INDUSTRIAL URETHANES INSTALLS NEW PLANT FOR MINING INDUSTRY

A new polyurethane plant that will primarily meet the needs of the mining industry is now operational at the Sebenza, Edenvale, headquarters of specialist polyurethane system manufacturer and supplier Industrial Urethanes.

INDUSTRIAL URETHANES INSTALLS NEW PLANT FOR MINING INDUSTRY

A new polyurethane plant that will primarily meet the needs of the mining industry is now operational at the Sebenza, Edenvale, headquarters of specialist polyurethane system manufacturer and supplier Industrial Urethanes.

The plant, commissioned at a cost of more than R1-million, will assist with debottlenecking of the Industrial Urethanes Sebenza factory and improve quality while reducing lead times and the risk of product contamination.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of the JSE-listed Chemical Services Limited (Chemserve) group, Industrial Urethanes also has a plant at Umbogintwini near Durban and supplies polyurethane elastomers and foam systems for a variety of end-use applications.

Tercia Holloway, quality manager at Industrial Urethanes, says the new plant at Sebenza was custom-built to the company's own design, taking into account many years of local polyurethane blending and manufacturing experience as well as in-depth knowledge of local needs and end-use requirements.

"Much of this local knowledge was specifically applied to the design of the blending vessel. The result is a highly flexible plant with extensive capability in terms of the variety of products that can be produced.

"Quality management was of primary importance in the plant design with the result that the significant increases in capacity have been achieved alongside improvements in product quality standards. An SABS ISO 9002 quality management system has now been in place for 10 years."

Holloway adds that Industrial Urethanes is introducing the SABS ISO 14000 environmental management system, some sections of which integrate with the ISO 9000 quality standard.

"We are in a position to forge ahead with ISO 14000 implementation. In today's global and highly competitive markets, many industries, including automotive, home appliance, mining and construction, are demanding green label, ISO 14000-certified, environmentally friendly products from suppliers."