A cover story in the 7 September edition of Farmer’s Weekly highlighted the desperate state of South Africa’s road infrastructure. It’s therefore gratifying to see that Equipment, based in Richard’s Bay, gained market leadership for July with the Grader, selling 37% of the total of over 70 graders sold that month.
This is the largest recorded total monthly sales figure for graders in SA. “Traditionally, Caterpillar has dominated the motor grader market worldwide,” says Bell Equipment marketing manager for graders, Izak van Niekerk. “But in 2005 our strategic partners John Deere embarked on a successful US campaign to improve their market share. We decided to embark on our own campaign, hosting grader demonstrations around SA. Our efforts are paying off. In terms of year-to-date figures, Bell Equipment is firmly in second place and gaining market share.” Five grader models B ell markets a comprehensive range of motor graders – two tandem drive models, the 670D and 770D, and three six-wheel-drive models, the 672D, 772D and 872D. According to Van Niekerk, Bell Graders offer high operator comfort with their spacious cabs with superior visibility.
Event-based shifting (EBS), the revolutionary technology used in the transmission, ensures smooth gear changes to maintain grade quality. The six-wheel-drive units have extra traction, which improves blade pull, effectively allowing the operator to complete more work with a lighter grader. V an Niekerk adds that the motor grader market has been growing annually, as the authorities realise investing in road infrastructure is crucial to the country’s economic future. is also entering new markets with its six-wheel-drive graders. Through demonstrations, it has shown customers that these machines can be used for more applications than those traditionally associated with graders. For more information on Bell Graders contact Izak van Niekerk on (035) 907 9200, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.bellequipment.com. |fw
