Dolphin Bay Installs Africa’s First Permacure ACQ Plant For Millpres

It’s a new plant for a new business – a string of “firsts” within our industry.

 “The new plant is located on the Brondal site, northeast of Mbombela, and it’s a mirror image of their existing CCA plant,” explained Dolphin Bay’s Darren Marillier. “My clients are mostly zoos and theme parks, where there are lots of animals and children.”

The idea for the new plant was born in 2024 when Dolphin Bay installed South  Africa’s “It didn’t make economic sense for them to outsource the ACQ treatment to a third party; they wanted to do it themselves. But they needed a plant first.”

“We took it on as a turnkey project,” said Darren. 

Said Bertus:The differences between ACQ and CCA presented Dolphin Bay’s plant installation team with a unique set of challenges.  “There’s a big difference in the corrosivity on certain components of the plant. ACQ is a lot more corrosive to white and yellow metals – so anything copper, brass, bronze, or aluminium had to be swapped out with either stainless steel or cast iron.”

The MillPres ACQ plant, like Brondal’s CCA plant, is running on Dolphin Bay’s “Pro-Treat was geared for CCA, and the treatment calculations for ACQ are somewhat different,”

 said Darren. Despite the technical challenges, the plant installation process was quick. The first meeting took place in late July; by the end of October, MillPres’s first ACQ-treated poles were rolling off the production line. The final step in the installation process was a site inspection by the South African Bureau of Standards.

“The processes for treating ACQ and CCA are very similar; it’s just the specifications that differ,” said SABS Inspector Francois Louw. “The end result is the same, in that you need to have the right Francois was “very happy” with what he saw on his first visit and will do a follow-up inspection to conclude the SABS certification process.

The MillPres team was delighted with the plant.  “I’m happy.” “We’re very, very happy with Dolphin Bay,” he said.  “This project has truly been a team effort, with Shaun, Cobus, and Tony visiting the site to experience the product first-hand and strengthen our collaboration − a process we continue to enjoy and value deeply.

“We congratulate the MillPres team for the pioneering step they have taken in setting up the first Permacure ACQ treatment plant in Africa. We are pleased to see CCA and ACQ being produced on the same side for different markets, proving the sustainability and feasibility of both preservatives.”

Source: Dolphin Bay