High chrome white iron foundry Mitak is celebrating its fiftieth birthday this year, and plans to expand its reach locally in the coming 10 years.

The company’s global footprint is well established in most developed regions, but it has aspirations to develop a presence in the mining market in Southern Africa, says Mitak director Graham Anderson.

In the past few years, Mitak has successfully secured contracts for the supply of grinding elements to the largest coal-fired power stations in India and the UK; supply has started and resupply is also under way.

This is in addition to the ongoing supply of spares to power generation plants in South Africa, the US, various countries in Europe and Australia.

Mitak remains very positive about its potential to capture market share in mining on the African continent – particularly where the majority of wear parts are imported, mainly from the East.

“Successfully executing this goal will come to define the next 10 years at Mitak,” says Anderson.

The company has mostly grown its reputation and market share through partnering with international original-equipment manufacturers that have a more highly developed understanding of the equipment, operating conditions and market.

Mitak will continue to follow this approach to reach African miners and has managed to secure several key partnerships with companies that are “market leaders” in their fields, he adds.

New Product Range

Mitak has successfully launched the Mitak IC range, which has been in development for more than 20 years, comprising a range of composite materials that extend the wear life of grinding spares.

These materials are being developed for major international customers in construction, power generation and mining applications, and demand for these advanced productsis expected to grow rapidly, claims Anderson.

Mitak IC is one such composite material consisting of ultra-hard ceramic or carbide infiltrated with molten alloy at high temperature and elevated pressure, he explains.

The ultra-hard ceramic or carbide material combines the strength of an abrasion-resistant metal alloy with the extreme hardness of sophisticated ceramics and carbides.

“Mitak’s facility in Alrode, Alberton, handles the entire manufacturing process –from pattern making to casting and final machining. “At every stage of this process, Mitak has used some of the most advanced technology available in the foundry industry currently,” he enthuses.

For example, additive and reductive rapid prototyping techniques are commonly used for pattern manufacture while laser measuring equipment is employed in final inspection of all machined components.

Additionally, Mitak’s entire production cycle is controlled using a sophisticated finite planning tool that enables the company to manage its capacity and production performance.

“The next 50 years look even more promising than the last,” quips Anderson.