(October 19, 2011)

SKF South Africa is entrenched as a trusted total solutions partner for the Southern African industry. Mondi in Richards Bay had no hesitation in approaching SKF for assistance with a lubrication system when they relocated a hardwood chipping line from Silvacel to their Richards Bay site. SKF is proud to be the Mondi preferred partner to rehabilitate the lubrication system on the relocated chipping line.

According to Sean Weir, SKF Business Development Manager- Lubrication Solutions, Mondi South Africa has been a loyal SKF customer for over 20 years, "and" says Weir, "we have provided both products, services and technical support to Mondi's Merebank and Richard's Bay mills and Mpact's Felixton, Piet Retief and Springs mills, previously part of Mondi. This is an excellent example of a business relationship that has developed over many years. We continue to understand and respond to our customer's requirements, consistent with our service ethic. Consequently we have progressed from supplying not only bearings but to providing complete solutions and services within the six SKF core technologies - Bearings and Units, Seals, Mechatronics, Services, Power Transmission Products and Lubrication Systems."

When the Mondi Richards Bay mill required additional wood chip production capacity, an essential raw material for the manufacture of paper and pulp, Mondi decided to relocate a hardwood chipping line from Silvacel to the Richards Bay mill site, some distance away.

"Silvacel's hardwood chipping line had operated for five years with an older design SKF (Safematic) lubrication system. We were requested to assess the existing systems and provide a cost proposal for replacing, restoring and / or improving these systems where necessary. The dual line grease lubrication and single line oil lubrication system consists of two separate pump centres and a common control unit, for the various conveyors and drive components", explains Weir.

"Our Lubrication Application Centre (LAC) is part of the SKF Solution Factory in Witfield, Johannesburg, and is equipped to offer complete lubrication solutions to diverse industries.

We inspected the current lubrication system and provided a budget and time schedule for the project, providing our customer with the benefits of SKF's specialised lubrication and service technology, sound SKF engineering advice and appropriate solutions.

Part of the solution was to relocate the existing partly overhauled pumps and control. Of the 27 dosing module groups and 55 dosers, only 15% had to be replaced with new units and our technicians were able to repair another 15%. This represented a substantial cost saving for our customer," continues Weir.

The lubrication system was incorporated in the final phase of the relocation project and we went to work as soon as most of the heavy construction crews completed their job.

The hardwood chipping line consists of some 9 conveyors, chipper and discharge pockets. Ninety grease lubrication points were provided for the bearings and twelve oil lubrication points for the wash roll conveyor drive chains, (washes the logs, before transferring them through for chipping). Additional bearing lubrication points were identified and installed, ensuring a completely automated lubrication system for the line.

Mondi understands the value of automating lubrication to include maintenance personnel safety considerations, a lower environmental impact from optimum lubricant consumption and consistent lubrication that ultimately optimises component service life and equipment reliability. Consequently, life cycle maintenance costs are also reduced.

SKF was responsible for the rehabilitation and final commissioning and according to Weir, it was a relatively complex operation from a project management point of view with the main complexities centred around logistics. "We had two installation teams on site; the SKF team, which included two technicians and a second team of SKF partner sub-contractors. We fielded a site supervisor and a qualified safety inspector who managed the risk and safety assessments to both Mondi and SKF specifications and standards. They also supervised environment and health matters to ensure a safe working environment for everyone. A mobile workshop was established on site for pipe bending, component modifications and repairs to cater for any contingency," comments Weir.

"The installation and commissioning schedule provided 250 man hours. A promise was kept and the project was completed within 84% of the allocated time.

The new hardwood chipping line is now fully operational, operating at a capacity of some 180 tons per hour. Our technicians did have to replace a few additional components, mainly piping and dosers to complete the project, but everything considered, we remained within budget provisions and delivered a more than satisfactory installation, as noted by our customer," states Weir.

Sarel Froneman, Manager - Lubrication Solutions comments, "The fact that SKF owns the product is of considerable advantage because we are able to institute and accommodate improvements during installation when and where we see the need. We bring these to the table simply because of our intimate product knowledge. We are committed to delivering world class leading solutions every time. The customer's return on investment (ROI) is excellent because the installation was done right, it was done quickly and we enhanced the system where we detected the need to do so".

Froneman says that although SKF's core business was traditionally bearings only, several customers like Mondi are now consulting SKF for lubrication solutions, "A natural progression", states Froneman. "After all, we do have 'insider information' on bearings and components as well as the knowledge and experience necessary to recommend the best possible lubrication solution. Our customers recognise SKF not only as a trusted bearing specialist but also as professional lubrication solutions partner and we have the perfect platform to deliver complete SKF solutions, products and services from SKF's six core technologies."

The relocated hardwood chipping line is the only line with an automated lubrication system. Mondi Richards Bay's two other hardwood chipping lines and one softwood chipping line operate with manual systems. SKF has been tasked with providing a proposal to replicate SKF automated lube systems on the other lines as well as on wash conveyors at the Mondi Richards Bay mill.

Other News:
SKF Machine Condition Advisor
SKF Delivers Total Lubrication Solutions to Mondi Richards Bay
ABB and Baldor Announce Single U.S. Sales Force
Mansfield Engineered Components Unifies all Business Units
K-Beam Accelerometers Support Single and Triaxial Measurements
Timken to Announce Third-Quarter 2011 Financial Results on October 27
Turcon® M12 Receives Innovation Award
Transformation of Schaeffler GmbH into Schaeffler AG has been Finalized