Innovative dump truck cuts the cost of mining

The mining industry very nearly lost its silver lining during the global economic meltdown but when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Leading the pack is mining equipment manufacturer VR Steel which recently took home the prestigious international Swedish Steel Prize in Stockholm. In his office in Alrode, Germiston, managing director John Van Reenen is more than proud of the achievement – regarded as the “Nobel Prize” for innovative design engineering. The prize-winning invention – a lighter, more durable off-highway dump truck, has made a real difference to the cost of mining, says Van Reenen. Using high strength and abrasion-resistant steel in the truck body it reduces the weight of the vehicles, lowers the operating and maintenance costs and has less impact on the environment due to the truck’s reduced diesel consumption. Van Reenen has come a long way since he founded the mining equipment manufacturing business that would become VR Steel in 1977. An accountant by profession, by the age of 25 he had worked for three different companies. “And essentially I had been asked to leave all three. I did not have much of a CV and was not very employable, so I started my own company.” He has never looked back. “The reason I was essentially fired from my first three jobs was because I wanted to do things differently and bring about change and it was just too revolutionary for the times.” But at VR Steel innovation is key. “Here we do things differently all the time and move the goal posts all the time. If you are not innovative you will never be able to hold your place. It is key for success.” While small compared to some mining equipment manufacturers, VR Steel is a leader when it comes to engineering design, says Van Reenen. The first to determine how multiple size particles flow into a truck and out again, the company has been involved in earthmoving attachments since 2004. But despite these successes Van Reenen admits that as an exporter the company has found itself at its wits’ end. “South Africa is a hopeless exporting country for two reasons. The first is our non-productive workforce and second the fluctuating rand. You just can’t get a quote that is going to hold up. From the start of a sale to actual delivery can take a year and with the rand that has serious implications.” A recent contract to the value of $1.2 million saw the company lose 28% by the time of payment solely due to the fluctuating rand. It is for this very reason that Van Reenen is looking at setting up a manufacturing site in Zimbabwe near the Beitbridge border post. “We have made applications and are hoping to have the factory up and running before the end of 2011. It just makes more financial sense, but it also expands our African presence.” With prices in some commodities having improved so much that they are now beyond the 2007 levels, there is a huge drive and focus on mining in southern Africa. The Zimbabwe factory will place the company in a better position to handle these expanding markets. “Zimbabwe will grow into a huge mining industry,” predicts Van Reenen. “If we get in now we are in a prime position to benefit as we will be ready and already in the area.” With one of its biggest customers already in the Musina area, the new factory is set to benefit the company all round. “Manufacturing big equipment pieces close to intended clients delivers huge savings to both the client and the manufacturer.” That is why the company also boasts a manufacturing plant in China where they build for the Chinese market and export to Australia and surrounding areas. When it comes to mining and minerals he says an expected boom for at least the next ten years is expected. “We must capitalise on it and make sure our exporters benefit from the good times. That way they are more able to cope when we do have economic downturns.” The company also recently joined forces with Pingshuo coalmine in the north west of China where it will deliver equipment to the mine for the next couple of years. He says at least 36 large truck bodies and up to three or four dippers (rope shovels and buckets) will be produced annually at the Chinese facility. “It is about finding opportunity and establishing a relationship with your clients,” says Van Reenen.