Hiconnex Industrial has received a coveted stamp of approval from global connector specialist, HARTING Technology Group, to produce a selection of HARTING connectors at its premises in Centurion, Gauteng.
Chris Brand (pictured left), general manager of Hiconnex Industrial, and Bernd Fischer, HARTING Technology Group’s general manager for corporate regional management, cut the ribbon on the new facility.
Hiconnex Industrial specialises in supplying cable and connector solutions for the general industrial, oil and gas, renewable energy, mining and rail industries, and this latest development services the latter in particular.
Operating out of a newly-developed facility in its existing premises, the connectors that Hiconnex Industrial has been authorised by HARTING to produce are destined for a new fleet of 600 modern commuter trains being built for South Africa’s metro railway network. HARTING SA has secured a supply agreement with Gibela, a consortium between majority shareholder Alstom, Ubumbano Rail and New Africa Rail which has a contract to supply the trains to the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA). The fact that these connectors will now be made in South Africa aids the goal of maximising local content for the Gibela project.
From left to right: Colly Majola, warehouse manager; Godfrey Mmoke, laser machine operator; Allister Francis, team leader and mechanical assembly.
The new facility was unveiled at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the 1st of August by Hiconnex Industrial’s general manager, Chris Brand, and the HARTING Technology Group’s general manager for corporate regional management, Bernd Fischer. “This is the culmination of 18 months of work putting in place the equipment and processes necessary to produce connectors to HARTING’s exacting quality standards,” stated Brand. “During that time we have obtained our ISO 9001:2015 certification, and are in the process of obtaining ISO 14000 and 18001 as well.”
Staffed by three members of the Hiconnex Industrial team, the facility receives the base parts for the connectors from an overseas HARTING production plant, and assembles and packages them ready for delivery.
From left to right: Hitesh Pema, Hiconnex CEO; Bernd Fischer; Errol Mann, HARTING South Africa director; Chris Brand.
They are manually assembled using jigs custom designed and built by Manhattan Tools (based in Benoni on the East Rand of Gauteng) and marked using a newly purchased laser marking machine from CAB Technology. From there the connectors are visually inspected by two members of the team, before being individually sealed in air-tight plastic packaging.
“We have the capacity to produce all the HARTING connectors necessary for a train in just two days, so even once the Gibela project ramps up to full speed we will be more than capable of keeping up with the supply requirements.
The finished connectors are certified to meet HARTING’s renowned quality standards.
We can proudly say that being given the blessing of one of the world’s leading connector manufacturers to make products on its behalf acknowledges the fact that we have created a facility that is truly world class,” Brand concluded.
Solving South African power problems with locally built intelligence
Editor's Choice Power Electronics / Power Management
Smart metering infrastructure in South Africa remains patchy. The rollout has been slow, coverage is inconsistent, and for the most part, granular per-unit measurement simply does not exist.
Read more...Connectivity solutions for hydrogen technologies Hiconnex
Interconnection
As the production distribution and utilisation of hydrogen continue to scale, connectivity becomes a key enabler for efficient energy transmission, data communication, and system control.
Read more...Lesley Havenga: Building partnerships for Africa’s electronics future
Editor's Choice News
As Würth Electronik expands its footprint across South Africa and the broader sub-Saharan region, Havenga’s blend of manufacturing expertise, supply chain knowledge, and people-centred leadership appears well suited to the task.
Read more...Mixed-density Combo-D connectors Hiconnex
Interconnection
Positronic’s SCBM connector series is a rugged, high-performance family of mixed-density D-sub connectors engineered for demanding environments.
Read more...Generating negative voltages from a positive supply Altron Arrow
Editor's Choice Passive Components
It is common for IoT devices, industrial sensors, meters, and medical equipment to require both a positive and negative voltage, and this article explains the options available to produce a negative rail from a positive rail supply.
Read more...PEAK’s first automotive Ethernet solution Industrial Data Xchange (IDX)
Editor's Choice Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The PAE-Media Converter is a robust and compact device designed to connect Automotive Ethernet (100BASE-T1 or 1000BASE-T1) with standard Ethernet (100BASE-TX or 1000BASE-T) networks.
Read more...EMC limits and levels Altron Arrow
Editor's Choice Circuit & System Protection
As soon as electronics and electrical systems started interfering with each other, the world had to come to some consensus. Considering physics is universal and does not care about what country electrical/electronic products are used in, it should be the same everywhere, right? It is nearly there, but not quite.
Read more...Sigfox SA powers smart connectivity
Editor's Choice Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Sigfox South Africa is carving out a unique role, delivering low-power, wide-area network connectivity designed specifically for Internet of Things applications.
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