SOUTH AFRICAN SUPPLIERS
same cost as the IE2 models , this became the industry standard .” Again , this IE3 level of motor efficiency has since been taken up in other countries the WEG Group serves . “ No country can be an island , and Zest WEG ’ s contribution to off-the-grid operations also has relevance in countries like Canada and Chile ,” Vargas said .
He concluded on the company ’ s place in the South African and international mining markets : “ The issue of local service provision and procurement is all about balance . Zest WEG has an extensive supply chain in our region , and we support local businesses to be sustainable and to build a capable and inclusive local economy . These suppliers , though , are not isolated from the global economy , and neither are we .
“ By carefully balancing local and global supply chains , we achieve the quality that our customers demand and the scale that makes our offerings competitive .”
Growth on both fronts
Mineral processing firm Multotec is looking to balance its South African heritage with global mining demands , and , on the international service side , has got ‘ ahead of the curve ’ with the offer of productivity-based aftermarket contracts , according to Group CEO , Thomas Holtz .
“ Some of our service contracts are based on cents per tonne contracts and therefore significantly reduce the administration for our clients ,” he told IM . “ We produce one invoice once a month for the labour and equipment used for the month , and the common denominator is the tonnage that was processed in that part of the plant .”
This is quite an extensive practice in South African operations , but not yet widely offered by OEMs elsewhere , according to Holtz .
The company ’ s R & D efforts , meanwhile , have recently expanded from pure customisation for the desired application to attempting to back up industry intent around the themes of ESG and sustainability .
Holtz explained : “ In any of our branches , in South Africa or outside of the country , we do a number of things to support this concept . We see ourselves as offering a value-add service to our clients in the mineral processing operations and , thus , support them in upgrading and keeping their plants running as efficiently as possible .”
This focus has been witnessed in the local diamond sector where , for one client , Multotec developed a re-pulping chute to replace a rotating disagglomeration drum at a mine site . This solution simplified the break-up of clay and , according to Holtz , will be well received on any diamond mining operation across the globe .
“ We also see ourselves as integrating into the local business and community ecosystem ,” he said . “ Here we will make use of local citizens that we employ and train up ; we use local sub-contractors and service providers where available . We also take on a number of SED ( social and economic development ) projects within the community such as adopting a school or making use of our workshops to assist some community scheme .”
Multotec is helping clients keep its equipment running for longer by developing “ pragmatic and robust technology-based solutions ” that focus on improving plant up-time and efficiency .
“ The benefit of technology is that it does not sleep and offers repeatable , consistent results and can augment the human operator ’ s job ,” Holtz said . “ We do not see technology taking humans off , or out of the plant , but replacing some of the more mundane tasks that running an operation requires .”
Multotec , as a company that complies with B-BBEE requirements , has benefitted from the Mining Charter ’ s focus on local suppliers and procurement , but , as Holtz pointed out , the company still needs to deliver “ world class and competitively priced products ” to meet client expectations .
“ At Multotec , we believe that we have met both these requirements and , hence , we have currently seen quite a significant growth in the local
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JANUARY 2022 | International Mining 19