Ivanhoe’s Kipushi zinc mine in the DRC officially reopens
The restart marked exactly a century since the mine first went into production.
BC, Canada—Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group, a world leader in mining tire services and a global independent tire dealer, expands its presence in South Africa through the acquisition of the South Africa operations of Tyre Corporation.
“Tyre Corporation is a recognized market leader in underground mining tire services and sales and we’re excited to bring their capabilities and strengths to Kal Tire,” says Dan Allan, senior vice president, Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group. “We’ve been building our business in parts of Africa since 2009, but this acquisition goes a long way for us to ensure a long-term sustainable business in South Africa.”
Tyre Corporation has been operating in South Africa for 12 years with fully equipped branches throughout the country. In order to continue their growth, access to capital was essential. Tyre Corporation is confident that Kal Tire is the right organization to acquire its South African operations and continue to build on the strong reputation they have developed.
“We are very pleased to be joining forces with a company like Kal Tire who has such a strong reputation in the industry and understands the mining tire business as well as they do,” says Patrick Brown, sales director, Tyre Corporation. Daan Badenhorst, Tyre Corporation’s OTR operations director, adds, “Knowing they believe in customer service with the same passion as we do, our customers can be assured of the high level of service they will continue to receive.”
Kal Tire provides full-service customized mining tire solutions across five continents. With 45 years’ experience in every type of mining operation, and a strong balance sheet, the organization is positioned to properly support and fund the working capital needs of a venture of this magnitude as well as continued growth.
More than 800 Tyre Corporation team members across 80 South Africa mine sites will be welcomed into Kal Tire. “We believe every team member in our organization is the key to our success and we know our new team members joining us from Tyre Corporation bring invaluable experience with them,” says Robert Foord, president, Kal Tire. We ensure all team members at Kal Tire have the proper training and learning opportunities available to them. In addition, our new team members will now be able to share experiences and collaborate with our current 5,600 team members in many countries around the world.”
When it comes to safety, training, and code of conduct, Kal Tire has a global standard across all its operations. Its online Learning Management System contains both international training standards set by the Tire Industry Association and the company’s collective experience from around the world. ‘Journey to Zero’ is Kal Tire’s safety commitment to every team member to go home safely every day. And the organization’s ethics and code of conduct brings the highest standards for all team members to uphold.
“To be able to bring the reputation Tyre Corporation has created with customers to Kal Tire, along with access to the experienced team members, is very exciting,” says Allan. “It certainly helps us in ensuring we have a sustainable business in South Africa – which remains one of the key mining markets in the world.
“For Tyre Corporation customers, we want to assure them it is business as usual. Our intent is they continue to receive the high level of service they are used to and deal with the same people and products as they have been, in hopes of gaining their trust and earning the privilege of continuing to serve them.”
The additional advantages for existing Tyre Corporation customers is that they will now have access to other Kal Tire services such as Kal Tire’s exclusive Ultra Repair® process for ultra-class tires and other tire service innovations.
Kal Tire’s focus in on delivering tire management services and products of measureable value for mining customers globally. That includes creating alternative commercial models that are focused on aligning the goals of both the customer and Kal Tire, as well as developing innovative and patented solutions and tools.
“Through acquisitions like this one, there are many benefits,” concludes Allan. “Kal Tire is able to widen its experience base and we find new ways to do things and new opportunities to serve more customers. For Tyre Corporation team members, they gain access to a wealth of knowledge and capabilities in the Kal Tire network including more resources to get assistance in solving problems or coming up with new ideas. And for customers, we would like to think we are able to bring all of that experience together and provide the service they demand.
“We are excited to make this investment in the South African mining industry – and the prospects created for Kal Tire through the Tyre Corporation acquisition.”
ABOUT KAL TIRE
Kal Tire is Canada’s largest independent tire dealer and one of North America’s largest commercial tire dealers. Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group is a global leader in mining tire service and supply, supporting more than 150 mine sites across five continents. The company has warehouse facilities strategically located across Canada servicing over 250 Kal Tire retail and commercial stores. Kal Tire owns and operates five earthmover retreading facilities located in Canada, the United Kingdom, West Africa and Chile. The company employs more than 5,600 team members. For more information on Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group, please visit www.kaltiremining.com.
