Materials handling solutions company M&J Engineering has doubled in size over the past four years, under-lining the company’s focus on high-quality bulk materials handling solutions, says M&J Engineering MD Mark Baller.

He believes that a portion of this growth can be attributed to the inherent advantages of the Weba Chute System.

“In addition, the focus on ensuring that the transfer points and chutes supplied are fit for purpose and meet all the application requirements further enhances our market position,” he enthuses.

He adds that with about 1 000 operational transfer chutes installed in the Northern Cape alone, it makes sense for the company to address the needs of this extremely important region.

“We consequently opened a Northern Cape facility last year to provide improved cus-tomer service and faster turnaround times for the local market,” explains Baller.

The company also recently divided the projects office and the drawing office into two separate departments to improve operating efficiencies.

“The projects division, which is headed by Ted Cruickshank, will handle all orders for new or replacement chutes. “This will ensure that all contractual obligations are met and jobs are delivered timeously and to the required specifications,” he points out.

Moreover, he states that customers will benefit from the company’s comprehensive, turnkey project management solution.

“The projects division will manage jobs from receipt of the order, initial planning meetings and design, through the coordin-ation of fabrication, to the final delivery and on-site commissioning of systems,” says Baller.

Heading North

He highlights that the formation of the pro-jects division will provide the necessary foundation for M&J Engineering’s future expansion into Africa.

“We have a substantial footprint in South Africa, where our reputation as the provider of the innovative Weba Chute System has been firmly entrenched. “This has cemented our decision to embark on plans to capture a substantial portion of the African bulk materials handling market,” asserts Baller.

The company has been active in Africa for over ten years and has a number of installations in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Tanzania, Namibia and Malawi.

He points out that Africa and South America are receiving increased market atten- tion, owing to the vast quantities of unexploited resources there.
Baller believes that M&J Engineering’s comprehensive understanding of the demands of working in Africa places it in a favourable position to service the market.

“We recently received a significant number of orders from the US. “These include nine chutes for US miner Freeport McMoRan’s Morenci openpit copper mine, in Arizona, and four chutes for US federally owned Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) Colbert coal-fired power station, in Tennessee,” he points out.

Additionally, he notes that the company has received an order for one chute from the TVA Shawnee power station, in Missouri, three chutes for Fortune 500 company NiSource’s energy distribution company Northern Indiana’s public service company, Schahfer, in Merrillville, Indiana, as well as four chutes for the Sheerness coal-fired power station, in Alberta, Canada.

“These companies selected our systems owing to their reliability, reputation and our record for providing a transfer point customised to their particular application,” Baller explains.

“We will continue to research and define the markets we operate in and determine the best fit for each particular application. Market understanding and product development remain priorities for M&J Engineering,” Baller concludes.