Modern Quarrying Q1 2025

Multotec consolidated its South African injection moulded polyurethane screening media factory sites into a single, larger facility worth R100-million, to enhance capacity and increase efficiency. The new factory is situated on a 7 068 m² property with 4 360 m² under roof, close to Multotec’s current Forge Road main campus in Spartan, Kempton Park. It houses the tool room, production facility, offices and warehousing facilities, providing a comprehensive and efficient workspace. R hodes Nelson, Senior Vice President – Product Management at Multotec, expressed excitement about the anticipated improvements in efficiency and productivity. He predicts that, conservatively, the various countries, strategically positioned in close proximity to our customers to better serve them. “Over the past 50 years, our business has grown organically, characterised by adding machines to the factory as they were needed. However, the restrictions on NEW POLYURETHANE SCREENING MEDIA FACTORY TO BOOST EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTION

CRUSHING AND SCREENING

install additional equipment. The expansion is not only set to benefit Multotec, but also potentially the local community and economy by creating additional employment opportunities and increasing the demand for inputs. As a make-to-order company, it is essential for Multotec to have a toolroom close to the production facility which allows for a quick response to any breakdowns. In addition, a localised cross functional team that includes tool and diemakers enables fast response times to solve tool malfunctions and efficient support for commissioning new tools. Although integrated with the new facility, the toolroom must be enclosed to ensure a controlled environment needed for the very tight tolerances that must be maintained for tooling. Like the production facility, the design of the toolroom was optimised for workflow efficiency. It includes a variety of specialised equipment typically found in a jobbing environment such as

available space in the factory led to a layout that did not support an efficient workflow. This new facility therefore allows us to create a sufficient baseload capacity to set ourselves up more efficiently and extend our production capacity.” Nelson explains that improved lead times are crucial to Multotec, as the production facility operates largely as a “make to order” environment. This consolidation is key to supplying customers with the shortest lead times possible. Workflow digitisation The addition of two new machines to its current range of PU injec tion moulding machines will boost production capacity by a significant 25%. The new facility is designed with a view to digitising a large part of the workflow in future. This necessitated measures such as allowing for additional space around machinery to be able to

new screening media factory will achieve a 15% reduction in unnecessary activity due to a footprint that was designed for ease of material flow and improvements such as the consolidation of raw materials storage facilities. The injection moulded polyurethane screening media factory supplies screening media products to mining operations across Southern Africa and West Africa, including Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, as well as to international markets such as Australia, North America and South America – which covers most mining destinations around the globe. “Multotec’s investment underscores its long-term commitment and dedication to the South African local manufacturing sector. We also have manufacturing facilities in

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