Company Annoucement - Atlas Copco Construction Technique distributor, Zonke’s specialist maintenance and repair services extend the life cycle of hydraulic equipment to maximise uptime and improve productivity for customers in the construction and mining industries.

ZKE Zonke Enterprises, a BEE partnership founded in 2004, is owned by directors, Mike Freer and Holger Worm who collectively have 60 years’ experience in the hydraulic industry. The company’s main focus area is the management of sand and stone quarries including drilling, construction, land development and associated hydraulic products. All services, installations and repairs of hydraulic equipment such as hammers, cylinders, pumps and valve banks as well as rock breakers, stationary pedestal breakers, motors, etc. are carried out at Zonke’s repair facility in Alrode South which has the capacity of handling equipment of up to five tons.

Zonke is responsible for servicing and repairing Atlas Copco hydraulic attachments and consumables as well as the sale of AC breakers to the construction and mining industries. “Our excellent six year relationship with Zonke, their professional service ethic as well as the numerous synergies we share, particularly when it comes to customer service, made the appointment of Zonke as an Atlas Copco distributor in December 2014 the next logical step,” states Amanda Roets, Area Sales Manager – Hydraulic Attachments, Atlas Copco South Africa. Product reliability, fundamental to uptime and sustained productivity, is determined by two factors namely the quality of a product as well as the quality of the service that supports that product. Atlas Copco and Zonke consider maintenance and quick response time central to a complete service offering.

“Customers demand reliable performance from their equipment,” says Worm. “Maintenance, if done regularly by qualified technicians, will extend equipment life and reduce the risk of unexpected failures, consequently shrinking operational costs and increasing uptime. We support our maintenance and repair offering with an on-site condition monitoring service. To further assist customers in keeping downtime to an absolute minimum, we always strive to deliver quick turnaround times and we keep spares in stock which allows us to manage equipment effectively.” Freer and Worm affirm that larger premises are on the cards which will further improve customer service.

Freer and Worm have already seen the value of being an Atlas Copco distributor. “It is a huge advantage to have the platform of a large company and to be able to supply and service the industry leading Atlas Copco brand. Our distributor status gives us the ability to source stock and spares within the large Atlas Copco group and we are able to hook into the Atlas Copco network and market share. It has been our strategy over the last seven years to increase market share in the hydraulic mining sector with the range of products and services that we promote. Since 2013, we have seen a significant increase, especially in the hydraulic hammer and excavator repair segment and we are confident that this trend will continue because it is our responsibility as an Atlas Copco distributor to make this happen.”

According to Freer and Worm, training is a vital component in the full service formula. Worm who is a qualified hydraulics service engineer, recently attended a one week practical training workshop presented by representative from Atlas Copco Germany. “The quality of Atlas Copco’s training is indisputable and adds true value for our staff who regularly attend these courses.” Zonke also offers training to customers on minor repairs.”

Establishing good customer relationships and ensuring the sustainable delivery of excellent customer service are sacrosanct for Atlas Copco. “When our customers purchase Atlas Copco equipment they make an investment. Hence it is important for us that that the service support customers receive match our product quality,” says Roets. “We never stop looking for ways to improve our service offering and Zonke assists us in enhancing our customers’ service experience as well as increasing our footprint in the construction and mining industries.”