Local high-pressure pump supplier Werner South Africa Pumps & Equipment has joined forces with sewer cleaning equipment manufacturer Baroclean to supply South Africa’s first rapid response vehicle for sewage cleaning operations.

Werner has imported a high-pressure jetting and vacuum pump unit from Baroclean, which the company then mounts onto the chassis of a bakkie.

Werner Pumps MD Sebastian Werner explains that Baroclean supply units for chassis up to 18000 kg, which overlaps with Werner’s current product offering.

“We are excited to introduce the rapid response vehicle to the local market and believe that it is an excellent solution for customers who service industrial and urban environments.”

Werner emphasises that the plumbing and construction industries will find the rapid response vehicle particularly useful because of its size, agility and versatility. The bakkie is best suited to applications where bigger sewage-cleaning trucks cannot fit easily, such as shopping centres or office park basements.

It can also perform multiple maintenance and cleaning functions where other sanitation equipment – such as truck mounted vacuum units commonly known as Honey Suckers – cannot.

Werner says the range of features in the unit provide high-performance solutions in a compact package.

The rapid response vehicle is the first of its kind to perform suction and jetting, which will capitalise on a gap in mobile water plant supply in the country. This also mitigates sewage cleaning operations that can become expensive, time consuming and labour intensive for operators if they need to use multiple vehicles for sucking and jetting.

The unit has a high-pressure pump, vacuum pump suction and aluminium tank with two compartments – a 800 ℓ sludge tank and a 400 ℓ water tank. It also has a payload of more than 700 kg.

The hydro-cleansing combined vehicle’s high-pressure pump has three solid ceramic pistons that provide pressure of 150 to 320 bar. The pumps and vacuum draw their power from the base vehicle’s engine through a full-power transfer gearbox.

The suction and jetting system is controlled through a panel at the rear of the vehicle. The control panel is located in a waterproof box and the system comes with an emergency-stop button.

The vehicles vary in cost, depending on the chosen finishing features, and have a delivery lead time of six months from order.

“We are looking at adapting the unit to fit the chassis of automotive manufacturer Toyota Hilux as well,” enthuses Werner.

He explains that the company noted improved production levels in the first quarter of this year, which has enabled the company to honour current contracts.

Werner is confident that further contracts will still be delivered on time, should the current Covid-19 lockdown period not be extended.

“Our local production means better delivery time, with little disruption from external factors, such as the current Covid-19 pandemic,” he concludes.