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THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 61 February 2011 1

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THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 61 February 2011 �

AN ENGINEER’S VIEW

Chris ReayChairman of the Working

Committee: Communications(SA Institution of Mechanical

Engineering)

The major part is interfacing. with employers and candidates. Work-ing in the engine room so to speak on a daily basis provides one with

up-to-date information, change patterns, trends, behaviours and the supply and demand dynamics directly affecting the profession. So hopefully this is of some value. My very limited story, in a note form with comments, seems the most appropriate way to set this out.

There are far too many agencies in the recruitment space. Many are not more than body shops, collecting CVs and sub-mitting them out to all and sundry with little care as to job and profile alignment. Most claim to have expertise across many varied professions and trades. Few do as

we do, focus only on the engineering profession and provide guidelines and assistance to employ-ers and candidates as Professional Engineers can and should do. We supply the people part of the engineering business, just as other experts provide equipment.

HR does enormous harm to the process of procur-ing Engineers. Employers who normally take great care in specifying a product, seeking out reputable suppliers, visiting their works and assisting the technical buyers will somehow avoid involvement and leave HR to do the work of handling dubi-ously worded job specifications, at times we have counted, up to 40 separate agencies for one post! Why not align with selected specialist consultants who know the product and the profession, par-ticularly in pre-planning future needs?

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A 24 year old recruiter in an agency will interview a 53 year old Professional Engineer and advise him he is too old for the job. It happens — if that is not the height of insult then what is? Our greatest engineering talent exists at this age and beyond, and it is being neglected at great risk of losing experiential skills.

A common feature is how many candidates simply cannot spell, edit a CV, read the job specifications and who will apply for a position shortly after graduating that specifies 10-15 years experience in an engineering management role. This “give it a go” attitude can often comprise the bulk of applications.

The time is past that employers, perhaps through the naivety of HR, can expect Mr or Ms Perfect to be standing on the street corner waiting for their call. The good, experienced skills are in short supply and fully employed, are interna-tionally mobile and proving it, and demand high remuneration to the surprise of the prospective employers who claim the candidate to be out of touch with the market. Well, I am not sure where HR gets their “market levels”, but in-variably they date from historic tables issued a while ago with somewhat wide and unhelpful margins and weak descriptors. The difference is so evident that we are considering publishing a real-time remuneration survey for interested employers based on our own up to the minute information for the engineering profession, a sort of real-time remuneration survey.

Then we must take up some concerns with line management. How many are really equipped to make a valid judgment from a CV alone? Many are so busy that they have not viewed them or done so in such a hurry with no reverting ques-tions and simply accept or reject them. I have witnessed a small pump getting more adjudication time than a senior engineering candidate!

Near-fit of candidate to the specified role does not succeed. The belief that Mr or Ms Perfect must be found is the only way. We have no time to train up the near-fits. I am appalled at the lack of training, mentoring and acceptance

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Stories From the Engine Room…

I have decided to relate some experiences from my current business activities that consist of a fair mix of recruitment and placement of engineering resources, training, mentoring and consulting assignments, and some services to the Institution and the Engineering Council. All in all, it mixes pretty well,

with the common focus being on engineering skills acquisition, evaluation, communication, collaboration, development and

the steady building of a large, live database of new graduates of all disciplines and active and retired engineering resources.

A 24 year old recruiter in an agency will interview a 53 year old Professional Engineer and advise him he is too old for the job

(continued on page 7)

� THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 61 February 2011Advanced Materials Today September 2007 39

AMT Sept 07 zin.indd 39 2007/09/11 10:28:49 AM

www.animalsindistress.org.za


Cover Story8 Consistency in Welding

Monthly Column11 A South African First

Pipes, Pumps and Valves13 Local is Superior15 The Devil is in the Detail

POWER GENERATION TODAY19 Industrial Solar Geysers23 Power Generation News

Compressors, Air Motors and Vacuum pumps25 Carefree Air, The Rental Option27 Right from the Start

Oils and Lubtrication29 Controlling Old Oil Disposal31 Customising Lubes

Produced by:PROMECH PUBLISHING,P O Box 373, Pinegowrie, 2123Republic of South AfricaTel: (011) 781-1401, Fax: (011) 781-1403Email: [email protected]: www.promech.co.zaManaging Editor Susan CustersEditor Kowie HammanAdvertising Louise TaylorCirculation Catherine MacdivaDTP Zinobia Docrat/Sean BacherDisclaimerPROMECH Publishing and The South African Institution of Mechanical Engineering as well as any other body do not take responsibility for the opinions expressed by individuals.Printed by: Typo Colour Printing, Tel: (011) 402-3468/9

Official Publication ofTHE SA INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERINGand endorsed by:

CORROSION INSTITUTE OF SA SA PUMP MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION SA VALVE AND ACTUATORS MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION THE SA INSTITUTE OF TRIBOLOGY NUCLEAR INSTITUTE SA INSTITUTE FOR NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING NATIONAL SOCIETY OF BLACK ENGINEERS INSTITUTE FOR CERTIFICATED MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS SOUTH AFRICAN ASSOCIATION OF CONSULTING ENGINEERS ASSOCIATION OF SOCIETIES FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

Regulars3 An Engineer’s View

6 Institution News

18 Nuclear Institute (SA Branch)

32 Market Forum

38 On the Move

Contents

The monthly circulation is 4 242

CopyrightAll rights reserved. No editorial matter published in “SA Mechani-cal Engineer” may be reproduced in any form or language without written permission of the publish-ers. While every effort is made to ensure accurate reproduction, the editor, authors, publishers and their employees or agents shall not be responsible or in any way liable for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies in the publication, whether arising from negligence or otherwise or for any consequences arising therefrom. The inclusion or exclusion of any product does not mean that the publisher or editorial board advocates or rejects its use either generally or in any particular field or fields.

February 2011 VOLUME 61 NUMBER 2

Featured on the cover:

Esab Welding & Cutting

Tel: (011) 608 8200

Email:

[email protected]

Advanced Materials Today September 2007 39

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Council 2010/2011

Office BearersPresident .......................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G Barbic (George)Vice President ............................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... D Findeis (Dirk)National Treasurer ............................... KK Nyangoni (Kudzai)

Branch ChairpersonsCentral ..................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M Cramer (Mike)Eastern Cape ................................................ W Rall (William)KwaZulu/Natal ......................................... M Black (Malcolm)Mpumalanga Highveld.............................. L Odendaal (Louis)Western Cape ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Prof B Collier-Reed (Brandon)

Portfolios:Communications/Strategic Planning/Specialist Group..................................................CD Reay (Chris)Education - Universities................Prof B Collier-Reed (Brandon)Education: Universities of Technology............... E Zawilska (Ewa)Membership .................................................... E Zawilska (Ewa)Professional Development Programme..........M Black (Malcolm)Technology Programme ................................. SZ Hrabar (Steve)To be confirmed....................................................A Roos (Andre)To be confirmed.........................................G Bartholomew (Bart)

Chief Executive Officer: Vaughan Rimbault

National Office Manager: Anisa Nanabhay

PO Box �11, Bruma, 2026

Tel: (011) 61�-�660, Fax: (011) �88-��6

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.saimeche.org.za

Membership: Central, Eastern Cape & KZN:

[email protected]

Membership: Western Cape: [email protected]

Company Affiliates

Alstom Power Service SA

Babcock Africa Limited

Bateman Engineered Technologies

Bosch Projects

Fluor SA

GEA Air-cooled Systems

Hansen Transmissions SA

Hatch Africa

Howden Power

Howden Projects

Industrial Water Cooling

MBE Minerals (SA) (Pty) Ltd (previously KHD Humboldt Wedag SA

Megchem Eng & Drafting Services

THE SA INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Osborn Engineered Products SA

Rotek Engineering

RSD a division of DCD-Dorbyl

S.A.M.E Water

Sasol Technologies

SEW Eurodrive

Siemens

SNC-Lavalin SA

Spicer Axle SA

Spirax Sarco SA

Thyssenkrupp Engineering

Transvaal Pressed Nuts & Bolts

Ultra-Flow Engineering Services

Vital Engineering

Weir Minerals Africa

Winder Controls

Members of SAIMechE will be saddened to learn of the passing of Bob Baasch (83), a long standing Member of the Institution since 1955, a proud Past President, Branch Chairman and Honorary Fellow.

Bob was a mechanical engineering graduate of Natal University and then spent two years in the UK with the British Oil Engines Group in the days when graduate Engineers did a practi-cal pupilage period as a matter of course. Bob later obtained the GCC Mines and Works, was employed at various mines in Gauteng and then joined Wits University as a lecturer in the Dept of Mechanical Engineering for two years.

He then joined Stewarts and Lloyds and during that time was awarded an MSc (Eng) degree for his original work on steam piping systems. Resulting from this, he was offered a position with Eskom in 1964 where he spent 27 years as one of Eskom’s strong engineering team that designed and built the modern 6-pack power stations that enabled SA to become world leaders in high ash coal stations. Bob was awarded the Institution’s Silver Medal for the best research paper in 1971, on the subject of the computer analysis of waterhammer in power station cooling water systems, written jointly with John Sheer and Martin Gibbs.

Bob was an accomplished musician on the piano and the mouth organ and joined several choirs including the St Paul’s choir.

Bob retired in 1989 and was active with his family, yoga, old cars and his music and nota-bly attended every SAIMechE AGM and many of the social events. He was a member for 55 years.

He was a dedicated family man and was married to Clem whom he met at a music appreciation society in 1955. Our condolences go to Clem and Bob’s family and friends on the loss of a person who was a role model to any family and to every Engineer with whom he came into contact. He was a true gentleman who made a huge contribution over the years to SAIMechE. We will miss his jovial presence at our Institutional events.

Obituary: Robert Johannes ‘Bob’ Baasch


THE SA INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

SAIMechE Scheduled Training Events Calendar : from 20 February to 30 April 2011

Whilst every effort is made to ensure that events take place as scheduled, SAIMechE reserves the right to change the schedule as circumstances dictate. A registration form and full terms and conditions may be obtained from Carey Evans on E-mail: [email protected] or Tel. 031 764 7136. Also, detailed individual event programmes are available from Carey. Corporations wishing

to book In-House Workshops may contact Linda Robinson on E-mail: [email protected] or Tel: 031 764 7136.

