INSIGHT
Condra co-director Kyle Kleiner says
that South America’s harsh mining
environment requires a robust product.
2.5 to 6m/min, involving motor redesign
to accommodate a 480V power supply.
Marc is confident that Condra
can continue to grow the volume of
orders for cranes, hoists, and crane components coming out of South
America. “We are keeping our prices
competitive by developing ties with
the local maestranza,” he says. “These
are the machine shops and fabricators
who often marry the hoists and key
components shipped by Condra’s
South African factories to wide-span
crane girders which they manufacture
themselves,” he explains.
“For cranes with smallish spans of 12
metres and less — and there are a fair
number of these — we ship the units as
complete cranes because control of the
overall contract is easier, and we can still
remain competitive on price.”
Asked for advice for would-be
exporters, Marc emphasises that an
excellent product is of little use without
the support of an agent who, if they
are to deliver orders, requires constant
reassurance, follow-up, and support.
“You have to instil in your agent belief in
your product,” Kyle agrees.
“You have to quickly and reliably
answer any queries that the agent may
have, and you have to create confidence.
“This takes time, but if you go out of
your way to give him the exact product
that he needs, and if you coax and guide
and constantly follow up, eventually the
agent will realise that his own growth
will follow naturally from his partnership
with you, and the volume of orders will
steadily grow,” concludes Kyle.
management believed the company
could fill: that of local manufacture in
place of local assembly from imported
components. The research indicated that
substantial demand existed for a range
of robust cranes and hoists if these
could be competitively priced.
Manufacture of the first overhead
crane components began in 1971.
Four years later, Condra moved
to a custom-built factory, still in Johannesburg, where design and
manufacture of the first hoists began.
The company remains headquartered
in Johannesburg today, but growth has
been such that the size of the original
factory and offices was doubled in
1982, and in 2008, Condra moved to its
current premises, a 22 000m 2 site that
includes an under-roof area of
8 000m 2 , about three times the size of
the previous factory.
Even an excellent product is of little use without the support of an agent who, if they
are to deliver orders, requires constant reassurance, follow-up, and support.
country’s south have slowed because of
a preference for wind and solar energy
farms built closer to mines in the north.
Kyle says that Chile’s mining
environment is similar to that of
South Africa, with harsh conditions
requiring a robust product. “Our first
noteworthy sale to a mine was for
a 25-ton maintenance crane,” says
Kyle. “We supplied the design and all
components except the girder, which
was manufactured locally. The product
is robust, and this crane is still operating
almost 30 years later.”
Condra’s most recent trip to the
continent was made by Marc, who
visited two of Chile’s copper mines as
well as consulting engineers in Santiago.
He returned with orders that included
a 40-ton portal machine, which will
become the seventh Condra unit to be
delivered to the same customer.
Outside Chile, there is currently a
contract for complex modification of an
existing Condra hoist unit in Peru, the lift
speed of which has to be upgraded from
About Condra (Pty) Ltd
Condra was established over 50 years
ago by Josef Kleiner, who was born
in Germany and previously worked for
German crane manufacturer Demag.
Initially structured as a Johannesburg-
based consultancy and drawing office
with general engineering capabilities,
later research into the South African
market for hoists and overhead cranes
revealed an opportunity which Condra’s
40
APRIL 2019
Research into the
South African market
for hoists and overhead
cranes revealed an
opportunity which
Condra’s management
believed the company
could fill: that of local
manufacture in place
of local assembly from
imported components.“
www.plantonline.co.za