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August 2017
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MechChem Africa
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19
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Materials handling
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“
S
igns of market improvement have
been coming through in the com-
pany’s order book since the end of
last year,” says Dyer.
“We have been preparing our operations
anddistribution systems for this long-awaited
upturn, in line with our ambitious growth
plans,” says Dyer. “We aim to achieve at least
double the growth rate of our markets, and
our past success shows our ability to reach
and exceed tough targets such as these. For
instance, we aimed to double our business
between 2010 and 2015, but achieved that
goal in just three and a half years.”
Weir Minerals has built its strong reputa-
tion on the back of, in particular, a substantial
installedbaseofWarman
®
slurrypumps. This,
in turn, supports continued growth in its
aftermarket supply and associated services
to support these products. It is also making
progress in gaining market share with non-
slurry products and services.
Huge opportunity lies in the application of
the newand improvedmaterials and technol-
ogies thatWeir has developedover the years,
which can also improve the performance of
the older technologies still being employed in
customers’ operations around the continent.
“With deep roots in the mining industry
in Africa, we have a large installed base of
products, particularly the older generation
pumping technology,” says Dyer. “Our newer
materialsandtechnologiesmeanthatcustom-
ers have the opportunity to upgrade their
existing equipment rather than replacing
these with new units. Such upgrades are a
cost-effective route tohigher efficiencies and
productivity improvements.”
Dyer emphasises that its technological
advances and successful applications around
the world allow Weir to implement these
solutions for customers inAfrica, introducing
the latest materials and technologies almost
anywhere on the continent.
“Whereour customers areoperating in re-
mote mining locations, our value proposition
based on the lowest total cost of ownership is
especially important, giving them affordable
solutions to optimise their processes so that
there is less downtime for maintenance and
related disruptions,” he continues.
Pushing the frontiers of innovation
through its own research centre, Weir also
partners with universities and leverages
its own worldwide presence by collaborat-
ing between group companies in different
Mining sector recovery
on the horizon
A sectional view of a Warman AH pump showing technology innovations such as the Hi-Seal expeller.
Rajen Govender, HR Director for Weir Minerals
Africa & Middle East, with the SEIFSA award for
most transformed company of the year.
Weir Minerals Africa is gearing up for an upturn in the mining sector that it believes
will occur soon, says Gavin Dyer,Weir Minerals Africa’s regional managing director
for Africa and the Middle East.
countries; high-level technical advances are
continuously generated, and the results are
shared globally.
Growth inAfrica forWeir alsomeans ben-
efiting local economies through its philosophy
of full participation in the markets it serves.
This includes helping smaller suppliers to
build capacity and spreading the benefits of
economic development. In South Africa, for
instance, Weir has identified a small foundry
as an important sub-contracted supplier and
has assisted in the installation of quality sys-
tems and technical advice.
“Our presence across Africa creates
opportunities for other local businesses as
suppliers, and we employ staff from local
communities,” says Dyer. “While we prefer
trading directly with our customers, we also
have strong relationships with agents and
distributors in the region; we see value in
being in close proximity with our customers,
and so we expand our geographic presence
wherever demand requires.”
This is also in line withWeir’s strong com-
mitment to Broad-Based Black Economic
Empowerment Codes of Good Practice, with
a special focus on skills development. Itswork
on this front led to the company recently
earning the Steel and Engineering Industries
Federationof SouthernAfrica (SEIFSA) award
for excellence as the ‘Most Transformed
Company of theYear’. It also supports a range
of social responsibility initiatives that develop
science andmaths skills –which in turn feeds
into the talent pipeline.
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