In a serious milestone, Liebherr-Africa – Liebherr’s gross sales & service firm based mostly in South Africa – delivered the primary ever 240 t class T 264 vans in Africa to a longstanding buyer in South Africa. Deployed at a serious zinc mine in 2024, the six vans Liebherr says are setting the benchmark for operational effectivity and reliability.
Following a fiercely aggressive bidding course of, Liebherr Africa gained the contract to provide the six T 264 vans to a number one contract mining firm. Liebherr itself has not revealed the shopper names however they’ve been referenced elsewhere by senior staff on the contractor Mota-Engil, which is working the vans as a part of its contract at Gamsberg zinc mine within the Northern Cape which is owned by Black Mountain Mining, a part of Vedanta Zinc Worldwide – BMM additionally operates a mature underground zinc mine close to the city of Aggeneys, 30 km from the Gamsberg operation.
Pierre Berrange, Head of Gross sales, Mining, Liebherr-Africa says that the sale of the very first T 264 vans in Africa marks a serious milestone for the corporate and gives a foothold within the fiercely contested 240 t off-highway truck market. “This achievement not solely underscores Liebherr-Africa’s capabilities but additionally performs a pivotal function in producing curiosity from main mining homes and large-scale contractors. Delivering these first six models to our esteemed buyer demonstrates our dedication to excellence in a extremely price-sensitive and aggressive market – the place elements comparable to pricing, whole price of possession, reliability and aftermarket help are essential to long-term success.”
When working with the shopper to search out one of the best answer for his or her wants, Liebherr-Africa targeted on growing a robust worth proposition and crafting a compelling proposal that highlighted the distinctive strengths of each the T 264 and Liebherr-Africa itself. “What made Liebherr your best option for our buyer was our distinctive mix of perseverance, strategic foresight and long-standing belief – underpinned by the unified help of the worldwide Liebherr community,” says Berrange. “Liebherr Africa’s reliability, industry-leading aftersales help and unwavering dedication – constructed over years of constant efficiency – had been a decisive benefit.”
Discovering this answer for the shopper required a mix of the native workforce’s arduous work and deep
understanding of the shopper’s operational wants in addition to the coordinated efforts of the broader Liebherr Group. International help – from manufacturing facility groups to key decision-makers – ensured that the answer provided was not simply aggressive however was additionally complete and future-ready, which seamlessly aligned with the shopper’s imaginative and prescient for development and operational effectivity.
In response to Jacobus Pietersen, Service Supervisor, Liebherr-Africa, the vans are working in some of the abrasive and difficult websites within the southern hemisphere, hauling numerous supplies, together with zinc ore and overburden. Within the face of those taxing working situations, the T 264 vans have to date carried out past expectations.
“The mine primarily extracts zinc ore. The overburden supplies are extraordinarily abrasive and embrace pyrites, iron oxide and quartz in addition to iron and manganese silicates,” explains Pietersen. “Aside from the abrasive nature of the fabric, situations listed below are unforgiving. For context, temperatures on this space can go as excessive as 45°C throughout the summer season and drop to a frigid 5°C throughout the winter months. As well as, the district falls in a low rainfall space. The dry situations, along with the windy atmosphere, lead to dusty situations.”
Thus far, the six vans have carried out exceptionally effectively, setting a brand new benchmark in operational effectivity and reliability, with availability charges as much as 95%. To realize most gear availability and operational reliability, Liebherr-Africa gives a tailored, complete onsite help bundle that features onsite components and devoted help employees.
“The vans carry out in addition to they do due to the devoted and competent workforce assigned to sustaining them. Our onsite workforce contains 4 technicians and two apprentices. They type a superb workforce, geared to make a large success of this venture. With out the workforce’s arduous work and stellar efficiency, reaching these figures wouldn’t have been attainable. The workforce constitutes the cornerstone of the present success that we now have skilled with the six vans,” stated Pietersen.
