I thought namdeb didnt have any $$$$

[Jeremy Dixon]

I just spoke to the salesman at autohouse VW in windhoek he has just arrived with 4 brand new caravelle VW busses for namdeb they are not standard all of them are 4x4 have uprated suspension and bigger tyres they also have the standard namdeb yellow light on top as well as the speed limiter!I just sat in one brand new 884km on the clock now why does namdeb need a 4x4 bus to transport its staff around,if they are on holiday?

[Michael Alexander]

What does one cost?

[Pete (RIP)]

Hi Jeremy ~

Thanks for your message as it is always good to be able to explain to folks, like yourself, how a mining business works.

Before I go on I must say that I don't know anything about the vehicles you have referred to and, thus, my reponse is provided within this context.

Namdeb, as you know, runs a sizeable fleet of, both, earthmoving machines and light vehicles, all of which have finite lives in terms of roadworthiness, serviceability and maintenance costs.  As any engineer will testify, every vehicle has an "economic" life.  As a result, Namdeb has a constant schedule to replace redundant or obsolete vehicles and machinery.  The keyword here, over and above cost, is employee safety.  We just cannot afford to transport our employees in vehicles which are anything but totally roadworthy.

The fact that Namdeb is planning a production shutdown period is totally irrelevant as the money for this investment would have been applied for, approved and committed in 2008 - if not before.  There is a process involved in applying for such equipment and there is usually a lead time involved, particularly for vehicles with a customised requirement (such as Namdeb's paint specifications, seat-belt configurations and so on and so forth).

The nature of these vehicles suggest to me that there are going to be used at one of our remoter locations, possibly Pocket Beaches (Bogenfels) or the Orange River Mines, hence the suspension design and so on.  Our Mine Managers and Engineers don't just sit around with their feet up on a table sommer ordering whatever they fancy!!  I have no doubt that they will have been ordered and modified with specific sites in mind.

I would also like to make the point that Namdeb is taking a break in its production activities to save cash, not in order to close down!  It would be extremely reckless of management to cancel orders for equipment where the expenditure has already been incurred, or to allow our levels of equipment to deteriorate to the point where they unsafe or inefficient.

[Adriaan Van Rooyen]

Hey Jeremy,you got it all wrong,these vehicles are not for Namdeb employees, they are for all the squatters in town who also have to take leave sometime,maybe its their transport to the North.

[Paula Gottsch (Willson)]

So Adriaan, you seem to know a lot, was the 4x4 donated by Namdeb to the Squatters then???



 

[David John Long]

The upside down pyramid of Namdeb prevails

[Jeremy Dixon]

Spoke to the rep last night they go for anything between 410 000 - 430 000 a piece!
@Pete I totally understand the need for the 4x4 suspension and the new vehicles now thanks for the explanation.

[Michael Alexander]

I wonder if the Gm will let me use one of them to go camping?         

[Jeremy Dixon]

Here are a couple pics I took this morning

[Jeremy Dixon]

One more I forgot to add

[Diana Rudd (Boehme)]

I would also like to make the point that Namdeb is taking a break in its production activities to save cash, not in order to close down!  It would be extremely reckless of management to cancel orders for equipment where the expenditure has already been incurred, or to allow our levels of equipment to deteriorate to the point where they unsafe or inefficient.    ( A quote from Pete's Post)

Could this maybe be a good sign......... ........I'm just trying to be positive.

[Skinny]

Glad some sanity prevails, thanks for all the info Pete. From having travelled on the road quite often (daily) to Rosh Pinah and a few times on the pockets road, especially when it is wet, it is not funny and very dangerous with thin normal tyres and I am especially grateful for my thick takkie tyres. I agree that health and safety should come first and if Namdrb is transporting staff from Daberas to Sendlingsdrift deposit or to pockets then why not keep them safe and at least a little comfortable. I am sure that money was paid last year already on last years budget. At least from this delivery 4 drivers got money for driving the vehicles, Brukerosh Bush lodge got money for accomodation and food,  Oh and to pay the manager Jeremy. So all in alot of people benefitted for 2008 expenditure. So this is great for the economy albeit from 2008!

[SandyB]

What is  positive is   that  at least  they not  ploughing on ahead going   for full production  when  there is a severely dropped  demand .. and yes  to  continue to run  means huge  operating costs costs  and those costs  could well mean the difference between   using up all   operating cash reserves ,, then one would have to close down ..   ??

We  just  took an unpopular decision to hold back wage negotiations for  1 month  to see how the   year is shaping up ...  not a nice thing to do   but in the light of  current  economic situation  better  be  conservative  in outlook than making  hasty decisions  that will hurt one later..  what short memories  some   people have ...

[Jeremy Dixon]

I totally agree on the benifit to the economy from this little buy! The salesman told me they were only ordered 3 months ago.That takes us to January 2009! He said that if these models prove to be successful there is a posibility of another 14 being bought by Namdeb.The 4x4 Toyota condor  has been discuontinued and namdeb now needs a replacement crew transporting 4x4 bus.

I dont want to tread on peoples toes here but to me It seems that these vehicles are a little over specked.For what they are needed for.I think that the money being spent on them should have been used for other more important issues.Like who knows what but there must be something better to spend almost N$1,6 million on.

[Bradley Eugene]

Master Dixon, hopefully your eyesite is better than your information.
1. The drivers that bought the vehicles down are employed by a company called Etembo Vehicles which is part of the Imperial Group. The jerseys they were wearing had the logos on!
2. Those vehicles have not been bought by Namdeb they have been leased thought the Imperial group scheme, which is saving the company in excess of N$650 000 per month.
3. Safety is paramount to the company and to its employees. We cannot afford to loose an employee or to loose a vehicle. I am sure you remember the trauma you felt when your mom rolled her car driving to OMD and when your dad hit that kid just out side Garies? And the inconveniance to get the vehicles repaired?
4. Namdeb is not buying another 14 nor is it leasing another 14. And even if it was so what it is saving money by not using huge buses to transport 14 workers in a 52 seater bus.
5.Whilst constructive ctritisism is appreciaited, remember trust a car salesman? Never............... He would sell his mother if he could. I am sure your marketing skills could be put to more use than having a dig at Namdeb, after all ever one is trying to be positive and make things work. I am sure if you phoned the right people first and found out the right info before putting it on the forum it might just be better. Just phone 239111 and ask for the Logistics Manager, he will answer all your questions in full. Kind regards Bradley.