COMMENT
Future focused
S
uccess is not a once-off achievement, but rather
the result of a good foundation, forward-looking
planning, and hard work. This month’s ‘Business’
feature looks at one of South Africa’s biggest success
stories — Empangeni-based original equipment
manufacturer Bell Equipment — and examines how the
company has built its success through turbulent times
over more than six decades.
We also look at another key area for those who
build, sell, maintain, and use heavy equipment: training.
Barloworld Equipment’s Learning Academy and
Graduate Programme offer two examples of this
multinational company’s commitment to building
knowledge and sharing skills, and we explore the
technical and operator training programmes, as well
as Caterpillar’s Technicians for Africa Programme.
This is the first in a series of training articles looking
at the different training solutions provided by original
equipment manufacturers and third parties, and the
technology they use as part of their training.
A second training-focused article in this issue looks at
Uplift Quality Solutions, sister company of equipment
sales, rental, servicing, and training company Eazi Access.
This month, we go ‘Face-to-Face’ with Uplift Quality
Solutions general manager Richard Cherryholme to learn
more about the company’s training offerings.
In our ‘New Equipment’ feature, we look at the
new Kleemann Mobiscreen MS 703 EVO, which
was unveiled by Wirtgen South Africa at the Raumix
Willows Quarry, where customers had a chance to see
the machine in action and learn more about its potential
applications. This launch came hot on the heels of the
recent announcement that US-based Deere & Company
will be acquiring the Wirtgen Group, and Wirtgen
SA’s managing director, Heinrich Schulenburg, spoke
to those present at the launch about what led to the
Group’s acquisition by Deere, and what this means for
the company’s future.
Tying in with this, this month’s ‘Product Focus’
article looks at the history and the development of
crushing and screening, tracing it back thousands of
years to ancient Greece and China, and looking at how
mechanisation resulted in the efficient operations we are
familiar with today.
Finally, Fanie Bielderman, senior executive of South
Africa’s oldest and largest multi-asset auctioneer, Aucor,
gives us some ‘Insight’ on what South Africa’s ratings
downgrade means for the auction industry. n
Robyn Grimsley – Editor
Plant Equipment & Hire
www.equipmentandhire.co.za
AUGUST 2017
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