The “Shuttle Buggy” – manufactured in the USA by Roadtec – is a state-of-the-art material transfer vehicle that promises to bring road maintenance costs down by up to 90%. With South Africa’s pothole problem, the timing couldn’t be better for this unique vehicle to be showcased locally – which is why Johannesburg-based Osborn has made it one of the stars of the show at the upcoming bauma Africa Exhibition, states commercial director Stephen Ireland.

Osborn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of United States-based Astec Industries, and is now supplying and supporting exceptional Astec equipment – like the Shuttle Buggy – in the South African market, giving a world-class boost to the country’s road maintenance capabilities, among other areas.

In addition to the Roadtec Shuttle Buggy, other outstanding Astec machines that Osborn will showcase at bauma Africa are the BTI Rockbreaker System, Astec Mobile Screens’ High Frequency Screen and sister company KPI JCI’s Vertical Shaft Impactor.

Equipment from Canadian hydraulic breaker specialist BTI (Breaker Technology Limited) form part of Osborn’s extensive equipment offering, and the robust BTI rockbreaker systems and breakers are increasingly sought after for their reliability and simplicity of design. Ireland explains that Johannesburg-based Osborn began handling sales and marketing in sub-Saharan Africa for its sister company BTI – which is also a member of the Astec Industries Group of companies – 10 years ago. In this decade, he says, Osborn has achieved substantial growth of BTI’s business in the region.

Astec Mobile Screens’ high-frequency screens – one of which Osborn will have on display at bauma Africa – are engineered to provide higher production capacities and more efficient sizing compared to conventional screens. High-frequency screens feature aggressive vibration applied directly to the screen that allows for the highest capacity in the market for removal and separation of fine material, as well as chip sizing, dry-manufactured sand and more.

Ireland states that a unique feature of KPI-JCI’s vertical shaft impactors – which will also be showcased at bauma Africa – is their versatility. “The same machine can be configured to run in standard, semi-autogenous and fully autogenous modes,” he explains.“The KPI-JCI VSI crushers deliver highly consistent end products, are available in both stationary and portable configurations and crank out up to 500 tph production output.”

In addition to highlighting the top quality Astec machines in its equipment offering, Osborn will also have one of its own locally-designed and built modular jaw crusher plants on display at bauma Africa, as well as equipment that it distributes for American Augers.

New and existing customers are recognising the value of Osborn’s exceptional “plant in a box”, comments Ireland, referring to Osborn’s modular plants. “For customers seeking equipment that is easier to transport, our modular plants offer an affordable solution that fits this bill.” He notes that the modular plants are ideal for plant expansion. “All that a customer needs to do is put down a concrete slab, unpack their new modular plant and their expansion is done. They immediately have the desired duty and capacity.” While not mobile, the plants are easily transportable. Three products are available, in different sizes – the modular jaw crushing plants (sizes 2540, 3042, 3055, 3648), modular cone crushing plants (sizes 38, 44, 52, 57) and a modular screening plant (sizes 6’ x 16’ and 6 x 20 double and triple decks).

Osborn will have an American Augers Auger Bore and DD-110 Horizontal Directional Drill on display at bauma Africa.AmericanAugers’AugerBoringMachinesaredesignedforthefast,efficientinstallationofwiderdiameterpipesfrom450mmto3500mm.“TheyeliminatethesafetyrisksassociatedwithtraditionaltunnellingmethodslikepipejackingandaremoreefficientbyutilizingthequicktrammodethatisuniquetoAmericanAugers’equipment,” Ireland explains. “The mid-sized DD-110 Horizontal Directional Drill is aself-containedunit that excelsinhard-to-reachjobsitesandboaststhemostrotarytorqueinitsclass(18,982Nm).”

Osborn can be found at stand D.10 in the outdoor area at bauma Africa, which takes place at Gallagher Estate, Johannesburg, from September 18 to 21.