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PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Pan Mixers South Africa (PMSA) had a full IMER
batching plant assembled at Bauma Conexpo
Africa 2015 to demonstrate the advantages of wet
batching and mixing.
“There is an international trend for companies to move away from
dry batching using a transit mixer and a Karoo type batching plant
for weighing aggregates and mixing, towards wet batching and
mixing, where a more consistent quality mix can be obtained,” Quintin
Booysen, sales and marketing manager at PMSA, says.
“The result is cement savings and less variability in the concrete
produced. As infrastructure roll-out intensifies across Africa, more cost-ef-
fective ways of producing concrete will be the ultimate goal. At present
most concrete is produced on-site in Africa. However, central batching and
ready-mix will increase in Africa, as has been the case in South Africa over
the last few decades,” Booysen stresses.
In conjunction with Kraft Curing Solutions of Germany, PMSA showcased
the full Kraft range for the precast sector at Bauma Conexpo Africa 2015.
Clients who have installed a full curing system on their PMSA precast brick
and paver plants have enjoyed cement savings of up to 30%.
Added benefits include reduced stockholding, while increasing the
quality of the end product. This is a huge incentive for precast element
producers to save money on cement input costs, Booysen stresses.
The SPS concrete roof tile plant is ideal for start-up roof tilemanufacturers
looking to enter themarket by supplying high-quality concrete roof tiles. This
can be done on a smaller machine with a capacity of up to 5 000 tiles a day.
“We have upgraded this machinery and managed to deliver a world-
class, entry-level roof-tile production plant at a highly competitive price by
re-engineering the existing SPS 712 roof tile plant,” Booysen notes.
Explaining the theme of ‘Thinking About Concrete? Think PMSA’,
Booysen adds: “Companies need to move from an equipment supplier
mind-set towards providing a total solution and fit-for-purpose technology.
“Companies should also invest in their customers by providing the
best possible skills transfer and knowledge sharing in order to upskill
customers’ staff. This makes the supplier’s job in terms of support, mainte-
nance and upgrading that much easier, increasing customers’ bottom line
in the long term.”
While one of the core functions of the
Pinetown mini-lab is to do prepara-
tion for aircraft filter analysis, it also
provides several other monitoring services
and speciality tests on samples that are not
generally processed in the main laboratory. This
laboratory processes samples from around the
country, where speciality analysis is required.
Some of the specialty tests conducted in the
mini-lab include the analysis of grease, coolant,
Karl Fischer moisture, VPR (varnish potential
rating), aircraft and refrigeration.
The three highly-specialised technical
staff members who operate the mini-lab also
conduct field visits to customers in a variety
of industries, such as Illovo, Tongaat Hulett,
Gud filters, and more. They take samples from
gearboxes, turbines, compressors and any other
component that needs monitoring.
These samples are then processed and
analysed in the mini-lab, and the results sent to
the customer, with recommendations on what
corrective maintenance action should be taken,
if any is needed.
The on-site sampling is a service that is highly
sought-after by mini-lab customers.
The 10 full-service WearCheck laboratories
operate across the African continent and beyond,
and are situated in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal,
Mpumalanga, with international laboratories in
India, Dubai, Ghana, Mozambique and Zambia
– at Lumwana mine and Kitwe. WearCheck also
has a presence in Cape Town, Rustenburg, Steel-
poort, Port Elizabeth, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
An 11 full-service laboratory is scheduled to
open soon in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC). One of the mini-lab technicians, Shane
Goslin, will relocate to the DRC to supervise the
initial phase of the new laboratory, which will be
on-site at the new Kibali Gold Mine, potentially
the largest gold mine in Africa.
WET BATCHING PLANT SHOWCASED
PMSA distributes Imer wet batch plants to a range of industries in
Southern Africa.
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MINI-LAB PROVIDES MAXI SERVICE
Ten world-class full-service laboratories make up a comprehensive
network operated by condition monitoring specialists
WearCheck,
with the head office in Pinetown, Durban. Here, next to the full-
service primary laboratory, is a highly specialised mini-laboratory,
which provides niche analysis services.
Trevor Pillay (left, at microscope) is the
senior mini-lab technician, and has been at
WearCheck for 26 years. With him is field
and lab technician Shashay Rampersad, who
has clocked up 13 years at WearCheck.
Field and lab technician Shane Goslin, who
joined the company at the end of 2014,
prepares a tray of engine coolant samples
for testing. Goslin will shortly relocate to
the DRC to supervise the initial phase of
WearCheck’s newest laboratory, which will be
on-site at the new Kibali Gold Mine.
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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
NOVEMBER
2015