“
BUSINESS
Irvine Bell’s three
sons have all
been involved in
the running of the
business during its
history.”
12
The first 25-ton B25A — the first in Bell’s range
of A-series ADTs — was sold in 1985, and its
resounding success led the company to expand
the range with new models. When Bell launched
its flagship 40-ton capacity ADT in 1989, the
company’s team of employees had grown to
1 650 worldwide and in 2003, an assembly
plant in Eisenach-Kindel, Germany, was
brought online. The focus was now on further
establishing the company as a global player.
The company continues to lead ADT
innovation, breaking new ground with the
mining-focused 50-ton capacity B50D in 2004
and, more recently, with the 60-ton 4 × 4
B60D. In 2013, Bell also launched its E-series
generation of ADTs in the form of the B25E
and B30E. This was followed in 2016 with the
launch of the Large Truck Programme — the
B35E through to the B60E — to complete the
E-series range.
“Bell has retained the culture of a family
business even though it is now a global-listed
company and that makes it a very special company
to work for,” says Tristan du Pisanie, ADT
product marketing manager at Bell Equipment.
Irvine Bell’s three sons have all been
involved in the running of the business
during its history. Gary is still the CEO,
while Peter and Paul have been involved in
the engineering and marketing aspects of
the business. Purely South African original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs) specialising
in surface mining and construction equipment
are few and far between in South Africa,
with Bell and another family business, Dezzi
Equipment, the only two currently operating
in this space. Several South African OEMs are
manufacturing underground equipment.
Going under
While Bell is also involved in the world of
underground mining equipment, currently
the bulk of its business remains on the
surface. “But underground equipment is a
focus area,” says Stephen McNeill, marketing
manager alliances at Bell Equipment. “We first
introduced underground trucks in 1987, which
ran with a Deutz engine, in 1990, we launched
the 15L, and in 1992, the 30L,” says Du
Pisanie. In addition to the underground ADT,
Bell has also developed and manufactured
an underground rock scaler, based on its Tri-
Wheeler platform.
Bell’s largest underground ADT has a
payload of 33 tonnes, although it has also
released the smaller 20- and 30-tonners into
the market. Although the lure of underground
machines has not yet enticed Bell to enter
that niche market aggressively, there are signs
that the company is considering it as a way to
diversify its product range.
Both Du Pisanie and McNeill are
enthusiastic about underground equipment;
however, they both confirm that there is
potential to grow in this area. The company
has teamed up with AARD, another South
African OEM that specialises in underground
equipment, to assist it in the distribution of its
underground offerings. “AARD talks to a lot
more underground mines than we do, and such
an arrangement makes perfect sense,” says Du
Pisanie. AARD does not manufacture its own
Bell Equipment employs a big
contingent of local people at its facility
in Richards Bay.
AUGUST 2017