With the imminent retirement of Managing Director Errol Preston, Harchris Heat Treatment has been acquired by Erindale Holdings (Pty) Ltd, new owners that have a background in the agriculture and mining sectors. As part of the agreement, which was signed just over a year ago, Errol Preston has remained on in a consulting capacity to oversee the handover and mentor the new owners.

“The acquisition of Harchris Heat Treatment is an important milestone for us as the new owners and provides significant end market diversification and additional reach, both of which are key strategic drivers for our business. We are pleased with this recent development and look forward to furthering our core values of customer service, quality, technical expertise, and providing solutions to our customers,” said Shane Potgieter, who is the new Managing Director.

Harchris Heat Treatment is a reliable service provider in the ferrous and non-ferrous sectors. The company’s services include stress relieving by heating to a suitable temperature and maintaining the targeted temperature by reducing the residual stresses. They also offer comprehensive services such as annealing, spherodising, sub-critical annealing, normalising, solution annealing, water, oil and air quench, refractory dryout, as well as hardening services and tempering the metals

“It was decided to purchase Harchris as a going concern, and therefore, the majority of the original staff have stayed on. Additionally, we have appointed a Business Development Manager, a Junior Production Manager and a Processing Plant Engineer.”

“The services that Harchris Heat Treatment, one of South Africa’s oldest heat treatment companies, offer includes stress relieving, annealing, spherodising, sub-critical annealing, solution heat treatment, normalising, water and oil quenching and we also specialise in annealing and hardening of chrome iron. The services include both the non-ferrous and ferrous sectors.”

“As part of constantly improving our customer service, we have endeavoured to turn Harchris into a one-stop manufacturing shop. Therefore, we have partnered with a local shot blasting company and can now offer shot blasting, corrosion protection, and painting services. In addition to this, we have a 500-ton press on the premises and a 30-ton, 14-ton and 7-ton truck for any transport requirements.”

“Future expansion plans include the commissioning of a brand-new pit furnace with recuperative burners by the end of 2025, as well as the commissioning of a muffle furnace in the second quarter of 2026.”

Energy saving and carbon footprint
Harchris also have a number of environmental considerations to take into account, and they know, they have to remain on the path towards the reduction of their carbon footprint. Already in 2019 the company installed a 80KWP Solar PV rooftop mounted grid tied system with a backup generator startup.

The process of improving the characteristics of various metals such as steel or aluminium includes techniques by heating the metal to a high temperature, which then drops to below melting point and then cooling the material. A few distinctive advantages include reducing the brittleness and internal stresses of the metal

“Through this intervention Harchris was able to operate efficiently through the whole loadshedding period providing us with the major benefit of uninterrupted production.”

“From the company’s inception, Harchris has regularly upgraded their equipment and as a result implemented firsts in the local industry and the African continent. The rationale behind the move was to not only reduce the carbon footprint of the older technology, but also to keep abreast of ever-changing technologies in the industry, while keeping up with customer demands for better quality products with enhanced lead times.”

History
Harchris was established by Harry Preston, father of the previous MD Errol Preston, in 1950 as Central Welding Works – a general engineering company. In 1951 the company moved to New Era, Springs, Gauteng and still occupy the original premises. Heat treatment became more popular in the 1960’s as a concept to reduce stress originating from welding. As stress relieving became more common, so did hardening and tempering and a host of other processes.

A brand-new pit furnace with recuperative burners

“Heat treatment is a controlled industrial thermal process that accomplishes three primary enhancements to the material properties of metal castings and fabrications, namely improving mechanical properties, enhancing corrosion resistance, and reducing residual stresses. This ultimately results in the enhanced machinability of castings, prevents engineering failures, and increases the lifespan of components,” said Potgieter.

“The company now has 25 furnaces of various sizes, shapes and methods of heat treatment. The majority of furnaces are gas-fired, and the balance electrical heating. At Harchris, we can accommodate jobs up to 18 metres in length, five metres in width and 50 tons in lifting capacity. The majority of work currently heat treated include high pressure vessels, fabrications, castings, bars, billets, plates, pipes and wire rod.”

The primary reason why tempered metal alloys are more malleable than other materials is attributed to the energy transferred to the moving electrons. Metals can be described as malleable because of the metal’s ability to be beaten into smaller components of sheets as well as the characteristics of the metal being ductile. The ductile characteristic implies that the metal can be pulled out into wires. The ability of the atoms to be transferred to an alternative structure without breaking the metallic bond also contributes to the alloys being more malleable than the conventional techniques

“The reputation of Harchris is built on the uncompromising quality of our work, establishing us as a trusted leader in the industry. We prioritise precision and efficiency to deliver cost-effective solutions with good turnaround times, enabling our clients to meet their goals while fostering trust and long-term partnerships. Rigorous quality control measures are applied throughout every stage of the process to ensure consistent results that meet the highest standards. Guided by innovation as one of our core principles, we continually invest in the latest technology and industry developments, allowing us to evolve with changing demands and to provide our clients with exceptional service.”

“Furthermore, we place as much value on relationships as we do on metallurgy: every job is handled with the same care we would expect for our own. With us, you gain more than a supplier – you gain a partner who is personally invested in your success.”

For further details contact Harchris Heat Treatment on TEL: 011 865 4939 or visit www.harchris.co.za