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Zager Global

US-Made Fittings Help Bring Solar Power to Ghana Hospital

CINCINNATI—Zager Global, a U.S.- based supplier and installer of plumbing and solar systems, was recently awarded a contract to design and build a rooftop solar thermal hot water system at Ridge Hospital in Accra, Ghana. The project, located on the Atlantic coast of Africa, required components that could withstand the harsh and extremely corrosive atmospheric conditions inherent in the region.

The design called for fifteen solar arrays, consisting of five collectors per array, with a pipe rack system to support the thermal collectors. Zager hired Hollaender Manufacturing, of Cincinnati, Ohio, to provide its patented, anti-corrosive Speed-Rail® fittings for the pipe rack system that supports the arrays. The Ridge Hospital project is being funded through the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and all material used in the manufacturing of the system, including Hollaender’s Speed-Rail fittings, were compliant with the Buy American Act.

Made of 535.0 aluminum-magnesium alloy, Speed-Rail fittings are reported to be highly resistant to corrosion, especially when compared to steel and iron fittings, and are backed by a 10-year warranty against corrosion. The strong, lightweight fittings come in a variety of fixed and adjustable configurations, including the tees and flanges most commonly used in solar panel installations.