Specialist steel products manufacturerScaw Metals has invested R110-million to expand and modernise the production of large-diameter chain and masterlink components at its McKinnon Chain factory in Vereeniging, in southern Gauteng.
Large-diameter chains are used in various industries for lifting applications, while the masterlink and subassemblies are sold mostly into the international offshore oil and gassector. The investment raises McKinnon Chain’s nameplate capacity to 10 000 t/y of chain and 2 000 t/y of masterlinks.
CEO Markus Hannemann says the revamp of the plant – the only one of its kind in Africa – is in line with Scaw’s strategy of focusing on value-added products. Despite the difficult economic climate and Scaw’s recent restructuring, the company has invested R1.4-billion in projects aimed at improving the competitiveness and capacity of its four business units.
McKinnon Chain, which was founded in 1934 and moved to its current location 70 km south of Johannesburg in 1984. Housed in a new factory building adjoining the original plant, the investment comprises fit-for-purpose robotic machines, additional heat-treatment capacity and a new long-bed tester.
The fully automated facility, dubbed ‘Relay’, is capable of producing up to four times faster than has hitherto been possible using the manual flash butt weld methodology. However, this manual process has been retained, together with the plant’s 262 employees.
Hannemann describes the chain-manufacturing investment as a milestone for Scaw and a sign of the company’s commitment to local beneficiation; a stated industrial-policy goal of the South African government.
Scaw is 74% owned by the Industrial Development Corporation, a State-owned development finance institution.
