Company sets sights on agriculture sector

SEW-EURODRIVE’s complete gear solution for centre pivot irrigation systems for the farming sector is attracting significant interest after its launch in South Africa earlier this year.

The plug-and-play solution, which aligns with existing equipment, has the added advantage of integrated original-equipment manufacturer (OEM) services and support.

SEW-EURODRIVE electronics business development manager Willem Strydom indicates that the gear solution fills a gap by bringing OEM services and local support directly to the sector, as SEW-EURODRIVE’s centre drive and wheel drives for pivot irrigation systems, as well as the drive technology powering the system, are locally assembled, maintained and serviced, while many of its competitors are resellers of imported products.

“One of the biggest advantages for us is serviceability. We assemble our own gearboxes in-country, and we can repair and refurbish, locally, the various components to our OEM standards through any of our five branches nationally,” he tells Engineering News.

SEW-EURODRIVE has branches in Johannes-burg, Mbombela, Durban, Cape Town and Gqeberha, along with highly experienced service teams that visit customers’ sites to inspect existing installations and advise on optimal solutions.

SEW-EURODRIVE further maintains an extensive stockholding at its large facility in Aeroton, Johannesburg, to ensure security of supply and fast turnaround. This is boosted by the fact that the gearboxes for the centre pivot use some of the same internal gearing as the company’s SEW 7-series range.

Another advantage, says Strydom, is that the solution is equipped with IE3-rated energy efficient motors.

“Most competitors in this field use standard efficiency IE1 class motors. To save our customers on the cost of their electricity, SEW-EURODRIVE standardises on the use of premium efficiency IE3 motors.”

The new offering was introduced into the company’s product portfolio to complement existing solutions in the agricultural industry.

“The agricultural industry is a very important part of our business and plays a massive role in our market. This product really complements the rest of our products in this market.”

Further, he points to extensive interest in the solution in South Africa, noting that market responded quicker than expected.

While the solution is new to SEW-EURODRIVE’s South African product portfolio, its performance has long been proven in Brazil, where the product launched in the 1980s and where numerous units have been sold into the farming sector.

“It has been very successful in that country since the 1980s and there is scope to replicate this success in South Africa, as there are similarities between the agricultural environments in the two countries.”

There are further opportunities for SEW-EURODRIVE, he says, noting that the company, which already exports the solution into Africa, will launch the full-service solution into the other African markets it currently serves over the next few years.

“That is the bigger picture that we are looking at; not only servicing South Africa, but markets across the continent.”

SEW-EURODRIVE has many sales offices throughout Africa servicing most industries, such as food and beverage, mining and automotive, besides others.