Rand-Air generators and lighting towers shed light on manganese mine’s production

As part of the global Atlas Copco Group and widely recognised as the local equipment rental leader, Rand-Air delivers portable air, power, lighting and flow solutions into a variety of industries; while its agile, customer-centric service, safety and quality consistently assists customers to successfully meet their operational requirements.

A case in point was the recent long-term rental to a major manganese mine. The development of the mine began as a green fields project in June 2019 – with manganese the prime commodity – and an iron ore portion planned for phasing in during the first quarter of 2021, says Denise Olivier, Rand-Air’s sales consultant  whose technical knowledge and customer support secured this important hire.

Olivier explains: “Since the mine was new in my area, it came to my attention that they were interested in purchasing equipment and were currently exploring this option.”

However, Olivier says that once she explained the benefits of hiring over purchasing, and the additional advantages of using Rand-Air, the customer was extremely interested in her proposed solutions.

“I pointed out that we take all the effort out of equipment hire, leaving the customer to focus on their core business. We also offer 24/7 technical support, maintenance and even replacement equipment if required. This option made much more sense to the customer, rather than outlaying significant capital to purchase equipment,” she explains.

As the mine is expanding, their strategy has been to introduce two shifts – night and day – and, for the night shift, reliable and robust lighting was required.

“I submitted the quote and almost immediately, delivered the first two lighting towers in April 2020, on a long-term hire that will roll-over year-to-year. As the partnership grew steadily, so did the customer’s order, and we are currently supplying five lighting towers and two generators into the mine.”

Given every business’s desire to operate as cost-effectively as possible – particularly this year – Olivier believes that this hire is not only a win for Rand-Air; but she knows that she offered the best solution to meet the customer’s needs, by advising them to hire rather than purchase equipment.

“By offering a solution to their specific requirements – as well as professional and knowledgeable feedback to queries – the customer was satisfied that the Rand-Air option was the best,” she remarks.

The lighting towers comprise heavy-duty LED lamps with more than 50,000hrs of life expectancy, offering 5000m2 light coverage, which is perfect for adhering to the stringent safety standards required on the mine. Easy to transport, the compact lighting units come with a stable hydraulic vertical mast capable of extending to a maximum height of 8m and rotating 340 degrees.

“The lighting units are used to illuminate the nightshift operations and the two Atlas Copco QAX generators, one 20kVA and one 100kVA, are ideal to supply uninterrupted power and mobility to the office complex, processing plant and weighbridge,” Olivier explains.

“The customer required the generator supplying electricity to the office complex to switch over between solar power during the day, to generator-supplied power during night-time. This was achieved through the installation of a change-over switch,” she says.

“Aside from Rand-Air’s technology, technical expertise and advice, our reputation for exceptional customer service and providing timely solutions will endure, as our generators and lighting towers keep the lights on at night and the mine’s production running smoothly!” Olivier concludes.