Kraatz gifts a scrum machine to Western Suburbs Rugby Club
Kraatz Engineering (Kraatz), a subsidiary of the Ohlthaver & List (O&L) Group, recently gifted a scrum machine worth N$25,000 to the management and team of the Khomasdal-based Western Suburbs Rugby Club.
Kraatz specialises in engineering services in the marine and offshore, mining, fabrication, heavy machine equipment, solar and welding sectors.
Rugby is one of the fastest-growing sports in Africa with Namibia being the current African champion and the country with the most Africa Gold Cup wins (nine in total), according to a statement by the O&L Group.
This is by no means a small feat with many Namibian players hailing from local clubs such as Western Suburbs, situated in the heart of the Khomasdal community of Windhoek, their statement continued.
“The scrum machine, aptly named ‘Kraatzie’ was custom-designed by the Kraatz team to avoid accidental injury by broadening the base plates and other modifications and fabricated using steel that weighs approximately 230kg, has an overall length of 3,07m and width of 1,51m.”
Jacques de Langen, Project Manager of Kraatz, commented that rugby is part of their community, and it is a sports activity that even their employees engage in during their free time.
“Being able to deliver this quality scrum machine is not just a feather in our cap, but a testimony to the quality fabrication Kraatz commits to in our promise to our clients. It speaks to our Group’s Purpose of “Creating a future, enhancing life” and how the little we did here can go a long way for the club and the players,” said de Langen.
Meanwhile, Keith Allies, President of Western Suburbs Rugby Club, expressed his gratitude to O&L and Kraatz for the sponsorship and personally thanked the team that worked on the project during their holidays when everything else was closed.
“That shows your commitment to not only Kraatz and O&L but to the community. This scrum machine is not just a scrum machine but a work of art. The previous machine carried us for almost 20 years, but techniques have changed, and so must we,” Allies noted.
He said the new machine will help them with that evolution side of things. “This sponsorship means a lot to the club, and we are grateful and happy to receive ‘Kraatzie’ as our new scrumming partner,” he added.
The Western Suburbs Rugby Club with Kraatzie.
