“Afrox’s locally manufactured range of welding electrodes reflect all the elements required for a robust contribution to government’s localisation initiative,” says Afrox’s Sandy Majatladi, Product Manager for Special Consumables. “Our Welding Consumables Factory in Brits has created jobs for South Africans for many years and continuously developed their skills, while producing world class value added products. As the brand leader in welding consumables in Southern Africa, with a capacity to produce more than 750 tons per month, Afrox manufactures an extensive range of electrodes that cover most types of material that can be welded.
“In order to be successful, locally produced products must be able to compete with the imported equivalent on quality and cost and we have met these criteria very effectively with our electrode offering. All our electrodes are manufactured to AWS (American Welding Society) specifications and we’re even able to exceed these requirements when producing electrodes to meet specific customer requirements. Most of our electrodes also conform to other international standards, such as TüV, Lloyds Register and ABS.”
A leading example of the Afrox Welding Consumables Factory’s commitment to localisation is the recent introduction of a robust new product, the Transarc® 6013 electrode, which achieves a significant reduction in cost without compromising key performance fundamentals, with conformance to AWS standards.
“The development of this innovative electrode arose out of our desire to remain competitive in our market,” says Majatladi. “It had become evident that we needed to develop a good quality, cost effective electrode. The resulting Transarc® 6013 product can be used to weld in all positions and is generally used to weld mild steel. The product demonstrates very good weldability characteristics benchmarked against some of the premium competitors’ products.
"A lot of work was invested in this product in terms of testing the electrode to ensure that it would perform at exceptional levels and that it conformed to world class standards. When it comes to performance, we left no stone unturned and this electrode is already doing very well in the general fabrication and repair markets, as well as in light steel and construction.”
Towards the end of 2013 Afrox’s Speciality Consumables Factory moved from its historic premises at Spartan near OR Tambo International Airport and was consolidated into the Welding Consumables Factory at Brits. The decision to consolidate the two factories supported Afrox’s strategy of growing market share and profitability by manufacturing products at the lowest possible cost and enhancing the customer’s experience at all levels.
“This consolidation will achieve reduced operationalcosts, reduced lead times in terms of product availability, sustained quality and speedy product certification,” says Majatladi, “In addition, research and development can now be conducted at one site for both speciality welding consumables and general purpose welding products.”
The Afrox welding electrodes range covers aluminium, carbon steel, cast iron, copper, hardfacing, low alloy steel, nickel, pipe welding, problem steels and stainless steel. In a recent innovation, Afrox made its stainless steel, Low Alloys electrodes available in DriPac packaging to offer extra protection against moisture pick-up and to keep hydrogen levels as low as possible. The benefit of this form of packaging is the electrodes can be used directly from the packaging without the need to rebake them before use.
ends
Issued by: Serendipity Events, Promotions & Exhibitions
On behalf of: Afrox
Editorial contact: Loll Thomson (011) 467 2133 / Mail to: loll@sepe.co.za
Client contact: Sandy Majatladi
Date: 21 January 2014