Company Announcement - Renttech South Africa, a leading provider of on-site rental and supply solutions, assures petrochemical refineries of high levels of service during shutdown projects, providing on-site technical support, with the aim of minimising 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 wide range of industries. Renttech SA is very active in the petrochemicals industry, having a presence on all of the refineries in South Africa, as well as a number of high-profile projects, ensuring minimal disruption, technical support and easy accessibility of critical equipment and consumables. The company owes its successful track record in this industry to the provision of total on-site rental and support solution; as well as having experienced, dedicated personnel stationed on-site for the duration of a project. “The key to any successful rental operation is providing a comprehensive solutions package, which includes maintenance. Petrochemical companies are advised to appoint an experienced and knowledgeable company, with the required capacity and proficiency, to assume complete responsibility for both the technical and safety issues of equipment rental,” says Gerrit van Zyl, Managing Director of Renttech South Africa.
“Renttech South Africa typically appoints a senior project manager to oversee the entire operation from the planning stage through to finalisation of the project. By having a single point of contact for the entire project, petrochemical companies are assured of a complete audit trail.
In addition, the maintenance process is considerably more streamlined by dovetailing the responsibilities of each sub-contractor,” Van Zyl adds. Renttech South Africa is a full equipment infrastructure solutions provider, and represents a number of leading international welding, rigging, lifting and construction-related principals and brands. “As a complete-resource company, Renttech South Africa provides customers with the on-site management of the consumables and products stockholding facility from renowned global suppliers like Lincoln, Metrode, Harris, Miller Weldcraft and Kelmeg. In addition, we are able to provide customers with a vast range of personal protective equipment to ensure the strictest adherence to the stringent on-site occupational health and safety requirements of the petrochemical industry,” van Zyl notes. Renttech South Africa has been closely involved in some of the largest petrochemical shutdown projects in South Africa in recent years. These include several multiple phase shutdowns and expansion projects, such as the SAPREF refinery shutdown, which was the largest in Renttech’s history and the largest single shutdown in the history of the country.
The success of the latter project can be attributed to the fact that Renttech provided 24 hour technical support to contractors, had multiple stores and offices on-site and created an entire infrastructure within the shutdown site, to ensure the highest standards of service to the customer, according to van Zyl.
When another large multi-national petrochemicals customer decommissioned a portion of its operations last year, Renttech was once again at the ready.
During the shutdown, the company supplied and sold equipment to assist in overhauling the site, which included welding, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation activities. Again, Renttech provided the technical expertise, support and equipment to successfully complete the shutdown. “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 petrochemical industries,” says van Zyl. He adds that Renttech ensures that its employees receive extensive training and skills transfer from a number of sources, both externally and internally, in order to guarantee that all work is undertaken according to the customer’s requirements.
Van Zyl notes, too, that clients benefit from being able to access the latest available technology. “Renttech South Africa continually renews its fully-certified fleet to ensure best practice in terms of maintenance equipment. We deal directly with the original equipment manufacturers when it comes to our welding equipment, welding consumables, and generators, and we also maintain high levels of stock to ensure continuity.”
While maintaining a permanent presence on-site during shutdowns has become non-negotiable, van Zyl also emphasises the need for proactive maintenance during normal operation. “A number of petrochemical refineries are fairly old and therefore require regular, scheduled, on-going maintenance becomes critical. One of the positive effects of a well-maintained refinery is an increased ability to comply with escalating environmental regulations. Renttech South Africa has accumulated a vast database of specification requirements over the past 21 years in the industry, which allows us to customise suitable procedures and plans for each individual petrochemical facility maintenance contract. We believe this is essential to the productivity and sustainability of South Africa’s petrochemical industry,” Van Zyl concludes.