Over seventy customers from various industries across Southern Africa accepted an invite to the Bell Head Office in Richards Bay at the end of August to gain a thorough understanding of the company, our manufacturing principles and processes as well as our extensive product offering.

The visit included a factory tour to see first-hand the technology and processes used by Bell that ensure that quality, world class products leave the assembly line.

Thereafter customers were taken to the Bell Farm outside Empangeni, where Irvine Bell founded the company in 1954. Today the farm is a museum housing some of the tools and equipment used in those early days as a reminder of our roots. It is also the site of the company’s off-road test track where engineers put Bell machines through their paces.

A portion of the test track was demarcated into six stations representing our Bell and partner products: Bell ADTs, Bell general construction equipment (Grader, TLB and Wheeled Loader), Bomag, Finlay, Kobelco and Matriarch/forestry. Each station was manned by technical experts for those particular machines who provided a detailed walkaround of the products, answered questions and oversaw the operation of equipment by those customers keen to demo the machines first-hand.

Niekie van der Heever of SPH Plant Hire in Botswana said: “I was blown away by the factory. It was fascinating to see the people and technology that go into making Bell machines and to see how an ADT gets built. On the test track it was interesting to see the new product lines, like the 620G Grader and SK300LC Excavator.

“I appreciated Bell Equipment’s honesty, telling us where they have experienced problems, and their willingness to listen to their customers. Additionally, it was a good opportunity to network with other customers, to hear about issues they have experienced and their solutions.”

Director of Business Development at Albion Services in Richards Bay, Natus Berning, was likewise grateful for the experience: “It was amazing, Bell has good, quality products. I learnt quite a few things about the machines that I didn’t know so it was useful to learn about features that we don’t use but that can add value to our operation.”

Echoing the same sentiments, André du Toit of EH in Botswana adds: “It was very interesting and enjoyable. I didn’t drive any of the machines but the technical side was highly informative as was hearing about the new models on the market. The factory tour was a real eye-opener, brilliant! It was also good to see that Bell is open to us and any problems that we experience.”