Yaskawa Southern Africa has announced the creation of a brand new Business Unit called Drives, Motion and Controls (DMC). Motion Control’s editor paid a visit to CEO, Terry Rosenberg, to find out more about this exciting new development. Headquartered in Japan, Yaskawa is a leading international manufacturer of industrial robots, machine controllers, servo drives, medium voltage inverters and frequency inverters. Three years ago the company acquired Robotic Systems, which had been successfully representing its Motoman Robotics range in South Africa for over 20 years. This became Yaskawa Southern Africa, a full subsidiary of Yaskawa Europe.
Following this acquisition, Yaskawa Southern Africa had ongoing discussions with Yaskawa Europe with the aim of broadening the footprint of its portfolio in this country. Besides robots, Yaskawa’s substantial range of related products includes a portfolio by Vipa in Germany, another recent acquisition by Yaskawa Europe. This combination of Vipa’s portfolio of PLCs, I/O modules and HMI with Yaskawa’s inverter, AC servo and robot product lines enabled Yaskawa to offer comprehensive automation solutions in a wide range of markets, including those where electrical power and energy efficient systems play an important role. Typical markets dominated by Yaskawa include packaging, food, renewable energies, semiconductors, pumps, passenger lifts and textiles.
The result is that from the 1st of March 2016, Yaskawa Southern Africa now has a DMC Business Unit in addition to its robotics Business Unit. “We fall into the European group and its policy is to enhance and grow all subsidiaries in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions. Yaskawa Europe wants every subsidiary to represent its entire product offering, not only its robotics range,” explains CEO, Terry Rosenberg. “So with the goal of growing the company globally, this is a consequent step to create an additional division in South Africa known as the Drive, Motion and Controls (DMC) Business Unit. DMC encompasses all Yaskawa’s other products – including motors, servo motors, servo controls and PLCs. It will be our responsibility to substantially grow the southern African DMC business. It will be run as a business unit within Yaskawa Southern Africa so it won’t impinge on our current successful robotics business, but rather enhance it. Drives, motors, controls and robots all go hand in hand in the manufacturing environment.”
Rosenberg adds that this puts Yaskawa Southern Africa in a unique position where the company can supply, support and service machine builders, machine integrators and manufacturers with a total package and become a total solution provider. He continues that in addition to the creation of this new business unit, it will have the responsibility to support Yaskawa’s existing agents, distributors and partners in South Africa, who have for many years represented DMC-type products on behalf of Yaskawa, but on a direct Europe-South Africa basis. For more than 25 years Varispeed, a member of the Hudaco group, has been the partner of the Drives & Motion Division of Yaskawa Europe; and equally Anytech, a subsidiary of the Directech Group, has represented Vipa products for over 15 years.
Rosenberg believes that there is substantial market potential in South Africa. Yaskawa will concentrate on marketing, promotions and exhibitions to earn a share of the market, as the company’s intention is to grow, and it is making a substantial investment in stock and training facilities. The company will have a substantial stockholding of all its products to support its partners, distributors and end-users. This will grow into its existing branch network in Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Durban. “We have the facilities, and the infrastructure is already there,” he says.
Yaskawa is currently recruiting for marketing, sales and technical positions. “We are technology driven and we need qualified people on board,” Rosenberg adds. “Although Yaskawa is big internationally, in South Africa we are still a family business and bringing people on board is a lifelong commitment. In the last 30 years our attrition level turnover has been 0,1%. We form long-term relationships with the people who join our company, they are part of our South African family, and we don’t hire and fire,” he concludes.
For more information contact Terry Rosenberg, Yaskawa Southern Africa, +27 (0)11 608 3182, [email protected], www.yaskawa.za.com
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