MechChem Africa January-February 2022

Ten years on, theWarman DWU pump remains a ‘local hero’ In the competitive world of pumps, gaining the technological edge is not easy; but ten years ago the South African engineering team at Weir Minerals Africa achieved just this – and the results are being enjoyed worldwide.

J ust over a decade ago in September 2011, the first Warman ® DWU (dirty water unit) pump was sold to a mining customer inPhalaborwa inSouthAfrica. “The product was not necessarily a startling breakthrough,” saysWeirMinerals Africa head ofengineeringChristianStehle, “butwasrather an innovativeevolutionof anexistingproduct– as almost all technical advances are. “This high-lift dirty water pump was the perfect solutionforagap inthemarket thathad notbeenfullyrecognised,” saysStehle. “It really reflected the value of Weir Minerals’ long his - tory in pumps, working closely with customers and understanding their changing needs.” Developed locally from the design of its Envirotech ® pump range, to this day the Warman ® DWU pump remains fully manufac - tured in SouthAfrica. In addition to its enthusi- astic customer base in Africa, it has also found regular markets through the Weir Minerals

footprint abroad, he says.

“Having joined Weir Minerals Africa in 2004, I became very involved in the development of theWarman DWU pump concept fromthe time of the initial request

around 2007,” he says. “So the range is very close to my heart, and as a team we are extremely proud of its local and global success.” Filling the gap Critical modifications allowed the dirty water pump to essentially fill the gap between twowell-serviced market segments: theslurrypump – built for high levels of solids sus- pended in liquid – and clear water pumps. Theproblemofdirtywaterariseswhen the suspended solids in the pumped medium causeexcessivecomponentwearratesandpre-

maturemechanical failure. “TheWarmanDWU pump addresses this challenge, accounting in largepart for itssuccess.Therearemanypumps

A Warman DWU installed on a Multiflo pontoon barge. Designed to achieve relatively high heads while running reliably over long periods, the pump can easily accommodate pumping over long distances.

10 ¦ MechChem Africa • January-February 2022