Successful show supports global growth

Variable frequency drives manufacturer, Invertek Drives, has confirmed that its recent attendance at the Hannover Messe trade show was one of the most successful it has undertaken over the past two decades – with the brand new Optidrive E3 general purpose drive being the star of the show.

The independently owned company exhibited at the show to help raise Invertek Drives’ profile with key industry decision makers from around the World.

As well as the new Optidrive E3, the company received rave reviews for the advanced motor control features of the P2, ECO and E3 Optidrives. The ability to use one drive that can control any IE2, IE3 and IE4 motor - whether permanent magnet, standard induction or synchronous reluctance – attracted substantial international interest!

Sales and Marketing Director, Rhydian Welson, says, “We are operating in an extremely competitive global marketplace, so recognise the need to continually raise awareness of the capabilities of both our products and the support services we offer around the World.

“Hannover proved to be a truly international show, welcoming exhibitors and visitors from more than 70 countries and providing us with excellent opportunities to increase our global presence.”

Invertek Drives received a record number of enquiries during the show, 90% of which were new business, from visitors representing a wide variety of industries in over 30 countries as far afield as Argentina, Australia and Morocco.

Rhydian continues, “Our variable frequency drives are currently sold in more than 80 countries worldwide, but there is still enormous potential for increasing sales - accordingly we are targeting continued and significant growth.”

Invertek’s strategy to increase its share of the global drives market is proving successful - latest figures show that the market is growing by approximately 6% year on year, whilst Invertek Drives’ CAG (compounded annual growth) is currently 25%.

“Attendance at international trade shows is a great way of reaching a significant number of people with the authority to make decisions about which products their organisations use, as well as which companies they work with.” comments Rhydian.

Invertek’s third generation general purpose drive Optidrive E3 received a high level of interest, particularly in the higher power ratings; E3 is available up to 22kW in the new frame size 4. IP66, IP20 and single phase versions also generated a significant number of enquiries.

Rhydian elaborates, “This range is widely regarded as world leading for this type of General Purpose drive. It offers excellent performance, is cost effective, easy to use and compact making it popular worldwide. The eagerly anticipated Optidrive E3 will be going into full production in August and was very well received at Hannover.”

Invertek also attracted significant interest in Optidrive Elevator, one of only a handful, if not the only, drive dedicated to controlling motors used in elevator applications.

Rhydian continues, “We are extremely pleased with the response we received at Hannover and will be exhibiting again in 2017 as a result.”

As well as designing and manufacturing a wide range of AC drives, Invertek Drives also offers a ‘Global Engineered Support’ programme to ensure customers around the World can access local support when needed. This has been a key factor in Invertek’s success to date and the company carefully selects all sales partners to ensure they are able to meet the highest standards of customer service.

Representatives from Invertek Drives sales partners in more than 10 European countries supported and visited Invertek’s stand and the general consensus of opinion was that the market remains buoyant - driven by global legislation aimed at reducing the volumes of energy consumed in industrial automation processes.

2015 show organisers reported the busiest Hannover ever – 220,000 visitors, of which 70,000 were from countries other than Germany, attended the five day show to view the latest automation innovations from more than 6,500 exhibitors.

The highest non-German visitor numbers came from Turkey, Italy, China and India – all countries where Invertek has an established presence. Find your local sales partner or see more photos from Invertek's attendance at Hannover by visiting our facebook page.