Code Title Date Region

C5511 Rapid Prototyping Technologies Workshop 16-Mar-11 Cape Town

E5311 Refrigeration Installation Design Workshop 16-Mar-11 East Rand

C1311 Structured Problem Solving Techniques Workshop 23 – 24 Mar 11 Cape Town

A0211 Boiler House, Safety Valves Workshop 23 – 25 Mar 11 Durban

E3011 Root Cause Failure Analysis Workshop 30 - 31 Mar 11 East Rand

C4811 Mechanical Seals Workshop 1 - Reliability in centrifugal pumps with mechanical seals 01 Apr-11 Cape Town

E0211 Boiler House 06 - 8 Apr-11 East Rand

A5111 Practical Risk Assessment 08-Apr-11 Durban

C0211 Boiler House 13 – 15 Apr-11 Cape Town

A4811 Mechanical Seals Workshop 1 - Reliability in centrifugal pumps with mechanical seals 15-Apr-11 Durban

A5311 Refrigeration Installation Design 20-Apr-11 Durban

E5211 Mechatronics 20-Apr-11 East Rand

SAIMechE Launches the Following New Training Events

Title Durban East Rand Cape Town

Mechanical Seals 1 Workshop : Reliability in centrifugal pumps with mechanical seals 15 Apr 11 27 May 11 1 Apr 11

Mechanical Seals 2 Workshop: Pump QCP requirements for enhanced reliability, and seal failure analysis

24 Jun 11 22 Jul 11 8 Jul 11

Practical Risk Assessment Workshop 8 Apr 11 27 Jul 11 22 Sep 11

Mechatronics / Factory Automation Principle and Practice Workshop 10 Feb 11 20 Apr 11 27 Jul 11

Rapid Prototyping Technologies Workshop 2 Feb 11 5 May 11 16 Mar 11

How to Get your Point Across Workshop – Successful verbal and written communication 12 May 11 23 Feb 11 16 Feb 11

Effective Delegation, Giving Instructions and How to be Assertive Workshop 18 May 11 24 Feb 11 18 Feb 11

Networking Tactics Workshop – Achieving professional success by establishing, sustaining and expanding a business network

20 May 11 8 Sep 11 15 Sep 11

Refrigeration Installation Design Workshop 20 Apr 11 15 Mar 11 9 Jun 11

Air Conditioning Installation Design Workshop 30 Jun 11 7 Jul 11 13 Oct 11

of this within the crisis we face in scarce skills today. Industry needs a major wake-up if it is collectively to be in a position to manage a serious growth development in the economy.

If our own South African Engineers knew the remuneration that foreign expats are earning on our Eskom projects, they would have a fit. And many of our own are equally able to provide the skills and expertise.

As Engineer Placements, we are working closely with Voluntary Associations and ECSA to develop structured training and mentoring for the EIT programme required after graduation. The intent is to seek out retired Engi-neers to act as paid mentors with programmes endorsed via the SAIMechE Professional Development Programme with funding from the revised NSDS3 and industry. At least Minister Ebrahim Patel, in his call to train 30 000 more Engineers, should be grateful and hopefully actively supportive. Pigs may fly though.

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(continued from page 3)LETTER TO THE EDITOR

The best mixI have been a reader of “SA Mechanical Engineer” for the past 40 years in all its various forms, I believe that Promech has now, at last reached the best mix.

Good print, nice presentation, easy reading and most of all giving the companies presented a good crack at the whip.

Reading Chris Reay is always a pleasure, please look after him as he is an asset to the publication.

Maybe “SA Mechanical Engineer” could do a 2010 almanac of Chris Raey’s articles?

Thanks once again, and all the best for 2011.

Graham Pearson


COVER STORY

A lthough most welding machines feed the wire at a constant rate, some more ad-vanced machines can vary the feed rate in response to the arc length and voltage.

Regardless of the rate, consistency of the feed is of the utmost importance and this very factor is one of the drawbacks of copper coated welding wire.

Special coating“SA Mechanical Engineer” speaks to Kim Brightwell, product manager of welding consumables at Esab Africa Welding & Cutting about their solution to this problem. “Particles of copper tend to dislodge from the wire as it passes through the feeding system. These particles then clog the liners and the contact tip of the welding gun, especially if the tip is not

cleaned properly on a regular basis,” he explains. “This affects the consistency of the wire feed by causing vibration in the wire which then results in erratic feeding and ultimately an inconsistent weld due to an unstable arc.

“We now have a unique product, the AristoRod range, which does not have a copper coating, but is covered with a thin layer of material specially developed to enhance feed characteristics,” Kim elaborates. “Unlike the typical shiny copper ap-

A unique product which does not have a copper coating to enhance feed characteristics

Consistency in WeldingGas metal arc welding is a semi-automatic or automatic arc welding process in which a continuous wire electrode and a

shielding gas is fed through a welding gun. This electrode wire is commonly a copper coated wire fed through at a consistent

speed in order to achieve a consistent weld.

Kim Brightwell of Esab Africa Welding & Cutting


ening the side walls on sugar cane crushing rolls in order to reduce sugar cane slippage increasing throughput. The OK 84.76 electrode deposits small, hard and highly wear resistant globules. “Deposition can be done during maintenance periods when the roll is free of cane or it can even be carried out when it’s running,” says Kim. “The OK Tubrodur 1400 is a hard-surfacing alloy with high chromium and carbon content. It’s wear-resistant properties are retained at temperatures up to 680 ºC and deposits take a high polish which do not gall or seize when subjected to metal-to-metal wear.

“Both these methods of recovering worn parts can be applied through stick welding or through normal continuous flux coredwelding,” adds Kim. “Although the hardening layer is built up with a normal welding machine using thick wires, there is a special way of going about it which we can train our customers on at our new demonstration facility. This product is also available in bulk form in our Marathon Pac container.

Supply chainEsab now has a presence throughout Southern Africa. “We have a unique distribution network that enables us to react quickly to changing market demands by offering a seamless supply of products to the market,” Kim says in conclusion. “With our business partners, often referred to as distributors, we have the geographical coverage and presence to support all the needs of all southern African fabricators.”

Kim Brightwell, Esab Africa Welding & Cutting, Tel: (011) 608.8200, Email: [email protected]

pearance of standard copper coated MIG welding wire, this wire looks like a plain steel wire due to the colour of the layer of chemical compound it is coated with. When originally launched, this electrode wire was used mainly for normal carbon steel MIG (metal inert gas) welding, but we’ve now also introduced it in different tensile strengths for various other applications such as low alloy steel welding.”

AdvantagesThese advanced surface coatings (ASC) on our MIG wires have proved to deliver significant savings to welders across the globe. “This next generation of MIG wires could replace the old technology of copper-coated wires within the next decade,” Kim predicts. “Already much of Europe has moved away from the old copper-coated wire technology.“

Advantages of the AristoRod wire include low contact tip wear which means fewer replacement stops, and consistent feedability which means improved production speed. In addition, a lower feed force is required for long distance feeding of the wire. “There are also fewer maintenance stoppages due to absence of dust and flakes in liners,” adds Kim. “There is much less spatter due to better arc stability in general and overall, the welding quality delivered is much higher.” These products are also available in bulk packs called Marathon Pac. The Marathon Pac wire delivery system offers non-stop production in robot applications, meaning zero downtime for spool changes and zero downtime for drum changes when using the endless wire set-up.”

Surface hardeningEsab has just moved into new premises in Long-meadow Business Park near Johannesburg which housed both a warehouse and demo centre where clients can experience machine and consumables applications first hand. One of the technologies customers can witness firsthand is the recovery of worn parts on mills and earthmoving equipment.

“We have a range of products for surface hardening on wear parts that we’re specifically targeting at the sugar industry in Africa this year,” says Kim. “These products are particularly suitable for the hardening of wear surfaces on crushing hammers in mills and squeezing rollers used in the sugar industry. These parts are usually re-surfaced on a weekly basis and our products have specifically been developed for these applications.”

The productsOne of them is a special purpose electrode for rough-

Welding quality delivered is much higher

COVER STORY

February 2011 �


www.randair.co.za


Cofferdam technology can be effectively used on oil rig structures

MONTHLY COLUMN

The principle, dating back from Venetian times, has been liberally applied in civil construction applications for centuries, and has only recently come to the fore as a solu-

tion to undertake ship repairs without the need for the vessel to go into costly dry docking. Dormac, a marine engineering company based in Durban harbour, used the cofferdam principle to develop a perfect and patented ship repair technology they call the C-Dam.

The C-Dam“SA Mechanical Engineer” speaks to Gary Pulford, international marketing and sales manager about C-Dam and its variations. “This technology is absolutely unique to shipping in that we can repair a rudder, work on a hull or replace stern tube seals on a ship afloat, eliminating the need to go into a dry dock,” he says. “We’re the only company in the world to

The only company in the world to offer this service

offer this service which is fully approved by all the international ship classification societies.

“Any problems on the rudder, rudder stock, bear-ings or pintles can be dealt with immediately with permanent repairs that can be done quickly without having to wait till a dry dock becomes available,” says Gary. “This innovation has been warmly re-ceived by ship owners and managers around the world due to the cost saving and the convenience of loading or discharging while the repairs are be-ing done. It has also brought more work to South African shores that would otherwise have gone to ship yards elsewhere in the world.”

EvolutionSince undertaking the first project, this technique has evolved into four distinct technologies for dif-ferent types of repairs which would previously have necessitated dry docking. These are Spade-type rudder repairs, Skeg-type rudder repairs, Hull-side repairs and Stern Tube repairs. “The spade type C-Dam was our original design and is the simplest and quickest to use,” explains Gary.

“This C-Dam is a ‘drum’ design and thus lends itself to almost all repairs on the spade type rud-der. The drum is submerged into the water, where it is brought under the rudder and once verified by divers, it is brought to the surface using chain-blocks. The C-Dam is then secured into position

A South African First

By definition, a cofferdam is an enclosure within a water environment constructed to allow water to be pumped out to

create a dry work environment. Commonly used for oil rig construction and repair, bridge and dam work, the cofferdam is usually a welded steel structure that is temporary and is

typically dismantled after work is completed.


MONTHLY COLUMN

Class-approved repair at a fraction of the cost of the conventional dry dock method of repair

and pumped dry so engineers can inspect and work on the rudder.”

Skeg typeThe skeg type C-Dam with a ‘front door’ is a bit more complex. The C-Dam is positioned aft of the rudder by a crane and then brought into position by the use of chain-blocks. A diver then rigs and bolts the ‘door’ into place. Thereafter a sealer is inserted around the skeg to ensure dry working conditions with supporting steel members that are fitted to the stern in order to release the upright thrust pressure and prevent it from damaging the skeg.

“One of our projects with this type of C-Dam was on the ‘Harare’, a vessel that would have had to wait six weeks just to get into the dry dock purely for inspection purposes,” says Gary. “We convinced the owner that it could be done within seven days with our system. They agreed and when we got down there we found large cracks which could then be repaired before the inspection actually took place”

Fixing hullsWith the hull side C-Dam, permanent repairs can be done without the need to dry-dock the vessel. “This variation has been designed to replace shell plating on most types of vessels under the water-line,” Gary elaborates. “The C-Dam is designed to form a watertight pocket on the side of the vessel so that repair teams can go all the way down the hull to carry out repairs in dry conditions. One of the largest we’ve built measures 15 metres x 2

metres and is made from 25mm thick steel plate, reaching 12 metres below the waterline.”

