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K
onecranes Southern Africa’s order
intake for cranes and service and
has grown by a spectacular 336%
from early 2012 to date. This is an aver-
age of 112% per annum.
John MacDonald, Sales, Marketing and
Service Director of Konecranes South Afri-
ca, attributes this to dedicated and experi-
enced management, supported by equally
dedicated and enthusiastic staff.
“We have concentrated on improving
our service to all makes of cranes and
hoists,” MacDonald continues. “In 2013
we introduced a comprehensive Service
Documentation Manual for each crane
and hoist under service contract so we
can keep track of the performance of the
crane and identify any problems before
they become a major and expensive issue.
This has been very well received by our
customers.
“Our focus is twofold”, MacDonald ex-
plains. “In order to improve our Service
Contract and service package we looked
at increasing safety, decreasing the main-
tenance costs and at the same time im-
proving the availability and reliability of the
crane”.
Konecranes was established in South Afri-
ca in mid-2012, when they over took over
Dynamic Crane Systems in Johannesburg.
Since then another nine branches around
the country have been added – in Durban,
Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Witbank,
Klerksdorp, Ngodwana, Uitenhage, Mapu-
to and Richards Bay. More branches are
planned in East London and Kathu.
The Konecranes Group has over 12 000
employees at 626 locations in 54 coun-
tries. The company has the largest service
network in the industry worldwide, provid-
ing high-quality service 24 hours a day.
b
Konecranes South Africa
MORE THAN TRIPLES ORDER
INTAKE OVER THREE YEARS
A
newly designed line of Cat rippers is
now available for mini hydraulic excava-
tors to meet diverse tasks that include
picking, grabbing, sorting and digging in var-
ied ground conditions for applications such as
landscaping, demolition, site preparation and
the installation of underground services.
These specialist work tools are purpose-built
for fitment on a broad spectrum of Cat mini
excavators, as well as on original equipment
manufacturer machines in the same class.
Ripper operating weights extend from 45 to
107 kg, depending on the machine model
match. For added versatility, Cat rippers can
be used with a pin grabber coupler, coupler
and thumb, or as a pin-on attachment. The
curved shape allows the ripper to work in con-
junction with existing thumbs.
“When used with the Cat Dual Lock pin grab-
ber coupler, rippers can easily be interchanged
with Cat buckets for on-site rip and load
multi-tasking,” explains Barloworld Equipment
product specialist, Craig Christie. (Barloworld
Equipment is the Cat dealer for southern Af-
rica.) Rippers are manufactured from highly
durable materials to match arduous operating
conditions. For example, the gussets on the
top bracket are designed to withstand side
load; whilst the high strength alloy shank fur-
ther extends wear life. Three ground engaging
tool (GET) tip options are available: penetra-
tion, sharp centre, and heavy duty abrasion.
“Choosing the right GET tip will be determined
by the application,” Christie adds.
b
CAT RIPPERS
for mini excavators
CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS
MARCH 2015
16