thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions South Africa is proudly celebrating sixty successful years of engineering excellence in Africa. This milestone bears testament to the diversified industrial group’s enduring commitment to delivering exceptional, premium quality, holistic solutions to its valued customers.

Initially operating through an agent in South Africa, the German powerhouse cemented its African foothold in 1959 by establishing Krupp RSA (Pty) Ltd in Johannesburg, Gauteng. An illustrious history saw numerous mergers and name changes as the company widened its footprint, stepping across South Africa’s borders into neighbouring countries.

Following the merger between Thyssen and Krupp to form thyssenkrupp AG, in 1997 the company’s South African trading name changed to ThyssenKrupp Engineering (Pty) Ltd., (a wholly owned subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Technologies AG GmbH) which incorporated Uhde, Polysius and Krupp’s Materials Handling divisions. Synergising this consolidation of engineering expertise, the company relocated to its present office in Sunninghill, Johannesburg. 

Showcasing its steadfast commitment to customers along their operational journey through service and after-sales excellence, the company opened a Service Centre in Chloorkop on March 26th 2009. This technologically advanced facility specialises in the complex engineering and refurbishment of OEM parts and components, spare parts management, field services, plant upgrades and redesigns, life-cycle services, operation and/or maintenance contracts as well as machine audits.

In 2015 Uhde, Polysius and Materials Handling amalgamated to form thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions South Africa which offers a full range of bulk materials handling, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) management services to Sub-Sahara African mining and industry.

“thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions encompasses 60 years of local experience and over 200 years of global expertise which enables us to deliver innovative engineering solutions to our customers and to cultivate lifetime partnerships as a trusted solutions provider,” states Philipp Nellessen, CEO of thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions Sub Sahara Africa.

“Our company’s success is based on a blend of factors; highly skilled employees, energy efficient superior-quality equipment, technology and solutions, our customer-centric focus and our concentrated efforts to expanding our African footprint all play a prominent role in establishing thyssenkrupp as a pioneering engineering innovator in Africa.”

Through its expert business units, Minerals Processing, Materials Handling and Process Industries, thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions keeps in step with digital transformation offering the latest technologies and innovations to the industries including mining, power, petrochemical, cement and agricultural.

Comminution specialist, Minerals Processing, offers customers a wide range of crushing and grinding technology tailored to bespoke plant process requirements. To meet Africa’s growing demand for energy, Minerals Processing created a dedicated Power & Energy division which delivers efficient innovations such as turnkey biomass fired plant solutions, from boiler supply to building the complete plant around the boiler.

The Materials Handling business unit delivers exceptional pit-to-port solutions for efficient bulk handling solutions with equipment such as drum reclaimers, stackers, travel cars, ash spreaders, conveyors and ship loaders. Process Industries comprises expertise and technology in the electrolysis, polymers, base chemicals and fuel storage sectors as well as modular solutions for chemical and fertilizer plants.

In line with its drive to expand its presence in Africa and to get closer to customers, thyssenkrupp has forged offices in Mozambique, Morocco, Tanzania and more recently in Ghana. “thyssenkrupp is focussed on developing exceptional skills in Africa for Africa to further grow the continent, the countries and the local communities,” says Nellessen. “We are able to tap into our global network to deliver to Africa our combined technologies coupled with our extensive local knowledge and experience.” He highlights the current modular chlorine plant project in Tanzania as a prime example of a successful global-local collaboration.

thyssenkrupp’s passion for community development and empowerment  to assist in alleviating the high unemployment and the skills shortage faced by the country, spurred the opening of the ground-breaking Technical Training Academy in Q4 2018. The Academy offers excellent technical training programmes aimed at developing and upskilling exceptional candidates for thyssenkrupp’s workshop and site team environments.

“Since its inauguration, the company has vastly developed, expanded and diversified and this is only possible thanks to the steadfast commitment of our highly-skilled employees to whom I extend my sincere gratitude!” concludes Nellessen.