Local mechanical seals manu- facturer and product solutions provider John Crane South Africa has undergone a full-scale refurbishment and organisational change to boost its reputation as a turnkey solutions provider to local industries, including the pumps industry and its end-users.

The restructuring was initi- ated in 2008, when the company invested in a range of computer numerically controlled (CNC) machines to mechanise its product output.

However, John Crane felt that these machines were not being used to their full capacity and, therefore, brought the organi- sational change full circle by analysing its manufacturing processes and possible time- wasting activities and amending these to enhance the output of the CNC equipment.

Operations manager Ian Pinfold tells Engineering News that, in the past 12 months, John Crane has invested heavily in its staff in terms of training and has used staff expertise to assist with the organisational changes, which aimed to upgrade the facility to a “world-class” manufacturing entity.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to develop infrastructure within John Crane, enabling us to support the pumps industry in all markets, including refineries, pulp and paper companies and the minerals sector, by supplying a range of mechanical seals, couplings, filtration systems and gland packing,” says Pinfold.

John Crane has been devel- oping mechanical seals since its establishment in 1917 and has been operational in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa since 1962. The company also provides custom-engineered design solutions for specific installations and can provide a full turnkey service, working with original-equipment manufacturers or end-users to customise mechanised seals for a particular installation.

Pinfold tells Engineering News that John Crane has always collaborated well with local companies in the pumps indus- try but says the company has shifted its focus in recent years from simple manufacturing services to increased customer- focused services.

He explains that, while the company is one of the only seals companies that manufactures many of its seals locally, globalisation has made it easier for the company to access stock manufactured overseas.

This means that John Crane has easy access to goods produced at its large-scale manufacturing operation in the Czech Republic, which runs between 80 and 100 CNC machines ope- rating in three shifts.

The volume of output in terms of manufacture is significant, says Pinfold, adding that the John Crane group has set up central parts warehouses in England and the Middle East, where it stocks all standard seal components available for same-day dispatch, worldwide.

Pinfold tells Engineering News that, while John Crane used to buy some seal components locally – from globally approved vendors – because of the significant lead times in the past, the company is now shipping two consignments a week from both the Czech Republic and England owing to shortened lead times.

These products are delivered to it’s main stocking location in Springs, Ekurhuleni, or directly to one of its four service centres located across South Africa, within seven working days.

“Management decided to streamline our South African operation to ensure that customer services were enhanced and, from that perspective, we realised that holding stock on a large pro- curement base meant that we benefited from the procurement savings that would be made globally,” he says.

Pinfold reiterates, however, that the company also ensures that it has the necessary equipment for emergencies and breakdowns, such as when key sectors experience unexpected downtime and need assistance.

He adds that the company is able to supply seals or seal support systems within 24 to 48 hours.

“We have, therefore, gone through a full review of our internal processes, considering everything from order intake to customer dispatch. As a result, we’ve reviewed what compo- nents we keep in stock, why we keep them in stock and what stock we need to manufacture locally, based on what customers expect from us as a supplier.”

Pinfold adds that John Crane has worked closely with local steel suppliers to ensure that the company constantly has a secure and stable supply of raw material to fulfil its customer requirements within the expected delivery period.

Meanwhile, during John Crane’s restructuring, the company also focused on improving its capacity to supply finished products to customers.

The company, therefore, reviewed its in-house assembly area and the assembly process and identified ways of stream- lining its process flow.

“We have also invested in our support areas, which include the lapping area – a room with two new lapping machines and a full set of optical flats – which is critical to the integrity of the wearing components of a mechanical seal, as well as a new cleaning area – which includes an ultrasonic semi- automatic Turbex machine. This ensures that products are spotless after manufacture,” says Pinfold.

He adds that the cleaning station also ensures that repaired products are returned “as new” to customers and notes that, while streamlining production processes was a significant part of the company’s organisational change, more money was probably invested in the support areas around the physical manufacturing area.

“We invested heavily in this operation to create a positive atmosphere and working environment for our employees and to provide the kind of support that our customers expect, both locally and internationally,” Pinfold concludes.