Established in 1987, Vac-Cent Services is a licensed manufacturer of Gardner Denver Nash liquid ring vacuum pumps and compressors in South Africa, servicing sub-equatorial Africa and the Indian Ocean islands.

Vac-Cent’s product range includes Gardner Denver Nash liquid ring vacuum pumps and compressors, LiqEvac separator-mounted filtrate pumps, Frese automatic flow control valves, PVR rotary vane high vacuum pumps, Vacutronics piston and carbon vane vacuum pumps, Sisco pressure and temperature plugs and accessories and Greenco side channel blowers.

The company offers complete pump packages designed and built for various industries. Vac-Cent has a strong technical base and performs vacuum surveys, on-site testing of all types of liquid ring vacuum pumps, on-site technical solutions, specialist repairs on vacuum pumps and vacuum system commissioning.

Employing 35 people, Vac-Cent operates a factory at its head office in Wadeville, Gauteng, and also has an office in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. The company’s success is based on the fact that all pumps are manufactured under strict quality standards as laid down by ISO 9001. Vac-Cent was awarded ISO 9001:2008 accreditation in 1994 and has manufactured to this standard ever since. The firm has also recently undergone a safety audit for a new rating.

Vac-Cent, which has a yearly turnover of between R35-million and R45-million, makes use of computerised process managing production, linked to its accounting system to ensure a smooth process flow from purchasing to invoicing stage.

Some recent contracts on Vac-Cent’s books include the supply of six large liquid ring vacuum pumps for a filter plant in Mozambique, the supply and installation of various liquid ring vacuum pumps and related plant to a concrete pipe manufacturer, the supply of a large liquid ring vacuum pump for a filter system in Zambia and the replacement of liquid ring vacuum pumps to sugar mills in Africa.

Although the focus in South Africa post the financial downturn has changed from projects and purchasing of new equipment to retention and repair of current equipment, Vac-Cent continues to believe that Southern Africa, particularly South Africa, has lots to offer. With infrastructure that is close to that of any First World country, many international companies continue to make South Africa their base.