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Companies partner to drive uptake of screening solutions in Africa

30th September 2016

  

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South African mining original-equipment manufacturer (OEM) Kwatani, formerly known as Joest Kwatani, and global fine screening mining manufacturer Derrick Corporation have partnered with a view to drive best screening practice throughout the African mining sector.

Kwatani announced at Electra Mining Africa 2016, which was held at the Expo Centre, in Johannesburg, from September 12 to 16, that it will represent Derrick Corporation’s range of engineered fine screening solutions in Africa’s key mining regions. Kwatani will share this responsibility with Derrick Solutions International (DSI) Africa, which has represented Derrick Corporation since 2014.

The collaboration positions Kwatani as a source of screening solutions for all commodities mined in Africa and DSI Africa VP Nic Barkhuysen notes this provides Kwatani with a significant competitive edge. He highlights that because of the slump in commodities prices, it is imperative that OEMs offer a variety of solutions for all minerals and base metals, adding that there is no other screening company that is capable of such a comprehensive offering for the African mining industry.

“Kwatani now has access to machines for coarse and fine screening and for arduous applications through to technologies with patented polyurethane panels for screening at 45 μ and finer particle sizes,” he notes.

Kwatani MD Kim Schoepflin notes that this collaboration will also facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experience between the two OEMs, which are both driven by research and development (R&D), and assist them to develop solutions that will help their customers achieve the lowest possible cost per ton.

“Kwatani is well known for its high level of ongoing product development, which ensures that customers have access to new-generation technology aimed at achieving the lowest cost per ton. Derrick Corporation has a similar R&D philosophy and this will lead to the introduction of many key technologies in the African mining industry,” she says.

Schoepflin adds that both Kwatani and Derrick Corporation have established reputations for leveraging best-practice engineering methodologies and maintains that this, coupled with in-depth experience and applications knowledge, will benefit customers significantly in terms of having ready access to technical input and the provision of fit-for-purpose high-quality vibrating equipment.

She further notes that Kwatani has established a strong and reputable presence in key mining regions in Africa, with thousands of its vibrating screens and feeders already operating in the heavy and precious metals and minerals markets. This reputation, says Schoepflin, will help strengthen Derrick Corporation’s operations on the continent.

DSI Africa has trained Kwatani’s process engineering and service maintenance teams in Derrick Corporation’s technologies and applications and Barkhuysen is confident that Kwatani “is ready to market, service and maintain its machines in its territories”. He adds that on-site support and screen refurbishment services are also available from Kwatani.

Engineered for Tonnage
In September, Joest Kwatani announced that it would henceforth be known only as Kwatani, as the company makes the final transition in positioning itself as a proudly African company.

Schoepflin says the name change reflects a natural progression in the company’s identity and better represents its operating philosophy, its African heritage and its overall commitment to transformation in South Africa.

“Kwatani,” she explains, means “engineered for tonnage” in Swahili, adding that this sentiment underpins the company’s commitment to producing high-quality vibrating equipment for Africa’s mining industry.

“The ability to respond rapidly to market demands has always been one of Kwatani’s strengths and it is this, together with its reputation of supplying robust equipment capable of withstanding the tough mining conditions experienced in Africa that has seen the company grow from strength to strength,” says Schoepflin.

The company, which opened in 1976, initially imported motors from Germany and, in later years, began to integrate South African mining technology into the original designs. “This strategy allows Kwatani to produce robust heavy-duty equipment that offers end-users the required throughputs, as well as the efficiencies and longevity, required of such equipment. We can truly say that our vibrating equipment is specifically engineered for tonnage.”

Schoepflin highlights that Kwatani’s custom-engineered vibrating equipment can be found across all commodities in Africa’s mining sector, emphasising that the company’s close relationship with its customers across the continent and its sound understanding of the operating conditions they face has enabled it to engage in ongoing product development and improvement to meet market needs.

“Our in-house design and technology teams are able to accurately interpret customer requirements and translate them into solutions that are engineered for optimum tonnage, without sacrificing reliability or quality.”

Edited by Tracy Hancock
Creamer Media Contributing Editor

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