Verlinde Cranes & Hoists – the distributor of Verlinde overhead cranes and lifting equipment from France – was established in South Africa in the late 1960s.

The company, which has a turnover of about R20-million a year,  distributes a range overhead cranes and lifting equipment, including jib and travelling cranes, electric and manual winches and hoists, trolleys and load balancers, electronic devices, accessories and spare parts for southern African mining and industrial markets.

As the official distributor of Verlinde to South Africa, Gauteng-based Verlinde Cranes & Hoists imports all the equipment from a production factory in France. The company works with clients to get the machine that most accurately fulfils their needs and imports the equipment to match the exact specifications and desired functionality from its clients, including specifications for explosion-proof equipment.

Locally, Verlinde Crane & Hoists, which has ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004 certification, produces girders from its approved steel fabricator.

The company has recently installed, supplied and commissioned 18 overhead cranes at Randgold Resources’ Kibali mine, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  These cranes will move items around in the mill. It has also supplied and installed 12 overhead cranes in the production plant, primary crusher mill and maintenance plant of Anglo American’s Unki mine, in Zimbabwe. Load-testing was conducted to comply with Anglo American’s stringent safety regulations.

Locally, four five-ton overhead cranes are to be supplied to an Impala Platinum mine to be used in an underground mine shaft for routine maintenance.

Verlinde Crane & Hoists is renting 5 000 m2 premises at 367 Boundary road, Kya Sands, Randburg , where 1 000 m2 is under cover. Lindsay Shankland is the main shareholder of the nine-person-strong business.