Industrial engineering company FAM Minerals & Mining, which is part of engineering and logistics equipment manufacturer Beumer Group, has expanded into South Africa with the launch of FAM Minerals & Mining South Africa (SA).

The company’s domestic head office is situated in Midrand, Gauteng, with a branch in Kathu, in the Northern Cape.

FAM, which is headquartered in Magdeburg, Germany, designs and supplies large‑scale systems for moving and handling bulk raw materials used in mining and related industries, employing about 1 000 people globally.

The company’s core activity is the manufacture and provision of machines and systems that move, stack, reclaim, convey, load and store mined or processed materials such as ore, coal, minerals and similar bulk goods. These systems span from extraction support to stockyard and port handling equipment and include project development, detailed planning, delivery, installation, commissioning and maintenance.

Although the company only celebrated its official launch in South Africa on January 29, it has technically been operating in the country since the end of 2024 and has been delivering machinery into South Africa since 2006.

Since then, FAM has built a robust team of predominantly local experts in product and materials handling, with a full suite of engineers, field and service technicians, procurement managers and project managers now operating within the country.

“Our business philosophy is that we believe in long-term relationships, and that is true for our customers, but also for our suppliers. We don’t just deliver a machine to our clients, but consider ourselves as more of a lifecycle partner, where we would like to give support throughout the lifecycle of our machinery.

“We also apply a holistic approach to our clients’ operations, which necessarily implies that we also cater for third-party machinery, because otherwise it wouldn't be holistic,” FAM Minerals & Mining SA MD Matthias Heyn said at the launch.

The launch event saw several FAM engineers and product experts showcasing some of the projects the company has done for clients in other countries.

FAM sales manager Rafaello Croce and specialist engineer Glauber Carvalho discussed some of the mining and equipment solutions provided by the company, including stockyard machines, reclaimers and overland conveyors.

A significant project in Brazil involved improving a train loading system, reducing failures by 50% and increasing capacity by 6%. Another project in Canada saw FAM advising splitting a train to achieve higher capacity. In Brazil, a conveyor system replaced a road connection, saving $500-million and reducing the project timeline to nine months.

Croce and Carvalho emphasised FAM’s early involvement in projects to optimise designs and achieve cost-effective solutions.

FAM team leader Jürgen Schulz emphasised that the company also offered comprehensive customer support services.

FAM offers a range of services, including equipment health checks, performance enhancements, repairs, maintenance and operation support. Schulz noted that the company’s global presence enabled it to service both its own and third-party machines.

He highlighted the company’s quick response times for urgent issues and its ability to provide remote support through hardware and cloud connectivity.

FAM also offers a lifetime partner programme with on-site support, diagnostic support and lifecycle support, including training, spare parts and solutions.