southern AFRICA news
Australia’s HMA Group plans to establish a
manufacturing facility to produce wear-solution
products to service the metalliferous and coal
sectors in sub-Saharan Africa, revealed HMA
Group Australasia managing director Tony Rogers
on a recent visit as part of the launch of HMA
South Africa. The HMA Group has been appointed
as sole international distributor, including South
Africa, of local wear-solutions specialist Uretech.
The HMA Group’s own broad product range will
also be made available in Africa for the first time.
The HMA Group manufactures, services and sells
a range of capital plant equipment to diverse
industries. The materials handling, wear solutions,
instrumentation and geotechnical divisions of the
group will be introduced into the local market,
piggybacking on Uretech’s representation in the
African mining industry.
The sale of non-certified cement will be
banned in Mozambique from 30 September,
according to the Mozambique News Agency.
All imported and locally produced cement will
need to be certified by the country’s National
Institute for Standardization and Quality
(INNOQ), according to Institute director general,
Alfredo Sitoe. This follows the introduction of
Decree 28/2016, which took effect in January
2017, and is intended to guarantee that only
high-quality cement is sold on the Mozambican
market. The certification will also help the
National Inspectorate of Economic Activities
(INAE) to determine whether a specific bag
or batch of cement is duly certified. Cement
packaging should also provide an indication of
the date of production and its validity as a way
of protecting the consumer.
Atlas Copco sells RCE to Fayat Group
“This is an ownership change and not
a change in business structure,” says
Neville Marthinussen, Atlas Copco
Construction Technique business line
manager, Dynapac Road Construction
Equipment. “Until closure, the RCE
Division will remain part of Atlas Copco’s
Construction Technique Business Area.”
“As Dynapac South Africa we will
continue to serve the market with our
products and services. The current
product portfolio remains unchanged
and all scheduled product renewals will
continue as planned,” he adds.
The Atlas Copco name will gradually
be phased out by the end of 2017 and
the Dynapac brand will be prominently
displayed on all products come 2018.
The Atlas Copco Group has sold its
global Road Construction Equipment
(RCE) division, including the Dynapac
brand name, to French construction
company Fayat Group. Dynapac will
transfer to Fayat on 1 July 2017 and be
a company within the group operating
under the Dynapac brand.
Following the acquisition, road
construction equipment – one of Fayat
Group’s seven core businesses – will
become its strongest division.
Once all due diligences have been
finalised, Dynapac SA will be a local
legal company responsible for the
southern Africa territory within the
MEA region and the head office based
in Dubai.
The 19th Beltcon International
Materials Handling Conference
and Exhibition will take place in August
at the St George’s Hotel and Conference
Centre, Pretoria, South Africa. Now in
its 36th year, the biennial conference is
regarded as one of the foremost technical
conferences of its kind, drawing delegates
from all over the world. The two-day
conference features papers from local
and international experts in the field of
materials handling and belt conveying,
as well as interesting, controversial and
up-to-the minute case studies, new data,
products, cutting-edge technology and lively
discussions. Delegates can claim credit points
towards the ECSA continuous professional
development (CPD) requirements.
Liebherr-Africa (Liebherr) and Bell Equipment
(Bell) have mutu ally agreed to dissolve the Supply
and Distribution Agreement, through which Bell
Equipment sells Bell-branded, Liebherr-manufactured
equipment in southern Africa. The change will see
Liebherr focus on providing and promoting excavators
to a more diverse range of industries and customers.
“Though our relationship with Bell has been very
positive, we are excited about the opportunity this
change brings about and look forward to increasing
our presence in the bulk excavator market. Some new
models, with increased customer value added, will be
well received by the market,” says Tendayi Kudumba,
general manager: Earthmoving Equipment at Liebherr
Africa. “Bell will continue to support Liebherr
machines that we have placed with our customers for
as long as they are operational,” says Stephen Jones,
group marketing director of Bell Equipment.
The potential negative impacts of shift work on
workers’ physical and mental wellbeing is of concern
in the quarrying industry, where isolated working
environments can offer little in the way of stimulus or
human interaction, resulting in fatigue-related accidents.
Opencast mining association Aspasa’s Nico Pienaar
points out that health and safety protocols should include
awareness of the effects of shift work, and have procedures
in place to mitigate any potential problems. Both the
Mine Health and Safety Act and the Basic Conditions of
Employment Act have clear guidelines relating to healthy
working practices in the quarrying (mining) sector, as well
as stipulating hours that may be worked, rest intervals
and rest between shifts. Contraventions of either act may
have severe consequences in the form of fines or other
penalties. Aspasa’s own Health and Safety programme also
stipulates correct working procedures as well as its own
best practices, and members are required to measure their
compliance with these requirements in mandatory annual
Health and Safety Audits.
Sixth generation Dynapac large asphalt roller CC5200VI.
QUARRY SA | JULY 2017 _ 5