MechChem Africa December 2017

⎪ Products and industry news ⎪

Coating forum and procurement conference

New CEO for the Hytec Group

Echemi, the China-based B2Bwebsite for the chemical industry, strives toput global buyers in touch with leading chemical manufacturing companies, top suppliers and chemicals. “We help people to trade in chemicals across the world,” explains Brigid Qu, the company’s marketing manager. The company held its Global Coating Forum and Procurement Conference on November 14, 2017, which invited global paint and coatings buyers from North America, Europe, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Russia and Latin America to meet face-to-face and to communicate with domestic Chinese suppliers. More than 70 global buyers and over 100 domestic suppliers attended, helping to complete hundreds of millions of orders. Overseas buyers invited by Echemi were able to accessmore than 50 product types fromquality and competitivemanu- Keller, represented locally by Instrotech, is nowsupplying its first generationdigital manometer,theLEO5,whichfeaturespre- cise sensor technology, fast, high-resolu- tion signal processing, peak recording and data storage with a time stamp. Designed for deployment in hostile environments, the LEO5 features a robust stainless steel housing, safety glass, a backlit display and capacitive touch controls. Undetected pressure spikes are one of the common causes of premature wear and untimely failures in pneumatic and hydraulic systems. In freshwater systems, this phenomenon is sometimes called ‘wa- ter hammer’. The LEO 5, with its pressure peakanalysismode,willsampleandrecord system pressure at a rate of 5.0 kHz and with 16 bit resolution, enabling a trouble- shooter to positively characterise system behaviour. With storage capacity for over 50000peakvalues,includingtemperature and time stamp recordings, data from the LEO 5 is exportable for detailed analysis via the included USB interface. The LEO5 line-up includes seven stan- dard full-scale pressure ranges between 3.0 and 1 000 bar. In the temperature range of 0 to 50 °C, the TEB (Total Error Band) for pressure is ± 0.5% of full scale, and when temperature conditions are stable, the LEO 5 is capable of achieving a TEB accuracy of ±0.01 %. The LEO 5 can be quickly adopted as

Tillmann Olsen, who hails from Bosch Rexroth in Germany, was appoint- ed Hytec Group deputy chief executive effective 1 August 2017. The posi-

More than 70 global buyers and over 100 domestic suppliers attended, helping to complete hundreds of millions of orders. facturers and stable suppliers. During the event, Echemi also broad- casted the meeting live, enabling people to watch or participate remotely. “Echemi builds bridges between do- mestic factories and overseas customers, profiles customers accuratelyusingonline searches, helps buyers and suppliers to close deals and makes chemical transac- tions easier,” Qu concludes. www.echemi.com

tion is only temporary, however, as Olsen is groomed to succeed CEO John Wingrove, who retires on 31 December 2017 after leading the group for a successful 16 years. Olsen, who brings European and Far East country experience to the position, liaised with Wingrove for the 18 months preceding his ap- pointment. His 18-year long career to date incor- porates senior positions in the Bosch Group and Bosch Rexroth, where mergers and acquisitions and post-merger integration, as well as change management, proved to be his forte. He was responsible for integrating Mannesmann Rexroth and Bosch into the new Bosch Rexroth organisation and, having done so successfully, was deployed to China for three years to oversee additional organisational pur- chases and integration. He cites “to understand as quickly as possible thewaybusiness is conducted inSouthAfrica and to get to know as many of the group employees in all locations” as two of his short term goals. “Joining the Hytec Group is very exciting for me,” Olsen enthuses. “The company has performed well in the three years of its joint venture with BoschRexroth. It is extremelywell adapted to the fast changing environment and has outstanding customer focus. “The past great achievements, have been a result of all Hytec Group employees working to deliver great solutions to our customers,” he concludes. “This will not change and, therefore, the focus on our employees is my first concern.” www.hytecgroup.co.za

Digital manometer records and analyses pressure peaks

an indispensable tool by the pneumatic or hydraulic system technicians. www.instrotech.co.za

A perfect laboratory for Engen’s Kanyisa Royana

Kanyisa Royana grew up in Mdantsane, outside East London. After her grandfa- ther passedaway in2009, her grandmoth- er supported her and her two cousins. At Nyameko High School, Kanyisa scored straight As and her accomplish- ments led to her being invited by Engen to attend the progressive Engen Maths and ScienceSchool (EMSS) Programmehosted at theUniversityof FortHare campus and, on completing matric, she was offered an EngenBursary to study for her BSc degree in maths and chemistry. Kanyisa graduated from university at the end of 2016 and joined Engen’s Graduate Development Programme.

Today she works in her favourite place: Engen’s highly sophis- ticated chemistry laboratory, where she tests motor oils, fuels and lubricants. Working at Engen’s Lubri­ catingOilsBlendPlant inDurban, Kanyisa’s ability to master the

Photocredit:RobPollockPhotography

science of analysis is invaluable. And she is doing what she loves: grappling with seeing and understanding what the eye cannot see. At Engen’sworld-class facility, she is helping to provide quality petro- chemical products that drive the wheels of the South African economy forward. www.engenoil.com

December 2017 • MechChem Africa ¦ 27