Capital Equipment News February 2016

CONSTRUCTION

BABCOCK OFFICIALLY OPENS new facility in Middelburg

A s 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.

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 m 2 at the previous premises to 1 615 m 2 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’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 m 2 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

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