| Fri 3 May 2002, 0:00 | | GRINAKER-LTA LAUNCHES RAIL PROFILING MACHINE |
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Johannesburg - May 2002
A company in the Aveng Limited group has recently concluded one of the largest rail engineering projects in Gauteng.
Lennings Rail Services (LRS), a subsidiary of Aveng's Grinaker-LTA Limited, has launched the Speno RR24M-12&13 rail profiling machine - the first machine of its kind to be built outside Switzerland under licence to Speno International of Geneva.
Speaking at the launch, Dr Hylton Macdonald, managing director of Grinaker-LTA Civil Engineering & Earthworks, said: "This is one of the largest rail engineering projects, encompassing all aspects of mechanical engineering, carried out in Gauteng. It is indicative of the high standard of workmanship in South Africa and local industry's ability to meet requirements dictated by world-class companies. This type of project bodes well for the South African economy in that it creates jobs and develops local engineering skills.
"When Spoornet put out a tender in 1999 for its rail reprofiling requirements, LRS opted to tender with a new 48-stone machine from Speno, incorporating the latest available technology. Because of the weak exchange rate between the Swiss franc and the rand, it became uneconomical to tender with a totally imported machine. This prompted the decision to manufacture most of the machine's components in South Africa and to assemble and commission the completed machine at the Boksburg workshop of LRS.
"By adopting this strategy, we believed we could adequately meet Spoornet's requirements and offer an extremely competitive price."
The 100-metre long machine is powered by two 1 200-kilowatt engines and is designed for rail rectification, carrying out all aspects of surface fatigue treatment, corrugation removal, profile restoration for rail/wheel contact and wheel-burn removal. It requires 2.4 megawatts of electrical power to drive the grinding motors and hydraulic pumps - enough to power a small town.
After the award of the contract in October 2000, it was decided to design and supply two 24-stone machines, which could be coupled to work as one. This created a flexible option for Spoornet, which will benefit its future operations.
Each 24 stone unit is able to grind at an improved speed of 10 kilometres per hour, and still produce a quality product. This is due to improved traction systems and the individual grinding motor load control system giving better production with more power being passed on to the grinding stone.
Technology is state-of-the-art, with laser transverse profile measuring systems and a computer-controlled motor angle system giving the operator greater control for improved reprofiling quality. A hunting grinding capability was specially developed for the Sishen Saldahna line.
Paying attention to safety, each machine has a water-cooled spark deflector system for improved spark retention. In the event of a veld fire, a specialist fire fighting team, accompanies the machine around the clock. Each vehicle has a water cannon and the team members are trained to extinguish any fire that may occur. The machine itself also has its own water cannons to assist in fire control.
With care of the environment being an important issue, the machine is equipped with a comprehensive dust aspiration system comprising four units, each using 1 200 filter bags. This ensures that the reprofiling operation remains dust free.
The machine, which will be used for a five-year contract with Spoornet, replaces machines that have been in operation for the past 20 years.
ends
Issued by Grinaker-LTA Corporate Affairs on behalf of Lennings Rail Services.
For further information, please contact:
Judy van der Walt : Grinaker-LTA Corporate Affairs : 082 576 2292, or
Callie Lamprecht : Lennings Rail Services : 27 11 898 6800
Kind regards
PENELOPE
Penelope Gracie Investor Relations
Tel: +27 (11) 447-3301
Fax: +27 (11) 447-3319
Mobile: 082-55-77-444
e-mail: penelope@pgir.co.za
