Established in 1995 in KwaZulu-Natal, Abacus Automation is a Siemens preferred systems integration provider of automation and drive products. Current business development director, Warren Scott, started the company from grass roots together with partner Bryan Smith. Over time they built a thriving company with its head office in Pinetown and a branch in Midrand, Gauteng.
![Some key members of the Abacus team [L to R]: Bryan Smith (sales consulting), Trevor Dart (technical sales), Nadia Maharaj (project administration), Bruce Burton (consulting engineer), Belinda Scott (finance), Nico Erasmus (project management) and Warren Scott (development)](articles/SA Instrumentation & Control - Published by Technews/C14196.jpg)
“Our first customer was in the blow moulding industry and we slowly built up a base of customers across the manufacturing spectrum. Business in the beginning was a continuous cycle of looking for opportunities and then executing the work. This continued for about two years until we attained a critical mass of about 50 customers and had grown to four engineers. Our name then became established in the industry’s mind and customers started to contact us,” Scott said.
As the customer base grew, the company appointed a number of technical and administrative staff to ensure they could provide customers with the full automation project package. Alliance partners were also established in order to handle larger turnkey projects and have access to experts in select disciplines. The company currently has 21 employees made up of eight engineers, two trainee engineers, three technical salesmen, one CAD engineer, one panel builder and six administrative/managerial staff. The CC has five members and has a Level 4 BEE certification.
“The projects we have undertaken in South Africa and internationally have given us in-house expertise in chemical reactors, motion control drive applications, OEM and machine upgrade solutions, scada, custom developed computer software and GPRS telemetry. We complete about 50 projects a year and they range in size from S7200 micro PLC applications to multimillion-Rand projects involving multiple drives, PLCs, HMIs and scada,” Scott explained.
Some of the many notable projects undertaken by Abacus Automation include:
Tuna Plant upgrade – an international project with complete electrical and automation upgrade of 17 machines including the networking and scada. This was completed by an eight-man team during a five-week plant shutdown following three months of preparation.
Aluminium foil splicing line – unwinding, splicing and rewinding of aluminium foil rolls carrying 5 tons of 30-300 micron gauge foil processed at 400 m/min.
Carbide press (three-stage mould) – solution design for this complex high accuracy press includes cam profiling of three servo axes and one hydraulic axis. Multiple profile selections are transferred via Profibus to the servo drives and hydraulic controller.
As a Siemens Global Solution Partner, Abacus Automation has been involved in many joint venture projects with Siemens as well as the development of new products for Siemens Germany. “We were one of the first systems integrators appointed by Siemens in South Africa and we have received the award for the most innovative solution five times in the past seven years. We are very proud of this accolade,” Scott said.
“Innovation is the hallmark of Abacus Automation’s success as we utilise the intellectual ability of our engineers to provide serviceable, cost effective, high performance solutions that rise to the customer’s challenges and demands. Concentrating our knowledge base and using a single preferred supplier, Siemens, has streamlined us tremendously. The confidence in the quality of the products and absolute understanding of their capabilities and restrictions means we will always specify the most cost effective solution that exceeds a customer’s specification. This strategy coupled with a Christian ethos is what we trust will carry us successfully through the next 15 years,” Scott concluded.
For more information contact Warren Scott, Abacus Automation, +27 (0)31 702 5767, [email protected], www.abacus-automation.co.za
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