Engineersand and rock conveyor belts at BHP Billiton’s Mozal aluminium smelter in Maputo
have bought their first Hyster – an H48-00E full container
handler valued at over R3-million from Barloworld Equipment
Handling’s new branch in Kwazulu-Natal. The H48-00E will
fulfil two important roles at the Mozal oper-ation. It will be used
primarily to off-load containers destined for the smelter as they
arrive at the Maputo harbour, and, in its secondary capacity, it
may serve as a backup ladle-handler in the casthouse at the
aluminium smelter. Barloworld Equipment Handling Kwazulu-Natal
operations man-ager Mark Bates explains that if the overhead cranes
that usually operate in the casthouse should fail, the H48-00E can
be adap- ted to feed furnaces containing liquid aluminium, thus
ensuring that production remains constant at Mozal’s
operation. The versatile Hyster H48-00E full container hand-ler can
be fitted either with a fork-mounted telescopic container spreader,
designed to lift two-containers high, or a Mecfor crucible
attachment, which facilitates ladle hand-ling at the smelter. Its
ladle-handling capability is further enhanced by its very low
full-free lift mast design, a feature that is unique to this
machine.
Mozal engineer and project coordinator Estevao N’gavanga says
that the Hyster H48-00E was chosen because it is simple to maintain
and is backed by Barloworld Equipment Handling’s warranty
support and its consummate know-ledge of the Hyster product.
Moreover, the Hyster supplier provided complete workshop and parts
manuals to maintain the full container handler once the warranty
period has elapsed. The Hyster container handler was assembled on
site by Barloworld Equipment Handling workshop manager Peter
Wortman with the assistance of regional service manager Warren
Peffer, Bates and full support from the Mozal engineering team. In
addition, the materials-hand-ling equipment supplier provided full
induction training to Mozal’s container-handler operators.
Barloworld Equipment Handling has an established relationship with
BHP Billiton having supplied seve-ral Hyster forklifts and tractors
to its Bayside and Hillside aluminium smelters in Richards Bay.
“We are pleased to have forged yet another partnership in the
Southern African aluminium industry by supplying the Hyster H48-00E
to Mozal and we look forward to growing our presence at the
Mozambican operation by supporting them with the service they
require,” says Bates. The company has become a formidable
materials-handling equipment supplier for a host of industries in
Southern Africa. In addition to its network of offices in South
Africa, it has taken the Hyster range of equipment into Angola,
Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and
continues to assure its customers in these countries of only the
best service and support for the Hyster brand. Moreover, the
Barloworld divi-sion has repeatedly proved its abil- ity to develop
appropriate mate-rials-handling solutions for its customers in the
region by cultivating an understanding of their businesses,
adapting its business model to meet their needs and supplying the
most suitable equipment to enhance its customers’ operational
requirements.