Modern Mining December 2017

BULK MATERIALS HANDLING

further. This has become a critical factor for our clients in a capex constrained and low price commodity market where any asset has to be stretched as far as practically possible to ensure profitability.” Discussing the current state of the mar- ket, Steyn’s colleague, Philip le Roux, Sales Manager, Materials Handling, says the recent downturn in mining expansions and capi- tal spending by mining houses has inevitably led to large capital projects being stopped or delayed. “Fortunately, the significant installed base of equipment we have offsets this to a cer- tain extent,” he says. “Our experience is that our service business – the supply of parts and spares, as well as service, repairs and the refur- bishment of equipment – experiences growth and a different set of opportunities as the mar- ket is more prepared to increase operational expenditure in a deflated capital expenditure cycle. This is the case at the moment.” Le Roux adds that thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions South Africa puts a huge focus on service. “It is one of the ways we differentiate ourselves from our competitors. Clearly, all rep- utable companies will strive to provide reliable service and backup but we believe we go the extra mile. Critical to this effort is our service centre in Chloorkop, near Johannesburg, which operates on a 24/7 basis. It was originally established to refurbish and manufacture com- ponents for our line of High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGRs) but has been expanded signifi- cantly and is now equipped to provide a full servicing capability for all thyssenkrupp brands and equipment.” Steyn notes that thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions South Africa has a sophisticated in-house multi-disciplinary design and engi- neering capability and indeed in the case of

some equipment – such as drum reclaimers – is regarded as a global centre of excellence within the wider thyssenkrupp group. “This is a major advantage for us as it means that we can provide our client base with cus- tomised solutions and quick turnarounds,” he says. “Customers clearly appreciate the fact that their projects can be designed and engineered locally. Our belief is that if you want to serve the African market, then you need a strong on- the-ground presence in Africa.” A current contract which illustrates the point Steyn makes is being undertaken for one of the large coal majors in Limpopo Province. “We’ve been tasked to design, fabricate and install a 2 600 ton per hour stacker at the mine,” he says. “The unit will be installed at an existing stockyard and there are some fairly demanding requirements we have to meet in terms of the machine profile. We’re designing in full 3D here in the South African office. With the very specific client specifica- tions and requirements and the interactive

A High Pressure Grinding Roll (HPGR) installed by thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions South Africa.

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December 2017  MODERN MINING  27