O
“
Over the past 90 years, Barloworld
Equipment has grown significantly. The
Barloworld Group has been quoted on
the JSE for 75 years, and Barloworld
Equipment is one of the 20 South African
companies in the Dow Jones Sustainability
Emerging Markets Index.”
n 31 August 2017, almost exactly 90 years
after ‘Punch’ Barlow signed the historic
agreement making the Barlows the sole and
official sales and service Caterpillar dealer in South
Africa on 17 August 1927, Barloworld Equipment
officially opened a new, state-of-the-art distribution
warehouse. Co-located within the Caterpillar parts
distribution centre in Kempton Park, this is the
first Caterpillar facility to operate under such an
arrangement. Barloworld Equipment’s 90-year
partnership with Caterpillar laid the foundation for
the company’s expansion beyond South Africa and
into 10 other southern African markets, as well as
Iberia, Siberia, and the Russian Far East.
Barloworld Equipment Johannesburg — as the
distribution centre will be known — was unveiled
at a ceremony attended by senior executives of
both Barloworld Equipment and Caterpillar,
as well as customers, government officials, and
other key stakeholders. This inauguration event
marked the latest in a long line of achievements
for the company over the past nine decades, ever
since Punch Barlow introduced the Caterpillar
brand in South Africa, playing a key role in the
development of South Africa’s mining industry
and physical infrastructure.
Dominic Sewela, CEO of Barloworld Limited,
the parent company of Barloworld Equipment,
said the investment in the launch of the parts
distribution facility was true testament to
Barloworld Equipment’s commitment to southern
Africa, where it is a principal supplier of Caterpillar
machines to customers that mainly operate in the
mining and construction sectors.
“The new parts facility will dramatically improve
the turnaround time from order to collection
of parts for our customers. The reduction in the
turnaround time will bring enormous benefits
to our customers, as it will quicken repairs and
maintenance work on the machines we supply to
them. This will help reduce downtime and boost
productivity for our customers, putting them in an
ideal position to take advantage of an anticipated
recovery in commodity markets,” said Sewela.
The next 90 years
Over the past 90 years, Barloworld Equipment
has grown significantly. The Barloworld Group
has been quoted on the JSE for 75 years, and
Barloworld Equipment is one of the 20 South
African companies in the Dow Jones Sustainability
Emerging Markets Index.
Although Charles Sydney ‘Punch’ Barlow is
the one with which most people are familiar, due
to his instrumental role in helping the company
grow to the size it is today, it was his father, Major
Ernest ‘Billy’ Barlow, who was responsible for
NOVEMBER 2017
13