Welding, cutting and gas services company Afrox, a member of The Linde Group, is planning to install a 150 t/d air separation unit (ASU), valued at R300-million, in the Coega Industrial Development Zone, near Port Elizabeth, in the Eastern Cape. The ASU will produce liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen and liquid argon.

The investment is part of the single biggest project Afrox has undertaken in South Africa to date as part of its R1.5-billion programme to boost customer-service levels and support the group’s growth strategy in South Africa while securing more business in sub-Saharan Africa.

Construction is scheduled to start later this year and production at the plant is scheduled to start in early 2015.

The Eastern Cape is a developing economy and referred to as the automotive hub of South Africa. There is demand for liquid nitrogen by the automotive and food and beverage industries – liquid oxygen for the healthcare sector and some manufacturing industries and liquid argon for some manufacturing industries, with the catalytic converter industry being the largest consumer.

Other projects in the R1.5-billion pro-gramme include a R500-million centralised business campus near Umhlanga, in Kwa-Zulu Natal, and a new R200-million ASU at Afrox’s Pretoria site.

Afrox MD Brett Kimber says the Eastern Cape ASU will lead its customer growth plans and is the culmination of a long-term plan to underpin security of future supply in the region.

“The ASU will be operated from a global operations facility in the UK, using the best modern technology to ensure optimal output and quality products,” he says.

Afrox manufactures its gases and other prod- ucts at 41 sites in Southern Africa, comprising 31 units and 16 automated plants that do not require operators.

Its bulk scheduling centre deals with more than 20 000 customer deliveries a month and the transport fleet covers about 24-million kilometres a year.

The company employs more than 3 000 people and has a national network of distributors and branded gas and gear retail outlets. Its national customer service centre receives nearly 100 000 queries a month.