( Virtual Showroom) Multotec consolidated its South African injection moulded polyurethane screening media factory sites into a single, larger facility worth R100 million, to enhance capacity and increase efficiency. The new factory is situated on a 7 068m² property with 4 360m² under roof, close by to Multotec’s current Forge Road main campus in Spartan, Kempton Park. It houses the tool room, production facility, offices and warehousing facilities, providing a comprehensive and efficient workspace. 

Rhodes Nelson, Senior Vice President – Product Management at Multotec, expressed excitement about the anticipated improvements in efficiency and productivity. He predicts that conservatively the new screening media factory will achieve a 15% reduction in unnecessary activity due to a footprint that was designed for ease of material flow and improvements such as the consolidation of raw materials storage facilities.

The injection moulded polyurethane screening media factory supplies screening media products to mining operations across Southern Africa and West Africa, including Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, as well as to international markets such as Australia, North America and South America – which covers most mining destinations around the globe.

“Multotec’s investment underscores its long-term commitment and dedication to the South African local manufacturing sector. We also have manufacturing facilities in various countries, strategically positioned in close proximity to our customers to better serve them.”

“Over the past 50 years, our business has grown organically, characterised by adding machines to the factory as they were needed. However, the restrictions on available space in the factory led to a layout that did not support an efficient workflow. This new facility therefore allows us to create a sufficient baseload capacity to set ourselves up more efficiently and extend our production capacity.”

Nelson explains that improved lead times are crucial to Multotec, as the production facility operates largely as a “make to order” environment. This consolidation is key to supplying customers with the shortest lead times possible.

Workflow digitisation

The addition of two new machines to our current range of PU injection moulding machines will boost production capacity by a significant 25%. The new facility is designed with a view to digitising a large part of the workflow in future. This necessitated measures such as allowing for additional space around machinery to be able to install additional equipment.

The expansion is not only set to benefit Multotec, but also potentially the local community and economy by creating additional employment opportunities and increasing the demand for inputs.

As a make-to-order company, it is essential for Multotec to have a toolroom close to the production facility which allows for a quick response to any breakdowns. In addition, a localised cross-functional team that includes tool and diemakers enables fast response times to solve tool malfunctions and efficient support for commissioning new tools. Although integrated with the new facility, the toolroom must be enclosed to ensure a controlled environment needed for the very tight tolerances that must be maintained for tooling.

Like the production facility, the design of the toolroom was optimised for workflow efficiency. It includes a variety of specialised equipment typically found in a jobbing environment such as manual and CNC milling machines, surface grinders, as well as electrical discharge machines. Additionally, advanced scanning equipment paired with visualisation software provides accurate measurements of both new and used tooling that is difficult to measure via traditional means. This ensures that the manufacturing facility continues to produce screening media to a high level of quality.

General efficiencies

The move to the new facility will also free up space, allowing Multotec to relook its existing campus layout to increase overall efficiencies by improving workflows. “Ultimately, we want to enhance digitalisation within all our factories. This will provide a better understanding of our processes, more accurate reporting, and quicker reporting on where things are within the whole workflow across the business,” says Ian Chapman, Engineering Manager at Multotec.