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Vital Engineering emphasises quality in developing products for challenging environments

15th November 2013

By: Sashnee Moodley

Senior Deputy Editor Polity and Multimedia

  

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Diversified engineering company Vital Engineering says quality is an important factor in constantly devel-oping new products for challenging mining environments.

Vital Engineering export executive Chris Spacey says the company manufactures Vitagrid nonslip floor gratings, stair treads, expanded metal and hand railings in galvanised steel, fibreglass, stainless steel and aluminium. In addition to being a supplier to the petrochemicals, power generation and structural engineering industries, the company supplies its products directly to several Australian and Canadian mining companies operating in Africa.

Spacey says the company regards Africa as an increasingly attractive and friendly business region with massive opportunities for growth through foreign investment.

“From a logistics point of view, African projects are closer to home and, therefore, transit time to site is quicker and easier to monitor. All of this facilitates ease of business. We are not considering investing in Africa, but rather [consistently] supplying potential clients through a network of stockists,” he states.

Spacey notes that there are many and varied challenges in Africa, but that each region has its own character and means of overcoming challenges.

He adds that a proper understanding of individual countries is critical to conducting business in Africa. For example, South Africa has to offer affordable steel pricing, in the face of global competition from the Far East.

Further, South Africa’s frequent economically and politically driven strikes and unrest pose a challenge to foreign mining houses wanting to source goods from South Africa.

Vital Engineering MD Dodds Pringle states that a combination of strong and meaningful government interaction, through the Department of Trade and Industry, incentives and stronger cross-border ties with African leaders, will all help in stimulating the growth of South African products.

The company supplies its products to gold mines in Burkino Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Namibia and Tanzania; copper and cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Namibia and Uganda; nickel mines in Madagascar and Tanzania; and coal mines in Mozambique. It also supplies uranium mines in Namibia and Malawi, as well as a kimberlite mine in Sierra Leone.

It currently supplies its Vitagrid fully serrated nonslip floor grating to the African mining industry and its fibreglass products are also gaining traction in Africa.

T

he Vitagrid range of shopping-centre trench covers, security gates and industrial flooring systems is used in modular plants and water-treatment facilities, power generation stations, petrochemical plants, breweries and gold, uranium, coal and other mines. It is also used in food and storage factories, as well as in urban architectural applications.

The Vitagrid has a patented locking system, which ensures rigidity and maintains integrity ,and high-quality finishes in steel and fibreglass materials.

The product can be supplied in different standard sizes, from 2 000 mm × 1 000 mm to 6000 mm × 1200 mm sheets, as well as bespoke or tailored to customer requirements.

The standard panel sizes for fibreglass products are 2 440 mm × 1 220 mm and 3 660 mm × 1 220 mm.

With massive growth prospects and invest- ment opportunities in Africa, Vital Engineer-ing sees a major mining investment shift hap-pening on the continent, and has positioned itself to meet demand with a comprehensive and varied stockholding and reliable service deliveries.

“On-time delivery in the mining industry is a must where safety is priority. The company’s pretrial layouts prior to shipping, to ensure hassle-free site fitment in remote and difficult areas, are one of its many strong points on offer to clients. Our dedicated, in-house export division has the necessary experience to accommodate our clients’ delivery requirements,” Spacey states.

With ever-intensifying competition from other markets, notably China, Vital Engineer-ing keeps a sharp focus on continually seeking the most cost-effective solutions for its clients in developing mining countries.

“We work closely with a wide spectrum of consultants and engineering, procurement and construction management companies to find the most economical, best-of-breed solution to meet their budgets and performance requirements, without compromising on safety and quality,” Pringle points out.

Vital Engineering’s cost of installation is cost efficient, with little or no downtime on site, as a result of pretrial layouts, reasonably priced rework at site and first-time fitment.

According to Pringle, all these factors, as well as reduced shipping time, in-house inspec- tions and easier communication make for affordable products, enabling Vital Engineer-ing to continue as a competitive market leader.

“An important part of our work is the daily monitoring of current and new mining projects. Regular field trips by our export team also help us to keep abreast of developments in the mining industry. “We believe that our vast experience on the continent will continue to assist us in finding new and better ways of servicing our markets,” he says.

Pringle adds that Vital Engineering has high hopes for the future, and that it aims to be the leading supplier of these products to a variety of pan-African projects.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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