Do you recall the days when South Africa had a vibrant rebuild and remanufacturing sector in place for the trucking industry? I think of ProPower, the engine rebuild facility for Atlantis Diesel Engines as well as EconoMerc, the rebuild facility based in the then Bophuthatswana. We don’t hear much of rebuilding anymore and it is thus this story caught our attention.
It relates to the signing of a strategic partnership between the OCP Group and Cummins Africa Middle East for the implementation of a Master Rebuild Centre (MRC) for Cummins High Horse Power engines in Khouribga, Morocco. The new facility will serve both North and West Africa. The scope of the agreement includes on-site maintenance of the Cummins engines.
The building of the new MRC is a result of a feasibility study conducted by Cummins in several countries in Africa, with the final decision zeroing in on Morocco. The facility will be based in the heart of OCP Groups’ Industrial Ecosystem located at Complex Oued Zem Fertiparc in Khouribga. The MRC is expected to be operational by 2021, with an area of 14 000m2 and the capacity to complete 100 engine rebuilds per annum.
This will be the 16th Master Rebuild Centre for Cummins globally, the second in Africa, and the first in the North and West Africa region. The new facility will be equipped with the latest tools and have state-of-the-art technology. “If it is the most recent, it will be the best,” comments Rachid Ouenniche, managing director, Cummins Distribution Africa Middle East.
The MRC consists of an industrial platform intended to receive Cummins High Horse Power engines at the end of their lives, which will be brought in from 20 countries in the North and West Africa regions.
These engines, once delivered to the MRC, will be completely disassembled and inspected for defective components. They will then be re-assembled using Cummins genuine new or recon parts and tested on an engine dyno in order to ensure they have reached a new-life performance. The rebuilt engines will be finally returned to customers in the 20 countries in North and West Africa, and guaranteed as new.
Cummins’ investment in equipment is estimated to be approximately 40 Million Dirhams (R154-million) and the expected job creation is estimated to be 75 jobs, composed mainly of technicians and engineers. These employees will be recruited locally, and will benefit from Cummins’ in-house training that focuses on skills transfer and delivering excellent customer support.
