Capital Equipment News

For more than 25 years, Pirtek Africa has built its reputation on a simple commitment to keep its customers across Africa operating. That promise does not necessarily start and end on-site or at roadside. It starts at Pirtek Africa’s Waterfall head office and distribution centre, where the team is responsible for making sure every Pirtek Franchise Centre and customer across South Africa and the wider continent has what it needs to deliver on that commitment.

Working in sub-zero temperatures is challenging, especially in environments where temperatures can drop to a frigid -30°C. Across South Africa, many industrial equipment operators face these conditions daily in cold storage facilities serving the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, agricultural and chemical industries. In these highly controlled environments, equipment must deliver safe, efficient and reliable performance while operating within space-constrained and temperature-sensitive settings.

Volvo Trucks South Africa's growing fleet of battery electric vehicles has traveled more than a quarter of a million kilometres in commercial operation. This significant milestone marks a major step in South Africa’s transition to sustainable transport. First introduced in the South Africa in 2023, these customer fleet vehicles have proven themselves across a variety of applications, helping companies reduce emissions while gaining valuable experience in electric transport operations.

Details More than 100 customers, transport operators and industry partners gathered in Ballito for a day of networking, industry engagement and discussions on fleet performance, innovation and the evolving demands of road freight. Relationships remain one of the most important drivers of South Africa’s transport industry, where long-term partnerships, shared experience and collaboration are as valuable as the technology that keeps fleets moving.

As a long-standing member of SAPICS, Interroll South Africa will once again participate in the SAPICS Conference and Exhibition, taking place in Cape Town from 19 to 22 July 2026. The event remains Africa’s leading gathering of supply chain, logistics and operations professionals, bringing together industry leaders to explore the trends, technologies and strategies shaping the future of supply chain management.

By Nico Bezuidenhout, Director, The Lube Guys While technology, infrastructure, and logistics systems are essential components of supply chain resilience, one factor is frequently overlooked, and that is trust. Strong relationships between suppliers and customers create a foundation for collaboration, transparency, and long-term planning.

For decades, Babcock has supported KwaZulu-Natal's pulp, paper and sugar industries through the supply, maintenance and refurbishment of critical boiler infrastructure. Many of the boilers operating across the region today were originally designed, supplied, erected or supported by Babcock engineering teams, creating long-standing technical connections with some of the province's most important industrial operations.

By Thava Govender, CEO: Engineering, Babcock Across Africa's industrial sector, there is a growing recognition that competitive advantage is increasingly determined by asset performance. In industries where margins are under pressure, capital investment remains constrained and production demands continue to increase, the organisations that consistently outperform are often not those with the newest facilities or equipment.

For South Africa’s transport and logistics sector, the conversation around fleet procurement has changed. In an environment defined by rising operating costs, infrastructure challenges and tighter margins, businesses are no longer evaluating trucks solely on purchase price. Instead, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) has emerged as the key measure of value. The shift reflects the realities facing fleet operators in 2026.

For operations that use heavy industrial equipment, downtime is one of the most significant operational challenges. Unlike smaller assets that can be easily replaced or moved, heavy equipment is often highly specialised and costly to transport. In many cases, moving a machine requires abnormal load permits and extensive logistical planning, making every hour of downtime a direct threat to productivity and profitability.