AESPUMP: Secunda gets Sundyne service workshop

AESPUMP has opened a second dedicated workshop at its Secunda facility, this one to service Sundyne machines and magnetic drive pumps from subsidiaries HMD and Ansimag. The new facility joins a dedicated flameproof pumps workshop supplementing the main floor where general pumps such as end-suction and split-case machines are serviced.Both dedicated workshops approach clean-room environmental standard, and both are comprehensively equipped with cranes, inspection tables and workbenches fitted with rotatable clamps and vertical motor stands for no-load run tests on gearboxes. The Sundyne workshop additionally has its own component parts washer.AESPUMP is soon to upgrade its test bay, currently equipped for end-suction pumps and sump pumps, to manage the Sundyne range as well.Formed in 2012 from the Secunda-based rotating equipment repairs division of sister company AESSEAL, AESPUMP initially offered only minor servicing such as the replacement of gears, bearings, packing and gaskets, but increased demand quickly led to expanded machining facilities and the installation of lathes and a balancing machine.Besides Sundyne, the company is today an approved service centre for: KSB PumpsHidrostalEcochem PumpsFranklin ElectricNetzschHelicoSS PumpsGeneral procedure in all three workshops follows the same pattern. Incoming pumps are first stripped, after which the parts are cleaned of residual product by trained crews wearing protective clothing, and then inspected and assessed for repair.AESPUMP is classified as a Sundyne Channel One partner, complying with strict standards in sales, service and repairs. Inspection teams from the parent company regularly audit stock levels, training standards and business plans, and examine the workshops for craneage, washing facilities, workbenches, tools and cleanliness.In the new Sundyne workshop and its sister flameproof pumps facility, cleanliness is ensured by separation from the main workshop with its dust and metal waste from drilling, turning and machining work.All three workshops are periodically inspected by independent authorities to ensure compliance with ISO 9001, ISO 29001, ISO 14001, OSHAS 18001, MASC (Mining and Surface Certification) codes and the SANS 60079-01/1 (electric apparatus for explosive gas atmospheres) standards for flame proofing, including OD 014 and OD 015.AESPUMP augments its offering with free gearbox run-tests on pumps serviced outside the facility, with customers' technicians in attendance to gain hands-on training and experience.Training of AESPUMP's own service technicians is ongoing, with rotational training programmes equipping them with the skills needed for on-site problem diagnosis as well as workshop service and repairs.