Our organisation stands on a solid foundation, and I am proud to say that we are in great shape. The strategies we have embarked upon to explore new global products, expand into new markets, and drive various new business units and initiatives forward have set us on an exciting path. This positive momentum will undoubtedly continue into the future.

2023 is drawing to a close, as is my time with Bell Equipment, and I find myself reflecting on the incredible journey we’ve undertaken together over the past 16 years. It has been an honour and a privilege to serve as CEO for the last five years, and I am filled with gratitude for the trust and support you, our customers, have shown throughout my tenure.

Since Irvine Bell first started Bell Equipment in 1954, the company has differentiated itself by making a point of understanding our customers’ businesses, listening to their needs, and then finding solutions. This can take the form of developing new machines, innovations, or aftermarket products that enhance the Bell ownership experience.

By all accounts, 2023 looks set to be a busy year for Bell Equipment following our recent announcement that we will commence manufacturing a new range of Bell Motor Graders next year. Our new Bell Motor Grader is part of our group strategy to grow our product IP, increase our manufactured product offering, and expand our global markets.

2022 has brought much relief from COVID-19 and the relaxing of legislation related to the wearing of masks has been most welcome, especially in the work environment where we can once again see the smiles of our colleagues and customers.

A belated happy new year to all our ADT customers around the globe. There definitely seems to be a different energy to 2022 compared to the past two years and one can only hope that over the coming months we move ever closer to the normality we enjoyed pre-pandemic.

I trust that you have all had a good start to the year despite the cloud of COVID-19 that continues to hang over us. By all accounts it looks like 2021 will be another challenging year as we cope with effects of the pandemic and I wish you, your families and businesses strength and resilience.

In a few weeks we will close the chapter on 2020 and what an extraordinary year it has been. The global COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the challenges that the Southern Africa region faces and changed the way we live and interact with one another.

It goes without saying that 2020 will be remembered as an extraordinary year. The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged our lives and livelihoods, created global uncertainty, and changed the way we interact with one another. Sanitising and social distancing have been adopted as the ‘new normal’ and Bell Equipment is doing everything in our control to keep our stakeholders safe and healthy.

Any optimism that 2020 would deliver green shoots has been shattered in the face of the raging global COVID-19 pandemic which will pressure our South African and the world economy for the foreseeable future.

Bell Equipment has a truly global footprint with our Articulated Dump Trucks operating in about eighty countries all over the world. This magazine is one of our most representative yet with coverage from all our major markets: North America, South Africa, Africa, Europe, South East Asia and South America.

While 2019 has been a tough trading year in Southern Africa, the strategic diversification of our business, a strong customer service ethos and a loyal customer base has enabled Bell to continue to make an impact in a poor market.

Much of our news in this edition is attributed to Bauma Munich in Germany, which took place in April and always provides a sound platform to introduce new ADT innovations to our global target audience. This year was no different as we showcased our B45E 4x4 and announced the upcoming Mark 3.0 upgrades to our E-series range. It was also rewarding to see the wonderful turnout by our customers and dealers and experience the upbeat environment.

2019 marks the 65th anniversary of Bell Equipment and indications are that the year is going to be an incredibly busy and eventful one with great opportunities for customer interaction and building solid relationships.

2018 will be remembered as a busy and rewarding year for Bell Equipment as we continued to drive and achieve continuous improvement in strategic areas of the business.

Looking back on a busy year - 2018 will be remembered as a year of change and progress for Bell Equipment as we continued to drive continuous improvement in the critical area of customer support. Key to this has been ensuring that we are located as close as possible to where our machines are working.

Bell Equipment released financial results at the end of August for the interim period ended 30 June 2018 and we were able to deliver a satisfactory results thanks to ongoing economic growth and increased demand for equipment in Europe, the Americas and South East Asia.

It gives me great pleasure that one of my first tasks as Group CEO, having been recently appointed on 1 June 2018, is to write this message to you, our customers.

With forty-seven years as a Bell employee - thirty-four of those as the company’s group chief executive - this is my last Inside Track column before I hand over the CEO reins to Leon Goosen on 31 May 2018.

At the time of writing we’re not quite yet at the end of 2017 but it’s safe to say that this year has been considerably more positive than previous years. A highlight has undoubtedly been the expansion of our southern African product range. We previously announced our distribution agreement with Kobelco to offer a broader and more competitive range of excavators. In this magazine you will read about our long and eagerly anticipated entry into the tipper truck market through our partnership with KAMAZ. We are extremely buoyed by these exciting new products and have no doubt that they will be valuable additions to our offering for both our customers and the company going forward. Added to this, our E-series generation of Articulated Dumps Trucks, and in particular the new concept B60E and the B20E LGP units, continue to garner positive reviews from users around the globe and build on the Bell brand and reputation for ‘Strong Reliable Machines’. Coupled with our ‘Strong Reliable Machines’ is our ‘Strong Reliable Support’ and our state-of-the-art European Logistics Centre in Germany has been officially opened. Significant improvements in customer service levels and a reduction in operational costs are beginning to flow through,which is pleasing news. Aftermarket sales and support to our existing customers remains a critical element of our business and we continue to channel resources to ensure that we are best equipped to deliver on this important aspect of our business across the globe. Going forward our customers can rest assured that our focus remains firmly on being the best possible equipment partner that we can be, and I’d like to thank all our customers and stakeholders for their loyalty and support that has seen us through to where we are today.

2017 will be remembered in the Bell Equipment annuls as a particularly busy and productive year. I’m also pleased to report that it’s been considerably more positive than the past few years as some of our major Articulated Dump Truck markets show signs of improvement.

