Modern foundry equipment operations require you to not only keep up-to-date with the latest industry technology trends to stay competitive, but also to monitor your environmental footprint. When you can implement green energy that results in large operational savings, everyone wins.
GE Patterns & Foundry, located in Brakpan, Gauteng, has started to realise large financial savings as a result of taking the proactive step of installing a 250kW electricity-saving solar inverter system at their premises.
Explains Christopher Robins, owner of GE Patterns & Foundry: “We recently installed a 250kW solar inverter system that included the installation of 439 600W JA Solar panels and two Sungrow Power Supply Co., Ltd. SG125CX-P2 125kW inverters. This system is to save money on electricity only, and we chose the option of not adding any backup up like batteries.”
GE Patterns & Foundry have recently installed a 250kW solar inverter system that included the installation of 439 600W JA Solar panels and two Sungrow Power Supply Co., Ltd. SG125CX-P2 125kW inverters
“The service provider was Orilla Solar and Wouter Zonnestein assisted us with a comprehensive study on what our savings per month could look like. Once we had analysed the study and report and what savings we were going to be able to realise immediately, we gave Orilla the go ahead.”
“With this system we have been able to achieve 49% grid independence and can harvest roughly 70% of our monthly electricity usage from solar. Our daily solar generation is roughly around 1 200kWh and so I took this as an opportunity to save money on electricity costs as we all know this is something that is just going to keep getting higher and higher.”
South Africa has not been without its challenges when it comes to the supply of electricity and although, for the most part, these challenges seem to have been overcome for now, local manufacturers and in particular – foundries – known for their high energy consumption needs – have made plans to manage operational challenges associated with the lack of electricity supply and associated business interruptions.
“GE Patterns & Foundry also have a backup generator that can run about 70% of the company and that supplies power to the offices, fettling bay, moulding and patternshop, but we needed something that was more of a long-term solution. Fortunately, we were in a position where we did not need to make any changes to our existing roof structure and the solar panels have been precisely installed and fitted to harvest the maximum amount of solar energy as possible given the working area of the roof space and our chosen system.”
GE Patterns & Foundry has the capabilities to do 40 to 60 tons per month of ferrous castings
“Based on the calculations done, we will be saving in the region of R60 000 to R100 000 per month. To give you an idea on the savings we are already realising as a result of this installation – our latest electricity bill was more than half of what it was for this time last year. It’s possible that we may add to this system in the future, but we will need to look at upgrading the inverters to do this as well as to add more solar panels. I am aware that there are now battery backup manufacturers out there whom supply batteries that would for example allow us to run a machine tool with the appropriate solar setup and this is something we may look at down the line.”
“Our foundry has the capabilities to do 40 to 60 tons per month of ferrous castings. We have a fully operational patternshop and coreshop and we are always looking for more clients. For example, we have recently supplied ASTM A560 material to a client, which is a duplex stainless steel material.”
“We have also implemented some company structure changes and have T Botha and S Xengana managing the foundry now with J Sambo as our fettling manager. Megan Robins is our office manager and handles accounts and it really helps to have someone you can trust in accounts. After my dad’s passing, we have remained a family business as Megan is my wife. Brian Mulder is managing our patternshop and Gary Markgraaf is in our coreshop.”
“We also purchased a second hand shot blaster and refurbished it completely as well as added a new dust extractor. We offer full turnkey services from drawings up until final machined castings in ferrous and non-ferrous.”
GE Patterns & Foundry produce castings from 1kg to 800kg. Their expertise includes working with a variety of materials, including cast iron, SG iron, manganese steel, chrome steel, and stainless steel, producing castings that include track pads, sprockets, gears, sheave wheels, impellers, various pumps including slurry pumps, gravel pumps, dredge pumps, submersible slurry pumps, water pumps, cast iron bearing housings and more.
GE Patterns & Foundry specialise in casting and supplying all grades of steel including SG iron, cast iron, manganese steel, stainless steel and non-ferrous metals
GE Patterns & Foundry specialise in casting and supplying all grades of steel including SG iron, cast iron, manganese steel, stainless steel and non-ferrous metals.
The finishing process could be argued as just as important as the integrity of the casting itself as it improves the quality and durability of the casting. Finishing is something GE Patterns & Foundry have always taken pride in and GE Patterns & Foundry’s processes ensure that every component meets strict industry standards and customer specifications.
“I have done my best to successfully carry on my Dad Garth’s legacy while making this business my own by adding these improvements/investments to adjust with the always changing times and trying to overcome the challenges many foundries face,” concluded Robins.
For further details contact Christopher Robins on 072 257 9764 or email christopher@gepatterns.co.za or on sales@gepatterns.co.za
