Capital Equipment News September 2019

motivator, which ensures peace of mind for every equipment owner. To the future As Maximum Equipment continues to establish the Hidromek brand in the local market, the company is aiming to further grow its footprint. Ellis says next in line is Cape Town, with a branch scheduled to be up and running by October this year. Commenting on the current state of the market in the country, Ellis is optimistic that the market will rebound despite the current challenging trading conditions. “The yellow metal equipment market has been contracting over the past three years, but we are starting to see a reversal of that trend. We believe that the market will improve significantly in the next five years. We see a bright future for Maximum Equipment and Hidromek in South Africa,” says Ellis. Commenting on the state of affairs in the KwaZulu-Natal area, Khaled says Durban Central and Western areas are slow at the moment, and demand is coming from north of Umdloti up to Richards Bay. “Despite the tough nature of the market, the region remains one of our key markets. We aim to adouble our sales in the region from our KZN branch this year,” concludes Khaled. b

Raleshaba Moeng (right) of CVC Africa takes delivery of the new Hidromek HMK62SS mini-TLB from Dave Khaled of Maximum Equipment.

competitive brands – are testimony to the machine’s ultimate tool carrier ability. Simons is also very happy with the support provided by Maximum Equipment’s Durban branch. “Our machines are serviced once every month. The support from Maximum Equipment has been very good thus far,” he says. Dargle Plant Hire took delivery of its Hidromek HMK 220 LC excavator in June this year, which is being used in general civils and forestry applications, according to director Chris Correia. Commenting on the new acquisition, Correia says the Hidromek is definitely a premium machine that is perfectly suited for all the company’s taxing applications. “The Hidromek is definitely a major brand and we have had quite a lot of interest and enqui- ries from our clientele. One of the biggest features that appeals to me is the electronic start-up sequence which locks the operator out of control until the computer has run the engine and pumps through its warm up procedure,” says Correia.

Correia is also full of praise of Maximum Equipment’s support. “Maximum Equipment has provided us with personalised and excellent service, which is quite difficult for any other big supplier to match. They also keep specific stock of replacement and service parts specifically for us at their closest branch to our main office and also do regular checks on us,” he adds. “ Furthermore, we have been so impressed with the fuel usage stats we are getting from the Hidromek HMK 220 LC. We really couldn’t believe how light the machine’s fuel burn was and we thought that the specific site it started on had factors that contributed to this, but we have been pleasantly surprised at all subsequent sites that the machine has been deployed. It had continued to show surprisingly low fuel usage while delivering excellent performance,” adds Correia. Elsewhere, CVC Africa has taken delivery of its new Hidromek HMK62SS mini-TLB. It specialises in enterprise and supplier development, helping start-up companies in various fields, including construction and engineering, find their feet in the industry by providing both equip- ment and training. Partner Raleshaba Moeng says this programme, the company has had over 400 companies on its books over the past three years, and some 80 entities are currently going through the programme. The Hidromek HMK62SS mini-TLB will be primarily used for training purposes. “Due to its compact size, the machine is ideal for our training programme. We opted for the Hidromek because we wanted a reliable piece of equipment. The warranty was also a key consideration in our buying decision, given that the machine will change a lot of hands during training,” says Raleshaba, adding that Maximum Equipment’s support footprint was also a key

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