ON THE COVER: Pithampur in Central India is a manufacturing and industrial hub for the Republic of India. CASE Construction Equipment, a global brand of CNH Industrial, is a role player in the hub, manufacturing equipment that is exported around the world, including Africa. The company invited Capital Equipment News to experience ethe facility first-hand.
CASE Construction Equipment (CASE CE) has placed a lot of value in its Indian manufacturing plant, one that is reaping rewards. Some of these rewards include 50,000 backhoe loaders rolling off the production line.
During April the brand invited representatives of the international press to visit its state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Pithampur.
During the event, it displayed the newly launched V-Series backhoe loaders, the CX220C LC HD crawler excavator and the 11OEX, 450DX and 752EX compactors, just some of the equipment manufactured at the plant.
CASE CE, a global brand of CNH Industrial, relies on state-of-the-art facilities to produce their lauded, respected and above all revered pieces of equipment.
"Our state-of-the-art facility in Pithampur operates to the high manufacturing standards of CNH Industrial plants across the world. With its range of high-quality construction equipment that stands out for its reliability and durability which are the hallmarks of the CASE brand, it serves the Indian domestic market and exports to more than 75 countries. India is a global manufacturing hub and a strategically important market for CASE Construction Equipment's growth in the region," says Satendra Tiwari, Plant Head - CNH Industrial, India.
Built-in 1989, the Pithampur facility is one of eight manufacturing hubs for the brand.
Spread across 40 acres of land in Pithampur, the facility operates according to the company's CNH Business System (CBS), which involves all employees across the entire organization to drive greater accountability, agility, efficiency, and safety.
The plant achieves consistently high quality with its class-leading and automated production technologies, including robotic welding, laser cutting and high-precision machining. It has ISO certifications for its Quality, Health, and Safety as well as Environmental and Energy Performance.
In 2022, the plant achieved the significant milestone of manufacturing 50,000 loader backhoes. The plant also houses an important Research and Development facility to ensure that machines go through regular upgrades and are future-ready.
FLEET MONITORING: AI has quickly become something that is passed in everyday conversations, but beyond the writing capabilities of accessible AI, artificial intelligence has a lot of capabilities to ensure safety, and to improve performance.
These two things are central to Ctrack’s Crystal software.
“Ctrack understands that the needs of our customers are always changing. Fortunately, since Crystal is cloud-based, it can be continually refined without any disruption to the daily functionality,” says Hein Jordt, Chief Executive Officer of Ctrack Africa.
The last-mile delivery industry has shown tremendous growth in the last three years with no signs of slowing down. The latest updates to Crystal are particularly attractive to this industry. Fleet managers can now assign jobs to drivers and provide them with details regarding pickup and delivery, such as address or specific instructions when they reach the location safely via the Crystal app. Crystal now includes electronic proof of delivery. It is fully customisable and could consist of digital documents such as an invoice or a delivery note, ensuring peace of mind and a time-stamped record that packages arrived safely at their destination.
This Sign-on-Glass technology, along with the fact that you can always see exactly where drivers are, assists with making better business decisions and delivering on your promise to your clients.
New scheduling functionality allows for optimal use of resources and vehicles. Real-time data allows for visual comparison between planned and actual delivery and turnaround times, enabling fleet managers to continuously refine schedules due to unforeseen delays or traffic. Once on the road, this routing automatically adapts to changing conditions, assisting drivers in delivering safely and on time. Refuelling can be planned in such a way that the impact on the schedule is minimal, and drivers can easily be alerted should they need to deviate from the schedule, such as in emergencies. The driver app, which forms part of the Crystal offering, gives managers and drivers enhanced control of their daily activities using one single application that offers a myriad of functionality and allows for the safe navigation of their schedule and on-time status.
MATERIAL HANDLING: CFAO Equipment SA believes that occupational health and safety in the material handling industry is critical for the well-being of businesses, and employees.
The safe operation of forklift trucks is key to those safety measures being met. According to Dawn Van Dyk, SHEQ Manager at CFAO Equipment SA, many accidents are due to a lack of proper training, licensing, and human behaviours.
The first step in correcting this is training, and that has become an important part of what CFAO Equipment SA offers clients.
It’s believed that many accidents are due to a lack of proper training, licensing, and human behaviours. Van Wyk shares that the fact that material handling equipment predominantly operates in reverse results in reduced visibility for operators. “Coupled with this, many warehouse and logistics spaces do not have demarcated areas for pedestrians to walk, with many having to walk between machinery and racks. This increases their potential risk for injury, with most accidents the result of collisions between forklifts and pedestrians,” highlights Van Dyk.
