TECHNOLOGY • her background and her contacts to turn the business around in just two years . “ My role presented an exciting challenge , and I was able to surround myself with the right people and the right skills . Interestingly , we were able to pull manufacturing principles through to a business in the infrastructure sector and bring the business back to strong profitability .”
For Ledwaba , it was a case of realigning people and training teams to work more efficiently – stabilising the business , followed by a strategy of diversifying and extending the company ’ s reach beyond ‘ business as usual ’ to ensure growth . “ Routine inspections became a road maintenance mechanism , where teams could inform SANRAL of potential hazards , and this extended to providing safer roads , where routine inspections could assist in alerting emergency services when incidents on the road were observed .” She highlights the fact that , at the time , Intertoll even extended its reach beyond borders into Zimbabwe , where the company won a contract to develop a 280-kilometre route – managing finance , the build and operations before it was transferred back to government control .
work for . I chose Weir Africa precisely because it is an ethical and sound business , built on 150 years of innovating and evolving continuously to remain relevant to its customers , employees and the communities in the spaces in which it works . Weir ’ s culture is people orientated – which is rare in the manufacturing space . Although we work in a harsh environment , with hard materials – one cannot forget the humanity at the heart of all we do .”
Committed talent The talent , commitment and collaboration globally within Weir has been particularly striking for Ledwaba in her first three months as MD . She notes that Weir boasts a workforce of over 11 000 professionals serving the world ’ s mines with intelligent solutions across the globe . “ Weir does not fit a siloed global character . Here , cross-country collaboration is a daily occurrence . Moreover , talent – irrespective of gender – is recognised and shared cross border .” Ledwaba refers to two recent developments : Weir Africa ’ s head of Engineering has just become head of engineering for the whole of the EMEA region and a young South African woman who
Weir ’ s Modular Wheeled Plant is a fully mobile crushing and screening plant that can be transported by trailer .
Entrepreneurial spirit , passion for excellence Ledwaba exudes energy and drive – she has dabbled as an entrepreneur and a banker , building her brand with meticulous care , choosing to work only where the values of the company speak to who she is . Murray & Roberts and Aveng also grace her CV , and most recently she held the position of commercial head for ArcelorMittal Industries – overseeing sales for the domestic automotive market , major resellers , engineering and strategic manufacturers . Ledwaba has also served on various boards , including Thabazimbi Iron Ore Mine and Toyota Tsusho Processing South Africa , further building her reach and influence .
It ’ s all about ethics , values and humanity Ledwaba ’ s values drive her choices – “ I have always believed that my brand and my value system must match that of the entity I started her career in the local Weir foundry is heading to the US as technology manager for Weir foundries – including foundries in China .
A forward-looking strategy For Ledwaba the stand-out challenge for mining customers in Africa over the past three months has been the volatility in commodity pricing , particularly in the PGMs space , where pricing has remained constrained . Within the cyclical nature of mining – and especially at the low ebb of this cycle – there is a distinct customer need to increase efficiencies while reducing cost , says Ledwaba . “ With this in mind , our focus will be to continue to partner with customers to deliver value , particularly while they ' re at the bottom of the cycle – and that we ' ve done well to date , in terms of our technology advances .”
www . africanmining . co . za African Mining Publication African Mining African Mining • February 2025 • 19