Demand for drive solutions specialist SEW-EURODRIVE’s product offerings is currently strong and increasing steadily in South Africa’s growing food and beverage industry.

SEW-EURODRIVE provides tailored solutions, including gear units and automation systems, that are specifically designed to meet the stringent hygiene and safety standards of the food and beverage sector, ensuring compliance and reliability.

Efficiency, hygiene and automation in the sector are increasingly in demand and SEW-EURODRIVE is well-positioned to support local producers as they continue to meet the evolving requirements of the market, says SEW-EURODRIVE electronics business development manager Willem Strydom.

The company’s technology and automation solutions, including energy-efficient drives, intelligent control systems and precision motion technology, are leveraged to optimise production lines, enhance traceability and enable predictive maintenance.

“SEW-EURODRIVE has developed several product ranges specifically dedicated to the food and beverage industry,” he says, highlighting that the company’s products are specified as the standard in many major producers’ plants.

“We currently serve countries across the continent with SEW-EURODRIVE products as the standard in their plants,” Strydom notes.

With stringent standards and practices in place within the food and beverage industry, hygiene is critical.

The company’s portfolio includes a hygienic range, designed to meet the strict cleanliness standards of food plants.

“One key feature is our special IP 69k sealing arrangement, which ensures that equipment can be pressure washed, maintaining the highest levels of hygiene without compromising the integrity of the equipment.”

As global demand for food and beverage products increases, producers are also turning to automation and energy-efficient solutions to meet both production and environmental targets.

With the increasing emphasis on sustainability and reducing carbon footprints, SEW-EURODRIVE’s innovations are designed to help food and beverage plants minimise energy consumption and reduce operational costs.

The company’s research and development team, based in Germany, is continuously evolving its products to ensure they are more energy-efficient and tailored to specific industrial needs.

They are fully prepared for the African market as well, says Strydom.

Further, “one of the more exciting innovations” is the MOVILINK DDI digital motor interface, which facilitates real-time condition monitoring and predictive maintenance.

“The MOVILINK DDI is gaining traction in the food and beverage sector and other industries like mining. It allows us to monitor factors like vibration, temperature and wear without needing external sensors, providing comprehensive feedback with just one cable,” he explains.

MOVILINK DDI enables customers to obtain real-time feedback and condition monitoring for predictive maintenance, which helps prevent issues before they arise.

“This is a game-changer in terms of reducing downtime and maintenance costs,” Strydom explains, further highlighting another range of advanced technologies that provide seamless integration and automation across plants.

“The MOVIKIT software package simplifies automation by allowing system integrators and OEMs to quickly implement and customise automation solutions. With more than 1 000 preprogramed kits available, SEW-EURODRIVE is enabling businesses to streamline their automation processes, cutting down on installation time and costs.”

This level of automation offers food and beverage producers more control over operations.

Further, SEW-EURODRIVE offers energy- efficient IE4, IE5 and IE6 motors, and in South Africa, these motors and drive solutions have seen increased uptake as companies aim to meet new efficiency standards.

“The move toward IE4 motors is becoming more prominent in the mining sector, but for IE5 and IE6 solutions, we see the most traction in the food and beverage industry, where smaller motors and applications are more common,” says Strydom.

“Further, we have the energy-efficient MOVIGEAR, which integrates a servo motor, gearbox, and controls into one compact unit. This significantly reduces the number of variants in production lines, making it easier to maintain and reducing stockholding requirements,” Strydom explains.

Traditionally, production lines could comprise up to 30 or 40 different variants of equipment, making inventory management and maintenance complex.

“By replacing these with the MOVIGEAR, plants now only need three variants, significantly reducing stockholding requirements and boosting operational efficiency.”

Strydom adds that savings from SEW-EURODRIVE’s various energy-efficient technologies are significant.

“We conducted an energy survey for one client, and the savings amounted to 35% on electricity use [within a 24-hour test],” Strydom says.

Energy surveys, which are conducted by SEW-EURODRIVE at no cost to clients, identify areas where energy consumption can be optimised and, once a solution is implemented, the company measures the savings over a specific period.

The return on investment for customers, purely from electricity savings, can be achieved in less than a year.

Strydom also highlights the importance of tailoring products to the unique needs of each market.

In South Africa, for instance, SEW-EURODRIVE has adapted its equipment to be more robust, acknowledging unique local conditions and challenges.

This means creating hybrid solutions that suit the customer’s needs, even if they have an existing installed base of non- SEW-EURODRIVE products.

“We have developed drop-in solutions that allow customers to replace outdated systems without any modifications to their existing infrastructure,” he concludes.