Self-lubricated polymer bearings and bushings manufacturer Vesconite Bearings last month took delivery of a Haas ST25 lathe, bringing the number of computer-numerically controlled lathes and machining centres in its Free State machine shop to 74.
This should further increase its machining capacity, and allow it to produce urgent orders without having to stop projects and reprogram busy machines, remarks CEO Dr Jean-Patrick Leger.
Recent machine purchases should also add to the company’s ability to manufacture precision machined custom wear parts, including items needed by the pumps industry, such as line-shaft bushings for vertical turbine pumps and delamination-free wear rings for multiple-stage canister pumps, he says.
With a factory floor space of 20 000 m2, Vesconite Bearings houses polymer compounding, extrusion and moulding shops in addition to its extensive machine shop.
The company makes rods, machined plates and bushings as stock parts, as well as high-quality finished parts for the agriculture, railways, mining, pumps, heavy transport, hydro, renewable, earthmoving and marine industries.
Vesconite Bearings boasts customers in more
than 100 countries, exports over half of its total sales, and dispatches large orders regularly to the US, China, South America and Australasia.
It has an average global delivery time of three to seven working days and an even shorter delivery time of two to three working days for South African clients. It is ISO 9001 certified.
In addition, its polymer bushings are suitable for the pumps industry since they are certified safe for drinking water by the UK’s Water Regulations Advisory Scheme and the US’s NSF61 certification programme.