Tyrone Firms Benefit From African Mission

A number of Tyrone companies have reaped the benefits of a trade mission to South Africa.

Local firms were among a series of northern businesses who travelled to the inaugural Bauma Africa trade show in Johannesburg last week.

The journey proved lucrative for a number of local firms including the Dungannon based Powerscreen and Coalisland’s Edge Innovate. Last week the Ulster Herald revealed how the Omagh based Terex Finlay planned to locate two key marketing and engineering support staff in Johannesburg to support a new distributor to drive faster growth in this and neighbouring markets.

Among the number of local companies who held stands at the event were Telestack, TESAB Engineering, McCloskey International and Terex Washing Systems.

At the international show, it was revealed that Edge Innovate have won business worth around £2 million in South Africa.

The Coalisland company specialises in the design and manufacture of mobile machinery such as stackers, conveyors, stockpilers, shredders and trommels for recycling a wide range of materials.

‘AN EXTREMELY SIGNIFICANT MARKET’

Managing Director Darragh Cullen said, “Our deal with a distributor in Johannesburg follows participation in a series of Invest NI missions to explore what we believe will be another extremely significant market for our leading-edge equipment and over expertise in materials handling.

“It has already produced orders for our machinery for projects in South Africa and will lead to business worth over £2 million this year.

“Our distributor also has a network of contacts that will enable us to access worthwhile business in other markets across the continent which is becoming increasingly important because of extensive investments in development work being undertaken and planned by governments there.”

Meanwhile mobile crushing and screening machinery firm Powerscreen has further cemented its position and growing sales in South Africa, announcing last week that it is now exploring new markets in Sub Saharan Africa.

The company is planning to expand its business through a series of profile raising initiatives, including a link up with DUOAfrica, based at Dawena in Ghana, to develop sales in the region.

Colin Clements, International Sales Director, said, “Our experience and research indicate that there’s tremendous potential for our comprehensive range of equipment in the vast African marketplace.

“The significant agreement with DUOAfrica gives us a well-connected, experienced and respected partner in Ghana for Sub Saharan Africa and is a logical extension of our reach from South Africa, now an immensely important and rapidly growing marketplace for our range of machinery.

Speaking as the trade mission drew to a close, Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said, “I am confident that this trade mission will lead to increased business co-operation between Northern Ireland and South Africa, which in turn will build and grow profitable, long term business relationships in the years that lie ahead.”

Source: ulsterherald.com