In a declaration of confidence in Southern Africa’s mining sector, electrical engineering firm Ampcontrol has today announced the establishment of a technology and manufacturing facility in Johannesburg.

The purpose built facility provides the foundation for Ampcontrol to achieve its objective of becoming the premium supplier of advanced electrical solutions to the mining and industrial industries in South Africa. Ampcontrol’s technologies are used worldwide to energise, monitor and protect mining, tunnelling and oil and gas sector operations, specialising in hazardous area coal mining solutions. Ampcontrol also has extensive experience in the mineral and metal mining, industrial and utilities sectors.

“We are excited to expand our operational footprint in South Africa to better serve our customers”, said Ampcontrol Africa Managing Director, Edwin Bauer. “We see robust growth in South Africa’s mining sector and this new facility will help us effectively respond to the demand in the industry as well as introduce new and safer technologies”. Currently operating out of separate facilities in Denver and Wadeville, Ampcontrol’s operations will be consolidated into the single, 10,000sqm facility to support Ampcontrol’s well-established electrical equipment including flameproof gate end boxes, substations and a wide range of transformers. “We’ll also be able to locally manufacture new product lines including conveyor safety controls and environmental monitoring solutions as well as one of Ampcontrol’s flagship technologies, the gas filled explosionproof mining transformer,” Bauer said.

State of the art manufacturing technologies and processes will ensure high quality control and manufacturing throughput, in turn achieving reduced lead times and increased customer satisfaction. An on-site training centre will be used to teach clients how to operate Ampcontrol’s power distribution and electrical systems as well as increase the skills of Ampcontrol’s 170 manufacturing, service, project and engineering employees. Ampcontrol anticipates the facility will be fully operational early January 2014.