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Local tank installer commissions projects throughout Africa

22nd April 2022

By: Sabrina Jardim

Creamer Media Online Writer

     

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Local storage tank supplier and installer Tanks Connected has commissioned tanks for projects in Tanzania, Ghana, Eritrea and South Africa.

The company has supplied and supervised six tanks for a wastewater treatment facility in Ghana.

The company has also completed the supply and installation supervision of two 243 m³ fire water storage tanks and is finalising a 1 800 m³ raw water bolted storage tank for British multinational beverage company Diageo’s Serengeti Breweries plant, in Tanzania.

The company is also supplying three copper concentrate tank replacements for an Eritrean mining company with ongoing negotiations around erection and supervision.

Tanks Connected is also awaiting the award of two 750 m³ tanks for a project in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and a 2 000 m³ tank for a project in Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania.

The projects are at different phases of completion with the project in Eritrea in its transportation phase, while the company awaits clarity regarding who is expected to install the tanks, says Tanks Connected directors Loraine Lundall and Sean Gough.

“We're getting more inquiries in Tanzania and we have a few projects coming up in Ghana, so I think we are looking at a good few years ahead of us,” they add.

Since last year, Tanks Connected has erected and marketed new galvanised bolted, tanks with an internal liner, focusing on the fire water industry.

Tanks Connected have a new product line of tank liners for all types of storage tanks with different applications. These liners allow for the life design of tanks to be extended, or applied in application where corrosive product is stored.

The company also provides glass-fused-to-steel, or glass- lined tanks, for clients in the wastewater industry to complement the already existing powder coated epoxy tanks.

While glass-lined steel tanks are popular, they say epoxy-coated tanks can be more cost effective and, yet, function similarly.

The epoxy tanks have a design life of up to 50 years, owing to their being manufactured and coated in a controlled environment, with the panels being cleaned to SP10 standard before the coating is applied. The panels are then baked at high temperatures.

Tanks Connected uses a synchronised jacking system methodology for installing its tanks.

This method has unique health and safety benefits for clients and the company crew as it limits working at heights.

There are different types of jacks, but Tanks Connected prefer to use mechanical prop shaft jacks since its jacking system is quicker and cost- effective.

Moreover, they explain using scaffolding and cranes can also cost clients up to four times more in comparison to using the synchronised jacking system.

Lifting the panels and building scaffolds can be time-consuming, while scaffolds can also damage the coating that was factory- applied, and field application is not as effective as factory application, they add.

“The process of factory coating is controlled, and the application far surpasses field coating which enables better structural strength and corrosion protection.”

Tanks Connected has global providers and does not operate using a sole mandate, whereby it has a few non-exclusive partnership agreements with suppliers.

“If a potential client indicates that it wants a certain tank commissioned by us, we first assess the quality of the supplier before accepting a client’s request.”

Further, the company has faced challenges, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, whereby the costs of transporting materials from its facilities to site escalated, in addition to the transportation of tanks and containers being delayed, owing to suppliers’ staff falling ill.

They add that the price of steel, which also increased during the pandemic, further impacted on the tank industry.

“At one stage, two of our containers took five months to get from the US to Tanzania, whereas they should actually have taken two to three months, which is more costly and impacts on us directly.”

To avoid shipping delays, Tanks Connected excluded shipping times from its deadlines by opting to focus only on deadlines for the completion of tanks. Penalties from delays in delivery were also excluded.

Tanks Connected celebrated its tenth anniversary in February, recalling company milestones such as the supply and installation of a 2 000 m3 fire water tank for multinational commodity training and mining company Glencore, in Mozambique, in 2013.

Edited by Zandile Mavuso
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor: Features

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