Process Vacuum

COMPANY PROFILE

2015

Process Vacuum

www.processvacuum.co.za | +27 16 362 2761

company profile

An industry essential Editorial: Harriet Pattison

Used in an array of different industries, from mining to petrochemical, food to power generation; vacuum pumps play an integral role in so many industry processes and applications. Started in 2007 by Esta van Aswegen, Process Vacuum is now looking to expand its ever-growing footprint into further and more favourable international markets over the coming years…

The vacuum has been used for many centuries and has become an integral component to modern research and all industry sectors – with many industrial processes now proving implausible without a reliable vacuum system.

Although the suction pump design can be traced as far back as the Roman era, with subsequent improvements made by history greats including Pascal and Galileo, the world’s first vacuum pump was built in 1650 by Otto von Guericke – also famous for the Magdeburg hemisphere experiment – the pump consisted of a piston, cylinder and oneway flap valve.

PROCESS VACUUM A l t h o u gh a relatively ne w company in te rms o f st a r t -u p s in So u th A frica, P roce ss Vacuum

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cert a i n l y boa s t s a w e a l t h of e x pe ri e n c e a n d know l e dg e of t h e i n dus t ry. Foun de r a n d M a n a g i n g D i re c t or, E s t a v a n As w e g e n , h a s bee n i n t h e i n dus t ry for 3 5 ye a rs a n d fol l ow i n g an i n v i t e from U K-ba s e d c om pa n y B O C t o re pre s e n t t h e m i n A fri c a , v a n As w e g e n s t a rt e d P r oc e s s Va c uum i n 2 0 0 7 .

S pe a k i n g t o I n dus t ryS A , v a n A s w e g e n e x pl a i n s h ow t h e i n dus t ry h a s c h a n g e d s i n c e th e c om pa n y’s i n c e pt i on : “ I t h a s c h a n g e d qui t e a bi t a n d w e w ork a l l ov e r t h e w orl d n ow. We work i n v a ri ous i n dus t ri e s a n d from a s m a l l co m pa n y, w e ’v e g row n t re m e n dous l y. I t h i n k th e fa c t t h a t w e don ’t jus t w ork i n S out h Afri c a , but e v e ryw h e re e l s e , c e rt a i n l y h e l ps a lo t .”

S t a n di n g a s a v a c uum s ys t e m s uppl i e r a n d spe c i a l i s t , Proc e s s Va c uum di s t ri but e s t o a

Process Vacuum

w i de range o f d if f e re nt industrie s including ; p e t r o ch emical, mining and food – “Whe re v e r y ou think a vacu u m pump is ne e de d, we supply t o t h at ind u s try,” van Aswe g e n adds.

S pecif ically tailo re d to the custome r’s r e qu irements - “We also do a lot of work o n site f o r clien ts and look at the v acuum s ys t em f o r th em and point out are as and ways t o i mp ro ve - I th ink that’s one of our big g e st s t r e ngths ,” van As we g e n e xplains. “We ’v e g ot a gr e at team th at re ally unde rstands v acuums a n d p lants w hich has he lpe d us to g row and p u t o u r n ame o n the map.”

With many s u p p lie rs locate d ov e rse as, Pr oces s Vacu u m im ports pumps - name ly the B a r e s h af t p u mp - f rom all ov e r the world b e f o re th ey are s y s te mise d in South Africa.

T h e p ackages are built at the company’s

M e ye rt on ba s e pri or t o be i n g s h i ppe d t o t h e de s i g n a t e d s i t e a n d h e l pi n g t o e n s ure i t prov i de s t h e v e ry be s t i n re l i a bl e a n d c om pe t i t i v e s ol ut i on s , Proc e s s Va c uum h a s a c c e s s t o t h e v e ry be s t l i qui d ri n g v a c uum e qui pm e n t m a n ufa c t ure rs i n t h e w orl d.

THE DESIGN The basic vacuum pump is a very archaic design, with some of the ‘latest designs’ going as far back as 80 years. There are two types of vacuum pumps with the liquid ring vacuum pump considered the workhorse of the industry. “There hasn’t really been any significant design changes by the big companies; they might do small internal changes but if you look back 100 years to the designs today, there hasn’t been any major changes. It’s a very simple machine, we’ve only made small changes to

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company profile

what we’ve found on site to some of our product ranges, with regards to power, but nothing major,” van Aswegen explains.

Many of the pump systems vary according to the industry Process Vacuum services and while some are very simple, others are more complicated.

A pump used within the food industry in a small sweet factory for example, is relatively simple compared to the huge machinery needed for the mining industry, which mechanically, is much more complicated. The most difficult packages the company supplies are to the petrochemical and power generation sectors. These industries necessitate a different calibre of specifications and instrumentations and require Process Vacuum to build more complex systems in preparation.

The company’s busiest sector to date is mining, supplying vacuum systems to all the major belt filter companies in the world, van Aswegen explains that the size of the project will depend on the

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“I’ve got a great team, they are extremely passionate with what they’re doing and they all have a love affair with vacuums!”

