Modern Mining December 2017

COVER STORY

TAKRAF Africa poised for further growth in 2018

2017 ended on a high note for TAKRAF Africa on a wide range of fronts, with the year-end results testimony to the successful implementation of the turnaround strategy the company initiated some three years previously.

O n the financial front, TAKRAF Africa exceeded its sales targets, comfortably meeting profit and turnover targets for 2017, says the company’s GM for Engineer- ing, Richard Späth. He adds that during the year, TAKRAF Africa delivered on high-pro- file projects, successfully bidding for a num- ber of new contracts and seeing good demand in particular from the energy and export ter- minals sectors. According to Späth, while the demand from these two sectors has given TAKRAF Africa the momentum to carry the successes of 2017 for- ward, the next phase is to renew its focus on – and increase its penetration into – the mining

sector, particularly in light of the more positive outlook for the industry. With the success of its Mpumalanga and Northern Cape satellite offices, TAKRAF Africa also continued during 2017 to expand its prod- uct support infrastructure with a satellite office opening in the Western Cape. “These satellite offices bring our client sup- port services right to the ‘doorstep’ of our client base,” says Späth. “Going forward, therefore, we are looking to expand our satellite offices into neighbouring countries as well.” Headquartered in Kempton Park, Johan­ nesburg, TAKRAF Africa draws on its heritage dating back to the early years of the 20th cen- tury, servicing the local mining industry as part

Richard Späth, GM for Engineering, TAKRAF Africa.

A TAKRAF spreader installed at a South African coal-fired power station.

14  MODERN MINING  December 2017