Moving through the Pabar manufacturing plant and feeling and hearing the sound of thousands of tons of massive presses coming down pressing out components as they work in unison to drive the production line along, and you realise you’re in a special place. A place that means business.
Pabar (Pty) Ltd, based in Chamdor, Krugersdorp, has been operating since 1965 when it was founded by Italian immigrant Enzo Barbaglia, a toolmaker by trade. Today, the company is run by his son, Mike Barbaglia, also a qualified toolmaker, and who serves as Manufacturing Director. The business employs more than 320 people and supplies both the automotive and non-automotive sectors with OEM spec products and components that include automotive chassis components through to industrial lighting.
The non-automotive side of the business was established from the outset in 1965 and the automotive side of the business began manufacturing components in 1974.
Pabar operates from a site consisting of three properties covering 22 000m², of which just under 13 000m² is under roof. The modern factory itself covers roughly 4 100m², and its production capacity includes an extensive press shop totalling 89 presses spread across a large press shop and a small press shop
Technical Manager and Director Charl Andersen, also a qualified tool and die maker who completed his trade at Olifantsfontein Training Centre, and who has worked at Pabar since 2001, explains that relying on a single customer or line of components in the metal engineering industry is not a recipe for success. He continues that being able to leverage market penetration across a broad range of products has been key to Pabar’s longevity as a heavy weight in the South African manufacturing sector.
“We specialise in manufacturing motor industry metal pressings but we also manufacture street poles, wheelbarrows, kitchen sinks, fridge components, gas bottles, have our own range of SABS approved industrial lighting and we furthermore manufacture custom stadium seating. We are probably the biggest metal chassis component supplier to one of South Africa’s largest automotive manufacturers.”
Pabar is equipped with large hydraulic presses ranging from 150 tons to 1 000 tons
Pabar’s range of presses include legendary names and industry stalwarts like Erfurt, Wilkins and Mitchell, SMG and Galdabini down to the more specialised presses such as Pabar’s Omera’s
The company operates from a site consisting of three properties covering 22 000m², of which just under 13 000m² is under roof. The modern factory itself covers roughly 4 100m², and its production capacity includes an extensive press shop totalling 89 presses spread across a large press shop and a small press shop. Pabar is equipped with large hydraulic presses ranging from 150 tons to 1 000 tons, with the largest bed measuring 3.9m in length, and small presses that range from 30 tons to 150 tons. Pabar also operates automated decoiling and roll-forming lines capable of handling coils up to 5 tons, with thicknesses of between 0.45mm and 6mm and widths up to 1 225mm. The company produces thousands of components each month for its broad industry base that it serves.
The plant is so large that it takes some time to tour the facility and operations managers can be seen using electric scooters to move efficiently and quickly between production lines.
Pabar has a total of 89 presses spread across its large and small press shops
Pabar makes use of Kuka robots for its MIG / MAG robotic welding assembly line for safety critical components
Assembly work is supported by robotic MIG/MAG welding systems and numerous spot welding stations. Spot welding remains one of the most widely applied processes in the global automotive industry. The method, which uses electrical resistance and pressure to fuse sheet metal components, is central to the assembly of vehicle bodies. It is used extensively in joining panels, chassis elements, doors, bonnets and other structural components. Andersen has a comprehensive understanding of the process and has invested himself heavily in orchestrating the precise robotic setups used in Pabar’s operations from first-hand visits to some of the largest OEM automotive manufacturers in the world, to spending long hours designing the plant layout and flow.
“The appeal of spot welding lies in its efficiency and repeatability. The process is fast and well suited to high-volume production, making it integral to modern automotive plants where cycle times and output are tightly managed. Automation has further strengthened its role, with robotic welding cells capable of producing consistent joins across thousands of vehicle components.”
Pabar has decades worth of experience maintaining and retrofitting its presses keeping the company operational at OEM standards
“We are about to commission three freshly refurbished presses that we have rebuilt from the ground up. These presses will include a 1 000 ton, 800 ton and 500 ton range and they will be housed in a new, dedicated building on site in anticipation of a future project.”
