The GSI Group is a world-class manufacturer of agricultural equipment for grain storage, material handling, conditioning and drying, as well as a supplier of swine and poultry production equipment. Owned since 2011 by agricultural equipment maker AGCO, GSI has relied on Dodge® mechanical power transmission products in North America for years.
In 2014, GSI opened a manufacturing facility in Hungary and wanted to locally source these components. They found the help it needed from the ABB team in Hungary. Not only could ABB supply GSI with a wide variety of motors, but it could also offer GSI’s preferred Dodge brand of gearing, bearings, and pulleys.
Dániel Németh, lead design engineer for GSI Europe, Africa and the Middle East, says the ability to work with one company to get such a broad range of products is a real advantage. “On the commercial side as well as the agricultural side, it’s really important to have custom-made equipment, and by offering both a full line of motors and mechanical products, ABB can absolutely help us fulfill this requirement,” he says. “It allows us to cherry pick just the right size, style, speed and power, so we can fully comply with customer requirements.”
Németh says he also appreciates the local technical support, including hands-on installation instruction, as well as in-depth product training. “ABB experts are happy to come to our plant to provide training,” says Németh. “It is very important for an engineer to understand the product in the smallest detail.”
ABB’s local business unit manager in Hungary, Péter Ivanics, says he’s proud of the partnership between the two companies and the role ABB is playing to help GSI be successful. “Not only are we unique in that we can supply a full range of electrical and mechanical products,” says Ivanics. “But more importantly, our products are recognized as providing industry-leading reliability. “GSI is growing in Hungary, and we will continue to work hard to serve their needs to help them be even more successful.”
Zoltán Németh, plant manager of GSI’s Hungarian operations, says the benefits of working with ABB are very clear. “ABB is well known as a quality supplier of electrical motors, but we are so pleased that we can now also get quick access to Dodge products,” explains Németh. “Being able to work with one company for all our key products means we can shorten our lead time, easily track orders, better manage our stock, and most importantly, better serve our customers.”