For the past ten years, UMS United Mining Supply, a specialist in mining, industrial and oil transport and logistics in West Africa, has relied on Renault Trucks to carry out its operations in particularly demanding environments.
Renault Trucks and UMS have built a long-term partnership combining vehicles, services, expertise and operational support. Today, 350 Renault K Trucks are engaged in the heart of UMS’s mining operations in Guinea. In this country, the world’s leading exporter of bauxite, trucks are constantly evolving to ensure the transport of ore between extraction areas and port infrastructure.
In the Boké region, where several major mining operations are concentrated, Renault K Trucks transport bauxite from the extraction areas to the port infrastructure. The trucks operate 24/7 on demanding terrain and under particularly high load loads. Each truck travels more than 190,000 kilometres per year, or more than 66 million cumulative kilometres across the fleet. The 350 Renault K Trucks dedicated to these operations total more than 50 million kilometres per year.
Initiated in 2016 with the support of local distributor TGH Plus, the partnership between Renault Trucks and UMS has continued to strengthen. In ten years, 600 Renault Trucks trucks have been delivered to support the company’s mining and logistics operations.
In addition to supplying the trucks, Renault Trucks works closely with the UMS teams to continuously improve the performance of the fleet. Telematics data is jointly analysed monthly to optimise fuel consumption and operating cycles. Feedback from the field also helps to develop the vehicles. Some adaptations developed to meet the specific needs of UMS are now integrated directly into the solutions offered by Renault Trucks for the most demanding environments.
In mining operations, every vehicle downtime can have a direct impact on production. To guarantee the availability of its fleet, UMS relies on its integrated workshops, where more than 150 mechanics, organised in three shifts, are constantly involved.
In order to reduce intervention times, Renault Trucks is working with UMS to size and manage the stocks of spare parts present on site. This organisation helps to maintain a high level of truck availability despite the intensity of mining operations.
Skills development is another pillar of the partnership. Every year, Renault Trucks provides training courses for UMS mechanics, drivers and trainers. Twice a year, a specialist trainer visits the operating sites to support the local teams in rational driving and safety. This approach is part of a global approach aimed at continuously improving the safety of operations, in particular through the analysis of vehicle routes and operating conditions.
Founded in 2001 by Fadi Wazni, United Mining Supply (UMS) is a Guinean company specialising in integrated logistics, serving the mining, industrial and oil sectors in Guinea and West Africa.
The group supports operators with logistics solutions adapted to the most demanding environments with its fleet of more than 500 trucks.
ISO 9001 certified, UMS says it “places quality, safety and performance at the heart of its activities. Strongly rooted in the local fabric, it employs nearly 98% Guinean employees and actively contributes to the development of national skills. “Through its expertise and commitment to operational excellence, UMS is a key player in the development of logistics and industrial chains in Guinea.”