Technical Foundation to Expand Northwards

“Building on years of planning and proactive investment, we are successfully rolling out our ‘African Strategy’ plans to get closer to customers all over the continent,” says SEW-Eurodrive South Africa Managing Director, Raymond Obermeyer. “To do this effectively, we are continuing to strengthen our foundation of technical capability and expertise.”

With a firm footprint in many southern African countries such as Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia, the company is extending its reach northwards into the likes of Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania and Morocco. At its 26 000 m² headquarters in Aeroton near Johannesburg, which the company occupied in 2022, work has already begun on expanding its footprint by building a second adjacent facility.

Appointing key staff

“This service centre will further support our expansion of sales, support, engineering and training capabilities,” Raymond explains. “We have begun appointing key staff for the facility, and will add another 20 to 30 employees over the course of this year.”

He points out that many local gearbox users face the challenge of inadequate support for products being sold onto the market, and highlights that SEW-Eurodrive SA focuses on being well equipped to service and repair all its products.

Same high standard

“As one of the few gearbox OEMs in the country with advanced design and engineering infrastructure, we can also make use of our group’s world class facilities in Germany,” he explains. “This even allows us to service and repair the products of other OEMs – and to the same high standard as the original item.”

The new service centre facility in Aeroton will house the company’s existing industrial gearbox repairs division as well as an expanded Drive Academy which trains staff and customers. Other capabilities to be brought in-house include base plate fabrication and sand blasting. New equipment will include robotic welders, five-axis gear cutting machines and heavy cranage.