Chinese multinational launches in style

Chinese multinational heavy machinery manufacturing company XCMG held its opening ceremony at BAUMA CONEXPO AFRICA 2015, after having officially launched into the South African market in August 2014. 

SA gear manufacturer targets South American mining

Mechanical power transmission manufacturers Pylon Gears last month embarked on a trade mission to Peru, which was funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), to gain a foothold in the... 

SA company launches exclusive unbalanced drives

Specialist vibrating equipment supplier Joest Kwatani South Africa launched its exclusive range of Joest unbalanced drives in March, states company service GM Theresa Walton. 

Thousands participate in Pretoria march against corruption

Thousands of people from various spheres of society on Wednesday gathered in the City of Tshwane, in a march titled Unite Against Corruption. The diverse crowd representing faith-based... 

SA aluminium body positive about aluminium prospects

Owing to the increased use of aluminium in the automotive and beverage packaging industries, demand for aluminium in South Africa has positive long-term prospects, says Aluminium Federation of... 

Automotive sector to drive aluminium growth, says metallurgist

Metallurgical plant and rolling mill technology provider SMS group has identified the automotive industry as a crucial target market for the company, where its aluminium rolling technology can be... 

First SA company to manufacture sausage U-clips

Durban-based precision aluminium components manufacturer AC Exports will receive a new machine for manufacturing small aluminium sausage clips this month, AC Exports chairperson Jens Reuning... 

Richards Bay casthouse has new owner

Australia-owned bauxite miner and aluminium producer South32 has confirmed the official transfer of ownership of the Bayside casthouse in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal to Isizinda Aluminium in a deal... 

Marquee company manufactures structures the size of a soccer field

Cape Town-based aluminium-frame-structure manufacturer Speed Structures is manufacturing a 120-m-long, 40-m-wide marquee with an apex height of 10 m for hire or sale, says company chairperson... 

Weakening of yuan bad for SA exports, good for inflation

The recent depreciation of the Chinese yuan will put pressure on exports from South Africa to China, but could ease South Africa’s inflation, states South Africa law firm ENSafrica’s China Practice... 

End-to-end operation optimises all chilled water plant components

Up to 40% of the energy consumed by a building’s cooling system can be saved by designing an end-to-end solution that monitors, controls and operates all the components of the system, says Johnson... 

V&A Waterfront harnesses seawater cooling technology

Heating, refrigeration and air-conditioning solutions provider Carrier is installing a 6 MW district cooling plant that uses the cold Atlantic seawater in the harbour, at Cape Town’s V&A... 

BIM enhances HVAC installations

Building information modelling (BIM) enables quicker, more economical and more sustainable installation of heating, cooling and ventilation (HVAC) systems, says mechanical pipe-joining service... 

Fan manufacturer focuses on R&D amid challenging economy

Owing to the sluggish local and global economy, South African fan manufacturer CFW Fans is homing in on research and development (R&D), particularly in terms of developing large fans for heavy... 

Industrial elements manufacturer upgrades technology

Benoni-based industrial elements manufacturer Independent Elements is adopting a number of new technologies that will enhance the reliability of the company’s product range, says Independent... 

Small thermal oil heater to be released next month

Oil and gas specialised equipment supplier Energas Technologies will launch its new Apek-mini thermal oil heater onto the South African market next month, says Energas product engineer Laetitia Botha. 

South Africa strategically significant for China’s future growth plans

China is considering large-scale, long-term investments in South Africa, especially in terms of joint ventures, to secure resources that will help facilitate China’s future growth plans, says... 

China an attractive export market for South Africa, says analyst

Owing to the significant expansion of China’s middle class, the world’s fastest-growing economy has become an attractive market for South African exporters, says KPMG director Glenn Ho. 

Strategic partnership geared to achieve midtier status

Platinum group metals (PGM) mining company, Wesizwe Platinum, whose anchor project is the Bakubung platinum mine, in the North West, aims to become a significant midtier multicommodity mining... 

Petrochemicals partnership develops wireless gas detector

Japanese engineering and software company Yokogawa and Norwegian wireless optical gas-detector developer GasSecure in July announced the delivery of the world’s first SIL2-certified wireless gas... 

