Construction World March 2023

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.

fuel tanks for Total South Africa at its fuel depot in Alrode, Gauteng. Each of the two catch-pot tanks, which hold 11 200 m³ of ULP95 petrol, are 18 m high, with a diameter of 28,2 m. The outer skin diameter of the tanks is 32,2 m and a total of 627 t of steel was erected on the project. This was the first time that catch-pot tanks were reverse constructed for Total South Africa and the method has set a precedent for future projects within the company. All civil works and piping (BOP) for the project were undertaken by M&D. The importation of clean fuels will require considerable port docking infrastructure and pipeline networks, both of which can be provided by M&D together with its marine subsidiary, M&DPLC Marine Africa which it jointly owns with PLC Contracting LLC of Dubai, which has 25 years’ experience in marine construction. To better facilitate the use of resources and to enable rapid response to client enquiries, TROTECH, M&DPLC Marine Africa and an M&D team are housed in one office at the APEX Building in Century City, Cape Town. “M&D is now even better positioned than before to continue growing its presence in the petrochemical and energy infrastructure market. This includes new areas of focus, such as the storage and delivery of liquid-natural gas and hydrogen as countries diversify their energy mix to ‘greener’ technologies. At the same time, the interest shown in liquid petroleum gas as a means of reducing energy poverty and improving the health and safety of South Africans bodes well for the group. We are very excited by the potential that M&D’s increased capacity has to offer,” Raghubir concludes. 

have been with the company for many years and, in some cases, decades. In addition, the company continues to attract the best skills to bolster its ranks. TROTECH is particularly pleased with the recent appointment of Lukas Brink as Operations Manager. The registered Professional Engineer brings extensive experience in both the design and construction project management of refineries. Brink has a deep knowledge of the maintenance of pipelines including, pigging, defect assessment and rehabilitation. Rukesh Raghubir, M&D Group CEO, says that TROTECH’s expertise enhances M&D’s cutting-edge multi-disciplinary construction services, and allows it to expand its offering to existing clients, whilst attracting new customers. “TROTECH is a strategic fit, complementing the services offered by the various M&D Divisions. The company has very similar core values to M&D, which include ‘being safe’, ‘doing it right’, ‘finding the best way’ and ‘doing what we say’. Notably, TROTECH also comprises a team of loyal employees who have contributed to the company’s continued success over the years. Now part of the M&D Group, TROTECH is set to embark on its next growth trajectory. The M&D, TROTECH association will enhance both companies’ capabilities and will offer the petrochemical and energy industry a single point of contact for world class multi-disciplinary construction services. This contracting strategy will make our clients’ life easier by removing all interface risks between different disciplines of work when building a tank farm,” Raghubir says. M&D and TROTECH have already collaborated on two successful projects. The most recent was the construction of

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 also 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

13 CONSTRUCTION WORLD MARCH 2023