Starting out in 1994 to serve the Cape Town metropolitan area with a range of low voltage electric motors, WEG Africa’s Cape Town branch has grown in size and the range of products and solutions it offers.
WEG Africas new Cape Town premises reflect how the branch has grown
WEG Africa’s new Cape Town premises reflect how the branch has grown as has its range of solutions and services.
Testament to this is that it has again outgrown its premises and, last year, relocated to larger, well-equipped facilities in Richmond Business Park. This enables it to enhance its services to customers.
Branch Manager Marthinus Greeff says, “30 years ago, the branch was established with three staff members – the manager, an administrative assistant, and a storeman. Our dedication to customers soon put us on a growth path, which has continued to this day. The experienced staff complement at Richmond Park now numbers 35 people.”
Another sign of success is the geographical area that the branch now covers – from Cape Town northwards as far as Upington and eastwards to the town of George. And it reaches a wider range of industrial sectors. These include the mining, cement, petrochemical, water and wastewater sectors as well as building, food processing, materials handling and heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Greeff highlights the agricultural sector as a new field of development, where the branch serves farmers who are keen to use more renewable energy.
“Perhaps the most exciting aspect of our growth over the years is that we have become a solutions provider to our customers – more than simply a supplier of products. Hence, we can also assist customers in reducing their carbon footprint and energy costs.”
WEG Africa’s comprehensive product range covers low voltage electric motors from 0.18 kW to 500 kW. These are available in energy efficiency categories from IE1 to IE4. The branch also provides high voltage electric motors up to 11 kV and 6 000 kW – for demanding applications such as mill motors in mining operations.
“We expanded into variable speed drives (VSDs) quite early on and offer low voltage VSDs from 0.18 kW to 500 kW, and medium voltage VSDs from 1 MW upwards, in 3.3/6.6 kV and 11 kV,” Greeff says.
Additionally, a decade ago the branch opened an Electrical Panel Division. This facility manufactures solutions using the wide range of WEG components and enclosures that are electrical type tested or non-type tested.
“We can also supply starters, VSD boxes and motor control centres (MCCs) – all custom-made to the required specifications,” Greeff adds. “Our motor workshop facilities allow us to conduct various motor modifications, including fitment of space heaters and temperature monitoring devices such as thermostats, thermistors and Pt-100 (RTD) temperature detectors as well as the fitment of special bearings, where required by the customer’s application, ensuring we deliver a high standard of quality in all our solutions.”
This in-house capability reduces lead times and optimises cost effectiveness for the customer, he points out. The branch also has its own in-house repair facility for WEG drives and soft starters, staffed by three dedicated technicians.
“This enables us to do all the repairs locally, without needing to send products to our head office in Johannesburg,” he says. “And it gives customers the benefit of fast and efficient turnaround times.”
Greeff notes too that customers value the training that WEG Africa offers, as a service and at no cost, and the new premises accommodate a bigger training room. “With our technology advancing constantly, and our range of solutions growing, there is always considerable demand for us to train our customers’ employees.”
He highlights that the training provided by WEG Africa is fully certified and is presented by the company’s training officer.
The new training facility includes training benches for VSDs and soft starters, as well as for motors, and can accommodate between 18 and 22 trainees per session.
In keeping with WEG’s global commitment to sustainability and a low carbon future, the WEG Africa Cape Town office in Richmond Business Park has been recognised by the Green Building Council South Africa for achieving Level 1 building emissions. The use of solar photovoltaic energy generated via rooftop panels at the building reduces the carbon footprint and energy costs, and keeps operations powered during load shedding.
For more information visit: www.weg.net
