Going where 'no man has gone before'.

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IBG - SA Instrumentation & Control Buyers' Guide

March 2000 News

Malcolm Finlay -

Well not quite. In November 1999 a team of brave marketers set off for the Northern Cape to present an instrumentation exhibition to the people of Lime Acres and surrounding areas. 650 km from Johannesburg and even further from Cape Town, Lime Acres is situated 160 km north of Kimberly.

Although these areas are quite remote, extensive heavy mining and mineral industries are in relatively close proximity to each other. Diamond mining has for many years been the focus of this area, however cement, lime, iron ore and manganese are also significant contributors to the Northern Cape economy.

The Control Roadshow opened its doors to visitors at 12h00 as usual, in spite of having our fair share of obstacles like having to clear the venue ourselves first, broken down cars, trailer wheel bearings, all aggravated by 'bad water' syndrome from the night before.

Very enthusiastic support for this type of exhibition was shown by the visitors who attended as they seldom get the opportunity to view this technology, being so remotely situated. Most of the major industries had representation at the show, with engineering and technical staff from De Beers Fincsh and Kimberley, Alpha Cement, Associated Manganese Mine, Idwala Lime, Ulco Lime, PPC Lime Acres, Iscor Sishen and Eskom.

Of particular interest was that, of the 23 suppliers that attended this show, approximately 75% had never been to this part of the country before. In general, many new contacts were made between end user and supplier and some important interaction has begun. One user said, "This show is a fantastic idea, please do this on a more regular basis".

On 27 January 2000 the Control Roadshow will return to Rustenburg. The interest shown by suppliers to exhibit at this show has left us hunting for a larger venue. In order to facilitate this, the show will now take place in the Rustenburg City Hall instead of the banqueting hall as previously planned. Both venues are part of the modern civic centre complex in Rustenburg.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2000 (if we survive 'the Bug'), The Control Roadshow will be hosted in the following towns:

Rustenburg 27 January 2000

Witbank 20 April 2000

Phalaborwa 1 June 2000

Secunda 27 July 2000

Vaal Triangle 21 September 2000

Carltonville 23 November 2000

Malcolm Finlay

(011) 4762066

[email protected]

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