WEG Benelux celebrates record growth figures in 20th anniversary year
WEG Benelux (formerly WEG Europe) is celebrating 20 years in business this year; supplying first EU companies and now Benelux with a market leading range of high efficiency electric motors and inverter drive products. As the first WEG branch office to be established outside the Americas, and with WEG globally now one of the world’s largest electric motor and automation equipment manufacturing companies - WEG Benelux has matched its parent company’s track record of growth, announcing an annual turnover in excess of €33million in the highly competitive Benelux market.
Founded in 1992, WEG Benelux has grown substantially thanks to a committed workforce based originally in Belgium and since 2002 also in Holland. Providing a local stock facility to enable immediate despatch of motors and drives in a wide range of powers and configurations is seen as central to the company’s success, and influenced the decision to extend the warehouse space to 4,500m2 housing over €5.5m of stock. It also provides space for a 250m2 workshop, enabling the company to meet high customer demand for its customised motors, control panels and drive systems.
WEG Benelux was first established at Nivelles in Belgium because of the city’s strategic location; effectively serving all Western European markets via excellent road and rail links. The Nivelles location also offered the added advantage of closeness to Antwerp, the second largest port in Europe, and was a convenient hub from which to source skilled personnel from across the country.
As the business grew, it became evident that another office was required to provide local service support to meet demand from the Netherlands. In 2002 an office was established in Oldenzaal in the East of the country and after significant growth is now celebrating its own 10th anniversary.
The rapid growth of WEG in Europe meant that other additional regional offices and stock locations were opened quickly to serve local markets and in 2008 WEG Europe was renamed WEG Benelux to focus on its important core markets in Belgium, Holland and Luxemburg.
Typical applications in the core market sectors serviced in this region include pumps, compressors, cooling towers and fans for major global customers. In the main, these customers receive customised solutions combining motor, drive and control packages which are assembled in its own workshop.
The company is a specialist in this area with almost 90% of its stock customised in some way in order to service specific customer requirements. These changes include the fitting of flanges, upgraded IP ratings and hazardous area (EExd into EExde) protection; fitting encoders, temperature sensors in windings, forced ventilation equipment, bearing end caps, drip proof canopies; special bearings and seals, space heaters, and special cables and cable glands. In addition, the workshop also performs painting of customised equipment and undertakes testing on equipment between 80A - 600A.
“With record years of growth in 2010 (46%) and in 2011 (29%) against a backdrop of general economic stagnation, we are demonstrating the effectiveness of our growth strategy,” said Stephanie Dupont of WEG Benelux. “We are part of an organisation that has grown from nothing to sales of over $3billion in just 50-years, and our ethos is just the same: customer focus brings success.”
About WEG
A global major in the power distribution, power transmission, automation and control sectors, WEG has just celebrated its 50th birthday. The company’s global sales now exceed the US$3-billion mark, representing increasing global success across a wide range of product groups, including the latest generations of transformers, generators, LV control gear, inverter drive systems, soft starters, LV and HV motors, ATEX- compliant explosion proof motors, smoke extraction motors, gearboxes, gearmotors and full turnkey systems. In addition, WEG has made recently made a significant strategic expansion of its product portfolio following the establishment of a joint venture for the manufacturing of wind turbines.
