Demonstrating an innovative approach to custom manufacturing solutions, Swedish company Hammar Sidelifter has introduced a heavy duty, off-road solution ideal for the southern African mining and construction environment. According to Mats Blomberg, southern Africa sales director for Hammar SA, several of these units – commonly referred to as the Hammar Bushranger – are already successfully operating in the Australian and Papua New Guinea mining and construction environments. “Southern Africa has very similar mining conditions to those in Australia,” he told FTW. “With this in mind we have launched a strategy to grow our footprint in southern Africa as we believe this piece of equipment can contribute positively to mining and construction locally.” Whilst still relatively new to the market – having been launched in 2012 – the Bushranger is customised for robust operations. With off-road ability, these heavy terrain units are designed for flexible, safe and fast handling of containers, flats and tanks – even in the most remote areas. “They only require a single operator and no additional lifting equipment, making the logistics more flexible and safe,” said Blomberg. “The off-road ability means they can operate just about anywhere – and because the unit can lift any different load up to 36 tonnes this model is extremely versatile, fulfilling the demands of any lifting and transport operation.” With the mining sector gradually improving thanks to the rise in commodity prices, Hammar believes it is an opportune time to introduce the equipment to southern African operations. Working in partnership with Bell Equipment, the Bushranger is seen as “a smart solution for mining”. “Mining and construction requires a lot of heavy machinery across a relatively large area. These all have to be maintained, repaired and refuelled. Instead of moving a 30-ton excavator one kilometre for service and maintenance, the Bushranger allows operators to take the maintenance and refuelling station to the equipment, or load it on a flat and bring it to the workshop” This, said Blomberg, was far less time-consuming and costly. With a lifting capacity of 36 to 45 tonnes, there is nothing that this beast cannot pick up. “We are seeing mines take mobile containerised workshops or maintenance containers with fuel and other products required to the various equipment using the Bushranger in all weather and road conditions rather than stopping all operations and bringing the equipment in,” he said. “This unit allows mines and construction companies to get a highly customisable solution for their specific needs. It allows them to transport their cargo anywhere, anytime with a single unit and a single operator.”
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The Hammar Bushranger allows operators to take the maintenance and refuelling station to the equipment. – Mats Blomberg
