10 May 2010

KEW Foundries, a Kimberley-based engineering works, founded in 1946 (previous incarnations of the company go back to 1893), has a rich heritage in the manufacture of steel works for the mines.

The first truck to bear the Freightliner nameplate appeared in 1942. Due to the extensive use of aluminium the early Freightliners could carry almost a metric tonne more than any other truck on the road.

“It is thus fitting that Kew Foundries have selected the Freightliner Argosy Cummins 500 as their ‘abnormal load’ truck of choice,” says Duncan Prince, Product Manager, Freightliner/FUSO – division of Mercedes-Benz South Africa.

KEW Foundries are delivering the largest cast sheave wheels in Africa to their mining customers. The sheave wheels, with a root diameter of 6,5 m, will be installed as deflector sheaves on mining shafts, and will enable personnel and ore to be lifted from a depth of 1602 m below bank.

“As mines get deeper, larger sheave wheels are required to achieve a greater payload for each winding cycle. Traditionally sheave wheels of this size are fabricated from welded steel sections.

KEW Foundries, however, is the only company in the world with the capabilities to cast and machine sheave wheels of this size. Cast sheave wheels offer significant cost savings to clients over their fabricated counterparts,” says Jaime Goncalves, Technical Director, KEW Foundries.

The company has upgraded both its foundry capabilities to manufacture even larger sheave wheels, as well as its logistical capabilities.

With its rich history spanning across three centuries, KEW Foundries can certainly be called a pioneer of the industrial revolution in southern Africa.

“The Freightliner Argosy Cummins 500 is an ideal vehicle to accommodate our purpose built sheave wheel 33-tonne trailer and allows the company to transport these monolithic sheave wheels into Africa without an escort. In compliance with the road act, we do however, obtain special abnormal load permits, which allow us to travel in daylight hours only,” adds Goncalves.

Freightliner was the first brand locally to introduce electronic engines, ABS and cab air-conditioning as standard.

“These introductions and changes have transformed the whole face of trucking, and with the introduction of the Freightliner Argosy, we continue to roll out technical innovations appropriate to the South African market, such as SmartShift,” said Duncan Prince.

“Innovations such as these have contributed to Freightliner being recognised as the preferred brand for long-haul trucking in terms of durability, reliability, ease of maintenance and fuel consumption. The efficiency of the Freightliner Argosy allow KEW Foundries to guarantee speedy delivery to their customers’, making it the ‘smart choice’,” concludes Prince.