Skyriders exercises its power over the competition

19 April 2011
A successful display at an international power and electricity exhibition has placed leading rope access specialist, Skyriders, in a strong position for expansion into Africa.
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Skyriders is confident of roping in new power generation clients across Africa, after displaying its innovative at-height solutions capabilities at the Power and Electricity World Africa Exhibition, which was held at the Sandton Convention Centre on March 30 and 31, 2011.

With a zero-fatality record spanning more than 22 years, Skyriders is the leading provider of rope access-aided inspection, non-destructive testing (NDT) and maintenance-related services to the South African power generation industry. Marketing manager Mike Zinn points out the company is looking to deliver its industry-leading expertise to power stations across the African continent.

“The oil and gas industries in Africa are flooded with rope access services; however, the power generation sector across the continent is largely untapped, and Skyriders identified an opportunity to gain significant ground in this market by meeting with key industry players at the expo, and demonstrating the numerous benefits of rope access solutions,” he explains.

Zinn points out that a professional Skyriders rope access technician was on-hand at the company’s display booth, ascending and descending from the 8-m-high ceiling, while demonstrating the increased degrees of manoeuvrability that rope access offers over traditional scaffolding.

“Scaffolding has proven to be the tried-and-trusted method for above-ground applications in the African industry over the decades. However, in industries such as power generation, rope is a far more efficient means of gaining access to a particular high-elevation section of a site, as installation is considerably faster and cheaper, while technicians are provided with more flexibility and safety,” he continues. 

Highlighting a recently-completed project at a South African power station as an example, Zinn points out that a team of Skyriders rope access technicians was able to locate a tube leak 40-m-high within four hours, as opposed the six days it would take using scaffolding.

“The Skyriders team of specialist technicians were able to identify and photograph the leak, in addition to taking wall thickness readings and installing a suspended platform for the engineers to address the problem,” he explains. “The entire process was completed in a fraction of the time, and around 80% cheaper than scaffolding would have been for that particular project.”

Zinn notes that feedback from visitors and potential clients at the expo was overwhelmingly-positive. “The exhibition provided Skyriders with the perfect opportunity to touch base with the some of the biggest names in the African power generation industry - something that would have otherwise taken months, at a considerable expense to the company,” he says. “The response from guests was fantastic and, judging by the feedback received, Skyriders is optimistic that the industry will start to see rope access as a viable alternative to traditional scaffolding for certain applications across the continent.”

 

While Skyriders is recognised as an industry-leader in providing rope access solutions to the South African power generation industry, Zinn notes that the company is looking to build on that success in other sectors of the economy too. “Over the past five years, Skyriders has made considerable inroads into the South African construction industry, and the company is also aiming to increase its service offering to the mining industry.”

He points out that Skyriders’ rope access technicians are able to provide numerous services to both underground and open-pit mines. “Skyriders is currently contracted to provide equipment, training, inspections and the installation of fall-arrest systems to a gold mine in Mali. This has proven to be a highly-successful project to date, and Skyriders is aiming to provide these safety measures to an industry that generally has a poor safety record, and is heavily-scrutinised in this department.”

Despite the numerous advantages of rope access, Zinn does admit that it is still a challenge in the local industry to eliminate the misconception that rope access is unsafe. “While rope access may look unstable to the untrained eye, it is in fact considerably safer than any other means of above-ground access. Skyriders’ zero fatality record has proven that with a zero-fatality record since the company was founded in 1988,” he continues. “What’s more, all equipment used by Skyriders meets stringent European safety standards, and is inspected thoroughly every three months.”

Zinn believes that through a dedicated marketing drive, Skyriders can transform negative views associated with rope access through improved market education. “The most effective way to change the industry mindset is by displaying the benefits of rope access at an increasing number of expos, as well as by offering free trials to any companies that are open to the idea of change,” he concludes.

In addition to rope access, Skyriders provides solutions to numerous above-ground challenges, including; structure inspections and installations, high-pressure cleaning, waterproofing, birdproofing, welding, concrete inspection and repairs and non-destructive testing.

 

Ends

Notes to the Editor
There are numerous photographs specific to this press release. Please visit http://media.ngage.co.za and click the Skyriders link.

About Skyriders
Skyriders (Pty) Ltd, established in 1988, is a leader in the South African rope access industry, providing cost- and time-saving solutions to clients in the power generation and petrochemical industries who require rope access aided inspection, NDT and maintenance work to be done in difficult to reach, high-up locations. 

Skyriders Contact
Mike Zinn
Skyriders Marketing Manager
Phone: (011) 312 1418
Email: mike [at] skysolutions [dot] co [dot] za
Web: www.skysolutions.co.za

Media Contact
Renay Tandy
NGAGE Public Relations
Phone: (011) 867-7763
Fax: 086 512 3352
Cell: 082 562 5088
Email: renay [at] ngage [dot] co [dot] za
Web: www.ngage.co.za

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