MechChem Africa December 2018

⎪ Products and industry news ⎪

Mark Burn, managing director of Air & Vacuum technologies, the local distributor of Travaini pumps, liquid ring vacuum pumps and BORA lobe blowers and booster, summarises the company’s history and its global and local growth. Pompetravaini: 90 years of pump and vacuum innovation

manufacturing times, shortens delivery times and reduces error margins to virtu- ally zero. In 2007, after 54 years of dedication and intense activity as president, Mario Travaini handed the chair of the Group to his sonCarloArturoTravaini (Carlo junior) whohadbeen thecompany’s technical and R&Ddirector, and thedriving forcebehind Pompetravaini’smoveintostate-ofthe-art automation. 2012 saw Pompetravaini acquire 80% of the Swiss companyNSBGas Processing AG, based in Basel, now Pompetravaini- NSB AG, a company that designs and manufactures pumps, compressors and engineered skids for the oil and gas, nucle- ar, pharmaceutical and chemical sectors. In support of Pompetravaini-NSB, in 2013 FuturEng was founded, which is an engineering office specialising in the design and construction of rotating equipment skids and the management of turnkey projects up to final erection and plant start up. BORA Blowers, a specialist in lobe blowers and boosters was acquired in 2014 and, with all the acquisitions, the Pompetravaini Group is today an inter- national Group that exports to over 80 countries offering solid experience and products of the highest quality. South Africa-based Air & Vacuum Technologies has been the sole agent for the full Travaini range for almost 10 years now, with the brand continuing to experi- ence year-on-year growth on the African continent. www.vactech.co.za

In1968, then presidentMarioTravaini renamed the company Pompetravaini S.p.A and established technologically advanced production facilities and a sales network to enable the company to begin selling into the European market under its own label. Outgrowing its facilities again, in1982 an 8 000m 2 facility was built in the indus- trial area of CastanoPrimo inMilan, while the existing facility was remodelled for special projects, including the production of customised pumping systems. MarioTravaini initiated expansion into international markets in the early 1980s, making the Pompetravaini brand well known around theworld. In1985Premier Fluid Systems Canada started operat- ing, followed by Travaini Pumps USA in 1986; and Travaini Pompen BeNeLux in 1989. Two years later, Travaini Pumpen Germany opened, followed in 1999 by Pompes Travaini France. In 2002, a building of approxi- mately 4 000 m 2 was added to the CastanoPrimomanufacturing facility, along with new computerised stock and assembly rooms. This futuristic factory now uses LGV (laser guided vehicles) to store components, bring them to the assembly area and then take the assembled pumps for testing, all without being touched by human hands. The newhandling process reduces

Pompetravaini S.p.A. was founded in1929 by the late Carlo Travaini, an experienced machinist with sound production knowl- edge acquired while working at Franco Tosi of Legnano, Italy. He started his business, Travaini Mechanical Machining, to produce dif- ferent types of pumps under private labels fromdesigns andmaterials supplied by customers. Located in the historic centre of Castano Primo, the machine shop boasted advanced technological and organisational aptitude, even in its early days. In the years that followed, experience and continual growth forced a major expansion and, during the 1940s, the company moved to a site double the size with adjoining offices.

Air & Vacuum Technologies specialises in large liquid ring vacuum pumps and is the sole agent for the full Travaini range.

Crimp machines for efficient hydraulic hose assembly Hyflo’s extensive range of fluid power products includes hydraulic crimping equipment and tooling, designed for the efficient manu- facture of factory-quality hose assemblies.

semblies to exact requirements and the investment contributes to this company’s enviable reputation as a dependable supplier of quality equipment.” Parkrimp 2 – the largest machine in Parker’s crimper range – is available in single or three phase options. The versatile crimper can crimp straight or bent-stem steel and stainless steel fittings, from ¼-inch to 2-inch, and the machines are suitable for high-volume productivity, as well as portable, on-site assembly. Karrykrimp 2 models are portable or bench mount crimpers for Parkrimp style straight or bent-stem stainless fittings of up to 1¼‑inch in diameter. The modular design gives users the flexibility of a portable crimper with the advantages of increased productivity, when connected to the stationary power unit. Parker’s Parkalign system positions fittings securely in the die, to ensure a perfect crimp to exact diameters. The efficient bottom- loading design enables operators to easily manage long hose as- semblies, and linked dies prevent segments from being misplaced or mismatched. Dies are colour-coded by size for easy identification and reduced set-up time. www.hyflo.co.za

“Hyflo’s Parker Parkrimp and Karrykrimp hydraulic crimping equipment enables cus- tomers to manufacture hose to precise specifications, quickly, easily and

cost-effectively,” explains Michael Bissett of Hyflo Southern Africa. “A recent success was for a Hyflo customer in the agricultural sector, who invested in Parkrimp 2 and Karrykrimp 2 machines as part of Hyflo’s ‘Asset on Loan’ services. “These highly-

efficient crimping machines enabled our customer to pro- duce quality hose as-

28 ¦ MechChem Africa • December 2018