The company was formed in 1969 by two engineers who were employed by the (then) Johannesburg City Council, KN Soderlund and WK Schutte. These two gentlemen retired in 1999. The company appointed two new directors in 1990, BA Lewis and RB Watermeyer, who took over the management of the firm when the original directors retired, along with an additional appointee, ACM Jacquet. All three parties are currently registered professional engineers.
When Mr Lewis retired in 2013 it was decided to devolve the company into the specialist fields of the previous directors, Dr Watermeyer forming Infrastructure Options which specialises in creating standards for government, Mr Jacquet forming SABeEX which specialises in procurement documentation, and Mr Lewis continued with structural and civil engineering with the company name of Sarapenta on a more part-time basis. Sarapenta and Soderlund & Schutte have subsequently completed a number of joint venture projects including the Sandton apartments and Crownwood Road bridge projects listed below.
AS Davie is the current sole director of Soderlund & Schutte, having joined the company in 1986 as a civil technician. He obtained a degree in urban engineering from the University of Johannesburg in 1995 (then Technicon Witwatersrand), and registered as a professional project manager with the SACPCMP in 2008 (no. D/1757/2008), and as a professional technologist with ECSA in 2013 (PrTech 201370003). The firm is registered with the South African Association of Consulting Engineers.
Permanent staff members include
Contract staff:
The following brief descriptions of projects are those that have commenced since 2013:
Other types of projects include structural alterations to warehouses and residences, structural repairs to minor buildings and walls, storm water management plans for commercial developments, outline scheme reports for land re-zoning applications, assessment and review of completed infrastructure designs, structural and services reports for existing facilities.