In the last decade, questions about the cost effectiveness and environmental friendliness of timber and steel poles have inevitably made industry seek alternative solutions for applications across a wide variety of sectors which include electricity, electrical, telecommunications, security monitoring, stadium and street lighting, park and public place lighting and fibre optic poles been used by major players in the industry respectively , all of which can be cost effectively serviced by Rocla’s locally manufactured cast and spun concrete poles.
 
Rocla has a long and established reputation in the manufacture of concrete poles in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, of which their spun poles are manufactured from high quality, durable, partially prestressed or reinforced concrete. Rocla cast and rectangular poles are made in steel moulds from high quality concrete with a mix designed to achieve the strength and durability to meet the customer’s requirements.
 
Applications
 
Rocla’s concrete poles have become the benchmark in long life, zero maintenance street lighting poles. They are vandal proof are available in a range of heights, load capabilities and fitting requirements.
 
Security companies are utilising the Rocla spun concrete poles for the installation of CCTV cameras and other monitoring equipment in suburbs are part of their community crime prevention activities as the pole design allows for cables to be fed from the ground through the pole, which is hollow, so that tampering or theft of cables is significantly reduced and the pole structure is impossible to destroy and extremely difficult to remove from the installation site.
 
With increased installation of fibre optics, the Rocla poles are being used extensively to build infrastructure and to replace the wooden poles previously used due to the advantages of concrete mentioned above.
 
Local municipalities responsible for the lighting of stadia, parks and grounds and general public areas need suitable, low maintenance, aesthetically pleasing lighting installations in order to create a safe, well-lit environment. Sports stadiums in particular, which are significant revenue earners, require a multi-faceted approach to lighting solutions. The Rocla spun concrete poles are ideally suited to accommodate floodlighting around sports pitches as well as the surrounding grounds.
 
In line with South Africa’s commitment of electricity for all, Rocla developed cast concrete poles for the electrical distribution industry, while the advanced tall spun pole is used on transmission lines such as what is found in Richards Bay and similar facilities. The concrete poles offer benefits that include vandalism resistance, standardised fittings, quick installation as well as a maintenance free long life, all factors which the old, traditional wooden poles lack.
 
Veld fires in outlying farming and other facilities cause seasonal damage, and at times complete destruction to wooden poles housing reticulation systems for electricity supplies of 11kV and 22kV of power, making regular replacement uneconomical. The installation and related maintenance costs of concrete poles circumvents this type of damage and is a far more affordable and durable option.
 
Quality Testing
 
Rocla’s manufacturing facilities all comply to ISO9001:2008 quality management systems, and the company tests poles to SABS 470 specifications and the concrete poles are marked with a traceability reference.
 
The scope of the testing procedures cover: inspection, test frequency, dimension checks, straightness tests, proof load tests, cover to reinforcing checks, torsional test and ultimate load test.
 
Rocla will design and manufacture to meet customer’s stringent requirements as well as manufacture products for non-standard applications if required.
 
Rocla is part  of the IS Group of companies that includes Technicrete and Ocon Brick.