This technique was applied to the ‘Africa Star’, a 17 610-tonne vessel which incurred serious dam-age after it collided with an unknown object when leaving the Port of Cotonou in Benin, West Africa. “The vessel continued on her scheduled voyage and on arrival in Durban, our diving team carried out an underwater survey. Extensive damage was found to 35 square metres of shell plating including a nine metre long tear.

Fraction of the cost“Typically, for a repair of this nature, the vessel would have had to discharge its entire cargo and go into dry docking, a huge expense both in terms

of time and stevedoring,” continues Gary. “With our C-Dam we could offer a permanent, class-approved repair at a fraction of the cost of the conventional dry dock method of repair.”

The cofferdam was constructed in two sections with the main chamber being 15.6 metres long, 3.0 metres wide and 2.4 metres high. This one also had a shaft to provide access for men and materi-als. It measured 13.6 metres high, 2.4 metres long with a breadth of 1.5 metres at a total weight of 36 tonnes.

Stern repairsThe final type of cofferdam, the stern tube C-Dam, is fitted in two sections around the stern tube with the use of a shore-side crane and the assistance of the Dormac diving division. “A sealing method developed in-house is used to create a watertight seal around the tail shaft,” explains Gary.

“The cofferdam is then pumped dry and inspected by engineers, classification society surveyors and representatives

of the owners before we get down to the business of removing the damaged seals and fitting new seals by means of bonding. The seal box is then closed and reassembled before pressure tests are carried out on the seals. Thereafter, the rope guard is welded back into position in a dry environment and the cofferdam is flooded and removed.”

A lot more work“Apart from South Africa’s perfect location for this kind of work, we have proved over the past couple of years that we can do it to world class standards and at attractive pricing,” says Gary in conclusion. “Our opposition is up in Asia and if we can save an owner in terms of towing costs, production time and quick repair time, we can attract a lot more work to South African ports.

Gary Pulford, Dormac, Tel: (031) 274-1500. Email: [email protected]

A typical C-Dam rigged to work on the rudder of a ship

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 61 February 2011 1�

mining, from gold to plati-num, chrome and even iron ore.

“This repre-sents the full range of slurry media and over the years has given us the opportunity to develop these valves, together with the various mines, specifically for each media,” elaborates Pat. “This is a continuous process where we listen to the problems they have on the mines and then we add or chop and change to meet the demands out there. In short, the product ranges have all been tried and tested to specific South African conditions and processing methods.

“Many of the mining engineers who know our valves as very reliable South African developed products, are now working on mines elsewhere in the world and they’ve started specifying our valves there too,” says Pat with a broad smile. “In this context the ‘brain drain’ has proved to have some benefits for our business.”

LiningsAs an example of tested and tried technology, Pat talks about rubber linings. “Any valve that has a rubber lining produced in South Africa is likely to out-perform a lining coming from elsewhere in the world,” he says. “They simply don’t have the slur-ries that we do and the linings are therefore not tested with the right media. We, for instance, have our own rubber facility where we can mix our own compounds to develop suitable protection against specific types of slurries. This has helped in creating solid brands that are well respected.”

One of the products that stand out in this regard is the SKG flanged valve. “It’s a slurry knife-gate valve developed over many years in close co-operation with mining engineers from a number of mines,” explains Pat.

“This valve has outperformed any other slurry valve we, or anybody else, has ever manufactured. The design has gone through many development phases over the years as end-users provide feed-back. For example, today you’ll find indicators on the valve as a standard feature while locking devices in open and closed positions are also standard.”

Well established in all mining industries

Local is Superior

Pat Stander, managing director of DFC Mining

The Insamcor knife-gate valve

A valve manufacturing company that not only practises this principle, but has also extended its product range in recent years to offer a comprehensive range of valves,

is DFC Mining in Sebenza near Johannesburg. “SA Mechanical Engineer” speaks to Pat Stander, managing director, about the latest developments in the local valve industry. “Since buying out Ins-amcor, a local manufacturer of knife-gate valves, we’ve also acquired an American company, RF Technologies, known worldwide for their range of pinch valves,” he says.

“This acquisition includes RF Tech-nologies’ Finnish subsid-

iary and extends our product line to include the well-known aiRFlex and

RF valve brands, allow-ing us to now offer the South African market the most comprehensive range of high quality branded slurry valves available anywhere,” adds Pat. “Although this range will be imported for now, the intention, like with most of our other valves, is to manufacture this product locally in the near future.”

Established productsThe well-known Insamcor range of knife-gate valves are manufactured in Sebenza where DFC Mining has now established its headquarters while manufacturing of the Saunders diaphragm valves and the SKG series of valves will remain at the Benoni facility. “The great thing about these products is that they’re well established in all mining industries,” says Pat. “In a ra-

dius of 350 kilometres around Johannesburg we have all types of

PIPES, PUMPS & VALVES

Valve manufacturers, who know their products and their applications inside out, should be the springboard for engineers seeking guidance in choosing

the right product.

1� THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 61 February 2011

FeaturesValves for slurry should preferably have a full bore design to allow a continuous uninterrupted flow path. The SKG’s heavy duty, full port elastomer, double sleeve design therefore makes it ideal for slurries. “In terms of seating, the SKG design utilises two elastomer sleeves, which not only fully line the bore of the valve, but also act as the seat of the valve in both the closed and open position. This eliminates any dead space or pockets associated with other knife gate valves,” elaborates Pat.

“As far as the body is concerned, the bonnet-less design of this valve eliminates the need for a gland or a stuffing box. Bonnet cavities, where solids tend to collect, have also been eliminated.”

Getting what you’ve paid forSouth Africans are increasingly looking at the total cost of ownership rather than pure purchase price, in this respect DFC Mining’s premium products have made a permanent mark in the mining industry. “It’s a fact of life that downtime costs a lot of money, so obviously it needs to be reduced to an absolute minimum,” Pat says in conclusion.

“Hence it’s crucial to choose a competent valve manufacturer in the first place and secondly to opt for products that are proven and will provide long term service. The mining industry spends a lot of money on valves, more often than not, they don’t get what they’ve paid for.”

Pat Stander, DFC Mining, Tel: (011) 609-8610, Email: [email protected]

This valve has outperformed any other slurry valve we, or anybody else, has ever manufactured

The Saunders diaphragm valve

The well-know SKG valve de-veloped specifically for local conditions


www.cp.com


These networks are consequently engineered with specialised pipes,

pumps and valves, to resist abrasion from the solids transferred through the system. It is therefore not surprising to find compa-nies who specialise purely in the manufacture of dedi-cated slurry conveyance equipment. To learn more

“SA Mechanical Engineer” visits Fluid Power Valve Technologies based in Edenvale to speak to Director, Mike Warder, about this highly specialised field of manufacturing.

Special valves“The SGV Polyline standard range of knife gate valves comes in sizes from 50mm in diameter through to 600mm, but we have manufactured special sizes for applications up to 1.2 metres in diameter. Standard valves are stocked and are able

to be supplied with various actuators within days,” Mike says.

“Compared with conventional knife gate valves, this range comes complete with some unique features, it has proved to actually work exceptionally well in slurry applications and has become the specified knife gate valve on several steel processing and mining plants in South Africa,” says Mike.

“In fact, our product is so successful that an American company is now technically evaluating the product for the US market,” Mike adds. “This arrangement is likely to be finalised in the following months, we are extremely confident and excited regarding these prospects.

Subtle differencesFeatures on this valve include a unique single piece body construction which allows for a full Polyline-Urethane wear-resistant lining this fundamentally is a technical advantage

that extends the life of the valve. “The Polyline-Urethane comes in both the 100 and 200 grades,” says Mike. “Polyline 100 is ideal for dry and short term wet applications requiring high cut and wear properties while the Polyline 200 is used in long term wet applications that require excellent abra-sion and hydrolysis resistance with good dynamic properties.

“Our design has subtle differences from most other valves and it’s in these differences that make it a superior valve and one that has been widely welcomed by end-users in the mining industry,” Mike adds. “The one piece body design, for example, eliminates leaks in the valve during valve cycling.” In addition, the smoothness of the Polyline-Urethane lining en-sures that the body is free of cavities, consequently preventing slurry build-up or blockages in the valve whilst reducing head-loss and turbulence.

The robust cast iron design includes a built in de-flector wear cone with two flush-out corners on the downstream side for improved flow. The stainless steel blade can be activated by all types of actua-tors; electric, hydraulic, pneumatic, gearbox and or hand wheel operation.

Case study“Although we’re expecting to see quite a large piece of equipment considering its heavy duty features,

It has proved to work exceptionally well and has become the specified knife gate valve on several plants in South Africa

The Devil is in the Detail Regardless of the type of mine, slurries are probably the most aggressive

corrosive material ported through a network of pumps, pipes and valves. Not only in terms of the abrasiveness of the media being conveyed, but also

because of the chemical composition of the media.


Mike Warder

A 600mm valve example


the valve is relatively lightweight and small in size compared with other conventional knife gate valves,

Our design has subtle differences from most other valves


CNC Machining for precision engineering of valve components

particularly in the larger sizes. “A client approached us to try and a solve a problem they had with large 600mm diameter valves that was springing leaks,” relates Mike.

“On site we found this huge valve costing around R150 000 which required the cli-ent to gouge out a hole in his concrete floor to allow it to fit it into the space available, obviously hampering proper alignment and installation. Our valve of the same capacity, at 55% of the price, fitted perfectly and they’ve never had a problem since. This is a substantial saving if you consider that they have 32 of these valves on the mine.”

Control valves A fairly new addition to

the company is a division that deals specifically with control valves for slurry applications. “The prospective number of projects on the horizon looks promising and we

www.cbz.co.za


Components for the valves being manufactured

believe this area of our business will grow rapidly in the coming months,” says Mike.

Control valves – clean media“A further addition to our product range is to cater for the control valve sector whereby ball, butterfly, metal seated disc and globe valves are used. Valves are sized and selected to offer proper control where process conditions choked flow and cavitation are carefully evaluated.

Engineered solutionsOn our walk through the stores and the manufacturing fa-cility we see valves of all sizes being made and fitted onto different base designs. Judging from the stockholding of spare parts for the assembly line, it’s clear that you wouldn’t have to wait long to get a valve built or repaired. Mike says in conclusion. “Our valve design was developed from practical experience honed by tackling problems that exist in the field. Wherever there is a problem with knife gate valves, we can assist in providing the correct solution.” Mike Warder, Fluid Power Valve Technologies, Tel: (011) 452-8795, Email: [email protected]

Our design has subtle differences from most other valves and it’s in these differences that make it superior


www.kaeser.com


NUCLEAR INSTITUTE (SA BRANCH)

John Walmsley

The MIT Study

During the course there were several respectful mentions of ‘the MIT study’. Grieved that I was unaware of any

such study I consulted Google. ‘MIT nuclear future’ threw up several reports starting in 2003 with ‘The future of nuclear power’ together with an update in 2009. There are similar reports specifically on the nuclear fuel cycle. So far, I’ve looked at the nuclear power reports.

