Electricity + Control November 2017

MCCs in production at Shaw Controls.

A Morning at Shaw Controls in Joburg South Crown Publications visits ...

Representatives from Crown Publications recently visited Shaw Controls in the in- dustrial area South of Johannesburg. Walking through the various sections of the plant, wearing hard hats, goggles, ear plugs and big shoes, we felt that industrious, engineering vibe as well as the great enthusiasm and pride in every person on the work floor. Technically, to be honest, we all needed a bit of help which we received from our hosts – Kirk Moss and Tyrone Willemse. A good morning it was!

Shaw Controls, an ISO 9001 Bureau Veritas certified local manufacturing facility, has over 30 years’ experience as a manufacturer of quality Motor Control Centres (MCCs), Distribution Boards (DBs), Medium Voltage (MV) switchgear, control desks, PLC and instrumentation enclosures, portable and containerised substations, E-houses and various other electrical enclosures. Focused on providing world class electrical solutions, the company has the necessary skills and expertise to manufacture electrical and control panels for all types of applications. Both standard and custom engineered products are produced at its extensive manufacturing facility south of Johannesburg. Electrical and control panel solutions incorporate WEG products as well as those from leading suppliers in the switchgear industry.

T he trend in industry, for projects in distant locations, is for the electrical supplier to sup- ply the complete power distribution solution rather than for the client to build one from scratch. In many projects, especially in Africa where mines are situated in remote areas, it is cheaper for the client to purchase an already fabricated substation or E-house (Electrical-house), or Motor Control Centre (MCC). Instead of being built out of bricks and mortar on site, the E-house or MCC build is carried out at the supplier’s workshops, where it gets fabricated from steel, and is manufactured as a turnkey solution with the client overseeing and supervising the process. Finally, the unit is test- ed with the client present. It sounds ideal… but a simple process, it is not. E-houses Speed of installation and cost-effectiveness on a number of fronts make Shaw Controls’ innovative E-houses a popular choice for contractors and oth- er users. An E-house is a prefabricated power dis- tribution mobile substation that is deployed to site as a fully assembled and integrated unit. These are

designed, engineered and manufactured by Shaw Controls – part of the ZestWEG Group – at their fa- cility in Johannesburg.The extensive facility of over 12 000 m 2 is manned by a team of skilled technical personnel and having the whole construction take place in one facility makes it easier for customers to do quality and functional checks in one place. This ensures that the final power distribution solu- tion is delivered as a ‘plug-and-play’ to site. The construction of an E-house as a single source Orig- inal Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) supply option removes the difficulties associated with managing multi-disciplinary contractors on site. No complex civil infrastructure A major advantage of an E-house over a brick- and-mortar substation is that it can be installed and commissioned without the need to establish a complex civil infrastructure. This saves on the costs of planning and managing civil works – es- pecially in remote areas where the cost of civil and infrastructure construction tends to be high- er. There is a cost advantage when dealing with a single supplier – which will free up many hours

14 Electricity + Control

NOVEMBER 2017