Sinotruk makes Electra Mining debut

September 18, 2024

Sinotruk exhibited at Electra Mining Africa for the first time this year. COLIN WINDELL reports that the company was there to showcase its full range of tippers and tankers applicable to the local mining industry.

By all accounts, the show – which took place at Nasrec, Johannesburg, at the beginning of September 2024 – was a big success for the Chinese company. “It has been very exciting,” said Niu Huilliang, senior sales manager for Sinotruk’s East Africa Division. “Our tipper truck has attracted quite a lot of attention from visitors to the stand. Interestingly, we have also had clients giving us feedback with ideas on how to improve what we are offering.”

He added that this is great for the company, as a lot of these requests are quite easy to implement right here in South Africa. “An example comes from the poor state of the roads in and around many of the mines. Our tipper is supplied with standard road tyres, but the clients want us to fit off-road tyres. Not only that, but they also want us to provide a seal for the double rear wheels to prevent sharp rocks from being trapped between the two sets of tyres,” he noted, adding that if the solution was not immediately available locally, the company in China would step in to find a way to help the customer.

Niu Huilliang, Sinotruk’s East Africa Division senior sales manager, was happy with the attention the company’s products garnered at Electra Mining Africa 2024.

“There are some signs of recovery in the economy and an additional interest rate cut would be great for all of us,” said Huilliang. “Right now, we still estimate our sector of the truck market to be around 15,000 units for the year, and we would like to have 10% of that.” This echoes comments made earlier this year by Michael Man, country manager for the Africa Division of the company.

Sinotruk is the largest truck manufacturer in China and its products are sold extensively throughout Africa, with all right-hand drive models fully homologated for South Africa. The company has two nameplates: Sinotruk itself and Sitrak. At the show, it featured the 64300 tipper alongside the 64300 water tanker and, carrying the Sitrak name, the 84400 tipper.

Both the 64300 versions have a GVM of 27,000kg and are powered by a 9,726cc six-cylinder engine producing 216kW and 1,160Nm of torque, with 10 forward gears. The Sitrak tipper shares the same engine and gearbox, but power is upped to 350kW and torque to 1,350Nm.

“Although we are relative newcomers to the South African market, we are really happy with the way in which our products have been viewed and accepted by customers. We know we can provide a wide range of solutions for the mining and construction industry – at highly competitive prices,” said Huilliang.

“At the same time, our products all feature latest generation technology to make them comfortable and safe for operators, as well as being tough enough to take on African conditions. We are also fully committed to providing the best possible after-sales service and backup so anyone can buy from us with complete confidence in the total package.”

While Huilliang would not be drawn on future plans, Man told FOCUS in an earlier interview that there is a good chance medium and smaller trucks would be homologated for South Africa and introduced “in due course”.