Steinmüller Africa Dispatches Locally Built HP Heater
A South African-designed and manufactured heater has entered service at a South African power station after six years of development.
Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Manufacturing
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Steinmüller Africa has dispatched a Header-type HP heater, fully designed and manufactured in South Africa, into service at a South African power station. The heater uses bled steam from the turbine to preheat boiler feedwater.
Why it matters
The project shows that complex power plant equipment can be engineered and built domestically, with production processes that aim to hold quality and delivery targets in serial production. Reduced heat demand is expected to lower coal consumption, according to the company's projections.
The project ran for six years from concept to delivery, using in-house 3D modelling, computational fluid dynamics modelling and fabrication. The source does not report measured coal savings or quantified performance results from the heater's operation.
The players
Steinmüller Africa
A South African subsidiary of the German industrial engineering firm Steinmüller, which designs and manufactures boilers and heat exchangers for power generation.
The details
Steinmüller Africa replaced submerged arc welding with friction welding to join nipples to the header, after the earlier method proved inconsistent and inefficient. The company also introduced Kanban-based production processes at its Pretoria workshop.
Timeline
Six years: duration of the project from concept to delivery.
Industry Shift
The move from submerged arc welding to friction welding for nipple-to-header joins marks a process change in the fabrication of pressure parts for power station heaters. The source does not indicate whether other South African manufacturers have adopted the same method.
Electricity consumers may see indirect effects if reduced coal firing lowers plant operating costs over time. The source does not quantify any change to electricity prices or supply reliability.
The takeaway
Locally engineered power equipment can reduce reliance on imported components while aiming for consistent quality. Watch for future reporting on measured performance once the heater is operating.
Further reading
Explore more manufacturing news to see how industrial producers are changing their production methods.
More information
Read more about the company's products on the Steinmüller Africa boilers and heat exchangers information page.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Instrumentation.
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