While some 80% of the people who walk onto the stand have had some form of interaction with an operating entity within the Zest WEG Group, many people do not fully understand the depth of product offering that is available through this multi-faceted group. For this reason the primary objective of participation at Electra Mining Africa 2014 is to share the full portfolio of the Zest WEG Group business with customers.

The Zest WEG Group, now a subsidiary of leading Brazilian motor and controls manufacturer WEG, started out as a South African company and maintains a strong commitment to contributing to the development of the African region. It is a leading supplier of low, medium and high voltage electric motors, vibrator motors, variable speeds drives, softstarters, transformers, MCC’s, containerised substations, diesel generator sets, switchgear and co-generation and energy solutions, as well as electrical and instrumentation engineering and project management services in Africa.

Zest WEG Group already has meaningful participation in all its business lines in Africa, particularly electric motors, where the group is the leader in the market and its customer portfolio comprises some of the largest companies in Africa’s mining, oil and gas and energy sectors.

To gain optimum penetration for maximised customer satisfaction, Zest WEG Group operates a strategically situated network of branches and distributors across the continent. Apart from the South African operation with its eight branches, the group has registered businesses in Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Ghana, with distributors in Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, the DRC, Nigeria, Cameroon, Angola and Mauritania.

The Zest WEG Group continually invests, both in assets and technology transfer from WEG, to maintain best practice. The group offers its customer base on-going support, both from a sales and technical support perspective and places a high premium on training. This is emphasised through the fully equipped training facilities in Johannesburg, Rustenburg, Middleburg, Durban and Cape Town that provide on-going training for all customer personnel from basic electric motor and VSD principles to more advanced automation application courses. Zest WEG Group offers Continuing Professional Development accredited courses on Variable Speed Drives CFW-09 and CFW-11, Soft Starters, Motors, PLC WLP, Service Training, Smart Relay SRW01 and Drives Service.

To be better able to respond to the needs of customers, the group also spends a considerable amount of time on developing its staff internally with continuous programmes and training to support the strategy of staying abreast of technological developments and trends. Training also follows the path of focusing on areas identified within the industry that are problematic, by offering targeted technical seminars by experienced technical specialists.

In spite of ongoing difficult economic conditions, the group is committed to a long term vision of local investment in manufacturing operations. Further investments will be made in skills development, operational improvements and job creation.

Into Africa
Parent organisation, the WEG Group, has a strategic plan to increase its sales by at least 17% year on year until 2020, when it aims to arrive at a turnover of US$10-billion. Zest WEG Group is therefore implementing a number of initiatives to increase its presence in other African countries.

The group’s experience in Africa cannot be over-emphasised. An extensive understanding of the African dynamics and how strategies differ from one country to country is something with which many overseas companies are unfamiliar. An example is that logistics in Africa are extremely difficult, with travel within any country typically entailing two flights and hours of driving to reach customer operations. Zest WEG Group has aggressively adapted its business to accommodate these dynamics and can therefore be perceived as an African Multi-National.

The ability to provide support operations in Africa and to be able to communicate with locals in their own language, for example English, French or Portuguese is very important and is provided through the employment of suitably equipped and qualified personnel.

Innovative thinking coupled with the necessary knowledge is a prerequisite when operating in Africa, and Zest WEG Group’s adaptability forms the cornerstone of successful African relationships. The group’s ability to gear up all manufacturing operations to align with international production standards and move into a position where it is able to supply world markets with its products, is critical to Zest WEG Group’s sustainability and underpins its strategic position.

Louis Meiring, Zest WEG Group CEO, says the organisation has experienced an increased demand from end users to provide more permanent solutions to problems experienced at end of life products. “There is an increased focus throughout Africa on the integrity of products, which underlines the fact that more end users now understand that life cycle costing is more important than initial capital cost. This is particularly important in Africa, where many operations are located hundreds of kilometres from support structures.”

“Part of this is also an increased service team offering which is in place to accommodate products going into Africa. This is supported by the experience gained over the years that allows us to negotiate terms and conditions of contracts to become more streamlined across the board. Equipment is shipped from the most logistically efficient location to ensure fast turnaround times, without compromising on the vital factors of providing best practice and non-negotiable quality,” Meiring concludes.