When the International Electra Mining Exhibition 2006 opens in Johannesburg in September 2006, many of the materials handling equipment companies in South Africa will have stands as they have no dedicated platform for their industry at which to display products and machinery.
This lack of a local platform is a glaring problem that is thwarting growth, says the managing director of Johannesburg-based DDL Equipment, Andrew Stewart. And it is just one of the current maladies within the industry.
The South African trend towards placing all elements of materials handling under one general identity of "logistics" or "supply chain" flies in the face of international trends and ignores the separate needs of each discipline within the sector, he says.
Both Europe and the US – the prime models for South African materials handling – have retained individual representative organizations that specialise in providing for the different elements of the entire supply chain, from raw material to finished products.
"Earlier this year, at the International Manutention Materials Handling Show Paris 2006, what struck me was that materials handling elements remain clearly defined overseas. The two halls of the Paris event were each larger than South Africa’s premier exhibition facility, Nasrec, altogether. Even the smaller hall of the timber handling exhibition exclusively for pallets, was a major size. It was immediately apparent that South Africa has no dedicated associations or institutes, journals for the different elements of the industry or exhibition of any note that caters for specific needs of this diversity.
"This is a far cry from the days when we had all these in place. The Materials Handling Association – representing different dedicated bodies - grew in South Africa, before being absorbed into the Metal Industries Federation. The institute representing the industry has changed names from the Institute of Materials Handling of South Africa to the South African Institute of Materials Handling (SAIMH). Then it became the Logistics Institute of South Africa (LISA) and recently evolved once again into the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport South Africa (CILTSA)," he explained.
Stewart says this situation prompted him to establish "Friends Under the Materials Handling Umbrella" which has, for the past five years, provided a structured forum to deal with materials handling and its requirements. Participants include forklift, racking equipment, conveyors, cranes, transport and other sectors of distribution and handling. They have a close relationship with the Materials Handling Industry of America – Stewart met up with the CEO and vice-president of the body at the Paris exhibition and he will once again be attending its PROMAT 2007 annual exhibition and conference next year in the United States to keep up with international standards in the industry.
He says that local companies involved in materials handling are voting with their presence at the International Electra Mining Exhibition to be held in September this year.
"Anyone interested in diverse materials handling are compelled to attend an exhibition focused on mining to see what we produce as there is no dedicated exhibition and conference for them to attend and view the strides we make in materials handling generally," he added.
Stewart adds that African logistics must align with international standards and local companies in South Africa can play a vital role in attaining this goal as they have a long history of research and development. "
"DDL has placed its 40 years of R&D on its website which is available free to visitors to the site. Fast tracking of communications, information technology and the immediate availability of specifications and design drawings are critical in the materials handling industry. We need to find ways to enable us to direct this knowledge to the respective sectors within materials handling so that we can become world class and competitive – and over-arching bodies that are not focused is not the way to go," he concluded.
