Honingcraft has experienced a meteoric growth phase since its establishment in 1993. The company started with two employees and minimal equipment but rapidly progressed to a stage where new premises, as well as additional staff and equipment were necessary.
“We now have state-of-the-art facilities in Wadeville, Germiston, Gauteng. The manufacturing and administration facility is situated on 4200 m² of prime industrial land and now plays host to two Group companies and 56 employees,” according to works manager Warren Slack.
Slack points out that the company’s stated mission is “to supply the market with the best quality and service available and become the market leader in total hydraulic support”; a goal which is fast becoming a reality.
“In addition, we have set our sights on becoming the market leader in hydraulic material supplies and to provide the best honing service with the fastest turnaround time,” he said. This latter goal is being achieved through attention to detail, and by acquiring the intellectual property and experience of a handpicked technical and sales team.
“We are one of the biggest hydraulic cylinder tube suppliers in South Africa and we also import and supply cold drawn and welded hydraulic steel tube according to national and international specifications, including DIN 2391,” said Slack. The company is capable of supplying tubing from 2 to 8 inches (Imperial) and 40 to 200 mm (metric) in honed and pre-honed conditions. Non-standard sizes are made up to customers’ requirements.
Honingcraft has invested a great deal of capital in acquiring the hi-tech equipment necessary to provide the accurate and high-quality finish required in hydraulic cylinders. “We currently own 24 honing machines, from globally renowned manufacturers like Sunnen and Emil Pleiger, capable of honing diameters of 25 mm up to 1000 mm with a maximum length of 20 m. Interestingly, when we first started out we were limited to honing tubes of 200 mm diameter at 4 m lengths,” said Slack.
In addition to the above we import CK 45 hard chromium plated bars, which are wrapped in plastic of at least 1 mm thickness to protect the surface against impact,” said Slack. “We also supply induction hardened bars to be used as column bars for high quality slide roller bearings. Induction hardened bars can also be used as hydraulic piston rods for construction machines. Stock sizes range from 16 to 100 mm.”
Honingcraft owns its own chroming facility which ensures prompt service and delivery. “We undertake chroming and grinding of shafts in diameters from 30 to 800 mm with up to 10 m between the centres,” said Slack.
“We are also one of the largest stockists of the highest grade cast iron with diameters between 40 and 250 mm (up to 400 mm on request). Having such stockholding available in all the standard sizes and lengths generally required means that we are able to react instantaneously to customer requests,” said Slack.
Slack explained that due to the specific requirements of each cylinder, the specifications for the tubing are supplied by the customer. “We have perfected a system for turning around orders within a 24-hour period, provided we receive the order before 12 noon.” The investment in two new delivery vehicles has further enhanced this promised service offering.
In spite of the guaranteed speed of service, Honingcraft does not compromise on the quality of the finished product. “We are certified to ISO 9001: 2008 standards and we train all our staff to abide by stringent quality specifications. We simply cannot afford to provide our customers with any less than 100% finishing,” said Slack.
“We conduct both in-house and external training for our employees to ensure that they are up-to-date on current trends and technologies. In addition, as a testament to the high levels of compliance we instil in our own staff, we have been requested by the Department of Manpower to put three artisans through a six-month training programme,” said Slack.
Slack said that because of the distortion of welding on cylinder tubes the company also supplies a hone-after-weld service. “Where a customer is supplied with pre-honed or un-honed material that requires machining and welding, they can then return it to Honingcraft for the final honing process. This results in the best tolerances on welded cylinders.”
Slack is adamant that customer service plays a major role in the philosophy of the company and is underpinned by the culture engendered in the company’s employees. “We believe in pulling out all the stops for our clients and defeat is not within our vocabulary.”
Slack is justifiably proud of the company’s Level 3 BEE status. “We have aligned ourselves with a number of BEE compliant suppliers and we are also very involved in giving something back to the community. We have contributed substantial sums of money for the establishment and growth of churches throughout both South Africa and the rest of Africa.”
The company has a diverse customer base ranging from construction equipment manufacturers and owners, underground mining machine manufacturers and owners, for roadwork companies, in refuse removal through to surface drilling.
“We have established a substantial footprint within South Africa and recently embarked on a programme of increased penetration across our borders. We have already supplied to a mining client in Tanzania and we have started negotiations with a number of clients in Namibia, Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe,” Slack concluded.
For more information contact Warren Slack, Honingcraft, +27 (0)11 824 5320, [email protected], www.honingcraft.co.za
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