MechChem Africa May-June 2023

⎪ Products and industry news ⎪

Babcock rewards top five artisans with a trip to Sweden

Eya Bantu, one of the leading energy sec tor service providers, is utilising its new est manufacturing facility in Gqeberha to assemble ABB’s 33 kV Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) ZX series. In the past, customers had to incur extra costs to carry out an in-person inspection at an ABB feeder factory in Europe. This also meant customers could not have direct access for inspections during the execution of their projects and the manufacturing process of the specific products required. “These are some of the issues we have overcome with the new partnership with Eya Bantu,” says Avi Ramdhin, Product Marketing Director, ABB South Africa. “There is a perception that quality products traditionally only come To promote product knowledge improve ment, Babcock recently conducted a survey-based test to identify top arti sans from Babcock’s equipment busi ness. The top five were rewarded with a trip to Sweden for a tour of two Volvo Construction Equipment (CE) factories in March this year. Ben Buys, Technical Director – Equipment, says the online test was made available to all qualified artisans within Babcock’s southern African territory, in cluding South Africa, Zambia and Namibia, among others. “We put together a test that covered all the Volvo CE products. The top five arti sans – Luneta Mweze (Zambia), Avanyisani Mthombeni (Johannesburg), Shane Koppel (Johannesburg), Sympathy Ndwandwe (Johannesburg) and Nkosi Cebekhulu (Rustenburg) – were rewarded with a trip

out of the European Union countries. However, we are proving in today’s ‘new normal’ that local quality, processes and manufacturing facilities are evolving and are of a global standard.” Duplicating ABB’s feeder factory concept in South Africa is a major coup for the country and ABB’s own customer base. “We have brought global experts in to assess the local factory and assist us to ensure it meets the global standards,” says Ramdhin. Traditionally, switchgear had to be imported fully from either Germany or the Czech Republic. However, only 40% now comes from these locations, with the Gqeberha facility at present supplying 60% of the local requirement. “The main reasons for the partnership are to better With the support of Volvo CE, the test will be conducted on an annual basis in future. The aim, says Buys, is to encourage the 100+ artisans within the Equipment business ranks to keep improving their product knowledge levels in critical areas of their specific job profiles. “The idea is to encourage our artisans to make volun tary use of available training resources such as the Learning Management System to sharpen their product knowledge,” he says. “A business like ours is heavily to Sweden,” explains Buys. The team, led by Babcock product specialist Wayne LeGrange, spent a week in Sweden, where they had unhindered access to Volvo CE production lines at the articulated hauler and engine factories, presenting them with a once-in-a-life time opportunity to witness production processes.

serve our customers in terms of flexibil ity and lead times, and for Eya Bantu to leverage the international brand power of ABB,” says Ramdhin. He adds that ABB, in turn, is making a significant contribution to boost ing the economy and fulfilling its own Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) objectives as a responsible corpo rate company. Eya Bantu’s new factory has also contributed to combating unemploy ment in the region by further employing a complete contingent of wiremen, test engineers, installers and commissioning engineers. The facility has already assembled a major renewables project, which Ramdhin says is testament to the successful col laboration fostered by the partnership. A function to launch the new facility of ficially was held on Tuesday 25 April 2023, celebrating the significant investment in the region. The ABB ZX series of primary gas insulated switchgear products from ABB features flexibility, reliability, availabil ity and economy. Combined with digital protection and control technology, sen sor systems and plug-in connections, the ZX series is also fit-for-purpose for the future. The ZX2 AirPlus switchgear design is based on the existing ZX2 portfolio, of fering a climate-friendly alternative for end users with a green focus, while retain ing the same known footprint, safety and reliability. new.abb.com/Africa dependent on knowledgeable artisans. Better product knowledge translates into high levels of customer service and ultimately better customer experience and success,” concludes Buys. www.babcock.co.za The top five artisans from Babcock’s equipment business were rewarded with a trip to Sweden.

ABB partnership with Eya Bantu to assemble GIS switchgear

The Inspecta APS Purge System, developed in South Africa by Instrotech, automatically keeps pipe-sets clear of fly ash to ensure that the sensitivity of the Inspecta steam leak detection system is not compromised.

ABB’s 33 kV, GIS-ZX series is now manufactured by Eya Bantu in Gqeberha.

42 ¦ MechChem Africa • May-June 2023