Housing in Southern Africa July 2016

Building Supplies & Equipment

Increased demand for tower cranes With the backing of its parent company, Torre Industries, SA French is growing the popularity of the Potain tower cranes.

Q uentin van Breda, Managing Director of SA French which is a division of Torre Lifting Solutions, says one of the company’s major competitive edges is Potain’s ongoing investment into research and development. This has facilitated access to the latest lifting solutions that are now being demanded by a rapidly changing crane market on the continent. There has been an increased need for cranes that use less than half the electrical energy compared to earlier units; a trend that is in line with inter- national practices. Contractors are also exploring state-of-the-art technologies from tower crane original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that assist in improving preventativemaintenance strategies and optimise the overall performance of themachines on site. Van Breda says all Potain cranes leave the factory floor pre-equipped for the system that informs the proj- ect manager when they are due to be serviced and when adjustments need to be made to mechanical componentry. There are also more onerous demands on tower crane OEMs and the distributor networks. Van Breda says the fast track nature of modern buildings means that contractors have less time to prepare the site. As a result the contractors now relymore heavily on a full turnkey service from the OEM supplier. The need to mobilise a tower crane as swiftly as possible on the site means that work can start time- ously. Van Breda says SA French has a comprehensive fleet of quality tower cranes that can be quickly mobilised to and demobilised from site. Optimum uptime also has to be ensured through high levels of tower crane reliability. Van Breda says it is not unusual for construction compa- nies to demand a response rate of as little as three hours from their supply chain partners. The growing distances between construction sites and their support points calls for very careful logistical planning by equipment suppliers to ensure that these critical contractual obligations can bemet. Support often has to be undertaken on a weekly basis to keep to demanding construc- tion schedules. VanBreda believes that themarket

principals. However, under his leader- ship, SA French continues to adapt to keep Potain a common sight on the continent. ■

will become even more demand- ing, challenging conventional sales and after-market support roles of equipment distributors and their

Power tool training

V ermont Sales is offering trade customers and store managers courses on power tools, acces- sories, drill bit science, wood and metal working. The training is facilitator driven, and the one day courses are run by experienced staff, using all the latest equipment and technology. The air brush training covers an introduction, terminology, choosing an airbrush, compressed air, how to use an air- brush, maintenance and practical lessons. Air Supply in the workshop an introduction, compressors, setting up an airline, pneumatics and vacuum. Drill bit science covers drills and drilling, understanding the proper- ties of steel, carbon steel, hardness and tensile, alloys, high speed steel, drill bit terminology, coating on drill bits, bit designs, specialist drill bits for metal and wood. The introduction to power tools includes portable power tools, gen- eral power tool maintenance and safety, power tools, applications, power tool motor construction, gearbox and settings. The electric drill covers understanding the electric drill, the different types, the parts,

construction methods, how a rotary drill works, the pneumatic and ham- mer action and the various drill bits for different applications. Saws and cutting tools includes different types of cutting machines such as angle grinders, cut-off ma- chines, wall chasers, chainsaws, circular saws, band saws, jigsaws, reciprocating saws, oscillating power tools, scroll saws, plus the correct saw blades to use and all the relative accessories that go with and can be used with these tools. This includes surface treatment tools and accesso- rieswith abrasive grains of sandpaper and cutting discs, orbital sander, the random orbital sander, geared eccentric sanders, belt sanders, disc sanders and the renovation grinder as well as polishers. Wood and metal work includes an introduction to wood and metal, sawing, cutting, blades, and discs a practical session on the preparation of wood and steel, planning and profiling, surface treatment and as- sembly. F o r f u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n on dates of the courses contact Vermont Sales 011 314 7711 or visit www.vsevents.co.za ■

July 2016