Electricity and Control July 2022

DRIVES, MOTORS + SWITCHGEAR

Innovative companies need innovative suppliers Nidec ControlTechniques has been a supplier to AccuTechWeighing Services for over a decade.This successful working relationship demonstrates the importance of shared goals in fostering industrial innovation.

A frica is known for its abundance of natural resources. It is also home to a growing, urbanising and modernising population. Meeting the needs of businesses and consumers in this dynamic landscape requires local companies to embrace technology to gain a competitive edge, enabling process efficiencies and improved productivity. Taking this approach, AccuTech Weighing Services is leveraging the products and support of Nidec Control Techniques in order to offer quality equipment to end-users in the agricultural, mining and food and beverage industries. This contributes to a thriving supply chain characterised by reliability and consistency, which has enabled resilience through today’s difficult times. In the business-to-business market, a company’s ability to offer reliable and consistent products and services is critical. Delays in meeting customers’ needs can have negative and far-reaching implications for the wider supply chain and their end customers. The case of AccuTech illustrates this point. If AccuTech were to have failed in meeting its customers’ needs through the pandemic, it could have left many people in dire straits. However, working with an expert team and dedicated suppliers, like Nidec Control Techniques, AccuTech ensures that it consistently delivers excellence to its clients across Africa.

Delivering custom-made machinery Headed by CEO Brett Hillidge, AccuTech Weighing Services is one of the largest, if not the largest supplier of technological semi-automatic weighing equipment to the grain milling industry in Africa. The company has also grown to include bagging equipment and now caters for the wider agricultural, mining and food and beverage industries. In its 30-year history, AccuTech has worked with many suppliers to find the right drives, PLCs (programmable logic controllers) and panels to use in its equipment. For the past 15 years, it has chosen to work with Nidec Control Techniques products. Hillidge explains: “When you are working with weighing and packaging of materials, precision and reliability are absolutely key. Getting it wrong can have serious implications for the bottom line and customer satisfaction. We cannot compromise on this. At the same time, we are manufacturing equipment for wide ranging applications and we are dedicated to delivering customised machines for our various clients. With all these factors in mind, we have to select our technology suppliers carefully.” Bruce Grobler, Vice President Middle East & Africa, Nidec Control Techniques, says, “We have enjoyed our longstanding working relationship with AccuTech. We strive to exceed expectations and doing so requires a careful understanding of our customers’ needs. We know how important it is for AccuTech to get the right products and services from us – consistently and reliably.” AccuTech makes use of a range of Nidec Control Techniques products depending on the application. Orders include the M400, incorporating an on-board PLC which can execute Machine Control Studio (IEC61131-3) programs for logic and sequencing with real-time tasks – removing the need for additional PLCs. This drive is suitable for heavy industrial applications and ensures high performance from AccuTech’s machinery. The company also makes use of Commander C200 and C300 ac drives. These are simple and compact ac motor speed controllers that meet advanced requirements in a range of applications and provide an optimum user experience. Hillidge says, “We find these simple to set up, starting with just four parameters. It is a straightforward installation and commissioning process, and is one of the reasons we keep choosing Nidec Control Techniques products.” In addition, Nidec Control Techniques offers a five-

AccuTech Weighing Services supplies semi-automatic weighing and bagging equipment to the agricultural, mining and food and beverage industries.

10 Electricity + Control JULY 2022