The Beginnings and Story of Mech-Industries. Where It All Began
The story of Mech-Industries began in 2014
Not with a factory full of machines, a large workforce or an established order book, but with a small founding team that brought together mining experience, screening expertise and specialist design capability.
Dr Barnard Mokwena (PhD) came from the mining industry, having spent more than two decades in executive leadership and gained first-hand experience of mining operations and the complex supply chain that supports them.
Alongside Barnard and Billy was Mubeen Thomas, who joined the founding technical team. Mubeen brought more than three decades of experience in draftsmanship, specifically in screening media. His ability to translate screening requirements and technical concepts into detailed designs gave Mech-Industries an important capability from its earliest days: the ability not merely to discuss screening problems, but to design products around them.
The three brought together complementary capabilities.
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Barnard understood the mining environment. Billy understood screening. Mubeen could translate screening knowledge into engineered designs.
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This combination of mining, screening and design expertise formed the technical foundation upon which Mech-Industries was built.
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Five Years Before Revenue.
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The story did not begin with an injection-moulding machine or even a purchase order.
It began with listening.
For about five years before generating revenue, Barnard and Billy researched the screening media industry in South Africa and globally. More importantly, they listened to the mining industry. They engaged with various mining houses, speaking to plant personnel and technical teams about their experiences with screening media. Their initial purpose was not to sell a Mech-Industries product. There was hardly any product to sell.
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They wanted to understand.
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They asked a fundamental question:
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What are the real challenges mining houses experience with screening media, and what could a new South African manufacturer do differently?
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Across those conversations, three critical challenges consistently emerged:
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Limited choice. Long lead times. Lack of technical support.
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These three problems would ultimately define the reason for Mech-Industries’ existence.
