If it doesn’t exist, create it
Third Quarter 2021
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Hawk Pumps is dedicated to innovation, growth and problem solving. Troy Mokawem, national operations manager at Hawk Pumps, believes that innovation begins with a bit of inspiration and talks about two cases where creative thinking provided effective solutions for mining and construction clients.
“Sometimes, we need to go beyond our everyday boundaries in order to stay ahead in business,” he says. “Innovation and inspiration are the only ways we can move forward. And as a supplier of a number of high pressure spraying and pumping products, customer requests are not always cut and dried. We have to adapt and invent to keep them happy”.
This was very much the case when Hawk received a brief from a returning customer – a well-known manufacturer of heavy duty construction and mining equipment − who had an unusual project for the team to tackle.
“They needed a heavy-duty pressure system that had to be trailer mounted,” he explains. “The purpose of this unit was not only for cleaning the chassis after production, it also had to be able to remove the burrs created by the automated welding robots. “Our solution was a 380 V, 1000 bar electric system. When cleaning the chassis, a dump gun and rotating nozzle were used and when removing the burrs, a 15° nozzle, rated at 1000 bar, sprayed at an angle and easily sliced off the burrs”.
When Mokawem received an email from Australia from an engineer who had seen Hawk’s stope washer units, as used in the gold mines in South Africa, the client indicated that he wanted Hawk to adapt the unit to suit Australian requirements for the purpose of cleaning the massive dump trucks used in open cast mines. “The challenge here was that they required a 1000 volt machine, which we don’t use in South Africa. Aside from having to source the motor and electrical components, we had no way of testing the unit once it was completed. But the customer was so confident in our ability, he was willing to take that risk.
“The washer was successfully completed and shipped to Western Australia where it arrived safely and is reportedly working well.
“We recognise that many customers have unique situations and conditions that they need to operate under and an-off-the-shelf option is just not going to work for them. As such, we are driven to develop customised solutions to suit those customers’ unique circumstances. Covid-19 has forced us all to adapt. Constant innovation is the only way we as organisations can continue to thrive and stay ahead, providing employment and enrichment opportunities for young people in the long run. As responsible businesses, it falls to us to be agile and to change with the times so that we help create a fertile economic environment for the future.”
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