Capital Equipment News March 2018

Bell ‘cautiously optimistic’ about mining and construction sectors While 2017 was an unprecedented year for the southern African heavy equipment industry, which experienced a year-on-year market increase of about 15% across all product sectors, the current year has started much slower than anticipated, according to Mark Hughes, marketing director at Bell Equipment Sales South Africa.

Bell Equipment had a large exhibit at bauma CONEXPO AFRICA.

“Last year we had come through a few tough years during which many companies opted to age their fleet and deferred the replacement of assets; in many instances sweating them beyond their economic life. The articulated dump truck (ADT) market, for example, grew 40% on the previous year,” says Hughes. “The sudden and somewhat unexpected increase in demand created a massive opportunity for suppliers who were able to match stock requirements and provide finance. However, traditional sources of funding were pressure tested and this forced suppliers to be innovative with their funding models and offerings in order to meet customers’ requirements.” Although 2018 has been slow out of the starting blocks, Bell Equipment remains hopeful that resolving the Mining Charter logjam – a top priority of the country’s new administration – will re-energise the mining industry and boost investor confidence. “Commodity prices have been fairly good but the investor appetite of funders into the mining industry has remained under pressure because of ongoing uncertainty surrounding the Mining Charter,” says Hughes. While the lower exchange rate will be a challenge to Bell as an exporter of products, the company is cautiously optimistic that 2018 will see resurgence in infrastructure work, such as roads and civils develop- ments, by central and regional governments. “We are expecting to see some progress DEUTZ, together with its African distribution partner, DEUTZ DIESELPOWER (DDP), used bauma CONEXPO AFRICA to showcase the engine maker’s latest engines, with special focus on new heavy-duty models with a capacity range from 9 to 18 ℓ . The highlight at the DEUTZ stand was the new TCD 9.0, 12.0, 13.5 and 18.0 in-line engines, which from 2019 will significantly extend the company’s portfolio in the higher output range. The TCD 9.0 four-cylinder engine generates 300 kW and 1 700 Nm of torque and has already received two accolades. As well as winning the DIESEL OF THE YEAR award from DIESEL trade

in 2018 in the run-up 2019 which, being an election year, we expect will bring some un- certainty and a more conservative approach to the release of government work.” From an equipment perspective, Hughes believes that Bell is well positioned in southern Africa as a one-stop-shop with its carefully selected offering of Bell and partner products, with Kobelco excavators and Kamaz heavy duty tipper trucks being the newest additions to the range. “In the past six months that we have been distributing Kobelco machines we have seen tremendous interest and uptake. Although it’s still early days, initial feedback from the mar- ket speaks very favourably of fuel consump- tion, for which Kobelco is world famous, and we are encouraged that the manufacturer’s claims in this regard are being borne out by our customers’ experiences.” After initially launching the medium-sized machines from 21 t to 35 t, Bell will now augment and complete the range with the introduction of the larger 38 t, 50 t and 85 t models as well as the mini excavator range, magazine, it was named one of OEM Off- Highway’s Top Ten New Products of 2017. The TCD 12.0 and 13.5 are six-cylinder engines producing, respectively, 400 kW of power and 2 500 Nm of torque and 450 kW of power and 2 800 Nm of torque. The TCD 9.0 / 12.0 / 13.5 models are part of a family of engines that have a standardised cus- tomer interface and identical front and rear sides, considerably simplifying the tasks of integrating and maintaining the engines. The proportion of common parts used across the platform is approximately 65%, which reduces servicing complexity and op- timises inventories. The 620 kW six-cylinder

which comprises 5,5 t, 7,5 t and 13,5 t short rear swing machines. “We see a good market for these mini excavators, which are ideally suited to light construction, demo- lition, grave digging and forestry applica- tions,” says Hughes. Following the sound experience Bell has had running left-hand drive Kamaz trucks in field over the past few years, the company has received the first right-hand drive trucks, which have been officially launched at bauma CONEXPO AFRICA. “There has been tremendous interest from customers looking for low cost per tonne haulage solutions and we believe that this robust and capable range will complement our ADT offering well. We are thrilled to have one of the Kamaz Dakar trucks on our stand, which is sure to draw huge visitor interest while showcasing the passion for excellence that is shared by the racing and day-to-day products, both of which have the same design philosophy and are built with the same pride,” says Hughes. b TCD 18.0 in-line engine, which generates 3 600 Nm of torque, occupied the upper end of the power output range for DEUTZ. All new engines are specifically designed for heavy-duty construction equipment with high output and torque requirements. The engines are being developed for the EU Stage V, US Tier 4, China IV and EU Stage IIIA emissions standards and thus meet the future statutory requirements regarding exhaust emissions. DEUTZ DIESELPOWER is the biggest distributor for sales, support and service for all DEUTZ engines in South Africa and other English-speaking African countries. b

DEUTZ showcases heavy duty engines

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