Bell Equipment committed the last quarter of 2008 to the appointment and training of sales and support staff dedicated to the Bomag product range, to ensure the company was well equipped to take over the Bomag dealership in the New Year.

This is according to Bell Equipment Product Manager – Purchased Products, Izak van Niekerk, who said that special emphasis was placed on providing in-depth training in line with Bell’s philosophy to provide world-class customer support. “Bomag representatives toured the country in November 2008 to train the more than 50 sales representatives as well as support staff on technical aspects of the range as well as advanced Bomag technologies. Included in these training sessions were sales and service representatives from the Bell Customer Service Centres in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Importantly machines were made available for hands-on practical sessions.”

Bell Equipment sales and technical representatives (left) Izak van Niekerk, Robbie Geach, Bruce Brown, Ryan Castle, Sam Malaza, Boerie Visagie, Vernon Johnstone, Bruce Paterson and Clifton Roberts outside the Bomag headquarters in Boppard, Germany.

In addition a Bomag technical trainer from Germany presented a two-week training course to key technical staff in Johannesburg. A Bomag parts specialist visited the Bell Global Logistics Centre to provide parts training, including stocking policies in terms of parts availability. He re-visited the company at the end of January to undertake training at the various Customer Service Centres.

Bell Equipment sales representatives from the various regions as well as technical trainers and specialists then flew to Germany in December to visit the Bomag factory at Boppard. Here they received more detailed product training with the respective Bomag Product Managers as well as “train-the-trainer” training with the Bomag Technical Specialists, which will facilitate internal training and customer support. “We were also able to spend some time on the production line with the product managers and design engineers to study the Bomag advantages and understand their design philosophies,” said Van Niekerk.

To facilitate a smooth transition Bell Equipment has entered into a contract with a retired Bomag specialist, who will offer overall product support for the Bomag range.

Van Niekerk said Bell Equipment would be distributing and supporting the full line of Bomag compaction equipment throughout most countries in Southern Africa. This includes machines from the light equipment, soil, asphalt and refuse compaction ranges.

Bell Equipment will be establishing a small equipment division to afford dedicated focus to the light equipment product range, which includes tampers, vibratory plates as well as mechanical and hydraulic walk behind rollers for soil and asphalt. The rollers are suited to a range of including touch up work on highway projects and construction of parking areas.

Single drum rollers are the mainstay of the soil range with seven machines varying in size from 7 tons to 26 tons. An advantage of this range, which has no grease nipples, is its easy maintenance and serviceability and top quality reliability.

The asphalt machines include a full range of tandem smooth drum rollers and pneumatic tyred rollers, which work behind the vibratory rollers on asphalt to seal the top surface of the road.

Completing the product offering is the refuse compaction range, consisting of five models of dedicated, purpose-built refuse compactors for landfill sites. The machines vary in size from a 20 ton to a 35-ton machine. In addition there are two recycler models, a 20t and a 25t machine, which are used to break up old asphalt or to stabilize soil before compaction.

Meanwhile, in line with its strategy to provide added value for its customers, Bell Equipment Sales South Africa (BESSA) has achieved a Level 5 Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment status, which entitles its customers to an eighty percent qualification on their equipment, parts and service purchases as BEE.

Executive Director of BESSA, Menzi Dumisa said: “BBBEE is a strategic driver for the country, especially for mining and construction companies who need to comply with sector charters. Since 80% of our business is with such companies, or contractors and plant hire businesses, which supply such companies, we saw it as imperative that we achieved an industry-leading scorecard.

Bomag’s Product Manager for Single Drum Rollers, Manfred Darscheid (third left) explains the Bomag Variocontrol Technology on the simulator inside the Bomag training facility at Boppard. Paying close attention are Bell Equipment representatives (left): Boerie Visagie, Clifton Roberts, Bruce Brown, Sam Malaza, Ryan Castle, Vernon Johnstone, Bruce Paterson and Robbie Geach.

“As a company that supplies products that are primarily designed and manufactured in South Africa, thereby creating many direct and indirect jobs in our country, we are proud to have achieved this rating. Importantly our BBBEE score is sustainable and we plan to maintain a level 5 and implement strategies to attain level 4 before the end of 2009.”

He added: “Transformation is taking place at all Bell Equipment’s South African based operations as they impact on the scorecard and our long term sustainability. Likewise plans are in place to improve our scores in management, employment equity and preferential procurement, the latter especially among small and medium suppliers.”

“We are pleased to record that the equity transaction we did at the start of 2008 with Kagiso Trust Investments has proved very successful for both parties as well as all Bell SA employees who hold their shares in BESSA in their own name and not via a trust. Having a strong, broad based BEE shareholder and employee shareholders has proven very rewarding,” he said.

Bell Equipment was assisted in preparing for verification by Bravura who have consulted to a large number of listed and leading groups in South Africa. PKF was the BEE verification agency and are the preferred provider of the Steel and Engineering Industry’s Federation of South Africa (SEIFSA). Their Managing Director is the chairperson of the association of BEE Verification Agencies (ABVA) and chairs the BEE forum at the Institute of Directors.