New Zealand Industrial Electric Co (NZIND) has been appointed master distribution agent for Toshiba in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
Toshiba has long been regarded as one of the premium brands in motors and drive technology worldwide and some of the largest industrial installations in the pulp and paper industry, power generation, steel manufacturing and oil & gas have Toshiba motors as part of their primary plant.
It is not a new brand in New Zealand by any stretch, says (NZIND) National sales and marketing Manager Gustav Eiselen. “We have a very mature market in New Zealand with a number of established brands. The differentiator for us will be the fact that Toshiba offers a genuine world leading alternative to current brands currently on offer in New Zealand.”
Toshiba is one of the world’s largest industrial manufacturers and their capability goes well beyond industrial motors and drives. NZIND says Toshiba is a genuine pioneering company and market leader in various fields ranging from power plants, medical devices such as CT scanners, digital equipment and industrial manufacturing equipment. NZIND represents the industrial range of Toshiba products in New Zealand, with its main focus on electric motors and drives (VSD’s). The offering also includes a range of instrumentation and award-winning LED industrial lighting products.
Under the European Ecodesign regulations, common types of motor with ratings up to 375kW placed on the market since 1 January 2015 must either meet the IE3 efficiency level, or meet the lower IE2 level and be fitted with a VSD (variable-speed drive). Worldwide efficiency standards dictate that New Zealand and Australia will also need to adopt the much higher IE3 MEPS-3 Standard for Premium Efficiency Motors in the near future.
In the next phase of the Ecodesign regulations, which comes into force at the start of 2017, the ratings of motors covered will be extended to 750W. The option of either buying an IE3 motor or using an IE2 machine with a VSD will remain but, from 2018, the European Commission will eliminate the IE2+VSD option.
This is a major shift in the market and will present a challenge to all motor suppliers in New Zealand and Australia. The new standard no longer allows Test Method ‘B’ which allowed suppliers to use ‘assumed’ figures for their testing calculations. For Toshiba it meant a new design of a number of its motors to ensure it not only met, but exceeded the requirements of the higher MEPS-3 standard.
The ISO 1940-1 standard describes the Mechanical vibration and Balance quality requirements for Motor rotors. Most large industries request a balance grade of G1.0, but historically none of the suppliers had these available as part of their stocked range in New Zealand, instead they only offered a balance grade to G2.5. Toshiba states it always strives to provide its customers with the best possible product. For this reason, it supplies all its SWE and SWEA motor range in New Zealand, factory dynamically balanced to G1.0. The higher balance grade is a huge benefit to clients, reducing vibration and extending the life of the motor bearings, says the company, believing this is a very significant differentiator for Toshiba.
So what does all of this mean for Industry in New Zealand? Electrical engineers are continually looking to future-proof plant and control equipment, so when they are buying a new motor today, they need to satisfy themselves that they are buying a product that will meet future efficiency standards.
Eiselen advises that NZIND stocks over 1,000 motors in its central North Island warehouse, from where it services and supplies to the South Island, lower North Island and central North Island. It has appointed a reseller – Rotech Pacific – which stocks motors for Auckland and Northland customers and provides motor sales service and maintenance, in-house or on-site.
NZIND also offers a full maintenance, on-site inspection, installation and a complete motor service package to all existing and new customers from its facility in Kawerau, Bay of Plenty. The company believes it is a genuine one-stop-shop when it comes to motors sales and support.
NZIND states it is also one of the leading industrial LED suppliers in New Zealand. Its LED product was introduced to provide a balanced offering to its industrial clients, says Eiselen. Lighting is such a big issue on sites. Most site maintenance staff are bombarded with suppliers all offering LED lighting, and without in-depth experience in LED lighting technology, it is very difficult for them make an informed decision about which product to buy.
What people do not realise, Eiselen says, is how important it is to have a good design philosophy when you are looking at LED lighting. A good LED design is based on various electrical/electronic and mechanical design principals. NZIND offers customers a full turnkey service starting at understanding the application, providing a detailed LED lighting model and the selection of a suitable product that will exceed the requirements, based on solid industrial engineering principals.
“Make sure you talk to us when you next consider buying a new motor, VSD, LED lighting and instrumentation for your next maintenance or plant projects. It does not matter how small the project. Our focus is on building long-term relationships based on trust, support, service and sound engineering advice.”
