Australian mining companies continue to find success in the growing mineral and resource markets of West Africa. Building on its strong relationships with many of these companies, Compressed Air and Power Solutions Australia (CAPS) has established an office in Ghana to enhance sales and maintenance activities in support of mining operations in West Africa.

According to Greg Baldwin, Operations Manager West Africa for CAPS, there were many reasons—including removing the perception that we are far from the customer—for opening the office in the Ghanaian capital, Accra. “We were looking for growth and diversification outside the Australian markets,” he said.

A large part of CAPS’ business in West Africa is after-market servicing, maintenance and spare parts. For many years the company supplied equipment that was shipped from Australia. Being closer to suppliers in Europe and east coast USA, CAPS can now order equipment and have it shipped directly to Ghana for assembly and commissioning.

The office in Accra will allow CAPS to effectively and efficiently service the maintenance and repair contracts of its customers. “With the growing number of installations in Ghana and neighbouring countries, it is no longer practical to fly a service engineer in for a few days to do a single job and then fly him home to Australia,” Baldwin added. “Even if we line up several service jobs in a row and have the technician in country for a couple of months, it is still not the best use of resources and is still expensive for the customer.”

The office will be run to best utilise the experience of expats and a recently appointed Ghanaian Sales Manager with many years of experience in the mining industry around the world and a thorough knowledge of local customs. CAPS understands that the office faces many physical and cultural challenges. The poor condition of many roads means that getting to some of the remote mine sites can be a grueling eight hour journey even though the distance might be just 200 km. According to Baldwin, there can also be challenges when dealing in West Africa. “You can do technical business with the expat mining community, but staff must also live and survive in the local community. The cultural sensitivities are very much part of the landscape, from the local handshake to the form of address to people of different seniority and status in society,” he said.

Baldwin said that Ghana had enormous potential, with a burgeoning oil and gas market, in addition to resource developments in the whole of West Africa. Baldwin concluded that the establishment of the Accra office, and reduced number of competitors, will allow CAPS to be in the best position to meet the rapidly growing demands for compressor sales and servicing throughout the region.


[ENDS]

[IMAGE CAPTIONS]:
Staff from AngloGold Ashanti with CAPS staff members, Greg Baldwin, Operations Manager West Africa (second from left) and Terry Brown, Sales Manager in the Accra office, (far right).

For further information, please contact:
http://www.capsaust.com.au/

Victoria
Dino Alessio, National Sales Manager
Telephone: (03) 8527 6815
E-Mail: dino.alessio@capsaust.com.au


About CAPS Australia
CAPS (Compressed Air and Power Solutions) is the largest Australian-owned compressed air company.
During the past 30 years, the company has grown to become a leading supplier of industrial solutions in the supply, hire, and servicing of compressed air, gas, power generation, and associated equipment.
Operations are carried out from nine branches across Australia. CAPS is able to tailor its products to meet the needs of the primary industry, oil and gas, mining, manufacturing, or infrastructure sectors.
CAPS continually develops innovative solutions that meet the growing demand for energy efficiency, plus the need to reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions.


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