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Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals News

More to concrete parking lots than meets the eye

By: Mamaili Mamaila 22nd May 2020 Concrete offers several major advantages when building parking areas, says industry body The Concrete Institute (TCI) MD Bryan Perrie. →

Company supplies products for new Gauteng reservoirs

By: Mamaili Mamaila 22nd May 2020 A variety of products supplied by construction products specialist a.b.e. Construction Chemicals are being used for several new major water reservoir projects currently under construction in Gauteng. →

WATER WORKS Benoni’s Northmead elevated water reservoir is the largest elevated type in Gauteng and one of the biggest in South Africa

Russian nuclear group spotlights role of nuclear medicine in countering Covid-19

By: Rebecca Campbell 21st May 2020 Giant Russian State-owned nuclear energy corporation group Rosatom has highlighted the value of nuclear medical techniques in sterilising medical devices and personal protective equipment, as part of global efforts to counter the Covid-19 pandemic. Nuclear medical sterilisation destroys viruses,... →

Nuclear corporation briefs Parliamentarians on its 12-month, 5- and 10-year objectives

By: Rebecca Campbell 20th May 2020 In a briefing to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy on May 20, the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) stated that it would achieve a turnover of more than R2-billion during the 2021 financial year (FY), but nevertheless expected a net loss of... →

Adcock's acquisition of Plush Professional Leather Care now unconditional

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 15th May 2020 JSE-listed Adcock Ingram has announced that all conditions precedent, including regulatory approval, for its acquisition of Plus Professional Leather Care, have been met and the acquisition is now unconditional. The final closing of the transaction will take place before the end of May. →

Aspen focused on maintaining production during pandemic

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 15th May 2020 JSE-listed Aspen’s immediate focus under Covid-19 has been to establish processes aimed at ensuring optimum production and the responsible allocation of essential drugs through a heightened focus on its production and supply chain activities. Aspen is experiencing an elevated demand for certain... →

Sasol to mull adding pipeline, Qatar plant to disposal plan

By: Bloomberg 15th May 2020 Sasol is considering additional divestments, including the potential sale of stakes in an African gas pipeline and a Middle Eastern plant, as it explores ways to reduce its $10-billion debt pile, people with knowledge of the matter said. South Africa’s biggest company by revenue is working with... →

New gland packing reduces emissions

By: Halima Frost 15th May 2020 Companies looking to lower emissions can now buy sealing solutions manufacturer Teadit’s 2236 gland packing in South Africa from gasket manufacturer and distributor Absolut Gasket. Gland packing is a contact-type sealing element that comprises a braided rope-like material that is packed around... →

TIGHT FIT The Teadit glad packing is packed tightly around the shaft of a pump or valve to seal the moving shaft from the housing component

Seals company introduces bearing seal combo

15th May 2020 Advanced materials and product supplier Freudenberg Sealing Technologies introduced a machine component that combines a plastic rotating bearing with a seal in a single, precisely matched unit which the company says is an innovation first. Introduced in February, the design offers significant... →

DYNAMIC DUO The bearing and seal combination introduced by Freudenberg has been validated through extensive testing

Valves maintenance still a challenge

By: Mamaili Mamaila 15th May 2020 Although demand for valves has increased over the past five years, maintenance costs, efficiency and valve service life are some of the challenges that companies face yearly, says coating technology specialist Thermaspray’s laser cladding manager Jordaan Lourens. →

IRREPLACEABLE SOLUTIONS The initial coating of new valves as well as their efficient repair results in fewer valve replacements

CEF denies nine ‘requests’ for support amount to a bailout

By: Terence Creamer 12th May 2020 South Africa’s State-owned Central Energy Fund (CEF) has outlined an extensive list of support measures – including access to a portion of the fuel levy and carbon-tax proceeds – which it argued on Tuesday would help extricate the group from a “precarious financial position”, precipitated by... →

Photo by Creamer Media
The PetroSA refinery in Mossel Bay

Samed urges vigilance in acquiring quality PPE

By: Donna Slater 11th May 2020 The outbreak of Covid-19 in South Africa and the consequent rapid requirement for bulk personal protective equipment (PPE) supply, has led to an influx of PPE products from many suppliers and distributors, thereby raising quality and functionality concerns by the healthcare industry and, in... →

