MAINTENANCE MATTERS Maintenance and repairing equipment is as important as supplying efficient pumping solutions
There is a dire need in South Africa for a pump rental company that understands the specific needs of the end-user; therefore, pump rental company Integrated Pump Rental aims to ensure that it continues to introduce fit-for-purpose pumps and products that will meet the changing needs of the market, asserts MD Lee Vine.
Hence, Integrated Pump Rental now offers the Sykes range of pumps from Australia. “By having [high-] quality diesel-driven mobile units in our range, we can now offer our customers pumps that can be used in areas where there is no available electricity,” he says.
Integrated Pump Rental was named the official distributor of the Sykes range of pumps in South Africa in April, which the company says has significantly boosted its capabilities as a pumps project rental specialist.
The company will focus on expanding the Sykes pumps range in South Africa by initially marketing it to its existing customer base. The range is still fairly new to the country, compared with other African countries where the pumps range has been operating successfully for many years.
The pumps are engineered to operate under extremely harsh operating conditions, such as those found in the mining, construction, municipal and rental sectors, for a host of applications, ranging from water transfer and pit dewatering to site cleaning.
Vine notes that Integrated Pump Rental decided to partner with Sykes because the original-equipment manufacturer (OEM) has more than 40 years’ experience in the manufacture of high-quality, high-performance pumps.
Integrated Pump Rental will offer Sykes’ full range of pumps, including the low-, medium-, high- and extra-high-head series for handling solids.
“Sykes is a well-known and respected player in the international pumps industry, while Integrated Pump Rental has built up a solid reputation for being able to supply high-quality pumping solutions to a range of projects,” he comments, noting that the partnership will, therefore, be beneficial to both parties.
Vine explains that Sykes pumps are designed with automatic priming capabilities, based on a Venturi system that delivers suction of up to 9 m. He adds that the pumps offer market-leading efficiency and are “extremely” robust, as they are built standard with a 316SS impeller and wear plates, which ensure reliability, coupled with versatility.
He reiterates that the dry-running, oil-lubricated mechanical seals fitted to the Sykes range enable the pumps to operate under snore conditions, when a pump’s suction strainer is no longer submersed in water and is pulling in air, and reprime automatically without incurring damage.
Vine points out that, as Sykes pumps are diesel-driven units, ongoing maintenance is necessary, noting that maintenance is part of its rental contract, but customers need to ensure that a maintenance contract forms part of the sale when buying such a pump.
“Generally, there appears to be demand from the mining industry for maintenance programmes supplied by the OEM supplier. Integrated Pump Rental can maintain pumps, ensuring miners that they are receiving the most effective operating hours from their pumps,” he notes.
Maintenance is undertaken in accordance with a predetermined maintenance interval, either through a maintenance programme or contract, Vine adds.
Sykes pumps will be kept in stock at Integrated Pump Rental’s office in Johannesburg to facilitate and ensure “excellent flexibility” in meeting customer-specific requests and lead times. This will include the supply of locally made fuel pods, skids and trailers. The company says the final package will be “very competitively priced”.
“Often, when mining companies want to rent pumps, it is because there is an immediate need for the units and they do not have the time to go through the buying process. Integrated Pump Rental, therefore, can provide the pumps immediately,” he emphasises.
When renting, Sykes pumps delivery can be virtually immediate as rental units are in stock. However, when buying, delivery will take up to three weeks if there is no stock available, Vine highlights.