As the South African economy starts to stabilise after the crippling world- wide recession, the materials hand- ling industry has emerged with few job opportunities, reports South African Institute of Materials Handling (SAIMH) chairperson Phil Staples.

“At present, it is a tough industry to be in. There is no real work in the country. Everyone talks about Eskom and Transnet projects, but these are focused on providing work to specific, large companies, leaving smaller companies with little chance to secure work,” says Staples, who has been in the materials handling industry for the past 35 years.

“South Africa is in a bad state. We try to say we missed the recession, but we didn’t. “It is probably the severest recession I have seen in all my years in the industry. There are even a number of larger companies that are faced with retrenching employees if they are unable to win tenders,” he adds.

Meanwhile, Staples remains hopeful that 2011 might hold better prospects, but doubts that big changes will occur this year.

Currently, the materials handling industry’s main priority is survival, which is hindered by cut-throat prices offered by companies within the industry to attain work.

“Prices have dropped dramatically, except for raw materials such as steel, which leaves the materials handling industry with no choice but to pay high prices,” says Staples.

He explains that, when the oil price started increasing this year, it was seen as beneficial to the materials handling industry, as the cost of transporting materials using logistics would increase as a result. However, because of the involvement of smaller coal mines in supplying coal-fired power stations, trucking companies are used instead, as the mines cannot afford to hire materials handling companies.

As a consequence of this, the quality of the roads leading to these coal mines is degrading at a faster rate, creating further expenses.

However, Staples says that larger coal mining companies like Anglo Coal and Sasol have invested in conveyors to keep coal off the roads.

“Everyone will be competing for Sasol’s Impumelelo project towards the end of the year, which has already been delayed by one year because of the recession,” he mentions.

The Impumelelo project aims to supply 8,5-million tons a year of coal, expandable to 10,5-million tons a year, to Sasol Synfuels and will boast a 28-km conveyor system with two flights.

Staples explains that other challenges faced by the industry in South Africa is the unwillingness of the country’s mining industry to accept and invest in new technological advancements in the materials handling field.

He refers to a support structure for con- veyor systems called a triangular gantry.

“The triangular gantry is suitable for overland conveyors. It is elevated rather than fixed to run along the ground, reducing theft of materials, infrastructure and maintenance costs. “It has taken off worldwide, while there are those in South Africa who are still terrified of it as they believe it might be a financial risk,” he says.

Staples feels that local mining companies would rather spend large sums of money on infrastructure and maintenance than invest in new technology.

“Mining companies complain that there is no innovation in the industry, but no one is willing to be the guinea pig,” he adds.

The triangular gantry is popular in the Indian mining industry.

The product includes a maintenance basket that allows the performance of the triangular gantry to be viewed with closed-circuit television cameras, the monitoring of noise or vibration from idlers as well as the performance of basic maintenance of idler rolls.

Meanwhile, Staples adds that the SAIMH membership has reduced significantly, as it is difficult to get people within the industry to participate.

In an attempt to increase its numbers, the SAIMH has initiated free skills development courses. The institute runs the basic materials handling courses for mining companies to improve skills levels within the industry. After completing these courses and paying a small fee to be assessed, the individual is free to progress to further education.

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