In 2009, Bell partnered with German company Bomag, becoming
the official distributor for the Bomag range of road construction and
compaction equipment in southern Africa.
locally based engineering team, and today, 75%
of Bell’s sales in South Africa are of locally
manufactured equipment. The company
remains focused on increasing the local
content of its products, and its ADT currently
has a local content of over 70%. Yet, the real
benefit has been realised through the magic of
the multiplier effect.
Gary Bell summed it up recently when he
said: “Around South Africa today, there are
Bell’s first ADT, the B25A, was launched in 1985. Its success led to
the expansion of the company’s range, including its flagship 40-ton
ADT, launched in 1989.
900 other companies that support us and
benefit from what we do. In KwaZulu-Natal,
we have more than 500 companies that benefit
from our business at Bell: from the products
that we produce and the services we provide,
to our bankers, insurance companies, and
material suppliers. In Richards Bay alone, 191
companies benefit directly. These companies
supply goods and services to Bell, so we have
played a role in developing the local economy.
The greater Bell family goes beyond the 3 500
people directly employed by Bell.”
In a country that is often its own worst enemy
and where no news is probably the best news,
Bell has grown from a tiny engineering operation
to become a manufacturing behemoth. And no
matter the decisions they make in future, the Bell
family, which has seen both the best and the worst
of South Africa over the past six decades, will
continue to make all South Africans proud. n
AUGUST 2017
15