According to Willem Strydom, Business Development Electronics Manager at SEW-EURODRIVE, there has been a strong trend in recent years of companies wanting to deal directly with original equipment suppliers (OEMs). The preference is moving toward a single source of supply to reduce cost and risk, and to simplify the supply chain.

“The market in many industries from mining to agriculture has made it clear that they can no longer afford ‘middlemen’ in the procurement process,” says Strydom. “Companies want to deal with one supplier, preferably a specialised OEM who has a depth of expertise and can stand behind their solutions with the necessary support.”

Meeting customer needs

Responding to these customer needs, SEW-EURODRIVE has been pursuing a strategy of complementing its existing range by steadily adding more value – or closing the loop. Control panels are another vital aspect of most contracts in which the company is involved, so it has actively moved into this space to make it easier for customers.

“There are relatively few OEMs in our field in this region, which gives us the ability to broaden our offering while giving customers high quality solutions and peace of mind,” he says. “With one of the largest sales forces in the country with on the ground representation across Africa, SEW-EURODRIVE delivers outstanding service levels to support our depth of mechanical and electronic capability.”

The company’s in-house engineering team designs control panels for specific applications where its drive technology is being applied, and even provides the programming required. The local assembly of these units also aligns with many industries’ efforts to support the local economy and secure their supply chains against possible disruption.

“Our customers are looking for the same high quality of ancillary equipment as they receive with all our other products and solutions,” says Strydom. “With our established reputation in the market, customers trust that we will deliver what they need.”

The quality design and manufacture of SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa’s panels and enclosures can be suited to any customer requirement, including floor mounts or wall mounts – and with ingress protection (IP) ratings up to IP65 or whatever the application demands. The panels can also be supplied for containerised solutions such as e-houses, which are increasingly popular around Africa on remote mining sites as well as other industrial applications.

“While our focus in the past has been on our specialised componentry and solutions, our customers have requested our broader involvement in their projects – leading to us entering this important space,” he concludes. “This has further cemented our relationships with customers, through being able to assume responsibility for a wider scope.”

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SEW-EURODRIVE has an extensive and proven reputation for providing reliable high performance solutions for mixing and agitation applications in various industries globally. Significantly, the X.e agitator units have proven suitable for mixing and blending liquids and other materials in the harsh African operating environment.

“The X.e agitator units are ideal for applications where high power ratings are required for stirring and mixing materials, and what is significant is that we can customise these agitator units to suit the customer’s specifications,” Jarrod Futter, Engineering Manager at SEW-EURODRIVE explains. “For example, we offer various bearing and shafting options and modular systems for the unit which can be selected to meet the customer’s budget and expectations.”

Due to the customer’s requirements for nine low-ratio and moderately high torque and force application, the X3FSM240e HD version was selected. The selection process depends on multiple factors, including the input speed, motor power, loading distance, axial loading and most importantly, the radial loading in the application and required output speed,” Futter adds.

X.e agitator

The X.e agitator differs completely from previous X Series vertical drives. The X.e agitator unit is purpose designed for mixing and agitation, focusing on a stronger and dynamically improved housing. This allows for higher radial load applications, with a maximised bearing distance and an intelligent housing split above the maximum oil level to minimise potential leaks completely and offer better servicing and maintenance capabilities. The X.e agitator also features a new robust, integrated foot design with multiple aligned foot holes to allow for easy mounting and stiffness as well as huge strides in thermal improvement.

During the X.e agitator design process, SEW-EURODRIVE applied the ‘digital-twin’ concept that ties real-world testing to a digital Finite Element Analysis. Explaining the process, Futter says this methodology allows the matching of real-time figures during testing to the digital analysis, achieving the same results. “This enabled many cost benefits, minimised the need for physical testing and allowed the team to see and solve problems before they happened. The digital-twin concept is a more energy efficient and environmentally friendly solution for development and testing, and minimises potential waste,” Futter adds.

As an example, he says that the extended bearing distance could be further optimised along with the oil flow characteristics. Using fluid simulation the piping could be optimised internally, allowing the designers to see how the flow occurs before creating a physical unit to evaluate the theory. The simulation results could then be checked with real-time tests to ensure the oil flow occurs as designed and optimal lubrication is achieved.

The X.e agitator unit has a unique application-specific reinforced and extended bearing distance concept, with the distance between the lower and upper output shaft bearing mounted further apart. This creates a greater shaft distance between these loading points, which allows the low speed shaft to handle higher radial forces. “In layman’s terms – the lever has been made longer to move a larger load,” Futter says.

The X.e agitator unit not only features a pressurised internal lubrication system that allows for continuous oil flow to all upper bearings and gears to ensure the units are well lubricated, but the unique labyrinth seal ensures protection from external particles that may damage the oil seals.