Donations close supply gap for PPE in fight against Covid-19

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 8th May 2020 The Solidarity Fund, working with Business for South Africa (B4SA), has helped secure 100% of the N95 masks and nearly 80% of the surgical masks required in terms of weekly demand ahead of the expected surge in Covid-19 cases. The successful procurement of this essential personal protective... →

Theranostics can play a role in nuclear medicine

By: Cameron Mackay 8th May 2020 The development and use of theranostics with nuclear medicine provides ample opportunity for nuclear medicine and molecular imaging to become more familiar to the public, and can help grow the local nuclear medicine industry, says South African Society of Nuclear Medicine president Moshe... →

SAFARI-1 FACILITY The facility conducts clinical trials with, and produces, radiopharmaceuticals or radioisotopes, such as key medical radioisotopes like molybdenum-99 and iodine-131

Tribunal approves more excessive pricing consent agreements

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 7th May 2020 The Competition Tribunal has approved two more consent agreements with a company accused by the Competition Commission of charging excessive prices for essential products. The Van Heerden Pharmacy Group has agreed to pay a R30 000 settlement and to make a further donation to the national... →

Cape Town company joins global efforts to develop plant-based Covid-19 test kits

By: Donna Slater 5th May 2020 Cape Bio Pharms, a spin-off company of the Biopharming Research Unit at the University of Cape Town, has partnered with international biotechnology companies to address the international problem of accessibility to affordable reagents and rapid Covid-19 serology testing, with the launch of its... →

Covid-19 exit strategy depends on getting vaccine to whole world

By: Bloomberg 4th May 2020 Coming up with a vaccine to halt Covid-19 in a matter of months isn’t the only colossal challenge. The next big test: getting billions of doses to every corner of the world at a time when countries increasingly are putting their own interests first. A variety of financing tools are under... →

Good agricultural sales expected post lockdown

By: Darren Parker 1st May 2020 The outbreak of Covid-19 and the consequent initial 21-day national lockdown in South Africa, which has since been extended by two weeks, caused a slowdown in sales for almost every sector in South Africa, including the agricultural sector. Despite the lull, Pratley marketing director Eldon... →

DON’T BLOW A GASKET The new room temperature vulcanising silicone gasket maker compound is temperature resistant from -50 ºC to 300 ºC for short periods

Atomised airborne disinfectant useful to fight workplace spread of Covid-19

By: Donna Slater 30th April 2020 The atomising and making airborne of fine droplets of disinfectant can be used to sterilise vast workplaces in the fight against the spread of Covid-19, says explosion suppression, automatic fire suppression and dust suppression systems supplier, as well as sanitisation solutions provider... →

The V12SO indoor turbine

Labat increases integrated cannabis business drive

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 29th April 2020 JSE-listed healthcare group Labat Africa has announced a comprehensive plan to expand and further develop an integrated cannabis business in South Africa. The company, which has interests in information and communications technology, logistics and energy has added Labat Healthcare to its... →

South Africa receives significant PPE order for frontline healthcare workers

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 24th April 2020 South Africa has received a significant order of personal protective equipment (PPE), including includes two-million surgical masks and 216 000 KN95 respirators. This critical stock is intended for the sole use of frontline doctors, nurses and community healthcare workers, to protect them in... →

Photo by GCIS/Elmond Jiyane
The B4SA PPE procurement team received a significant order of 2-million surgical masks, and 216 000 KN95s

Adcock Ingram employee tests positive for Covid-19, response measures in place

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 24th April 2020 An employee at pharmaceutical manufacturer Adcock Ingram’s Critical Care manufacturing facility has tested positive for Covid-19, and 50 other employees have undergone testing on April 23, and have self-quarantined based on the primary contact trace. The infected employee displayed minor symptoms... →

Pipeline repair continues despite Covid-19

24th April 2020 Repair of the Mt Albert high-pressure sludge pipeline is a critical project for city council Wellington’s wastewater network in New Zealand, and one that Wellington Water is committed to progressing during lockdown. Repairing these pipelines is a significant technical challenge, because the... →

Ford SA, Gift of the Givers partner for Covid-19 face shield efforts

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 23rd April 2020 Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa's (FMCSA's) initiative to produce protective face shields for front-line medical and essential services personnel in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic has been given a boost, with local nongovernmental organisation Gift of the Givers Foundation coming on... →

