Modern Quarrying Q2 2018

ON THE COVER

Weir entrenches Trio ® comminution range in Africa

He brings to Weir Minerals Africa some 27 years of hands-on process experience across a range of commodities in the min- ing sector. “Combining our flexibility with our full suite of minerals process equipment, Weir Minerals Africa can provide the customer with a total solution,” says Steenkop. “Our focus is therefore not on selling a piece of equipment, but on achieving what the customer needs, especially in terms of better efficiencies, less downtime and higher output.” He emphasises that Weir Minerals Africa measures its achievements through the success of its customers. “We succeed in business only by improving the sustain- ability and profitability of our customers, which is why our focus on being close to customers and understanding their oper- ations is central to our philosophy. Our commitment to the individual quarry or mine is for the long haul – we are here to stay, and to see through the commitment we make to customers.” Building local skills Getting the right skills on board has always been vital, says Singleton, and there is now over 100 years of combined experience in the crushing and screening team. “As part of our commitment to skills development and transformation, we train our own engineers so that custom- ers can be assured of the best support and advice available,”says Singleton.“This includes selecting high-potential school leavers and sponsoring their studies, giving them engineering bursaries and learnerships within the company, and developing them into managerial posi- tions longer term.” The comminution team now includes a project engineer and applications engi- neer – graduates in mechanical and pro- cess engineering respectively – who have come through the two-year graduate

Swift progress in rolling out and supporting the Trio range of crushing and screening equipment has been an important part of Weir Minerals Africa’s solutions-driven focus in the quarrying sector, according to process director JD Singleton.

“O ur Trio journey in Africa has been an exciting one, as we have been able to put the full strength of Weir Minerals’ technical and support network behind this quality brand,” says Singleton. “Most importantly, the flexibility of our customer-centred approach allows us to be as effective in serving the owner-managed quarries as we are when serving large corporate mines.” Weir Minerals established its own direct route to market in South Africa for its Trio range by mid-2015, having acquired the product line in 2014. It has put in place its local teams to deal with aftermarket and product support, devel- oping a local Trio-specific stockholding of what is today worth close to R100-million to underpin quick and efficient response times.

“Our stock is now available across Africa to support local installations, and importantly is supported by a fully-fledged applications teams and sales teams,” Singleton says. “What makes all the difference is the level of skill and experience residing in these teams, which include process engineers and applica- tions engineers.” A separate aftermarket and spare parts team streamlines the reaction time for the local market. In addition to this, the product support and service team brings in-depth technical know-how to advise customers on key issues including trou- ble-shooting, optimising operations for better production and improving uptime. “Our efforts have now established Trio as a truly local OEM,” he empha- sises. “While we still bring in machines from our global manufacturing facilities, we develop our flow-sheet and solution designs locally, as well as the steelwork

and ancillary structures according to custom- er’s specifications and on-site needs.” To further bolster the company’s skills base to deliver, Weir Minerals Africa has brought in chemical engineer and process expertVernon Steenkop as general manager Comminution, tak- ing over this role from Singleton. Steenkop’s most recent role has been managing the company ’s flagship Middelburg branch.

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MODERN QUARRYING Quarter 2 / 2018