An uncomfortable figure
According to the internal Danfoss study of its installed base, 1 in 5 variable frequency drives (VFDs) in the plant is operating with a real risk of failure. Not because it is bad equipment — quite the opposite. It is because the VFD is invisible until the day it shuts down, and by then it is already too late: the line is stopped, the customer does not get their delivery, and the spare part does not arrive until the following week.
DrivePro Services is the official Danfoss program for moving a VFD out of “wait until it fails” mode and into “know when and how to act” mode. This guide summarizes the 8 services available, which lifecycle phase each one applies to, and when it makes sense to contract them.
At a glance
| Services available | 8 (Site Assessment · Start-up · Extended Warranty · Spare Parts · PM · Exchange · Retrofit · Remote Monitoring) |
| Global network | 500+ partners in 78 countries · 120+ certified DrivePro Service Partners |
| GSS centers (global stock) | Rockford (USA) · Offenbach (Germany) · Singapore |
| Exchange shipping time | 24 hours from the order |
| Typical PM benefit | VFD service life x2 |
| Beiton availability in Panama | Every service, with a local engineer |
1. The VFD lifecycle (and why it matters)
Every Danfoss VFD goes through four official phases. Which service you can contract depends on which phase your equipment is in:
| Phase | What it means | Services available |
|---|---|---|
| New / Active | Still manufactured and sold | All of them, including firmware updates |
| Limited | No longer sold, but supported for a limited time | Basic PM, Spare Parts, limited Exchange. Retrofit recommended |
| Inactive | Discontinued, with no spare parts and no Exchange | Retrofit only. High risk — audit and plan the replacement |
Rule of thumb: if your VFD is more than 10 years old, find out which phase it is in. If it has entered Limited, you have a window to plan the retrofit calmly. If it has entered Inactive, the clock is running and every fault is an emergency.
2. The 8 DrivePro services
A certified DrivePro technician auditing a fleet. The Site Assessment produces a risk score per unit.
Prevent: before it fails
1. DrivePro Site Assessment. A complete on-site study of the entire installed base of VFDs. It delivers a risk score per unit + a customized maintenance or reconditioning plan. For plants with >10 VFDs and no risk inventory.
2. DrivePro Start-up. Certified commissioning with the official Danfoss checklist. It extends the service life of the VFD by up to +50% from day one and reduces downtime by up to 30% in the first year.
3. DrivePro Extended Warranty. The longest warranty in the industry: up to 6 years from the manufacturing date. Standard and On-site versions. Predictable budget, 24/7 support, original TS 16949 spare parts.
Maintain: while it runs
Original Danfoss spare parts under TS 16949 certification. A generic spring or board voids the certification of the equipment.
4. DrivePro Spare Parts. Original parts + maintenance kits. Four packages: individual, standard, advanced, aligned with PM M1/M2/M3. +50% uptime when the critical spare parts are on site vs. waiting for a shipment.
5. DrivePro Preventive Maintenance. Periodic inspections with component replacement according to a customized program:
| Module | Frequency | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| M1 | Annual | Visual inspection, functional tests, measurements, report |
| M2 | Every 3–6 years | Fan replacement — labor + parts |
| M3 | Every 6–17 years | Major replacement (capacitors, power boards) |
The program is adjusted at every visit according to environment, load and application. Benefit quantified by Danfoss: service life × 2 vs. reactive maintenance.
PM Module 2: planned fan replacement. Capacitors and power boards fall under Module 3 (every 6–17 years).
6. DrivePro Remote Monitoring. Real-time IoT on the VFD: parameters, faults, historical telemetry, parameter backup, firmware versions. Remote alerts with context — you move from corrective to predictive.
React: when something has already happened (or is about to)
7. DrivePro Exchange. The emergency service. When an Active VFD fails and production cannot wait:
- You call → Danfoss confirms the Exchange according to urgency
- Shipment via GSS (Global Service Stock) in 24 hours
- Installation + Start-up of the new unit on site
It is not a repair — it is an exchange for a new unit with the same or a better specification. Guaranteed dimensions for a fast retrofit. The most cost-effective option when every hour of downtime costs thousands.
8. DrivePro Retrofit. The PLANNED end-of-cycle service. It applies when:
- Your VFD has entered Limited or Inactive.
- You have >15 years with no formal PM plan.
- You want to capture the efficiency gains of the latest generation.
The flow is: local audit → recommendation of the successor product → shipment coordinated with scheduled shutdowns → installation + start-up. It is proactive — you avoid paying emergency prices and you coordinate around your own calendar, not the breakdown’s.
3. Which service to choose (a 60-second decision)
| If your situation is… | DrivePro service | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New plant, or >10 VFDs never assessed | Site Assessment | A risk inventory before spending on blind PM |
| You have just bought a Danfoss VFD | Start-up + Extended Warranty | Extends service life 50%, 24/7 support for up to 6 years |
| A 24/7 process with Active VFDs | PM M1/M2/M3 + Spare Parts | Service life × 2, spare parts on site = +50% uptime |
| Production stopped, VFD burned out | Exchange | Shipment in 24 h via GSS, replaced with a new unit |
| VFD in the Limited or Inactive phase | Retrofit | There will be no spare parts; plan it cold, not hot |
| Critical equipment with no monitoring | Remote Monitoring | Genuinely predictive, alerts ahead of the failure |
4. And what if my VFD is not a Danfoss?
Many Panamanian plants run mixed fleets — Danfoss, ABB, Siemens, Schneider, WEG, Yaskawa, Allen Bradley. When a non-Danfoss drive goes obsolete, the natural path is a Retrofit with equivalent Danfoss equipment. A summary table of the equivalents we use at Beiton:
| Non-Danfoss | Danfoss equivalent |
|---|---|
| ABB ACS580 / ACS880 · Siemens G120 · Schneider Altivar 630 · WEG CFW700 · Yaskawa GA700 · AB PowerFlex 755 | VLT FC302 |
| ABB ACS380 · Siemens G120C · Schneider Altivar 320 · WEG CFW500 · Yaskawa GA500 · AB PowerFlex 525 · Mitsubishi FR-E800 | VLT FC280 |
| ABB ACS180 · Siemens V20 | iC2-Micro |
| ABB ACS355 · HVAC applications | VLT FC102 |
| ABB PSTX · WEG SSW900 | MCD 600 Soft Starter |
The advantage of consolidating on Danfoss is not “changing brands” — it is eliminating the diversity of spare parts, software tools, personnel training and service contracts. A single relationship with an authorized distributor (Beiton) covers the whole fleet.
5. How Beiton works with DrivePro in Panama
Beiton is a DrivePro Service Partner certified by Danfoss. That means:
- Direct access to the GSS (global stock) for Exchange in 24 h
- Certified field engineers for Start-up, PM and Retrofit
- An auditable technical report compatible with ISO 55000 (asset management) and with industrial insurance policies
- Coordination of firmware, spare parts and labor in a single contract
All of it is integrated into DrivePulse, our fleet management platform, which consolidates the status of each unit, its lifecycle phase, the history of interventions and the Remote Monitoring alerts in a single view.
Next step
If you have more than 10 drives in the plant and you do not know which lifecycle phase they are in, when the last PM was, or whether there is already Inactive equipment waiting for the next failure — start with a Site Assessment. A Beiton engineer visits, inspects, and delivers a report with a risk score per unit + an action plan.
Request a Site Assessment or get a quote for a DrivePro service →