Geared motor specialist SEW-EURODRIVE is set to excite the farming community with even more solutions to drive productivity and efficiency, as the company prepares to make its debut at agricultural exhibition NAMPO Cape, taking place in Bredasdorp, in the Western Cape, from September 11 to 14, 2024.

From its firm footprint in the agricultural sector – through packhouses and bottling facilities countrywide – SEW-EURODRIVE now takes its offerings to the land, for instance, with its quality gear units for centre pivots.

SEW-EURODRIVE national sales and marketing manager Jonathan McKey says that this is part of the company’s continuous innovation and drive to give farmers more energy efficient solutions for streamlined and automated operations.

“Our classic 7 Series geared motors have for many years proudly served the farming industry – in various packhouse applications including conveyors, sorters and box packaging lines,” says McKey.

“These solutions have long been fitted with premium efficiency IE3 motors – which are also available as non-integral units – delivering considerable savings in energy costs,” he adds.

Variable-speed drive (VSD) technology allows for further efficiency and even the fine-tuning of production lines to suit the pace of demand.

“As part of modernising packhouse facilities, VSDs allow solutions to be tailored to a changing production pattern,” he says.

The ECDriveS drive system on offer from SEW-EURODRIVE, which is used for roller conveyors in light-duty materials handling, further develops the opportunity for enhanced efficiency.

McKey emphasises the work SEW-EURODRIVE has done in “closing the loop” to meet more of the drive requirements in farming. The company now supplies, installs and services the centre drive and wheel drives for pivot irrigation systems,  as well as the drive technology to power them.

“These solutions have been popular on farms in Brazil since the 1980s . . . similarities with South African conditions show that this offering will add value locally too,” he explains.

Aligning to the shaft sizes and flange connections on existing centre pivot irrigation equipment, SEW-EURODIVE provides a ‘plug-and-play’ solution of gearing, casing and motor. The concept is also more cost effective and sustainable, as the company will service and repair the drive systems, rather than merely replacing them.

Underpinning the performance that customers demand is SEW-EURODRIVE’s product quality and support, which ensures that the systems achieve the highest levels of uptime. The company’s extensive national service footprint and decentralised stocking policy means that servicing and parts are quickly available to customers within a matter of hours.

McKey says SEW-EURODRIVE also recognises the importance of sustainability principles in agriculture and builds this approach into its designs. The high performance ECO2 geared motor, for example, is made from uncoated aluminium, which forms a thin protective layer in contact with oxygen. With no coating or solvent on the surface, the result is more a cost-effective, environment-friendly and easier-to-recycle product.

The company has even developed its own premium lubricants, based on its decades of field experience. These boost operational performance by reducing friction between gear wheels and extend the life of sealing rings. These innovations are ideal for applications in the food and beverages industry as well.

“Every key agricultural region is well served by our comprehensively stocked facilities in Cape Town, Nelspruit and Gqeberha for current products as well as for the pivot solution,” he concludes.