Sponsored Content - Building for growth in South Africa: a look at Sarens SIBA

July 2018:  As recently as a few years ago, the South African market was very much project based, with Sarens involved in long-term rentals for projects like Medupi and Kusile power stations. At this time, Sarens was also doing a lot of renewable energy projects such as the Gouda wind farms in the Cape and Jeffreys Bay, as well as solar plants in Upington. 

Since then, however, the market has shifted from long-term to short-term rentals, and Sarens has learnt how to adapt to these new conditions with a revised strategy. This includes more emphasis on short-term rentals as well as strategic thinking about future market demands. Read on to discover how the SARENS SIBA joint venture is preparing for these changes. 

Expanding the range of rental solutions

The SARENS SIBA joint venture has built up a South African fleet that currently provides the following rental equipment: 

• Crawler cranes ranging from 16 to 800T
• All-terrain mobile cranes ranging from 25 to 650T
• Rough terrain cranes ranging from 30 to 120T
• Alternative lifting solutions, including skidding and jacking, SPMTs, and modular trailers 

Within South Africa, SARENS SIBA is looking at rental opportunities in Polokwane, Northern Cape, Lephalale, Durban, Richards Bay, Saldhana Bay and Cape Town Harbour. It’s also expanding its territory across South African borders and into neighbouring countries like Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique. 

Building success, one project at a time 

One example of a successful recent project was the removal and reinstallation of a 190T tipping bin and 41T dust hood section at the Mafube Colliery, on behalf of client SMEI Projects. Sarens did the engineering and calculated the best, safest, and most cost-effective approach to the project. Sarens also provided rental equipment and expert crew members, including a supervisor, safety representative, crane operators and assistants, and SPMT operator and assistants. 

The rental equipment included a CC 2800-1, double 12-line Kamag 2400 SPMTs, and LTM 115-6.1, which stayed on site for about two months. The crane was transported to Mafube Colliery by road on multi-axle trailers and semi-trailer combinations that used approximately 30 trucks. All other equipment arrived from the yard in Brakpan on approximately 15 trucks. Bringing all the equipment on site took about one week. 

During the operation, the dust hood and tipping bin components were removed from their original location and transported 7 kilometres via SPMTs, along a road with steep inclines and declines. At the new site, the loads were then anchored to the ground to protect from strong winds as they waited to be installed. Once the crew brought the crawler crane to the new work site via SPMTs, the components were then successfully installed. 

Meeting Future Demands

SARENS SIBA is always looking ahead to the future, anticipating clients’ needs and how to best meet them.

Today, the key sectors driving crane rental growth in South Africa include mining and minerals, civil works, oil and gas, renewable energy, power stations, and petrochemical. Furthermore, in March 2018, the South African government approved the next phase of the REIPPP (Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement), which will generate R103 billion in the South African economy, spread over 27 projects.

SARENS SIBA has identified the renewable energy projects as the biggest opportunity for the coming years, and preparations to meet the demands of the renewable energy market are underway.

Achieving high levels of customer satisfaction 

SARENS SIBA prides itself on customer satisfaction, and key account managers focus their energy on serving customers to the highest standard while creating the greatest possible value. 

SARENS SIBA does all this without ever sacrificing safety, which is a number one priority during all operations. It supplies lifting certificates, a SHEQ Plan, and an LMRA (last-minute risk analysis) before any lift takes place. 

The golden thread of each project is this ability to manage customer relationships and deliver on all expectations. SARENS SIBA prides itself on its full turnkey solutions and a focus on safety as its mantra. With a history of excellence and professional execution, SARENS SIBA remains committed to providing the best solutions for each client.