Companies in various sectors across Africa are wanting to harness the power of modern advancements in drive technology – and SEW-EURODRIVE is there with the solutions and the support.

“Many operations around the continent are still using conventional technology, but are looking for ways to improve efficiencies and productivity,” says Jonathan McKey, National Sales and Marketing Manager  at SEW-EURODRIVE. “They are also wanting to reduce their carbon footprint and energy costs, and we have the solutions for them.”

In fact, the company is driving a concerted strategy to bring these solutions closer to customers – through extending their local in-country presence. Having expanded and upgraded their facility in Aeroton near Johannesburg, SEW-EURODRIVE now boasts entities in Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Kenya. The office in Tanzania has been thriving for ten years already.

“This year, we are setting up additional resources in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Eswatini and Mozambique,” says SEW-EURODRIVE’s Tebogo Moloi, in charge of Business Development in Africa. “Our philosophy is to build local businesses on the strength of local expertise and market knowledge, bringing us closer to customers with enhanced offerings of technology and services.”

With the local representatives being well qualified and experienced in their markets, SEW-EURODRIVE supports them the necessary facilities and stockholding, as well as specialised training. Moloi highlights that site visits from their teams to customers can become both more frequent and more valuable.

“From our in-country bases, we are closer to customer sites and can deliver high value technical support when requested during our visits,” he says. “Regular engagement means that we build our relationships of trust with customers, by seeing their working environment and understanding their needs and challenges.”

McKey explains that SEW-EURODRIVE is actively diversifying its offerings in Africa to meet each market’s specific requirements. Having established a firm base in South Africa over the decades as geared motor specialists, it has grown into after-sales service and industrial gear (IG) units.

“Given the large installed base of geared motors and IG units in Africa, we can now also service and repair competitor products – by leveraging our growing technical capability around the continent,” he says.

As part of its standard and complimentary services around Africa, SEW-EURODRIVE conducts on-site surveys to assess customers’ operational infrastructure, notes McKey. The company can then recommend modernised solutions to enhance efficiency and reliability.

“We also conduct energy audits, and advise on our energy efficient solutions to reduce costs and carbon footprints,” he says.