THE mystery noise that has plagued Ashley residents in Pinetown for the past three months has been silenced.
Rad Gericke, the factory operations manager of Joekels (Suffert Street in Pinetown) reported to the Highway Mail that the company’s dust extractor fan had been the source of the disturbance.
According to Gericke the company installed the dust extractor fan in mid-May and subsequently started receiving complaints from nearby residents.
“The moment we received the complaints from nearby residents we began searching for a solution. At first we sent the fan in for testing, to determine if there was an issue with the blades’ balance or gearing. When we could not find any apparent faults with the extractor we began working on replacing the fan,” said Gericke.
“The extractor fan has now been replaced (on Friday 6 September), and we believe that the noise has been significantly reduced. We have not received any complaints since the new fan has been installed. Additionally, we also erected boarding along our fence to minimise the noise,” added Gericke.
According to Gericke the difficulty lies in the fact that their factory is approximately 50m away from the residential area.
“Our noise levels are in the legal limits of an industrial area, but not residential area. Legally the industrial noise limit is 70db by day and 60db by night, and residential noise limits are 55db by day and 45db by night. Our factory produces approximately 60db of noise,” said Gericke.
“We have been open and honest with the residents and have investigated each of the complaints that we have received,” said Gericke.
Garth Katzoff, the resident that approached the Highway Mail regarding the noise, has confirmed that the noise has ceased.
“Well done. We thank Joekoels for their effort to resolve the issue,” said Katzoff.
Shaun Tebbutt, the first resident to report the noise to Joekels also felt that the noise had been reduced and said he was grateful to the company for taking action and responding to his complaints.
“It is pleasing to see that a large corporate has displayed good neighbourliness and has addressed the concerns of local residents. When I met the factory manager of Joekels. Rhett Gericke, on site it was clear that Joekels were already working with Environmental Health officials to resolve the issue. This sort of situation is normally typified by harsh letters and threats of legal action so it is a breath of fresh air to see a willingness to reach an amicable resolution. I sincerely hope that other businesses in the Pinetown take note of this in the future,” said ward councillor, Tim Brauteseth.
