Representatives from the local branch of German pneumatic solutions provider Airtec Pneumatic, including MD Michael Wendemuth and two other employees, will this year attend the yearly Motek specialist international trade fair for production, assembly and automation and mechatronics, which will take place in Stuttgart, Germany, from October 6 to 9.

Airtec Pneumatic South Africa tells Mining Weekly that the trade fair is a leading global event in the fields of production and assembly automation, feed technology and material flow, streamlining through handling technology and industrial handling.

It serves as an industry platform to portray all the aspects of automation. Airtec Pneumatic will exhibit its products at Hall 5, stand 5140, to provide interested specialists with a comprehensive overview of the company’s pneumatic control technology and its customer-specific solutions.

Wendemuth tells Mining Weekly that the event gives local engineers, like himself, an opportunity to keep abreast of the latest trends in pneumatic solutions, while getting a chance to discuss South Africa’s progress in this field with colleagues from other parts of the world.

Meanwhile, there is increasing interest in the company’s custom-made automated pneumatic products, which services “local blue chip”, mining, automotive, food manufacturing, petrochemicals, power generation and machine tool industries, among others.

The Sandton-based office services Airtec Pneumatic’s Southern Africa clients and can customise products to meet the region’s specifications.

“Our ready-to-install custom- design pneumatic control technology solutions save our clients time and money, which subsequently takes the pressure off their engineering teams. Our solutions lower costs and reduce the demands of technical coordination, helping our clients achieve significantly better returns on capital investment,” he explains.

The Sandton branch was established in 1988 to apply the Germany-based parent company’s experience in the Southern Africa market.

Wendemuth adds that Airtec’s solutions ensure easier “complete automation package procurement”, which ensures that clients deal with one supplier, enabling them to manage fewer inventories and giving them time to focus on their core business.

“Airtec aims to reduce the risk of delays in product delivery. Further, our solutions give our clients’ products a technical and financial edge over competitors, without adding to the internal cost of business,” he says.

Airtec Pneumatic South Africa imports most of its high-technology tools from Germany and often uses them to make complete automated pneumatic components, while also manufacturing custom products for its local clientele according to their specifications, adds Wendemuth.

Airtec offers a range of pneumatic products to the local market, including custom automated enclosures, valves, cylinders, fittings, tubing, vacuums, hydropneumatic press units, rocky piston valves, service units, and electropneumatic drills and self-feeders.

Airtec also supplies pneumatics for niche industries and services environments with low and high temperatures, as well as corrosive environments.

Wendemuth says the mining industry is the company’s biggest market, followed by the manufacturing industry. The company also works on retrofitting and customising existing equipment to client specifications and, in turn, enables better productivity and improved quality. It also modernises older pneumatic automation systems.

“Not all imported machines offer specific solutions to clients’ needs – this is where we can offer high-quality custom products to suit the client’s specifications while guaranteeing the highest-quality service,” he elaborates.

African Presence
Founded in Germany in 1975, Airtec Pneumatic is a family-owned business. The Sandton-based branch functions as a distribution hub to the Southern Africa market. Airtec Pneumatic South Africa has a workshop and stores facility that serves all its clients nationally.