Franklin Electric, a manufacturer and distributor of products and systems focused on the movement and management of water and energy, is stepping up its drive to expand its presence in Africa’s mining sector with smart technology.
According to Hugo Du Plessis, South Africa’s National Sales Manager at Franklin Electric, the company is focused on rebuilding its market exposure while introducing new technologies aimed at making mining operations smarter and more efficient.
Franklin Electric has built a strong reputation in irrigation and agricultural pumping solutions, while more recently it is mining on the African continent that has become a major part of its business. Du Plessis said mining now accounts for more than 60 percent of the company’s business, supplementing its traditional agriculture and irrigation business.
“Mining is about 60-plus percent of our business. That’s what we do,” Du Plessis said, noting that the company continues to serve both the agricultural and mining markets.
The company has a manufacturing facility in South Africa and employs about 250 people across its factory and offices in South Africa and Botswana. Its Botswana operation is a Franklin Electric company rather than simply a distributor, while the wider African market is served through resellers and channel partners.
Du Plessis said the company has established channel partners across the continent, extending as far north as Ghana. Interest in becoming Franklin Electric resellers is also growing, which he attributed to the strength of the brand and its product offering.
A major focus of the company’s renewed African expansion is the mining market in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia, particularly the Copperbelt region.
“The DRC Zambia is a big focus for us on the mining side. You know, the Copperbelt there is so rich,” Du Plessis said.
He acknowledged that competition in the region is strong but said Franklin Electric is determined to increase its presence. The company’s strategy, he explained, begins with building awareness of the brand and demonstrating the breadth of its products and technologies to customers.
RATL and Fluidwise
At Electra Mining Africa, Franklin Electric is showcasing two products as key highlights, including the RATL, a mining-focused product whose name refers to the honey badger in Afrikaans, and Fluidwise, a smart electronic solution designed for mining applications.
Du Plessis described Fluidwise as a South African-developed technology that can monitor and control equipment such as diesel trailer units, oil pumps and other pumping systems used on mines.
“It’s smart mining at its best,” he said, adding that the technology was developed locally with a South African partner over several years before being introduced to the market.
One of the major advantages of Fluidwise is its ability to provide operators and technicians with information about equipment remotely. For example, a pump installation in the DRC could be monitored to determine the amount of diesel remaining in its trailer.
Instead of waiting for the fuel to run out and the pump to stop operating, technicians can receive information in advance and arrange for the trailer to be refilled. This can reduce unnecessary downtime and allow maintenance teams to respond before a failure occurs.
The same principle can be applied in agriculture. Farmers using diesel trailers or solar-powered pumping systems can monitor equipment remotely and identify problems before travelling to the installation site.
“If there’s a problem with the solar pump, he can pick it up and then go out there with the tools and the equipment,” Du Plessis explained.
This approach, he said, changes the traditional maintenance process, where technicians may first travel to an installation to identify a problem before returning with the appropriate tools and equipment.
With remote monitoring, technicians can understand the problem before making the journey, enabling them to arrive better prepared.
“It’s called preventive maintenance,” Du Plessis said. “To prevent the issues.”
Mono and Orbit
While Franklin Electric is promoting new technologies such as Fluidwise, Du Plessis said the company is also drawing on its established product heritage, including its positive displacement pump ranges such as Mono and Orbit.
The message to the market, he said, is simple: “Franklin is back.”
He clarified that the company has never left the market but is now undertaking a major drive to strengthen its visibility and remind customers of its capabilities across agriculture, mining and emerging smart technologies.
With Africa’s mining industry continuing to demand greater efficiency, reliability and remote monitoring, Franklin Electric sees opportunities to combine its established pumping expertise with locally developed digital technology to support preventive maintenance and more responsive operations.
