Mining machinery manufacturer China International Trust & Investment Corporation (CITIC) Heavy Industries aims to raise its profile, improve its market footprint and connect with senior investors and top executives in the mining industry at the twentieth yearly Investing in African Mining Indaba.

CITIC Heavy Industries Africa and Europe GM Michael Rauscher tells Mining Weekly that the China-based company hopes its participation and exhibition at the event will help raise the company’s profile and improve the market’s perception, knowledge and understanding of the company’s abilities and high-end products.

The company’s international staff complement will host presentations at its exhibit, covering the various products and services offered by CITIC.

He highlights that the Mining Indaba 2014, which will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from February 3 to 6, is important to CITIC Heavy Industries, as it provides an opportunity for the newly established South African branch to “improve its market relations, support its existing equipment base in Africa and Europe, and strengthen and expand its market share in the two continents”.

CITIC Heavy Industries South Africa opened in June 2013; however, the China-based holding company has been attending the Mining Indaba since 2012. Rauscher highlights that “the event is a benchmark conference, attracting delegates who are most likely to acquire the company’s products and services”.

“The Mining Indaba is not just a South African event, however, as it hosts people from all over the world. The current state of the global mining industry and the increased use of mobile workforces have made the world very small for the industry. Therefore, the larger the audience at the event, the more effectively CITIC Heavy Industries South Africa will be able to penetrate the global mining market,” he says.

Rauscher concludes that the opening of the South African branch, to support CITIC Heavy Industries’ existing base of equipment in Africa and Europe, strategically places the local branch as a supplier of choice with regard to process know-how for grinding mills, crushers, kilns, high- pressure grinding rolls and cement.