Capital Equipment News

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS

NOVEMBER 2015

he exchange rate continues to place

pressure on companies importing

products and components. A smart

alternative to purchasing new engine com-

ponents is the remanufacture of compo-

nents to OEM standards.

“There is a misconception that diesel en-

gine component repair or remanufacture can

only be done properly in Europe or America.

However, Metric Automotive Engineering be-

lies this idea with a proven track record in

southern Africa over the past 40 years. Our

facilities and competencies are comparable

to anywhere else in the world and in addi-

tion, it is far more cost effective to carry out

such repairs or remanufacture locally due to

the weak exchange rate,” says Andrew Yorke,

director at Metric Automotive Engineering.

Yorke emphasises that remanufactured

components need to conform to the same

standards as new parts. Customers can be

assured of comparable quality and capability

by aligning themselves with a service pro-

vider that invests in the latest technology to

improve the quality and capacity of its repair

and rebuild services.

This should be complemented by a technical-

ly trained and competent team capable of us-

ing the technology appropriately. These fac-

tors must also be supported by best practice

quality procedures that underpin the standard

of the workmanship and offer the customer

complete peace of mind.

Metric Automotive Engineering realises that

using the right technology, such as the newly

commissioned Rottler F109 extra heavy duty

multi-purpose CNC machining centre and

Berco RTM 575 crankshaft grinding machine,

will give the company the necessary capacity

to remanufacture components. Significantly,

the CNC machining centre is the only one of

its kind in Africa.

“The engines currently being installed into

new vehicles are highly sophisticated; not in

their major elements but in the minor com-

ponents that are so critical to performance

and emissions efficiencies. It is therefore

important that a remanufacturer’s equip-

ment should be capable of machining new

generation engine components, since these

require far tighter machining tolerances and

advanced machining methods during the re-

manufacturing process. This necessitates far

higher skill levels among remanufacturing

engineers as well as more accurate equip-

ment because there is a less room for error,”

adds Yorke.

He continues that the quality of workmanship

is critical as it can affect the operational life of

the component and the engine itself, and it is

therefore important to use a remanufacturer

that can deliver uncompromising quality. Not

only is Metric Automotive Engineering able

to refurbish large diesel engine components

and offer services such as cylinder head re-

manufacture, cylinder block line boring, mill-

ing, honing and boring, camshaft grinding,

crankshaft grinding, engine assembly and

dynamometer testing, but it is also able to

salvage major components that would other-

wise be rendered unserviceable.

Yorke points out that the case for remanufac-

turing engine components in South Africa is

strengthened by the fact that many replace-

ment parts are no longer available ex stock

in the country. This means that they would

need to be shipped into South Africa and in

instances where they are needed urgently,

and then air freight charges would add extra

costs to the overall component pricing.

Metric Automotive Engineering is the au-

thorised IPD Parts distributor in southern

African and uses these quality parts in the

remanufacture of engines. Manufactured by

IPD Parts in the USA, these components are

produced in a Lloyds Register accredited ISO

9001:2008 quality controlled environment to

ensure integrity and optimum performance

under working conditions. Engineered to

meet the OEM parts specifications, IPD Parts

are available at a lower cost. Metric Automo-

tive Engineering maintains a comprehensive

stockholding of IPD components to ensure

that time delays are minimised.

Another benefit Metric Automotive Engineer-

ing offers customers is the diagnosis and fault

analysis service provided by its sister compa-

ny Reef Fuel Injection Services. The ability of

Reef Fuel Injection Services to remanufacture

the latest generation fuel systems means

that companies save substantial amounts on

components that would otherwise be consid-

ered as waste.

“An investment in the latest diagnostic equip-

ment ensures that Reef Fuel Injection Ser-

vices stays abreast of available technology.

The company offers Bosch, Delphi, Stana-

dyne and Denso approved fuel injection ser-

vices and it is acknowledged as a specialist

in CAT fuel systems,” says Yorke.

The bottom line is that earthmoving equip-

ment operators simply cannot afford the

downtime that is typically associated with the

long lead time on importing components. In

addition, one needs to factor in the substan-

tial cost benefits derived from remanufactur-

ing locally. Where quality can be assured, this

is a very attractive alternative for the local

market.

“With the capabilities provided by Metric Au-

tomotive Engineering and Reef Fuel Injection

Services, the local industry has access to

an OEM standard component remanufac-

ture service that can cover both engine and

fuel system components. This affords them

a faster turnaround time, which will natural-

ly have a positive impact on their business

operations, with the added assurance that

component specifications and tolerances are

strictly adhered to,” Yorke concludes.

INCREASING PROFITABILITY

and turnaround time with remanufacturing

DRIVETRAINS AND COMPONENTS