Disconcertingly, the tone of the 2003 and 2009 reports suggest only grudg-ing and heavily qualified support for nuclear. The several MIT professors

who authored this ‘interdisciplinary study’ accept the need to reduce world CO2 emission. There is nothing in the reports to suggest any doubt that man-made CO2 is driving global warming. Without great enthusiasm they concede that nuclear is needed to help knock down CO2. One interesting comment is that the public opinion survey conducted for the 2003 report showed no correlation between concern regarding CO2 and support for nuclear. In other words, the great American public does not see nuclear as a possible answer to CO2. I’m sure this is true in South Africa also.

Retained as an optionMIT sees four ways of cutting CO2: economise on electricity, expand renewables, apply carbon cap-ture and storage (CCS) and go nuclear. Drawbacks notwithstanding, according to MIT, nuclear must be retained as an option.

In my own view, the public will never accept nuclear generation while it believes that renewables alone can do the job. The MIT reports do nothing to suggest they can not. It is surely obvious that intermittent energy sources can by no means supply all our electrical energy – whereas, as in France, nuclear could. The recent report ‘Generating the future’ by the UK Royal Academy of Engineering suggests that the tolerable limit for renewable energy generated,

after massive expenditure to renovate and smarten the grid, could be 25%.

Meanwhile, WWF is all over the newspapers telling us that renewables can do 95% of total energy! It is surely vital that we establish for South Africa that there is a limit and what it is. The tedious nuclear vs renewables argument would then largely fall away.

The problems threatening a nuclear future as per-ceived by MIT are capital cost, perceived safety problems, real weapons proliferation problems (at least in respect of a closed fuel cycle), and nuclear waste. MIT believes that for nuclear to have a fu-ture these issues must be resolved. In 2003 they made recommendations to DOE and IAEA on how to deal with each of them. In 2009 they deplore lack of progress.

The MIT authors do not support the closed fuel cycle, ie, reprocessing. They believe that costly enrichment and reprocessing activities open the door to the diversion or theft of weapons-grade material to an extent that is not justified by the economics or by any diminution of long-term waste disposal problems. They calculate that there is enough cheap uranium to support the thousand 1000MW thermal reactors (or equivalent) they expect to be in operation in the world by 2050. That’s about enough to maintain the world’s current 16% share of nuclear generation.

Thereafter, they reconcile themselves to a switch to advanced breeder reactor systems. By that time, however, they expect better proliferation resistant processes, particularly for reprocessing, to have been developed. They support the use of coal with CCS but, in 2009, comment on lack of progress in that area also.

The 2009 update reaffirms the panel’s faith in the safety of light water reactors subject, as always, to competent operation. Ironically, bearing in mind the fate of the PBMR, the panel enthuses over the high temperature reactor system. It also notes lack of progress in resolving the high level waste issue.

Back in South Africa, at the time of writing, we await the revised IRP2010 report. If, presum-ably, the report retains the 6 x 1600MW nuclear fleet, the pro/anti argument will go on. Learning from MIT, we should establish the tolerable limit on the grid for intermittent renewable energy, we should establish nuclear in the public mind as an answer to CO2 and, above all, we should work to establish the safety of geological disposal of high level waste.

John Walmsley

Last October, courtesy of NIASA, I attended the local World Nuclear University five-day course entitled ‘Key Issues in the World Nuclear Industry today’. Highly recommended. Many of the papers presented are to be found on www.NIASA.co.za.

Given sufficient support, the course will be run again later this year.

The tedious nuclear vs renewables argument would then largely fall away


POWER GENERATION

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CopyrightAll rights reserved. No edi-torial matter published in “Power Generation Today” may be reproduced in any form or language without written permission of the publishers. While every effort is made to ensure accurate reproduction, the editor, au-thors, publishers and their employees or agents shall not be responsible or in any way liable for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies in the publication, whether arising from negligence or otherwise or for any conse-quences arising therefrom. The inclusion or exclusion of any product does not mean that the publisher or editorial board advocates or rejects its use either generally or in any particular field or fields.

Industrial Solar Geysers

The first s y s -t e m s i m -

ported into South Africa weren’t de-signed for our weather con-ditions with our extreme variations of

temperature. Moreover, there weren’t any official stan-dards against which to test and certify these systems, never mind trained people who knew how to install it correctly.

Standards in placeBut things have changed a lot in the last two years and those South Africans interested in going the solar water heater (SWH) route, can now rest assure that they can choose a product which has been duly tested and approved by the SABS. Installers are also ensuring that they are getting the necessary certification as accredited installers in an at-tempt to support the ever increasing demand in the SWH industry. “SA Mechanical Engi-neer” speaks to Theo Rautenbach, director of Nast Environmental Projects, trading as Nastep Solar, about the latest developments in this market.

“Solar water heating is pretty much virgin territory for most South Africans,” he says.

“However, over the last two years we’ve gone through all the steps to ensure we’re putting a tried and tested product into a market where the demand is growing by the day.”

Understanding the concept“The general public and even the industrial sector in South Africa does not fully under-stand solar heating as yet,” explains Theo. “For example, the first question many people still ask is; How does the system generate electricity? And secondly; What happens when the sun does not shine?

“The answer to the first question is that SWH does not generate electricity but rather heats water up thermally in order to save you using electricity to do so. Secondly, these systems have electric elements to heat water electrically when there isn’t enough radiation from the sun to heat the water sufficiently, or when needed at night. This is used in conjunction with an auto-matic electronic control system to ensure that warm water supply is consistent and that the maximum saving of electricity is guaranteed.”

Industrial ApplicationsIndustry also often suffers from the misper-ception that solar water heating is just for residential applications, but it can in fact be applied to large industrial applications as well where big hot water tanks or boil-ers can be heated through the use of our solar heat collectors. “We own the sole distribution rights for products from the Himin Solar Energy Group, arguably the

Many people in South Africa have burnt their fingers with solar water heating. In good faith they tried to do the right thing to save energy, but come a hail

storm or the freezing winter and the system fails miserably, smashing the prod-uct together with any confidence people might have had in solar water heating.

Theo Rautenbach

Demand is growing by the day


leading solar thermal water heater manufacturer in the world,” says Theo.

“They produce in excess of 1.5 million SWH’s per year and have re-designed their product range to suit the South African market, not only for our unique conditions, but also to conform to the SABS standards that are now in place. We can now design systems suitable for commercial, industrial and residential use according to each specific individual requirement.”

Hail damageThe foremost critical factor for the South African market, especially on the Highveld, are hail damage. The first solar systems that came into the country were particularly prone to destruction by hail, but the SABS developed suitable hail tests for the glass tubes which are utilised in the heat collectors and evacuated SWH’s.

“Not only did Himin specially redevelop the tubes for our conditions, but we also had to look at changing other features of the SWH’s such as plastic caps and other components to survive our harsh African weather conditions.” explains Theo.

The technologyThe evacuated glass tubes are the key component of thermal solar collectors and SWH’s. The evacu-ated tube is similar to a congenital Dewar flask and consists of two borosilicate glass tubes. The outer tube is manufactured to be chemical and hail resistant. The outer side of the inner tube is elec-troplated with a special coating containing mainly aluminium, copper and stainless steel, as well as other secret ingredients. The coated inner tube is closed at one end and sealed at the other end to the outer tube. The space between the outer and inner tube is evacuated to virtually eliminate heat loss by conduction and convection. The special coating “collects” the radiation from the sun and transfers it into the centre of the tube. Low pressure solar water heaters utilises the tubes by transferring the heat into

POWER GENERATION

Various types of SWH’s are available on the market

South Africa does not fully understand solar heating as yet

www.multialloys.co.za

www.ingersollrand.com


Himin installations overseas

People should spend a bit of time to make sure they’re getting a system that was designed to operate properly in our South African conditions

POWER GENERATION

The systerm is configurable to inidivdual requirements

the water which flows directly into the tubes when the SWH tank is filled. High pressure units make use of heat pipes to transfer the heat into the water. A heat pipe is a vacuum tube as described above, but instead of water, a thin copper pipe filled with a glycol mix which has an evaporation temperature of around 190 degrees Celsius is held in the centre of the tube with the help of an aluminium fin. The copper pipe stands proud of the tube and fits onto the SWH tank where it acts as the “element” or “heat exchanger”. In both low and high pressure instances, a natural thermo siphon process causes the heated water or glycol mix to move upwards and into the “geyser” tank and in doing so, heating the water.

Various types of SWH’s are available on the market. These vary from integrated low pres-sure and high pressure units which consists of a tank, a solar collector and a stand all in one, to split systems where the solar collector and the tank is installed separate from one another in order that the items could be installed in such a manner that the tank can be located at a different place than the collector, such as inside the roof, or on the side of a building.

Nastep promotes vacuum tube technology. “Flat plate solar collectors” is the other technology utilised in SWH’s. It works on the same principal in the sense that it makes use of a solar collector to heat the water or glycol which is in turn used to heat the water in the solar tank. The main difference between vacuum tubes and flat panels is the fact that vacuum tubes are more effective than flat panels in cloudy weather as vacuum tubes utilise the ultra violet rays from the sun to create the hot water where flat plates

rely more on actual sunlight and the heat from the sun to generate the necessary heat.

Clear illustrationTo illustrate how hot this copper pipe protruding from the top of the vacuum tube becomes, Theo pulls one of the glass tubes from a high pressure integrated display unit in the office and places it outside in


the sun for 10 minutes. We could not touch the copper pipe when it came back inside, it was sizzling hot which clearly illustrates how it acts as the ‘element’ that heats up water inside the tank.

Beware!There are still pitfalls in the market in terms of SWH products that simply don’t make the grade and people should spend a bit of time to make sure they’re getting a system that was designed to oper-ate properly in our South African conditions, and that the system is supported by a company which can provide a solid track record. I would advise the public to conduct their own research with regards to the origin of the product or the components on offer to ensure that it is supported by a well known international brand while the South African manufacturing scene is still finding its feet.” Theo says in conclusion.

The Nastep system is available in two options, hi low pressure

“Apart from a five-year guarantee backed up by Himin, all our Eskom accredited products, are SABS approved. In addition, all our installations are undertaken by experienced installers who have specifically been certified to install SWH’s. This is a vital criterion to check on when considering the purchasing of a solar heating system.”

