Mechanical Technology may 2015

⎪ Local manufacturing and beneficiation ⎪

localisation drive

line fault of a switching fault, the utility can drive a mobile substations to the location and replace the entire substa- tion with a mobile unit until repairs are completed,” Meiring suggests. “The original IP came from WEG, Brazil, but a specialist spent six months in South Africa customising the design to suit the harsh local conditions and Eskom’s stringent specifications. So today we have a local product that is 100% locally manufactured,” he adds. The most recent acquisition was made to extend the Group’s access to locally manufactured transformers. “We have also recently established WEG Transformers Africa (WTA), following the 2013 acquisition of Hawker Siddeley Transformers. While we have been able to supply large imported transformers for several years, because the cost of shipping smaller units constitutes a significant percentage of the total cost, we could not compete on units smaller than 20 MVA. “WTA has now added the full trans- former range to our offering, from 100 kVA up to 20 MVA – and to further reduce our dependence on imports, we are busy implementing a plan to lo- cally manufacture transformers of up to 40 MVA,” Meiring reveals. From a technological perspective, the relationship with WEG Brazil has enabled the entire Wadeville-based WTA transformer factory, which was originally established 1954, to be completely mod- ernised to manufacture the latest designs from its global parent. “We are currently on a major drive involving all three of our manufactur- ing entities: Shaw Controls, WTA and

Above: WEG Transformers Africa’s controls assembly area. Above left: WEG Transformers Africa (WTA) now offers transformers from 100 kVA up to 20 MVA and, to further reduce dependence on imports, the company is implementing a plan to locally manufacture transformers of up to 40 MVA. Right: Kobus Smit attending to the wiring of a containerised generator set for the Zest WEG Genset Division. Right below: The container yard at Shaw Controls, which is now a specialist local manufacturer of MCCs, switchgear and con- tainerised electrical distribution solutions. Genset Division, which are going through internationalisation programmes to align their product quality and manufacturing processes with the best practices of the global WEG Group,” says Meiring. “Ultimately, for international orders, WEG wishes to be able to choose the most cost-effective factory to use, based on transport logistics, exchange rates and local input costs. So we may end up manufacturing equipment for supply into Australia, for example,” he explains. Addressing our labour challenges, the Zest WEG Group is striving towards more innovative solutions to overcome labour issues. “At the starting point, we believe, is communication. We want to be more inclusive about our business successes and failures. By keeping our staff better informed, we hope to make them feel more involved and more secure. “Training is also a big issue and the internationalisation programme offers opportunities to up skill our staff to cope with the innovative new materials and machine tools – and the empowerment of people is fundamentally linked to skills,” he confirms.

Responding to B-BBEE. Meiring adds that the Group is very close to finalising an employee trust called Zest Empowerment that will pass 25% + 1 share of the lo- cal business to previously disadvantaged employees in the company. From a business perspective, Meiring sees growing opportunities in the power sector across Africa. “We are the only supplier that can communicate tenders, data sheet and specifications sets in the three dominant common languages, English, French and Portuguese,” he points out, adding that the Group is already earning 30% of its turnover from African projects outside of South Africa and has targeted 40% in the short term. “We are positioned to be involved in every aspect of technology that sits between power generation and power utilisation, which puts us in a strong posi- tion to participate in the transformation of Africa’s power infrastructure,” Meiring concludes. q

Mechanical Technology — May 2015

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