Industrial valves and pumps specialists Brimis Engineering has been subcontracted by customised water treatment solutions provider Aqua Pro Solutions to size, recommend and supply new pumps for the Florida pumpstation in Roodepoort, Gauteng.

Brimis Engineering partnered with its pump original-equipment manufacturer to find a solution that is cost competitive and technically suitable.

“The contract was signed in November last year and started in mid-January,” says Brimis Engineering project manager Siphiwe Phakati.

He explains that the project was initially scheduled to take only six months; however, owing to the production requirements of the treatment plant, the valves and pumps are being taken out for overhaul based on plant availability.

The project is now scheduled to be completed in September 2022.

Phakati says the scope of work comprises the complete overhaul of gate and butterfly valves in the filter system, which is used for isolation, as well as the overhaul of the actuators on site.

Besides the valves scope, Brimis Engineering was also tasked with sizing and supply of critical pumps for the pumpstation.

The sluice gate actuators are pneumatic, while the butterfly valve actuators are electric.

“To replace components, such as shafts, pins and the manufacturing of guide wheels, we used our newly purchased, state-of-the-art machine tool manufacturer Haas computer numerical control machine for a quick turnaround time on machining work,” says Brimis Engineering technical director Moeketsi Mpotu.

“The new machine has further strengthened our position as a leading refurbishment and manufacturing entity during emergencies.”

Brimis Engineering fully understands the financial constraints of the State-owned entities, and its pricing model takes that into consideration, consequently allowing for rates to always be competitive, Mpotu adds.

The selection criteria for this project were price, technical capability and experience in repairing low-pressure valves.

“Besides the cost, we also had the expertise and know-how in terms of repairing the valves, and mitigating challenges that arose unexpectedly,” he says.

These challenges included gaining access to the actuator valves – for which oxy-acetylene torches were used, as the bolts on the system had seized – and realising that the electric actuators were more economical to replace then to overhaul, owing to the unavailability of aluminium-casted spares that the actuator required.

A supply challenge was the availability of rubber seals, which are often scarce, as there are few local manufacturers.

Mpotu says Brimis Engineering order 25% more seals than what is generally required for a project, which enables the company to have existing stock while mitigating the procurement issue.

The company believes that it has the most advanced and comprehensive fleet of mobile valve testing equipment in South Africa.

“We are able to test any safety valve and relief valve at clients’ premises, with further capacity and technology on hand to perform Trevi testing, which is an online safety test for safety valves,” he adds.

Mpotu concludes that Brimis has strategically positioned itself in Middleburg, in Mpumalanga, “on the doorstep of many power providers, mining houses, and paper and pulp companies”, enabling the company to pride itself on having a call response time of under two hours in the region.