As difficult market conditions force companies in many sectors to relook at their cost structures, quality refurbishment is becoming more important as a strategy to contain costs.

According to Gary Colegate, general manager of Parnis Manufacturing, such strategies demand that customers find experienced partners with both the technical capacity and responsiveness required for demanding projects, whether these are for existing or greenfield projects.

“This economic situation looks unlikely to change in the near future, having being further aggravated by the recent surprise announcements regarding the Mining Charter and its requirements,” says Colegate.

Engaged for decades in the mining sector, Parnis Manufacturing has extensive experience in equipment like mine winders and their components, boiler components, fans and fan casings, mill heads and sheave wheels.

“Our large vertical boring machine puts us at an advantage to most of our competitors, and allows us to tackle a wide range of engineering projects, where we can assure customers of as new results,” he says.

Vertical boring capacity at Parnis Manufacturing extends to a table size of 4,5 metres, a turning diameter of 5,3 metres and a turning height of 3,2 metres, with a maximum load of up to 50 tonnes. Other equipment includes horizontal borers with capacity up to 5,5 metres longitudinal travel by 2,5 metres high, milling machines with 4,5 metre longitudinal travel and a height 1,8 metres and an overhead crane lifting capacity of 50 tonnes (tandem)

“We have recently delivered a completely refurbished mine winder to a privately owned gold mine in Zimbabwe,” he says. “The equipment – which dates back to the early 1950s – was used for decades on a South African gold mining operation; it was purchased for use in Zimbabwe, and needed to be returned to a high operational standard.”

In addition to its base-load work for the mining sector, Parnis Manufacturing has also made great strides into the energy sector.

“We have diversified into a number of fields, thanks to the entrepreneurial approach of our founder and CEO Mario Guerini,” says Colegate. “An important area of expansion has been into the design, fabrication and assembly of mobile, modular E-houses – fully equipped electrical substations.”

He says the E-house concept saves costs, space and time when compared to traditional methods of building sub-stations.