21 Aug 30 years in Rwanda, Abeco Tanks stand the test of time

30 years in Rwanda, Abeco Tanks stand the test of time

Water tanks have emerged as a key part of supplying and storing clean water for private and public organisations to enable them to successfully operate in times of a water supply outage.

Like many African countries Rwanda is no stranger to challenges related to water interruptions and access to clean potable water.

Water storage tanks have emerged as a vital necessity not only for communities and public entities, but to enable success in agriculture, industry and business.

Abeco Tanks has been supplying public and private entities in Rwanda with water tanks since 1990 and their tanks have become beacons of hope in difficult times.

Selecting a water tank and supplier that will meet the specific needs of an entity, whether it is a clinic, mine, farm or manufacturing plant, requires careful consideration and must be adequately planned.

Mannie Jnr. Ramos, Chief Operating Officer of Abeco Tanks, the leader in hygienic water storage solutions in Africa for 37 years, outlines the most important factors when selecting a water tank supplier.

Reliability & Trust

Purchasing a water tank is an investment and like any other financial investment it must be protected.

The longevity and reliability of the tank supplier is important to ensure that not only do you get the correct solution, but that if something should go wrong you have a supplier that will be around to support you.

Abeco has a 35-year history in Rwanda for producing the highest quality water storage solutions capable of holding from as little as 1,800 litres up to 50 million litres of water.

Due to the company’s focus on finding innovative solutions and ability to be highly adaptive, while the Coronavirus pandemic hurt many companies, Abeco found ways to ensure faster turnaround of the manufacturing of water tanks to meet demand.

It is this innovative and agile approach that has made Abeco a successful African water tank partner for the region.

Abeco’s expertise, on-the-ground experience and exceptional service has taken the company to more than 30 countries and the brand is well-known and trusted throughout Africa.

High quality products

A true test of any water tank manufacturer is that it adheres to the strict standards required in the process of manufacturing quality products.

Abeco stands out from the competition because to suit the African climate conditions, they have perfected the manufacturing process of cold-pressing steel; using high yield stress which draws high quality steel.

All steel components are hot-dip galvanized which is the process of coating steel with zinc to protect against corrosion to ensure they last longer – up to 40 years or sometimes more, depending on the quality of the water stored in the tanks.

Abeco has multiple accreditations and certifications including SATAS, ISO9001:2015, ASIB as well as being a member of ISF which allows the company to provide quality structural steel products for projects anywhere in the world.

Fit for purpose

Through their focused experience in Africa, Abeco has often found situations where water tanks were not supplied in consultation with a community which resulted in the failure of the water solution to meet their needs.

This results in poor relations between the community and the government entity or organisation who arranged the water project.

In addition, many times a water tank is chosen based on price alone, not longevity and therefore the water tank is often not the right size or fit for the application.

For example, a plastic water tank may be cheaper but when exposed to the sun constantly it can degrade over time, as well as pose a health risk, as warm water is the perfect condition for algae to form in the water making it unsafe for drinking purposes.

Another example is where a farmer purchases a tank only to find out that there is not enough water for crops for the period of the water interruption because the wrong size tank was installed. This could seriously impact the farms continuity of supply and financial situation.

A key consideration one must make is whether the size of tank will hold enough water for the needs of the purchaser. This also depends very much on what the water will be used for. How many people will the tank need to serve? Is the water storage for drinking or bathing? What are the average water outage periods in the area? These questions and more will help determine the actual size tank required.

Abeco uses innovative and patented precision-punching technology, and therefore can construct any size tank from rectangular water tanks, circular, elevated, U shaped, L shaped or odd shaped to African water tank systems, custom water tanks, bolted, powder coated and fire tanks.

There are many other factors to consider such as whether the area has piped water supply to keep the tank filled, whether there is electricity to pump the water from the tank to where it is needed, and where the tank will be placed.

Ramos emphasises that it is important to partner with a water tank supplier that has experience, know-how and an understanding of your unique needs.