WEG Benelux invests in local assembly line

~ Up to five times faster delivery on WG20 geared motors ~

WEG Benelux has launched a new assembly line at its warehouse facility in Nivelles, Belgium. The €200,000 investment will enable WEG Benelux to assemble the WG20 geared motor series on site, significantly reducing lead times for customers in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

The WG20 series is a state-of-the-art range of helical, parallel shaft and helical bevel gear units with torques ranging from 50 to 18,000 Nm. The range is designed, manufactured and assembled entirely in house at WEG.

The new line at the warehouse in Belgium will initially focus on the assembly of extra small (XS), small (S) and medium (M) WG20 models up to a maximum capacity of 1,500 Nm. To make this possible, WEG Benelux has invested €200,000 of expenditure into new equipment such as tooling and presses, as well as the creation of an extensive inventory of spare parts.

In addition to capital expenditure, the branch has invested time into training and the development of its assembly team, as Werner Lievens, Managing Director of WEG Benelux explains.

“WEG Benelux was supported by Watt Drive, the specialist gearbox manufacturing division of WEG globally. From the WG20 manufacturing site in Austria, Watt Drive provided consultation on the production line’s construction, as well as in depth training for three members of our team,” Lievens explained. “Two operators and a one of our technical service specialists visited Watt Drive personally for expert provision and training.”

The assembly line at the Nivelles warehouse has been operational since January 8, 2024, and WEG Benelux already has plans to expand the project in the coming years. The expansion project could see the creation of an additional assembly line to accommodate local assembly of larger WG20 models up to 18,000 Nm.

“Boosting the sales of geared motors in Benelux has been a project six years in the making,” continued Lievens. “The approach of WEG Benelux has always been characterised by a strong customer focus, with close relationships, multilingual communication and flexible deliveries. Improving the speed in which we can deliver the WG20 range is crucial.”

The WG20 geared motor is not only an important product for WEG Benelux, but for WEG globally. The series boasts low life-cycle costs, increased system availability and improved flexibility. Furthermore, the range is available in energy efficiency class IE3, with the possibility of IE4 depending on the application. Design advantages include a compact, optimised construction and certifications and voltage variation for markets around the world.

For WEG Benelux, the investment in the WG20 assembly line ensures the branch can deliver to key customers in the food and beverage, packaging, infrastructure industries and more. In fact, the new line will reduce lead times from an average of eight to ten weeks down to just two weeks for customers in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg.

More information on the WG20 range can be found on the WEG website. To contact the WEG Benelux team directly, please send an email to [email protected] .