Theo Rautenbach, Nastep, Tel: (011) 678-9030, Email: [email protected]

SWHs such as integrated low pressure and highpressure units are available

POWER GENERATION

www.zest.co.za


POWER GENERATION NEWSPOWER GENERATION NEWS

Expansion for solarSince launching in Cape Town in late 2009, the South African subsidiary of French parent company Solaire-direct has been focused primarily on large scale grid connected projects of more than one megawatt.

Following an initial start-up phase, during which the company established and trained a technical team, Solairedirect Southern Africa now offers a complete technical package to the specifier market, such as consulting engineers, builders and architects.

“After a successful introductory year to the local market we are ready to tackle the increased demand for solar power in a broader context,” says Solairedirect Southern Africa managing director Ryan Hammond. “Solairedirect South-ern Africa is now able to provide a full product design and operating service to all market sectors, mirroring our sister companies around the world in countries such as France,

Peace of mindHeavy lifting, transportation and plant installation special-ist, Vanguard has received high praise for the successful completion of a project for Eskom’s Koeberg Nuclear Power Station in Cape Town. The company was contracted to provide the required rigging and transportation support dur-ing Outage 118 at Africa’s only nuclear power station.

Negating the need for a prime mover, a self-propelled modular trailer (SPMT) and three modular axles were selected by the company to transport three existing 170t LP rotors, three 20t LP rotor covers and a 200t generator from the turbine hall to a temporary storage facility.

“The SPMT was particularly suited to this application due to the short transport distance and on-site work,” says Dennis Scholfield, Cape Town Branch Manager, Vanguard. The SPMT’s turning axles also competently navigate sharp corners, providing additional flexibility on site.

The entire project extended over a period of two months and the old rotors were removed one at a time, as the new ones arrived on site. At the storage area, a 400t hydraulic gantry system and four 50t slings were utilised to lift each rotor off the SPMT and lower it to the ground. Dennis says: “This eliminated the need for mobile cranes – a cost-cutting exercise that helped us to secure the contract in the first place.” To control the ambient tem-peratures of the rotors, the rotor covers were placed on top as a final step.

Due to the nature of the facility and the strict safety standards, all staff members had to undergo a week of induction and police clearance prior to the commence-ment of the project. In addition, the gantries had to be load tested before and after every lift.

Vanguard, Bryan Hodgkinson, Tel: (011) 616 1800Fax: (011) 615 1012, E-mail: [email protected]

Sensing technologyABB has made a strategic investment in Pentalum Technolo-gies, an Israel-based company developing advanced wind sensing technology for control and optimization of wind turbines and wind farms.

Pentalum is developing an innovative LIDAR (light detection and ranging) technology that remotely senses the wind vector in front of wind turbines in order to optimally align them to incoming wind flow. Pentalum’s system is also applicable to wind forecasting and site assessment, and is designed to significantly increase wind farm efficiency at a lower cost per site than existing measurement technologies.

The investment was made through ABB Technology Ventures, ABB’s venture capital arm, which invests in early and growth stage companies with technologies of strategic importance to the industry segments the company serves. Other partici-pants in funding for Pentalum included Cedar Fund, which led the round; and Evergreen Venture Partners, both from Israel; and Draper Fischer Jurvetson from the US.

“Cost and complexity issues are hampering the widespread adoption of optimisation systems for wind power,” said Girish Nadkarni, head of ABB Technology Ventures. “We have invested in Pentalum because we believe their technical ap-proach will significantly improve profitability for developers and operators of this important renewable energy source.”

ABB, John Mousaw, Tel: +41 43 317 4708, Email: [email protected]

Ryan Hammond

2� THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 61 February 2011

POWER GENERATION NEWS

Morocco, Chile and India. Our business model has evolved to non-grid connected systems where we design, build and operate smaller solar power projects for a variety of smaller commercial and industrial customers.”

A vertically integrated solar power company generating elec-tricity using solar photovoltaic technology, the Solairedirect Group not only offers a complete technical design, build and operate service but also manufactures solar photovoltaic modules at their facility in Bellville, Cape Town, where the Group’s manufacturing subsidiary, Solairedirect Technologies, has been operating since 2009.

“We are just as encouraged by the demand for smaller, non-grid connected systems and again we intend to be a leader in the provision of such systems across Southern Africa.”

Solairedirect Southern Africa, Ryan Hammond, Tel: (021) 953-6000Fax: (021) 951-2840, Email: [email protected]

New marketsElquip Solutions will soon be making new inroads into the local generator market. This it plans to do through a distributorship agreement with Deep Sea Electronics UK (DSE), manufacturers of specialised solutions for the power generation industry.

Elquip Solutions will also be joining forces with Hagar Marketing to bring Deep Sea’s extensive product range of battery chargers and modules to South African industry.

“It could not be a better time for us to expand into the power generation industry”, Mike Cronin, managing director of Elquip Solutions, says. “With the demand for electricity outstripping supply, especially in Africa, there is a growing need not only for generators, but also for the kind of control products and modules that Deep Sea makes. We are thrilled to be partnering with such a dynamic and experienced company.”

Deep Sea, established in 1975, designs and manufactures a range of control modules for generator sets, from basic manual and auto start modules, through to comprehen-sive load share modules designed to synchronise multiple generating sets.

The company manufactures in excess of 200,000 mod-ules per year, distributing to over 60 countries worldwide from its UK-based headquarters, including into Africa and South Africa.

Product Development Manager John Ruddock says that, although Deep Sea has existing clients in South Africa, the company is looking forward to the partnership with Elquip Solutions and Hagar to reach new markets.

Elquip Solutions, Mike Cronin, Tel: (011) 826-7117Fax: (011) 826-7118, Email: [email protected], Website: www.elquip.co.za

www.exhibitionsafrica.com


COMPRESSORS, AIR MOTORS & VACUUM PUMPS

SA Mechanical Engineer” meets with Louwrens Erasmus, general man-ager of Rand-Air in

Wadeville, to get the low down on the compressor rental busi-ness. “We offer a unique rental concept called Industrial Plant Rental (IPR), introduced to the market in the late nineties,” he says. “Today we have ten branches spread throughout southern Africa and our fleet has grown to over 600 com-pressors and generators with

no fewer than 14 compressor models to choose from, all fully portable with a wheeled chassis to ensure mobility on site.”

Throughout southern AfricaMany specialised products have been developed for the construction, mining, quarrying, petrochemical, heavy engineer-ing, manufacturing industries. “Besides offering the latest compressor technology by upgrading our machines continuously, our main focus is customer service,” says Louwrens. “Very often companies approach us with a unique problem which we’ll try our best to solve. If we don’t have a machine for a specific need, we’ll first try and source one and only then refer the client to a company which may be better suited to help.

“For example, we now have low pressure compressors as low as 2.5 bar, specifically for water reticulation application,” adds Louwrens. “These machines are also portable and available in either diesel or electric versions. At the other end of the scale, our high pressure machines now go all the way

Companies approach us with a unique problem which we’ll try our best to solve

up to 35 bar for those customers who are upgrading drill rigs, for example, to high pressure ones.”

Specialised unitsA growing compressed air market for the company is the oil and gas exploration fields along the west coast of Africa. “We’ve started gearing up for this Zone 2 market specifi-cally,” says Louwrens. “It’s not a very active sector in South Africa, but all the way up to Angola, Nigeria and Ghana the oil rig platforms use these specialised tier-two compressors on both a temporary and permanent basis. The Atlas Copco PTS 916 is a diesel driven compressor in this class.

“In terms of pipelines locally, we’ve developed a special solution for the dewatering and cleaning of pipelines like the Mozambique line and the one currently being built between Johannesburg and Durban,” Louwrens adds. “Apart from testing the pipe for leakages, our compressor system is also used to push the pig through the line to remove all the water and dirt from the line. Whether pushing the pig one or a thousand kilometres, we calculate the specific needs such as low-pressure or high-pressure requirements, pipe length and diameter and then work out a tailor-made solu-tion to carry the work out effectively. Also, this dehydration system does not require specially trained operators and can be operated by the client’s people on site.”

SpecsThe dehydration system is environmentally friendly and de-signed to prevent any spillage or contamination. “The system consists of one or more oil-free compressors with specially sized air-drying equipment capable of achieving a dew point ranging between -40ºC to -70ºC,” says Louwrens. “This system is manufactured by us and has earned a worldwide reputation for dependability and the minimum maintenance. An ideal machine for this application is the Atlas Copco PTS 916, a diesel driven compressor and currently the best-in-class of our range of oil-free compressors.”

Apart from general compressor units for the construction industry and associated projects, Rand-Air is increasingly servicing the mining industry and also focuses on the air needs of the petrochemical industry, especially during planned shutdowns. “We have a thorough understanding of the distinct requirements of the petrochemical and refinery industries,” Louwrens says. “Logistically we’re geared up to handle large multi-unit projects without interrupting day-to-day operations.

Carefree Air, The Rental Option

Many companies prefer to hire compres-sors rather than buying, because there are many advantages in renting. Firstly,

companies don’t have to fork out the pur-chase price and more importantly, they don’t have to worry about maintenance and hiring the necessary technicians to service the machinery regularly and cor-rectly. Renting also provides the end user

with the choice of hiring different size machines for specific jobs or upgrading to larger machines without busting the bank.

Louwrens Erasmus


Contingencies“For critical processes such as catalyst regeneration and main air blowers, for example, where an unexpected failure could cost the company dearly, we work closely with the customers to develop and implement a contingency plan,” he explains. “We’ll determine the exact equipment and specifications which may be needed on short notice, thereby reducing the downtime of criti-cal installations to the minimum in the event of a failure.”

Whether a planned outage or when compressors and dryers go down unex-pectedly, the mobility of the company’s fleet of compressors allows them to react swiftly. “Just the other day we had a frantic call from a contractor on a mining project who had to wait ten days for his failed air system to be fixed,” recalls Louwrens in closing.

“To meet the minimum capacity required

We’ve developed a special solution for thedewatering and cleaning of pipelines


A 500 kVa generator being tranported to site on a trailer

Generator sets are also hired out

All compressors are fully portable

The oil-free compressors Rand Air hires out

to continue operations, eight compressors were needed, the first of which was delivered to site that very afternoon. We scrambled to source compressors from various depots which our service team installed in a very limited space available, but that same evening the last two arrived and we could restore the client’s air supply while they waited ten days for their machines to be repaired.”

Louwrens Erasmus, Rand-Air, Tel: (011) 345-0749, Email: [email protected]

www.producut.co.za


A llen Cockfield of Artic Driers visits compressor installa-tions all over the country on a daily basis where he

comes across a host of basic mistakes made in terms of air system design that hampers efficient compressed air production to varying degrees. “SA Mechanical Engineer” speaks to him about his ever-growing list of faults people make.

