Written and submitted by Hazleton Pumps

Dr Rob Davies, the South African minister of Trade and Industries dissolved the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) Board on 28 June 2018 and placed the SABS under administration owing to SABS failing to exercise its fiduciary duties in terms of the Standards Act and the Public Finance Management Act.

HAZLETON PUMPS® welcomes this action but would argue that action is taken at least 20 years too late since the inability of SABS to obtain international accreditation has limited job creation in South Africa by restricting local manufacturing companies from exporting to most international countries.

According to the minister the SABS had failed to perform in line with its mandate and because he had lost confidence in the board’s ability to manage the entity effectively. Dr Davies placed the SABS under administration and appointed co-administrators whom had been granted all the powers and duties necessary for the functioning of the SABS.

HAZLETON PUMPS®, the manufacturer of the HIPPO Flameproof Submersible Slurry Pump range® in South Africa, designed, developed and manufactured the first submersible flameproof pumps in 1993. These submersible pumps are mainly used by the mining industry for underground applications in the presence of methane gas.

In the South African coal mines, all flameproof submersible pumps must be certified to comply with IEC 60079-1 Flameproof Specifications and HAZLETON PUMPS® were required to obtain the SABS mark to be compliant.

After designing and developing the world’s first HIPPO Medium/High Voltage; High Volume Flameproof Submersible Slurry Pumps® HAZLETON PUMPS® received an export order in 2005 from the Oil Sands at Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada.

It was also specified that this flameproof submersible slurry pumps had to comply with the requirements of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA). HAZLETON PUMPS® assumed that it would be a mere formality to comply with the CSA certification as all countries have to comply with the same international IEC 60079-1 Flameproof Specifications.

When the HIPPO Medium/High Voltage Flameproof Slurry Submersible Pump® arrived in Canada, HAZLETON PUMPS® was informed that the CSA does not recognise the SABS as an internationally accepted accreditation body and the pumps had to be re-certified by the CSA in Canada at a cost of up to R 100 000.00 for every pump model. Besides the cost, the re-certification of the pumps causes a delay in delivery of approximately 2 weeks every time.

Over the past 15 years HAZLETON PUMPS® has brought the problem with regards to the international accreditation of the SABS not being accepted internationally, to the attention of the SABS as well as the dti, without success.

Several engagements were held with the SABS and other stakeholders and the problem was brought to the attention of Mr. Martin Kuscus, the then CEO of the SABS.

In September 2009 Dr Boni Mehlomakulu took over the leadership as the CEO of the SABS and HAZLETON PUMPS® met with her, also without any positive results.

Besides the SABS not having an internationally accepted accreditation it also failed to be able to do the testing of HIPPO Flameproof Medium-High Voltage; High Volume; Submersible Slurry Pumps® to confirm the duty points as required by clients abroad, specifically for export to Canada, HAZLETON PUMPS® and other stakeholders met with SABS in April 2013, once again, without any positive results.

HAZLETON PUMPS® had no alternative, but to find a pump testing facility capable of testing the medium/high voltage; high volume pumps tested. It was found that the pump testing facility of SULZER SA is internationally accredited, and the pumps are currently being tested at this facility.

HAZLETON PUMPS® then called for meetings with the SABS, the dti and the Technology Localisation Implementation Unit (TLIU), and in August 2016 the first meeting was held with several representatives of these bodies at the CSIR. Follow up meetings with the same group of representatives were held in September 2016 and February 2017, also at the CSIR, again without any success.

HAZLETON PUMPS approached the Greater Gauteng Development Association (GGDA) to assist with international accreditation of the SABS and the GGDA arranged a meeting which was held in December 2017 at the offices of the dti Sadly, no positive results were achieved with any of the above-mentioned engagements.

HAZLETON PUMPS® being a member of various associations also engaged with these associations which all were also affected by the incompetency of the SABS.   Engagements were held with the Southern African Pump Systems Development Association (SAPSDA), the Southern African Stainless-Steel Development Association (SASSDA); the South African Capital Equipment Export Council (SACEEC) and the South African Flameproof Association (SAFA) and it with disappointment that it is placed on record that these meetings neither produced positive results.

Due to President Donald Trump insisting that USA companies bring their manufacturing activities back to the USA a shortage of electrical power is expected. Several USA coal mines that have been closed and flooded recently enquired about flameproof submersible pumps that can operate at a duty of 650 feet (approximately 200 meters) these closed coal mines would have to be brought back into production to provide for the demand in power.

The HIPPO Flameproof, Medium Voltage, submersible pump® which had been developed to pump heads of 300 meters high and HAZLETON PUMPS is therefore able to quote this option to the USA requirements, but all pumps supplied to for use in the USA will have to be re-certified because the SABS not being accredited to do so.