All eyes on the Moon again
November 2022
News
Global interest in space exploration is at a fever pitch as NASA prepares its first lunar mission in 50 years. It also brings back memories of Pratley Putty being the only South African-manufactured product to have gone to the Moon. Prior to the Apollo 11 mission, the Ranger project of the 1960s was the first US effort to launch probes directly towards the Moon. This laid the groundwork for the successful Apollo 11 mission.
During the 1960s, South African manufacturer Pratley invented the world’s first epoxy putty. Initially it was intended to be used internally for insulating and affixing terminals to cast iron electrical junction boxes. However, the product was subsequently introduced into the local market as ‘Pratley Plastic Putty’, a name that ultimately became Pratley Putty.
An agreement to manufacture the product under licence in the United States was concluded with a US manufacturer, which then introduced it to NASA. However, the product was not yet ready for production in the United States, so when it was subsequently decided to use it for the Ranger programme, it was supplied directly from Pratley’s head office in South Africa. Consequently, Pratley Putty achieved recognition as the only South African-manufactured product to ever go to the Moon.
The South African Mint celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing in 2019 with its ‘South African inventions’ series, focusing on the ‘proudly South African’ Pratley Putty. In October 2019, Pratley Putty was featured as part of a ‘Destination Moon’ exhibition at the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in the historic Electric Workshop in the cultural precinct of Newtown, Johannesburg.
“Our roots are in innovation, research, and development. It is a cornerstone of what we do at Pratley, and we continue to live and breathe it,” comments CEO, Andrew Pratley. “Pratley branded products not only offer exceptional reliability, but in accordance with our policy statement, their performance must exceed all others on the world market.”
Further reading:
Palabora Mining Company and LH Marthinusen launch robotics and coding initiative
News
In a joint effort to advance education and digital skills development in Phalaborwa, Palabora Mining Company (PMC) and LH Marthinusen (LHM) have partnered to establish a fully equipped robotics and coding classroom at a local high school.
Read more...
A new era for African engineering
News
A group of mostly South African engineering professionals who bought a controlling margin of the South African arm of Netherlands-based engineering consultancy Royal HaskoningDHV have rebranded it as Atana.
Read more...
SEW-EURODRIVE builds regional strength with Gqeberha expansion
News
With the Eastern Cape firmly established as a hub for key industries such as automotive manufacturing, ports, agriprocessing and renewable energy, SEW-EURODRIVE is strengthening its presence in the region through an ongoing significant expansion of its facility in Gqeberha.
Read more...
Functional safety explained
News
The SAIMC supports Pepperl+Fuchs, a National Member, in a free four-part online seminar series focused on Functional Safety.
Read more...
The Future of manufacturing in Africa
News
The future and development of African manufacturing will be discussed extensively at the upcoming Manufacturing Indaba conference, to be hosted on 15 to 16 July 2025 at Johannesburg’s Sandton Convention Centre.
Read more...
Reinstatement opportunity for ECSA registration
News
In 2023 the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) announced a special opportunity for engineers in South Africa to reinstate their registration status if it had been cancelled. This exclusive offer is available until the end of August 2024.
Read more...
Fostering a collaborative learning environment for sugar producer
SKF South Africa
News
One of South Africa’s leading sugar producers made strategic use of its off-crop season, turning scheduled downtime into an opportunity for both essential maintenance and valuable skills development with the help of SKF
Read more...
TechAccess and Schneider Electric partnership goes from strength to strength
Schneider Electric South Africa
News
Schneider Electric, together with its longstanding partner TechAccess, is poised to take the Southern African market by storm.
Read more...
Steinmüller Africa and Eskom uplift eMalahleni communities
News
Steinmüller Africa, in partnership with Eskom, has reaffirmed its commitment to social upliftment by donating essential goods and creating meaningful connections with two impactful community organisations in eMalahleni.
Read more...
Comtest calibration user group seminar
News
Comtest invites metrology and calibration professionals to a focused technical seminar series aimed at demystifying some of the most common hurdles in inter-laboratory comparisons.
Read more...
printer friendly version