June 27, 2014 Stepping Up a Gear

Volume 17 | Issue 3

Mechanical transmission manufacturer PTI continues its tradition of providing integrated solutions and powers forward with new plans and pro

Click here to read the complete illustrated article as originally published or scroll down to read the text article.

Power Transmissions Industries do Brasil Ltda (PTI) manufactures gearboxes, and couplings and provides maintenance services for diverse sectors such as the mining, steel, transportation, sugar and alcohol, pulp and paper, cement, chemical and energy generation industries among others.

With an overwhelming market share in the mining industry, PTI is licensed to produce important brands in Brazil and has built a solid reputation based on technology, quality control and competent customer services.

“We are always renewing our product portfolio – launching new products and designs to increase efficiency and monitoring and investing in development,” says Sales Manager for Brazil, Sérgio Bonassa Manfrim.

PTI has been awarded numerous prizes for design and innovation and plans to launch new systems and software in 2014.

International Quality

Founded in Brazil in 1955 by US company Falk Corporations, PTI’s operational management adheres to ISO: 9001. “Every year we are oriented and audited by Det Norske Veritas (DNV), one of the world’s leading certification bodies for management systems, which indicates performance and allows constant improvement,” explains Ricardo Podval, Director of International Operations for PTI’s technological partner company SGI.

Over the decades, PTI developed mechanical transmissions according to Falk technology and in the last 20 years has produced its own equipment, following extensive research and studies.

Besides producing its own line of products, PTI aggregates licensed brands, such as the WDS gearboxes, considered the most modern in the market and consolidated brands Transmotécnica (TT) and Power&Motion (P&M).

As well as international standards and certifications, PTI has developed quality tests that make its gearboxes and couplings the best in their segment. An example is the WBX gearbox line, winner of the IF Design Awards, one of the most important industrial design prizes in the world.

“The secret of any gearbox is in the quality of manufacture and especially the quality of the teeth, the pinions and the gears. We pay special attention to these parts, from the purchase of raw material to the thermal treatments during production,” Manfrim explains. State-of-the-art machinery guarantees the expected form and finish of the parts and translates into greater resistance and durability.

The assembly process of the gearboxes follows constant checks. Gear shafts are made without a press, using only contraction and expansion of the parts. Components that will spin over 900 RPM go through a dynamic balancing process that guarantees low levels of vibration. PTI’s testing facilities can isolate and align gearboxes, standing over 30 tons: performing operational tests that ensure 100 percent satisfaction.

“PTI’s credibility is founded on engineering, more than 100 years of experience in the United States and in Brazil, modern production and testing equipment and agile, competent customer services,” Podval summarizes.

Solution Provider

PTI manufactures and installs gearboxes and couplings and offers start-up services for all brands. “The goal is to install the equipment correctly from the very beginning of operation and maintain efficiency through programs of preventative and predictive maintenance. Only original parts are used, increasing the lifecycle and productivity of our clients’ machinery,” Manfrim comments.

PTI also provides gearbox revitalization and maintenance (giving customers factory-guaranteed renovations), 24-hour customer service, a dedicated administrative team and specialized technicians in many Brazilian states. The company services and guarantees previously installed gearboxes in imported equipment. Podval affirms: “We don’t sell products. We provide solutions.”

He explains that this business concept is the key to PTI’s market leadership – especially in the mining industry: “Where many multinationals try to standardize markets, we know that this is not always possible. Our solutions are customized according to client needs.”

PTI has developed a preference for efficiency and evolution – combining technologies to produce an extensive and task-specific portfolio of parts.

It comes as no surprise that PTI has a 90 percent market share of the mining sector and is considered the Brazilian market leader in couplings used in cement, paper and cellulose, sugar and ethanol, food and petrochemical production.

As well as a recognized pioneer in engineering and technology and acclaimed customer services, PTI owes its enviable position to excellent infrastructure. Located in the south zone of Brazil’s industrial capital city, São Paulo, PTI’s 30,000-square-meter facility employs 480 staff and is one of the largest of its kind in Latin America. The company also has administrative offices in Recife (Pernambuco), Contagem (Minas Gerais), Campinas and São Carlos (São Paulo), and Volta Redonda (Rio de Janeiro). The network covers all national territory.

Through its valued partnership with SGI, PTI has manufactured products for export to many countries worldwide such as the United States, Korea, China, Peru, Mexico and Chile.

Born in the USA

PTI’s products have their roots in US-created technology. However, through an extensive manufacturing program and vast experience, acquired over 50 years of gearboxes and couplings production, PTI has developed its own product portfolio in Brazil. “For years we have been investing in software, design and technology for components, which are produced and assembled in Brazil,” Manfrim confirms.

Thanks to an elaborate infrastructure, research and development, PTI has a complete product line, whose quality and reliability are internationally known to comply with the strictest working conditions and market demands.

According to Manfrim and Podval, the company’s international presence is reason for optimistic prospects. A firm foothold in the country’s strong mining industry, supplying Brazilian multinationals such as Vale, is an opportunity for future growth. “After overcoming erratic growth between 2003 and 2006, we now average between 10 and 20 percent annual growth figures,” Manfrim says.

PTI has invested in and focused on Brazil. The company confirms its presence in three national trade fairs in Brazil this year: Fenasucro, Exposibram da Amazônia and Feira da Mecânica, where it will launch new software for real time, online monitoring and measurement of vibration and temperature.

PTI’s development, production, strategy and plans emphasize a growing market lead, dominating an important market and consolidating an international brand.

Subscribe to Industry Today