MechChem Africa September 2019

Black industrialist company takes off in composites industry

SMC press moulding, vacuum infusion, as- sembly and product integration,” says MD of BFG Africa, Arshad Gove. “Composites fibreglass has replaced con- ventional materials in locomotive, buildings and specialised applications. As a ‘material of the future’ it has an imprint inmanydeveloped nations and we are excited to be leading the charge with applications in Africa in areas of architecture,rail&transport,windenergyand housing, amongst others,” adds Gove. Did you know composites are green? • Compositemanufacturing consumes very little energy and thus has a low carbon footprint. • Compositemanufacturingdoes not gener- ateanygreenhousegasesorfluorocarbons. • Composites use glass made from silica, which is an abundant natural material, as a key component. • Composites are the preferred material among architects, designers and develop- ers due to a higher degree of flexibility, a higher durability and lower life cycle cost than traditional materials used. q

A R50 million composites manufacturing facility owned by BFG Africa was recently opened in Germiston, Gauteng and is expected to boost Africa-wide environment- friendly composite fibreglass design and manufacturing.

T he 9 500m 2 factory, the first of its kind in SouthAfrica, producesmate- rialsmadeof fibre-reinforcedplastic (FRP) for applications across the infrastructure, mining, automotive, transport and architectural sectors. The materials are particularly durable, lightweight andenviron- mentally friendly. BFG Africa is the pan-African subsidiary of one of the largest and oldest diversified composites manufacturers in the world, BFG International. The company ismajority black- owned, with 51% acquired in June 2018 by the Mergence group, a diversified financial services group founded in 2014. “Currently 27 people are employed by BFG Africa, 18 of whom underwent exten- sive training in Bahrain. The company is well positioned to benefit from the roll-out of transport infrastructure and rolling-stock (interiors and claddings), renewable energy

projects (composite-based wind turbines), and automotive projects, “says Dr Samer Aljishi, GroupPresident of BFG International. As an initial contract, entered into with the Gibela Rail Transport Consortium, BFG Africa will clad the interiors of a fleet of 600 commuter trains that will be supplied to the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (PRASA) over a 10-year period. The first delivery on this project was met in May 2019. BFG Africa is also working on an afford- able emergency housing solution, whereby lightweight collapsible structures can be transported and erected within hours to disaster areas. “The factory is regarded as one of the best of its kind in the world, with state-of-the-art equipment, including several specialised presses. Themanufacturingprocesses include tooling, open contactmoulding, resin transfer moulding, painting, SMCmaterial production,

The factory is regarded as one of the best of its kind in the world, with state-of-the-art equipment, including several specialised presses.

32 ¦ MechChem Africa • September 2019