HireSA HireSA April 2017 | Page 4

[ ED’S COMMENT ] HATS OFF to the industry L ast year proved to be a very tough year for the plant hire, construction, mining, quarrying and building industries, yet the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and plant hire companies, made it work. In January and February talks revolved around a better year going forward and the industry was positive that business would change for the better. Unfortunately, as we all know, South Africa has been downgraded to junk status. According to members of the industry, this is going to have a serious effect on business: “for at least the next five to seven years.” During the last two weeks this has been a discussion on everybody’s agenda, but the industry is not throwing in the towel. It is great to see that amidst all the turmoil, there is positivity, the OEMs are changing strategies and looking at new ways to seek business. The plant hire companies are doing their homework to see if they can extend the life of their machines. Some companies would have a plant maintenance plan in place to change the plant every five years – instead they are now looking at ways of extending the life of their machines. Proof of this can be found in this month’s Hire SA where companies have reported on marketing their businesses more cost-effectively, without treading water. High Power Equipment Africa (HPE) and Doosan have launched new machines to the industry; HPE held a very successful customer day at its premises and opened a new demonstration area where customers can literally kick the tyres and operate machines before making a purchase. Not one company we spoke to, that has planned to put its machines on show at Nampo (taking place in the second week of May in Bothaville) has pulled out. This industry is working hard and staying positive, running their businesses, with different strategies and definitely not giving up. Cherry Ellis – Managing Editor – Hire SA. Follow us on: Hire SA Magazine; @EarthmoveHireSA CHERRY ELLIS | [email protected] IncludIng mInIng, quarryIng, constructIon and buIldIng IndustrIes CA17295 - Construction Awareness-Print Ad-130by180-HireSA.pdf 1 2017/04/05 3:44 PM TECHNOLOGY•MAINTENANCE•REPAIRS YOUR EXPERT PARTNER IN SERVICE SOLUTIONS Make sure all your projects, no matter how big or small are completed successfully with Barloworld Equipment. C M Y CM MY CY TECHNOLOGY - Manage your business productivity, ensure safety and sustainability with our Equipment Management services. MAINTENANCE - Apply proper maintenance practices for longer component life and lowest owning and operating costs. REPAIRS - Get Cat ® genuine parts, conduct repairs before failure and save money. #BWEWELOVECONSTRUCTION CMY K Scan the QR code to learn more about our after sales capabilities. Visit WWW.BARLOWORLD-EQUIPMENT.COM or call us on 010 040 7840 now for more information. BUILT FOR IT. ™ © 2017 Caterpillar. All Rights Reserved. CAT, CATERPILLAR, BUILT FOR IT, their respective logos, "Caterpillar Yellow", the "Power Edge" trade dress as well as corporate and product identity used herein, are trademarks of Caterpillar and may not be used without permission. 4 | HIRE SA | APRIL 2017 MORETHANMACHINES