Lifting machinery entity TOCO Lifting is registered with the Department of Employment and Labour as an approved Lifting Machinery Entity under LME 008, supplying certified lifting and rigging solutions across Africa.

The company assembles and certifies its steel wire rope slings in-house. Used for lifting, towing, winch work and securing materials across mining, marine, construction and engineering, the slings are manufactured in TOCO’s rigging workshops using specialised swaging and splicing equipment.

This provides quick turnaround, traceability and a test certificate for every assembly. Work is carried out under the oversight of an Engineering Council of South Africa-registered Lifting Machinery Inspector.

TOCO has supplied solutions for projects including jetty and load-out facilities in Tanzania and Mozambique, shaft rigging and maintenance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and critical lifts and mooring cables in Angola.

Executive Director Jonty Walls says the company has worked with clients on lifting and rigging requirements. These include cable-laid grommet slings ranging from 30 t to 120 t for Kusile power station, and assembly of the main and suspension cables for the Sivalo suspension bridge project in Eswatini.

Port work includes four   80 t x 30 m endless grommet slings for the jetty and facilities project in Tanzania, as well as socketing 400 m x 38 mm winch cables. TOCO is active on mooring lines and jetty piling upending cables for contractors on the jetty expansion project in Maputo, and works with partners in the DRC and Mozambique.

Steel wire rope slings support heavy-duty lifting, hoisting and transporting of machinery and ore, bridge components with spreader beams, towing, securing materials and shaft mining elevators. Its high strength-to-weight ratio and resistance to abrasion, heat and crushing suit harsh environments. Deterioration is visible through broken wires, wear, deformation and corrosion, supporting routine and statutory inspection.

Each sling is built to a length and rated working load limit, with construction and end fittings matched to the lift. TOCO supplies mechanically swaged terminations, including Flemish eye, Afgrip and National ferrule, and hand-spliced terminations.

Endless grommet slings provide even load distribution for critical lifts, while Admiralty and Liverpool splices provide secure terminations for demanding lifts.

“On a shaft, a sling does not get a second opinion. That is why we assemble in our own workshop, and why cable laid grommets leave here at 8:1 under Driven Machinery Regulation 18, not the 5:1 the general standards allow,” Walls says.

Standard diameters range from 6 mm to over 56 mm, with 6 x 19 and 6 x 36 classifications and fibre, independent wire rope or polypropylene cores. Working load limits extend into hundreds of tons, with custom lengths available.

“Our forte is our ability to incorporate different variables to engineer a tailormade solution, customisable to the client’s specific application and requirements, and manufactured to the applicable South African National Standard or international standard,” Walls says.