Bell gears up to celebrate 70 years of manufacturing in KZN

In South Africa, Bell provides customers with a full-line range of premium mining and construction equipment through strategic partnerships with the leading global manufacturers, JCB, Finlay and Kobelco. This enables Bell to complement its own range with wheel loaders, excavators, backhoe loaders, telehandlers, skid steers, forklifts, compaction machinery and a mobile material processing product line.

A nationwide footprint

Distribution and support take place through the Bell Equipment Sales South Africa (BESSA) network of 22 Customer Service Centres strategically located throughout the country, including eThekwini. BESSA is a Level 1 BBBEE entity that is 51% black-owned and 30% black women-owned. Together with the manufacturing division, Bell Equipment Company South Africa (BECSA), which is a Level 2 BBBEE entity with 51% black ownership, Bell provides the best BBBEE procurement score for customers.

Bell

Since the company was established in 1954 by Irvine Bell as a small engineering and agricultural repair business on the KZN North Coast, it has been characterised by its passion for innovation. The Bell tri-wheeled cane loader, invented by Irvine in the 1960s, revolutionised the sugarcane farming industry. Now in the F-series generation, this machine is still in production and used extensively in forestry and agriculture. Bell made a breakthrough into mining and construction in the 1980s when the first articulated dump trucks (ADTs) arrived in the country from Europe. Although effective and versatile, Bell saw room for improvement and fine-tuned its design to better cope with the harsh operating conditions common in Africa.

A global leader

Today, the company is recognised as a global ADT specialist and manufacturer with the largest and most advanced range in the world. The current E-series generation ranges from 18 t to 60 t and is suited to construction, infrastructure, bulk earthworks, mining and quarrying. The range is complemented by the Versatruck programme, which offers niche custom equipment, such as water tankers, based on the proven Bell ADT chassis. As a technological innovation leader, Bell has pioneered several features that improve productivity and safety, as well as lower operating costs. A standout is Bell Fleetm@tic® – the company’s telematics system and the ultimate tool for asset, production and machine health management.

Bell Equipment employs over 3 000 people locally and is an integral part of the communities in which it operates. The group takes its responsibilities as a corporate citizen seriously by, among others, purchasing from local suppliers wherever possible and investing in outreach opportunities with a focus on education, training and development, both internally and externally.

The strength of the Bell brand lies in the strong family values of integrity, honesty, accountability and respect. Supporting this foundation is the Bell motto of ‘Strong Reliable Machines, Strong Reliable Support’, which represents the company’s customercentric approach, ideals and ethical stance throughout its manufacturing, distribution and support network.