Mechanical Technology November 2015

⎪ On the cover ⎪

Hytec Fluid Technology (HFT), the specialist hydraulic fluid management company within the Hytec Group, has co-invested in a distribution agreement with Cummins Filtration to become the ‘super dealer’ for the Fleetguard ® range of engine protection products in Southern Africa. MechTech talks to HFT’s general manager, Sandor Bottyan (left), and Cummins Components director for Africa, Feroze Chowdary (right). Engine protection completes HFT’s total fluid management offering

Group; mobile and industrial oil filtration cartridges; offline filtration systems; water filters and dewatering units; con- tamination sensors; cooling systems; and a host of pumps, valves, flow and pressure control components. “Underpinning the collaboration between HFT and Fleetguard ® is our overlapping company cultures,” says Chowdary. “Cummins Filtration values integrity and investment in the local com- munity as core overarching principles. We are very strong believers in corpo- rate responsibility issues, so as well as promoting local manufacturing to create local jobs, we also sponsor schools and promote skills transfer into the region,” he tells MechTech . “Of all the economies in the world, we see Africa as one that is full of potential and we share the Hytec Groups African expansion ambitions,” he adds. Cummins Filtration recently opened its new Filtration and Coolant Manufacturing plant at the new regional distribu- tion centre (RDC) for Southern Africa in the Waterfall Commercial Park in Woodmead, Gauteng. As well as in- corporating Cummins component warehousing, the facility is also the site for local manu-

facturing of Fleetguard air filters and its modern Organic Acid Technology (OAT) engine coolant. “We have introduced an air filter manufacturing plant and a facil- ity to blend the best-in-class environmen- tally friendly Fleetguard ES Compleat TM organic acid (OAT) coolant formulation,” says Chowdary. Service delivery and overall customer satisfaction across the Cummins supply chain in southern Africa is set to dra- matically improve. “Network analysis revealed that from Pietermaritzburg, we were about 600 km from our South African customer base. By relocating, we have halved that to 280 km,” he adds. Addressing the advantages of the collaboration from HFT’s perspec- tive, Bottyan says that, across the world, Fleetguard is regarded as either Number 1 or Number 2 in the filtration market. Cummins Filtration has sent its top Fleetguard people over to its new base in South Africa to launch the brand into Africa. “Cummins and Fleetguard are investing into this country, in terms of technical skills, stockholding and local manufacturing facilities for the air filter elements and the advanced OAT diesel engine coolant,” Bottyan tells MechTech . “There are a number of synergies be- tween our two companies,” he continues. “We have been supporting the hydraulics side of mobile equipment for a number of years in the region. Bosch Rexroth, as a hydraulics OEM, understands and has a vested interest in delivering high qual- ity protection for its hydraulic systems.” Chowdary continues: “Cummins is an engine manufacturer, and the only one that has invested in its own filtra-

T he Hytec Group of companies is the largest drive and control so- lutions provider in sub-Saharan Africa, with 34 operations sup- plying components and turnkey systems to the industrial and mobile equipment markets. Now 50% owned by Bosch Rexroth, Hytec Group companies provide the full suite of hydraulic, pneumatic and automation solutions: from planning and design, manufacture and assembly, test- ing, installation and commissioning, in addition to having full service and repair capabilities. HFT is the Hytec Group company responsible for fluid management ser- vices within the

The Fleetguard ® product range is designed to protect modern diesel engines and includes: Fleetguard ES Compleat TM organic acid (OAT) coolant; Fleetguard NanoNet ® fuel filtration solutions; NanoForce ® air filtration technology, and much more.

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Mechanical Technology — November 2015