Mechanical Technology June 2015

⎪ Industry forum ⎪

Metso’s Lokomo celebrates 100 years

In brief Speaking at the Nuclear Africa Conference at Necsa’s Visitors Centre in Pelindaba, Rosatom director of the International Business Depart- ment, Nikolay Drozdov noted the potential use of nuclear reactors for desalination purposes. Rosatom believes this could be part of the solution to combat the ever worsening water crisis in Africa. Dowson & Dobson Industrial looks set to achieve even greater growth following an official takeover by the Actum Group , which comprises Actum Electronics, Altico Static Control, Connecta and Peter Jones Electronic Equipment, all specialist suppliers of quality top-end products and solu- tions for niche industries. Zambia Electricity Supply Commission (ZESCO) has awarded Aurecon a contract to provide en- gineering, design and construction supervision services for the US$200-million World Bank- funded Lusaka Transmission and Distribution Rehabilitation Project. ESCO Corporation , a global leader in mining, oil and gas, construction and industrial equip- ment, has announced the creation of the ESCO ® Empowerment Trust in South Africa. This fol- lows the conclusion of a Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) transaction, which resulted in a new equity structure for ESCO’s South African business operations. seebaWIND Service GmbH has increased its sales in the fiscal year 2014 from € 10-million to more than € 12 million. In addition, the man- ufacturer-independent service provider for wind power plants employs 75 people. The company is one of the five most successful manufacturer- independent service providers in Germany. Volvo Group Southern Africa has officially opened a new dedicated Volvo Used Truck Centre in Boksburg, Gauteng. The facility, which is centrally situated near the company’s head office and Regional Distribution Centre, was developed at a cost of R3 million. Booyco Electronics has released its ESI Smart Sensor, which offers users the ability to measure one of 15 different gases from a single control- ler. This feature sets the instrument apart from other such units, while its modular configuration makes the calibration of the gas sensing instru- ment simple and easy. North Safety Products has launched a first-of- its-kind PPE wholesale store, which was recently opened by North MD, Craig Garvie. North boasts one of the industry’s most extensive lines of safety product offerings, which are now all available under one roof, following the opening of its store in Isando.

The rating entitles the division’s cus- tomers to recognise 110% of procure- ment spend through purchases made by the company. Set Point Group’s divisions include Letaba Group, Meter Systems, African Mineral Standards (AMIS), WearCheck Africa, North West GoPro, Set Point Laboratories and Pneumax Southern Africa. Diesel Electric Services will also be utilising Eaton products and solutions to manufacture their own range of branded engines and alternators, generator control systems, diesel/gas driven generating sets, specialised products for base-load transmitter stations, UPSs, fuel con- ditioning systems, switchboards and reticulation installations. www.dieselelectricservices.co.za optimised data centres with unmatched reliability, increased efficiency without sacrificing uptime and a more flexible data centre design. “Collaborating with Diesel Electric Services will allow us to showcase our local expertise in meeting customer needs across Africa,” says Shane Kilfoil, managing director, Eaton Africa. developed fresh innovations to meet the needs of the day. An excellent example of this is the unit’s evolution into a globally significant crushing equipment competence centre for today’s Metso,” says Metso’s president and CEO Matti Kähkönen. Lokomo started its operations in 1915 as a steam-engine factory competing with the local Tampella. The company’s name stems from the word locomotive. Just a couple of years later, Lokomo manu- factured its first crushers, which were delivered to the National Board of Public Roads and Waterways. A key driver be- hind the production of locomotives and crushers was the company-owned steel foundry, which was very modern already back in the 1920s. Today, the Tampere factory has over 700 employees and manufactures the bulk of Metso’s mobile crushing plants, of which more than 7 000 have been installed in the past 30 years. www.metso.com

Metso’s president and CEO Matti Kähkönen.

Metso’s Tampere unit, better known locally as Lokomo, is celebrating its 100 th year of industrial existence in May in Tampere, Finland. Oy Lokomo Ab started operating in Tampere in April 1915. Today Metso’s Tampere unit is the company’s most important global com- petence centre for mobile crushers and all the company’s crushing and screening equipment is developed in Tampere. “Throughout its history, Metso’s Tampere unit has boldly transformed and Power management company Eaton has signed a premium distribution partner- ship deal with Diesel Electric Services, which is a company that specialises in generator sets, distribution boards and associated products. Diesel Electric Services has business relationships with various consulting groups as well as end users garnered over 23 years of the company’s existence. Their products and services are sold throughout Africa in countries including Zambia, Angola, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Ghana, Congo, Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia, Botswana, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Rwanda, Burundi, Madagascar, Tanzania, Mauritius and South Africa. Eaton and Diesel Electric Services will help customers achieve performance-

Eaton signs deal with Diesel Electric Services

Set Point’s Level 3 BBBEE status Set Point Group and its seven divisions recently achieved a Level 3 BBBEE status, a great breakthrough for the group that offers analytical solutions, mining manufacturing support and fluid handling products.

This milestone ensures that the company’s business strategies reflect its commitment to the BBBEE process as well as to its transformation goals.

Mechanical Technology — June 2015

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