WEG, builds new factory in Europe

~ Substantial investments for WEG’s largest European plant ~

Global motor manufacturer, WEG is undergoing a substantial project to expand the size and capabilities of its production facility in Europe. Further to the facility built in 2017, a new investment will see WEG double the size of the manufacturing site in Portugal, hire 100 new employees and create Europe’s most complete testing laboratory for medium voltage (MV) and high voltage (HV) motion drives (electric motors and drives).   

WEG Portugal, registered as WEGeuro - Indústria Eléctrica, S.A., has been the heart of the company’s European production of electric motors and MV/HV drives since its inception 20 years ago. Currently split across two sites in Maia and Santo Tirso in Portugal, the facilities manufacture over 10,000 motors annually, deliver to over 50 countries on five continents and employ over 750 people.

Now, WEG is constructing an additional 22,680 sqm factory at the Santo Tirso site to support the manufacture of MV/HV motors and drives, LV electrical panels and the provision of the corresponding servicing activities on shop floor as well as on site. The project will see the transfer of the Maia factory to the new plant in Santo Tirso, centralising all operations to a single site.

The investment will also increase production capacity to IEC 1400 frame size electric motors and equivalent MV/HV drives. This is in addition to specialist flameproof, smoke extraction and marine motors, engineered automation solutions, as well as the range of WEG digital and automation tools such as Motion Fleet Management (MFM).

Among the additions at the new factory is a substantial investment in a new testing laboratory. The space will be suitable for full-load testing to meet the new portfolio of products from WEG, and will continue to enable customers to remotely monitor tests in real time. In fact, the facility will be the most complete testing laboratory in Europe for MV/HV motion drives, products and solutions.

“WEG has long believed in the importance of manufacturing products local to the market where they will be sold,” explained António Duarte, managing director of WEG Portugal. “The new investment will significantly improve the site’s manufacturing capabilities, our flexibility and time-to-market, and reinforces our continued commitment to the European market.”

The new factory will also see WEG intensify its use of robotics and automation, with planned incremental investments for the years to come. These technologies include automated guided vehicles (AGVs), six-axis robots, and the creation of an automated vertical warehouse for picking of smaller parts and products.

“Our plans are based on the WEG Manufacturing System (WMS), a programme WEG follows to continually improve the way we manufacture,” continued Duarte. “This philosophy helps us to eliminate waste and achieve the best possible efficiency. In fact, we employ the WMS model throughout our entire business, including our offices. The upcoming investments in Santo Tirso follows this way of thinking, and will make us more resilient for decades to come.”

The construction of the second factory in Santo Tirso is currently underway and is expected to be fully operational by 2024. The transfer will be initiated during 2023 and will be gradual, ensuring no impact on production or deliveries.

NSK, NSK high-load ball screws, now offer even longer life

NSK has developed new technology that significantly extends ball screw life in highload applications such as injection moulding machines and servo presses. The latest super long-life ball screws from NSK offer up to twice the service life of conventional ball screws thanks to the optimisation of load distribution. Resource conservation through extended life and the downsizing of machinery is a further advantage. The technology will have particular appeal for machine builders transitioning to electric designs.

By developing special long-life technology that balances load distribution more evenly, NSK could extend the life of its ball screws up to twice that of conventional designs (application dependent). The new technology came about through a combination of NSK's proprietary high-precision machining capabilities (including the development of dedicated machinery), the company’s digital-twin simulation technology, and its precision measurement systems (improved measurement accuracy by linking with machining data). As a further benefit for builders of machines serving high-load applications, adopting NSK’s new super long-life ball screw technology permits the use of a smaller shaft diameter, delivering a cost saving.

The importance of new developments in ball-screw technology are vital for many machine builders. For instance, with sustainable development goals and carbon neutrality initiatives advancing in many countries, there is of course a need to enhance the environmental friendliness and functionality of industrial machinery. Here, manufacturers of injection moulding machines and servo presses, for example, are switching from hydraulic to electric drive systems using servo motors and ball screws to save energy.

Demand is increasing for high-productivity electric injection moulding machines capable of handling more complex shapes and larger sizes. As a result, OEMs in this space are looking towards ‘high-cycle’ designs offering short processing times. Quicker, more frequent operation in turn demands the use of long-life ball screws.

NSK’s HTF-SRC series of high-speed, high-load ball screws (100-200 mm outer diameter) takes advantage of the new super long-life technology. Notably, the dimensions are completely interchangeable with NSK's current equivalent models, so no machine design changes are necessary.

