Company Reports - SEW Eurodrive
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SEW Eurodrive
A force in drive engineering
Written by Ellie Duncan & Produced by Alex Barron
To say that SEW Eurodrive is a driving force in the South African engineering industry would be fairly accurate. Afterall, the company specializes in providing geared motors, industrial gear units, servo systems, drive electronics, and an aftersales service to match.
Its presence in the country has grown rapidly since it first began operating in 1986. With five branches across the region, and an export department at its head office in Johannesburg that services 23 African countries, SEW Eurodrive has certainly built a name for itself.
“We want to be the number one drive engineering company in South Africa,” states Managing Director, Urs Roos, boldly. “When a customer thinks of buying gearboxes or inverters, we want them to naturally think of us!”
Having such a reputation requires more than just a strong regional presence though, as the company knows. “Our key strength is our customer service,” he adds. “We have a fantastic product, make no mistake - the best German engineering and products which are of the highest quality - but that alone is not enough. We set ourselves apart by delivering on our promises and making sure our customers get the best service and the shortest possible delivery times.”
This dedication to quality and perfection is reflected in the company’s rather impressive client base, which includes BMW, Anglo Platinum, Kumba Resources, Chemix, Mixtec and Afromix, VW and SAB Miller.
GROWING INDUSTRY
But SEW Eurodrive is certainly not resting on its laurels. It continues to drive its growth, remaining focused on providing those all-impor tant customer service levels it is renowned for.
Last year, the focus was on service and repairs, but SEW Eurodrive has seen growth in other areas of the business too. “With the growth of our business in the Industrial Gears industry, we have grown our Projects and IG (industrial gears) side substantially. We see this trend continuing,” Roos explains.
Indeed, the company did see growth in 2009, during what was a difficult time for the industry. “SEW Eurodrive has survived the recession in South Africa and actually shown growth at a time when many companies have suffered,” Roos says with some pride.
But he recognizes that customers’ spending patterns have changed in that time, forcing it to adapt its business. “Following the recession, which hit the country last year, companies are slower in spending money,” he admits. “We have seen many customers focusing on repairs and service of their units as opposed to buying new units.”
Total cost of ownership has also become an important consideration for most of its customers when making a purchase.
“SEW Eurodrive offers energy efficient products which are robust and able to work in difficult conditions. Companies are looking for products that require fewer follow up costs.
“Downtime is another major consideration,” Roos adds. “It has always been, but even more so now that money is tight and companies focus on making the best of profitability and productivity.”
With that in mind, SEW Eurodrive has predicted growth again this year, albeit growth of a more conservative nature. “We have projects tendered for in the mining industry and various other infrastructure related projects which we feel very positive about,” he says, looking to the company’s prospects.
PEOPLE POWER
People have always formed a vital part of all SEW Eurodrive’s operations. Roos goes as far as to say that they are its greatest asset. For that reason, significant amounts of time and money are invested in training for its people through local institutions. There is also a Drive Academy located at its head office in Germany where employees are sent to learn their trade. Roos is clearly proud of its skilled workforce: “SEW Eurodrive provides state-of-the-art technical training on our products. We want to equip our people with the knowledge to best service our local customers.”
It has also formed close relationships with some of the local education institutions to the advantage of both SEW Eurodrive and the students. By sponsoring a mechatronic design competition, something it has done for the last three years, the company is encouraging the designers of the future to flourish.
“It is called the PneuDrive Challenge and we do this in conjunction with Festo,” Roos goes onto explain. “The aim of the competition is to encourage innovation in design and to expose young engineers to the business world of engineering at the same time. Of course, products are also donated to the participating universities.”
It has been a resounding success. Recognition for its products and services also came in the form of a couple of awards last year. Firstly, the international Frost and Sullivan Award for Market Leadership in the South African Gearboxes and Geared Motor Markets was awarded to SEW Eurodrive. Then, it received the Top Women Award for Top Gender Empowered Company in the Mining, Engineering and Construction sector. On an individual basis, Ms. Ute Bormann was chosen as a finalist in the Top Executive Women category of the Top Woman Awards.
This year, Ms. Eugene Makgale, General Manager, Operations, has been chosen as a finalist for the 2010/2011 Most Influential Women in Business and Government (MIW) Awards. The company recognizes that being a finalist is, in itself, an accolade as it acknowledges her as one of the top three women in the sector. The final judging panel sits on 8 June, 2010 to decide on the overall winner in each category.
The future looks equally exciting and rewarding for the company, with investment
going in to the Nelspruit assembly facility – its location for industrial gears stockholding and assembly in South Africa. Mainly, SEW Eurodrive remains focused on its core business.
