ABOUT US
GIDAL Engineering was founded in 2019 by Leon Smith, following many years at Tongaat Hulett as a senior Mechanical Design Engineer.
20 YEARS EXPERIENCE
As CEO of GIDAL Engineering, Leon Smith brings over 20 years of Mechanical Design Engineering experience to the drawing table.
Graduating from Stellenbosch University in 1994, he has since put countless hours into mastering design, project maintenance, and site management of both the sawmilling and sugar industries.
He has built his experience in equipment design and development at Tongaat Hullet since 1998.
As Lead Mechanical Design Engineer, Leon was responsible for mechanical designing of equipment, design integration with information from the process designs, and he was in charge of the drawing office.
If you’re looking for a designer with a perfectionists touch, then GIDAL should be your first choice when it comes to your next project.
OUR SPECIALITIES
Over the many years of work completed in Mechanical Engineering Design, GIDAL has focused its attention on the following areas within the industry
- Mechanical design of BS5500 coded vessels.
- Mechanical design of sugar mill extraction and process plant, equipment and systems.
- Finite Element Analysis.
- Improvement of diffuser mechanical design.
- Diffuser headshaft design using FEA.
- Equipment development and improvement.
- Mechanical design of feeder tables, cane preparation equipment (cane knives and shredders), batch and continuous pans, condensers, vertical crystallisers, sugar driers and flue gas scrubbers for various clients using FEA techniques and design codes.
“To the optimist, the glass is half full. To the pessimist, the glass is half empty. To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.”
WORK & PROJECTS
- Kestner Evaporators
- Roberts Evaporators
- Cane Knifes and Shredder
- Cane prep-line upgrades
- General engineering associated with factory upgrades rehabilitation and new plant.
- Technology Development
- Double Headshaft Diffuser
- Roberts Evaporators
- Falling film Evaporator