TIM SCHWEIKERT This project is really about speed, getting the suppliers qualified and getting first article inspections completed as soon as possible
Photo by: Edelman
Locomotives manufacturer General Electric (GE) South Africa Technologies reports that it is engaged in the initial design reviews for the 233 Evolution series diesel locomotives it will be supplying to State-owned rail operator Transnet.
GE South Africa president and CEO Tim Schweikert tells Engineering News that, together with its partner, Transnet Engineering, and client Transnet Freight Rail, the company is in the process of finalising product specifications for the project so that production can start.
Transnet announced that the project was valued at a base cost of R7.1-billion, in March.
He adds that GE is also in the process of identifying local suppliers to meet the 55% local content requirement, a process which has been made easier by working with local suppliers on a previous project that saw GE manufacture 143 locomotives for Transnet.
“Through the previous programme, we became very familiar with the capabilities in South Africa, so the new project is really just an expansion of the previous project,” Schweikert notes.
He adds that, while the projects might be similar, the latest project will see the locomotives configured differently, boasting 4 000 hp rather than 3 000 hp.
The first six locomotives will be completed in the US, with the first units being completed in the fourth quarter of this year. Delivery will start in the second quarter of next year following a validation process, which will be followed by an in-country validation.
Schweikert notes that GE has formed a joint venture with 100% black-owned Mineworkers Investment Company, which is GE’s black economic-empowerment partner responsible for project execution.
“Our localisation strategy is to meet the 55% local content requirement and possibly exceed that. We are working to localise many of the subsystems, to add final assembly, painting and testing, which will be done in South Africa.
“For us to meet the local content requirement, we are going to go much deeper into localising some of the components. “Everything will be manufactured in South Africa, except for the engine,” Schweikert highlights.
He adds that a number of components, such as the fuel tanks, will be manufactured in South Africa and then shipped to the US.
Schweikert notes that the 233 diesel locomotives that GE will be supplying will have the company’s G-EVO motor installed, which will comply with European Tier 3 and US Tier 2 equivalent standards for emission control and fuel consumption.
“Our G-EVO engines, which were launched in 2005 to meet Tier 2 US standard emissions level, allowed us to build a new platform with tremendous growth potential in terms of emission reduction and fuel efficiency, where some of our competitors [only] improved current designs,” he asserts.
Schweikert adds that the G-EVO engines being supplied for the Transnet project will have to be customised and repackaged to comply with South Africa’s 22 t import weight limitations.
He notes that one of the most challenging aspects of this project is the speed at which manufacturing will have to take place to meet Transnet’s three-and-a-half-year timeline, which was initially pegged at four years. “This project is really about speed, getting the suppliers qualified and getting first article inspections completed as soon as possible.”