Engineering firm Bosch Rexroth South Africa (SA) Group of Companies held its first customer day last month at its new location, named Hytec United By Bosch (HUBB), in Kempton Park, Gauteng.

In celebration of the group’s relationships with customers and business partners, customers of each of the group’s companies were treated to a tour around the 16 000 m2 HUBB facility. The group showcased its numerous modern engineering and production facilities that have been the heart of the group’s operations for the past year.

Working demonstrations of the various technologies and systems offered by the group – in addition to a large collection of products and components from about 30 of the international brands which it represents across Africa – were on show at the companies’ assembly areas.

Additionally, customers also had access to facilities, such as the group’s hydraulics, pneumatics test rigs and training rooms, and solutions such as the group’s engineering solutions provider Hytec Services Africa’s containerised mobile hose workshops for mines.

While there are quite a number of mines in South Africa, there are also a lot of businesses providing the same services as Hytec, making the competition in South Africa fiercer than in other African countries up north.

For example, in Ghana – where Hytec also has operations – the competition is not as fierce in the mining hose industry as in South Africa, says Hytec mining services and operations manager Charlie Harrison.

“There are lots of people doing hose and fittings at mine sites using the same concept, but nobody does what we do – which is everything else, ranging from cylinders and pumps to training, besides others. That embodies our hose and fittings concept and that is what makes us different from everyone else.”

Hoses and fittings are the company’s vehicle of entry into the mines, with the containerised mobile hose workshop a one-stop shop to mine sites, says Harrison.

“These workshops are no different from an actual Bosch Rexroth SA Group branch similar to the HUBB and we are always on site with our employees. The mobility means that, if we lose the contract or if the mine closes down, then we simply pick up the container and go somewhere else,” Harrison asserts.

Bosch Rexroth SA is an integral part of the global Bosch Rexroth Group, says Bosch Rexroth Group executive president and CFO Dr Markus Forschner.

“Our commitment to quality, innovation and customer focus is clearly demonstrated. The building and production environment, but most importantly, everyone in this organisation, reflects our motto: ‘we move, you win’.