Mechanical Technology February 2015

⎪ On the cover ⎪

HTSA takes responsibility for Africa

Hansen Transmissions South Africa (HTSA), a Level 4 BBBEE contributor company and the South African subsidiary of Sumitomo-owned Hansen Industrial Transmissions (HIT), has had its market responsibly extended to include almost all of Africa. MechTech talks to HTSA’s sales and marketing manager, David Main (left) and MD, Fritz Fourie (right).

veloped markets, business in our region has flat lined, mostly due to the global turn-down, but also because of failures of our politicians to create an investor- friendly environment and to overcome power challenges. So the general pat- tern for businesses is to look to invest in Africa for growth. This is an extension of the European trend and one with the full backing of our parent company. We are currently in the process of carefully working out which countries to enter for maximum advantage and least risk and setting up business partnership frame- works with companies already actively supporting mining operations across Africa,” he adds. “Africa is vast, making it an expen- sive territory to cover. The dynamic is that unless you are local, you are at a disadvantage with respect to mining supply and service contracts. So we have looked for partners that are already well established in the mining supply, ports and bulk materials handling markets,” Main tells MechTech . HTSA has an extensive installed base in Africa and its industrial trans- missions are used on underground and surface conveyors, hoists, grinding and sugar mills, stackers, reclaimers and kiln drives, as well as for mixers, aerators and wet cooling towers. “Our specialism remains the industrial gearbox ranges and while we now have access to geared motors through Sumitomo, this is not our niche offering for Africa. Central to the Africa strategy is the decision to build on our core competence for the region, i.e., industrial transmissions for the mining industry,” reveals Fourie. Fourie notes that agreements have already been signed with partners in Accra, Ghana and in Zambia/DRC, giv- ing HTSA access to markets in several West African countries and to those in the Copper Belt. “We are also involved in talks with a well known mining support provider in Mozambique, where we have a significant installed base in the Tête

Hansen’s I4 industrial transmission was developed in South

Africa to meet the specific needs of underground mine conveyors. Based on the P4, the I4 can be inverted to accommodate an output shaft on the left or the right of an underground conveyor. coalfields, as well as in Nacala, Moatize and Matola. HTSA is looking for partners in Africa with repair and service facilities. “Typically in outlying areas, business volumes are too small to support single product suppliers, so these companies need to also offer motors, pumps and bearings from other suppliers in support of local operations – and African busi- ness is very strongly focused on after sales service. “The idea is to develop the technical capacity for our partners to do minor repairs – bearing and seal replace- ments, for example – at local workshop facilities. More complicated repairs will initially be done by our specialists flying in from South Africa. Over time, we will set up training programmes to transfer technical know-how and skills to local technicians, eventually enabling them to service our products independently,” Fourie suggests. “An important factor for developing regional hubs in African counties is the difficulty getting products across African borders,” Main continues. “Very often these gearboxes might sit on a trailer at a border post for three or four months before they are allowed to travel through. And with uptime being such a critical productivity factor, it makes sense not to move the gearbox too far. By keeping it in the territory, we hope to be able to do all the necessary repairs without having to export and re-import equipment to and from South Africa. “This is the lowest risk scenario for

T wo significant consequences have emerged following the take over of the global Hansen Industrial Transmissions group by Sumitomo, according to Fourie. “First, we now have access to a number of new product ranges, such as Sumitomo’s Paramax gearbox brand and the SEISA brand of very high torque transmissions. Sumitomo’s Paramax (PX9) indus- trial drives fit into the small and me- dium torque range of between 6.0 to 200 kNm. “Our Hansen P4/I4 range slots into the medium to high torque range from 200 to 730 kNm, but the SEISA range gives us a torque capability of above 1 100 kNm for both horizontal and vertical applications,” he says. In addition, the Hansen M4 ACC drive, pur- pose designed for air-cooled condensers in the power industry, continues to be a “preferred solution by the dominant ACC OEMs in the world for ACCs in turnkey and packaged boiler plants. Second, though, “our market respon- sibility has been extended to include almost all of Africa,” Fourie informs MechTech . “HTSA has long been re- sponsible for southern Africa, but our market has been extended to include the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) along with east, central and southern African states. This is part of the Group’s global African strategy and, as the acknowledged centre of excel- lence for mining within the Group, HTSA has been charged with its implementa- tion,” Fourie reveals. Main continues: “As in many of the de-

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Mechanical Technology — February 2015