Capital Equipment News May 2017

Rune Walters, Export Sales Manager Scania Engines & Gensets (left) and Johan Lyons, newly-appointed General Manager Engines at Scania SA.

a total of 504 units, including gensets and engines.” In 2016, the Eskom grid stabilised and as a result sales dipped. The Rand lost its value against major currencies, amid a generally difficult business year premised on lower commodity prices. The market was also saturated due to a flurry of sales during the previous year. Standby generator units led the demand in South Africa, with many businesses, including shopping centres, hospitals, casinos, fuel stations and airports, resorting to backup power plans. Meanwhile, several mines also transitioned to prime power solutions, especially in the Mpumalanga area. Prime solutions are entirely separate from the national grid, and supply load power on a 24/7 basis. This option requires considerably better planning and far greater investment, as the entire outcome of the operation depends on the power supply. This means that the most important aspect to take into consideration is the OEM. As part of its prime power solutions, Scania has the ability to provide a full and comprehensive range of services, including conceptualisation, design, construction, installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance. Both Lyons and Walter are encouraged by the huge upturn on the industrial engines

side of the business, especially driven by the strategic international OEM partnerships, which are helping Scania capture the industrial aftermarket business locally. “We have international agreements with OEMs such as Terex and Doosan. Locally we focus a lot on the aftermarket side of the business, having already supplied engines to these OEMs,” says Lyons. For Terex, Scania engines power a range of machines including dumpers, crushers and cranes, while for Doosan it’s mainly the dumpers driven by Scania engines. The OEM venture constitutes about 80% of Scania’s business on the industrial engines and gensets side of the business, while the other 20% is with end users. The company also has special agreements with both OEMs and end users on the Marine engines side of the business. Wide range Scania has a big range of gensets, ranging from 250 to 700 kVA. With three engine sizes and power ratings ranging from 202 to 566 kW, Scania’s industrial engine platform meets every existing and foreseeable emission legislation. Scania’s marine engines can get up to 1 200 hp, depending on application. Meanwhile, Scania SA has since introduced a Scania V8 gas engine to the

local market, said to be the flagship product moving forward. “We see a lot of potential in the gas engine market in South Africa in the near future. With our solutions we can help drive the ‘green’ initiative. The range comes in several models, from standby to prime power models,” says Walter. “We have one unit currently running as a pilot project at a company in Johannesburg. Commissioned in February this year, it is running in a gas generator, and will run on pilot until around October 2018. The focus for the pilot project is to test the capabilities of our gas engine in South African conditions,” says Lyons. The gas engine comes in two variants of 1 5000 rpm, which generates 50 Hz, and the 1 800 rpm version, with an output of 60 Hz. As a result, the only application ideal for this particular engine is for generators. While the gas offering for power generation is a new venture for Scania locally, the company has already gone down the gas engines route with several of its buses already running on gas engines locally. Looking ahead, Lyons is upbeat about prospects of growth this year. “When it comes to volumes, we are on target for the year. We are looking to have a better penetration for the year compared with 2016, for both engines and gen-sets,” he concludes. b

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