News


Reflecting 30 years of growth

June 2024 News

Starting out in 1994 to serve the metropolitan area with a range of low-voltage electric motors, WEG Africa’s Cape Town branch has grown. Testament to this is the fact that it has again outgrown its premises, and last year relocated to larger, well-equipped facilities in Richmond Business Park. This enhanced its service capability, while making life easier for its customers.

“The branch had humble beginnings 30 years ago, with three staff members – the manager, an administrative assistant and a storeman,” says branch manager, Marthinus Greeff. “Our dedication and commitment to customers soon put us on a growth path which has continued to this day. Our experienced staff complement now stands at 35 people.”

Another sign of success is the geographical area that the branch now covers – from Cape Town upwards to the north as far as Upington, and east to the town of George. A wider range of industrial sectors now also reach out for solutions from WEG Africa’s Cape Town branch. These include mining, cement, petrochemicals, water and wastewater, building, food processing, materials handling and heating, and ventilation and air conditioning. He notes that a particularly exciting recent development has been in agriculture, where the branch serves farmers who want to use more renewable energy.

“Perhaps the most exciting aspect of our growth over the years is that we have become a real solutions provider to our customers, not just a supplier of products,” he explains. “We also make an important contribution to reducing our customers’ carbon footprint and energy costs.”

The company’s comprehensive product range covers low voltage electric motors from 0,18 to 500 kW. These are available in energy efficiency categories from IE1 to IE4. The branch provides high-voltage electric motors up to 11 kV and up to 6000 kW for demanding applications such as mill motors on mining operations. “We expanded into variable speed drives (VSDs) quite early on, and offer low-voltage VSDs from 0,18 to 500 kW,” he says. “Our medium-voltage VSDs range from 1 MW upwards, in 3,3/6,6 kV and 11 kV.”

Another advance made by the branch was to open an electrical panel division a decade ago. This facility manufactures solutions by combining WEG’s wide range of quality components. These are supplied to customers across the Western Cape in enclosures which are electrical type tested and non-type tested.

“We are also able to supply starters, VSD boxes, and motor control centres, all custom-made to the required specifications,” explains Greeff. “Our motor workshop facilities allow us to conduct many motor modifications, including fitment of space heaters and temperature monitoring devices such as thermostats, thermistors, and Pt-100 (RTD) temperature detectors. We can also fit special bearings as required by each customer’s application, ensuring we can deliver a high standard of quality in our value-added offerings.”

This in-house capability also reduces lead times and optimises cost effectiveness for the customer. The branch has its own in-house repair facility for all WEG drives and softstarters, staffed by three dedicated technicians. “This enables us to do all the repairs locally, without the need for these products to be sent to our head office in Johannesburg,” he says. “This gives customers the advantage of fast and efficient turnaround times.”

In the new premises, the sales counter area has been enlarged to facilitate quicker collections; Greeff notes that even the location of the new offices will please customers, as the road design and planning means much better traffic conditions. “Training remains a key value-add for our customers, so we designed our new building with an even bigger training room,” says Greeff. “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 in Cape Town is fully certified, and is presented by the company’s dedicated training officer. Trainees and customers receive this training at no cost, as a service from the company. “Our new training facility includes training benches for VSD and softstarter training, where we can accommodate 12 to 18 trainees at a time,” he says. “Training on motors will also continue, and we can have 22 trainees per session.”

In keeping with WEG’s global commitment to sustainability and a low carbon future, the WEG Africa Cape Town office has been recognised by the Green Buildings Council South Africa as achieving Level 1 building emissions. Rooftop photovoltaic panels reduce the carbon footprint and energy costs, while keeping operations powered during loadshedding.


Credit(s)



Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

Reinstatement opportunity for ECSA registration
News
In 2023 the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) announced a special opportunity for engineers in South Africa to reinstate their registration status if it had been cancelled. This exclusive offer is available until the end of August 2024.

Read more...
Call for abstracts: 2025 SAIMC User Advisory Council Summit
News
The 2025 SAIMC User Advisory Council Summit (formerly MESA Africa Summit) is calling for abstracts.

Read more...
Generators: The muscle in the new energy mix
WEG Africa Electrical Power & Protection
Contrary to their reputation as noisy and dirty, generators are a key part of modern energy supplies. Generators are reliable electricity workhorses in times of need. But they are also becoming welcome additions to modern energy mixes through efficiency improvements, noise reduction and flexible design choices.

Read more...
Festo 100th Anniversary: Celebrating a century-long legacy of innovation and commitment
News
Festo has officially begun celebrating 100 years of groundbreaking technology, commitment and enduring partnerships. To kick off this historic milestone celebration, their Customer Innovation Day and ThankYou Party series brought together customers, partners and employees to reflect on their journey and look ahead to an

Read more...
Bearings International fosters dynamic customer partnerships
News
Bearings International has consistently set the benchmarks in innovation and excellence as a leading distributor of bearings, power transmission and interconnected mechanical consumables that sustainably facilitate and optimise operations for mining and industrial customers across Southern Africa.

Read more...
Innomotics and Danfoss Drives strengthen partnership to deliver comprehensive motor and drive solutions
News
Innomotics and Danfoss Drives have announced the next phase of their strategic, non-exclusive partnership. This collaboration is designed to meet the growing demand for comprehensive motor and drive solutions, ensuring customers receive high-quality, efficient and compatible products

Read more...
Africa’s industrial revolution accelerates
News
As Africa undergoes a rapid industrial transformation, AATF Connect 2025 emerges as the premier platform to showcase innovation, drive collaboration, and spark discussions that will shape the continent’s industrial future.

Read more...
From the editor's desk: A good servant and a bad master
Technews Publishing (SA Instrumentation & Control) News
In our new AI-generated world it was inevitable that the Nobel Committee would have noticed. And last November two pioneers of artificial intelligence, John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton, won the Nobel Prize ...

Read more...
Festo 100th Anniversary: Celebrating a century-long legacy of innovation and commitment
Festo South Africa News
Festo has officially begun celebrating 100 years of groundbreaking technology, commitment and enduring partnerships. To kick off this historic milestone celebration, their Customer Innovation Day and ThankYou Party series brought together customers, partners and employees to reflect on their journey and look ahead to an exciting future.

Read more...
German Chancellor visits Beckhoff at Hannover Messe
Beckhoff Automation News
As part of the traditional Hannover Messe opening tour, Federal Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz visited German company, Beckhoff Automation. Hans Beckhoff, managing director and owner of Beckhoff Automation, presented his company and its comprehensive expertise in the field of software and AI.

Read more...