ATS was founded in 1975 as Air Tool Services cc and in 2001 ATS 2000(Pty) Ltd was registered.
ATS was established with the intention to manufacture, maintain, repair and supply spares for all makes of pneumatic tools. The success of this operation led to the development of the first fully South African designed and manufactured pneumatic grinder, known as the 550 Range, in 1976. Directed at foundries and the heavy- and structural engineering sectors, these products and services proved to be a great success.
The first locally designed and manufactured air powered chain saw was developed in 1980 and was sold directly and indirectly to the mining industry. In the following years it was decided to expand a full range of pneumatic tools and equipment, starting with the Turbo G4 3kw 9” grinder. This was followed by the design of the new ATS pneumatic chain saw and Vortex sump pump.
Our pneumatic chain saw won the coveted SABS (South African Bureau of Standards) Design award in 2000.
In 1996 ATS acquired the rights from TH Mining (THM) to manufacture air hoists. Subsequently we continued to expand and improve the range and now produce machines with lifting capacities ranging from 0.25t to 50t. THM air wire rope winches were introduced in 2008 and range in pulling ability from 0.5t to 3t.
In 2007 the 1” double diaphragm pump was designed and manufactured for which ATS 2000 was granted the ISO 9001-2008 Quality Assurance Accreditation.
The THM pneumatic-powered overhead hoist-and-crawl system for workshops and underground battery bays was introduced in 2009
In 2010 the Vortex sump pump was refined and in so doing, now has greater vertical pump capacity with increased flow rate previously not achieved by similar versions. Additionally, noise emissions are low and conform to the latest health and safety requirements. Integrated low noise silencers are standard on all our product ranges for mining and industrial applications.
The Rapid Rail cutting & drilling machine was developed in February 2012. This was positively received by the mining industry for its time efficiency and high precision cutting and drilling capability. Currently the machine is being considered as a safer alternative to acetylene cutting of underground rails. In this regard Impala Platinum and Anglo Gold Ashanti are paving the way for the rest of the industry by embracing the ATS Rapid Rail cutting & drilling machine.