One way to effectively address these collisions is through workshops. “On-site workshops are a working partnership between Toyota Material Handling and valued customers which have high volume fleets. We assist in optimising the fleet utilisation, and minimise equipment downtime by ensuring that all repairs, maintenance, servicing, and even legal compliance from a load testing perspective is done on- Here, we are using a free-fall hammer, i.e., it is not accelerated. We only compensate for the power loss with the cylinders. This has the advantage, especially when driving concrete piles, that these are not damaged so much as when using accelerated hammers. site,” says Van Dyk. By signing up for workshops, clients often ensure that machines are not taken out of operation for long periods, and that reduces the business disruption cost to customers.
COMMERCIAL FLEETS: Professional transport operators recognise the impact of tyre cost vs. tyre performance and the necessity of fitting the correct tyre for the application. They also understand how vehicle and tyre maintenance affect safety, reputation, and fuel consumption, and prevent unnecessary breakdowns and insurance claims.
Lubin Ozoux, CEO of Sumitomo Rubber South Africa, which manufactures Dunlop, Sumitomo and Falken tyres, explains: “Truck and bus radial (TBR) tyres are sold on performance, casing strength and retreadability that relates to cost per kilometre or CPK. Every cent per kilometre that the end user can save will assist their bottom line, keeping their business running in a very cut-throat operating environment. We’re proud to offer a CPK guarantee where we will pay out the transporter should our tyre not outperform their fleet’s current tyres.”
To ensure cost per kilometre stays affordable Ozoux shared many tips for commercial fleet operators to effectively manage their tyres and on-the-road safety.
Some of these include to collaborate with a reputable and experienced tyre supplier that will provide the best advice and support required to manage your fleet. Sumitomo Rubber SA has an In-field Technical Services (ITS) team based in all regions, and in Africa, to advise customers on tyre selection, application and performance.
The ITS division becomes an extension of customers’ businesses, assisting with business growth, staff development and getting the most out of tyres. Scrap reports and fleet surveys are an essential part of this process, including a thorough analysis of any tyre failures.
He also advises that buyers should choose your tyres wisely. Tyres are made to provide optimal performance for a specific wheel position, for example, Steer and Drive tyres don’t have the same tread patterns, rubber compounds and construction. Dunlop boasts an extensive range of truck and bus tyres for all axel positions, including Steer, Drive and All Positions.
COMPACTION EQUIPMENT: Compaction equipment is a prime example of a potentially problematic design, especially on uneven or side-sloped surfaces. It is not uncommon for road construction crews to witness a silent rollover, watching their crewmember jump to safety when the equipment they are operating unexpectedly gives way to gravity while compacting a steep slope.
Many ride-on compaction rollers often succumb to rollover accidents due to their rigid design and high centre of gravity, which offers little protection or stability for crew members.
Most manufacturers are taking steps to eliminate this kind of job site incident, and are doing so in the form of an attachment paired with equipment they already own.
With an offset arm, crews can safely and effectively compact material from the flat ground using the compaction attachment — allowing for safe work at virtually any angle.
This new approach to compaction is achieved by relocating the drum to a remote-controlled offset arm that can be attached to almost any grader, compact track loader, wheel loader or skid steer — immediately solving the safety issue.
By employing an attachment, the host machine provides a separate source of power for the compaction drum and, thanks to the offset arm, enhances stability and safety for the operator.
With its offset position, the drum can pivot up to 30 degrees below the mounting point. The host machine can drive safely on flat ground while the attachment arm extends to the furthest, steepest edge of sloping road shoulders and ditches. This allows the roller to easily compact slopes at various angles that would flip a traditional compaction machine. Further, shifting the drum to an offset arm attachment doesn’t just drastically improve safety, it also unlocks a host of other benefits.
TRUCK SALES: The Daimler Truck Southern Africa (DTSA) shop, financial services and sales and marketing are now completely inland, in Centurion to be exact.
The move isn’t that surprising, Gauteng, the economic heartland of SA provides better proximity with customers – and that is something to boast about.
The Daimler campus, one of the largest truck shops outside of Europe, is a testament to Daimler Truck’s commitment to Africa. Here, the selection of Mercedes Benz trucks and buses and the FUSO line can speak for itself. But instead, what shines is the opportunity to experience customer service.
Coupled with the DTSA production plant in Eastern Cape. The company now has an entry at a port city and community in South Africa’s densely populated Gauteng province. There are approximately 600 employees at the new Centurion campus, and they are guarded against load shedding while working in their respective departments.
On the new building the roof slopes to the north to allow solar installation and rainwater collection. The rows of parking bays and campus roof areas help generate electricity and reduce reliance on non-renewable sources.
In total 752 solar panels provide 350 kWp electricity at the hub. This is in line with the commitment to achieve a net-zero status.
“As a team, we are truly humbled by how far we have come since becoming an independent company on 1 December 2021. I look forward to further creating a great place to work for our employees, while fully catering to our customers and continue serving all who keep Africa moving,” says Michael Dietz, President and CEO of DTSA
According to him, it is an ideal solution to have operations from the new location, while Eastern Cape houses Daimler production.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD AND READ THIS ISSUE IN PDF FORMAT
