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Local manufacture key to African mining for HMA Group
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The HMA Group of Australia plans to establish a manufacturing facility to
produce wear-solution products to service the metalliferous and coal sectors
in sub-Saharan Africa.
This was revealed by HMA Group Australasia MD Tony Rogers on a recent visit
as part of the launch of HMA South Africa, headed up by GM George Hoffmann,
founder of local wear-solutions specialist Uretech. The HMA Group has been
appointed as Uretech’s sole international distributor, including South Africa,
while the HMA Group’s own broad product range will be made available in Africa
for the first time.
Established in 1966 as Halley & Mellowes, 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.
Rogers explains that Uretech initially fell on the radar of the HMA Group
following an exploratory foray into South Africa to test the local business waters.
“As we specialise in wear-resistant solutions, we came across Uretech and its
polyurethane (PU) product range. PU is an alternative wear solution material not
represented in our stable at that time, so we initiated discussions.”
The agreement concluded was that the HMA Group would acquire the sales
and marketing segments of Uretech, which retains its manufacturing capability
and intellectual property rights. Hoffmann was subsequently appointed to
oversee the HMA Group’s South African operation, employing its strategically-
located sales force.
At the outset, HMA South Africa will focus on bulk materials handling,
wear solutions, instrumentation, and geotechnics, which are all fully-fledged
divisions. With the South African coal-mining sector linked inextricably to power
generation, Rogers says this is a particular market it will focus on as well.
“Although it was not our initial plan to become involved in the power generation
sector, the opportunity just arose, so we are taking it.”
b
that are interconnected digitally, and built
on processes enabled by data to deliver
responsive and agile operations is critical.
According to Emilie Ditton, research
director for WW Mining at IDC, more
productive, efficient and sustainable ways
of extracting value from minerals, while at
the same time enabling safe and productive
workplaces, is possible.
“It is not new that mining companies
are placing value on their data, but the
transformation that is required is about truly
enabling the data; enabling it to control,
manage and respond to the operation.
Companies must enable processes and
decision-making beyond the operational
siloes endemic within most mining
companies,” says Ditton.
“Third platform technologies such as cloud,
mobility, analytics and social networking
can enable companies to cut costs, improve
productivity and find room for innovation.
Couple this with innovation accelerator
technologies such as IoT, 3D printing, cognitive
processing and next generation security, and
these organisations will be able to reinvent
their business processes to support agile and
dynamic operations,” adds Ditton.
A critical component of the transformation
is enabling connected and intelligent
management of people, material and assets
within the execution of the mine plan.
Workforce tracking is the current priority
with 94% of South African mining companies
highlighting this, but this top priority will
change to ore tracking and management look
forward over the next couple of years.
“Many South African mining companies
are already working closely with their IT
suppliers to improve network connectivity
above and below ground to allow for the
deployment of remote sensors that can
be used to monitor everything. Ongoing,
bringing together ecosystems of suppliers
enabling Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities
– across OEMs, networking providers,
IT services companies and operational
technology vendors – will be required
to create that capability. The technology
capability will change but so will the way
that mining companies need to engage in
the vendor ecosystem,” she says.
Ditton says there is already a willingness
for an increased partnering approach with
technology suppliers amongst South African
mining companies. The momentum behind
cloud investment in mining is accelerating,
with the number of companies not using the
cloud in South Africa declining from 31% to
14% in two years.
b
The HMA Group has garnered extensive global project and
technological experience.