Kobelco - the key to our southern African offering In this edition you will read about our new exclusive agreement to distribute and support the Kobelco range of excavators in Southern Africa, which is extremely positive news for Bell. Kobelco is a like-minded company and a premium Japanese excavator brand, making it an ideal fit for our business. With Kobelco’s quality product and our well established, strong reliable support network, we believe that we have the perfect partnership to meet your needs going forward. While our Kobelco agreement follows the mutual decision to dissolve the distribution agreement that we had in place with Liebherr, our customers can be assured that we are committed to continue supporting your Liebherr machines in the market for as long as you require. Further positioning our business going forward is the appointment of Group Operational Officer, Leon Goosen, as CEO designate to succeed me upon my retirement. I have every confidence that he will lead the business to greater heights in the years ahead and wish him success in his new role. Other exciting news is that we have recently welcomed a new BBBEE partner, SiBi Capital (Pty) Ltd, to our South African sales operation. As an entity entirely owned and managed by black women, our transaction with SiBi Capital supports real transformation and allows our customers to claim the benefit of purchasing from a 30% black women owned entity. Our aim is to create a long-term relationship with SiBi Capital, through their representatives Bharti Harie and Sindi Mabaso-Koyana, who are dynamic and accomplished women who can add real value to the BESSA business.

Welcome to the first edition of our new electronic magazine, The Bulletin - Global edition, which focuses solely on our Articulated Dump Trucks. Our aim is to deliver a high quality magazine with a global appeal by choosing a selection of customer stories from some of our major markets as well as news about our latest product and business developments

New year, new developments By all accounts 2017 is going to a busy year and Bell has some exciting developments that are geared towards better meeting your expectations as customers in terms of our product offering and customer support. Our newly built distribution facility in Germany will open in the first half of 2017 to ensure that we keep pace with servicing the ever increasing vehicle park in the northern hemisphere. We will also expand our product offering to these markets by introducing a Low Ground Pressure variant of our smaller 20 ton trucks that have historically been successful in South Africa. In southern Africa we are poised to announce some new partnerships, which will service the needs of a number of our existing customers as well as give us the opportunity to extend our business. We are currently finalising the product ranges and launch dates so watch this space. While we don’t see significant increases in market demand for 2017, we believe that companies that are more closely aligned with what their customers finding important, in their own businesses, will achieve more growth. We feel strongly that this alignment with our customers has always been one of our key advantages and that by helping our customers succeed so will we.

2016 will be best remembered in the Bell annals for the launch of our E-series Large Truck range, which successfully completes our latest generation of Articulated Dump Trucks. The milestone was celebrated in South Africa in September and is included in this edition. At Bell we always enjoy interacting with our customers, especially in a more social setting, and we are grateful that our E-series celebration gave us this opportunity. On behalf of the Bell Team, I would like to again thank those customers and suppliers who joined us that evening as well as to all those customers around the world who continue to support the Bell brand.

A farmer will tell you that for a plant to survive and prosper you need to sustain its roots. At Bell Equipment our roots are in the agricultural and forestry industries and over the decades we have remained dedicated to the continuous improvement of these products. This business philosophy has been carried through as the company has expanded and realised opportunities in other sectors. One of Bell Equipment’s earliest machines was the Bell Series I Haulage Tractor, which was first manufactured in 1977. It provided our agricultural and forestry customers with a heavy duty, purpose-built haulage tool to complement our Tri-Wheeler range that was already widely accepted and had been in existence for over a decade.

Teamwork is about everyone pulling in the same direction and working towards a common goal. At Bell we promote this way of thinking through our 1-Bell initiative, which is implemented group-wide to reinforce the Bell culture of a dedicated team creating enduring customer and stakeholder relationships.

With all the planning and resources that go into exhibiting at an international trade show, it’s hard to believe that it’s all over within a matter of days and that Bauma Conexpo Africa 2015 is now a distant memory. On behalf of Bell I would like to thank all those customers and visitors who came to our

Designing and manufacturing premier heavy equipment is only part of what we do at Bell. Just as important is making sure that we market, sell and support our product across the globe. I’ve already highlighted the importance of reliable product support and our ongoing

Customer service is one of those core areas that we, at Bell, are not prepared to compromise on. We take our commitment to provide ‘Strong Reliable Machines, Strong Reliable Support’ seriously and so you will read in this edition about our new Customer Services Centres that have been opened in Middelburg, South Africa and Kitwe, Zambia.

It’s important to strategise and look forward to where we want to position ourselves as Bell Equipment, but it is equally important to remember where we come from and the people who made it all happen in those early ...

Since our founding years, when Irvine Bell would listen intently to the local Zululand farmers when they visited his workshop and he would deliver on their needs, Bell Equipment has always strived to give the best service to our ...

It is no secret that the Americas is the largest market for Articulated Dump Trucks in the world and we took the opportunity to re-enter this market with the Bell brand at the end of 2012 with open arms, particularly considering the timing ...

Bauma Africa may have come and gone but Bell Equipment is excited and proud to have supported an international exhibition of this stature on our doorstep. It was a prime opportunity to promote the Bell brand by showcasing the best of local ...

As a company we have supported the Bauma franchise in Munich, Germany for many years now because it is the largest show of its kind in the world and we believe that our participation there is very worthwhile for our business and growing ...

It has always been important to us that we deliver the lowest cost per tonne equipment to you, our customers, to ensure that your Bell machines positively impact on your productivity, and ultimately your bottom ...

The recent unfortunate publicity South Africa has suffered from the tragic events in our mining industry has to be seen as potholes on the road to becoming a world class ...