Modern Quarrying October-November 2015

AROUND THE INDUSTRY

Atlas Copco relocates CT branch

Sharing single premises also reduces oper- ational costs for the two businesses.” Jacobs and Marthinussen agree that training is an essential part of the Cape Town branch’s future success. “We must keep abreast of the latest technologies to ensure sustainable provision of world-class quality product solutions mirrored by after- sales service support.” The branch enjoys the full support of the Atlas Copco organ- isations in Johannesburg and Belgium. Looking to the future, Marthinussen says that the markets in general continue to plateau with only the Eastern Cape (EC) showing slight positive growth. He expects this to increase significantly with the northern EC road rebuild already start- ing to take off and the imminent N2 EC rebuild andWestern Cape N1/N2 re-align- ment and rebuild which is due 2016/2017. www.atlascopco.co.za “The stability of Namibia’s society and economy means that operational risk is very low – so we believe that there is plenty of scope for local businesses to become more competitive,” he says. Government is in the process of developing the New Equitable Economic Empowerment Framework (NEEEF) to ensure that Namibian resources are shared in an equitable and sustainable way. The policy also wants to see the implementation of measurable policies of redressing and redistributing wealth. It is hoped that NEEEF will help remove bar- riers of socio-economic advancement to enable previously disadvantaged persons to access productive assets and opportu- nities of empowerment. In another development, BME is fur- ther raising the technology bar in Namibia by establishing a technical division at its Swakopmund office. The unit will have a special focus on introducing BME’s highly specialised mobile testing vehicle, used for auditing purposes on its drilling and blasting sites. Two graduates have already been employed and are in the process of being trained to take up positions in the techni- cal division. www.bme.co.za

The relocation of Atlas Copco South Africa’s Cape Town branch to larger, pur- pose-built premises at No 10 Manhattan Street, Airport Industria, combines under one roof the previously separately- housed business areas of Compressor Technique and Construction Technique’s Road Construction Equipment (RCE) for improved efficiencies and customer ser- vice through shared synergies.

The Cape Town branch, originally established to represent Atlas Copco and Dynapac Equipment, attended to new equipment sales and aftermarket support of customers in the Western Cape. It con- sisted of two separate sites with trading premises for the Compressor Technique business based in Montague Gardens and the RCE business located in Stikland, which later moved to Blackheath in Q4 2009. “The positive growth experienced by both operations over the past few years necessitated larger premises,” states Neville Marthinussen and Wayne Jacobs, respective Atlas Copco business line managers for Construction Technique, Dynapac RCE and Compressor Technique Service Division. “It made sound busi- ness sense to purpose-build a facility that meets the requirements of both opera- tions and that will allow for future growth. experience necessary to run a high-per- forming and independent operation.” The office serves customers in the copper, gold, uranium and zinc sectors, as well as smaller quarries and road aggregate providers – supplying them with cutting-edge blasting expertise and products. BME is a leading supplier of bulk emulsion explosives in Africa, as well as initiating systems, electronic detonators, and blast planning software. “Our priority in Namibia has been to contribute in every way possible to local economic development, giving us the resources and network we need to oper- ate independently within the country,” he says. This has meant empowering local people to lead and manage the business, and promoting local enterprise through the business’s supply chain. “We are also working on a partner- ship which will see the launching of a Namibian-owned transport company to serve some of our logistics requirements between Swakopmund and our Namibian customers,” Visser says, adding that it is vital for the empowerment of local busi- ness people in Namibia that service pro- viders develop their ability to compete with counterparts in South Africa and other neighbouring markets.

Atlas Copco’s Cape Town branch has relocated to purpose-built premises in Airport Industria.

Local economic development is key

BME Namibia is building its local skills, technical capacity and supply chain to consolidate and grow its position in Namibia’s mining sector, according to Albie Visser, BME’s general manager for South Africa and Namibia. While there was a slow-down in the Namibian mining industry in 2014, exciting new projects such as B2Gold’s Otjikoto gold mine and Weatherly’s Tschudi copper mine have recently come on line, lifting the outlook for the sector. Among other projects in the pipeline are Swakop Uranium’s Husab mine, expected to produce by end-2016. “We have built a presence in Namibia since 1994 based on our confidence in the country’s people and its minerals,” says Visser. “Our team of 37 staff mem- bers at our Swakopmund head office are all Namibians, with the training and

Albie Visser, BME’s GM for South Africa and Namibia.

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MODERN QUARRYING October - November 2015