Finalists for this year’s 2014 PneuDrive Challenge – a yearly competition spon- sored by pneumatic solutions provider Pneumax Southern Africa and drive engineering company SEW-Eurodrive – have until October 13 to work on their designs for this year’s competition – the design of warehousing solutions in accordance with this year’s theme, ‘Green Warehousing Logistics’.

“Students have to identify and analyse specific problems relating to retrieval, conveying, placement, packing, palletising and loading within a warehouse and design a solution,” explains SEW-Eurodrive marketing and communications GM Rene Rose.

“Students have to be able to demonstrate how their designs could address the identified problem, as well as how they have taken the environment into consideration.”

Pneumax MD Adrian Buddingh notes that there are certain proposed products from both Pneumax and SEW-Eurodrive that the students can consider using when designing their warehousing logistics solution.

“For each of the different areas of warehousing that the students need to consider, there are suitable products from Pneumax and SEW-Eurodrive that can assist.”

Buddingh adds that the organisers assist the students in the competition throughout the year, starting with a series of roadshows at competing universities that clearly define the rules, processes, the theme and benefits of submitting an entry.

The roadshows also provide students and lecturers with valuable information about the topic and the products available from SEW-Eurodrive and Pneumax.

“Past experience has taught us that there are gaps between the learning and working experience of engineering students. “To address this situation, workshops have been arranged to ensure that students not only gain exposure to products, but also meet with experienced engineers to receive feedback on their design proposals,” he states.

Rose adds that, as sponsors of the PneuDrive Challenge, Pneumax and SEW-Eurodrive recognise the importance of partnering with higher education institutions. “This helps to address the enormous pressures that universities are under, and prepares skilled engineering students for the labour market.”

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dging for the competition will take place on November 5 and 6, and winners will be announced on November 7.