Reliable heavy duty plant equipment is supplied in South Africa by Sandton Plant Hire. Petrus Roets, Director, tells us about the company’s diverse services and reputation for excellence.
PLANT HIRE PROWESS
There is currently an increased demand for contract mining work in South Africa.
This is resulting from higher commodity prices, and the lack of supply in Europe due to the Russia-Ukraine war. This increased demand bodes well for the mining industry in the country over the next few years.
Policy issues are still to be resolved by the South African government, however, in order to expedite new mining projects and attract investment in the industry.
“Ideally, politics should not dictate the growth of the mining industry in South Africa. It is facing many challenges, however, mining still presents companies like ours with many opportunities,” opens Petrus Roets, Director of Sandton Plant Hire Pty Ltd. and its associated companies (Sandton).
“If all interested parties, i.e. customers, contractors, employees and communities work together, there are a lot of opportunities that can be created which in turn will contribute to the South African economy and state coffers.”
Sandton was incorporated in 1982, and in the 40 years since has established itself as one of the leading plant hire businesses in South Africa.
Today, the company offers bulk and hot material handling, crushing and screening, drilling and blasting services, as well as plant hire and earthmoving equipment to opencast mining customers.
Specialising in the supply and operational management of a wide range of plant equipment, diversity of service is extremely important to Sandton.
“Diversity is crucial as the operating cycles of mines, smelters and plant hire tend to be different, thus one industry subsidises the other when there is a downturn in one of the operating sectors,” Roets explains.
“We supply equipment to drill and blast, mine, crush and screen, and handle materials in the coal, chrome, iron ore, and manganese commodity markets.”
OPTIMISING PROFITABILITY
Sandton has a reputation for service excellence and combined with its associated companies, employs more than 2,200 members of staff.
Sandton is well known for its bulk buying power and solid customer relations, as well as its commitment to service delivery in a safe environment.
“We assist our customers by providing world class products and services, to ensure timely and effective production that results in customers optimising their profitability,” outlines Roets.
“We trust that we will retain all contracts where we are currently delivering services of the highest quality.”
Sandton is nevertheless targeting further new mining and smelting contracts, and Roets buoyantly informs us that, “there are always enquiries for opencast mining and plant hire work.”
As the opportunities arise, any new contracts will be tendered and assessed on a one-on-one basis by Sandton, who equally continues to invest in modernising its fleet.
This is by no means a new process, as making sure the fleet remains well maintained is part of the company’s daily processes. This strict maintenance plan is followed to ensure the maximum productivity of all equipment, and it is company policy to only use vehicles that are maintained to a high level.
“On an ongoing basis, we are replacing equipment to make sure our fleet is reliable to ensure maximum utilisation by our customers,” assures Roets.
“There is currently a major shortage of equipment amongst suppliers. This is obviously not an ideal position to be in, but with proper long-term planning and negotiations with equipment suppliers we are managing to invest in the fleet with new machines on a regular basis.”
Engineering support provided by Sandton includes a dedicated engineering department, support from all major original equipment manufacturer (OEM) suppliers, network support infrastructure, fully equipped rebuilding and paint shop facilities, and a 24-hour support crew.
FOUNDATION FOR 40 YEARS
Maintaining strong, professional, and ethical relationships with both suppliers and customers is of the utmost importance to Sandton.
Indeed, the mission of the company is to establish long-term partnerships with customers, by providing them with world-class products and services to ensure timely and effective production throughout Southern Africa whilst achieving maximum profitability.
To uphold this ethos that Sandton has now been built on for 40 years, the company employs staff that are highly competent, loyal, dedicated, trustworthy and hardworking.
“Without employees that adhere to our company ethics and values, achieving success would be a lot more challenging,” Roets acknowledges.
The forward thinking of founder, Peter Fourie, combined with the experience of the management team have likewise contributed to the success of Sandton over the course of four decades.
It also gives customers peace of mind that the service delivery will be of the highest standard, and that Sandton will always be there to support them.
With strong, committed management, Sandton ensures clients are given the very best professional and personal service.
At all times, senior management also ensures the importance of an ethical environment, with an emphasis on ethics communicated to all employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders.
“We partake in many social activities, from supporting schools and charities to assisting skills development through training programmes and learnerships, as well as giving students potential bursaries to complete their schooling and tertiary studies,” reveals Roets.
RELIABLE SUPPLIER
Sandton’s key focus for 2023 will be to ensure an even higher standard of service delivery, health and safety compliance, and customer satisfaction.
This focus will continue to hasten on Sandton’s vision to be the best and most reliable supplier of heavy duty plant equipment in South Africa.
“Coupled with this, we want to optimise the efficiencies on each site where we work. We want to improve our employee relationships and concentrate more on community projects around the various mining and smelter sites,” Roets shares.
Sandton pledges to achieve its vision with integrity and honesty intact, hard work, and adherence to standards set and agreed upon between the company and its customers with excellent service, reliable machinery, and efficient operators.
Sandton will continue to establish and communicate its vision for the organisation, and exemplify its core values to guide the behaviour of all.
SANDTON PLANT HIRE PTY LTD
