SKF South Africa lists Mondi as a key global account and, as a result, Mondi Packaging is of intrinsic importance in ensuring that the SKF value proposition is conveyed and fully implemented on its site in Piet Retief.
Recently, and with the assistance of the authorised SKF distributor, Bearing Services Bethal, a solution was provided which addressed premature bearing failure on one of the mill’s applications. According to SKF segment key account manager, Giscard Lailvaux, environmental contamination in the form of moisture ingress adversely affected the performance of the standard Y-bearing units utilised to support the application. “Moisture ingress into the Y-bearings in the pillow blocks caused corrosion of the bearing units and, in turn, destroyed the lubricant performance leading to premature bearing failures. Consequently unavoidable stoppages occurred in the mill’s production, thus burdening its maintenance staff with frequent bearing unit replacement tasks,” he explains.
“The original Y-bearings were manufactured from mild steel. The issue with mild steel in the application’s environment is its high corrosion rate, which in turn affects the lubricant’s performance and ultimately the performance of the unit. The result was that Mondi’s maintenance team had to remove the bearings and insert new ones every two weeks. Due to the frequent nature of the replacement, it became part of the mill’s routine maintenance tasks. A solution was therefore required to increase the performance of the application and thus increase the Mean Time between Bearing Replacements. The solution: replacement of the mild steel Y-bearings with SKF stainless steel.”
In September 2010, Mondi Packaging reported that the application had been operating smoothly and without maintenance stoppages or interruption from bearing failures for the past nine months. “Although the stainless steel Y-bearings are more expensive than mild steel, the stainless steel units delivered immediate and significant benefits in the form of increased operational uptime of the application,” says Lailvaux.
He concludes: “SKF is a knowledge engineering company and we use our combined skills and expertise, drawn from SKF’s core technologies – bearings and units, seals, power transmission, mechatronics, lubrication and services – to provide the best possible solution for all our customers. The SKF stainless steel Y-bearing solution is just another example of being able to leverage off a vast array of products for our valuable customers.”
Novel bearing steel next generation of aeroengines SKF South Africa
Motion Control & Drives
SKF continues to re-imagine intelligent and clean rotation with the development of an innovative temperature-resistant, corrosion-tolerant steel called ARCTIC15 designed for aeroengine bearings.
Read more...RS South Africa shapes future engineering talent RS South Africa
News
RS South Africa is demonstrating that nurturing future engineers goes beyond traditional classrooms or competitions. On STEM Day, the company shone a light on the full spectrum of its educational initiatives.
Read more...UKZN’s SMART lab wins aviation award
News
: The SMART Lab at UKZN was awarded first place in the Aviation Research and Development category at the Civil Aviation Authority of South Africa’s award ceremony for outstanding contributions and achievements in the aviation sector.
Read more...Meta and partners announce completion of 2Africa subsea cable system
News
Meta, in partnership with leading global and regional telecommunications companies, has announced the completion and activation of the core 2Africa subsea cable system. This marks a historic milestone in digital infrastructure, establishing what the world’s longest open-access subsea cable system.
Read more...SEW-EURODRIVE unveils world class facility in Gqeberha
News
In a landmark event in the Eastern Cape attended by key customers and industry leaders, SEW-EURODRIVE officially opened its expanded state-of-the-art facility in Gqeberha, marking a major milestone in its strategy to strengthen regional support and deepen its footprint in the region.
Read more...Africa’s brightest young battery innovators Schneider Electric South Africa
News
Schneider Electric and Enactus, the international NGO dedicated to inspiring students through entrepreneurial action, have announced the winners of the 2025 Energy Transition Battery Innovation Challenge, funded by the Schneider Electric Foundation. It empowers young innovators to design battery solutions addressing the region’s most pressing energy challenges.
Read more...The road to the Indaba
News
The Africa Automation Indaba 2026 is set to become a landmark gathering for Africa’s automation, process control and manufacturing community. SA Instrumentation and Control will be running a dedicated editorial series spotlighting the voices, ideas and debates shaping Africa’s industrial future.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.
printer friendly version