Now that the 2014 PneuDrive Challenge Engineering Design Competition has been concluded, SEW-Eurodrive and Pneumax, co-sponsors of the competition, have announced that students will need to design a ‘Game Changer’ for the food and beverage industry in 2015.
DTI statistics for commodities associated with the food and beverage industry report that the industry was valued at more than R132 billion in 2013. It is also an industry that the South African government has identified as one of the top three priority areas for creating jobs, with a plan to see the creation of 145 000 jobs in agro-processing by 2020. Through challenging young mechanical, electronic and mechatronic engineering students to design applications which improve productivity in ways that benefit the bottom line, the sponsors have created a valuable platform to bring academic potential and the real needs of businesses in this industry closer together.
Game changers needed
Food and beverage companies are under pressure worldwide. Small, medium and large businesses in this constantly changing and competitive industry face a myriad of essentially unpredictable challenges. Adverse weather conditions, legislation changes, rising commodity prices, higher transportation costs and consumers becoming increasingly conscious of what they purchase are a few to mention.
Large companies have more resources and better access to capital to address challenges. However, it is the small-to-medium size processors and manufacturers that have to proactively find solutions to these pressures if they want to maintain or grow market share. Such businesses, which often lack easy access to finance, need to unlock potential growth opportunities by implementing efficient and well-managed systems. It is here where innovative ideas from talented engineering students could play an important role.
Technology + innovative engineering + talent = growth potential
The importance of offering students access to the latest drive and pneumatic technology, and how these can be used practically in industry, cannot be stressed enough. With the rollout of the competition to universities around the country at the beginning of each year, the sponsors typically find that students have very limited, if no knowledge at all, about the latest technology that is available. This suggests a serious gap in student understanding of how the technology can be used to improve business and manufacturing processes.
Started in 2008, the PneuDrive Challenge has proven itself as a successful model that can accelerate the introduction of young engineers to the technology. In 2015, the competition organisers will be on the lookout for talented young engineers brave enough to think out of the box, and with the potential to design applications that could make a significant impact in the food and beverage industry. Roadshows, technology workshops and coaching interventions throughout the year will aim to introduce, support and nurture students so that they can take a step into industry with confidence.
The winners of the competition will receive a 10-day, all expenses paid trip to Germany and Italy where they will have an opportunity to present their designs to the head offices of the sponsor companies. SEW-Eurodrive and Pneumax also offer more than R300 000 worth of equipment to competing universities to ensure that future students are afforded the opportunity to experiment with the latest in drive engineering and pneumatic technology.
For more information contact Rene Rose, SEW-Eurodrive, +27 (0)11 248 7000, rrose@sew.co.za, www.sew.co.za or Nicci Solomons, Set Point Group, +27 (0)11 923 7000, nicci@sethold.com, www.pneumax.co.za
| Tel: | +27 11 248 7000 |
| Email: | info@sew.co.za |
| www: | www.sew-eurodrive.co.za |
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