Bühler expands Cape Town service centre to bolster capacity, sustainability

SOUTH AFRICA –  The Bühler Group, a Switzerland-based leader in plant equipment manufacturing, is undertaking a significant expansion of its Cape Town Service Centre to enhance its service and equipment refurbishment capabilities.

Specializing in milling rolls and dies for the food and animal feed industries, the facility supports customers not only in the Western Cape but across Southern Africa, including many of South Africa’s top food brands.

The expansion will allow the service centre to handle Bühler’s latest technology for milling rolls, known as TVM (Temperature Vibration Monitoring). TVM integrates a sensor inside the roll, enabling users to monitor heat and vibration, improving equipment management and efficiency.

“The expansion of our Cape Town operation allows us to both service more customers and to provide extra services, including the refurbishing of Bühler-manufactured machinery, to Bühler standards,” explains Bühler Southern Africa technical adviser Marc Barris.

Currently, Bühler Southern Africa operates service centres in Cape Town, Lusaka (Zambia), and Johannesburg, the latter also serving as its head office, and services industries across the region. The expansion project is expected to be completed by late January or early February 2024.

The refurbishment of milling rolls, which resemble large metal rolling pins subtly cut with fine spiral grooves, will see a significant boost in capacity. So far this year, the Cape Town facility has refurbished 380 rolls, a figure set to double following the expansion.

The service centre will also begin refurbishing TVM milling rolls next year. “We’ll be the only service centre able to refurbish TVM rolls in the whole of Africa,” highlights Barris.

In addition to milling rolls, the facility handles dies—wide, rotating perforated rings fitted with press rolls that form feed pellets. While the number of dies serviced is smaller, their refurbishment remains a significant part of the centre’s operations.

Remarkably, the Cape Town Service Centre has operated entirely on solar power for the past 11 months.

“We have 80 panels, with a total generating capacity of 230 kW,” reports workshop foreman Hugo Bruwer.

“We have eight lithium batteries for backup, and for use on the short winter days, and four inverters. That’s not only enough to power everything we now have, but also to provide all the power for our expanded facility. We haven’t bought any electricity since we commissioned our solar system. We’re saving R12 000/month” he noted.

The use of solar energy aligns with Bühler’s global commitment to reducing its carbon footprint. The facility has also avoided using diesel generators during South Africa’s frequent loadshedding.

This year, the service centre achieved ISO 9001 certification in record time, a success Barris attributes to the dedication of the staff. Additionally, the centre passed its latest RMA Safety Audit with a score of 98%.

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