Steinmüller Africa claims nine Eskom Welding Awards for quality that lasts

Johannesburg, Steinmüller Africa secured nine awards at the 2025 Eskom Welding Awards, led by three site-level honours for consistent world-class welding performance at Kendal and Camden Power Stations.

Building on this site-wide achievement, Steinmüller Africa’s welders also claimed six individual awards, all earned on a single, measurable discipline: high-quality butt welds with consistently low repair rates.

The recognition, presented at the Eskom Research & Innovation Centre in Rosherville on 4 December 2025, highlights measures that reduce rework, prevent leaks under extreme pressure and temperature, and keep critical plant components operating safely across the Eskom fleet.

This station-level recognition was underpinned by measurable quality outcomes, with Kendal Power Station named Most Consistent Station for consistent world-class welding performance over the last five years, reflected in weld reject rates of 1.0% in 2021, 1.2% in 2022, 1.4% in 2023, 1.3% in 2024 and 1.1% in 2025.

Kendal Power Station also won Best Welding Performing Team after welding 4 241 pressure-retaining butt welds with a world-class reject rate of 1.06%, while Camden Power Station won Best Welding Performing Team after welding 4 387 pressure-retaining butt welds with a world-class reject rate of 1.16%.

The Eskom Welding Awards conclude a three-day technology conference bringing together Eskom employees and contractors to share technical learnings and best practice.

This year's awards recognise exceptional skills in SMAW (Shielded Metal Arc Welding), with Steinmüller Africa's welders honoured for work on ongoing maintenance projects throughout 2025.

"Our welders were recognised because of lower rework on welds. In power generation, that's not just about craftsmanship – it's about safety, uptime and asset integrity. Every weld we deliver is inspected, traceable and built to last under extreme pressure and temperature. Low repair rates aren't an accident – they're the result of rigorous quality control, continuous training, and a team that takes pride in getting it right the first time," said Orifuna Netshifamadi, Senior Welding Engineer, Steinmüller Africa.

Award recipients

• MA Mbokazi – Winner, Power Plant Welder of the Year
• EM Mathebula – Winner, Power Plant Most Consistent Welder of the Last 5 Years
• S Mkhize – 1st Runner Up, Power Plant Young Welder of the Year
• BJ Maebes – 2nd Runner Up, Power Plant Young Welder of the Year
• AC Nkonzo – 2nd Runner Up, Power Plant Welder of the Year
• BB Morollwane – 2nd Runner Up, Power Plant Most Consistent Welder of the Last 5 Years

The awards span emerging talent through to long-term, repeatable performance, reflecting Steinmüller Africa's focus on building welding capability that delivers consistent results under real outage and maintenance conditions.

Steinmüller Africa will build on the 2025 awards by expanding simulation-based training to boost welder confidence before live work, adopting new site technologies to improve repair rates, and extending the same stringent QA/QC standards across all clients.