AFRICAN FUSION—MARCH2014
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Open day at Renttech
“The machines sell well, because no welding
contracting companywants to have to drive onto site
to repair machines, and these are robust and offer
good reliability,” Bester adds. As well as reliability,
UniPower, because of its ability to deal with erratic
supply voltages, has emerged as an ideal inverter
brand for usewith generator sets.
In2010,RenttechaddedLincoln to its range, and
its engine drives already predominate in the piping
service industries. Then in2012,with theacquisition
of SAWeldingSupplies, Renttechbecame the largest
Lincoln agency in the country.
A Harris Equipment agency was also secured
during this time: “Since securing Harris, we have
brought in a specific range called the Metal Worker
for power generation, petrochemical, pulp and paper,
shopmaintenance and general industrial sectors. So
instead of focussing only on the mining sector with
the 9/16-inch fitting, we now offer, on an exclusive
basis, theHarrisMetal Worker gas equipment range,
with3/8-inch fittings. This line is amoremainstream
in theUS and circumvents theneed touse converters
to accommodate 9/16 mining fittings,” van Zyl tells
African Fusion.
Renttech’sWadeville facility has also
becomeoneof the fewaccreditedHarrisservicecentres
in SouthAfrica.
“Unlike some welding distributors, we are in a
position to look at complete welding and technical
solutions,” notes Bester. “Welding is not just about
machines and consumables. We look at everything
that surrounds fabrication processes, from the lifting
equipmentneeded tounloadpipeandplateoff a truck,
to the loading and shipping of a finished fabrication.
As well as the welding equipment and consumables
needed,we lookatHarrisgasequipment or theHyper-
thermplasma range for preparingplate; the grinding,
abrasives and power tools for finishing; and then at
welding PPE: helmets, gloves and safety accessories
that support process needs. We are there to supply
all the equipment that surrounds a fabricationneed,”
Bester relates.
Van Zyl cites the acquisition of KLS in support of
thisposition. “KLSmakesRenttechSAa leader in the
sales and rental of welding, power generation, lifting
and rigging, and construction equipment,” he says.
Under the brand name Unilift, KLS manufactures a
rangeof liftingaccessories, includingpolyester slings,
web slings, endless round polyester slings, steel wire
slings, chain blocks and cargo securing straps.
For high-end infrastructure projects like Medupi
andKusile, Renttech “has technicians to support any
of our machines in service”, be they rental or sales
machines. “AtMedupi, for example,wehaveanonsite
service office at Lepalalewith20 full time members
of staff to service the rental fleet and for warranty
and backup work for bought equipment. We hold a
full inventory of spares andwelding consumables for
the convenience of site contractors. Between Kusile
and Medupi, we are servicing some 1 000 welding
machines, so technical and commercial teams have
been established to give these projects full-time sup-
port,” he says.
“Throughour combined rental and salesofferings,
we are striving towards a zerodowntime solution for
our clients. For long term contracts of several years,
or for outages andplanned shutdownworkwe oper-
ate a simple but complete welding focusedmodel.
“In recent years,wehaveaddedconsiderableweld-
Lincoln engine drives already predominate in the piping service industries and, with the
acquisition of SAWelding Supplies. Renttech is the largest Lincoln agency in the country.
Under the brand nameUnilift, Kelmeg Lifting Servicesmanufactures polyester slings,
web slings, endless round polyester slings, steel wire slings, chain blocks and cargo
securing straps
UniPower customisesmachines for South African rental customers by enlarging the
heatsinks, increasing the airflow and isolating the PC boards from the dust-bearing airflow.
ing knowledge and expertise in sales and technical support.We now
have two fully-fledged Lincoln-accredited repair facilities for all repair
and warranty work. We invest in new technology, through Lincoln,
Harris, andUniPower, andwearedetermined that our internal people
will be at the forefront of technical developments inwelding,” vanZyl
concludes.
