Keith Mitchell (left) being thanked by Durban branch chairman, Howard Lister, after the presentation.
At the November Technology Evening, Keith Mitchell from Heaton Valves gave a very interesting and passionate presentation on ‘The evolution of the final control element for emergency shutdown’. The evening was kindly sponsored by Heaton Valves and Keith’s focus was on the triple eccentric valve and using TOVs for emergency shutdown instead of the traditional methods.
Site visit – SABMiller
The tour was organised by the Durban branch committee, or more accurately, by a particular committee member with strong links to this magazine – hats off to her!
We did not refuse this offer from Monique at the end of a thirsty tour.
Our official tour guide and gracious host, Monique, displayed the skills of a veteran diplomat in herding us bull elephants safely via seemingly unending corridors, passages and staircases on the route from farm produce to fine beer, which of course we were invited to sample at the end of the tour.
The ancient art of producing beer is not a rushed affair, although in these modern times there is plenty of science, control and instrumentation added to the mix to ensure the best outcome with nothing left to chance. Life gets breathed into the raw materials in the brew-house where hops, barley and water are mixed under warm conditions for around eight hours. From here the liquid is passed to the fermenting tanks where it rests for a few weeks until the beer is mature and ready for the packing house.
On the packing floor, high speed modern automation takes over on the filler carrousels and long conveyors that take the finished products to the end of the plant ready for distribution.
Sincere thanks to Monique and SAB for affording us the privilege.
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