On-site rental and supply solutions company Renttech South Africa has been closely involved in some of the largest petrochemicals shutdown projects in this country in recent years, providing on-site technical support to minimise downtime.

The company specialises in the rental and sales of welding and construction-related equipment, as well as industrial tools, machinery and refinery-approved consumables to a range of industries, and is very active in the petrochemicals industry, having a presence at all the refineries in South Africa.

Renttech South Africa is a full equipment infrastructure solutions provider that represents a number of leading international welding, rigging, lifting and construction- related principals and brands. The several multiple-phase shutdowns and expansion projects in the petrochemicals sector in which it has been involved include the Sapref refinery shutdown, which was the largest in the history of the country.

The success of this project was attributed to the fact that Renttech provided 24-hour technical support for contractors, had multiple stores and offices on site and created an entire infrastructure within the shutdown site to ensure the highest standards of service, according to MD Gerrit van Zyl.

When another large multinational petrochemicals company decommissioned a portion of its operations last year, Renttech was once again involved.
During the shutdown, the company supplied and sold equipment to assist in overhauling the site, which included welding, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation activities.

“The challenges we face on large projects of this nature include the varying requirements in terms of project specifications. Quality and safety remain overriding factors and we address these challenges through the deployment of employees who are able to leverage their vast experience in both the rental and petrochemicals industries,” says Van Zyl.

He adds that Renttech ensures that its employees receive extensive training and skills transfer from a number of providers, both externally and internally. Clients also benefit from being able to access the latest available technology.

While maintaining a permanent presence on site during shutdowns has become non-negotiable, Van Zyl also emphasises the need for pro- active maintenance during normal operation.

“A number of petrochemicals refineries are fairly old and therefore require regular, scheduled ongoing maintenance that becomes critical,” Van Zyl concludes.