MechChem Africa March 2018

⎪ Products and industry news ⎪

CSIR’s young researcher perseveres against all odds

Growing up in a community with a lack of resources to stimulate learning, and being surrounded by poverty, substance abuse, andhighnumbersofchild-headedfamilies, is a dream killer for most youngsters. However, Charles Maphanga, a young researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), who joined

(SPIE) Travel Grant to the value of about R45 000. While doing his MSc, Maphanga fo- cused his research on the use of laser technology as an alternative technique for administering medicines into the hu- man body in a targeted manner. Although Charles is working every day to live up to his vision of positively impacting lives, it didnot come easy. As a student heworked at a restaurant on a full-timebasis tomake ends meet. Charles Maphanga lauds his MSc supervisor and research group leader, Patience Mthunzi-Kufa for the role she played in shaping his career. “As a leader she has given me the platform to grow, voicemyopinions and ideaswhiledrawing on frommy past academic experience as a source of inspiration,” he adds. He is currently considering establish- ing an organisation to assist youngsters between grade 9-12, mainly from rural areas, to realise the full potential of doing mathematics and science. His vision is to establish low-cost laboratories in the rural areas. www.csir.co.za throughout its lifetime. Designed tomeet the demanding requirements of mod- ern engines, the new V-belts can be used to drive a wide range of automo- tive systems, including alter- nators, fans, water pumps, air-conditioning compressors and power steering. ContiTech‘s multi-V belt is made up of three main components: a cover coat, the tension member and rib coating. The cover coat features a textured reverse consisting of synthetic rubber with a high wear resistance. Specialised coating is also employed on the ribs, which guar- antee good noise properties and an ideal grip, even on a slightly misaligned drive. “The most important part of the ContiTech elastic multi-V belt, though, is the tension member,” explains Lynne Dunn, national sales manager – industrial fluid systems and power transmission at ContiTech Africa. “Unlike typical multi-V belts, the tension member on this belt is made with elastic polyamide fibre, which guarantees the belt runs neutrally over its service life.” www.contitech.co.za

the Biophotonics group at theCSIRunder the National Laser Centre (NLC) unit in 2015, did not allow similar conditions in Ga-Mampuruvillage, Limpopo, to stophim from dreaming big. The now 31-year-old became the first family member to go to university, gradu- ated cum laude with a Masters (MSc) in physics from the University of South Africa, and is now aspiring to pursue his PhD in physics. “Although my mother was a domestic worker from the age of 14, she knew the importance of education and I grew up valuing education knowing the role it would play in emancipatingme fromwhat I considered a non-progressive environ- ment,” he says. In the two years that Maphanga has been at CSIR’s NLC, he has participated by contributing both oral aswell as poster presentations locally and internation- ally, leading to the publication of four peer-reviewed conference proceedings. In addition, he successfully attracted international funding from the Society of Photo-Optical InstrumentationEngineers

Charles Maphanga, a young researcher at the CSIR is in the Biophotonics group at the National Laser Centre (NLC).

New elastic multi-V belt designed for modern engines

Technology company, ContiTech, has in- troduced a new elastic multi-V belt to the SouthernAfrican automotivemarket that enables non-positive power transmission of torque in belt drives without a tension-

ing pulley.

Instead, the belt is engineered

with integrated tension members, which enable it to maintain tension

WACKER ends 2017 with substantial growth Following a good fourth quarter, WACKER Chemie AG achieved its sales and earnings targets for the full 2017 year. According to preliminaryfigures, theMunich-based chemi- cal group’s reporting-year sales came in at €4.92-billion(2016:€4.63billion),upsome6% versus 2016. The increase was primarily due to higher volumes. Sales grewat its chemicals and polysilicon businesses compared to the previous year. The risewas particularly strong for silicones. aWACKERGroup segment and SiltronicAG’s net income in the first quarter of 2017. “Thanks to very robust customer demand at both our chemical and polysilicon busi- nesses, we continued to expand sales and earnings in 2017,” commented Group CEO, Rudolf Staudigl. WACKER’s capital expen- ditures amounted to €325-million in 2017 (2016: €338million) according to preliminary figures, a decline of 4%. Investment projects included new facilities for downstream sili- cone products in South Korea and Brazil; the expansion of siliconmetal production at the Holla plant in Norway; construction of a new pyrogenic silica plant at the Charleston site in the USA; and production-capacity expan- sion for dispersions and dispersible polymer powders at theBurghausen andNanjing sites. www.wacker.com Income from continuing operations climbed 40% to about €250 million in 2017 (2016: €178 million). WACKER posted pre- liminary net income for the year of €885 mil- lion (2016: €189 million). It included income of €635million fromdiscontinued operations from Q1 2017. This amount comprises the gain from the deconsolidation of Siltronic as

30 ¦ MechChem Africa • March 2018