In industrial environments, motion is everything. From conveyors and cranes to rolling mills and production lines, drive systems sit at the heart of how facilities operate and how reliably they perform over time. At Premier, those systems are supported by a team with deep technical expertise, hands-on experience, and a clear understanding of day-to-day plant operations. 

Leading that effort is Pete Krahe, General Manager of Premier’s Drive Systems group. 

With a background rooted in electrical engineering and decades spent inside heavy industrial facilities, Pete brings a perspective shaped not by theory, but by lived experience. Before joining Premier more than 20 years ago, he worked as a maintenance engineer and plant electrical engineer in demanding steel manufacturing environments — roles that continue to influence how he and his team approach drive system design, upgrades, and long-term support.  

Today, Pete oversees one of Premier’s cornerstone capabilities: a drives department designed to help customers move more reliably, maintain more easily, and plan for the future with confidence. 

The Role of Drive Systems at Premier

In industrial operations, drive systems are what turn engineering into action. They control how equipment moves, how smoothly it operates under load, and how reliably a process runs day after day. When drives are properly designed and configured, they improve uptime, protect equipment, and support safer operation. When they are not, they often become a hidden source of downtime, maintenance strain, and performance limitations. 

That reality is why Premier treats drive systems as a core part of overall system design — not as standalone components. The drives group works closely with engineering, controls, and field teams to ensure motion systems are built to handle real operating conditions while remaining maintainable over the long term. 

“The Drives Department is one of the cornerstones of Premier’s capabilities of being able to provide customers equipment and knowhow to accomplish their process needs,” Pete explains.  

Understanding the importance of drive systems is only the starting point. What ultimately matters is how those systems are designed, implemented, and supported — and that’s where Premier’s approach truly stands apart. 

What Sets Premier’s Drive Systems Expertise Apart 

One of the most important distinctions Pete highlights is how Premier approaches drive system design compared to more standardized industry models. 

“Most drive suppliers try to utilize a very standardized approach to drive systems, which is better for the supplier,” he notes. “Premier has always looked at the challenges from a customer perspective.”  

That customer-first mindset shows up in tangible ways: 

• Designs that reduce installation time and cost 

• Systems built for easier troubleshooting and long-term maintainability 

• Solutions tailored to the realities of legacy equipment and existing infrastructure 

Just as important is the depth of technical knowledge within the team. Customers are often surprised by how far Premier’s drive expertise extends beyond basic configuration. 

“The most common misconception is thinking that drives can ‘auto-tune’ themselves and work effectively,” Pete explains. “In reality, those manufacturer algorithms only do some basic setup. It’s our people’s experience and training that allow drives to be set up properly.”  

Pete’s point reflects a broader reality the team sees in the field. Drive systems rarely fail because of a lack of features, but because critical decisions were made without a full understanding of how the system would operate over time. 

Lessons from the Field 

As experienced talent retires across the industry, many facilities are facing a growing skills gap. Pete sees this shift firsthand and views it as one of the most pressing challenges customers face. 

In response, Premier has invested heavily in growing and training its drives engineers and technicians, ensuring customers have access to the expertise they may no longer have in-house. At the same time, the team remains focused on helping customers evaluate upgrades with a long-term lens. 

“When considering a drive upgrade, it’s important to look beyond the initial hardware cost,” Pete advises. “Installation time, downtime, and maintainability can easily outweigh any upfront savings from a standard design.”  

Looking ahead, Pete acknowledges that emerging technologies like AI will eventually influence how facilities approach motion and control — but he emphasizes that fundamentals still matter most. Reliable hardware, thoughtful design, and experienced people remain the foundation of any successful system. 

At its core, Premier’s Drive Systems group exists to solve problems customers may not even realize can be solved — extending the life of critical assets, improving reliability, and making complex systems easier to operate and maintain. 

Under Pete Krahe’s leadership, the team continues to build on decades of experience while preparing for the next generation of industrial challenges. It’s a balance of deep technical knowledge, practical execution, and long-term thinking — exactly what modern facilities need as they plan their next move.