S outh African pumps manufacturer Hazleton Pumps registered an increase in export sales of more than 250% in 2013, compared with sales in 2012, states company MD Thys Wehmeyer.

“This growth can be attributed to the company’s current continuous product development that provides unique and reliable solutions for specific pumping problems,” he says.

Wehmeyer adds that its Hippo medium-voltage slurry submersible pump range, which was designed and developed in South Africa, has contributed to a major portion of the export growth.

The range was specifically designed to pump high volumes of liquids containing abrasive and corrosive products. To date, 23 pumps have been exported to Canada since 2006 , while four pumps were exported to Canada last year, he notes.

Owing to the current rand exchange rate and Hazleton Pumps being well known in South Africa and internationally – including the Hippo slurry pump brand’s reliability and durability – Wehmeyer says, the company expects the increase in exports to achieve similar figures this year.

Further, he notes that, after being in operation for seven years, two of the Hippo medium-voltage slurry submersible pumps at the oil sands project near Fort McMurray, in Alberta, Canada, were returned to Hazleton Pumps in South Africa for repairs.

Owing to the high cost of art-isan labour in Canada, as well as the current rand exchange rate, it was deemed economically viable to send the pumps to the manufacturer in South Africa for repairs, Wehmeyer points out.

The company has also completed the design and development of a high-head, high-volume slurry submersible pump range, which will be officially launched at the mining, industrial, mach-ine tools and electrical trade fair, Electra Mining Exhibition, in Johannesburg, in September.

“The ability to pump volumes of up to 400 ℓ a second at a head of 160 m with a single-stage impeller configuration is the main feature of this range,” says Wehmeyer.

Design of the new range started in 2011 and the pumps have been performance-tested and are available on the market, with the first pump sold at the end of last year, he notes.

Meanwhile, pumping requirements in the mining industry have changed, owing to the high costs associated with flooding in mines. These costs have res- ulted in the demand for submersible pumps that can pump high volumes of liquids that are contaminated with solids and acids at high heads, Wehmeyer points out, adding that it is expected that the new pump range will meet these requirements.

The company plans to increase its manufacturing capacity to meet the increasing export demand and the dem-and for supply and repairs, and is providing training for new employees in specific skills related to this demand, Wehmeyer says.

While the submersible slurry pumps have been exported to African countries, including Russia, Canada, Chile, Australia and, more recently, Madagascar, the company intends to enter the South American market, as Hazelton Pumps regards this as an untapped opportu- nity in a growing mining indus- try, Wehmeyer adds.

He points out that key challenges that the local pumps industry faces include major input costs of the castings that are required for the pumps.