Capital Equipment News March 2018

South African Construction and Mining Equipment Sales (units) - by Industry (2005 to Q2 2017) Industry

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Q2 2017 1 730 2 452 2 794 2 431 1 173 947 1 547 1 945 2 273 2 003 2 273 1 824 913 242 327 283 391 238 277 377 435 410 489 623 482 236 162 191 274 190 183 188 238 181 209 239 228 238 144 296 328 327 370 178 262 331 291 341 259 307 239 148 1 058 1 061 1 589 1 888 736 961 1 389 1 388 1 151 876 1 018 955 624 1 083 1 292 1 731 1 718 712 847 1 116 1 245 1 980 1 761 1 335 929 679

Construction

Forestry and Agriculture

Government

Industry

Mining

Plant Hire

Quarrying

183 201 193 155 61

67

101 155 133 150 143 127 81

Grand Total

4 754 5 852 7 191 7 143 3 281 3 549 5 099 5 640 6 497 5 777 5 927 4 794 2 825

South African Construction and Mining Equipment Sales (%age of Total Sales) - by Industry (2005 to Q2 2017) Industry

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Q2 2017 36.4 41.9 38.9 34.0 35.8 26.7 30.3 34.5 35.0 34.7 38.3 38.0 32.3

Construction

Forestry and Agriculture

5.1 3.4 6.2

5.6 3.3 5.6

3.9 3.8 4.5

5.5 2.7 5.2

7.3 5.6 5.4

7.8 5.3 7.4

7.4 4.7 6.5

7.7 3.2 5.2

6.3 3.2 5.2

8.5 4.1 4.5

10.5 10.1 8.4

Government

3.8 5.2

5.0 5.0

5.1 5.2

Industry

Mining

22.3 18.1 22.1 26.4 22.4 27.1 27.2 24.6 17.7 15.2 17.2 19.9 22.1 22.8 22.1 24.1 24.1 21.7 23.9 21.9 22.1 30.5 30.5 22.5 19.4 24.0

Plant Hire

Quarrying

3.8

3.4

2.7

2.2

1.9

1.9

2.0

2.7

2.0

2.6

2.4

2.6

2.9

Grand Total

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Courtesy of CONMESA

farms are installed in regions where there is a high wind factor and this is only one of the risks to be mitigated while doing lifts,” explains Yaman. “The components that make up a wind turbine are mostly large and very heavy, and need to be lifted to extreme heights. Planning is key when it comes to all lifting activities, but especially so on wind farms as there are several factors to be taken into account. Johnson Crane Hire has lifted on most of the major wind farms in South Africa and Namibia. We have set ourselves apart in the sector by maintaining the most diverse and largest fleet of cranes.” Yaman also notes that an interesting aspect of lifting on wind farms is that nothing is constant and there is need to be extremely flexible in terms of approach while still ensuring optimum safety. “An example that speaks to this is where on a particular project the major lifts had to be conducted at night because this was the time when the wind force was at its lowest. Johnson Crane Hire has built up extensive lifting experience in the renewable energy sector and is looking forward to the rollout of new renewable projects currently on the table,” says Yaman. Fleet upgrades In terms of equipment, there is need for rental companies to regularly update their fleets as new technologies become available. “We continually renew our fleet, and work with our OEM suppliers to ensure that our equipment remains abreast of the latest

example of a plant hire company that has successfully navigated the tough business conditions by expanding, but cautiously, diversifying its product offering to further increase its market reach. Apart from its traditional earthmoving equipment hire business, Riviera Hire recently became a distributor of several attachments to extend its product offering. In 2015 it was appointed the authorised distributor of the entire Epiroc silent demolition range for the Gauteng, North West and Limpopo territories. “We were initially looking at importing hammers, but everybody else was doing that in the local market. We also had strong interest in Epiroc and they eventually offered us the opportunity to distribute their entire silent demolition range including hammers, cutters, “In the mining and petrochemical sectors, there are periodical shutdowns and lifting activities on these sites require numerous cranes of different capacities for a short period of time and it is not economically justifiable for organisations to purchase their own cranes for this.”

technologies available. This ensures cost- effective operation, lower maintenance and optimum safety. Our fleet renewal regime covers the whole range, from the smallest units with lifting capacities of 30 t, right up to the largest cranes with capacities of 1 200 t,” says Yaman. When it comes to brands, on the smaller cranes, Johnson Crane Hire relies on Tadano due to the reliability of these machines and the value it receives. On the larger cranes, Liebherr is the crane rental giant’s chosen brand because of the technologically-advanced features on the units, as well as the reliability and the local backup. “We have always believed in using premium brands as this gives our customer base the assurance they need regarding the performance of the crane, delivery of the project on time, and of course safety. By focusing on two major suppliers, management of our fleet is also simplified and more efficient. Operator training is also more streamlined and we run our own training facility which is able to accredit operators. The fleet is managed by our in-house maintenance division and is supported by the OEMs when necessary. Maintenance of the units is of course key to the effective operation of the cranes,” says Yaman. Diversification to the fore Meanwhile, to remain competitive amid challenging operating conditions, local plant hire companies are also looking beyond the basics. Riviera Hire is a typical

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS MARCH 2018 33