Opportunity Issue 106

proud of the fact that this does not apply only to those designed by
Steinmüller but we have also been able to assist clients to solve plant
problems in equipment designed by others. Once the numerical models
are built, we investigate various scenarios to predict the operating
7912 Steinmuller - Engineering News Boilers Feature - Advert 210x275mm - STEAM - REP.indd 1
characteristics under varying conditions, which often fall outside of
the original design envelope.
Explosive welding
Steinmüller Africa also offers explosive welding, which is a novel method
of fusing materials together, including dissimilar materials. The energy
discharge at the interface of the components being welded results in
high quality and integrity of welds on high-pressure parts and pipelines.
This technique has been used to fuse tubes to tube plates or
headers in high-pressure heat exchangers and is performed when
a tube is impelled against the tube plate material using the energy
from an explosive discharge. Penetration of a typical front face weld
is in the order of 1mm to 1.5mm, but with explosive welding weld
lengths of 7mm to 10 mm can be achieved. This method of welding
eliminates the need for ultrasonic inspection, as the bond is achieved
with every weld.
Comprehensive solutions
For more than 60 years we’ve provided comprehensive solutions for
steam-generating, processing and reticulation plants in numerous market
segments. These markets are diverse and include power generation,
chemical and petrochemical, mining and steel beneficiation, pulp and
paper and nuclear industries.
Over the years, we have had the privilege of carrying out our
specialised offering for Eskom, Sasol, PetroSA, ArcelorMittal, Engen,
SGR, Alstom, Foster Wheeler, Lesedi, Samancor, Tongaat Hulett, Sappi,
Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Valmet and Linde. All of these
companies have benefited from our comprehensive expertise in
welding and environmental technology, manufacturing, maintenance,
lifetime extension plans and project management.
Career highlights
During my career at Steinmüller, there have been a number of highlights,
especially in our work with power stations. Once completed, we had the
official opening of the Majuba power station by former president Thabo
Mbeki, with the final unit put into operation in April 2001. This power
plant can generate a nominal 4 110 megawatts, the equivalent to the
total installed capacity of Morocco.
We de-mothballed the Simunye stations, which incorporate the
Camden, Komati and Grootvlei power stations, after more than 15
years out of service. We also opened our 30 000m² Pretoria-based
workshop and re-established complete boiler manufacturing capability
as well as the high-temperature/pressure-piping capability in South
Africa. One of my main highlights, I’m pleased to say, was our company
CONTACT DETAILS
Mpho Muvhango, Corporate Communications Specialist, Steinmüller Africa
Tel: +27 11 806 3321 | Fax: +27 86 613 1965
Email: mpho.muvhango@bilfinger.com | Website: www.steinmuller.bilfinger.com
being awarded the four-year boiler and HP piping contract at
eight Eskom power stations effective 1 January 2022. We are also
very pleased that this contract will retain 600 jobs and create
about 2 400 new jobs. As an OEM, we have also supplied boilers
to power stations, exceeding 19 000 megawatts in combined
size, for Eskom.
The core values of our company are the care for our clients
and employees, innovation in our operations for the benefit
and growth of our employees and added value to our clients’
operations, and accountability, which is at the heart of the values
of our employees, which we feel is priceless.
The future
Looking ahead to the medium term, we are in the process
of diversifying our client base and our service offerings. This
entails exposing new clients to our existing products while
growing our new product selection, such as heat exchangers
for example, for new and existing clients. We also plan to target
new industries, taking our offering to a broader market, which
includes our focus on steam generation and reticulation, with
an emphasis on complex, efficient high-temperature and highpressure
steam systems.
As new energy plant projects are limited, we have focused on
maintenance projects and the life extension of existing plants in
the sectors in which we operate. We do, however, expect new
projects to come to the fore with the development of independent
power producers, which will need to set up new plants. On
this note, I am pleased to report that we have been involved in
enquiries for the supply of concentrated solar power plants in
the Northern Cape, and we consider any steam-using operation
as a possible new customer. We are also keeping our eye on the
mining sector, as new self-generation projects come about.
Our short-term objectives are to exceed customer expectations
in executing our four-year boiler contract in the power generation
sector and aim to secure the next instalment of this massive
contract. We also aim to have our Pretoria-based workshop reestablished
as a centre of excellence for manufacturing pressure
parts to serve a diverse client base, and we will continue to
support clients in the chemical and petrochemical industries.
We remain committed to continuing our mission of solving
complex tasks for our clients, enabling them to focus entirely on
their core competencies.