Traditionally, the Wirtgen Group has established itself as a market leader in the road-making equipment market, not only in Africa, but globally. Brands such as Wirtgen, Hamm and VÖGELE, amongst others, dominate the various segments of the road construction equipment market.
“Being such a well-established road equipment manufacturer with such high market shares across various product groups, the focus has always been on maintaining our leadership position in those traditional domains. However, at a group level, we are confident that our next wave of market share growth will come from Kleemann, a product that has already proven its prowess in Europe, but is still to find the same level of acceptance in the local market,” says Kukard.
Installed base
Having launched the first Kleemann units in 2010, Wirtgen South Africa has to date put some 80 units into the local market. While the majority of these machines are operating in South Africa, several machines are also hard at work in neighbouring countries.
Beyond South Africa’s borders, Wirtgen South Africa has capable dealer partners in markets such as Zimbabwe and Botswana. Under the stewardship of Machinery Exchange, the brand is on a growth trajectory, with some two trains – each comprising an MC 110 EVO2 jaw crusher, an MCO 9 EVO2 cone crusher and an MSC 703 EVO screen. In total, six Kleemann machines have been delivered in Zimbabwe in the past two years alone, with prospects to commission more trains in the near future.
While Botswana has in recent years turned its infrastructure development attention to water and pipelines, Parts Sales Botswana, the Wirtgen dealer in the country, has enjoyed good success, with an installed base of seven Kleemann machines, confirms Kukard.
Growth initiatives
While the installed base in southern Africa is fairly encouraging, Kukard believes that the brand remains uncommon, especially among some of the major mining contractors who undertake large crushing and screening jobs. Traditionally, the uptake has been high among construction contractors who are already familiar with the company’s road construction product range and the aftermarket support that comes with it.
“Those customers have come to understand the capabilities of the Kleemann range and are also aware of the Wirtgen quality and what we stand for,” says Kukard. “The target is to penetrate the large contracting market. We have the right product and support to grow our market share in this market segment, which is why we are placing a huge focus on the Kleemann offering.”
Consequently, Wirtgen South Africa has put its dedicated approach in motion with the appointment of two experienced sales personnel to drive the Kleemann brand in key mining regions of South Africa. Based in Mpumalanga, the first Kleemann sales specialist, Christo Kotze, looks after the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces. The second Kleemann sales specialist, Morne Oelofse, has been deployed in Kimberley, from where he looks after customers in Northern Cape and Free State territories. Kukard says these deployments are strategic in the quest to broaden Kleemann’s foothold in these important mining regions.
As part of the renewed focus on Kleemann, Wirtgen South Africa is launching a demo programme to give prospective customers, especially the big mining contractors, first-hand experience of the performance of the machines. In addition, the company is also introducing a rental facility which, according to Kukard, provides customers with the opportunity to test the brand before they commit to any outright purchasing decisions.
Model range and strengths
While Kleemann offers a large range of crushers and screens, the most common models locally are the MC 110 EVO2 jaw crusher, the MCO 9 EVO2 cone crusher, the MSC 703 EVO classifying screen and the recently launched MSS 802 EVO scalping screen.
The Kleemann range has to date distinguished itself with a range of capabilities. Firstly, says Kukard, it is a sturdy machine – the stability of the chassis results in better crushing performance, and this has been proven on many reference sites where the machines have been deployed.
Another key competitive edge of the Kleemann offering is its lower fuel consumption, largely driven by new technology engines combined with on-board generators that drive most components. This is particularly important for customers in southern Africa, where fuel prices are known to be very high.
“Compared with most of our competition’s machines, a Kleemann train achieves on average up to 40% reduced fuel consumption,” he says. “To provide context, the annual fuel saving on one train will cover the customer’s full capital cost of a screen, which contributes to lower cost per tonne. The productivity of the machines has also been exceptional, with production rates on par with some of the best in this market, if not better, at a 40% reduction in fuel consumption.”
Kleemann jaw crushers operating in the field are averaging 13 litres of diesel per hour, while cone crushers are running at about 21 litres per hour which is “unheard of” according to Kukard.
As with other Wirtgen Group offerings, the Kleemann range boasts some of the most innovative technologies. One of the major talking points is the SPECTIVE CONNECT digital platform. With this technology, all relevant process information and reporting are displayed on customers’ smartphones without the operator having to leave the feeding device.
SPECTIVE CONNECT also comes with the Smart Job Configurator, which helps in the selection of the correct machine settings. For this purpose, the operator simply enters the data of the planned application in the SPECTIVE CONNECT App. It calculates the optimum machine settings automatically, which the operator then transfers to the machine via the SPECTIVE touch panel. The new configuration tool also supports the operator in the selection of the best possible crushing tools as well as the recognition of the tools and tracking of their service life. This significantly simplifies the typical workday.
In addition, Kukard is excited about the new Operations Centre™ telematics platform which now integrates both Wirtgen Group and John Deere systems. Operations Centre is a digital solutions platform that allows users to manage their sites and equipment, including those from Kleemann, through real-time monitoring, fleet management and data analysis, improving efficiency and productivity.
“Operations Centre is more than just a telematics platform. It provides access to a wealth of data, enabling operators to make data-driven decisions that lead to improved project outcomes. It also promotes transparency and efficiency in crushing operations, allowing for better planning, monitoring and decision-making. By providing real-time insights into machine performance and job site activity, the Operations Centre helps to improve productivity and reduce costs,” explains Kukard.
The future
Looking ahead, Kukard is excited about the imminent arrival of new Kleemann machines, which will officially be introduced at bauma 2025 in April this year. These include the MOBIREX MR 100 NEO impact crusher and the MOBISCREEN MSS 502 EVO screen.
Kukard is particularly excited about the MOBIREX MR 100 NEO impact crusher, which he says closes a crucial gap in the company’s impact crushing offering. Previously, the smallest impact crusher in the Kleemann stable was the 350 tonnes per hour (tph) MR 110 EVO2. With the arrival of the 250-tph MR 100 NEO, Kleemann now has an impactor suited for smaller crushing operations, such as brickyards, RAP processing and recycling applications.
In fact, the two machines, the MOBIREX MR 100 NEO impact crusher and the MOBISCREEN MSS 502 EVO screen, have just won the 2025 German Design Award for their technically innovative approaches. The two new products from Kleemann received the coveted design award in the “Excellent Product Design” category.
