Capital Equipment News August 2016

PARTS AND MAINTENANCE

INFORMED SUPPLY OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS, tooling and machinery

W hile access to quality tools and equipment is a major advantage, expertise in their use is also essential. To ensure that its customers get exactly that, Elquip Solutions’ Internal Sales Engineer Dan- iel Cox recently attended key training by two of the company’s international principals in order to bring this expertise to South Africa. These training courses are a substantial in- vestment by Elquip Solutions in its staff and also to ensure customers receive the latest technical expertise and product knowledge. “It is important that we not only supply the best products and solutions, but also ensure our clients have the expertise to use our tools and equipment to maximum effect,” says Mike Cronin, Managing Director of Elquip Solutions. July 2015 saw Cox in Munich, Germany to attend a two-week course at Elquip’s interna- tional tool supplier, Hoffman. In April this year, Cox also attended a week of intensive training in New York with Magnetic Analysis Corpora- tion (MAC), a leader in non-destructive testing (NDT) equipment, and also one of Elquip’s in- ternational principals. ‘Non-destructive’ expertise At MAC, Cox’s training focused on the MultiMac ® , an NDT device that detects defects in newly-manufactured steel tube. In 2015, he completed Level 1 operator training. This year, Cox’s goal was Eddy Current Level 2 certification, which qualifies him to set up MultiMacs ® . In tube mills, new steel tube is passed imme- diately beneath the eddy current coils of the MultiMac ® . Signals from the coils are fed to a computer where smart software picks up eddy current spikes caused by welding defects. Keeping up with developments While he spent most of his time in lectures taking in all the formulas and trigonometry, Cox was also required to get ‘hands on’. “In MAC’s workshops, we saw how the sys- tems are assembled,” he explains. As a bo- nus, he was also given the opportunity to ac- quaint himself with other advanced MAC NDT equipment.

Mike Cronin, Managing Director of Elquip Solutions.

tion, during which he had to pick up defects in the test pipe. In the future, he is looking forward to completing Eddy Current Level 3 certification, which covers aspects such as MAC’s Ultrasound and Rotary NDT equipment. With this training behind him, Cox will be re- sponsible for maintaining MAC installations in South Africa. “I am now able to help our customers’ shop floor operators set up their MultiMacs ® correctly and sort out any opera- tional problems they might have,” he explains. Training in tools International tool distributor Hoffmann made a successful entry into South Africa when Elquip took on this distinguished agency in early 2015. Hoffmann’s key sales tool is its innovative and extensive catalogue of the 100 000 various tools it supplies. In South Africa, customers place orders for tools which Elquip imports, allowing South African cus- tomers to source high-quality tools from Hoffmann at affordable prices. “Hoffmann stocks all of the major tool brands – those brands that every artisan or techni- cian wants to have,” says Cox. By approaching the world’s best tool manufacturers to manu- facture specifically for it, Hoffmann accesses vast experience and expertise for the benefit of its customers. In addition, Hoffmann also has its own extremely competitively-priced in-house brands, Garant and Holex, comprising premi-

Elquip Solutions’ Internal Sales Engineer, Daniel Cox.

um-quality and industrial tool ranges re- spectively.

The catalogue – a powerful tool “The catalogue is a major tool on its own,” explains Cox. Far more than simply a list of tools, it is also a source of application knowledge. “For example, if you are cutting a certain grade of steel, the catalogue will specify the correct tool for the job,” he adds. b

Cox successfully completed a closely-in- vigilated practical end-of-course examina-

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