Advanced vision sensors check catalytic converters

Peter Jones Electronic Equipment, a division of the Actum group recently supplied two IV series vision sensors to the Port Elizabeth-based Mobile Emissions Catalyst division of Germany-based... 

Mobile HMI enables real-time changes to out-of-view applications

Industrial automation specialist company Rockwell Automation introduced its new Allen Bradley MobileView tethered operator interface – a mobile terminal that enables plant and industrial personnel... 

Monitoring solution mitigates worker fatigue

More than a dozen companies worldwide are using heavy machinery and engine manufacturer and designer Caterpillar’s 24/7 equipment operator monitoring service, which provides customers with the... 

Shell helps develop advanced control systems software

Japanese engineering and software company Yokogawa and international oil company Shell have jointly developed a software suite that acts as a platform for advanced control and estimation, which... 

Industrial switch helps manufacturers address network requirements

Industrial automation specialist company Rockwell Automation introduced its new Allen Bradley MobileView tethered operator interface – a mobile terminal that enables plant and industrial personnel... 

Platinum company and union reach agreement

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) signed a substantive three-year wage agreement with platinum producer Northam Platinum last month at the company’s Zondereinde mine, in Limpopo. 

Load-shedding results in production losses

Stage 3 electricity load curtailments have cost midtier platinum-group metals (PGMs) producer Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) a total of 34 hours of milling time, translating into about 13 000 t... 

Diesel vehicles to play big role in future platinum demand

The future demand for platinum-group metals (PGMs) will largely be rooted in the automotive industry, where PGMs are used to make catalytic converters and platinum to produce autocatalysts for... 

Unyielding platinum dip forces miners to cut costs

Owing to weakened demand for platinum, the platinum price, currently at a six-year low of about $980/oz, is not expected to rise significantly in the near future, says geology and mineral resources... 

Mine shaft reaches 803 m

The main shaft at platinum miner Wesizwe Platinum’s Bakubung platinum mine, in the North West, has been sunk to 803 m below collar and has reached the brow of the 81 level station, says Wesizwe... 

Solar dryer in final testing stages

Nelspruit-based agricultural processing equipment manufacturer Dryers for Africa is in the final stages of testing its SD300 solar dryer at an environment control solutions company, in the Western... 

Ionic coolant sales gain momentum

One year after introducing the specially developed ionic coolant into the global pyrometallurgical market, foundry and engineering company Thos Begbie is seeing a marked increase in interest and... 

Brick company aiming to expand kiln capacity

Owing to the current healthy market, the expected growth in local demand for face bricks and the subsequent opportunity to increase the company’s market share in the sector, clay brick producer... 

Furnace vacuum installer observes wet-to-dry trend

Vacuum furnaces are increasingly being upgraded to use dry pumps, says vacuum solutions provider Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum senior process industries marketing manager Uwe Zöllig. 

Andalusite producers to challenge merger prohibition

Andalusite producers Andalusite Resources and Imerys South Africa have requested that the Competition Tribunal consider the proposed merger between the two companies. The request for consideration... 

Tanzania coal-to-power project begins BFS

Multi-commodity exploration and mineral project development company Kibo Mining has started with the bankable feasibility study (BFS) for the development of its Mbeya coal-to-power project, in... 

IPP prepares final coal tender bid

South African independent power producer (IPP) KiPower is preparing to submit a bid in response to a tender from the Department of Energy (DoE) under its Coal Baseload IPP Procurement Programme to... 

Expert highlights coal projects ‘likely to succeed’

The four new coal mines being developed by energy and chemical company Sasol are highly likely to succeed as a result of two fundamentals: reserves and market, says mining and project finance... 

Company pushing to bring closed lubrication system into iron-ore space

Over the next 18 months oil and lubrication company Shell will target the iron-ore market and introduce its bulk grease customer value proposition (CVP) through the Shell Grease Truck to various... 

Iron-ore surplus will persist – consultancy

Australian iron-ore miners’ intentions to increase their production, slow demand from India and China, and displaced high-cost miners will continue to contribute to the long-term global surplus of...