In this July 2025 issue of Electricity + Control we see how industrial technologies continue to evolve to provide integrated solutions that optimise operational efficiencies and advance performance across various industry sectors.
Looking at Control systems + automation, we learn that for TME, a machine builder specialising in machines for the packaging of powdered foods, Beckhoff PC-based control technology was a clear preference for its latest Cialdy Evo machine series. Factors favouring this decision included the scope it enables for innovation in TME’s packaging machines – through its flexibility, scalability, and openness.
In the pulp and paper sector, ABB reports that it is upgrading the existing automation system for leading South African manufacturer of containerboard and paper products, Neopak, at its Rosslyn Paper Mill in Pretoria.
And in another key sector, ACTOM highlights the benefits of automation in the country’s rail networks and the role it is playing in the modernisation and maintenance of South Africa’s rail infrastructure.
Energy management and energy efficiency are increasingly being recognised as priorities in industry, for the performance benefits and cost savings they deliver.
South Africa’s Minimum Energy Performance Standards are now mandatory for all low voltage electric motors – which are widely used across industry. The new standards will see the phasing out of IE1 and IE2 electric motors for more energy-efficient IE3 (or higher efficiency) motors. WEG Africa recently hosted a roundtable gathering to share the context, implications and opportunities of the new MEPS.
Associated Energy Services (AES) says on-site energy systems such as boilers and steam systems should be independently managed to achieve optimum performance outcomes. It highlights that companies often incorrectly rely on a single fuel-to-product usage ratio to capture energy metrics and performance, whereas multiple metrics are needed to help them optimise plant performance.
Bernard Janse van Rensburg from Mulilo notes that as the global energy transition advances, South Africa is becoming a major player in one of the fastest-growing areas of the energy sector: Battery Energy Storage Systems – and he emphasises that BESS is a critical aspect in stabilising South Africa’s grid.
Regarding the maintenance of batteries and battery banks, Comtest, local representative for Fluke, shares the insights of Michael Ginsberg, solar energy expert and Chief Executive Officer of US-based Mastering Green.
In all automation and control systems, as well as in energy management, Measurement +instrumentation are fundamental. In this feature, VEGA shares a uniquely challenging project in which its instruments are at work – the Lake Kivu methane extraction project. Selected level and pressure sensors provide the reliability and precision essential to the safe extraction of this resource for use in power generation and other applications.
Turning to another challenging environment, flame hardening is widely used on parts made from mild steels, alloy steels, medium carbon steels, and cast iron and in this process, accurate temperature measurement is critical to ensuring product quality and consistency. Instrotech identifies the infrared temperature measurement devices that can provide the accurate measurement required.
In Safety of plant, equipment + people, Jared Kangisser of KBC Health & Safety highlights that workplace place safety is a universal responsibility. Although many people think Operational Risk Management is relevant only to industries that are obviously hazardous, South Africa’s OHS Act mandates all employers to keep their workplaces safe.
When we consider electrical equipment designed for use in hazardous environments, all electrical components must follow the principles of intrinsic safety to ensure they cannot act as potential sources of ignition. Omniflex outlines the key aspects of intrinsic safety in design.
And there’s more to learn from leading suppliers of products and services that contribute to safety and safe work practices in industry.
In our regular column Engineering the future we note, with particular interest, that MIT has launched its Initiative for New Manufacturing, an institute-wide effort to reinfuse US industrial production with leading-edge technologies, bolster key US economic sectors, and ignite job creation.
And Write @ the back, the African Development Bank reports on some of the successes achieved to date by the five parties involved in Mission 300, the initiative through which they aim to connect 300 million more Africans to electricity by 2030. Seemingly small successes, these are representative of a much wider impact, worth celebrating!
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