Local vibrating equipment manufacturer Joest entered into an agreement with black-owned consortium Vhatsila Holdings last month to form Joest Kwatani. The agreement sees Vhatsila Holdings acquiring a 30% stakeholding in the company, making Joest Kwatani the first in its class to exceed the requirements of the Mining Charter.

As a result of this move and the concerted effort to continue its programme of preferential procurement and skills development, Joest Kwatani has also achieved Level 3 broad-based black economic empowerment certification. Two shareholders from Vhatsila Holdings have been appointed to Joest Kwatani’s board as nonexecutive directors.

Joest Kwatani MD Kim Schoepflin said at a media briefing held in Johannesburg, Gauteng, last month, that the company had a heritage that was proudly African and it was, therefore, fitting that the company changed its name to one which embodies this credo.

“Interestingly kwa tani means ‘tonnage’ in Swahili. This is appropriate, given the fact that Joest Kwatani has a 39-year record of designing and supplying high-quality customised vibrating equipment, characterised by robust construction and emphasis on continuous [production],” she says.

She added that part of the company’s heritage was its ongoing commitment to overall transformation and it would leverage this operating strategy to continue to empower and uplift South Africans.

“We have a philosophy of identifying talent from within the organisation and have a programme whereby individuals’ skills are developed in their area of potential, allowing them to better their position in the company. This includes the ongoing training of artisans, both at learnership level and above,” said Schoepflin.

Showing care for the communities in which it operates is one of Joest Kwatani’s core values and education remains the key focus of the company’s Social Upliftment Programme.

Joest Kwatani facilitates business and administrative skills development for a number of disabled, previously disadvantaged individuals who would otherwise not have access to this type of education.

“Since Africa has some of the harshest mining conditions in the world, we engineer our products to global best practice standards and, as a result, we can boast an established footprint on the African continent of screens and other vibrating equipment. In all instances, our products set the benchmark for reliability, efficiency and performance,” Schoepflin pointed out.

“Similarly, the Vhatsila Holdings directors and shareholders have strong mining and engineering backgrounds, indicating that there is a clear understanding of the industry in which we operate as well as the challenges faced in the sector. “They will naturally leverage their expertise and experience to assist us on our continued growth path,” she added.