Festo at WorldSkills 2011
January 2012
News
Festo, a founding partner of the WorldSkills competition, supplied equipment comprising a Robotino, gyroscope, inductive sensor and a forklift to all teams competing in the 2011 challenge. Festo South Africa supported four young local talents who attended the event in London from 5-8 October.
Tremaine Ferreira and Allan van den Berg from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), and Tulani Mzayidume and Kumbulani Sigenu from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) faced a strong field from 50 countries in 46 skills areas. The NMMU team entered the Mobile Robotics competition and earned 10th place overall. This competition was won by Korea, followed by Japan and Indonesia. The CPUT team competed in the Mechatronics competition, in which Japan and Brazil both won gold and Sweden and Korea each earned a bronze medal.
“Festo South Africa is proud of the commitment and dedication shown by the youngsters. We believe that they learned a lot from attending and competing, and that these skills will stand them in good stead in future. It will also add to the local knowledge base in this exciting field,” said Horst Weinert, manager, Festo Didactic, South Africa.
The best performing Festo team was the German trainees, Christian Schweizer and Tobias Dietrich, who finished in seventh place overall just 32 points behind the winners in the Mechatronics competition, Japan.
For more information contact Tracey Swart, Festo, +27 (0)11 971 5560, [email protected], www.festo.co.za
Further reading:
Helping mines get results from water improvements
News
South African mines operate under constrained, water-scarce conditions where every investment must be justified. Xylem’s Chetan Mistry explains how the right water technology partner helps mines prioritise high-value water systems across the mining lifecycle.
Read more...
From solar to water, onsite plants are the next big industrial resilience shift
News
South African industrial operators who secured their energy supply with onsite solar generation now face the same imperative with water. Robert Erasmus of Sanitech argues that onsite water treatment is the next essential pillar of business continuity.
Read more...
From the editor's desk: Pushing engineering to the limit
Technews Publishing
News
Among the many things robots can do, it’s a lot of fun to follow how fast they are. They go from the Boston Dynamics cheetah, which first reached a record-breaking speed of 45,5 km/h, to the robot Charlie
...
Read more...
Schneider Electric concludes Innovation Summit Middle East and Africa
Schneider Electric South Africa
News
Schneider Electric's Innovation Summit Middle East and Africa, held in Abu Dhabi with more than 2500 attendees, explored the convergence of energy, AI and industrial software, launched an Industrial AI study and announced the NEST Accelerator Programme for energy and industrial tech startups.
Read more...
VEGA brings measurement expertise beyond mining to Electra Mining Africa 2026
VEGA Controls SA
News
VEGA used its Electra Mining Africa 2026 stand to demonstrate that its level and pressure measurement instruments extend well beyond mining, covering water, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and oil and gas applications across the continent.
Read more...
Sustainable solutions for sugar
Bearing Man Group t/a BMG
News
BMG received a Special Commendation Exhibition Stand Award at the South African Sugar Technologists’ Association Congress, where it showcased an integrated turnkey drive solution designed to simplify the upgrading of ageing crushing-mill drive systems.
Read more...
Measure, Manage, Maintain: The operating model behind SA’s water resilience
Siemens South Africa
News
South Africa’s growing water crisis is putting pressure on infrastructure, municipalities and the economy. Siemens highlights how digital technologies, smarter operations and safe water reuse could help shift the country from crisis response towards a more resilient and sustainable water future.
Read more...
VEGA brings measurement expertise beyond mining to Electra Mining Africa 2026
VEGA Controls SA
News
VEGA used its Electra Mining Africa 2026 stand to demonstrate that its level and pressure measurement instruments extend well beyond mining, covering water, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and oil and gas applications across the continent.
Read more...
Schneider Electric concludes Innovation Summit Middle East and Africa
Schneider Electric South Africa
News
Schneider Electric’s Innovation Summit Middle East and Africa, held in Abu Dhabi with more than 2500 attendees, explored the convergence of energy, AI and industrial software, launched an Industrial AI study and announced the NEST Accelerator Programme.
Read more...
RX Africa and Messe Muenchen India join forces to strengthen business platforms in Africa
RX Africa
News
Messe Muenchen India has announced a strategic partnership with RX Africa to strengthen the scale, reach and market impact of its premier co-located trade fairs, analytica Lab Africa and IFAT Africa, ahead of their 2027 editions.
Read more...