“From a materials perspective, the technique is critical in joining advanced high-strength steels. These steels are now widely used by vehicle manufacturers to achieve a balance of safety and weight reduction. Spot welding allows thinner, lighter components to be integrated without compromising structural strength. This in turn supports efforts to meet fuel efficiency targets and emission regulations, while maintaining occupant protection in the event of a collision.”
“A few missing or defective spot welds could render a vehicle defective and lead to it being scrapped from the production line,” explains Andersen.
“Weld integrity must be verified at multiple points during production, as any weakness in a joint can have direct consequences for crash performance. Manufacturers employ destructive and non-destructive testing methods to monitor quality, while production systems are increasingly supported by sensors and data analytics that track weld consistency in real time.”
The automotive manufacturing side of Pabar’s business began manufacturing components in 1974
Pabar uses both CNC machines and conventional equipment to manufacture and maintain their tooling, moulds and dies
“Spot welding machinery has also advanced significantly. Modern systems allow precise control of current, pressure and timing, accommodating the complex mix of coated and uncoated steels, aluminium and composites entering automotive production. Interchangeable tooling and robotic integration further ensure that spot welding remains adaptable to new body designs and mixed-material architectures giving Tier 1 suppliers and manufacturers like Pabar the flexibility to switch between components and OEM brands as production schedules dictate and fluctuate.”
Pabar’s facility also houses two camel-back powder coating lines with curing ovens, used for a range of products including their industrial lighting equipment, but more importantly, keeping with the focus of offering their clients turnkey production solutions.
Pabar is both a Tier 1 and Tier 2 supplier to the automotive industry and has been for many years. The company maintains certification to IATF 16949:2016 in this regard and employs advanced measuring systems such as 3D CMMs that include its Romer (now Hexagon) and Farro measuring arms, as well as digital microscopes to ensure compliance with these internationally recognised industry standards within its in-house quality and inspection office.
Pabar has its own extensive toolroom and does as much of its own die maintenance and manufacturing as possible
Pabar maintains certification to IATF 16949:2016 and employs advanced measuring systems such as 3D CMMs that include its Romer (now Hexagon) and Farro measuring arms, as well as digital microscopes to ensure compliance with these internationally recognised industry standards within its in-house quality and inspection office
IATF 16949:2016 is the global quality management standard for the automotive sector. Developed by the International Automotive Task Force in conjunction with ISO, it builds on ISO 9001 (to which Pabar is also certified) and introduces requirements specific to the production of vehicles and their components.
The standard covers the full value chain, from design and development to production and installation. It sets out controls for traceability, defect prevention, and continuous improvement. A strong focus is placed on risk management, supplier development, and process efficiency. For manufacturers, certification is often a prerequisite to supply global automotive companies, who rely on the framework to ensure uniformity and quality across international supply chains. Its importance lies in the ability to standardise expectations for safety-critical products and Pabar is one of only a few manufacturers in South Africa to hold this certification.
For South African manufacturers like Pabar, adherence to the standard is not only about maintaining export competitiveness where applicable for the OEMs it supplies, but also about aligning with the requirements of local OEMs for the local vehicle market. It has become a central part of quality systems in the sector and a benchmark for global participation.
Pabar manufactures its own range of SABS approved industrial lighting and caters to some of the largest retail chains, warehouses and office buildings on the African continent. Pabar’s range of industrial lighting carries a 5-year warranty
Not only does Pabar manufacture motor industry metal pressings but they also manufacture street poles, wheelbarrows, kitchen sinks, fridge components and gas cylinders. The company is the only accredited LPG gas cylinder manufacturer in South Africa
On the non-automotive side of the business, Pabar maintains ISO 9001:2015 certification in its manufacturing practices and its industrial lighting is SABS approved, allowing it to cater to some of the largest retail chains, warehouses and office buildings on the African continent. Pabar’s range of industrial lighting carries a 5-year warranty.
