08/24/2026
Meet Tanya Fouche.
In just about a week, on 1 September, Tanya Fouche, the recently appointed SHE manager for the Africa and Europe regions, will mark 16 years with Weir. If there is any question about Tanya’s passion for SHE, you probably haven’t corresponded with her lately via email. Otherwise, you likely would have noticed each message concludes with her thoughtful reminder, “Safety is the spark that lights a culture of care.”
“Safety is more than just the paperwork,” Tanya says. “It’s about people going home safely to their families and all of us working together to achieve that outcome. I like making a difference.”
Before joining Weir in 2010, Tanya spent a few years working in stock control and machinery management for an open-pit mine near Mokopane, South Africa, where she spent a lot of time in the pit. She says she happily moved to Weir’s Minerals Division where she took a job as service center administrator for the sales and service branch in Mokopane. The role included some SHE functions, which triggered her interest in safety and the decision to make it her career. She was named safety officer for Mokopane in 2017.
In 2023, Tanya made the move to the ESCO Division as safety officer for the Africa region, also providing inside sales support for the division’s Mokopane location. This past March, she was promoted to SHE manager for both the Africa and Europe regions.
Tanya says no two days are alike in her new role. Some days are filled with meetings and SHE reporting, while others are busy conducting workplace SHE training, events and risk assessments. She also visits customer mines to ensure safety compliance is up to Weir standards, as well as doing field service training at those locations.
“This is particularly important because we also provide on-site maintenance and repair services for ESCO® GET and large equipment at a nearby mine,” she explains.
Tanya describes the South African lifestyle as “work hard, play hard,” and says that’s consistent with how she and her family live.
“When I’m not working, family is most important,” she shares. “We love the outdoors, including exploring, camping and visiting new places.” She says they also enjoy hosting and attending braais (rhymes with fries), a South African term for barbecues. It means grilled meat in Afrikaans and is an important component of South African culture.
Tanya likes supporting her teenage son and daughter in their athletic pursuits, too. “I’m one of those crazy moms cheering!” she says.