Booklet“About five years ago we started compiling lists of the errors made in compressor houses. This list contin-ues to grow together with the list of

our suggestions on how to solve the problems,” he says. “It has now ended up being about 80 pages long which has prompted us to produce a booklet as a guideline on proper compressor system design.

“We won’t be selling it, but it will be distributed to qualifying clients who really want to make a serious effort about saving energy, not only to save money, but also because they care for the environment,”

Allen says. “Besides energy-saving design sugges-tions, we also cover oil, waste water management and even fire suppression systems for a compressor house in the booklet.”

SavingsInadequate design and the selection of ancillary equipment can inflict huge costs on a company during the life of a compressor installation. “These costs are hidden and can add up to hundreds of thousands, deflating a company’s profits,” says Allen. “In addition, these costs escalate along with the cost of electricity every year. We’ve proven over and over that it pays to consult with a professional supplier at the design stage of a compressor sys-tem to ensure that pitfalls are avoided right from the start.”

Just recently, an Artic Driers audit of a compressor house proved that the company in fact did not need to buy an extra compressor as they were about to do. “They were about to spend nearly two million on a new compressor, but after our audit showed a high waste percentage in the system, they ad-dressed the leakages first and in the end they could carry on without having to install an additional new machine.

“A pressure drop of 1 bar in an air system is equal to a wasted power cost of R23,777 per annum

when operating a 28 m³/min, 185 kW air compressor,” Allen explains. “This value does not include the cost of maintenance and it’s worth remembering that power costs are set to increase dramatically in the coming years. We find that leakages in plants vary between 2% and 50% which amounts to a considerable amount if you consider some compressor houses have anything between 6 to 18 compressors installed.”

PipelinesThe correct size and installation of pipeline that conveys the compressed air to various work stations is as important as buying the right compressor for an application. “A very com-mon problem occurs when people assume the entire pipeline should be 50mm in diameter, for example, just because the compressor comes out with that size outlet,” explains Allen. “The piping system then chokes the air flow and the

Inadequate design and the selection of ancillary equipment can inflict huge costs


Right from the StartCompressors are energy guzzlers in the first place, but if the compressed air system as a whole is not de-

signed properly, it could easily double the running costs of a compressor system. This is not only due to the general wastage in a poorly designed system, but also because the system’s efficiency has a direct influence

on the effective performance of the compressor itself.

Allen Cockfield of Artic Dryers


compressor then off-loads. While the outlets are in fact starved of air pressure. The diameter of the compressor outlet must not to be used as a guide for pipeline design as compressor manufacturers often select very tight discharge ports.

“The selection of the compressor house air main piping to feed the plant should be designed to achieve an air pipeline speed of 3m/sec,” adds Allen. “This will ensure that compressors do not offload prematurely due to pipeline pressure restrictions. It is common to find an excess of air compressors running in idle mode as they are unable to deliver the air to the plant due to undersized and restrictive compressor hose piping.”

New plantWhen setting up a new compressor plant it is im-perative, prior to buying the new compressor, to have a professional compressed air audit done in order to determine the plant’s actual air consump-tion thereby avoiding over or under sizing of the new compressor and drying equipment. “When selecting air compressors for specific volumes and quality requirements, it may be well worth considering variable speed drives,” adds Allen. “By the same token, VSD isn’t necessarily the answer to all situations.”

Over specification can lead to increased long term running costs


Filters and dryersAnother area where people tend to make the wrong choices regards filters and air dryers. “When select-ing air filters and an energy efficient air dryer that provides the required dew point with minimal air pressure losses, people often make the mistake of simply buying the dryer with the lowest dew point when it’s not necessarily suitable for a specific ap-plication,” Allen explains. “Over specification can lead to increased long term running costs while de-centralised air drying, with different types of dryers, might be considered to reduce energy wastage.

“If low dew points are required, for example minus 40ºC, consider dew point controllers for dryers with capacities greater than 14m³/min. Above 21m³/min, heat regenerative dryers, also with dew point controllers, should be mandatory as these have lower purge air requirements and the ensuing power savings are enormous. The recovery of the extra capital expenditure is often under one year and then it’s a continuous payback for the rest of the life of dryer.”

It’s best practice to change out dirty filter elements that are blocked and showing high differential pressures. “The use of power efficient OEM filter cartridges, especially those with a pleated con-struction, is crucial to energy saving,” says Allen. “These filters normally have a lower initial Δp and will inflict a lower pressure loss while providing longer service intervals when compared with a

simple wound cartridge.”

VentilationAllen’s list goes on, but to conclude he touches on a very important aspect of a compressor system, the design of the compressor house itself. “The design of the compressor house should take cognisance of good ventilation and the efficient re-use of waste heat from the com-pressors to provide heating for washrooms or nearby processes within the plant,” he says.

“A 1ºC rise in the inlet temperature to the com-pressor will decrease the compressor’s output capacity by 1%. It is also good practice to split the compressor house’s power supply, ideally from two separate transformers to minimise compressed air disruption in the event of a transformer failure. It is equally wise to install an emergency air supply treatment system to ensure that air dryers are able handle to the air from a temporary hot and oil contaminated diesel compressor. This could mean extra after coolers and filters have to be installed but never is the saying more true than in our industry: “forewarned is forearmed.” With professional and thorough pre-planning, your compressed air system should be a boon a not a bane to your business.”

Allen Cockfield, Artic Dryers International, Tel: (011) 425-3484, Email: [email protected]


OILS & LUBRICATION

According to a report by the Rose Founda-tion, it is estimated that approximately 10 million used oil filters are generated every year in South Africa. Most of these find

their way onto our landfill sites. As they constitute hazardous waste product, they should be collected and recycled, not just thrown away.

We’re all responsibleThe Waste Act stipulates that generators of used motor oil are now legally obliged to properly collect, store and manage used oil. In the South African motor industry, the formal workshops are largely compliant, but the informal sector and DIY motor mechanics pose ongoing challenges when it comes to reinforcing environmentally-responsible used oil recovery and recycling.

Section 24 of The South African Constitution states that ‘everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well being and to have their environment protected through reason-able legislative measures’.

In this regard the government has passed the Waste Act No 59 of 2008. This ground-breaking legisla-tion places the responsibility on all South Africans to avoid, minimise, re-use, recycle, treat and, as a last resort, dispose of their waste.

On home turfIn support of this legislation, the Rose Foundation is focusing its attention on driving compliance in the informal motor mechanic industry in South Africa as well as amongst DIY motor enthusiasts.

The size of the informal sector is estimated to be responsible for generating approximately 20 to 30 million litres of used oil every year. Motor vehicle statistics in South Africa show that more than 50% of cars on the roads are older than 10 years. These vehicles are serviced approximately once a year by informal mechanics or DIY enthusiasts.

The problem is that these informal mechanics often lack suitable premises and many cars are serviced on the side of the road or wherever there is a de-mand – an illegal practice that often results in the used motor oil, which has been drained from the vehicle, being dumped directly onto the ground or in the storm water system.

Roadside businessPolokwane is an example where informal mechan-ics were servicing cars on the side of a busy main road and dumping their used oil on the pavement. A concerned business owner in the area contacted the Rose Foundation who mobilised the local municipality into cleaning up this dumped oil and fining the mechanics.

“Although these mechanics were fined and the streets sprayed with chemicals, the practice is continuing to this day. If the municipality doesn’t want to prevent this practice they should be accountable for the cleaning and rehabilitation of the polluted area. I appreciate your interest in this matter and the action the municipality took to prevent this practice but it seems to be futile,” the concerned businessman and resident wrote to the Foundation.

Controlling Old Oil Disposal

Industry alone isn’t to blame for the pollution of the underground water, it’s the responsibility of each individual, however small the

contribution, to make sure they don’t add to the threat of con-taminating the environment. Every oil spill, even in your backyard or in the veld behind your factory, adds to the contamination of

underground water.

Automotive Waste Management staff busy crushing filters at the FFs at the refiners branch in Chloorkop

Collector audits being conducted by WSP Environmental at Old Oil Man in Chamdor, Krugersdorp

The Waste Act stipulates that generators of used motor oil are now legally obliged manage it

�0 THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 61 February 2011

OILS & LUBRICATION

Store rather than dump“Unfortunately, this is a difficult practice to manage and we have seen an ongoing trend towards illegal kerbside servicing,” says Raj Lochan, CEO of the Rose Foundation. “As part of our campaign focused on this sector, we plan to conduct a series of site visits and encourage the use of Sumpies to promote the responsible collection and storage of used oil among DIY mechanics. At the same time we will drive the educational aspect on why they need to store this oil rather than dump it.”

“It is often a case of a lack of knowledge of the harmful effects of used oil on our environment, rather than disregard, which leads to situations such as these,” adds Raj.

Unaccounted for“We are extremely concerned about the huge amounts of used oil that are being generated by the informal and DIY mechanics, and not being recycled.” It is estimated that South Africa gener-ates approximately 120 million litres of used oil a year. Of this, 80 million litres is being recovered for recycling – which means that about 40 million litres are unaccounted for!

“We, therefore, appeal to all mechanics and anyone who does work on their cars to please think twice before dumping their used oil. Not only does it damage our environment but it is also now an illegal practice, thanks to the Waste Act,” concludes Raj.

Rose Foundation Tel: 021 448 7492, Fax: 021 448 7563 E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.rosefounda-tion.org.za

Power Indaba Power projects in Africa are increasingly viewed as attractive investments by foreign and African investors says Nicole Smith, project director of the Power Indaba Summit which is taking place from 14-16 March 2011 at the CTICC in Cape Town, South Africa. Development finance organisations, multi-lateral financiers, private investors, fund managers as well as government and utility delegations will be attending this high-level summit, particularly from countries in the SADC and COMESA regions and further afield from West African power houses Nigeria and Ghana.

Power Indaba lends itself to one-to-one meeting sessions that will offer unparalleled discussions between financiers, project developers and utility and government delegations.

Power Indaba runs parallel to the African Utility Week conference and exhibition which features Eskom’s CEO Brian Dames and the South African Minister of Energy, Elizabeth Dipuo Peters as headline speakers.Communications manager:

Annemarie Roodbol, Tel: (021) 700 3558, Email: [email protected]

www.articdriers.co.za

www.yellotec.com

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 61 February 2011 �1

To adapt to market requirements and growing demand, Fuchs Lubricants South Africa is in the process of expanding and

upgrading their laboratory, manufacturing and warehousing facility in Isando. “SA Mechanical Engineer” gets in touch with Mitch Launspach, inland sales manager. “Three years ago we closed down the manufacturing plant in Durban and moved it up here,” he says. “The one extended blending plant in Isando now

produces more than the two did together in the past. Durban now operates purely as a sales office, as does our branch in Welkom.

