Manufacturing in Kathu
Kathu is the centre of the Northern Cape iron-ore belt. Pitchline Engineering supplies precision machined and moulded components to businesses across the city — the industrial areas and surrounding towns we serve are listed below.
Suburbs and areas we supply around Kathu
Customers from Kathu Industrial, Sishen, Kuruman and Postmasburg all deal with the same Pinetown factory — one enquiry covers turning, milling, grinding, gear cutting and rubber moulding for anywhere in greater Kathu.
Kathu Industrial
heavy mine-supply engineering.
Sishen
one of the largest open-pit iron-ore mines in the world.
Kuruman
manganese mining and regional services.
Postmasburg
iron and manganese mining.
What we make for Kathu
- Turned parts to Ø 310mm and up to 1m long — shafts, pins, spindles, bushes and adaptors
- Milled components to 1000 x 500 x 400mm, including palletised production runs
- Spur and helical gears cut by hobbing or shaping
- Ground surfaces, cylindrical and centreless work to close tolerance
- Moulded rubber seals, bushes, mountings and extruded profiles
- Repeat production runs and one-off replacement spares for plant in Kathu
- Our own product range: thermoplastic, spray and glass bead road marking guns, spreader plates, air brake repair kits and the Model 10/65 1200 short bar automatic loader
- Automatic barfeeders for CNC lathes — extra unattended production hours for turning shops in Kathu
CNC Turning
14 CNC lathes, up to Ø 310mm and 1m long, 12 of them on automatic barfeeders.
CNC Milling
5 CNC mills to 1000 x 500 x 400mm, three palletised and four with CNC rotary tables.
Grinding
Surface grinding to 1200 x 600mm, cylindrical to Ø 200mm and centreless from Ø 6mm.
Rubber Molding
5 vacuum and 4 standard compression presses with 3 in-house rubber extruders.
Gear Cutting
2 hobbing machines for spur and helical gears, 3 shapers for spur gears.
Welding And Manual Lathes
Conventional workshop support: manual lathes, presses, broaching, saws and polishing.
Barfeeder Machines
Our own automatic barfeeder range, sold for over 20 years and run on our own lathes.
Roadmarking Guns
Thermoplastic, paint spray and reflective glass bead application guns.
Airbrake Repair Kits
Nearly 600 air brake repair kits, manufactured here and marketed as ManuMark.
Questions from Kathu customers
Do you make parts for companies in Kathu Industrial, Sishen and Kuruman?
Yes. Pitchline Engineering manufactures precision components for businesses throughout Kathu, Northern Cape, including Kathu Industrial, Sishen, Kuruman and Postmasburg. Every part is made at our factory at 32 Henwood Road, Pinetown.
Which industries do you supply around Kathu?
Around Kathu we see Kathu Industrial (heavy mine-supply engineering); Sishen (one of the largest open-pit iron-ore mines in the world); Kuruman (manganese mining and regional services). The machinery behind that work needs shafts, bushes, gears, seals and custom spares — the parts we make every day.
What sizes can you handle?
Turned parts to Ø310mm and up to a metre long, milled components to 1000 x 500 x 400mm, spur and helical gears, ground surfaces to close tolerance, and moulded rubber parts from our own presses.
Which services are most used by Kathu customers?
CNC turning and milling for machined spares, grinding where a close tolerance finish is needed, gear cutting for drives and gearboxes, and rubber moulding for seals and mountings.
Do you supply road marking guns and air brake kits to Kathu?
Yes. Alongside contract machining we supply our own thermoplastic, spray and glass bead road marking guns, spreader plates, ManuMark air brake repair kits and the Model 10/65 1200 short bar automatic loader.