TECHNOLOGY •
Africa, with more than 200 direct LiuGong employees and over 2 000 dealer employees present across all industries. The first company subsidiary was opened in Johannesburg in 2010, followed by one in Côte d ' Ivoire and one in Kenya too – with more to follow on the continent.
Local support is key Zeng pointed out that aftersales parts supply and back-up services are key ingredients to the success of any equipment supplier and is a major focus in the company’ s drive in Africa. He said,“ We understand the importance of after-sales service. Our partnership with our dealer network ensures that every user of our machinery and service offering receives rapid, responsive support and highquality spare parts supply, including localised cost optimisation.”
In December 2024, LiuGong signed an exclusive agreement with earthmoving, mining and construction equipment supplier, ELB Equipment, to act as it’ s sole distributor in southern Africa and this has significantly increased spare parts and local expert coverage in the region. Furthermore, the company is building additional localised service capabilities by setting up a joint dealer training centre in South Africa to certify local technicians, covering modules such as hydraulics, electrical and intelligent systems.
Moreover, the company supports its customers with both a global and a local collaborative spare parts network. Remote diagnosis is combined with on-site service through the LiuGong Smart Service App. This is used by company service engineers, headquarter engineers and local dealer experts to jointly conduct remote consultations to solve local technical challenges.
Future tech and sustainability Zeng is passionate about the company’ s green initiatives, explaining that LiuGong engineers and manufactures solutions that deliver high performance while minimising environmental impact – with upfront machine design focussed on energy-efficiency, and fuel consumption and emissions reduction in mind. The company also promotes the recycling and reuse of materials in their manufacturing processes – reducing waste and conserving natural resources.
Providing training and education to customers and operators on sustainable mining practices is core to the company’ s offering, enthused Zeng. This includes best practices for equipment operation, maintenance and environmental stewardship. The company has made significant strides in promoting sustainable mining practices and integrating green initiatives into its customers’ operations globally over the past sixty years and more. Africa stands to benefit from these initiatives too into the future through the LiuGong technology offering.
Zeng said that in the future, the mining industry could expect technological upgrades from the company that will introduce larger-tonnage mining machines, with deepened applications of pure electric mining trucks and hybrid technologies to help reduce mining customer carbon emissions. With a focus on optimisation, safety and sustainability in Africa, in Zeng’ s opinion, in the current African mining ecosystem, the LiuGong hybrid solutions could add the most practical value to the continent’ s operations. According to Zeng, hybrid solutions are a perfect balance between the advantages that both diesel and electrical technologies offer.
Within the international framework and the global community, the end goal for LiuGong will be the creation of unmanned mines, realising automation through self-driving mining vehicles and management systems for the reality of a zero harm approach in mining in Asia and Europe, in particular. •
Historical milestones in LiuGong’ s tech journey: Founded in 1958, LiuGong pioneered the development of China’ s first wheeled loader, laying the foundation for the leading role it would play in the construction and mining machinery sector.
Having transformed into a joint-stock company in 1993, LiuGong accelerated technology research and development through public financing and expanded its product line to include excavators, rollers, and other fields. The establishment of a manufacturing plant in India in 2003 marked a breakthrough in the company’ s globalisation strategy. The company’ s acquisition of Poland ' s Dressta company in 2008, added core bulldozer technology to its profile and LiuGong entered the European market.
In the 2010s, the company launched a“ green and intelligent revolution”, introducing China’ s first electric loader in 2015, leading the industry towards electrification. In 2019, it released the world’ s first unmanned roller, promoting intelligent construction. By 2020, the implementation of a 5G remote-controlled excavator achieved precise remote operations in high-risk environments.
The company, now fully internationalised, has reached global sales surpassing 1.5 million units and supplies products to over 180 countries.
www. africanmining. co. za African Mining Publication African Mining African Mining • May 2025 • 21