Babcock was appointed as the official distributor in South Africa of Terex Trucks’ off-highway rigid and articulated trucks that are used in mining, quarry and construction applications. From the highlands of Scotland where Terex Trucks is headquartered to the coal fields of Middelburg and home to Babcock’s flagship state-of-the-art branch, the two companies have been working hard over the last year to forge a pioneering spirit and a combined reinvigorated attitude towards performance, quality, customer care and after-sales service.

As one of the most established and experienced equipment suppliers in southern Africa, Babcock has an extensive history in sales and servicing of construction and mining equipment, working with customers to engineer materials handling solutions at the lowest cost per tonne of material moved. The company is also one of the industry leaders in providing comprehensive technical support and infrastructure to some of the world’s leading heavy duty machinery brands, and has been trusted to deliver to the highest standards. 

Earlier this year, Babcock opened a new state-of-the-art branch in Middelburg that serves as the official headquarters for Terex Trucks in southern Africa. The facility is equipped with 12 purpose-built workshop bays to accommodate the largest of the Terex Trucks as well as specialised components and tools. It includes a 1 615 m2 warehouse that can hold full stock lines required for the Terex Trucks, and Babcock has made a considerable investment in stocking Terex Trucks parts to ensure the highest availability possible of components required to repair and maintain the trucks and to ensure that downtime is kept to a minimum for customers.

David Vaughan, Sales Director for Babcock’s equipment business, says the Middelburg branch is fully prepared to support Terex Trucks in terms of infrastructure, spare parts, equipment and trained staff, and has already seen sales of a number of Terex Trucks.

“We have just had a team return from the Terex Trucks factory in Scotland where they spent a week getting up to speed with all the latest developments,” adds Vaughan. He explains that skilled personnel are a vital element to Babcock’s support services and the company maintains a firm commitment to ongoing training.

Although Terex Trucks have been available in South Africa for the past twenty years, in June 2014 they were acquired by Volvo Construction Equipment whose distributor in southern Africa since 2000 has been Babcock International Group. A natural progression was for Babcock to partner Terex Trucks in the region. Erik Lundberg, Business Manager in sub-Saharan Africa for Terex Trucks, says since the association with Babcock in October 2015, sales have increased, particularly in the articulated dump truck (ADT) range. He maintains that one of the main advantages that Terex Trucks has over its competitors is the support that is now available for the trucks through Babcock, not only in terms of components, qualified service technicians and appropriate maintenance facilities, but also with regard to service contracts and extended warranties.

“Service and maintenance contracts can be tailor-made to suit customers’ needs and extended warranties are available, making the packages very flexible and versatile,” says Lundberg. Offerings from Babcock such as long-term replacement strategies, fleet maintenance and associated technologically advanced services are proving to be increasingly attractive options to customers, particularly in the mining industry where machines operate long hours and any downtime translates into lost revenue. 

Manufactured in Motherwell, Scotland, Terex Trucks are renowned for delivering a robust performance in the steepest, deepest mines and largest quarries around the world while simultaneously providing durability, comfort and efficiency.  In South Africa, the TA300, a compact and highly versatile articulated dump truck that can be used for various light mining and construction applications, has proven popular.

“Babcock’s Middelburg facility is well positioned in the heart of the coal fields as many of our customers operate in the mining sector. With a payload of 28 tonnes, the Terex Trucks TA300 is the ideal machine for these types of applications as it can be used for quarrying, light mining, earthworks as well as civil construction, general construction and agriculture,” says Vaughan.

The Terex Trucks TA300’s versatility is a strong selling point as it can perform a variety of functions on a single project and operates in diverse underfoot conditions. The trucks are designed with the customer and operator in mind and offer straightforward solutions to the toughest of challenges with the ability to operate efficiently under extreme working conditions. 

“These ADTs can operate just about anywhere from hard surfaces to wet and muddy conditions, and offer excellent fuel efficiency in addition to being tough,” says Vaughan.

Terex Trucks’ TA300s are powered by fuel-efficient Scania engines, renowned for their high uptime, reliability and ease of maintenance underpinned by a global service network. The trucks feature a world-class operator’s environment and have been rigorously tested in extreme conditions for proven power and productivity, while superior gradeability and higher top speeds increase production.

The TA300 is equipped with true independent front suspension as standard to enable excellent traction control and operator comfort Both Vaughan and Lundberg remark that Babcock and Terex Trucks have a mutual focus on partnership, combined team effort, sharing of knowledge and open channels of communication that has forged a highly productive and efficient working relationship – the benefits of which are ultimately passed onto their customers.

Vaughan adds that Babcock also supplies a full spectrum of loading tools and accessories with everything from wheel loaders to hydraulic excavators to complement the Terex Trucks range. The company’s extensive branch network and support infrastructure extends across South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana and Mozambique, providing comprehensive support for existing and new customers.