Enhancing customised drive technology

SEW-Eurodrive is the global leader in customised drive technology for a diverse range of manufacturing industries. Philip Yorke talked to two managing directors :Daniel Philippron, (Belgium/Luxemburg) and Ton Verschuren (Netherlands) about SEW’s unique, innovative products, its enhanced range of customer services and its commitment to sustainable development.

SEW was founded in Germany over 80 years ago by Christian Pahr. Ernst Blickle one of the employees whose entrepreneurial flair characterised the company and drove it forward, and whose legacy lives on today. SEW’s innovative drive technology can be found in countless industries throughout the world, driving conveyer belts, escalators, assembly lines and luggage carousels at international and regional airports. They can also be seen at work in sports stadia roofs, gravel plants and throughout manufacturing facilities in the steel, paper, chemical and automotive industries.

SEW-Eurodrive employs more than 500 researchers at its headquarters in Bruchsal, Germany to create the drive technology of the future. The company has an additional 14,000 specialists focused on bringing the best drive solutions to the world’s global manufacturing industries. This is how the company has evolved throughout its long history to become the undisputed market leader in the field of drive automation, with a turnover of more than €2 billion. Today SEW-Eurodrive offers its customers individual drive solutions from its comprehensive modular business concept. The company develops and delivers state-of-

the-art gear motors and frequency inverters, servo-drive systems, decentralised drive systems and industrial gear units, all of which are designed to suit a customer’s specific needs.

Creating the competitive edge

SEW’s priority is to provide its customers with a competitive edge and to develop customised gear motors that meet the specific requirements of each individual customer’s specification. The company’s well known motto, “People do not need products they need solutions”, is evident in every aspect of SEW’s R&D programmes and its diverse range of customer care services, where its optimal drive solutions are created. The company also supplies the customised electronic solutions for its own drive components, stating that, “only if the control systems are perfectly matched to the drives, will there be an optimum through-flow.” This philosophy gives developers, designers and planners of systems and projects their dedicated drive solutions from one single source, which in turn allows them to put in motion the optimal control efficiencies required in order to manage a wide range of manufacturing processes.

Mr Philippron said, “In Belgium we have traditionally been focused on the steel and automotive industries but have moved forward to serve a much wider range of industries and to enhance and improve the scope of our customer services. We are investing in our consulting and engineering support capabilities and focusing on providing specialised services for the benefit of our customers and end users.”

Mr Verschuren added “We also offer fast and reliable delivery schedules. And thanks to our high degree of independence as a private company, we can develop our own product based solutions and services to meet the diverse demands of our local OEM customers and those involved in the food and beverage industries”.

“In Belgium we also have the potential to deliver a wide range of products, systems and technologies and can react faster than our competitors to market forces and the changing needs of our customers. We offer a unique consultancy service and for those of our customers who have their own application technology resources, we can modify our products to suit their specific requirements.”

Mr Philippron added, “We have an extensive product portfolio and are looking to extend our presence in the chemical industry where our products can play a major role in helping these industries to achieve greater efficiency and more sustainable development. As a 100 per cent private company we are innovative, flexible and motivated to create the best solutions for our customers. We are focused on strong organic growth and have 65 manufacturing sites, assembly plants and branches located in 46 different countries worldwide. We are well known for our innovative, energy-saving solutions and are currently manufacturing over 2 million advanced gear motors for our clients every year.” Mr Verschuren said “We are also the clear market leaders in our business segments and lead the field in providing the most advanced, energy-saving solutions. With our unique

Mobil SHC high-performance synthetic lubricants: Recom-mended by SEW-EURODRIVE

As a leading company in the field of drive engineering, SEW-EURODRIVE realises the importance of advanced lubrication in helping to increase producitvity. That’s why SEW-EURODRIVE recommends Mobil SHC high-performance lubricants for factory-fill and service refill worldwide.

Mobil SHC gear oils can significantly extend equipment life, oil drain intervals and improve the energy efficiency of machines. These advanced lubricants provide outstanding protection, even under the toughest operating conditions.

SEW-EURODRIVE has relied on ExxonMobil’s range of high performance lubricants since 1995. In partnership, both companies strive to help manufacturing and processing companies achieve a competitive edge in their operation.

customer service portfolio, CDS™, we offer a complete and comprehensive drive service for our whole product range, from our smallest gear motors through to our heavy, industrial gear units and advanced-drive electronic systems. These specialised services cover the entire life cycle of a product, from installation and start-up through to its operational phases and maintenance schedules, and if required, to complete modernisation and optimisation.”

Today, the global SEW-Eurodrive service network offers a perfectly coordinated range of services to ensure that its customers’ equipment runs smoothly and that all their drive requirements are met in the shortest possible time. The company’s local portfolio of services includes express assembly, installation and start-up, a repair field service and spare parts delivery. This is in addition to providing hot-line technical advice, training, application programming and documentation. In Marche en Famenne (Be) a unique service activity was developed to support the BeNeLux market as well as the industries in the North of France for the repair of all brands industrial gears.

Sustainability – an integral concept

At SEW-Eurodrive, sustainability is an integral concept that combines ecological, social and economic considerations in a meaningful and productive way. The company’s aspiration to see the big ecological picture applies to every aspect of its every-day business activities. Whether it concerns quality control, environmental protection, products or communications, the theme runs through all areas of its manufacturing processes.

In addition, every two years, SEWEurodrive publishes a retrospective sustainability report. These reports provide the company’s customers and partners with detailed information regarding its global environmental commitment and progress, with transparency being the foundation of its corporate philosophy. This openness provides the dialogue for future sustainable developments within the company, and for its customers and partners around the world. n