Capital Equipment News February 2016

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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS FEBRUARY 2016 20
CONSTRUCTION
As a customer-focused company that
continuously invests in improving
service delivery, Babcock has com-
pleted an ultramodern, bespoke sales, parts
and service dealership in Middelburg to of-
fer responsive regional support and service
across Babcock’s entire construction equip-
ment product range.
Babcock is the exclusive regional distributor
for leading international brands and equipment
including Volvo and SDLG construction equip-
ment, Tadano mobile cranes and Winget con-
crete handling machinery. Babcock was also
appointed the official distributor of Terex Trucks
in October 2015 following the truck company’s
acquisition by Volvo earlier last year.
With an extensive history in sales and ser-
vicing of construction equipment to the
mining and construction sectors in South
Africa, Babcock has had a presence in the
Middelburg region for the last 16 years and
has outgrown two previous premises in this
period. The new Middelburg facility was
purpose-built to assist and support custom-
ers in the region and is expected to service
the coal mining fields of Middelburg and
surrounds for at least the next 20 years.
The estimated R100-million yellow-metal
facility covers 30 000 square metres and
features highly specialised and unique de-
sign elements as well as modern, high-end
finishes.
Babcock’s Project Manager Michael de
Weijer, who was instrumental in managing
the construction of the new facility, says
that the ergonomic design was conceptu-
alised around the flow of equipment, parts
and people to ensure efficient operational
and communication management.
Accordingly, the administrative open-plan
offices are located across two floors. The
workshop offices on the first floor overlook
the 12 work bays and service facilities area
comprising the component workshop, spray
booths, wash bays and boiler workshops. All
heavy equipment operation and parts are on
a single level enhancing safety when han-
dling these machines and heavy parts.
The primary workshop covers an area of
nearly 2 000 m2 under roof and includes 12
nine-metre wide work bays in two adjoin-
ing rows of six bays, all serviced by over-
head gantry cranes. All bays have a ceiling
of 9 m under hook, making it possible to
service mega trucks, such as the rigid and
articulated dump trucks from Terex Trucks,
bucket up.
All the workshop bays, component work-
shop, spray booths, wash bays and boiler
shop bays drain into a common settling
tank and oil separation facility before being
discharged into municipal waste.
A further custom feature in the workshop is
the railway tracks linking the wash bays to
four workshop bays, specifically for tracked
excavators and chain link front end loaders
so that this equipment with high point loads
does not damage the site hardstand.
The workshop parts requirements are
served by the parts warehouse, connected
by a three metre-wide east/west passage
that runs along the entire length of the
workshops and warehouse. The warehouse
has increased from 280 m2 at the previous
premises to 1 615 m2 to accommodate an
increase in inventory and stock lines re-
quired. This increase is largely attributed to
regional growth and parts for the new Terex
Truck range. With extra stacking space of
up to 5-6 m, larger volumes of each part
number can be stored and there is also am-
ple capacity for future expansion. The work-
shop offers easy access to counter sales for
smaller parts, while on the other side goods
receiving and dispatch are serviced by a
continuous loading ramp. The use of natural
light has been maximised with the northern
side illuminated by a light box which filters
in indirect daylight without the heat load of
direct north facing polycarbonate sheeting,
BABCOCK OFFICIALLY OPENS
new facility in Middelburg