KSB Pumps and Valves has operated in South Africa for over six decades, supplying engineered pump and valve systems to the irrigation, mining, industrial, waste water, chemical and energy sectors. The company is part of the global KSB Group, headquartered in Germany, with manufacturing, sales, and service operations in more than 100 countries.
Locally, KSB Pumps and Valves maintains a varied production facility with two large, separate machine shops in Germiston, Gauteng, with machining, fabrication, assembly, and highly sophisticated testing capabilities, sourcing already cast components from KSB sister companies internationally as well as from the local foundry industry. The Germiston facilities manufacture a range of ISO, DIN, and ANSI-standard pumps and valves, tailored to local and regional specifications and applications. The multi-functional factory also acts as a regional hub for engineering support, project management, and aftersales service, also allowing it to provision for its network of African sister KSB companies.
KSB Pumps and Valves has operated in South Africa for over six decades, supplying engineered pump and valve systems to the irrigation, mining, industrial, water treatment, and energy sectors
In addition to its manufacturing plants, KSB Pumps and Valves runs a network of service centres across the country, including facilities in Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, and Upington amongst others. These branches provide refurbishment, retrofitting, maintenance, and on-site services. The company also operates KSB SupremeServ, a division focused specifically on service contracts, diagnostics, and spare parts supply and maintenance.
KSB Pumps and Valves supports several long-term mining contracts, particularly in deep-level gold, coal, and iron ore operations, as well as various irrigation projects. The company also supplies critical pumping equipment to Eskom, municipalities, and private water utilities. Its role in bulk water projects has included pump station upgrades, dam outlet works, and sewage treatment systems.
The company has implemented local content and skills development programmes in line with South Africa’s industrial policies. Its foundry and apprenticeship initiatives are aimed at building long-term technical capacity across the group.
Because of demand and the number of castings required per pump KSB Pumps and Valves has a large warehouse full of castings waiting to be machined
Locally, KSB Pumps and Valves maintains a varied production facility with two large, separate machine shops in Germiston, Gauteng, with machining, fabrication, assembly, and highly sophisticated testing capabilities
“Essentially we are running two machine shops here after we decided to split operations in 2013,” explains Clinton Harris, KSB’s Operations Manager, and who has been with the company since 1990. “The one is our standard plant where we manufacture smaller items but in quite high volumes. And the other is our engineered plant where we manufacture larger components but in lower volumes and very often these components are customised for specific projects.”
“We have a strategy whereby we try to replace one or two machines a year because running 30-plus machines across the two plants means that these machines become outdated if you do not replace them with the latest technology.”
“Currently our standard plant is operating 5 to 6 days per week, and in some cases up to 24hrs per day, serving mainly the water and irrigation sectors across Southern Africa. Roughly 70% of our work is for the local market with the remainder being for the export market in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
“We do also have a service and refurbishment plant – KSB SupremeServ – where we service pumps, valves and components. That facility employs around 75 people. Our focus at Head Office is on manufacturing of new pumps valves and parts.”
One of the more recent equipment purchases is a DN Solutions PUMA VTR1216M ram type vertical turning center with live tooling that has been installed at the engineered plant. The company says the DN Solutions PUMA VTR1216M, supplied and installed by Puma Machine Tools, is a large machine and is a good fit for the larger machining operations that they need to perform at the engineered plant
KSB Pumps and Valves have also recently purchased a Mazak INTEGREX j-300 multi-tasking milling and turning machine that was supplied and installed by Hi-Tech Machine Tools
Machining upgrades
“We have roughly the same number of CNC’s operating at both the standard and engineering plants,” explains Ian Adams, KSB’s Manufacturing Manager. “As part of our continuous upgrading strategy, we recently purchased and installed three DN Solutions machines. These include two DN Solutions PUMA GT 3100M horizontal turning centers – one for each plant. And the third machine is a DN Solutions PUMA VTR1216M ram type vertical turning center with live tooling that has been installed at our engineered plant. All three of these machines were supplied and installed by Puma Machine Tools and offer us significant improvements to our machining capabilities.”
“The DN Solutions PUMA VTR1216M is a large machine and is a good fit for the larger machining operations that we need to perform at the engineered plant,” says Harris.
The vertical turning center is built for heavy-duty machining of large-diameter components. Designed with a single-column structure and live tooling capability, the machine is intended for use in industries such as those that KSB Pumps and Valves serve that require heavy equipment manufacturing where precision and rigidity are essential. With its Meehanite base, the machine offers a swing over bed of 1 600mm, with a maximum turning diameter of 1 250mm and a maximum turning height of 1 200mm. It features a 1 250mm diameter table that supports a maximum load of 3 000kg and can reach rotational speeds of up to 350rpm.
Axis movement is enabled by box guideways, with rapid traverse rates of 16 m/min on the X-axis and 12 m/min on the Z-axis.
Hi-Tech Machine Tools have also supplied the company with a Mazak INTEGREX i-400 multi-tasking milling and turning machine
One of the older machines still in use after 20 years is a Mazak Megaturn
Continues Adams: “We have always been diversified in terms of CNC brands that we make use of and we still have an old Mazak, purchased more than 30 years ago, that I actually operated myself many years ago – it’s still running to this day. We have however since also recently purchased a Mazak INTEGREX j-300 multi-tasking milling and turning machine that was supplied and installed by Hi-Tech Machine Tools.”
“The other problem with the older machines is that as they get older, things start to go wrong. Modern technology like that on the new Mazak INTEGREX j-300 also allows us to do more operations in one setup as opposed to a number of different operations to achieve the same result, so the improved efficiencies are obvious.”
“We try to replace at least one or two machines a year, maybe not y our bigger machines – those we will replace every few years, but on the smaller machines, we look to update these fairly regularly.”
On order and to be installed later in 2025 in the standard plant is a Victor H630 HS horizontal machining center. “We are able to offer highly specialised hydraulic testing here too,” says Harris.
Future growth plans
Harris explains that there are plans in place awaiting final approvals to build a completely new standard plant across the road from the current facility. If approved, work would commence during the course of 2026 with the new plant being fully operational by 2027. The new plant will further streamline current operations and allow for further output.
Another recent purchase is a DN Solutions PUMA GT 3100M horizontal turning center
One of the older DN Solutions machines that the company has is a NHM 5000 is a box-guideway horizontal machining center designed for heavy cutting
Sticking with the theme of updating technologies and processes, KSB Pumps and Valves has experimented with 3D printing techniques in conjunction with the Vaal University of Technology to 3D print sand cores. This has been successful and Harris and Adams note that their research into the benefits this kind of technology could bring to their machine shops is something they are keeping a close watch on.
At the moment, KSB’s head office has 3D printing capabilities and local testing is already underway whereby 3D printed impellers are being hydraulically tested for their competences against traditionally machined comparative components. Harris says that with the new technology, conventional component design is also up for rethinking and there could be shifts in future designs. “The quality of these 3D printed components is so good and the tolerances are spot on,” he says.
Adams adds that real benefits could be realised such as with smaller impellers where it becomes difficult to fully inspect a casting, whereas with a 3D printed component those defects almost become nullified.
KSB Pumps and Valves specialise in the manufacture of petrochemical pumps, slurry pumps, process pumps as well as other pump and valve equipment used in the water and irrigation industries. The business continues to position itself as a technical partner in projects requiring engineered pumping and valve systems for challenging operating environments across the region.
For more information contact KSB Pumps and Valves on TEL: +2711 876 5600 or email: support.za@ksb.com
