Company Announcement - ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions teamed up with Sasol technical staff to refurbish drum reclaimer no 6 which has been operating reliably at Sasol Coal Supply East Plant since it was first commissioned in 1976. The TAS 40 bi-directional drum reclaimer is used for the bulk handling of coal which is fed into the Synfuels plant from bulk stock yards. With a 40 meters rail centre, a cutting circle of 6 meters and 64 buckets, the machine is capable of handling 2.200 tonnes of coal per hour.
The refurbishment project comprised the manufacture and supply of two new riding rings as well as parts and components for the refurbishment of the drive rack unit. ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions meticulously planned the project to ensure the least possible downtime for the customer. All the required tasks were completed on time over a period of 21 days and the machine was handed back to Sasol with no losses experienced. ThyssenKrupp also provided on-site operator training during the shutdown.
Cobus van Wyk, Technical Services Manager at ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions, agrees that the project’s success is thanks to a great team effort. The ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions Service Centre based in Chloorkop, Johannesburg, was instrumental in fabricating spare parts at short notice with Production Manager, Craig Harvey, spearheading the effort. Van Wyk conveys his appreciation to Sasol for their outstanding support and assistance, without which he says this project would not have been possible.
ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions’ scope of supply to Sasol Mining and Sasol Synfuels over the years includes six stackers, four drum reclaimers, one portal reclaimer, one bridge type reclaimer, two curved overland conveyors for coal, two crawler mounted stacker/spreaders and two shiftable conveyor systems for coarse ash, four plough feeders, four tripper cars as well as one load-out station for export coal. Services provided over this period entail ash dump conveyor upgrades, spreader relocations, stacker upgrades as well as refurbishment projects on all machines and equipment supplied.
ThyssenKrupp remains committed to building and maintaining customer relationships and is rightfully proud of the longstanding relationship with Sasol. “It bears testament to the fact that we supply long-term solutions that encompass equipment, training and after-sales service to maximise plant availability for our customers”, concludes Van Wyk.