Plant Equipment and Hire February 2018 | Page 29

and Asia. And while European demand is on a gradual upswing, the South African market is lagging behind these trends in terms of sales of new equipment. However, we are enjoying increasing business and enquiries from neighbouring states, including Zambia, the DRC, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.” The Australasian market now accounts for 80% of international export sales, which includes first sales to operators in New Zealand of Pilot Modular equipment. Scherf also took the opportunity to reveal the background behind two major shifts in the company’s marketing activities: a dramatic increase in the sale of spare parts and components, accompanied by a rise in requests for the refurbishment of used machines. Spares sales and marketing now fall within the remit of a dedicated division assisted in no small measure by the gain of the Metso franchise. “Pilot Crushtec International’s fabrication arm, Pilot MacFab, is being scaled upward to match demand,” said Scherf. “Despite the market being awash NEW EQUIPMENT Pilot Crushtec paints and assembles the machines at its Jet Park branch using components delivered from its fabrication company. with pirate parts, a great deal of hard work has ensured that ex-works prices remain within 10% of lookalike offerings.” The spares market is all about availability and Scherf estimates the value of Pilot Crushtec’s spare and wear parts current stockholding at around R140-million, managed by an advanced control system. FEBRUARY 2018 27