Bosch Rexroth wanted one motor to cover the world

As one of the world’s leading suppliers of drive & control technologies, with locations in more than 80 countries, Bosch Rexroth’s products are found in applications around the world. Until recently, Bosch Rexroth needed special motors for many of their markets in order to comply with the various international standards and regulations for electrical equipment.

With each motor needing its own material number, specifications and documentation, Bosch Rexroth’ sales teams had to keep track of different global approvals and regulations, depending on whether they were helping customers in North America, Russia or China solve their demanding motion tasks. It also reduced flexibility for the customers since a product designed for one market could not be used elsewhere without additional modification and documentation.

Inventory reduction to simplify the business

In an effort to simplify its business, Bosch Rexroth had a clear objective: Reduce the quantity of serial numbers and thus the variance in their inventory.

The task of solving this challenge for the electric motors commodity group was carried out in close cooperation with Hoyer Motors, who has been an important supplier to Bosch Rexroth for the past 15 years. Working together, both teams quickly identified that the best approach was to develop one motor design to cover as much of the world as possible. So, with Bosch Rexroth as project partner, Hoyer began developing the World Efficiency Motor program.

– Our main goal was to reduce the variance of our components. In that regard, the World Efficiency Motor is perfect, because with one serial number, we can cover all the markets the motor is rated for. Both from a sales and technical perspective, this is the ideal solution, says Dominik Furth, product manager for accessories, Business Unit Industrial Hydraulics at Bosch Rexroth.

Specially designed to meet local standards

One of the first tasks when designing the new motor range was a deep dive into the technical details to identify which markets to cover. Complying with all of the various minimum energy performance standards and mechanical requirements across the globe is not possible in practice, so prioritisation was needed.

– As part of the joint development, we involved Bosch Rexroth’s sales organisation for their input. In the end, it was decided to combine the requirements for NEMA Premium and IEC Ecodesign. With this combination, we are able to cover the majority of our worldwide market, says Dominik Furth.

In addition to NEMA and IEC, the World Efficiency Motor is also approved in accordance with multiple other local regulations, allowing it to be used in North America, EU, Russia, China, Korea, Japan and Australia.

To account for the differences in local efficiency demands and different voltages, the electric motor has a cURus certified insulation system and terminal board together with improved energy efficiency, compared with a standard IE3 motor.

The first step towards greater simplification

One of the main benefits of the World Efficiency Motor for Bosch Rexroth is a simpler sales process and supply chain. With only one motor design to cover most of the key markets, it was possible to fulfil the objective of reducing material number variance, while at the same time being able to provide additional flexibility to the customers. And for Bosch Rexroth, it is just the beginning.

– The World Efficiency Motor is a perfect example of how we can work on the component level to create more flexible products. We will continue to work closely with Hoyer and our other suppliers to take this even further, says Dominik Furth.

About the World Efficiency Motor program

Hoyer World Efficiency Motors are designed to meet various efficiency requirements across markets. The range offers great opportunities for global OEM’s in pursuit of supply chain optimisation as well as energy savings. Read more about the program here: World Efficiency Motors | Hoyer Motors