Offering three sizes with various torque ranges and gear units, SEW-EURODRIVE offers client-specific products all safely encapsulated inside the gearbox for client and product protection.

SEW-EURODRIVE is committed to sustainable engineering solutions, and the X.e agitator unit is testament to this. The housing has been developed for easy servicing and maintenance, attributed to sustainable long term use. Therefore, components are easily replaceable. The efficiency gains are attributed to using the X.e series gearing, which has been extensively adapted from the original X- series. Using standard existing components, the X.e agitator series required less design time to achieve the final product.

With five production plants worldwide and a footprint in more than 50 countries, SEW-EURODRIVE offers a quick turnaround in aftersales support and aggressive lead times. “We are looking forward to making history with delivering the first nine X.e agitator units in the world and offering world-class aftersales support,” Futter concludes.

The post SEW-EURODRIVE SA secures the group’s world-first X.e agitator gear units order appeared first on Mining Business Africa.

According to Zander Claassens, Training Manager at SEW-EURODRIVE, the portal allows customers to not only order products or parts, but also to find support in the form of documentation and CAD data. To maintain the personal touch, there is even a dedicated person to assist customers with their online requests from 7am to 9pm every day.

“The online purchasing portal offers users many useful tools and functions, valuable information and practical assistance,” says Claassens. “It is clear that many customers are embracing online procurement platforms, especially since the Covid-19 lockdowns, and we are excited to further enhance our sales and support channels in this way.”

Online services

He highlights that the very wide and dynamic range of configurations in SEW-EURODRIVE’s offering demanded that the functions of the shopping cart be specially developed to make it as user-friendly as possible for customers.

“We have developed four different functions that customers can choose from when adding a product to the shopping cart,” he explains. “The first is through our product configurator, which guides customers in configuring their required equipment – using drop down options from our vast range.”

The next channel would be to use the spare parts or replacement product selection function, where one of two routes can be chosen. In the first, the customer can make use of the SEW-EURODRIVE serial number found on the product nameplate. Entering that serial number is a quick and simple way of request a replacement – and ensuring that the exact configuration is replicated.

“Another route enables customers to find an SEW-EURODRIVE replacement product for a third-party drive – in other words, which is not an SEW-EURODRIVE item,” he said. “Our online tool will not understand the non-SEW-EURODRIVE serial number, of course, but if the specific criteria are supplied, we will know what the customer needs and we will supply.”

Registered customers who have already been trading with SEW-EURODRIVE can also use a third option – a customer transaction overview – to help select what they are looking for. When they log into the online purchasing portal, they will be able to view their history of quotations and orders. This makes it simple to re-order a component that has been purchased before, as they can select the item from a previous transaction or quotation, says Claassens.

“Lastly, customers can use the drive selection assistant – a smart online tool that guides the user through three simple steps to find the right drive,” he says. “The first step is to select the application, and the second requires more application-related information; the third step then presents the customer with product configurations and suggestions – from which they can choose.”

He reiterates that customers wishing to transact on the portal can find support from a real person behind the portal, who can provide hands-on advice and assistance. Customers can also rest easy that the security of the portal is world class.

“Our cyber-security is handled by a dedicated IT team in our group headquarters in Germany,” he explains. “Our customer and transaction data are double-encrypted when working online, while the online support is run on hyper-text transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) and is backed up on a geographical redundancy cloud-based system.”

Another security precaution is that online purchasing is not permitted using credit cards, as the company still follows its normal payment protocols with customers once they have placed items in the online shopping cart.

The post SEW-EURODRIVE in SA launches online purchasing for customers appeared first on Mining Business Africa.

Built and equipped at a cost of R200 million and modelled on SEW-EURODRIVE’s showcase factory in Graben-Neudorf in Germany, the facility – which accommodates approximately 150 employees– makes extensive use of the latest technologies to effectively network people, processes, services and data.

The investment reflects SEW-EURODRIVE’s confidence in the future of both South Africa and the African continent. The company points out that Africa is regarded as the world’s next growth market. Home to 17 % of the global population in 2019, it is expected to account for 26 % by 2050, as well as an estimated US$16,2 trillion of combined consumer and business spending.

Commenting on the investment, Raymond Obermeyer, Managing Director of SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa, says: “This is a bold step that demonstrates our commitment to being part of solving South Africa’s problems and developing the economies of countries across Africa.”

SEW-EURODRIVE currently services 23 countries throughout the African continent from South Africa.

“With the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) protocol, which came into effect in early 2021, and a push to grow manufacturing on the continent, we are expecting African markets to account for around 50 % of our turnover within the next few years,” says Obermeyer.

