MINING HOISTS MME Manufacturing’s hoists are available in various control options, including toggle control, pilot pendant control and direct pendant control with lockout
In a bid to diversify its client base, local pneumatic lifting equipment manufacturer MME Manufacturing is aiming to expand its services into other African markets.
MME Manufacturing project engineer Arnoul Spitsbaard tells Mining Weekly that this year’s five-month-long platinum sector strike reinforced the company’s drive to diversify its client base to decrease its reliance on the local mining industry.
“Because most of our business comes from the local mining industry, our business was badly impacted on during those five months. Luckily, we also have clients in the gold mining and industrial sectors, so we still had some business.”
He adds that MME Manufacturing wants to grow its export potential and that there are several mining projects currently under way in countries like Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The company currently exports some of its products to Europe, Australia and other markets on the African continent through distributors. Spitsbaard details that MME Manufacturing plans to strengthen its presence in those markets through those distributors.
He adds that mining companies are looking not only for products but also service providers. MME Manufacturing provides maintenance, repairs and other support-related services, including design, for clients from its manufacturing plant and four branches in South Africa.
The manufacturing plant and head office is located in Carletonville, Gauteng, with branches in Vanderbijlpark, also in Gauteng, Klerksdorp and Rustenburg, in the North West, and another in Welkom, in the Free State.
Spitsbaard attributes MME Manufacturing’s success to the support services it offers to clients. “It doesn’t help to sell your product in a certain market if you do not have a backup service offering, because clients want after-sales support for their products,” he elaborates.
MME at Electra Mining Africa
In September, MME Manufacturing showcased its compressed air-powered pneumatics products at the Electra Mining Africa exhibition, held from September 15 to 19, in Johannesburg.
The company’s products included the South African Bureau of Standards 1638-compliant and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-tested mining air hoists, which range in capacity from 2 t to 10 t. The hoists come standard with load limiters and are available in various control options, including toggle control, pilot pendant control and direct pendant control, all with a lockout option.
The company also showcased its trolleys, which complement MME Manufacturing’s full range of mining and industrial air hoists. The trolleys have capacities that range from 1 t to 10 t and are available in plain, geared and motorised versions.
Also on display were the single-drum winches and capstan winches. The single-drum winches are available in capacities from 0.5 t to 5 t. The capstan winches are versatile and can reduce labour costs dramatically, particularly in shunting operations.