Construction World June 2023

DAMS AND RESERVOIRS

M&D ACQUIRES LEADING SPECIALIST BULK TANKAGE CONTRACTOR M&D Construction Group has acquired 100% of Efficient TROTECH, the country’s leading supplier of bulk tank design, procurement and construction services to the petrochemical and energy industries.

E stablished in 1993, Efficient TROTECH is the only recognised, local bulk tank builder in the country, boasting its own engineering, draughting, quality control and inspection capabilities, together with hydraulic jacking and boiler making resources. These capabilities are harnessed to both construct new, as well as repair and rebuild existing tanks that will conform to API 650, API 653, API 620 and EN 14015. With this acquisition and its existing civil, mechanical and pipeline infrastructure capabilities, M&D is strategically positioned to play a key role in the development and construction of facilities that are needed to store the significant quantities of clean fuel that will be imported into the country in the foreseeable future. Only a small number of refineries will be able to comply with the new CF2 regulations that stipulate that sulphur levels in petrol and diesel must remain below 10 parts per million. These new regulations which were initially planned to come into effect in 2017 have been delayed several times with the latest extension to 2027. Newly branded TROTECH will continue to operate as a stand-alone company and will be supported by the M&D Group to drive efficiencies and deliver better value to its clients. Ralph Wilson will continue to lead the company as Managing Director. Wilson has more than 40 years of bulk tank construction experience. He helped TROTECH to develop its bulk tank design, procurement, and construction capabilities and to grow its presence in the petrochemical and energy industry. The company’s extensive skills and experience are currently being harnessed by the majority of the oil majors and tank terminal operators in the country. The company is proud of its many contracts in the industry, in particular: • Providing world-class tank engineering, procurement and construction services to Royal Vopak for its expansion in South Africa. The

Sasol. The construction phase of this contract will be completed at the end of 2024. “I believe we are well positioned to secure two more large contracts for which we have tendered together with M&D. With the close collaboration between M&D and TROTECH, the next few years are going to be very interesting, and will provide significant potential for growth, allowing us to better serve the petrochemical and energy infrastructure market,” Wilson says. TROTECH’s competitive edge remains its ability to self-perform, maximise efficiency and ensure reliability on all of its projects, irrespective of their size, duration and complexity. The use of automated welding equipment improves quality, bolsters productivity and reduces costs. TROTECH has also developed a significantly safer method of constructing storage tanks. TROTECH is the only company in South Africa to reverse build tanks. The tanks are built at ground level and then jacked to their final height one strake at a time after the various components have undergone intense quality inspection and control. Apart from being a much safer way to build tanks, it significantly reduces the amount of scaffold required inside and outside the tanks, while also freeing up valuable space in the built-up areas where these projects are usually undertaken. The company deploys Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) scanning for the non-destructive examination of tank floors. MFL uses a magnetic field to detect corrosion and pitting in carbon steel. The biggest benefit of the technology is that it enables the location and estimation of defects over large areas in a quick and efficient manner. Scans only have to be undertaken on one side of the material and the technology, with TROTECH’s expertise, requires minimal set-up time. Wilson credits most of the success of the company to strong design and construction teams consisting of loyal and dedicated people, a number of whom have been with the

company constructed 10 new tanks with a combined capacity of 162 000 cbm at the Vopak Terminal Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. • A long professional relationship with Astron Energy. The company has remained Astron Energy’s preferred tankage refurbishment contractor for 11 years. This tank maintenance contract was recently extended for a further three years reaffirming Astron Energy’s confidence in the company’s abilities. • The company recently secured an award to supply engineering, procurement and prefabrication services and construction for five large clean fuel storage tanks for

32 CONSTRUCTION WORLD JUNE 2023