Quarry Southern Africa March 2019 | Page 10

AFRICAN NEWS SEW-EURODRIVE has announced that one of its major Zambian cement producer customers has standardised on its products and invested significantly in a comprehensive stockholding of critical spare units to prevent any costly downtime and subsequent loss of productivity. The multimillion-rand order consisted of 40 units, including geared motors, planetary units, and industrial gear (IG) units, ranging from 7.5kW to 250kW. A total of 15 customised IG units are being supplied by SEW-EURODRIVE of Finland, while other units are also being sourced from Germany. “This is testament to the internationalisation of SEW-EURODRIVE, which can call on its extensive global capabilities in order to be able to meet the specific requirements of this major client in the required timeframe,” according to head of exports, Marcio Sicchiero. Zambian cement producer stocks up Zambian cement producer stocks up on critical spares from SEW-EURODRIVE. Due to the size and quantity of the order, the products are being dispatched to Zambia from the SEW-EURODRIVE head office in Johannesburg in six different batches, with differing lead times, to facilitate transportation and logistics. The OEM is providing technical support and assistance directly from South Africa, with export sales representative Philip Steyn having travelled to site five times. The back-up support offered on this particular project by SEW- EURODRIVE has included assistance with correct storage procedures. Being critical spares, these products will not be deployed in the plant straightaway, and therefore have to be stored correctly to avoid any issues when they are required. “The client has opted for the critical spares stockholding due to the impact that any downtime has on productivity,” Sicchiero explains. This is a proactive approach to maintenance, combined with the user-friendliness and simple installation of the SEW-EURODRIVE products themselves. Commenting on the current state of the cement industry in Africa, Sicchiero points out that major producers such as SEW- EURODRIVE’s Zambian client are expanding aggressively on the continent, so as not to be dependent on local markets only.  Lafarge Africa’s Nigerian operations have won the inaugural corporate social responsibility (CSR) awards of LafargeHolcim for Middle East and Africa. The country won the overall award after beating 35 other countries in two of the four award categories, according to the Vanguard newspaper. It won gold for its CSR initiatives in the Education and Employment category ahead of Egypt (silver) and Kenya (bronze). Nigeria also won gold in the Shelter and Infrastructure category ahead of Morocco (silver) and Côte d’Ivoire (bronze). Lafarge Africa runs its ‘Easy Home’ initiative in Nigeria to help individuals build decent houses 8_QUARRY SA| MARCH/APRIL 2019 on a low budget. In 2016, over 30 000 people benefited from the initiative. In 2017, Lafarge Africa created the Cement Professionals Training Programme, to help young people in the fields of technology, engineering, cement manufacturing, instrumentation, and automation. The company made investments in social investment programmes and initiatives in 2017 in its host communities across the country, directly impacting more than 450 000 beneficiaries. Lafarge Africa also complements the local government’s efforts to improve primary school education through the Lafarge Africa National Literacy Competition.  Nigeria wins first LafargeHolcim CSR awards for Middle East and Africa Lafarge Nigeria’s 2017 annual report. www.quarryonline.co.za