Mechanical Technology May 2016

⎪ On the cover ⎪

Sheet metal enclosures: SA’s benchmark manufacturer World Power Products (WPP), with over 50 years of experience in sheet metal manufacturing, has modernised and repositioned itself to best meet the needs of an increasingly competitive marketplace. MechTech visits the company’s newly streamlined facilities in Johannesburg and talks to managing director, Jan Görtzen (left).

W PP was originally brought into being in 1963 by Peter Bahlig, following his arrival in South Africa af- ter leaving East Germany. In the 1980s, the company was an early adopter of laser cutting technology, which quickly led to its pioneering role in the design and manufacture of sheet metal enclosures for the electrical industry. The company was run as a fam- ily business for over 50 years, with Peter Bahlig at the helm until his death in 2008. “I joined in November 2013 after Peter’s wife, Elizabeth, passed away. The family link continues, though, through their son, Mark, who remains part of our leadership team,” says Görtzen. With a background in mechanical engineering, Görtzen was immediately charged with modernising the business to restore market share in increas- ingly tough economic conditions. “We analysed every aspect of the business in order to identify what processes could be streamlined, where we could work smarter, where we could improve effi- ciencies and where we could save time and money to offer our customers the best value,” he says. The company’s extensive sheet metal processing operations – CNC laser cut- ting, punching, bending, MIG and TIG welding, powder coating, gasketing, CNC milling and turning and assembly, as well as electroplating, tool making, die casting and plastic injection moulding – used to be spread across five different factory sites. “This comprehensive set of capabilities sets us apart from our rivals. While anyone with a bending brake and a punching machine can make an enclo- sure, because of our capabilities, experi- ence and expertise, we are able to offer far more in terms of added services and in-house capabilities,” notes Görtzen. Citing gasketing as an example, he

An overview of WPP’s dedicated punching area in the sheet processing facility. Inset: A Trumpf CNC punching machine being used to a perforate a panel.

consolidated its manufacturing opera- tions into two adjacent properties in Side Road, Turffontein, Johannesburg. “This has given us better control over our processes, which has resulted in faster turnaround times for our customers,” he says. “We have become a much leaner operation with all our resources streamlined to maximise productivity and minimise idle time,” he adds. Dedicated punching, laser cutting and bending areas have been established to improve process control and material flows. Sheet material deliveries now di- rectly enter the sheet processing facility, where the laser cutting and punching pro- cesses are completed. Flat components are then moved across to the second factory, with the CNC bending area at its starting point. Welding, grinding and – downstairs from there – powder-coating processes are completed in this facility, followed by assembly. “We also have a separate plating plant, along with a machine shop – for components such as pins, fasteners and busbars – which are

says that many competitors offer stick- on gaskets, “but ours are polyurethane foam gaskets fitted during the manufac- turing process using our CNC gasketing machine. These are an integral part of our designs and give us a genuine IP65 ingress protection rating for every enclo- sure,” he says, adding that IP65 certifies that the enclosure isolates live wiring and moving parts and is ingress-protected against dust and water sprayed from a hose or nozzle. WPP is also the only enclosure manufacturer that makes its own locks and hinges. “Over the years, we have developed a robust range of locks that have been widely copied overseas. Even compared to these modern imports, though, ours remain as good as you can get in terms of value. They meet all client expectations, including price expectations, and are even used in the enclosures manufactured by competi- tors,” Görtzen tells MechTech . To gain better control and to stream- line its manufacturing processes, WPP

4

Mechanical Technology — May 2016