Mechanical Technology February 2016

⎪ Local manufacturing and beneficiation ⎪

The full range of WEG transformers are now guaranteed for three years, with the option to extend to five years by taking out a WTA Service plan.

Above: The newly commissioned automatic foil-winding machine at the WTA Wadeville facility. Left: Zest WEG has extended the guarantees on its WEG motor range to five years, while if bought in combination with WEG motors, its VSDs and soft starter guarantees are extended to three years.

out the new technologies,

materials and opti- mised manufacturing techniques required to meet international prod- uct standards,” Daines points out. By linking local manufacture with WEG’s global technology expertise and its R&D capability, WTA can now manufacture and offer custom-designed, oil-filled transformers of up to 40 MVA at 132 kV; mini-sub- stations of up to 2 000 kVA; transformer repairs for units of up to 100 MVA; as well as on site service and maintenance. “On the Engineering side, we have software that links directly to Brazil for electrical performance, modelling, wir- ing and accessories, for example, which enables us to design and manufacture total engineered solutions according the highest global standards,” he adds. The Hawker Siddeley factory has been completely stripped out and re-equipped to accommodate the higher quality levels required. “We have even reversed the direction of the assembly line, from west to east to east to west,” Daines says be- fore listing some of the new equipment investments: new cranes with capacity of up to 25 t; core cutting and stacking systems; new shot blasting and acid bath facilities; a powder coating bay; a new fabrication workshop; and new foil winding machines, amongst others. “And the refurbishment of the two bays of the factory was accomplished without having the halt production,” he says. Citing, in particular, the core cutting and stacking system he says: “Core cut- ting and stacking are labour intensive tasks, so we have installed new tables

or off site. “Our oil purification system is one of the largest in the country and we can purify oil onsite and in situ. Also, depending on the voltage, we can even do it live,” Daines notes. WTA already employs 300 staff at its Wadeville and Heidelberg facilities, has an active skills development pro- gramme and has benefitted from total capital investment of R250-million. “We are now 100% aligned with National Treasury requirements for local manu- facture of transformers, which it has identified as ‘designated products’. This means that all municipalities and utilities in South Africa are mandated to use transformer products with 90% local content. WTA puts us into an ideal position to supply into this market with technology that meets the highest global standards,” Daines believes. Meiring concludes: “This is all in line with Zest WEG Group’s strategy of forming long-term relationships with our customers. Last year we were 35 years old and through that time, we have al- ways strived to offer customers absolute peace of mind. “We plan to continue to bring inno- vative initiatives to market that will add value to customers’ operations – and despite being part of a major global cor- poration, we have not lost the flexibility and responsiveness for which we have always been known.” q

and an innovative stacking rod table to minimise error and improve the consis- tency of our transformer cores.” Also added is a R20-million state- of-the-art test facility where the perfor- mance of every transformer manufac- tured is measured and recorded. The testing station is directly linked to the engineering software so that performance can be automatically compared to that specified in the original design. Four test bays are available, capable of testing units of up to 100 MVA at 132 kV – and all tests are conducted in accordance with SANS 780 and IEC specifications. In addition, Zest WEG Group acquired TSS Transformers in 2015 to bring repair and service components to its offering. “With the deterioration of the local skills base, we felt the need to compensate by offering complete maintenance and ser- vice contracts to electrical infrastructure operators,” Daines explains. Added capabilities include: trans- former oil sampling and analysis; oil analysis interpretation; oil purification, regeneration or replacement solutions; and repairs and maintenance, either on

Mechanical Technology — February 2016

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