With almost three centuries of combined industrial gearbox applications experience, David Brown Santasalo (DBS) designs, engineers and manufactures tailor-made mechanical power transmission systems.

Their global network of manufacturing, service and sales locations span six continents, which includes two main factories in Finland and China, and three additional manufacturing facilities in Canada, India and South Africa.

One of the key manufacturing facilities is in the city of Benoni, in South Africa, which first opened its doors in June 1947, and has over 75 years of manufacturing experience providing extensive product and service support to customers in the sub-Saharan region. Since its inception, DBS South Africa has gone from strength to strength.

They are the market leaders in industrial gear manufacturing and aftermarket services, supporting their customers with bespoke power transmission solutions to meet the complex requirements of the industries in which they operate.

They have a team of dedicated service engineers available 24/7/365, providing a full suite of aftermarket services both from their South African workshop and in the field. In addition to custom-engineered gears and gearboxes, they also provide precision drop-in replacements, and expert repairs for DBS, heritage brand and third-party power transmission systems.

Their DBS standard product range delivers robust and reliable solutions for heavy-duty applications, including mill drives, barring drives, conveyor drives, pump drives, and mixing and agitator drives - engineered to ensure optimal performance and efficiency across diverse industrial operations. DBS also manufacture high-performance girth gears up to 14 m in diameter and specialised winder gears, delivering advanced, locally produced solutions designed to reduce downtime and extend equipment life.

From mining and minerals to power and sugar, DBS understands their customers’ specific requirements and delivers reliable, innovative gear solutions that fit seamlessly into their operations. With dedicated DBS engineers across South Africa, backed by expert technical support and a trusted partner network, they combine local responsiveness with world-class manufacturing, delivering the quality their customers need, right where they need it.

Efficiency Through Innovation DBS goes beyond delivering world-class gear systems by offering innovative solutions that help customers maximise uptime and efficiency. In addition, their proprietary remote condition monitoring system, GearWatch is a smart, compact and value-creating tool for the remote monitoring of process equipment.

GearWatch measures, collects and analyses data and puts customers in the driving seat, giving them access to their data, along with reports and alerts, in real-time, 24/7 via the Internet.

Using a variety of sensors and instrumentation, it can detect gearbox issues months or even up to a year in advance, allowing customers to plan ahead and schedule repairs and maintenance to fit into their production schedules.

Additionally, DBS Transform converts third-party gearboxes into high-performance DBS gearboxes through the use of advanced 3D scanning technology to replace the rotating components.

This technology ensures minimal downtime during the reverse engineering process and can be used at almost any location, effectively eliminating all potential obstacles for the customer.

DBS has successfully assisted several customers in transforming their existing gearboxes to perform effectively and efficiently in a variety of challenging circumstances.

Partner with David Brown Santasalo for proven expertise, innovative solutions, and unrivalled local support. Whatever your challenge, DBS can deliver the reliability and performance that your operations demand.