The first SANY excavators to join Africoal’s large fleet of yellow metal equipment were three 120-tonne (t) SY120C-9 units delivered in January 2025, after initially taking delivery of the SANY SMG200 motor grader during the last quarter of 2024.
The machines quickly made their mark, prompting the contract mining company to place an order for two 94,2-t SY980H units, which were delivered during the last quarter of 2025. During the same period, the company further bolstered its fleet with two 21-t SANY SY210C units, bringing to seven the number of SANY hydraulic excavators in the Africoal stable.
Africoal is an established name in the South African coal industry. The company has its roots in the coalfields of Mpumalanga, where at one point it was a successful owner-operator of up to nine coal mines before transitioning to a purely contract mining model in 2019, following the acquisition of the business by the current shareholders.
The decision to migrate from the owner-operator model to contract mining, explains Robertson, was largely to derisk the business against prevalent market volatility in the coal sector. The coal sector is characterised by intense boom-and-bust cycles, where periods of high demand, surging prices and heavy investment are often followed by sharp downturns, bankruptcies and the contraction of mining operations.
Over the years, Africoal has become a household name in contract mining, and currently executes four opencast mining projects on behalf of one of the leading coal mining groups in South Africa. The company currently mines about 3,2-million m³ a month and given the mining right asset base of its large client, Africoal sees significant growth opportunity. However, Robertson is very clear about the company’s growth aspirations – he does not want to become “too big”, and for him that means mining anything beyond the 5-million m³ a month mark.
“When an operation becomes too big and geographically dispersed that, as a leader, I cannot get to each operation every day, I get the sense that we might start losing control, which is not ideal for our operating philosophy. Yes, it might sound good to be moving large volumes, but with that comes the risk of not being able to manage cost control, lose the attention to detail aspect and the personal touch that we are renowned for as an organisation, which I believe form part of our competitive edge,” says Robertson.
Large fleet
To be able to move these large volumes per month, Africoal runs one of the largest fleets in the coalfields – a total of just over 380 pieces of yellow metal equipment, anchored by about 200 articulated dump trucks (ADTs), nearly 50 bulldozers and about 70 excavators, amongst other solutions.
“When we took over the business in 2019, we did not have any scientific model on how to recapitalise the fleet. Over the years, we have adopted what we call ‘a third, a third and a third’ approach, whereby at any given time we have a third of our fleet brand new, a third of our fleet paid off or under hire purchase, and a third of the fleet paid off and operating without a capital cost against them,” explains Robertson.
Africoal, adds Robertson, is also trying to find an equilibrium between its monthly repair and maintenance spend and its monthly finance costs for those assets still under financing. “We are very close to that point,” he says. “We have spent a lot of time and energy in controlling spares- and maintenance-related costs. We have also invested in our people, particularly regarding skills development, to ensure asset preservation and asset integrity, ultimately leading to cost savings.”
Africoal operates a multi-brand fleet and values its buying decisions that are largely informed by the relationships it establishes with original equipment manufacturers or dealers. “Integrity and honour are very important to us. When we partner with a company, we do our homework first and make sure that the culture of the potential partner aligns with ours, and that the people that represent that particular brand are like-minded – that is very important to us,” says Robertson.
From the onset, he adds, the SANY Southern African team exhibited these traits. Robertson highlights the respect that the Africoal team was shown as refreshing. “Our mentality is to operate on a very personal level, treating everybody that we engage with dignity, and we expect the same treatment,” stresses Robertson. “When we get the sense that we are not important enough or big enough to be taken seriously, by our supplier or partner, we quickly move away from that relationship.”
Enter SANY
The Africoal experience of SANY has thus far been positive, says Robertson. From a technical point of view, the company is pleased with the product which has to date performed as per expectations. From a service and maintenance perspective, the Africoal team is familiar with all the major components on the SANY excavator, including the Cummins engine, the filtration system and the hydraulic systems.
In terms of performance, Robertson is particularly impressed by the integrated control system on SANY excavators, which is designed to optimise performance, fuel efficiency and operational precision by coordinating the engine, hydraulic system and main control valve.
According to Robertson, there were some quality concerns raised by some industry peers before Africoal decided to go the SANY route. However, he says, the long-standing notion that Chinese earthmoving equipment is of poor quality is actively being dispelled, with the SANY product proving its mettle in Africoal’s high-production environments. He believes that OEMs such as SANY are increasingly seen as a “compelling” offering that blends quality, technology and affordability.
“The integrity of the machine is at a standard that we are very comfortable with. We believe in the machine. As it stands, we will stick to SANY for our excavator needs. I foresee a big future for the SANY brand in our stable. We are currently investigating moving to bigger trucks such as 100-t rigids over time, and we will be looking for the ideal loading tools for these trucks from SANY,” he says.
Beyond the product
Beyond the product, Robertson is impressed by the support and the open communication channels between Africoal and SANY. From the onset, he says, the configuration of the very first deal made sense for Africoal because it had a tailored approach. “We value communication and transparency, and we got that from SANY from the very first day,” he says.
Robertson also commends the professionalism of the service and aftermarket teams. Parts availability has been “superb” and Africoal has never had to wait for any critical spares, thus maximising equipment availability.
“For us, it is important that the OEM understands our business needs and is willing to support us accordingly. What we see with other OEMs is a big disconnect between the branch and the OEM itself – with branches often run as franchises not aligned to the OEM. We have not experienced that with SANY – they get the basics done well and that takes care of 95% of the day-to-day engagements and needs. Dealing with responsive people who communicate well, managing customer expectations, makes for a great relationship,” concludes Robertson.
