Despite achieving export highs in North America, Europe, Zambia, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and Botswana, South Africa-based 60% black-controlled AARD Mining Equipment aims to expand its exports to additional countries, after signing an exclusive distribution agreement with Czech Republic-based mining equipment manufacturer Ferrit at the Electra Mining Africa trade fair, held at the Nasrec Expo Centre, in Johannesburg last month.

The mutually beneficial partnership will enable Ferrit to distribute AARD’s range of trackless mobile mining machinery to its current sales regions, including Czech Republic, Russia, and mines in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Poland, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Slovenia and Turkey. AARD will, in turn, distribute Ferrit’s flameproof range of suspended monorail and rail-bound transport equipment to its markets.

In an exclusive interview at the trade fair, AARD MD Anton Wheeler told Mining Weekly that he was pleased about the partnership. “We have been in search of the correct European partner to help market our brand and distribute our equipment in the region.”

We have also noted an increased need in the South African market for suspended monorail transport equipment – a gap that Ferrit’s products could easily fill.

He said the partnership would increase the size of the product complement that AARD could offer to customers.

In terms of introducing Ferrit’s products to the African market, Wheeler explained that AARD would identify and approach mining houses that already make use of suspended monorail systems at their operations and are on tender for replacement or installation.

Ferrit commercial director Barbora Veliˇcková says Ferrit found the right match with AARD, as both companies manufactured their own equipment, with each company’s product range supplementing and complementing each other.