As part of its strategy to “close the loop” in its service offering, drive and control technologies company SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa has broken ground on a new 17 000 square metre service and repair facility next to its Johannesburg headquarters in Aeroton.
The company manufactures planetary gearboxes used in wind turbines, mining equipment and industrial conveyers.
The approximately R384 million service and repair facility is the second phase of its expansion drive in South Africa. The first phase was the R500 million, 26 000 square metre headquarters complex completed in 2022.
“We recognise the need to enhance our capabilities to service and repair millions of units in the region. This shows our confidence in the future of South Africa and Africa in general. Currently, our competitors in the gearbox market primarily focus on selling equipment with a limited offering of the necessary repair and support service,” said Raymond Obermeyer, Managing Director of SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa, adding that the company plans to service its own products and those of competitors.
The new facility will offer full service and repair capabilities such as sand blasting, spray painting and stripping of products. It also has a fabrication section for manufacturing baseplates, guards and steelworks.
Additionally, it will have a full motor repair department for motor rewinding, assembly and repairs with burnout ovens and rotor balancing as well as state-of-the-art testing equipment. Over 300 repaired units will be assembled at the facility every month.
The company expects the facility to create 80-100 job opportunities for people with scarce technical skills. To address skills shortages, the centre will have a large DriveAcademy expanding the current 1 500 square metre academy at the company’s headquarters.
