Having acquired its first John Deere machine in 2021, South African-based construction and mining contractor, PGN Civils, has quickly grown its John Deere fleet to double-digit numbers. Central to the fleet expansion, explains director Keith Mnisi, is a product that has proven its mettle in taxing operating conditions, complemented by a good backup support structure. By Munesu Shoko.
This year marks Ralf Hennecke’s 30th anniversary at BME, a division of the Omnia Group. Having joined the company in 1995, Hennecke rose through the ranks to become MD in August 2021. Under his leadership, the company has been on a five-year growth trajectory – not only bottom line growth, but also the growth of people. In a one-on-one with Quarrying Africa, he discusses the pillars of this growth and unpacks how the explosives industry – and the mining sector in general – has evolved over the past three decades. By Munesu Shoko.
Burgers Equipment and Spares has marked a new chapter with a distributorship agreement with XCMG. Effective March 2025, the partnership allows the established yellow metal equipment supplier to distribute the full range of XCMG equipment throughout South Africa. At a launch event attended by Quarrying Africa on October 23, 2025, the company showcased a wide range of XCMG equipment at its Pomona, Kempton Park facility, with one of the major highlights being the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) wheel loader. By Munesu Shoko.
To ensure profitable operations in a generally low-margin construction materials market, Vryburg-based Northwest Crushers has, over the years, put continuous improvement at the centre of its operations to enhance efficiency, productivity, safety and environmental sustainability through a combination of optimisation initiatives and capital investments. Munesu Shoko was recently on site and filed this report.