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Mechanical Technology — May 2016
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Local manufacturing and beneficiation
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L
ouis Meiring, chief executive
officer at Zest WEG Group Af-
rica, says the acquisition last
year of Heidelberg-based TSS
Transformers facilitated immediate ac-
cess to additional facilities as well as
best-in-class technical skills. “Upskilling
ourselves in this critical market sector
and increasing our local manufacturing
base was a strategic move that will see
greater involvement from Zest WEG in
this industry,” Meiring says.
Zest WEG Group is owned by Brazil-
based WEG and this significant invest-
ment in local manufacturing highlights
WEG’s financial commitment to its local
operations. Meiring says the acquisition
was in line with the international player’s
intention to expand its global network of
businesses and manufacturing plants.
The WEG Group aims to increase its
sales year-on-year by a minimum of
17% until it reaches an annual turnover
of US$10‑billion in 2020.
WEG Transformer Africa (WTA) oper-
ates two major facilities and is poised
to reinforce its position as a leading
African manufacturer of electrical equip-
ment. The last two years has seen the
recapitalisation of the WTA Wadeville
operation. Andre Mans, COO of WTA,
says that this extensive investment pro-
gramme has seen the facility undergo a
complete makeover with the upgrading of
equipment and streamlining of processes.
“Today, WTA Wadeville is a modern oper-
ation that boasts best-in-class production
and manufacturing capabilities,” he says.
WTA Wadeville produces standard
distribution, power and special applica-
tion transformers ranging from 50 kVA
to 10 MVA in voltages up to 66 kV with
off-load tap switches or on-load tap-
changers. Known for its responsiveness
to customer-specific needs, the facility
also has the engineering expertise and
capability to manufacture special trans-
formers for mining, industrial, rectifier/
WTA’s modern facility houses what is considered to be the best privately operated oil sampling
laboratory in South Africa.
An important value-added service offering from WTA is its suite of structured transformer
maintenance programmes that allow customers to protect these assets from degradation.
WEG Transformers Africa,
a d i v i s i on o f Ze s t WEG
Manufacturing, is determined
to continue growing its share
in both the South African and
African transformer markets.
Increasing local transformer manufacturing:
a strategic move for greater local involvement
traction, converter and thyristor drive
applications. WTA also manufactures
a range of mini substations. Mans says
that, where applicable, the transformers
carry SABS certification.
The Heidelberg facility, which was
previously TSS Transformers, was ac-
quired in the third quarter of 2015 and
boasts an impressive 45 000 m² foot-
print. The modern facility is capable of
locally manufacturing power transformers
up to 40 MVA in voltages up to 132 kV,
as well as mini substations and moulded
circuit breakers.
This facility houses what is consid-
ered to be the best privately operated
transformer oil sampling laboratory in
South Africa. Mans says this is a crucial
differentiator in the market as it gives
customers access to skilled technicians
who analyse samples on state-of-the-art
equipment to world-class standards.
Concluding, Mans says that an im-
portant value-added service offering from
WTA is its suite of structured transformer
maintenance programmes that allow
customers to protect these assets from
degradation.
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