Quality controlMost importantly, the laboratories, where blending and quality control is managed, have also been extended and modernised with new equipment to ensure consistency in production. “As the biggest independent lubrication manufacturer in the world, all Fuchs products are developed and formulated in Germany, but we can now also

fine-tune a lubricant in our local laboratory to individual specific requirements when required,” says Mitch.

Food gradesApart from offering various ranges of greases and oils for mining and industrial applications, including a full range of products for the automotive industry, Fuchs is now reaching out to the food processing industry. “In South Africa, food grade oils and greases have always been a niche market, but since the Fuchs group bought out the entire Shell food grade lubricants division a couple of months ago, we’ll increase our marketing drive of the Cassida range of lubricants locally,” explains Mitch.

“The range will be marketed in the Shell container until such time as our new food grade production plant is completed and it becomes one of our branded products. Apart from having a whole new product on board, we expect to gain access to a wider spectrum of companies who we’ve not dealt with before in terms of general industrial lubricants.

Mitch Launspach, Fuchs Lubricants, Tel: (011) 565-9613, Email: [email protected]

We can now also fine-tune a lubricant in our locallaboratory to individual specific requirements

Customising Lubes

The new warehouse at Fuchs’ new site

Mitch Launspach

Lubrication requirements specified by OEMs have been refined to such an extent today that the same engine will often have different requirements from one country to the next, based, for example, on the quality of the

fuel available in each country.

OILS & LUBRICATION


New compressors for South Africa Dalgakiran Kompresör, is one of the leading firms in the Turkish machine manufacturing sector and made their mark in the industry by starting with a Samandira factory in 1965 in a 100sqm workshop. To this day Dalgakiran continues production in this area. In 2004, the established manufac-turing capacity was increased twofold and the closed area was increased to 30 000 square meters comprising of three factories. Today, Dalgakiran Kompresör has reached the capacity of producing 5 000 screw compressors and 5 000 piston compressors in established operations in Russia, the Ukraine, Germany and the UK. The company exports to over 60 countries through more than 35 distributors worldwide, to become a world renowned compressor manufacturer and supplier. The range of productas is now also available to the South African industry through Compressor Valves and Accessories, the sole supplier of Dalgakiranör in Southern Africa.

The product range includes the DVK series of screw compres-sors, the Tidy range screw compressors and a full range of air dryers and filters.

Compressor Valves & Accessories (Pty) Ltd, Tel: (011) 908-6580Fax: (011) 908-6581, Email: [email protected]

Market ForumSupplier of choiceThe largest locally designed and manufactured mixer drives for a mining project in the DRC was supplied by industrial gear technology specialist, Hansen Transmissions South Africa.

“These 5 QVPN3 gearboxes were the first and largest mixer drive units as well as the first of this type to be manufactured in South Africa and our local engineering team therefore had to design the units from scratch,” explains Hansen Transmissions managing director, Fritz Fourie.

The order called for one off 260kW motor - 180.3 kW absorbed (90/1 ratio), two off 300kW motor - 238 kW absorbed (90/1 ratio) and two off 220kW motor - 176 kW absorbed (80/1 ratio). The gearboxes drive vertical mixers with very long shafts attached to the vertical output shaft which has a mixer paddle attached to the end for stirring liquid material. No design modifications were required.

“We received the order via an Australian based company and, although we have dealt with the South African company for a number of years, this was the first time that the Australian office placed a direct order with us. The fact that Hansen Transmissions South Africa has stacked up many years of experience in the mining industry, made us the supplier of choice”, says Fritz.

Hansen Transmissions SA, Fritz Fourie, Managing Director, Tel: (011) 397-2495, Fax: (011) 397 2585, Email: [email protected], Web: www.hansen.co.za

Potentially disastrous consequences“One of our global key customers did not hesitate to call me when two of the plants experienced persistent early failures of Large Sized Bearings, (LSBs).” Says SKF Senior Applica-tion Engineer, Darren Chetty

“I visited the site at the beginning of this year, inspected the store, determined that the supposedly SKF branded LSBs were in fact not SKF bearings and immediately quarantined the bearings to prevent them from being put into production and we informed our customer that the counterfeit bearings could cause damage to plant and equipment if they were put into service,” explains Darren.

He explains that it was a fairly long process to get the case started when taking prosecution, statements, attorneys, the customer’s group legal department, SKF’s input, etc, into consideration. “In fact we are all involved and we had to make sure that everything was in place and that the correct legal procedures were followed to allow both the customer and SKF to successfully pursue the investigations.

Once the bearings were identified as counterfeit and quar-antined, the internal investigation of the customer’s group legal department revealed the source of the bearings and immediately made the information, including invoices, available to SKF.”

Darren says that the potentially disastrous consequences of using counterfeit products and the damages these products can do to the customer’s expensive equipment and the all important bottom line, can never be over emphasised

SKF South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Samantha Joubert, Tel: (011) 821-3500, Fax: (011) 821-3501, Email: [email protected], Website: www.skf.co.za

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 61 February 2011 ��

Market ForumNo skiddingCooper’s new split tapered roller bearings, with a significantly higher axial load capacity than the conventional 02 series bearing, have been successfully trialed for 12 months on an underground booster fan operating in a coal mine.

Matthew Tyler of Bearings International (BI) says the trial was initiated after the mine experienced repeated failures on the fan’s drive end bearing, creating costly unscheduled downtime. Cooper taper bearings have also been success-fully installed on a cooling fan at Lafarge Cement, with no performance issues arising to date.

“The Cooper split tapered bearing is intended for the ‘fixed’ bearing position of shafts where there is both radial and axial loading and where our ‘GR’ cylindrical bearing is unsuitable,” says Matthew. “It’s constructed with two opposed rows of rollers to take axial loading in either direction.”

Another new Cooper design is the 100 series developed for the fan industry, which has opened up an entirely new market for the company. The new series, also suitable for blowers and materials handling systems, features a lower base to centre height, which makes for a compact and lighter design that eliminates the skidding potential of conventional roller bearings.

Bearings International, Matthew Tyler, Tel: (011) 345-8000

Repair right nowDPI Plastics product manager Mike De Villiers notes that the recently-launched Durolok Internal Restraint Joint for PVCU and PVCM pipes can cast a ray of light on the country’s water-logged infrastructure, as the product requires no additional tools or specialised expertise for installation.

“A major challenge facing municipalities at the mo-ment is that permanent repairs to infrastructure damage can only take place after the water levels have subsided and the moisture content of the soil has returned to an acceptable level,” he explains. “In the case of pipelines, however, Durolok Piping can be used in both temporary and permanent repairs, as the system does not rely on support from backfill or thrust blocks for the containment of end-thrust. The final result is considerable time savings in terms of the re-instatement of

pipeline services, and the prevention of premature failure in future flooding events.”

Mike notes, “The internal restraint system eliminates the need for trained operators to fit the restraint device, and also cuts out the inherent risk of human errors, which include over-tightening of the clamps and tie bars in traditional systems,” he concludes.

DPI Plastics Contact , Martine Goodchild , Tel: (011) 345-5600Fax: (011) 866-2230, Email: [email protected], Web: www.dpiplastics.co.za

Additive and blend controllerHoneywell has introduced the Fusion4 single stream con-troller (SSC), designed for companies in the petroleum and petrochemical refining, storage and distribution sectors. The solution is the first integrated additive and blend controller to comply with the EU’s Measuring Instruments Directive (MID). It features a unique blending algorithm that helps companies achieve the highest blending accuracy to reduce off-spec blends and the costs associated with waste.

“The fuels marketing industry has become more and more focused on the precision of the systems they use to create petrochemical product combinations,” says Henri Tausch, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Field Solu-

�� THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER VOL 61 February 2011

Filter houses Rand Technical Services (RTS) has constructed three filter houses at Shaft 16 at platinum giant Impala Platinum’s (Implats’s) Rustenburg site, for the purpose of providing clean air for large compressors.

RTS marketing manager Richard Cooper explains that the new 16 Shaft site is coming in operation, and require com-pressed air for underground drilling purposes.

“The air from the atmosphere is of poor quality and filter-ing it is necessary, therefore three filter houses have been constructed next to the compressor building,” Richard says. He adds that each filter house has a pipe duct to feed air into each compressor.

The construction took approximately nine months and involved installing a first stage of spin filters across each filter house. After passing through the first stage the air is directed through a second stage consisting of pocket filters, from where it is ducted to the compressors

“Many filtration methods require costly maintenance and filter membrane replacement on an ongoing basis, but RTS’s systems do not need specialised maintenance, saving costs and ensuring a reduced downtime. Furthermore, the filter houses protect the compressors against the elements, which they are vulnerable to in the often harsh mining environ-ment,” notes Cooper.

Rand Technical Services, Richard Cooper, Tel: (012) 993-9620 Email: [email protected], Website: [email protected]

Market Forum

First deliveriesEcochem’s new slurry pumps, currently available ex-stock, are identical in all respects to centrifugal models installed at many mines across South Africa.

tions. “The petroleum and petrochemical industries can now benefit from a smart controller that not only increases their accuracy but is also faster and easier to configure and maintain.”

The Fusion4 SSC helps increase accuracy as it reduces calibration times by up to 25% compared with manual calibration. A calibration wizard automatically captures every device calibration transaction, including time stamp, calibration volumes and meter serial numbers. A simple dashboard displays complete device hardware diagnostics on a single screen to reduce the time spent on fault finding by up to 25%.

Honeywell, Debbie Rae, Tel: (011) 695-8000, Email: [email protected]

The pumps are manufactured in China utilising capacity made redundant by decreased global demand and an agreement terminated by a North American firm. The Chinese have been manufacturing the range since 1990.

The range comprises both horizontal and vertical spindle models in capacities from 3,5 to 1500 litres per second, and backed by a complete line of spare parts. Ecochem is claiming to be able to meet any order within ten weeks in case of an out-of-stock situation.

Prices are comparable with those of commonly available equivalents, and a distribution agreement with Becker Engi-neering ensures prompt consultation and delivery throughout South Africa.

Ecochem Pumps (Pty) Ltd, Ed Lemke, Tel: (011) 455-5710Fax: (011) 455-5842, E-mail: [email protected]

Ecochem Pumps’ managing director Ed Lemke (left) and technical sales manager Corné Kleyn with first deliveries of the company’s new, imported centrifugal slurry pump range

Phenomenal in tasteStettyn Cellar, nestled in the eastern foothills of the Klein Drakenstein Mountains, supplies millions of litres of wine to First Cape for export. Stettyn selected an Atlas Copco NG nitrogen generator to deliver pure nitrogen to two of the main applications in the wine making process.

Wines produced by Stettyn are bottled and sold overseas under the popular brand of First Cape, and despite the global recession, Stettyn has sustained a steady 60% growth rate over the past four years. “We supply approximately 10% of an estimated 32 million litres of wine exported by the well known First Cape, where we also have a 7% share holding,” Cellar wine master Treurnicht Albie elaborates.