“We are about to commission three freshly refurbished presses that we have rebuilt from the ground up. These presses will include a 1 000 ton, 800 ton and 500 ton range and they will be housed in a new, dedicated building on site in anticipation of a future project. Although some of these presses have been well used, the structure of the presses themselves is better than most you can purchase new these days,” explains Andersen.
“Over the years we have employed the same strategy with our equipment and machines that we utilise at the plant. We have the skills and knowledge to be able to refurbish pretty much anything here and so we retrofit a lot of our machines with new electrical systems, PLC’s and whatever else is needed to keep them operating at the highest of industry standards. We used to outsource some of this work but I now have a team of eight staff that do all of this in-house for us.”
Pabar manufactures approximately 2 000 of its own-brand wheelbarrows a month
Pabar manufacture a range of kitchen sinks, demonstrating it has a rare blend of scale and manufacturing versatility within South Africa
“We have our own extensive toolroom and of course do as much of our own die maintenance and manufacturing as possible. The toolroom is equipped with a range of CNC machines including CNC milling machines and CNC lathes, wire EDM capabilities, and we have a range of metrology and design tools that are available to us too, including software such as AutoCAD and Fusion 360. This enables the company to carry out tool design, manufacturing, research and development, and maintenance in-house. All of this extensive plant capability and skills allows us to take on large production volume projects and implement them at short notice if need be.”
Machinery and plant equipment
Pabar has an extensive mix of plant equipment and CNC machinery that it makes use of for its numerous operations that it performs at the plant. This ranges from the large double column presses with hundreds of tons of pressing force that feature names like industry stalwarts Erfurt, Wilkins and Mitchell, SMG and Galdabini down to the more specialised presses such as Pabar’s Omera’s.
Pabar has also recently commissioned a Freedom FMC 6026 CNC vertical machining center in its toolroom to go along with its many Amada press brakes and Amada Vipros punching machines.
Pabar has an extensive CNC machine shop and toolroom that includes a range of CNC machines such as CNC milling machines and CNC lathes and wire EDM capabilities. Pictured are some of Pabar’s Amada punching machines
In addition to Pabar’s CNC milling and lathe capabilities, it makes use of Amada bending machines and an HSG 12kW G3015X fiber laser cutter with a bed size of 3m by 1.5m. Pabar has a further HSG fiber laser on order
As part of its other resources in the CNC machine department, Pabar has a HSG 12kW G3015X fiber laser cutter with a bed size of 3m by 1.5m, supplied by Metal Chip Machinery. Pabar makes use of this particular fiber laser cutter for cutting thick gauge material for manufacturing its own in-house pressure plates for its dies used on its presses, representing further versatility in its ability to offer turnkey production solutions. On order is another HSG fiber laser that will be used for cutting other thinner gauge material in-house.
Pabar’s scope of manufacturing reflects its strategic commitment to flexibility and diversity of production. Its core metal pressing and welding operations serve high-volume automotive needs, while the toolroom and general engineering capacities support diversification across a broad range of products.
Pabar’s HSG 12kW G3015X fiber laser cutter with a bed size of 3m by 1.5m, supplied by Metal Chip Machinery
Consumer-facing products such as Pabar’s gas cylinders – the company is the only accredited LPG gas cylinder manufacturer in South Africa – and Pabar’s range of wheelbarrows demonstrate how the company is able to apply organised shop floor disciplines to broader markets. Currently the automotive side of the business represents approximately 60% of Pabar’s manufacturing capacity with the remaining 40% spread across its other non-automotive manufacturing capabilities.
While Pabar’s roots may be in general engineering and consumer goods with growth into automotive fabrication, the company proves that it has a rare blend of scale and versatility within the South African manufacturing sector. Andersen states confidently that the company is poised to take advantage of any market opportunities that come its way.
Beyond its manufacturing operations, Pabar is involved in motorsport. It sponsors the Pabar VW Challenge, a regional Volkswagen racing series in Gauteng, and runs its own racing team, Pabar Racing.
For further details contact Pabar on TEL: +27 11 762 1266 or visit www.pabar.co.za