“2010 is a big year; not only with the 2010 World Cup, but also with new products being launched at SEW Eurodrive,” Roos says. “We look forward to great success.”
Its presence in the country has grown rapidly since it first began operating in 1986. With five branches across the region, and an export department at its head office in Johannesburg that services 23 African countries, SEW Eurodrive has certainly built a name for itself.
“We want to be the number one drive engineering company in South Africa,” states Managing Director, Urs Roos, boldly. “When a customer thinks of buying gearboxes or inverters, we want them to naturally think of us!”
Having such a reputation requires more than just a strong regional presence though, as the company knows. “Our key strength is our customer service,” he adds. “We have a fantastic product, make no mistake - the best German engineering and products which are of the highest quality - but that alone is not enough. We set ourselves apart by delivering on our promises and making sure our customers get the best service and the shortest possible delivery times.”
This dedication to quality and perfection is reflected in the company’s rather impressive client base, which includes BMW, Anglo Platinum, Kumba Resources, Chemix, Mixtec and Afromix, VW and SAB Miller.
GROWING INDUSTRY
But SEW Eurodrive is certainly not resting on its laurels. It continues to drive its growth, remaining focused on providing those all-impor tant customer service levels it is renowned for.
Last year, the focus was on service and repairs, but SEW Eurodrive has seen growth in other areas of the business too. “With the growth of our business in the Industrial Gears industry, we have grown our Projects and IG (industrial gears) side substantially. We see this trend continuing,” Roos explains.
Indeed, the company did see growth in 2009, during what was a difficult time for the industry. “SEW Eurodrive has survived the recession in South Africa and actually shown growth at a time when many companies have suffered,” Roos says with some pride.
But he recognizes that customers’ spending patterns have changed in that time, forcing it to adapt its business. “Following the recession, which hit the country last year, companies are slower in spending money,” he admits. “We have seen many customers focusing on repairs and service of their units as opposed to buying new units.”
Total cost of ownership has also become an important consideration for most of its customers when making a purchase.
“SEW Eurodrive offers energy efficient products which are robust and able to work in difficult conditions. Companies are looking for products that require fewer follow up costs.
“Downtime is another major consideration,” Roos adds. “It has always been, but even more so now that money is tight and companies focus on making the best of profitability and productivity.”
With that in mind, SEW Eurodrive has predicted growth again this year, albeit growth of a more conservative nature. “We have projects tendered for in the mining industry and various other infrastructure related projects which we feel very positive about,” he says, looking to the company’s prospects.
PEOPLE POWER
People have always formed a vital part of all SEW Eurodrive’s operations. Roos goes as far as to say that they are its greatest asset. For that reason, significant amounts of time and money are invested in training for its people through local institutions. There is also a Drive Academy located at its head office in Germany where employees are sent to learn their trade. Roos is clearly proud of its skilled workforce: “SEW Eurodrive provides state-of-the-art technical training on our products. We want to equip our people with the knowledge to best service our local customers.”
It has also formed close relationships with some of the local education institutions to the advantage of both SEW Eurodrive and the students. By sponsoring a mechatronic design competition, something it has done for the last three years, the company is encouraging the designers of the future to flourish.
“It is called the PneuDrive Challenge and we do this in conjunction with Festo,” Roos goes onto explain. “The aim of the competition is to encourage innovation in design and to expose young engineers to the business world of engineering at the same time. Of course, products are also donated to the participating universities.”
It has been a resounding success. Recognition for its products and services also came in the form of a couple of awards last year. Firstly, the international Frost and Sullivan Award for Market Leadership in the South African Gearboxes and Geared Motor Markets was awarded to SEW Eurodrive. Then, it received the Top Women Award for Top Gender Empowered Company in the Mining, Engineering and Construction sector. On an individual basis, Ms. Ute Bormann was chosen as a finalist in the Top Executive Women category of the Top Woman Awards.
This year, Ms. Eugene Makgale, General Manager, Operations, has been chosen as a finalist for the 2010/2011 Most Influential Women in Business and Government (MIW) Awards. The company recognizes that being a finalist is, in itself, an accolade as it acknowledges her as one of the top three women in the sector. The final judging panel sits on 8 June, 2010 to decide on the overall winner in each category.
The future looks equally exciting and rewarding for the company, with investment
going in to the Nelspruit assembly facility – its location for industrial gears stockholding and assembly in South Africa. Mainly, SEW Eurodrive remains focused on its core business.
“2010 is a big year; not only with the 2010 World Cup, but also with new products being launched at SEW Eurodrive,” Roos says. “We look forward to great success.”
