The MeerKAT radio telescope, currently being built by Square Kilometre Array South Africa (SKA SA) was recognised by the construction industry last week when it was presented with a Special Platinum Award at the 2017 Logistics Achiever Awards.

The MeerKAT project is the inaugural recipient of this special award, on Thursday, 2 November 2017. MeerKAT is a 64-antenna array radio telescope under construction in the Karoo in South Africa and is a precursor instrument to the Square Kilometre Array which, when complete, will be the world’s largest radio telescope.

This year’s Logistics Achiever Awards marked the 29th year of recognising and rewarding logistics and supply chain excellence in Southern Africa.

The awards aim to recognise professionalism and excellence in the effective application of strategic, tactical, and operational logistics and supply chain management principles, concepts, and practices in Southern Africa; to encourage all companies and organisations in Southern Africa to review, evaluate and upgrade their current logistics and supply chain management practices; and to create a greater awareness and understanding of the value of effective logistics and supply chain management.

“The MeerKAT project presented a number of challenges that encouraged our industry partners for which to find innovative solutions. This is a testimony that we are building a truly world class instrument,” says Willem Esterhuyse, General Manager: Engineering at SKA SA.

Some of SKA SA’s industry partners in the construction of MeerKAT was present at the awards ceremony. The MeerKAT construction has as much as 80% local supplier and manufacturing component content and key local suppliers include Stratosat Datacom, Efficient Engineering, Titanus Slew Rings, Tricom Structures, Namaqua Engineering, Westarcor, General Profiling, EMSS Antennas, Group 5, Aurecon, NMC Civils, GCS, Peralex, Tellumat, Daliff Precision Engineering, Fabrinox and others.