Market Forum

World’s first ethylenetetramerisation unitSasol has announced plans to construct the world’s first commercial ethylene tetramerisa-tion unit, capable of producing over 100000 tons per year of combined 1-octene and 1-hexene, at its Lake Charles production site, in Louisiana, USA.

The unit will utilise Sasol’s proprietary technology to con-vert ethylene to 1-octene and 1-hexene. This process was developed in Sasol’s R&D laboratories in South Africa, and selectively produces alpha olefins required for the high growth polymer markets. Construction will commence in 2011, and the plant will reach beneficial operation in mid-2013.

André de Ruyter, Senior Group Executive Operations of Sasol, said: “The additional capacity to be built at Lake Charles

When Stettyn Cellar were involved in an expansion project in 2009, Albie, a wine maker with 30 years of practical wine making experience under his belt, had occasion to taste wine produced purely under a nitrogen blanket.

“These wines could only be described as phenomenal in taste, colour and flavour, characteristics prized by any wine maker - a clear indication that investing in a NG nitrogen generator to deliver nitrogen would enhance our wine quality as well as our well reputation and we agreed to install a NG nitrogen generator in specific key areas,” continues Albie.

Enquiries for a supplier of a quality nitrogen generator unit went ahead and, with a reputation for designing, engineer-ing and manufacturing a range of class leading NG Nitrogen generators, Atlas Copco South Africa emerged as a clear winner.

The generator was delivered on time, unpacked and installed without any hitches by our cellar staff that has had no formal engineering training. This is yet another major cost saving as we did not have pay for nor rely on spe-cialised artisans to do the job. The system runs every day and has been operating seamlessly and efficiently since the day we installed the unit.”

Atlas Copco, Charl Ackerman, Philip Herselman, Tel: (011) 821-9113,, Fax: (011) 525-9847, Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Stettyn Cellar produces 6 500 tons of grapes per annnum

Significant increaseThe acquisition by the Watson-Marlow Pumps group of the MasoSine sinusoidal pump range strengthens its position in the positive displacement pump market. It significantly increases the company’s flow rate range, as well as enabling it to handle much higher viscosities, while maintaining the

important low whole life cost.

“MasoSine positive displacement pumps are the result of more than 25 years of engineer-ing innovation and

product development,” says Watson-Mar-low Bredel SA general manager, Nico van

Schalkwyk.

“The MasoSine pump’s exclusive sinusoidal rotor over-comes the limitations of conventional rotary lobe pumps

to produce powerful suction with low shear, low pulsation, and gentle handling. They are also simple to use and easy to maintain. Food customers can be confident that they are certified to 3-A Sanitary Standards, Inc. (3-A SSI), the industry standard for food sanitation and hygiene,” he adds.

MasoSine’s exclusive single shaft and single sinusoidal rotor overcomes the need for the complex timing gears and multiple seals associ-ated with conventional rotary lobe pumps. The pumps are used in a wide variety of applications across industry, including: Dairy, Curd, Prepared Foods, Meat & Poultry, Bakery, Confectionary, Beverage, Cosmetics, Pharmaceuticals and Industrial.

Watson-Marlow Bredel SA, Nico van Schalkwyk, Tel: (011) 796-2960


Breaking systemsDellner Brakes recently appointed Voith Turbo South Africa as exclusive distributor of its range of brakes on the African continent.

Dellner Brakes AB, based in Falun, Sweden and part of the Dellner Group, was established in 1947 and is a global leader in the manufacture and supply of braking systems to diverse industries including marine, cranes and winches, energy (wind and wave power), etc. The company has pro-duced disc brakes for industrial applications since the mid 60´s. During the early years, the brakes were incorporated in machines which were designed by Dellner Brakes but other markets seeking a robust and reliable brake design soon discovered those products. Reliability and safety are Dellner watchwords as the brakes are increasingly utilised in emergency shutdowns, stopping and parking brake sys-tems. Voith Turbo (Pty) Ltd, Roy Webster, Tel: (011) 418-4036, Fax : (011) 418-4080, Email : [email protected], Website : www.rsa.voithturbo.com

Market Forumwill help Sasol’s global customer base achieve its long-term polymer and elastomer growth prospects, and the invest-ment reflects our confidence in the competiveness of the US petrochemicals industry”.

Sasol, Jacqui O’Sullivan, Tel: (011) 441-3252, Email: [email protected], Website: www.sasol.com

Reduce costsMagnet, specialists in the design and installation of the lat-est energy efficiency systems used in industrial, commercial and residential applications, supplies a range of heat pumps designed to reduce conventional heating costs.

“These heat pumps are ideal for any situation where hot water or other fluids, are required at temperatures at or

Magnet supplies a range of heat pumps designed to reduce conventional heating costs. For user convenience, these heat pumps connect easily to existing systems.

below 60°C. The operating system is based on removing heat from the air and transferring the energy to water or other liquid, which become hotter,” says Brian Howarth, Magnet’s managing director. “The by-product of the heat pump system is cold air or water, which may be ducted for air-conditioning in larger industrial applications.

“The costs of heating water will be reduced by about 70% if electricity is the current energy source. An important feature of these heat pumps is they can be connected to an existing geyser, replacing the standard 3 kW electric element heater.”

Typical applications for heat pumps include industrial ablution blocks, hospitals, offices, schools, hotels and homes.

Magnet, Brian Howarth, Managing Director, Tel: (031) 274 1096, Email: [email protected], Web: www.magnetgroup.co.za

www.yellotec.com


Recent acquisitionBMG has extended its interests in the electronics sector, with the recent acquisition of Velo Control, specialists in drives and instrumentation.

“Although electronic and software based control products are not new to BMG’s extensive portfolio of engineering components and systems, the investment in Velo Control strengthens the company’s position in the local electronics industry,” says Gavin Pelser, director of BMG - Bearing Man Group - part of Invicta Holdings Limited.

“Velo Control, which distributes and services the full range of Danfoss electronic variable speed drive systems, now forms part of the BMG Drives division and will provide a sales, training, repair, maintenance and spare parts service throughout Southern Africa.”

BMG – Bearing Man Group, Veronique Bezuidenhout, Tel: (031) 576-6221, Fax: (031) 576-6383, Email [email protected] , Web www.bmgworld.net

Market Forum

BMG acquires Velo Control

Network growsThe Weir Minerals Africa pump rental store in Middelburg celebrated its first anniversary by achieving R1 million turnover in its twelfth month of operation.

Ian Farquhar, product manager dewatering at Weir Minerals Africa, says this remarkable achievement can be attributed to having the appropriate pump stock for customer applica-tions in that region coupled with the necessary people skills. “Since this pump rental store opened its doors in October 2009, it has grown from strength to strength and to date has achieved well in excess of its original target.”

The pump rental store has a solid customer focus, and its pump stockholding was purposefully selected in accordance with the pumping needs of customers in the Middelburg/Witbank coalfields, but Howard Jones, rental and submers-ible manager at Weir Minerals Africa, is quick to point out that this is not just about mining operations but also other companies who need pumps and ancillary equipment.

Weir Minerals Africa (Pty) Ltd, Rene Calitz, Tel: (011) 929 2622, Website: www.weirminerals.com

Commended for ‘job well done’ Actom Air Pollution Control (MikroPul) recently completed one of the largest gas-cleaning contracts it has ever un-dertaken. The turnkey contract, worth over R100-million, was for Assmang’s Cato Ridge Works near Durban, where actom Air Pollution Control provided a system for capturing fumes generated by the tapping operations of the plant’s six furnaces.

The contract, awarded by Assmang in mid-2008 and completed in July 2010, included civils and the supply and installation of electrical and automated control systems.

The secondary gas-cleaning system, which complements Cato Ridge’s primary fume-extraction system, comprises a large eight-module reverse pulse filter baghouse covering a ground area of 1200 m2, plus ancillary equipment that includes extensive ducting and extraction hoods attached to jib cranes that swing the hoods into position at the furnaces during tapping operations.

The filtration plant, with an extraction capacity of 775 000

m3/hr, is designed to serve tapping operations of up to four furnaces simultaneously. Emissions are guaranteed at well below 15 mg/Nm3.

Actom Air Pollution Control, Des Tuck, Tel (011) 478-0456, Fax (011) 478-0371, E-mail [email protected]

www.compressed-air.co.za


Index to Advertisers

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On The Move

Artic Driers 30

AST Pyroshield Inside Front Cover

Atlas Copco Outside Back Cover

Ceccato 14

Clyde Bergemann 16

Compressor Valves 37

EMS 24

Esab Outside Front Cover

Ingersoll Rand 20

Kaeser 17

Mulit Alloys 20

Producut 26

Rand Air 10

Weir Minerals Inside Back Cover

SAID 4

Yellotec 30, 36

Zest 22

Danielle Badenhorst has been appointed as Communica-tions and Administration Manager of the Southern African Association for Energy Efficiency (SAEE).

Edith Kikonyogo has been elected as Chairperson of the Mining and Industrial Energy Optimization (MIEO) Executive Committee for the 2011/2012 term. Edith is also Consulting Services Manager at ABB.

Neil Stander has been appointed as the new Regional Sales Manager for Honeywell.

Ludowici Africa has appointed Fanie Swart as General Manager for the African region.

Golder has appointed Adam Bennett into the company’s newly formed Air Quality Management Division.

James Dubber has been appointed as Junior Project Engineer at SEW Eurodrive.

Bosch Projects has appointed Norman Hind, senior project cost engineer and Kobus Nel, drawing office manager.

Danielle Badenhorst Edith Kikonyogot

James Dubber Kobus NelNorman Hind

Neil Stander

Adam BennettFanie Swart

WARMANENVIROTECH VULCO CAVEX ISOGATE


WARMANENVIROTECH VULCO CAVEX ISOGATE

www.weirminerals.com


Together we make the Difference.Clean Energy Efficient Air - for Every Industry and our Planet.

Incomparable Compressed Air Efficiency, Quality, Reliability,Power & Diversity - for every Application.

Atlas Copco South Africa (Pty) LtdP O Box 14110, Witfield 1467Tel: (011) 821 9000, Fax: (011) 821 9106/7E-Mail: air.compressors@za.atlascopco.comwww.atlascopco.comwww.atlascopco.co.za

Atlas Copco is a leading manufacturer of fully comprehensive, technologically advanced air packages as well as their own range of fully compatible filters and dryers. The right solution for every application.

Legendary customer care & after sales service. Full range of generators with super silent options also available.

•Dryers •Filters •After Coolers •Water Separators •Automatic Drains

•Compressors (oil-free & oil-injected) •Scroll •Tooth •Rotary Screw •Centrifugal

•Portable Air Compressors •Power Generators

www.atlascopco.co.za

same-feb-11

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