Capital Equipment News December 2017

PROFILE

KEY TALKING POINTS

ELB Equipment has a special focus on its best- of-breed model that has allowed it to distribute a range of carefully selected renowned equipment brands over the years

The company distributes a diversified range of equipment, covering a spectrum of earthmoving, construction and mining sectors

product range offered an opportunity to fully diversify into construction. It also gave us a footprint into quarries, as well as our traditional mining industry. The next step in our growth quest was the takeover of the distribution of the Sumitomo excavator range, which was one of the big five manufacturers in the world at that stage. We then ended up with a big suite of construc- tion and earthmoving equipment, focused on smaller mines and quarries. In our quest to further become a one-stop shop, we then looked at further diversifying into mobile crushing and screening equipment as we were already supplying quarries, small- er diamond mines and coal contractors with a range of equipment. The third phase of diversification came in when we expanded the mobile crushing and screening range with modular and fixed type of plants. That is really where we are today. But, it is important to note that, as much as opportunities to represent more brands came along, we adopted a strategy to only take globally renowned products that met our cri- teria from a quality, availability and support point of view. MS: You have since evolved to become such a diversified equipment supplier. What are the key focus areas today? PB: Today ELB Equipment comprises mainly three divisions. The Mining division handles our rotary barrel screens; mobile, modular, static crushers and screens; crusher and screen combo plants; hoppers; feeders; mobile conveyors; washing systems and truck unloaders.

Peter Blunden, CEO of ELB Equipment.

PIONEERING THE BEST-OF-BREED MODEL Staying true to its founding principles, ELB Equipment has over the years continued to grow its stable with a strong focus on distributing a carefully- selected, diversified product range from renowned global original equipment manufacturers, covering a spectrum of its core earthmoving, construction, mining and industrial sectors. Peter Blunden, CEO of ELB Equipment, gives a broader view of the company’s strategy, new market trends and the state of the market at large. By Munesu Shoko

equipment supplier, and later evolved to be a supplier of a diversified product range, mostly through opportunities that presented themselves at the time. For example, when Leyland South Africa left the country, we inherited the Ditch Witch distributorship in South Africa, which marked our first venture into the construction type of equipment. In 1984, we further expanded by adding the Furukawa product range. MS: So, this marked a new era as far as the diversification strategy was concerned? PB: Yes. The modus operandi was very simple – it was all about having a diverse range of top brands within our ranks. The Furukawa

Munesu Shoko (MS): ELB Equipment is a renowned name in the southern African equipment fraternity, well-known for its best-of- breed model that has allowed it to distribute a range of carefully-selected leading equipment brands over the years. Tell me about this approach. Peter Blunden (PB): To get a grasp of this model, it is important to understand where ELB Equipment comes from. ELB Equipment was founded in 1981 as part of the larger ELB Group. At that time, the whole group comprised two big companies, one was an equipment entity and the other one was a project engineering company. The equipment company was initially a well-known mining

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