South African Business 2019 edition

FOCUS
Ground-breaking
mobile unit delivers
pure water – anywhere
The Blesbok Project is a game changer for water specialists Malutsa.
Blesbok is a mobile water provisioning system
for the military which is able to purify
all types of water including ground water,
sea water and reclaimed water. In addition,
the unit can exploit surface water, store water and
deliver water packaging via sachets and bottles.
The problem
The South African National Defence Force needed
to update its water provisioning systems for rapid
deployment forces. Eight companies submitted
bids. The signing of the deal by the Armament
Corporation of South Africa (Armscor) to develop
the state-of-the-art Blesbok Project was a watershed
moment for Malutsa.
Long associated with 21st-century technology
and world-class standards in the field of water treatment
plants, the large and sophisticated Blesbok
Project has given the Malutsa staff a chance to shine.
Experience
The Malutsa team has experience of delivering highquality
water in remote areas. With the North-West
University, the Water Research Commission and
the Meridian Trust, Malutsa delivered a desalination
plant to the village of Madibogo, converting polluted
ground water to potable water. When the Indian Ocean
tsunami hit in 2005, Malutsa was part of the solution in
providing water to disaster-struck communities.
The solution
Conceived and designed by Malutsa engineers and
staff, the Blesbok mobile plant is tough enough to
cater for bone-dry deserts and the bucking decks
of navy boats at sea: it goes where the military goes.
It is also versatile enough to use whatever water is
available to produce drinkable water. The unit needs
to be configured to cope with each kind of source
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