Capital Equipment News

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS

AUGUST 2015

etric Automotive Engineering is

positioning itself as a world class

remanufacturing centre. “Some

companies believe that diesel engine com-

ponent repair or remanufacture can only be

done properly in Europe or America. This

is not true. We have facilities and compe-

tencies that are comparable to anywhere in

the world. In addition, it is far more cost

effective to carry out such repairs or re-

manufacture locally due to the exchange

rate,” Andrew Yorke, operations director, at

Metric Automotive Engineering, says.

The company is South Africa’s most com-

prehensively equipped diesel engine com-

ponent remanufacturer. Established as a

family business in 1969, Metric Automotive

Engineering has an operating philosophy of

investing the latest technology and qual-

ity equipment. Yorke says that it is critical

to stay abreast of changes in industry, one

of which is the move towards much larger

heavy diesel engines.

“Larger engines mean much larger com-

ponents and two of our most recent invest-

ments in new equipment are the largest

crankshaft grinding machine in Africa and

a state-of-the-art new generation three axis

CNC machine,” Yorke says.

The crankshaft grinding machine is capable

of grinding shafts of up to 4.7 metres long

and with weights of up to 5 tons. It will allow

the grinding of crankshafts from industrial

compressors right through to the V16 loco-

motive diesel engine. Improved grinding tol-

erances will be achieved as the machine is

paired with set of compensators which will

help to eliminate ovality and taper.

The CNC machining centres is the only

machine of its kind in Africa. This ma-

chine is capable of line boring, surfacing

and blue-printing blocks up to 6 metres in

length, and has boosted Metric Automotive

Engineering capacity to handle the huge en-

gine blocks that are found in the railways,

marine and heavy equipment sectors.

Metric Automotive Engineering has an es-

tablished reputation for the quality reman-

ufacture of diesel engine components and

offers services which include cylinder head

remanufacture, cylinder block line boring,

milling, honing and boring, camshaft grind-

ing, crankshaft grinding, engine assembly

and dynamometer testing.

On the fuel injection side, Yorke says that the

technological focus is on fuel economy and

emissions levels. “There have been huge

advancements with this technology and it is

important that companies offering services

in this field stay up to date with the latest

international trends.

South Africa has a distinct advantage in be-

ing able to access the latest advances once

they have been through the developmental

stage in the international arena. This means

that the adoption of new trends is far easier

and efficient.

However, Yorke is quick to point out that not

all global technology is applicable to the Af-

rican market. “Harsh operating conditions

and remote locations add to the challenges

in Africa and fuel contamination is a major

problem, whether it is just dirt and water in

the filling station tanks or buying blended

diesel at the roadside because it is cheap-

er,” he explains

Reef Fuel Injection Services offers a full di-

agnosis and fault analysis service to help

customers get to grips with these operating

conditions. Yorke points out that while older

fuel systems could tolerate a certain level of

fuel contamination, the newer systems com-

prise advanced electronics and are much

more susceptible to fuel contamination.

The company has invested in the latest diag-

nostic equipment and its team has the nec-

essary technical skill to assist customers. It

offers Bosch, Delphi and Denso approved

fuel injection services and is acknowledged

as a specialist in CAT fuel systems.

Looking at growth opportunities, Yorke says

that both companies are well placed to ser-

vice customer across Africa. “Africa is a

growth area for us and we have the neces-

sary infrastructure and skills in place to ser-

vice multi-national companies that operate

in the region,” Yorke concludes.

METRIC AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING

a world class remanufacturing centre

MANUFACTURING