Europe-based transit mixer and concrete batching plant machinery manufacturer Imer’s products will be launched at the first bauma Africa event by concrete brick, block and paving machinery manufacturer Pan Mixers South Africa (PMSA).

Imer has been successful in parts of North Africa and, in early 2013, the company approached PMSA to be the distributor of Imer equipment in Southern Africa, says PMSA marketing and sales manager Quintin Booysen.

Further, the company in early 2013 acquired the distribution rights for the products of Sweden-based concrete roof tile solu- tions and machinery provider ABECE in sub-Saharan Africa and will also exhibit ABECE’s concrete tile range at bauma Africa, to be held at the Gallagher Convention Centre, in Midrand, between Pretoria and Johannesburg, from September 18 to 21.

PMSA has been planning for the event since April 2012 and will present its complete product range. It will also exhibit the products of its existing suppliers, such as Italy-based developer and manufacturer of off-road concrete batching vehicles and dumpers Fiori, as well as Germany-based construction chemicals and cleaning products provider LeycoChem Leyde.

Moisture measurement technology developer and manufacturing company Franz Ludwig’s moisture-measuring and metering systems, which measure moisture in concrete while it is being mixed to ensure consistent high-quality precast concrete products, will also be exhibited at bauma Africa.

Also, Germany-based pigment dosing and dispensing company Finke Dosiertechnic, whose oxide dosing systems colour concrete products, will also feature at the event.

PMSA’s product range includes concrete pumps, concrete roof tile machinery, concrete batching plants, concrete kerb presses, as well as brick- and block-making machinery.

“The company hopes to show people attending the trade show that it has a comprehensive range of concrete and brick- and block-making equipment, both locally manufactured as well as from internationally renowned manufacturers and suppliers,” says Booysen.

PMSA will also display its solution and technology offer- ings, he notes, adding that “another range of equipment that PMSA distributes is that of Italy-based truck-mounted concrete pumps manufacturer and sup- plier Sermac, which offers products that are well suited to the African climate and skills level”.

After-sales service is an impor- tant offering of PMSA, which has more than R20-million in spares in stock for the full range of equipment it supplies, Booyens notes. “Should a spare not be available in stock, the company can manufacture the full range of local products and import original-equipment-manufac- turer spares.”

PMSA believes that the equipment it provides is built to last, with Booysen highlighting that brick and paving brick com- pany Benoni Brick & Pave has been using the same plant equipment, installed by PMSA, for 31 years.

The company also employs programmers capable of designing and programming programmable logic controller software, which is installed on advanced computer systems that control the automated machines at a plant. PMSA’s programmers can also repair and monitor equipment remotely over the Internet on the most advanced plants supplied by PMSA, Booysen points out.

PMSA has supplied equipment to several countries, including Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Poland, Ireland, Australia, the US and Taiwan to name a few.

“The core focus of PMSA, however, is supplying Africa with machinery and equipment and maintaining lasting business relationships with customers through its after-sales services,” says Booysen.

The company offers solutions catered to the individual needs of its customers, such as developing a plant specific to the requirements of the customer, helping to analyse the materials used in production and, where necessary, calculating operating expenses, he explains.

Booysen says the MDs from all PMSA’s European suppliers, such as Michael Finke, of Finke Dosiertechnic, and Manfred Ludwig, of Franz Ludwig, will attend the bauma Africa event.

Therefore, PMSA is looking forward to gaining insight from its suppliers at bauma Africa, which could potentially raise the skills level of its staff, who will spend almost a week at bauma interacting in a sales environment with these leading experts in their respective fields. “The event will also provide unique insight into the industry practices of European companies, which could potentially lead to developments in South African and African industry practices,” adds Booysen.

PMSA will have an indoor and outdoor exhibition stand. The outside stand will demonstrate tooling, grinding and self-loading mixers, as well as brick- and blockmaking machinery.

The bauma event is an international trade show exhibiting construction machinery, building-material machines, mining machines, construction vehicles and construction equipment. The bauma trade shows are held every three years in Munich, Germany and biannually in Shanghai, China, and in Mumbai, India. The 2014 trade show in India will be held in Delhi.

“It is a multisector trade show and the world’s largest exposition for the construction and mining industries,” says Booysen.

PMSA is on the bauma advisory board and has been involved since organisation for the event began in April 2012, he notes.

Booysen explains that trade show organisers Messe München International South Africa allowed certain industry members to be on the advisory board to make bauma Africa stand out more than other trade shows by incorporating the ethos of the bauma brand.

“Initially, the trade show was to have a 20 000 m2 exhibition space. Currently, the exhibition space comprises 60 000 m2 and it extends to the parking area of the venue and the entire block surrounding Gallagher Estate,” he adds.

Booysen says, owing to the increased use of the Internet as a marketing tool, few trade shows remain relevant, but he maintains that this is not the case for the bauma event, which offers unique insights for industry role-players in a rapidly unfolding story of African economic growth.
Further, he says the trade show “gauges the state of the industry, which is currently positive, with several South Africa-, Africa- and even Europe-based com- panies wanting to showcase their equipment”.

As a result of bauma’s global pull, the African continent has an opportunity to gain exposure to international equipment and industry practices.

Concrete Skills Development

The concrete industry has a significant skills deficit, Booysen says, noting that, in South Africa and in much of Africa, there is a high level of unemployment and unskilled labour, which further exacerbates industry challenges.

He believes that companies in industry need to be more active in the training of individuals and in providing opportunities to help develop skills in South Africa and the rest of Africa.

PMSA is, therefore, considering the establishment of a cross- sector training academy at the beginning of next year to help develop a more skilled labour force for the brick- and block-making industry. The training programme will cover everything, from simple brickmaking to operating complex supervisory control and data acquisition (Scada) software.

Scada systems capture the operating data of machinery, which enables the operator to quantify the amount of products made in a day as well as all input data and parameters of the plant. These systems also enable computers to supervise plant operations and control plant equipment, with all monitoring done from one location at the plant.

The company offers its clients training programmes at its offices before their plants are set up and during the feasibility stage, where PMSA assists clients in providing the best plant option, based on their specific requirements, and with training in the correct use of equipment at the plant. This helps ensure that once the plant is operational, it can operate at the optimal level.

“Some large plants take up to four months to build and, during this period, PMSA helps train personnel on how to use equipment should the client require such training,” he says.

A client who recently bought an automated brick- and blockmaking plant in Polokwane, Limpopo, received pretraining at PMSA’s offices, in Johannesburg, on the processes of and equipment involved in brick- and blockmaking as well as the plant operation and setup. This pretraining helped operators gain better understanding of the equipment, notes Booysen.

He adds that, after a four-day implementing phase with PMSA, the operators operated the brick- and blockmaking equipment more efficiently.

Despite operators understanding the working of and operating the equipment correctly, it still takes time for them to gain the experience and knowledge needed to operate the equipment at capacity, as they increase their skills level after the training and commissioning phase, by running the plant themselves.