Osho Cement and HeidlelbergCement have ordered a MVR 3750 C-4 mill from Gebr . Pfeiffer via the general contractor TCDRI for a joint-venture grinding plant and terminal being built at Port Elizabeth , South Africa . The mill will grind 110tph of CEM I cement to a fineness of 3 500cm2 / g acc . to Blaine , and 80tph of slag cement CEM III-A to a fineness of 4 500cm2 / g acc . to Blaine . It will have a 2 600kW drive , use an SLS 3750 BC classifier and will start operation in 2018 .
Caterpillar and Barloworld Equipment will open a joint parts centre in Kaalfontein , Midrand , later this year . The new facility is a consolidation of two parts distribution centres , which enables the company to work more efficiently while increasing its capability to provide part availability to customers in Africa . “ As the world ’ s leading Caterpillar dealer this new facility will certainly improve service to customers throughout the region and reduce transport collection points ,” says Emmy Leeka , CEO at Barloworld Equipment Southern Africa . Barloworld Equipment is the official dealer of Cat Earthmoving Equipment in 11 southern African countries , and the companies have been partners for 90 years .
UD Trucks Southern Africa was recently awarded the International Sales Award as the brand ’ s largest overseas market in 2016 . The company has an extensive network of 47 dealers across the region who are able to support customers with all their transport requirements — from sales to service and parts . “ This award is a true testament to the calibre of staff and dealers we have in the region , and it will certainly drive us to perform even better this year ,” says Gert Swanepoel , managing director of UD Trucks Southern Africa . “ We are very honoured to receive this award on behalf of all our staff and dealers .”
Afrimat launches inaugural ACI index
Afrimat has released the findings of the inaugural Afrimat Construction Index ( ACI ), a composite index of the level of activity within the building and construction sectors ( in real terms ).
The index , compiled by renowned economist Dr Roelof Botha on behalf of Afrimat , indicates a relatively strong performance in construction activity since the third quarter of 2010 , which is used as the base year for the ACI . “ The third quarter of 2010 was exactly one year after the end of the 2008 / 09 recession and is regarded as a statistically representative base period for a medium-term time-series based index ,” explains Botha .
In the 25 quarters since then , activity in the construction industry expanded by 28.1 % ( until the fourth quarter of 2016 ), compared to South Africa ’ s real GDP expansion of 11.5 % over this period , indicating the relatively strong performance of construction activity since the end of 2010 .
Botha says the composite index provides a balanced and realistic view of the level of activity in the construction sector as it smooths out the contradictory trends of conditions in the construction sector that are often portrayed by the individual components that comprise the index .
The ACI is calculated from six different constituent indicators : the building materials sales index , buildings completed within larger municipalities , building plans passed by larger municipalities , the FNB / BER building confidence index , the FNB / BER civil construction index and retail trade sales of hardware , paint and glass .
The expansion in construction activity up to the first quarter of
2017 has been driven mainly by improved retail sales values for hardware , glass and paint , with domestic demand for building materials and by an uptick in the number of residential buildings plans approved by the larger municipalities also showing strong growth . The downturn in the latter indicator in January 2017 may be due to a combination of increased activity in the informal building sectors and temporary bureaucratic delays caused by governance changes after the recent municipal elections .
Retail hardware store sales have improved by more than 70 % since the third quarter of 2010 , while the sales of building materials and the value of building plans approved both improved by 24 % over the past 25 quarters .
Further expansion in construction activity is indicated by a rising trend for hardware and
1 2 building material sales . This is also supported by a rise of three points in the FNB / BER building confidence index for the first quarter of 2017 , its best level in 12 months and four points higher than the average over the past 26 quarters . According to Dr Botha , the ACI is likely to increase further in 2017 because of a combination of higher economic growth , modest employment creation and lower interest rates .
Andries van Heerden , Afrimat CEO , says the expansion in construction activity as indicated by the ACI , bodes well for the economy . “ The results of this study support Afrimat ’ s argument over the past five years , that construction is healthier than many people believed . Other factors such as overcapacity in the cement industry , due to too much new capacity created by more entrants into the market place , made the healthy underlying activity less visible .
Robyn Grimsley
Afrimat
1 . Speaking at the launch of the ACI , Afrimat CEO Andries van Heerden said that the results of this study support Afrimat ’ s argument over the past five years , that construction is healthier than many people believe .
2 . The Afrimat Construction Index (‘ ACI ’) is a composite index of the level of activity within the building and construction sectors ( in real terms ).
4 _ QUARRY SA | MAY 2017