At Electra Mining Africa this year, SEW-EURODRIVE will dedicate one of its two exhibition stands to showcase an exciting range of electronics and mechatronics solutions to help mines improve reliability and reduce operating costs.

This will include an immersive look into the future of intelligent plant operation as the company focuses on predictive maintenance, digital monitoring and real-time energy optimisation, according to Willem Strydom, Business Development Electronics Manager at SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa.

“A key attraction will be demonstrating how we conduct plant energy surveys using specialised measurement equipment deployed by our field service teams,” he says. “These surveys provide practical insights into reducing energy usage, carbon emissions and operating costs.”

Strydom points out that many customers initially believed that simply installing higher efficiency motors would solve their energy challenges. However, the company’s experience shows that much larger savings often lie elsewhere in the system.

“We look at the whole system, not just the motors, and analyse operating loads, automation logic, gearbox efficiency and maintenance practices,” he explains.

This process identifies where energy is being lost unnecessarily with applications such as pumps, conveyors and lifting systems often among the most promising opportunities for optimisation. Visitors to Electra Mining Africa will also be able to see how SEW-EURODRIVE’s DriveRadar® Internet of Things (IoT) platform continuously monitors equipment condition and performance.

“This enables mines to shift away from time-based maintenance schedules toward condition-based interventions,” Strydom says.

The predictive maintenance system also enables operations to compare equipment performance before and after maintenance work, providing measurable feedback on whether interventions are actually improving plant efficiency.

Werner Engelbrecht, Works Manager for Electronics and Mechatronics at SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa, says one of the company’s biggest findings during site assessments is the extent to which many industrial applications remain over-engineered.

“We can also demonstrate how intelligent automation can eliminate hidden energy waste,” Engelbrecht says. “In some conveyor applications, for example, systems continue running unnecessarily because they lack basic control intelligence.”

SEW-EURODRIVE’s stand will also feature one of the largest motors ever displayed by the company locally - an 11 tonne medium voltage motor rated at 1850 kW and 6,6 kV - which highlights its expanding presence in heavy-duty mining and industrial applications.

Strydom says the company expects strong interest from mining operations across southern and central Africa, where energy supply constraints are increasingly shaping operational strategies.

“With mines expanding into areas where infrastructure cannot always keep up, companies are being forced to become more efficient in everything they do,” he concludes.