Hydraulics repair centre certifications are good for business

4th May 2018

By: Paige Müller

Creamer Media Reporter

     

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The South Africa hydraulics industry now has access to two Denison pump and motor approved repair centres (ARCs) for hydraulic repair that are accredited by international motion and control technologies manufacturer Parker Hannifin.

Parker Hannifin Sales Company South Africa, has, in the last year, entered into a partnership with two Denison ARCs in South Africa to provide quality hydraulic equipment restoration to original-equipment manufacturer (OEM) specifications furthering both Parker and the distributors’ hydraulics growth.

Parker Hannifin stresses that visiting accredited and trustworthy repair centres can save companies copious amounts on downtime, shortened asset life, repair and maintenance costs and decreased productivity.

The company states that, when it comes to hydraulic systems, there are many factors that can compromise both the operation of machines and the cleanliness, or purity, of associated fluids.

Hydraulic design and development, manufacturing and reconditioning specialists Sisonke Hydraulics & Engineering, based in Edenvale, and Hydraulic product supplier and repair centre Fluid Power Automation, based in Richards Bay, currently represent the only two certified Parker Hannifin Denison pump and motor ARCs in the country.

Sisonke Hydraulics & Engineering was the only Parker Hannifin and Parker Denison certified product repair centre in the country from 2009 until mid-2017. Sisonke Hydraulics & Engineering marketing director Pieter Hendriks emphasises that, being a Parker ARC has served Sisonke Hydraulics & Engineering well over this time.

He explains that the hydraulics and pneumatics industry has been volatile in recent years, owing to a decline in project investments in hydraulic-intensive industries, such as the mining and heavy industries.

Hendricks explains that the company being a Parker-approved repair centre has greatly assisted in strengthening its resolve in the face of recent industry challenges. He specifically outlines how the accreditation has “added to the range of products Sisonke Hydraulics & Engineering is able to distribute and service, as well as enabling the end-user to benefit from the long-term financial and efficiency benefits of repairing multimillion-rand value mobile vehicles or drilling machines back to the original hydraulic standards it was designed for.

“Being one of only two Denison ARCs in the country, ensures clients a higher quality of equipment repair and refurbishment and maintains the integrity of many safety critical components,” he says.

Fluid Power Automation is the other Parker-accredited repair facility. Fluid Power Automation commercial director Dean Trent explains that Parker Hannifin approached Fluid Power Automation with the proposal of taking over and relocating its Johannesburg-based hydraulics repair centre to Richards Bay several years ago.

“Parker Hannifin’s proposal lined up perfectly with Fluid Power Automation’s initial company focus; it was built with the intent to provide the Richards Bay hydraulics industry with what its competitors up in Johannesburg couldn’t, and that’s a repair facility on their doorstep,” he states.

Trent explains that the partnership led to a new Parker Hannifin Denison ARC that has been thriving since opening last year, adding that hydraulic equipment users in Richards Bay had limited options in the past. “If companies needed repairs done on their equipment, they had to send that equipment to Johannesburg.”

Subsequently, transport costs and prolonged downtime meant that clients in Richards Bay struggled significantly to get quality hydraulic repairs and refurbishments done in a cost effective and timely manner.

He explains that, through the partnership, Fluid Power Automation has adopted and relocated the Parker Hannifin repair centres workforce, equipment, international principles and quality accreditations. The company “is now supported by the best, and, as a result, it can offer the best in product support, competitive pricing, the latest technology and product testing”.

He says the facility ensures clients of a higher quality of equipment repair and refurbishment.

Trent explains that the company wanted to provide clients with “more than they could have hoped for”, which enabled it, with the help of Parker Hannifin, to offer world-class testing equipment to ensure that all repairs are to OEM specifications, and computerised ISO 9001 certification, as well as the assurance that, when clients put products back on their lines, its as if those products are brand new.

The company’s in-house testing facility comprises a 70 kW and a 130 kW computerised test rig that ensures all refurbished equipment meets OEM specification standards.

Since the repair centre’s opening, the company has thrived in Richards Bay and is now looking to replicate the project in Durban and Maputo, in Mozambique. Trent concludes that Fluid Power Automation views Africa as “the new frontier in the hydraulics industry with great opportunities for growth”.

Edited by Zandile Mavuso
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor: Features

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