Capital Equipment News June 2015

MATERIALS HANDLING

SKF’S UNIQUE BEARING SOLUTION improves production for agricultural OEM S KF South Africa, working closely with Agricultural Distributor, Bolt and Engi- neering Welkom, provided an agricul- tural OEM customer with a unique bearing solution for a maize de-bagger machine. Local agricultural OEM, Jacques Rens- burg from Jorus Engineering, designed the de-bagger machine to facilitate the removal of stored maize from storage bags. The ma- chine was fitted with a second tier bearing and was not producing the required results. Time was at the essence and the customer was in urgent need of a solution. Philip Botha from Bolt and Engineering Welkom, approached the customer with a solution in the form of a SKF hexagonal bore Y-bearing. “The YHC 207-104-2LS8W/ VT357 bearing has a complicated name but provides a simple solution,” says SKF Key Accounts Manager – Agriculture, Charl En- gelbrecht. He explains, “The hexagonal bore design presents a better load rating and sealing arrangement which enables the bearing to handle faster speeds and higher loads. The de-bagger machine’s offloading capabilities were thus increased which delivered the benefits of reduced downtime and improved production to our customer.” We are very cognisant of the fact that the agricultural industry faces numerous chal- lenges, many of which are time critical due to seasonal and other pressures. Meeting the customer’s requirement with the right solution and on time was for us the most im- portant factors of this project. We believe it is a successful three-way partnership which involves a close working relationship with our agricultural distributor to ensure that we can add value by finding the right solution for our agri customers, especially when they are un- der extreme time pressure.” This application serves as the perfect exam- ple of SKF’s ability to offer unique solutions to the agricultural sector. b

BARLOWORLD POWER to assemble cat generators in SA

C aterpillar and Barloworld Power have launched a combined initiative to assemble Cat electric power genera- tors in South Africa to meet rising demand, reduce unit cost and promote localisation. As the first Cat equipment assembly unit to be established in South Africa, the new facil- ity marks a significant milestone in the part- nership between Caterpillar and Barloworld Power, its southern African dealer for Energy and Transportation. The generators are supplied in kit form and assembled locally from scratch, contributing to the drive for localisation and enabling the transfer of new and valuable skills to South African employees. This also enables the Cat units to compete on a more even footing with locally manufactured equivalents. “The assembly facility is a major step for- ward in Barloworld Power and Caterpillar’s growth aspirations across southern Africa,” says Mark Mencel, executive director of Bar- loworld Power southern Africa. “We are now assembling Cat branded gen- erators at our Boksburg, Gauteng, premises that have the same highest quality stan- dards for which Caterpillar is renowned worldwide. Barloworld Power can now offer truly competitive Cat products while aligning with government objectives in local employ- ment and development.”

ages our excellent capabilities to provide a local solution for South Africa,” adds Chris Monge, Caterpillar area manager. “This rep- resents a significant investment in the local economy to support our growth strategy in the power business.” The assembly unit was set up with the as- sistance of experts from Caterpillar’s power systems assembly factory in India and is being managed and staffed by Barloworld Power. Initially the facility will assemble the Cat i6 and 400 series generator sets, rang- ing from 400 kVA to 1 000 kVA and suited to the provision of standby power for medi- um to large industries. Barloworld plans to produce about 500 units a year, expanding according to market demand. Barloworld Power assembly manager at the new facility, Imraan Amod, says this initiative will give Barloworld Power and Caterpillar greater access to the southern African mar- ket. The first two pilot 550 kVA generator kits, supplied by Caterpillar in China, were sold before they arrived in South Africa. They were assembled and delivered by Barloworld Power in the last week in February 2015. The team operating the assembly line has been supplied by the Barloworld Power Cus- tomised Solution Centre in Boksburg and received specialised training from Caterpil- lar’s international experts to assemble Cat generator sets.

“This initiative between Barloworld and Caterpillar promotes localisation and lever-

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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS JUNE 2015