned integrated management systems, governance planning, risk, and close-out across every discipline.
This aligns with TMS-Redec’s emphasis on empowerment and local value. The company is a Level 1 broad-based Black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) contributor, 100 percent black-owned, and 51 percent black women-owned.
Most importantly, the company highlights its culture.
“We care for our people, work on management visibility, and have a ‘we all go home safely’ mindset evident in disciplined planning, clean worksites, and incident-free execution,” prides Schoeman.
MAKING WAVES IN INDUSTRIAL MAINTENANCE
TMS-Redec expertly specialises in shutdowns, general outages, large-scale maintenance, and projects where schedule control, multi-trade coordination, and safe execution are non-negotiable.
“Our teams deliver scaffolding, access, and alternative access solutions at scale and apply coatings with precision and insulation with perfection,” details Schoeman.
“We execute complex catalyst change-outs – including inert and continuous monitoring environments – whilst performing high-pressure water jetting, vacuumation, chemical cleaning, the application of specialised floor and tank linings, and structural repairs to extend asset life.”
By doing all of this under one contractor, plan, and quality system, it consistently shortens outages and improves hand-back certainty, making TMS-Redec the partner of choice for many.
The company’s industry-leading expertise is also evident in the recent projects it has undertaken.
Within the petrochemical sector, the company conducted an insulation remove-and-replace on a 97-metre-tall vessel using Layher® access scaffolding system, delivering a two-and-a-half-month schedule improvement over prior project performance.
Additionally, the company delivers twice-yearly catalyst changeouts under inert atmosphere conditions for several consecutive years whilst maintaining an incident-free safety record throughout.
“We have a multi-year track record of successful boiler outage execution, achieving a consistent combined downtime reduction of up to four days per event through the use of Layher® access scaffolding systems and suspended access solutions, achieving a multi-million Rand benefit to the client,” informs Schoeman.
Another snapshot of TMS-Redec’s range is its work on new boilers. Specifically, as the scaffolding and insulation partner for three new boilers for a petrochemical client, enabling a shift away from coal-derived steam – a strategic move to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with the project expected to cut imported coal steam to zero and reduce carbon footprint.
“Our purpose is to keep critical industry working – safely and reliably. We translate that purpose into measurable outcomes for power, fuel and petrochemical, mining, and manufacturing operators”
Nico Schoeman, Managing Executive, TMS-Redec
KEEPING CRITICAL INDUSTRIES WORKING
TMS-Redec is proud to assist the critical and core industries that play a vital role in SA’s sustainability and well-being.
“Our purpose is to keep critical industry working – safely and reliably. We translate that purpose into measurable outcomes for power, fuel and petrochemical, mining, and manufacturing operators,” impassions Schoeman.
The company upholds this role through various means, most notably by its uptime and resilience, asset integrity and life extension, people and environmental protection, energy transition readiness, local value and skills, and partnerships and continuous improvement.
Specifically, its partnerships and continuous improvement involve a frontline solutions approach, with root-cause analysis, fit-for-purpose methods, and close-out learnings, all of which compound reliability gains over successive outages.
Equally as important to TMS-Redec’s reputation as an industry leader is how it treats its team members.
“Our people are our edge. We invest in formal certifications, on-the-job mentorship, and supervisory development,” explains Schoeman.
The company recognises excellence with visible leadership engagement on sites and ‘safety moments’ that celebrate proactive hazard identification. It is most excited about its graduate internship programme, which has yielded a 68 percent conversion to permanent employment over the past six years, lifting the company’s competency levels, creating opportunities for qualified professionals to enter the industry, and underpinning succession planning.
“The result is confidence, careers, and – most importantly – sustained improved service delivery,” concludes Schoeman.
As TMS-Redec continues to look towards an ever-successful future, it is prioritising reliability partnerships, selective regional growth, capability deepening, and talent pipeline and transformation – ultimately allowing it to retain its well-earned and time-proven status as a game-changer in the energy and utilities industry.