Super long-life ball screws from NSK offer up to twice the service life of conventional ball screws

About NSK Europe

NSK Europe Ltd. is the European organisation of the Tokyo-based bearing manufacturer NSK, which was founded in Japan in 1916 and today employs nearly 30,580 people in its worldwide operations. The products and solutions provided by the industrial and automotive supplier can be found wherever things move. In addition to nearly all types of rolling bearings, the company’s portfolio includes housed bearings, linear technology, wheel bearing units, transmission and engine bearings and steering systems. The company is oriented to perfection in all of its business activities. Its aim is quality leadership in its industry, which it strives for through a continuous process of improvement, excellent product development, optimised production processes and customer-oriented service processes. In fiscal year 2021, the more than 4,250 employees of NSK Europe Ltd. generated sales of over € 818 million.

FPT Industrial, FPT INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITS THE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE OF POWERTRAIN AT THE BEYOND - IVECO GROUP DAYS EVENT

Turin, Italy, July 25, 2022

From 13 to 17 July at the Officine Grandi Riparazioni (OGR) in Turin (Italy), Iveco Group and its Brands hosted their many stakeholders for a major, carbon-neutral event called BEYOND - Iveco Group Days (click here to watch the recorded event).

The aim was to shed light on Iveco Group’s integrated structure and internal business ecosystems, while sharing the company’s purpose, values and future roadmap based on three strategic pillars: technology, sustainability and partnership.

FPT Industrial took centre stage on both 14 and 15 of July with Sylvain Blaise, President of the Iveco Group Powertrain Business Unit and Brand President of FPT Industrial, and two propulsion-themed roundtables.

In his keynote speech “The future of Powertrains”, Sylvain Blaise stressed the key role that powertrain manufacturers play in developing the powertrain of the future in order to achieve carbon neutrality, and how it is necessary to approach the route to sustainability in a holistic way, with a complete view of the cycle. In addition, he highlighted the importance of low- or zero-carbon energy in terms of sourcing and distribution in achieving the set goals. It also means ensuring continuity and competitiveness in strategic sectors that use current products and technologies, as well as developing new and greener propulsion solutions designed to be delivered to and adopted by the widest possible customer base in the shortest possible time.

These high-profile themes were discussed in the following roundtables: “Focus on propulsions: technological roadmap”, moderated by Fabrizio Goria, Financial Reporter at La Stampa (click here to watch the recorded event), and “Propulsion evolution and partnerships ecosystem” , moderated by Alberto Onetti of Mind the Bridge (click here to watch the recorded event), further evidencing the next steps that FPT Industrial and its partners are taking together. At the first meeting, participants including Philip Scarth, Head of Open Innovation at FPT Industrial, and Giorgio Ricci, Head of Manufacturing at FPT Industrial, shared ideas about the future of internal combustion engines as one of the many solutions to reduce emissions and their importance in current agricultural and construction industries, while also discussing the impact of electric evolution on powertrain manufacturing. During the talk, the speakers indicated the direction that FPT Industrial wants to take, becoming a “game changer” in the electrification era and positioning itself at the center of an ecosystem of skills.

The second roundtable featured, among others, Pierpaolo Biffali, Vice President of Product Engineering at FPT Industrial, who presented the brand’s vision about the decarbonization of industrial On-Highway and Off-Highway sectors. This vision includes a close collaboration with each partner combined with continuous leveraging of both its specific powertrain expertise and partners’ market experience to develop sustainable and successful projects together.

FPT Industrial would like to thank all its guests and partners who joined the event for their valuable contributions, which further reinforced the open, collaborative, forward-looking spirit that underlies all of FPT Industrial’s partnerships: For the “Focus on propulsions: technological roadmap” roundtable: Daniela Vinci, CEO of Masmec, Sascha Kelterborn, President of Microvast, and Neeta Khare, Director of Battery, Fuel Cells & MD at Potenza. For the “Propulsion evolution and partnerships ecosystem” roundtable: Anirudh Bhuwalka, CEO of Blue Energy Motors, Chris Mann CTO of Bennamann, Francesco Farinetti, CEO at Green Pea, Board Member at Eataly, Partnerships at Fontanafredda, Oscar Baroncelli, Head of Tractor Product Management at New Holland Agriculture, and Alessandro Rossi, Chief Technical Officer at Azimut Benetti Group.

"Engineers are tasked to do more with less" discovers a study by IHS

Which issues cause the biggest headaches for today’s engineers around the world? According to a new global study by business information provider IHS, the pressure to work faster, the threat caused by institutional knowledge drain and challenges posed by environmental regulations are among the chief concerns.