Motion’s engineering solutions capability in New Zealand is not confined to a single product line or workshop. It is increasingly about helping customers identify problems, design practical fixes, supply the right components, and support implementation across a wide range of industrial applications.
For many industrial customers, engineering support starts with a fairly simple question: who can help solve the problem, rather than just sell the part? In New Zealand, Motion is building that answer around a broader mix of technical knowledge, local capability, and hands-on support across rotating equipment, conveyors, sealing, hose, dust suppression, and more.
Stephen McKey, Strategic Account Manager at Motion, says that breadth is a key part of the value, “it’s identifying a problem, offering a solution, and then implementing it.”
McKey points to work such as dust suppression, conveyor rollers, drums, hose, sealing, and complete parts support as examples of where Motion’s offer goes beyond straightforward supply. In quarrying and other harsh environments, that can mean helping a customer reduce spillage, manage dust, improve roller life, or redesign a component for local conditions.
Local gearbox service
A key part of Motion’s capabilities is evident at Motion’s gearbox workshop in Mount Maunganui – a power transmission service centre, giving customers a local option for gearbox assessment, service, and repair. Jason Kennerley, Sumitomo Product Manager at Motion, says the workshop is the only recognised and certified Sumitomo service centre of its kind in New Zealand, although it is not limited to one brand.
“We’re the only ones certified and approved to do work on Sumitomo drives,” he says. “But we are not limited or restricted just to Sumitomo – we work on a large variety of brands.”
A lot of the work they do is focused on extending the life of gearboxes: “Rather than treating gearboxes as disposable, we look for every opportunity to repair, refurbish, and extend their service life. It’s about reliability, cost control, and sustainability all at once.”
That is especially valuable in industries where replacement is expensive and asset life matters. Kennerley says the workshop supports customers across timber and forest products, food and beverage, quarrying and mining, reflecting the breadth of New Zealand industry itself.
A more strategic approach to vibration analysis
If the gearbox workshop is about what happens when equipment comes in for service, vibration analysis is about understanding machine condition before failure happens at all.
Ewen McBeth, Technical Services Manager – Bearings & Power Transmission at Motion, says the goal is to move customers away from both run-to-failure and unnecessary early replacement. “It’s all about condition-based parts replacement – listening to the rotating equipment and planning for replacing parts so customers get maximum utilisation out of the assets they’ve got, while minimising downtime,” he says.
While Motion has offered vibration analysis services for some time, McBeth says the business now has a broader offering with solutions from market leading manufacturers such as SKF and Schaeffler, from simple handheld data collection devices through to sophisticated wired or wireless online systems which monitor critical assets continuously.
“In New Zealand, some customers are doing little or no condition monitoring. Others have mature vibration analysis programs that are reliant on highly skilled and experienced personnel. The opportunity for Motion is to help our customers identify where they’re at on their condition monitoring journey, to find the right entry point for them, and to build from there with the right mix of hardware, software, and service support”, says McBeth.