Drives & Controls May 2022

NEWS n THE BRITISHMOTOR developer Saietta is bringing production of its axial-flux motors back from China to the UK. The company had originally planned to establish a UK pilot production line by 2024, but is now taking over a motor manufacturing facility in Sunderland previously operated by ZF Automotive UK, which closed the factory last year. Saietta plans to take on many of ZF’s 110 former employees. Since 1999, the 8,000m 2 (86,000ft 2 ) facility has produced more than 20 million motors for automotive applications such as power steering. Saietta’s acquisition includes four motor production lines and a circuit board production line. Much of this equipment can be re-purposed to manufacture Saietta’s products. Saietta intends to use the new facility to scale up production of its proprietary axial- flux motors for a variety of applications. Saietta will also relocate production of its e- Axle commercial vehicle drivetrain technology from China to Sunderland. The number of motors produced at the site will be increased in phases with the initial target capacity being 100,000 motors per year. “This is a landmark achievement for Saietta, providing us with a UK production facility more than two years ahead of schedule, further speeding up our capability to supply our innovation to clients in high volume globally,” says the company’s chief executive, Wicher Kist. “In addition to the lease on the large premises in Sunderland, we are also acquiring automotive production lines and are ready to employ a fantastic, proven team with decades of experience in manufacturing electric motors between them. “The UK is a hot-spot for electric powertrain innovation and we are committed to building up the engineering and manufacturing of our technology in the UK and exporting to mainland Europe and beyond,” Kist adds. “This is a very clear signal of our intent. Indeed, it’s our stated ambition to make this plant an eMotor assembly role model, fully ESG-compliant and carbon- neutral.” Saietta will offer roles to former ZF personnel with skills such as fabrication, engineering, IT, quality control, finance and process management. UKmotor developer brings production back fromChina Saietta CEOWicher Kist: a landmark achievement YOUR PARTNER FOR SAFETY CONTROL AND MONITORING For over 90 years, E. Dold & Söhne GmbH & Co. KG has been producing the highest quality safety relay and control products. Driven by an uncompromising approach to reliability and certified to ISO 9001, Dold is one of the leading European manufacturers with complete control over innovation, design, production and quality control. Wide range of control cabinet housings from 6.2 to 200 mm width with selectable screw or spring terminals (push-in) connection technology. Our extensive product portfolio includes safety relays with forcibly guided contacts, miniature relays and bistable relays. PCB RELAYS MONITORING ENCLOSURES CONTROL UNIT AND ELECTRONIC ENCLOSURES As a specialist in PCB relays, we stand for quality and reliability from a single source. In order to meet the highest quality requirements. Dold offers you a comprehensive product range in the field of electrical safety of residual current monitors, insulation monitoring devices, insulation fault location systems as well as measuring relays and monitoring relays for unearthed (IT) systems and earthed (TT and TN) power systems. SAFETY RELAYS AND PCB RELAYS MEASURING AND MONITORING OF ELECTRICAL VARIABLES d i Li i d Dol Industries Limited 11 Hamberts Road South Woodham Ferrers, Essex CM3 5UW www.dold.co.uk Dold offers you a comprehensive product range in the field of electrical safety of residual current monitors, insulation monitoring devices, insulation fault location systems as well as measuring relays and monitoring relays for unearthed (IT) systems and earthed (TT and TN) power systems. MEASURING AND ONITORING OF ELECTRICAL VARIABLES SEE US AT