Lifting Equipment Store, the global materials handling equipment supplier, has appointed a distribution partner in Botswana. The new partnership with Croma Civil Engineering Pty will help to sell LES’s product range to large companies, including Botswana mines.
LES has distribution partners in Nigeria and Ghana so this is not a unique arrangement with an African nation, but the mentorship process that was undertaken between Will Dunn, CEO of LES, and Kelebonye Amanda Mogaladi, MD of Croma, was completely new. Will developed a mentor-like relationship with Kele, teaching her all about lifting equipment and the range of products sold by LES via videocalls, to enable opportunities for local diamond mines to buy higher quality equipment from leading names, thereby reducing the threat of buying the poor quality, fake or non-compliant equipment which is currently supplied to them.
The Citizen Economic Empowerment Programme was launched in Botswana earlier this year by two of the country’s diamond mining giants – Bank Gaborone and Debswana Mining Company. It forms part of a commitment to help local business and aims to provide stability and power to those in need on the ground, while ensuring that smaller, local businesses can access opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise get due to bigger foreign companies often being favoured. The goal is to exchange skills, knowledge and empower those who need it. Croma had only been working with local companies due to this programme and as a result its ability to grow had been limited.
Kelebonye Mogaladi said: “This partnership with LES is a step forward for us as we try and improve access to better quality lifting equipment for our mining industry here in Botswana. We are really looking forward to working with LES to achieve this.”
Will Dunn, CEO Lifting Equipment Store, said: “We are very proud to be supporting in such a way that it benefits both parties – we work closely with Croma, Croma gets the order and so do we.”
LES has other international distribution arrangements in countries including Singapore, Saudi Arabi, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates.
