Company Announcement - The need for a cost effective security fencing system that will offer the market a low maintenance and sustainable option has been addressed with the introduction of the Spear Fencing system which uses Mentis Expanded Metal. This innovative fencing system is based on a patented concept whereby all forms of welding have been eliminated from the manufacturing and installation process. Attie, Bosman, founder and managing director of Spear Fencing, explains that by removing this process the corrosion factor has been dramatically reduced.

“Fencing by the very nature of its application is exposed to all climatic elements including rain and it is more often than not the ingress of water at welding points that starts the corrosion process,” Bosman says. Once the corrosion process has started it is difficult and even impossible to reverse the process and the fencing system will require intensive and expensive ongoing maintenance to mitigate against this. Spear Fencing is a product completely different to conventional fencing and the fencing system offers structural strength, durability, low maintenance and is simple to erect. Bosman says the company is one of few manufacturers that supplies a cost effective and sustainable fencing system throughout Africa.

Following an extensive development process the decision was made to use Mentis Expanded Metal as the panel for Spear View EXP fencing system. Explaining the rationale behind this, Bosman says it was the manufacturing process Andrew Mentis uses that convinced the company to standardise on Mentis Expanded Metal. “The manufacturing process is extremely economical providing a cost effective product for our fencing panel,” he says. Expanded metal is produced by slitting and expanding a solid sheet of metal into a web of diamond-shaped meshes. The metal sheet can, in fact, be expanded up to ten times its original size, without losing material in the process and resulting in a remarkably light mesh.

The raised mesh, or Mentex, can be put through an additional process in which the raised meshes are flattened into the same plane as the sheet of metal expanded known as Flatex. Mentex and Flatex Expanded Metal is available in a comprehensive range of sizes, mesh sizes and thicknesses and can be fabricated in any form. The mesh can be bent, shaped to radii, angled or notched, while maintaining its inherent rigidity. One of the other distinguishing features of Mentis Expanded Metal is its inherent structural integrity and strength, created by the network of rigid strands which also permit light and air to pass freely through it making it ideally suited for security fencing applications. Bosman adds that the fact that Mentis Expanded Metal is also supplied in stainless steel allows for it to be used in the company’s stainless steel product range.

The Spear View EXP fencing systems uses Mentex sheets with openings measuring 50 mm by 25 mm allowing sufficient light to pass through the fence for an unimpeded view. Effectively, each ‘strand’ has a thickness and width of 3 mm for maximised strength and durability.

Andrew Mentis, an ISO 9001 certified operation, has an established reputation in South Africa that spans more than 60 years and is currently the largest supplier of expanded metal in South Africa.