Pioneer Plastics, together with Aerosud Aviation, was one of the top award winners in the 2019 Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Awards, taking home the Gold Award for Import Replacement in Advanced Manufacturing.
The company was one of 11 organisations in six categories that received Awards.
State-of-the-art facility
The Awards, which took place late last year in Port Elizabeth to identify, promote and recognise South African companies that are leaders in innovation in advanced manufacturing and composites such as robotics, automotive, Artificial Intelligence and 3D printing.
Pioneer Plastics worked with Aerosud, an aircraft component manufacturer to develop roto-moulding components used in the aerospace industry. ‘To achieve this, we, together with Aerosud developed a rotational moulding facility that is state-of-the-art,’ says Wayne Wiid, managing director for Pioneer Plastics.
Based at Pioneer Plastics’ main campus the facility boasts a Persico ‘Leonardo SMART’ rotational moulding machine from Persico of Italy – the first in the Southern Hemisphere. ‘The venture has lifted our capability to manufacture ultra-high tolerance rotational moulded components and provides us with the ability to replace components that previously had to be imported,’ he explains.
Aerosud is the facility’s first customer. ‘Specially developed software fully incorporates into the Aerosud manufacturing execution system allowing them to access the facility remotely,’ he adds.
From paper to product
With 37 years of rotational moulded plastic products concept, design and manufacturing experience, Pioneer Plastics’ in-house mould making facility takes any design idea from paper to product. ‘Keeping up with technology is critical. Therefore, we invest in Research and Development (R&D) as part of our process and this has played a key part in our success in winning this Award and for our business overall,’ Wiid says.
He adds that the Award demonstrates the company’s innovation. ‘This Award tells us that we can compete at the highest level global and that our facility is world-class.’
The Awards were presided over by the Department of Trade and Industry (dti).