Technical solutions provider Bearing Man Group (BMG) reports that its seals division has added a US-manufactured product range to its existing offering.

The company says the division has been awarded the exclusive distributorship for the entire range of Garlock sealing products from January 2012, which will include the availability of compression packing and expansion joints.

These products are used extensively in major industries, such as mining, pulp and paper, sugar, petrochemicals and steel.

BMG seals division product support manager Deidre le Roux says the imported Garlock products enhance service life and provide better sealing because of their design and the quality of the material used in the product.

She says that the seals and gaskets industry in South Africa is still faced with the challenge of end-users selecting cheap, inferior-quality products rather than high-quality products.

“Unfortunately, the industry is still inclined to select the cheapest products without considering the life span and long-term costs,” she explains.

Meanwhile, BMG says it is witnessing substantial growth in various engineering sectors in Africa, and has devised a strategy that will enable it to aggressively expand into Africa over the next five years.

“The mining industry presents great potential for us and for the new product lines from Garlock,” says Le Roux.

Further, the company intends to expand its product range to provide customers with a range of solutions.

“BMG is proud to represent many of the world’s biggest seal manufacturers that are at the forefront of technological material and design innovations,” she says.

In line with its staff development objectives, BMG recently launched an in-house academy that provides online distance learning for its staff complement of 2 300.

“The training programme covers our full product and service offering from basic products through to advanced technical training,” informs Le Roux.

In addition, the company has a trainee programme in which it enrols over a dozen school leavers every year and puts them through an intensive three-year in-house training and development programme.

Further, BMG says one of its primary concerns is the need for increased numbers of previously disadvantaged African learners in engineering- and technology-based tertiary education and careers.

As a result, the company has contri- buted to a corporate social investment initiative, by sponsoring the Sector Education and Training Authority-accredited Programme for Technological Careers, which has 11 branches nation- wide, including in Steelpoort and Carletonville.

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