There is a marked move in the southern African mining sector towards installing OEM pumps. This is according to Colin Adams, managing director of Integrated Pump Technology, who says that this recent change in the market has turned the previous trend of sourcing cheaper replicated pumps on its head.
“It is always tempting in difficult economic times to purchase lower cost capital equipment without doing a full assessment of the actual owning and operating costs which should include aspects such as performance, reliability and aftermarket support,” Adams says.
“Any short term cost saving will rapidly fade into insignificance if the pump does not meet its hydraulic performance and this situation will be exacerbated if an inferior component fails causing catastrophic damage,” he continues.
The high cost of unplanned downtime due to a pump installation that fails can impact directly on productivity of an operation, and therefore on profitability. “And this is a scenario that we have seen often over the last few years where end users have purchased pumping equipment that is not engineered to cope with the harsh African operating conditions,” Adams says.
Integrated Pump Technology was established as the official southern African distributor for the well-respected Grindex range of electrical submersible pumps, and later the company added the Italian manufactured Faggiolati pump brand to its product portfolio. Both are Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) pump brands and as such have strong legacies when it comes to product research and development.
Product development is essential as this includes the incorporation of latest hydraulic technologies and materials of construction to ensure that pumps will meet operational requirements. This is something that maintenance personnel on mines are fully cognisant of and this knowledge needs to be transferred to buyers and management who may not always consider the performance and reliability approach when making the purchasing decision.
An example of technology being leveraged in Grindex pumps is the unique air valve that has been integrated into the dewatering pump range. This allows the impeller to pass air instead of water past the motor in a dry run condition.
Another feature in the dewatering range which ensures optimal operational performance is the patented SMART motor protector which provides thermal overload, phase loss and phase rotation protection.
The Grindex sludge range has all the advantages of the dewatering range coupled with a recessed vortex impeller and split hydraulics with replaceable rubber linings. This makes these pumps capable of greater solids handling with increased abrasion resistance.
“There is so much more than just the purchase price that must be considered when purchasing pumps, and the most basic question that needs to be asked is whether an operation can afford the risk of buying on the cheap,” Adams concludes.