Personal protective equipment (PPE) management solutions provider Select PPE, which procures, disburses, controls and tracks the on-site usage of customer-speci- fied personal safety products for mining and related industries, has taken on several smaller customers since the launch of the company’s online store in February.

Sales director Dries van Tonder tells Mining Weekly that some customers are too small to accommodate an on-site Select PPE store, hence, the establishment of an online service.

“The online store adds value to our niche market base by ensuring that the provision of partnership-based management solutions for the procurement and individually recorded issue of PPE is now only a click away,” says Van Tonder.

He adds that Select PPE aims to help mining companies control the administration of PPE and, with the launch of the online store, help smaller customers track their orders without having to leave the office.

Van Tonder notes that the concept of an online store is new to the local market, which is why Select PPE spent the last eight months running the site for a smaller customer base to control technical glitches and ensure that everything runs as it should.

He tells Mining Weekly that the company will soon start with a more aggressive marketing campaign to let industry stakeholders know that the option is available to them.

Meanwhile, this year marks Select PPE’s 15-year anniversary, which has been a celebration of continued growth in the local market since the company’s inception in 1998. Van Tonder notes, however, that the global economic downturn and labour unrest in South Africa’s mining industry has had a knock-on effect, causing a significant drop in PPE sales.

“Our main focus in overcoming these challenges will be to assist our clients in cost-saving initiatives and to ensure that we support them during the difficult times ahead.

“Moreover, we have diversified into different markets and territories, which is also why we decided to launch the online store,” he says, adding that diversification means that Select PPE need not rely on the mining sector to stay afloat.