In 2024, Loadtech announced the opening of its Cape Town branch to support the growing installed base of its on-board weighing and belt weighing systems, particularly in quarrying and other industrial applications where payload management is of utmost importance. Until this year, the branch was run by a single technician, Donald Gray, who looked after a handful of customers operating in the region.
Following a marked growth in the installed base and the growing number of enquiries in the region, the company has this year expanded the branch’s staff complement to five, allowing Loadtech to be more responsive to customer needs.
Among the latest additions to the staff is Samantha van Lingen, who has been appointed regional manager to oversee the daily operations of the branch. Russell Moss, an experienced sales professional with a wealth of experience, has also joined as a sales representative. Katelyn Newins has joined the team to provide administrative assistance. At the time of writing, a second technician was expected to join the team at the start of March.
“Over the past year, we saw a big jump in the number of new installations, especially in quarries. It was therefore imperative that we match the growing installed base with sufficient human resources on the ground to provide customers with local support. Customer uptime is an absolute priority and we will continue to bolster our operations as demand rises,” says Webster.
While the company is renowned for its best-in-class technology in the payload management systems market, Webster says Loadtech has always been built on providing exceptional aftermarket support to its customers. Prompt and reliable aftermarket support builds trust and satisfaction, leading to increased customer loyalty.
Demand drivers
Demand for payload management systems is largely driven by the large population of quarries in the region, says Webster. Traditionally, local quarries have been reluctant to invest in new technologies, but Webster believes that this is changing, with demand for belt weighers and load weighing systems on the rise, particularly in the Western Cape.
Quarrying companies, he says, are driving data-driven operations, leveraging available data from their operations to forecast future events, optimise resource allocation, and minimise unnecessary spending. Data analytics enables real-time monitoring of assets, allowing quarry managers to make timely decisions and respond proactively to potential issues. Analysing data from various stages of the mining process, from extraction to processing, is helping operations to identify bottlenecks, optimise efficiency, and improve product quality.
“Local quarries are increasingly running data-driven operations, leveraging data analytics and insights from various sources to optimise processes, predict equipment failures, and improve overall efficiency and safety. On the back of that trend, we have seen rising demand for both our Loadrite systems and our own in-house Loadtech solutions,” says Webster.
Thriving industry
The increased investment in payload management systems in the Western Cape is also aided by the thriving nature of the quarrying industry in the province. A combination of road projects, property development projects and blockyards, have been central to increased demand for aggregates in the province. This, says Webster, will be further buoyed by the planned airport expansion project.
The Cape Town International Airport is set to benefit from a massive R10-billion revamp, as part of Airport Company South Africa’s broader R21,7-billion infrastructure investment programme. The programme places value on runway realignment, terminal expansion, and apron improvements to address projected passenger demand and operational requirements over the coming years.
In recent years, the Western Cape province has been one of the major construction hotspots in South Africa. To provide context, in 2022, the province accounted for a third of all building plans passed and 40% of all buildings completed in South Africa. In March 2025, the Western Cape, along with KwaZulu-Natal, championed a 23% rise in South Africa’s construction project awards, according to Industry Insight’s Construction Monitor.
Other industries
Apart from quarries, Loadtech has seen growing demand from other industrial clients such as transport companies, particularly those operating in the salt industry, agriculture and packaging, where load weighing is of utmost significance.
“In such industrial settings, weighing is very important. The weighing allows businesses to understand the accurate weight of their loaded or unloaded transport systems,” concludes Webster.
