Frequently Asked Questions

Meshcape Industries traces its origins to 1905, when the business was first established as Primes Wire and Fence. Over more than 100 years of operation, the business has grown into one of South Africa’s most respected suppliers of screening media, industrial mesh, and wire conveyor belting. That history gives us a depth of product knowledge and application experience that is genuinely difficult to replicate.

Meshcape Industries is based in South Africa and supplies customers across the country. We serve clients in mining, agriculture, food processing, engineering, construction, manufacturing, and general trade. Whether you are a large industrial operation or a walk-in customer, we are here to help.

We supply to both. Meshcape Industries is a B2B and B2C supplier. We work with large industrial operations, engineering firms, manufacturers, and mining companies, and we also supply individual customers, farmers, and trade buyers directly. Walk-in customers are welcome.

We supply customers across a broad range of industries, including:

• Agriculture and farming
• Food and beverage processing
• Baking and confectionery
• Chemical and pharmaceutical processing
• Engineering, fabrication, and construction
• Water treatment and environmental applications
• General manufacturing and trade

If your operation involves screening, sieving, sorting, filtering, conveying, or reinforcing, there is a good chance we supply what you need.

It is our way of saying that if there is a hole in it, we probably supply it. Meshcape Industries carries a comprehensive range of screening media, mesh, and belting products, all united by the fact that they are open, perforated, or woven materials with holes in them. The name captures both our product range and our approach: one knowledgeable supplier with the depth and breadth to solve most screening and filtration problems across virtually any industry.

Our product range covers three main categories:

Screen Media and Filtration: Woven wire mesh, vibro woven wire screens, perforated metal plate, mesh discs and tube filters, and vibrating high tensile screen meshes.

Industrial Mesh and Metalwork: Perforated metal, expanded metal, and weldmesh.

Conveying and Belting: Wire conveyor belting in multiple constructions, flat-flex belting, and enrober belting for confectionery applications.

Browse our full product range in the Products section or contact us for guidance on the right product for your application.

Most of our products are available in mild steel, galvanised steel, and stainless steel. Stainless steel grades include AISI 304 and AISI 316, with the latter offering greater resistance to corrosive environments. Specialist alloys are available on request for extreme temperature or aggressive chemical applications. Material availability varies by product, so contact us to confirm what is available for your specific requirement.

Woven wire mesh is manufactured by interlacing wire strands in a consistent pattern, in the same way fabric is woven. The aperture size, wire diameter, and weave construction can all be varied to achieve specific filtration or separation performance. It is typically used where precise, repeatable aperture sizes are required, particularly in filtration and fine screening applications.

Perforated metal is produced by punching holes through sheet or plate. It is generally more rigid and structurally robust than woven wire mesh, making it better suited to applications like machine guarding, architectural screening, ventilation, and drainage. Both products are available in a range of materials and specifications.

Expanded metal is made by simultaneously slitting and stretching a solid sheet of metal, creating a rigid diamond-pattern mesh from a single continuous piece with no welds or joins. It is strong, lightweight, and efficient in its use of material.

Weldmesh is manufactured by welding longitudinal and transverse wires at every intersection to form a square or rectangular grid. It is widely used for fencing, security partitioning, and construction applications. The key difference is in construction: expanded metal is formed from a single sheet, while weldmesh is made from individual wires welded together.

Aperture sizes vary considerably across our product range, from fine filtration cloths measured in microns through to heavy-duty screen meshes with large open areas for aggregate and mining applications. Because the range is extensive, we recommend contacting our team directly with your application details so we can confirm what is available and advise on the most appropriate specification.

Yes. In addition to our stocked range of standard sizes and specifications, we supply made-to-order products for customers with specific dimensional or specification requirements. Lead times for custom orders vary depending on the product and material involved. Contact us with your requirements and we will advise on availability and turnaround.

We supply products in AISI 304 and AISI 316 stainless steel across our range. AISI 304 is the standard choice for most corrosion-resistant applications. AISI 316 provides enhanced resistance to chlorides and aggressive chemical environments, making it the preferred choice for marine, chemical, and certain food processing applications. Specialist grades are available on request.

We keep a broad range of products in stock on the floor for immediate supply. Popular mesh sizes, standard perforated plate, expanded metal, weldmesh, and selected conveyor belt constructions are available off the shelf. Less common specifications are manufactured to order. Contact us to check availability on a specific product or size.

The fastest way to get pricing is to contact us via telephone with your product details, dimensions, and quantity. Alternatively, complete our enquiry form and we will respond promptly. We do not publish a price list online, as pricing depends on material, specification, quantity, and current market conditions.

Yes. We supply walk-in customers as well as trade and industrial accounts. If you know what you need, we can advise on stock availability and assist from there. If you are not sure what you need, bring your application details and our team will help you find the right product.

Minimum order quantities vary by product. Some products are available in small cut lengths or single sheets, while others are supplied by the roll or full sheet only. Contact us with your requirements and we will confirm what is possible.

The quickest way to reach us is via phone call. You can also complete our online enquiry form and we will get back to you promptly. Visit our Contact page for full details including our address, phone number, and business hours.

Specifying the correct screen media involves more than selecting an aperture size. Material type, wire diameter, weave construction, open area percentage, and the physical and chemical properties of the material being screened all play a role. In most cases, there is a right answer and a wrong one, and getting it wrong can result in premature failure or poor performance. Our team has over 100 years of collective experience across screening applications in mining, agriculture, food processing, and industrial environments. Tell us about your application and we will help you specify it correctly.

Both products are designed for use on vibratory screening machines, but they differ in wire material and are suited to different demands.

Vibro woven wire screens are a general-purpose screen media suitable for a range of industrial and mining screening applications. They are available in carbon steel and stainless steel, and come in a range of aperture configurations including square, slotted, and hooked edge options.

Vibrating high tensile screens are manufactured from high tensile spring steel wire, which offers superior abrasion and fatigue resistance compared to standard carbon steel. This makes them the preferred choice for heavy-duty quarrying, mining, and aggregate processing applications where screen life and resistance to wire breakage under continuous high-frequency vibration are critical.

Screen blinding occurs when particles that are close to the aperture size become lodged in or across the openings, progressively reducing the effective open area of the screen. It is one of the most common causes of reduced screening efficiency and throughput loss.

The most effective way to reduce blinding is to select a screen construction that is engineered to minimise it. We supply screens in Square Harp and Tria Harp weave constructions, which are specifically designed to virtually eliminate blinding by reducing the contact area between individual wires. Screen tension, screen angle, and material moisture content also play a role. Our team can advise on the right screen construction for your specific material and operating conditions.

Yes. Woven wire mesh covers a very broad specification range, from coarse apertures suited to industrial screening and separation through to fine cloth measured in microns for precision filtration. At the fine end of the range, we supply Hollander weave cloth, which uses heavy warp wires and closely spaced fine weft wires to achieve extremely tight apertures. This makes it suitable for demanding filtration applications in the pharmaceutical, chemical, and food processing sectors where tight particle retention is required.