Ten years ago Schenectady International, Inc. (now known as the SI Group), through its South African affiliate, Schenectady South Africa (Pty) Ltd. reached an agreement to partner in South Africa with Hüttenes-Albertus Chemische Werke GmbH (HA) by acquiring Hüttenes Albertus Falchem (Pty) Ltd. (“HAF”) and Zeta Resin (Pty) Ltd.’s (“Zeta”) foundry and timber chemical intermediates business.

In 2010, in order to streamline operations in South Africa and make the group more cost effective, it was decided to flatten this structure and incorporate HA Falchem SA (Pty) Ltd into the SI Group, and SI Group South Africa (Pty) Ltd was formed.

The SI Group is a leading global developer and manufacturer of chemical intermediates, specialty resins and solutions that are critical to the quality and performance of countless industrial and consumer goods.

After nearly 100 years in business, SI Group has 21 operations in 14 countries in every major market around the globe, more than 2,700 employees and customers in more than 90 countries. The SI Group’s focus is on delivering products and solutions in nine key market segments — rubber resins, antioxidants, fuels and lubricants, plastic additives, industrial resins, adhesive resins, surfactants, engineering plastics, pharmaceutical and speciality chemicals serving the rubber, adhesive, coatings, paper, friction, timber, and foundry businesses, among others.

Hüttenes-Albertus Chemische Werke GmbH, founded in 1970 and based in Düsseldorf, Germany manufactures chemical products for the foundry industry in Germany and internationally. The company’s products include inorganic binder systems, cold box, hot-box, no bake, adhesives, shell moulding process products, resole CO2, coatings, special sands, parting agents and release agents. It offers its foundry chemical products for use in various core and mould making processes.

Chemex GmbH is a wholly-owned affiliate of Hüttenes-Albertus Chemische Werke GmbH. The company, which was founded in 1974, manufactures a range of exothermic products including cold box bonded sleeves and slurry sleeves as well as metallurgical products for application with aluminium, aluminium alloys, wrought alloys and casting alloys, zinc and zinc alloys, magnesium aluminium alloys and fluxes for magnesium aluminium alloys.

SI Group South Africa’s head office is situated in Durban, KwaZulu Natal and is a phenolic resin supplier to the South African and export markets. Its parent company, the SI Group, is a privately held company founded in 1906 with headquarters in Schenectady, New York, USA.
The foundry products manufacturing division of SI Group SA is located in Alrode, Gauteng and has its roots through HA Falchem SA, which was established in 1973. From a small importer of foundry auxiliary products, it developed into a manufacturing unit of binder systems and coatings under licence to Huettenes Albertus Chemische Werke GmbH in Germany, and has become a major supplier to the South African foundry industry.

Constantly rising demands on quality and environmental compatibility confront foundries and their suppliers with an ever increasing array of new challenges. In addition to increasing productivity, meeting environmental and industrial safety regulations represents one of the factors of success for foundries, a challenge that requires constant supervision and ongoing development of existing processes and operations.

For both ecological and economic reasons, the emissions and associated unpleasant odours liberated during core making and when the sand cores contact the melt, must be eliminated by means of process-integrated primary measures.

With a strong partner in the foundry industry, SI Group SA has been successful in establishing such a reputation and today continues to manufacture and market product for the foundry and timber industries with the following emphasis:

• Synthetic resin binders for cold setting processes
• Synthetic resin binders for gassing processes
• Synthetic resin binders for thermosetting processes
• Sodium silicate binders
• Mould and core coatings
• Pre-coated sands for shell moulding
• Mould and core adhesives
• Release agents
• Products for die casting
• Foundry auxiliaries such as feeding systems, filters, ceramics, non ferrous metal treatment (flux and flux tablets, adhesives, parting agents, steel shot and substrates)

Brand names include Sinoset, Sinocure, Koldkure, Kaltharz, Resital, Betaset, Sinotherm, Arkopal, KeraCron, Pentex, Zircolfluid, Arcofix and Corrodur.

Products of the SI Group SA are used in markets such as the automotive, railway, transport, construction, mining, machinery and general engineering industries.

For further details contact SI Group HA on TEL: 011 389 8200