Process Vacuum vacuum pump used. “They are our big clients and it’s very seldom that we deal directly with the mine, we will work via the belt filter companies.

Depending on the size, we will size the vacuum system to that so it’s either a belt filter, a drum, a disc filter or ceramic filter needed for mining dewatering.”

To date, Process Vacuum has been involved with some of the biggest projects within Africa’s mining industry, not to mention supplying a large package to the petrochemical industry – “This was quite a milestone for us,” explains van Aswegen.

“So we’ve evolved quite a bit from small packages to complicated systems. There’s a lot of prospects which is great.”

FOOTPRINT EXPANSION For a company supplying such an integral component to so many industries, it was inevitable that before long, Process Vacuum would soon be looking outside of South Africa into larger and more favourable markets. With the current rate of exchange proving poor, the export market is certainly an attractive prospect.

Taking the leap and venturing outside of South Africa within the last two years, van Aswegen explains much of the company’s work further afield has honed in on the international mining sector and its potential.

“With our knowledge base, we believe we can deliver good products,” she explains. “We are really excited about that and we’ve already supplied units to Australia, Malaysia, Argentina, pumps in Russia and lots of pumps in Africa, but we want to try and expand further.

“We are looking at partnerships in Europe and are already in talks with clients but it’s finding the right way to do it. With regards to Africa, we will still work from our South African hub but for European and Russian markets, we will look at starting a little shop much closer by.”

With an already simple and highly effective design, van Aswegen explains Process Vacuum’s expansion will be concerned more with its footprint and targeting other industries it is not currently present in, rather than trying to improve on the vacuum design.

“We’ve got a couple of ideas that we have been playing with over the last few years but it is still in early phases to see if we can do something different,” she explains. “It’s not going to be rocket science but our footprint will expand to get our products out there and later, with our improved units, we hope this will

help to grow the market.”

With 24 employees, van Aswegen explains the training process for such a niche market is a long one, largely due to all the applications and industries vacuums are used in and how these vary accordingly.

A subject which is not currently studied extensively in universities, few people have the sufficient and desired vacuum knowledge prior to joining the company.

“We spend a lot of time and money training people which can take between 5-10 years. Due to the

“We also do a lot of work onsite for clients and look at the vacuum system for them and point out areas and ways to improve - I think that’s one of our biggest strengths”

Durban Branch

Johannesburg Branch

TEL: + 27 31 201-3556 E-MAIL: richard@globalreach.co.za

TEL: +27 11 975-0870 E-MAIL: charles@globalreach.co.za

Umbilo Durban

Kempton Park Johannesburg

www.globalreach.co.za

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company profile

different industries, every application is different and the projects vary a lot too,” van Aswegen explains.

TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE Although a specialised market, there are a number of competitors operating within the South African market but van Aswegen e x p l a i n s t h e c o m p a n y ’s t e c h n i c a l a b i l i t y i s certainly advantageous in helping it to stay a h e a d a n d s u c c e s s f u l l y l e a d t h e i n d u s t r y. “ We a r e t e c h n i c a l l y t h e b e s t c o m p a n y i n t h e s o l u t i o n s t h a t w e o f f e r. O u r t e c h n i c a l ability is really good so that makes us a f a v o u r i t e i n t h e i n d u s t r y. I n r e g a r d s t o t h e rest of the world, there are a lot of big players which we will target in the future –

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“So we’ve evolved quite a bit from small packages to complicated systems”

Process Vacuum

b u t I t h i n k t h e r e ’s a n o p p o r t u n i t y o n a g l o b a l s c a l e .”

With such a prominent focus on implementing greener initiatives and becoming a more sustainable company, van Aswegen explains this can be challenging for a smaller business, especially with the expectations and demands from clients.

“You have to lay out a lot more money which can be challenging to comply with the new schemes.

Also, to be ahead, you have to be able to comply with the demands from clients, adding value to their systems and projects – so it’s like a snowball effect which creates more competition. All the sustainable changes have been in the manufacturing of our systems but we haven’t had any imminent changes, it’s been a gradual process.”

THE THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS Today, Process Vacuum stands tall as one of the leading companies within the South African vacuum industry. Van Aswegen attributes its ongoing and future success to her hard-working employees, suppliers and loyal clients. “ I ’v e g ot a g re a t t e a m , t h e y a re e x t re m e l y pa s s i on a t e w i t h w h a t t h e y’re doi n g a n d t h e y a l l h a v e a l ov e a ffa i r w i t h v a c uum s !” s h e e x pl a i n s . “ I ’v e g ot w on de rful s uppl i e rs w h o s upport m e a n d I h a v e a re a l l y c l os e re l a t i on s h i p w i t h m y c l i e n t s – s o I c e rt a i n l y c oul dn ’t l i v e w i t h out e i t h e r on e of t h e t h re e , t h e y’v e be e n s o s upport i v e a n d l oya l . M os t of our c l i e n t s a re bl ue c h i p c om pa n i e s , t h e y t oo a re v e ry l oya l a n d prov i de us w i t h l ot s of re pe a t bus i n e s s .”

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