Eickhoff South Africa (ESA), located in Johannesburg, is the South African distribution and service hub of the global operating Eickhoff Group of Companies headquartered in Bochum, Germany. In recent months ESA has been going through restructuring and consolidation processes which the parent says “have become necessary after ten years of growing the business.” By the end of 2013 ESA says it will be in a position to continue “growing sustainably” its continuous miner and industrial gearbox business whilst being “further committed to providing and servicing its high quality products in order to meet their customers’ expectations.”

The interim management team, running the ESA operations for the last eight months, also successfully recruited a new Managing Director. In September 2013, South African Francois van Tonder was appointed Managing Director of ESA. He holds a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pretoria. After completion of his studies he started his career as a project manager in the South African defence industry before he became a sales engineer in the oil and gas sector. As Senior Lecturer at the University of Pretoria, he specialised in the field of structural integrity. After several years at the University he joined a South African machine manufacturer of agricultural and heavy earthmoving machinery where he worked as General Manager before joining the Eickhoff team.

Van Tonder says he is now looking forward to the “new challenges within the mining supply industry.” His stated aim is to successfully finalise the restructuring and strengthen the relationship with existing customers. In addition, he says he will build up new relationships with new customers and “grow Eickhoff’s presence in South Africa with regards to continuous miners and gearboxes. “Being a manager with a mechanical engineering background, I really value the quality, ‘made in Germany’, of the Eickhoff Continuous Miners and gearboxes. This combined with our extensive South African field services, Eickhoff has already begun to distinguish themselves in offering real solutions to the South African coal mining industry. I am also impressed by the positive and friendly company culture I experience among the entire Eickhoff staff. This well established family owned business motivates and inspires me on a daily basis. I enjoy leading by example and believe that the products combined with positive attitudes and a focused approach will lead Eickhoff into the future.”