In the fast-evolving world of industrial automation and infrastructure, reliable data communication is no longer a luxury - it’s a necessity. Westermo, a global leader in industrial-grade networking solutions, has established itself as a cornerstone provider of robust and secure data communications equipment designed specifically for mission-critical applications in harsh environments.

Sole Westermo Distributors for southern Africa

Throughput Technologies are the approved sole distributors of Westermo industrial hardware and software product ranges for all of South Africa and sub-Sahara Africa - since 1997.

Westermo provides a full range of industrial data communications solutions for demanding applications in the transport, water and energy markets among others. For over 40 years Westermo has been at the forefront of technological development and often pushed the limits of what is technically possible. Westermo has a local presence in more than 35 countries and Throughput is proud to be counted as one of those trusted and appointed distributors.

Westermo Products

Westermo provides robust and easy to use industrial network solutions, routers, switches and IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) connectivity. The entire range is available from Throughput. Here are some of the areas this hardware addresses:

Engineering Robust Data Communication for Industrial Systems — Now Stronger with Welotec

Now, with the strategic acquisition of Welotec GmbH in 2023, the company has further strengthened its position as a comprehensive industrial networking powerhouse.

Industrial Demands Require Industrial-Grade Solutions

Unlike traditional corporate IT, industrial networks operate under conditions that can include extreme temperatures, vibrations, dust, electromagnetic interference, and exposure to the elements. Downtime in such environments can result in significant financial losses or safety risks. That’s why industries like transportation, water, energy, mining, and petrochemicals require rugged, long-lifespan communication hardware—often built to last over a decade.

Westermo's portfolio addresses these unique challenges with high-performance switches, routers, and wireless communication solutions that deliver high availability, security, and deterministic data transmission. From train networks and substations to municipal water systems and petrochemical plants, Westermo solutions ensure uninterrupted data flow and network resilience.

A Legacy of Innovation and Global Reach

Founded in 1975, Westermo has grown rapidly, with over 480 employees and global sales exceeding SEK 1 billion. With 14% of revenue reinvested into R&D, the company’s innovation pipeline remains strong, backed by a rich portfolio of intellectual property rights for key technologies. Manufacturing and development are centered in Sweden, with additional technology hubs in Ireland, Germany, and Switzerland.

Westermo’s international presence includes sales and support offices in 14 countries, including South Africa, with strategic partners spanning the globe. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ependion, a high-tech group focused on smart automation and IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) solutions.

Strategic Acquisitions Powering Growth

Over the last five years, Westermo has expanded through a series of targeted acquisitions to enhance its technology base and market reach:

Eltec Elektronik AG (2021) – A German leader in wireless communications for connected trains and automotive applications. Eltec products support passenger Wi-Fi, infotainment, and predictive maintenance.

Virtual Access Ltd (2019) – An Irish specialist in industrial routers and managed connectivity services, with a strong footprint in utilities, traffic control, and telecoms sectors.

Neratec Solutions AG (2019) – A Swiss developer of high-reliability WLAN solutions for railways and trackside communications, boosting Westermo’s wireless communication capabilities.

Welotec GmbH (2025) – The most recent addition, Welotec brings expertise in industrial edge gateways, 5G routers, and secure remote access platforms. Their solutions support modern digitalisation initiatives in manufacturing, power grids, and smart cities, aligning perfectly with Westermo’s mission to offer fully integrated, future-ready industrial networking solutions.

Focus on the South African Market

With growing investment in smart infrastructure and industrial automation across South Africa, local industries face mounting pressure to secure their data communications infrastructure. Westermo, represented by Throughput Technologies, delivers end-to-end support through rugged networking hardware, secure remote access solutions, and redundant system architectures—now further bolstered by Welotec’s edge connectivity tools.

Whether it’s managing SCADA networks in the energy sector or enabling remote diagnostics in transport and logistics, Westermo’s range of solutions—now enriched by Welotec's advanced edge technology—ensures cybersecurity, compliance, and industrial resilience.

Looking Ahead

As South African industry continues to modernize, Westermo’s integration of Welotec signals a forward-thinking strategy: one that emphasizes secure connectivity, high performance, and long-term reliability. With a global backbone, localized support, and cutting-edge hardware and software, Westermo—alongside Throughput—stands ready to power the industrial networks of tomorrow.

Westermo - Sweden

Westermo designs and manufactures data communications products for mission-critical systems in physically demanding environments. The products are used both in social infrastructure, such as transport, water and energy supplies, as well as in process industries, such as mining and petrochemical.

The requirement for industrial grade data communications continues to grow as industry understands that its needs differ from that of the corporate IT world. In industrial environments operating environments are tough, expected lifetimes are in excess of 10 years and the impact of failure in the field can lead to business threating situations. These factors have resulted in a demanding and fast growing market place.

The company is growing rapidly and currently has over 200 employees and global sales in excess of €50m. All development and production takes place in Sweden at the company's facilities in Stora Sundby and Västerås.

Westermo has sales and support offices around Europe and in USA, Singapore and China. Westermo also have a number of partners based in other key markets around the world.

Westermo is a world leading supplier of industrial data communications products. We manufacture a wide range of industrial Ethernet switches, Ethernet extenders, 3G/HSDPA modems, PSTN modems and Serial RS-232/422/485 converters. We also produce Serial to fibre optic modems that can be used to bridge up to 80 km, depending on the fibre type.

Our leading product group is in the industrial Ethernet arena, supplying basic unmanaged Ethernet switches, managed Ethernet switches, industrial Ethernet extenders, industrial routing switches and serial to Ethernet converters. With our complete range of high temperature rated industrial devices, Ethernet can be run or converted to serial, fibre, 3G HSDPA, WIFI and SHDSL with our Wolverine Ethernet Extenders.

Serial RS-232/422/485 has been a driving force behind modern industrial data communication. We provide a large number of Serial R-232/422/485 Converters, Repeaters and Isolators for harsh environmental conditions.

As the sole Westermo Distributors for southern Africa you can count on authentic products, the best after-sales and service support as well as remain informed of changes and updates as they happen.

Westermo - In a nutshell

1. Founded in 1975
2. No. of employees: 200+
3. 14% R&D spend
4. Extensive IPR portfolio for key technologies
5. Flexible production with state of the art process control
6. Sales and support offices in 11 countries, sales partners in many others

As our world develops, the need for better and more reliable data communications will grow. Our ambition is to provide the world’s best industrial networks. Cyber security for industrial networks will become more and more important along with the ability of the network to recover from interruptions. At Westermo we have a wealth of experience in industrial communications applications. This is built in to our own products backed by our professional and skilled teams in research and development and production that will enable this vision.

Focusing on Perfection

Westermo’s ambition is to maintain return ratios below 0.25% and to be able to deliver over 98% of orders on time. To ensure the highest quality, Westermo has its own state of the art industrial electronics manufacturing facility in Sweden working to the IPC-A-610 standard.

To maximise the reliability of our products testing is carried out at many stages of the manufacturing process. Solder Paste Inspection, Automated Optical Inspection and X-ray examination are all carried out during manufacture followed by PCB testing and finally burn in testing to guarantee that all products are ready for a long operational life in some of the toughest environments on the planet.

Westermo operates a quality assurance system complying with ISO-9001:2008 verified by DNV.