Heavy press manufacture and maintenance in demand

Third Quarter 2004 Other technologies Access Control & Identity Management

When South Africa's national railway operator decided to standardise on 100 t(force) Power Team railway bearing presses 30 years ago, few would have expected that it would take 25 years before these units required repair and/or refurbishment.

With 22 of these presses, manufactured exclusively by Power Team USA, in operation nationwide, Power Team South Africa is currently carrying out repairs to ensure that the presses are restored to their original design specifications. The presses are used in the lifting and replacement of bearings on the axles of rolling stock.

At the same time, Power Team will be delivering a new 500 t(force), double-acting cylinder and power pack valued at R150 000 to the Germiston rolling stock maintenance facility by March. With Hytec Engineering involved in adapting the platework, this press will be used to remove wheels that are in need of attention from rolling stock axles.

"We have seen a tremendous growth in demand in our sector over the last 12 months," says Power Team GM, Ian Bennett. "Interestingly, one area in particular where there has been a notable upswing in purchases is in the market for presses ranging from 25 t to 200 t(force) in capacity."

In 2003 alone, Power Team built and installed an unprecedented number of three 200 t(force) presses for refurbishing large gearboxes and electric motors at mining operations in Zambia, Botswana and Namibia. The increase in demand extended through to the various smaller presses, of which the volumes have been proportionally higher.

For more information contact Ian Bennett, general manager, Power Team, +27 (0) 11 394 1766, +27 (0) 11 573 5432, [email protected], www.powerteam.co.za

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