Voith: long-standing SABOA partner

September 23, 2025

For Voith, the SABOA Convention represents an essential networking opportunity. This year, the company had lots of developments to share with delegates…

“We’ve been a partner of SABOA for many, many years, and we always support it,” says Ettiene Holtzhausen, key account manager at Voith Turbo South Africa, who has been with the company for almost 12 years. “It’s our link to customers we don’t see regularly. Face-to-face just makes it more personal, whether at technical meetings, operators’ meetings, or the conference itself.”

Holtzhausen is frank about the value of simply taking the industry’s temperature. “We’re here to see what’s happening with our OEMs, with our customers, with the industry. It helps.”

Advanced product offerings

Of course, Voith’s participation at the SABOA Convention wasn’t only about catch-ups; it was also about showing customers the company’s latest product offerings. In this regard, the centrepiece of the Voith stand was the DIWA.6, Voith’s latest four-speed automatic for urban duty. The claim is incremental efficiency over DIWA.5, driven by the way internal hydraulic pressure is managed. “Fuel efficiency is a little better on DIWA.6 compared to DIWA.5, just due to the pressure inside the transmission and redesign of the lighter-weight housing,” Holtzhausen explains. “With DIWA.5, you might run a constant 8.5 bar; DIWA.6 regulates to a lower pressure if needed and this will assist with better fuel consumption.” In principle, that should also reduce heat and wear – which is useful in stop–start BRT/inner-city work, where the DIWA has long been positioned.

Voith also discussed the DIWA.NXT, a seven-speed unit already in European service. “Overseas, they’re talking about 9 to 12% fuel savings with the NXT transmission. We’re hoping to get that here very soon,” says Holtzhausen.

Transformation and rural mobility inevitably came up. Holtzhausen points to everyday reliability as the real contribution. “Some of our biggest customers like GABS, Putco, and the Paruk Group go into rural areas. It’s not always tar – they also have to deal with ditches – but our transmission has proven itself. It can withstand the abuse. We try to be a quality value-for-money product that is reliable to keep your fleet in operation,” he says.

Electric avenue

While the DIWA dominated the hardware talk, Voith also promoted its Voith Electric Drive System (VEDS) – sold as a complete e-drive package minus the batteries. “It’s an electric motor with all the cables, the electric control units (ECUs) – the whole package, except for the batteries, because some operators prefer a certain brand of batteries,” Holtzhausen explains.

He says that events like the SABOA Convention remain useful because they compress the value chain into one room: operators, bodybuilders, financiers, municipalities, and regulators. “We’re excited about DIWA.NXT, but it’s not here yet,” concludes Holtzhausen. “At the same time, we’re aligning with the electric drive, taking the technology further, and seeing where we can be more efficient and grow the market. You can only do that with the Transport Forums and with the SABOA network.”