In a collaborative effort, SKF South Africa and its Authorised Distributor, B.E.D. Klerksdorp, successfully remanufactured a double-row tapered roller bearing (TRB) assembly for a vertical mill within a two-week timeframe, offering the customer a cost-effective 50% cost-saving alternative which keeps the plant operational while they await the supply of new bearings.
The mill bearing design incorporates three grinding rollers, each equipped with a double-row TRB located on the outboard side. The bearings had worn due to wear and tear, causing frequent mill breakdowns which resulted in unplanned downtime that disrupted production and recurringly demanded urgent responses from the maintenance team. This sequence of events adversely affected the plant’s overall operational efficiency and reliability, amplifying costs for the customer, a leading cement manufacturer based in the Northwest Province.
Requiring rapid bearing replacement to mitigate incessant downtime and associated costs and restore mill operation within the shortest possible time so that production can resume sustainably, the customer approached B.E.D. Klerksdorp for a quick solution.
“Lead times for the unscheduled replacement of double-row TRBs can be somewhat lengthy, given the specialised nature of these units,” explains Simphiwe Siwela, SKF Territory Sales Manager – Central Region. To counter these long lead times, SKF proposed remanufacturing the existing bearings, contingent upon them meeting the necessary criteria. “Our time-efficient, reliable and cost-effective solution having been welcomed by the customer, B.E.D. Klerksdorp promptly collected and delivered the bearings to the SKF ReMan Centre in Jet Park, Johannesburg, for the necessary assessment,” states Siwela.
The assessment results determined that only one bearing assembly was eligible for refurbishment; the second assembly failed to meet the required standards due to excessive wear. Upon receiving the inspection report, quotes and procedures from B.E.D. Klerksdorp, the customer placed an order for two new bearings.
The two-week refurbishing process included repair classification, a thorough inspection, cleaning and precision reconditioning of the bearings, which were restored to their original specifications by SKF’s highly skilled ReMan specialists. “SKF expertise guarantees that our remanned bearings are as good as new,” underlines Siwela.
SKF’s standard turnaround time for a full ReMan project is two to three weeks. “However, fully aware of the time sensitivity of the project and our customer’s urgency, the SKF ReMan team pulled out all the stops, ensuring that we were able to refurbish and install the double-row TRB in our minimum turnaround time of two weeks!” affirms Siwela. “By providing the alternative bearing refurbishment solution, we assisted our customer in avoiding prolonged downtime while waiting for the delivery of the new bearing assembly. This proactive measure allowed the cement plant to remain operational until the new bearing unit arrived.”
SKF champions remanufacturing which is a core tenet of the circular economy, yielding both economic and environmental benefits. In addition to saving the customer 50% of the cost of new bearing by going the ReMan route, this low-carbon process minimises the need for raw materials required in new manufacturing, subsequently reducing waste, conserving resources, and ultimately shrinking the collective environmental footprint.
Siwela emphasises the strategic value of this initial successfully completed remanufacturing project, which creates a gateway to future refurbishment and other business opportunities. “With the cement manufacturer’s approval of the stores review for potential ReMan candidates, we anticipate great potential for more refurbishment business at the cement plant.”
The customer is already well-acquainted with the SKF brand’s reputation for quality and reliability and shares a long-standing relationship with B.E.D. Klerksdorp who has supplied the cement plant with a range of SKF products and solutions including centralised lubrication systems for their vertical cylindrical mills, single point lubricators for their fans, as well as several maintenance products (Mapro) such as bearing pullers, bearing heaters and laser alignment tools.
