Speaking at the WEG stand at Electra Mining Africa last week, Eduardo Werninghaus, CEO at WEG Africa, outlined the company’s internal evolution over the past year, noting its strategic realignment focusing on sustainability – internally in its own operations and in the solutions it offers the market, a reorientation that reinforces its connections with WEG’s Brazilian headquarters and its global engineering expertise, and its rebranding simply as WEG (formerly Zest WEG) which reflects this.
Werninghaus said WEG recognises the growing need for sustainability in all sectors of industry and at multiple levels. Mines today, he said, look to partner with original equipment manufacturers who share their commitment to sustainability, and can offer the latest technology to optimise production and contribute to reducing their carbon footprint.
At Electra Mining Africa WEG Africa presented the company’s extensive range of energy technologies – which include solar, wind, steam and battery energy storage solutions. Werninghaus highlighted that this range of options allows customers to consider various hybrid energy solutions to meet their sustainability goals.
“This is an important differentiator for WEG, as it means we can draw from our wide selection of energy generation solutions – so we are unbiased when helping customers find the most suitable design for their specific conditions,” he said. “With renewable energy technologies in our offering, we enable customers to optimise sustainability and maintain productivity.”
In the field of solar power, for example, WEG has an extensive portfolio of products for all stages of photovoltaic solar generation projects, with solutions for energy conversion and internal distribution systems. These cover aspects from the plant to the point of connection with the electrical system through high voltage substations.
The focus on clean energy is also driving the expansion of biofuel production, making steam power increasingly relevant to industries operating in the local economy. WEG has established a leading role in turbogenerator solutions in Brazil, for example, where it has recently supplied systems that this year will add 140 MW of clean energy to that country’s capacity.
“WEG also provides customers with the technology they need to improve energy efficiency – with the benefits of reducing their costs and their carbon footprint as well,” he said. “Our WEG W23 Sync+ electric motors are the most complete line of high efficiency units, delivering exceptional efficiency irrespective of speed or load variations.”
Werninghaus highlighted that the motors can deliver energy savings of up to 30% in comparison to conventional IE3 induction motors using frequency inverters. He also pointed to the cutting-edge technology in WEG’s frequency inverters, allowing speed variation in three-phase induction motors.
Monitoring sustainability
Monitoring and quantifying the impact of sustainability initiatives is also important. In this regard, WEG has developed its WEGSEE+ platform to calculate potential energy savings. It allows customers to predict the potential savings achievable if they replace existing motors, gearboxes and inverters with more efficient options. It provides the necessary data for customers to make smart decisions to optimise resources.
Sharing how WEG has embraced sustainable production in its own operations, Werninghaus emphasised that this reflects the company’s understanding of how important this priority is for its customers. As a measure of its commitment and achievements in this regard, WEG was awarded Gold Medal status from EcoVadis last year. EcoVadis is one of the world’s trusted and well recognised rating agencies for corporate sustainability management.
“We are also judged to be a ‘leader’ company by CDP Climate Change, which focuses on assessing companies’ decarbonisation management,” he said. “Additionally, our environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk is classified as ‘low’ by Sustainalytics.”
As part of its sustainability drive WEG also seeks to promote local production, which reduces the carbon footprint associated with long-haul transportation of products, promotes the local economy and reduces lead times for customers. The company’s electric motor production lines in Johannesburg are just one example of WEG’s local resource base. Among its South African facilities is the company’s Robertsham facility where it engineers automation systems, its genset manufacturing operations in Cape Town and now also in Johannesburg, and its transformer manufacturing facilities in Wadeville and Heidelberg.
“Sustainability has become central to how we operate as a company, and we are continuously developing our technologies to support our customers’ sustainability goals,” Werninghaus said.
For more information visit: www.weg.net
