Zimbabwe Platinum Producer Acquires Used Oxygen Plant and Cuts More Than a Year from Expansion Timeline
55 TPD VPSA Oxygen Plant Relocated from India to Zimbabwe as a Faster Alternative to Building New
A major platinum producer in Zimbabwe needed additional oxygen capacity to improve furnace performance and support its metallurgical operations.
The company required a production-ready solution quickly. Procuring a new oxygen plant would have required more than a year for engineering, manufacturing, delivery, and installation, along with a substantial capital investment.
Phoenix Equipment identified an alternative: a 55 ton-per-day VPSA oxygen plant in India that was fully operational, had only approximately two years of runtime, and was available for relocation.
The buyer evaluated the existing plant, determined that it could meet its oxygen requirements, and committed to the acquisition within approximately two months.
Phoenix then managed the dismantling, inland transportation, export logistics, and ocean freight required to relocate the plant from India to Zimbabwe.
By acquiring an existing plant instead of waiting for a new one to be built, the platinum producer cut more than a year from its project schedule while avoiding the substantially higher capital requirement of a new installation.
The Buyer’s Challenge
Oxygen enrichment can play an important role in improving furnace combustion and production performance in metals-processing operations.
The Zimbabwean platinum producer needed additional oxygen capacity, but project timing was critical.
A conventional new-build oxygen plant would have involved:
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Process and equipment engineering
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New equipment procurement
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Manufacturing lead time
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Factory testing
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Delivery to Zimbabwe
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Installation and commissioning
The overall process would have taken more than a year before the new capacity could be available.
The buyer therefore considered whether an existing oxygen plant could deliver the required capacity significantly faster.
Phoenix Identified an Existing Plant That Fit the Requirement
Phoenix located a surplus oxygen plant owned by Bhagawati Oxygen in India.
The 55 TPD VPSA unit, manufactured by Sumitomo Seika, had originally supported copper-smelting operations.
When those operations ceased, the oxygen plant became inactive even though the equipment remained fully functional.
Several characteristics made the plant an attractive candidate for relocation:
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55 tons per day oxygen production capacity
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Approximately 93% oxygen purity
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Only about two years of operating runtime
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Manufactured by Sumitomo Seika
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Excellent equipment condition
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Available OEM documentation
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Available spare parts
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Complete operating system suitable for relocation
Instead of beginning with equipment that still needed to be engineered and manufactured, the buyer could evaluate an existing production plant with a known operating history.
Evaluating the Plant Before Acquisition
Buying an existing process plant requires careful evaluation.
Phoenix reviewed the oxygen plant’s design, condition, operating history, documentation, and adaptability for the buyer’s intended application.
The Zimbabwean producer was also able to evaluate the plant as part of the acquisition process.
This gave the buyer confidence that the existing equipment could provide the required oxygen capacity and could be successfully dismantled and relocated to a new operating site.
The plant’s limited runtime was particularly attractive.
Although the unit was being purchased second-hand, it had accumulated only approximately two years of operating service and remained in excellent condition with OEM documentation and spare parts available.
For the buyer, this combination provided many of the advantages associated with newer equipment without the manufacturing lead time of a new plant.
Why Buying Used Made Sense
The buyer’s decision came down to two major project considerations:
Speed
Building a new oxygen plant would have required more than a year before production capacity became available.
The existing Bhagawati plant was already manufactured, operational, and available for relocation.
Capital Efficiency
A newly manufactured oxygen plant would have required a substantial capital commitment.
Acquiring the existing plant allowed the platinum producer to obtain the required oxygen capacity while avoiding the financial burden associated with a completely new installation.
The result was a faster and more capital-efficient route to expanding oxygen supply.
Buyer Commits Within Two Months
Once Phoenix introduced the plant and the buyer completed its assessment, the Zimbabwean producer moved quickly.
The buyer approved and committed to the acquisition within approximately two months.
That speed demonstrates one of the advantages of purchasing an existing process plant: once the right asset is identified and technical due diligence is completed, the project can move directly into acquisition and relocation rather than waiting for equipment fabrication.
International Dismantling and Relocation
Identifying the right plant was only part of the project.
The oxygen unit still needed to be safely removed from its existing location in India and transported across continents to Zimbabwe.
Phoenix coordinated the relocation process, including:
Phoenix acted as the connection between the available asset in India and the new industrial application in Zimbabwe, helping convert an inactive oxygen plant into productive capacity for a new owner.
The Buyer’s Result
The Zimbabwean platinum producer acquired a fully functional 55 TPD oxygen plant that could be deployed much faster than a newly built system.
The most important project result was schedule.
By acquiring existing equipment, the buyer cut more than a year from the project timeline.
Strategic Advantages for the Buyer
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More than one year removed from the project schedule
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Avoided the substantially higher capital burden of a new oxygen plant
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Acquired a complete, fully functional oxygen production system
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Only approximately two years of prior plant runtime
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Excellent equipment condition
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OEM documentation and spare parts available
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Known operating history
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Buyer commitment achieved within approximately two months
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Phoenix-managed international dismantling and relocation
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Faster access to oxygen capacity for furnace enrichment
The project demonstrates that purchasing used process equipment does not necessarily mean accepting old or heavily utilized assets.
In this case, the buyer acquired a relatively lightly used industrial plant with documentation, spare parts, and a proven operating history—and obtained it on a schedule that a new equipment supplier could not match.
The Seller’s Result
For Bhagawati Oxygen, the plant represented valuable industrial equipment that was no longer generating revenue after the associated copper-smelting operation ceased.
Rather than allowing the plant to remain idle, the company was able to sell the asset for continued productive use.
Strategic Advantages for Bhagawati Oxygen
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Recovered value from an inactive oxygen plant
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Generated liquidity from equipment no longer contributing to operations
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Avoided prolonged ownership of an idle industrial asset
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Transferred a complete production plant to a qualified end user
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Preserved the productive value of the equipment through relocation rather than disposal
The transaction created a strong alignment between seller and buyer.
Bhagawati had production equipment it no longer needed.
The Zimbabwean platinum producer needed oxygen capacity quickly.
Phoenix Equipment connected those requirements.
Project Highlights
Buyer: Major Zimbabwean Platinum Producer
Plant: 55 TPD VPSA Oxygen Plant
Product Purity: Approximately 93% Oxygen
OEM: Sumitomo Seika
Equipment Condition: Fully Functional / Approximately Two Years Runtime
Original Location: India
New Location: Zimbabwe
Services: Plant Sourcing, Acquisition and Relocation
Project Value: Approximately $2 million
Project Timeline: November 2022 – October 2023
Buyer Commitment: Approximately Two Months
From Surplus Capacity in India to Productive Capacity in Zimbabwe
The relocation of the Bhagawati oxygen plant demonstrates why industrial buyers should consider existing process plants alongside new-build alternatives.
The Zimbabwean platinum producer did not simply buy lower-cost used equipment.
It acquired existing, proven production capacity that had already been engineered, manufactured, operated, and documented.
That distinction allowed the buyer to move much faster.
Rather than spending more than a year waiting for a new oxygen plant to be engineered and manufactured, the company was able to evaluate an existing facility, complete the acquisition, and move directly into relocation.
For the buyer, the result was more than a year of schedule savings, reduced capital requirements, and faster access to the oxygen capacity needed for its operation.
For the seller, an inactive plant became a source of recovered capital rather than an idle asset.
The project illustrates the strategic value of the secondary process plant market: when suitable capacity already exists somewhere in the world, buying and relocating that capacity can provide a faster and more capital-efficient path to production than starting from new.