LOADSHEDDING is having a huge impact on the total uptake of equipment in general, says the MD of Shumani Industrial Equipment, Victor Nemukula. Companies are instead spending their capital budget on solar technology to minimise the impact of power cuts on their production output. He says that electric forklifts are still popular as the technology improves.
Nemukula says there are green shoots in the materials handling sector. “We are witnessing a resurgence in growth as the economy starts to grow, albeit at a smaller pace.” Diesel equipment is still by far the most popular in the market in terms of overall volumes sold, with Doosan and Crown remaining Shumani’s top selling brands.
Shumani Industrial Equipment is the largest black-owned and managed industrial equipment supplier in South Africa.
A major focus for the company remains its maintenance lease agreements, which offer customers equipment on a long-term rental basis, including full maintenance, for peace of mind in a volatile market. “We provide complete management of the units and supply performance reports customised to their requirements,” he says.
It is mostly larger customers taking advantage of these agreements, combined with Shumani’s commitment to a 98% uptime for uninterrupted service so customers can focus on their core business. Another factor is that customers are increasingly hesitant to commit a large portion of their budget to acquiring new equipment. This makes leases with full maintenance that much more attractive, as it allows customers to free up capital while focusing on optimising operations.
“Virtually all our equipment is mostly on full maintenance leases,” says Nemukula. “It has become the biggest portion of our business.” Here the initial contact point is with the service department. As Shumani has grown over the years, it has set up a call centre to provide its customers with service.
Shumani is also the only 51% black-owned and managed equipment provider in this space. It supplies world-class equipment across the breadth of the industrial and construction sectors.
Brands on offer include world-leading names like Bendi, Crown, Kalmar, and Doosan in the forklift market. Construction equipment brands include Bobcat, Sany, HPower, Weima, Luthian, Ozen and Sullair. In the cleaning equipment market segment, the company offers Tennant, Genie, Sentinel and HighPoint.
