Eaton Corporation today hosted a Technology Day in Johannesburg for its African customers, kick-starting a sales and marketing campaign targeting its portfolio of products and services that now span every stage of the mining value chain. In the last year, Eaton has seen rapid growth in South Africa following the acquisition in July 2011 of the four Actom Low Voltage Equipment (ALVE) business units: CHI Control, Meissner Interruptible Power and Norsa Electronics. This means that Eaton is now the leading supplier of electrical products and services to the South African mining industry. When combined with its wide range of Hydraulic and Vehicle Group products and services, Eaton can address its customers' key power management challenges at all six stages of the mining process: Exploration, Production Drill and Blast, Load and Haul, Crush and Screen, Material Handing and Processing. The Technology Day was attended by senior global and Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) regional Eaton leaders, including recently appointed global mining Director, Simon Meester and Eaton's new Electrical Sector Managing Director for Africa, Shane Kilfoil. Meester joined Eaton in June from Sandvik AB where he was President, Sandvik Mining and Construction Company based in Pune, India. Kilfoil, a South African citizen, recently took up his new position following seven years working for Eaton in several leadership roles in North America. A global diversified industrial manufacturer with over $16 billion of global sales in 2011, Eaton now employs over 600 people in manufacturing and support facilities in Johannesburg, Rustenburg, Witbank, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Richards Bay and Vanderbijlpark. The company also serves a wide range of local and multinational customers in South Africa including: Mittal Steel, Navistar, Mercedes- Benz, Tata, UD Trucks, Lonmin Mining, Sasol, MAN, Bell Equipment, Anglo American, Hino, VW Group and Exxaro Mining. Commenting on Eaton's solutions for the mining industry, Simon Meester said: “Mine managers are under constant pressure from owners to maximize output, while reducing cost per metric ton. To meet these demands, our customers expect support from suppliers with proven products and services that deliver consistent uptime, without compromising safety. Our message at today's Technology Day is simple: Eaton is the only supplier able to address our customers' most critical power management challenges at every stage of the value chain from the drilling of the first exploration holes, all the way through to final production." The Technology Day consisted of a series of technical seminars providing deeper insights into Eaton's Electrical, Hydraulic and Vehicle offerings for miners. In addition, a comprehensive Exhibition Floor showcased the complete portfolio of Eaton's mining products and services across the six stages of the mining process. In addition to Meester and Kilfoil, Eaton was represented by Frank Campbell, President Electrical Sector EMEA; Patrick Randrianarison, President Vehicle Group EMEA; Emil Berning, General Manager Hydraulics Group Africa and Daphne Swanevelder, General Manager Vehicle Group Africa. In addition, Clem Sunter, the former Chairman of the Anglo American Chairman's Fund, presented his insights on the world and Africa beyond 2012 in a keynote. Eaton Corporation is a diversified power management company with more than 100 years of experience providing energy-efficient solutions that help our customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power. With 2011 sales of $16.0 billion, Eaton is a global technology leader in electrical components, systems and services for power quality, distribution and control; hydraulics components, systems and services for industrial and mobile equipment; aerospace fuel, hydraulics and pneumatic systems for commercial and military use; and truck and automotive drivetrain and powertrain systems for performance, fuel economy and safety. Eaton has approximately 73,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 150 countries.
