Aury Africa MD Mark Houchin in the company’s new 5 000 m2 manufacturing facility
Following years of sustained and measur-able growth, screening and vibrating equipment solutions supplier Aury Africa has established a 5 000 m2 manufacturing facility in Johannesburg, in order to improve turnaround times for the rapidly increasing demand for its products that are predominantly used for comminution and separation applications.
Aury Africa currently imports all screening and vibrating equipment from its China-based sister company, Aury Tianjin. Following proven performance at highly-competitive pricing, demand for the company’s range of products has soared in the local coal mining and mineral processing industries.
In order to keep up with demand and to improve turnaround times, Aury Africa began local manufacture of all woven wire screens previously imported from China in August. Aury Africa MD Mark Houchin reveals that the company is in the process of relocating from its current stockholding site in Edenvale, to a new manufacturing facility in Jet Park, Boksburg.
“We have invested R1-million in two new looms that will be used in the local manufacture of woven wire screens. The primary advantage of local production is the fact that we will dramatically improve turnaround times from around six weeks to just days, after the order is placed. This is a major value-added service that is sure to further consolidate our trusted reputation,” he explains.
Houchin indicates that Aury Africa has successfully distanced itself from the stigma of inferior quality and service associated with the Chinese manufacturing sector, as a result of its highly competitive price-to-quality ratio, together with an unrivalled after sales and technical support service.
“The Aury Tianjin factory in China boasts internationally recognised ISO: 9001 quality certification. A cost-effective Chinese production process is backed up by the technical expertise of a number of engineers who have extensive experience in vibration technology within the international mining sector. This combination creates a truly unique product offering,” he continues.
Aury Africa stocks and supplies a complete range of consumable products that include polyurethane and rubber panels, cyclones, woven wire screens, weld mesh, wedge wire products, pipes, pumps, belt scrapers and ceramics. The company’s capital equipment offering features vibrating feeders and screens, fine and coarse coal centrifuges, crushers, conveyor systems and scrapers.
Given its continued success and growth in Africa, Houchin points out that Aury Africa will be exhibiting a range of products at this year’s Electra Mining Africa. Houchin believes that the event serves as the ideal platform for the com- pany to showcase its proven successes locally.
“This will be Aury Africa’s second exhibition at Electra Mining. At the 2012 event, the company was a junior competitor with the objective of gaining recognition. In just two years, we have developed a reputation as a tried-and-trusted market leader. We aim to reinforce this position by engaging with high-profile decision-makers from across the continent in a centralised location,” he says.
A major contributor to the unprecedented suc- cess of Aury Africa is the fact that the company has full confidence in the capabilities of its entire product range, states Houchin. “Potential customers that may have their doubts are provided with free product trials. Customer feed-back is positive after the trial period, which has proven to be an excellent source of generating new business.”
According to Houchin, Aury Africa has achieved a tenfold increase in revenue since its establishment from humble beginnings in 2010. “We initially started with a turnover of R5-million, which has grown to R50-million today. I anticipate that number to rise to R100-million in the next three years. What’s more, the workforce has increased from two employees to 35. This number is sure to rise when our local production facility becomes fully operational and well established,” he concludes.
Hall 5 Stand E24