EPCM Holdings producing low-cost ventilators

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 21st April 2020 Engineering, procurement and construction company EPCM Holdings is producing low-cost ventilator units − bag valve mask units − for delivery to several African countries in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. “In our fight against the Covid-19 virus and our determination to protect humanity, our team... →

EPCM Holding’s low cost ventilator unit

Ipasa helps in Covid-19 fight

By: Marleny Arnoldi 21st April 2020 The Innovative Pharmaceutical Association South Africa (Ipsasa) has confirmed its commitment to continue supplying medicines to people living with chronic diseases during the Covid-19 lockdown period. The association represents 26 research-based pharmaceutical companies. →

Biodx says use of biotech disinfectant products can help in fight against Covid-19

By: Donna Slater 21st April 2020 Johannesburg-based biological technology (biotech) and disinfectants company Biodx CEO Burt Rodrigues says that while the Covid-19 pandemic will change the world in the short and long term, a refocus to natural products may play a key role in tackling current and future outbreaks. Rodrigues says... →

Sappi starts production of essential medical items, donates to Solidarity Fund

By: Donna Slater 20th April 2020 Pulp and paper producer Sappi Southern Africa has made available several donations of scarce items such as hand sanitiser, face masks, nutritional porridge and paper products, to reduce pressure on the national government’s resources, as well as to support the most vulnerable during the Covid-19... →

Online portal to boost access to essential medical Covid-19 supplies

By: Donna Slater 17th April 2020 As part of the Business South Africa (BSA) initiative, and with technical assistance from Tencent South Africa, the South African Medical Technology Industry Association (Samed) has created a live online portal for its member companies to upload details of the Covid-19 supplies and equipment they... →

Labat Africa acquires 70% stake in BioData to further its cannabis involvement

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 16th April 2020 JSE-listed healthcare group Labat Africa has acquired a 70% interest in science, technology and research group BioData to expand and further develop its integrated cannabis business in South Africa. The company is focused on the cannabis industry and was initially set up as a holistic healing... →

SEW-EURODRIVE joins national 3D printing initiative for face masks

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 16th April 2020 Drive and automation technology company SEW-EURODRIVE has joined a nationwide campaign to use three-dimensional (3D) printing technology to produce much-needed face masks and shields for healthcare workers and first responders. There is a global shortage of critical personal protective equipment... →

Ascendis sells Scitec business

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 16th April 2020 JSE-listed Ascendis Health’s subsidiary, Ascendis Health International Holdings, has reached an agreement to sell its Scitec business unit to Dutch company Atlas Invest for €5-million. This forms part of the group’s disposal of noncore and underperforming assets to reduce its debt levels. →

Adcock Ingram executive directors contribute to Solidarity Fund

By: Donna Slater 16th April 2020 Executive directors and senior managers of pharmaceutical company Adcock Ingram will follow in the footsteps of President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Cabinet and donate a portion of their salaries for the next three months to the Solidarity Fund. Adcock Ingram CEO Andy Hall urges individuals and... →

‘Robot’ helps Tygerberg specialists on ward rounds during pandemic

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 15th April 2020 Intensive-care specialists at Tygerberg Hospital have a new infection-resistant ‘colleague’ helping them to undertake ward rounds on Covid-19 patients. “Quintin” – as ‘he’ is called – is a Double Robotic ‘robot’ that has been employed to help specialists do ‘virtual’ ward rounds – even from home... →

Covid-19 to impact immunisation programmes in low-income countries

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 9th April 2020 Disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic are likely to have a devastating impact on immunisation programmes in the world’s least-developed countries, according to analysis by public-private partnership, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Immediate delays to vaccination campaigns and routine... →

Sasol says Natref refinery to be temporarily shut, synfuels output reduced

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 8th April 2020 The national Covid-19 lockdown has resulted in an unprecedented decline in fuel demand in South Africa. Chemicals company Sasol and Total South Africa have, therefore, decided to suspend production of fuel at the Natref refinery from April 9, until further notice. →

Photo by Creamer Media
Sasol Natref

Bosch Rexroth South Africa to 3D print protective face masks

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 7th April 2020 Fluid power and automation company Bosch Rexroth South Africa has responded to Netcare's call for assistance from the local three-dimensional (3D) printing community to produce face masks for first-line responders. Bosch Rexroth subsidiary Tectra Automation Mechatronics technician Nico Davies... →

The face mask

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