As part of a growth strategy long in the making, Bell Equipment will increasingly shift articulated dump truck (ADT) production from its Richards Bay plant, in KwaZulu-Natal, to the northern hemisphere, says CEO Leon Goosen.

The Bell ADT is the group’s high-volume product, with 80% of the world market for this product located in the northern hemisphere, and two-thirds of Bell ADT sales flowing from North America, the UK and Europe, Goosen tells Engineering News Online.

Moving raw materials and components back and forth between South Africa and Bell’s Germany plant is proving to be increasingly costly and highly inefficient, notes Goosen.

“We need to move production closer to the client. Doing so will also allow us to flex up and down quickly according to market demand.”

The move also means Bell will be less exposed to the risks presented by the volatility of the South African landscape going forward. It is also vital to the business that Bell’s global customers can trust in its ability to support them regardless of local, regional or global events.

Bell remains committed to South Africa as a local manufacturer, says Goosen. The factory in Richards Bay is to remain fully operational, and there will be no job losses.

However, the focus of the plant going forward will be on new, smaller volume products. 

As part of this shift, the plant will undergo a large-scale ‘Rise with SAP’ rollout. This project will underpin the replacement of the legacy system at the Richards Bay factory in 2023, "in a mammoth project that will promote long-term sustainability in South Africa”.

Goosen says the group’s strategy, hatched a number of years ago, was based on the realisation that Bell’s success could not hinge on the ADT portfolio alone. 

“We wanted to be an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) that could stand on its own two feet – not one product of our own and a hundred other products from other OEMs that complement ours,” says Goosen.

“We wanted to invest aggressively in intellectual property development, which saw us increasingly develop our own products.”

Going forward, Richards Bay will increasingly focus on these new developed, lower-volume products, while some ADT component production will start to shift to Germany, says Goosen.

“We’ll not abandon what we have built in South Africa. This is our roots. We are here to stay. 

“Unfortunately, however, we cannot yet disclose what we’ll produce in Richards Bay, as this is still in prototype stage," he adds.

Goosen says Bell is currently largely focused on the construction and mining industries, but notes that the group wants to expand its participation in the agriculture and underground mining sectors.

“The South African mining industry is of great importance to us.”

Introducing new products to Richards Bay will, however, mean that Bell has to reapply for incentives under government’s Automotive Production and Development Programme with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, as it currently largely receives benefits for ADT production.

The Numbers
Bell Equipment reported this week that it had surged back to profitability for the financial year ended December 31, recording profit after tax of R294.3-million, following a R57.2-million loss after tax for the 2020 financial year.

Revenue, at R8-billion, was up 20% on 2020.

Bell notes that its Russian business represents a small portion of the global business, at about 3% of group revenue in 2021, and that the machines destined for that country could readily be absorbed by other markets as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continued.

Bell Equipment is a global manufacturer, distributor and exporter of a range of heavy equipment for the construction, mining, quarrying, sugar, forestry and waste-handling industries.