The new facility will play a pivotal role in allowing SEW-EURODRIVE to service the burgeoning Africa market efficiently. It houses not only the group’s African head office but also an assembly plant for industrial gears and electric drives, expanded central warehousing and repair facilities. It also encompasses assembly and repair of all VSD’s, AGV’s and Servo motor technology. SEW-EURODRIVE also employs multiple mechanical, electrical and mechatronic engineers to further support technical customer queries.

In addition, it accommodates SEW-EURODRIVE’s unrivalled Drive Academy, which delivers product awareness and maintenance training to customers. Online and virtual AR training and support is also now available, in direct support of SEW-EURODRIVE’s social development plans.

The expanded warehousing gives SEW-EURODRIVE the ability to increase stock levels, a huge benefit given the problems currently affecting the global supply chain. It means the company’s customers in Africa will be able to able to get orders – for new equipment or spares – fulfilled with minimal delay.

“The new facility allows us to service our customers more efficiently, reducing the high cost of unplanned downtime and allowing them to adhere to their scheduled maintenance programmes,” Obermeyer states. “Ensuring our customers’ continued productivity has been the key driver behind the development of our new premises.”

Over a three to five-year period, SEW-EURODRIVE will incorporate further 4IR technologies, including automated assembly machines and guided vehicles, into the Aeroton factory at a cost of an additional R200 million.

“We are working hard to shape the factory of tomorrow with system solutions for Industry 4.0 and a focus on raising productivity and implementing smart maintenance while, at the same time, providing ergonomic support for the people working in these facilities,” notes Obermeyer.

SEW-EURODRIVE has used its own technology to automate operations at the Aeroton facility, with the main production conveyor being based on the company’s high-tech MOVI-C® all-in-one modular drive solution which is now being introduced to the African market. MOVI-C® had its official African launch at the recent Electra Mining Africa 2022 show in Johannesburg.

In essence, MOVI-C®C is a suite of products – which includes controllers (PLCs), variable speed drives, gear motors and servomotors – that automates drive applications, whether they be simple or very complex. The installation – which has resulted in a 40 % productivity gain – includes the MOVIGEAR® mechatronic drive system. The MOVIGEAR® units – which combine an energy-efficient IE5 motor, gear unit and corresponding drive electronics in a single housing – control and drive the production conveyor. The modular nature of the installation means it can easily be extended in the future should the need arise.

The assembly line for geared motors can accommodate 7 000 units per month while assembly of industrial gear (IG) units is currently being ramped up to between 100 to 140 IG units per month, doubling current capacity. New spray booths and automated oil filling stations have been installed to cater for these volumes.

All local assembly is conducted in accordance with SEW-EURODRIVE’s global quality standards, with the assembly of VSDs, servo motors and other sensitive equipment being conducted in an isolated clean area – with copper grounding and anti-static mats – of the facility. The assembly and logistics processes are also now incorporated into SEW-EURODRIVE’s SAP system, which gives better traceability and visibility of all orders as they move through assembly processes.

Among the products to be produced at the new facility are SEW-EURODRIVE’s modular air-cooled condenser (MACC) drives, which have already experienced excellent sales in South Africa with two units having been installed recently in the Northern Cape and a further 24 units at a Limpopo site.

Forming part of SEW-EURODRIVE’s M-Series modular IG range, the MACC is a purpose-designed gearbox solution for driving the modern fan-based air-cooled condenser systems used in steam- driven power generation units.

SEW-EURODRIVE will stock a single casing size with multiple components and specific ratios depending on which power station requires the drive. This modular approach will enable the new facility to custom assemble MACCs at a rate of approximately two to three units a week, drastically cutting the long lead times typically associated with equipment of this type.

Other notable products to be locally assembled include the New Generation X.e Series industrial gears; the P-series planetary industrial gears for high torque mining applications; short importation and commission lead times for mill drive solutions with power packs; electric motors; and the customised single-stage M1 range of speed reducers, which consists of 37 options for fine tuning a drive’s output speed and torque.

Illustrating the benefits of the new Johannesburg facility, SEW-EURODRIVE anticipates being able to assemble and test customised M1 units within two to three weeks from an order being placed. Previously they had to be imported from overseas with lead times of between 16 and 20 weeks.

Quick facts

• Purpose-designed facility offering 26 000 m 2 of floor and office space
• Serves as the hub for SEW-EURODRIVE’s fast-expanding African operations
• Allows delivery times to customers to be cut dramatically
• Operates in accordance with SEW-EURODRIVE’s demanding global quality standards
• Incorporates the latest 4IR technologies
• Features a main production conveyor based on the MOVI-C® modular drive solution

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