For over 20 years, WEG has been a strategic supplier to the mining sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its local South African manufacturing base has been central to reduced lead times, while a well-established distribution and service network has enhanced support capabilities and, ultimately, customer satisfaction.

With a total mineral wealth estimated in the tens of trillions of dollars, the DRC is one of the most strategic mining markets for WEG. Armed with a diverse scope of products including low and high voltage electric motors, low and high voltage drives, power and distribution transformers, gensets and energy solutions, low and medium voltage switchgear, motor control centres (MCCs) and E-houses, WEG has had a longstanding presence in the DRC mining market. Thierry Kakese, WEG’s regional manager – Central Africa, says the company operates through various links and channels in the DRC.

“When it comes to capital projects, we work directly with EPCM and project houses to ensure our products and solutions are specified. On the operational side, we do establish a direct link with end users, mostly via our in-country partners. Our local representation in the DRC comprises distribution and service channels,” explains Kakese.

Committed to the profitability of its customers, WEG continually invests in the development of innovative industrial electrical solutions. One of WEG’s flagship product lines in the DRC is its premium IE3 and IE4 motors. The energy saving benefits of WEG’s IE3 and IE4 motors have set them apart from competitors, addressing mines’ quests to reduce energy consumption and lower operating costs.

Much of the WEG equipment for the DRC is manufactured in South Africa. The low voltage (LV) and high voltage (HV) MCCs, transformers, gensets, MV soft starters, LV variable speed drives (VSDs) and soft starter panels are all manufactured in Johannesburg, while some of the gensets come from the company’s Cape Town facility. Given the importance of quality control in mining, these facilities are ISO 9001: 2015 certified and adhere to high quality procedures and standards. WEG also complies with the relevant International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards for the various product groups.

The fact that manufacturing now takes place in Johannesburg, which is only 2 000 km away from most of the mining sites in the DRC, significantly shortens lead times compared to previously importing from WEG’s overseas factories in Europe, Asia or the Americas.

“To enable efficient delivery of products, we place value on proper planning and understanding all the logistical dynamics while the products are in transit, especially considering they have to pass through various border points. The target has always been to deliver timeously as per agreed timeframes with our customers despite border and road challenges,” says Kakese.

Delivering products and solutions in the DRC is not without its challenges, adds Kakese. The DRC probably has one of the most challenging transport infrastructure environments in Africa. In addition, most of the mines are located in remote areas, rendering road transportation difficult.

“To address this challenge, we have over the years bolstered our local representation with service and distribution partners who carry sufficient stockholding and are the first line of support for customers in the DRC. In fact, we have recently added IPS Congo to our Value Added Reseller (VAR) network. IPS Congo is strategically located in Kolwezi, where the majority of mines in the DRC are based. On the service side of our network, we have added Lekasi-based AEMI, which services our range of LV motors,” explains Kakese.

Another major challenge in the DRC is the lack of technical skills. To address this, WEG invests heavily in the development of its local partners through continuous training programmes. 

Commenting on some of the success stories in the DRC, Kakese points out that WEG’s MV VSDs and LV motors have, in the past decade, been specified for some of the major projects in the country. However, it is WEG’s involvement with a major copper project that he believes is a major reference point.

“We supplied and commissioned several of our products for Phase 1 and Phase 2 of this major copper project and we are currently completing Phase 3,” says Kakese.

“In future, our plan is to gain more local presence in the DRC by establishing a strong sales and service network with the ability to support our entire product portfolio. These partners would be product- and area-focused to ensure our customers in the DRC experience the best possible support,” concludes Kakese.