TRANSFORMING THE POWER SECTOR

Indo Tech Transformers, the flagship company of the Indo Tech Group is the market leader in India for transformers.  The company which manufactures transformers for domestic use as well as for use in other countries has an installed base of 45,000 transformers of various capacities and has a client list of over 2000 industries in India.  The company has several unique products and many 'firsts' to its credit.  At the helm of affairs of this company is the young and dynamic, P S Jagdish, who is the Director of the company.  He highlights a few of the unique products from his company and also talks about the electrical industry in Tamil Nadu.

A small note for those of us for whom terms like transformers and Kilo volts seem like latin and greek. A transformer is an apparatus that is used for increasing or reducing the voltage of an electric power supply so that a particular piece of electrical equipment can be used.

"We have over 2,000 domestic customers in India across all kinds of industries. We have supplied to hotels & resorts, hospitals, refineries, petroleum products, granite industries, paper, textile, steel and cement plants, plastic and rubber industries, garments and apparel manufacturers, wind generator manufacturers, co-generation plants, banks, construction companies and builders, the aquaculture industry and software technology companies", says Jagdish.

Indo Tech has been manufacturing and supplying distribution transformers from 1976 onwards to various electrical utilities in India and abroad.  All these transformers have been designed to exact customer specification and have been type tested at regular intervals.  "In fact we are into specialisation of transformers.  This is something that very few others offer", says Jagdish.

To tap the growing demand for more simplified installation and reduced costs, Indo Tech has developed a range of packaged Unitised Sub stations.  The advantages of a unitised substation are that, it is compact in size, occupies minimum space and is easy to install.  It is a low cost option compared to standard outdoor or indoor stations and there is flexibility when it comes to shifting them from one location to another.

"For places where there are no options other than placing the transformer close to a building, be it residential or commercial, we have the dry type and cast resin transformers.  They present no significant fire risk and are particularly suitable for indoor applications in hazardous areas or in locations prone to moisture or other contaminants" says Jagdish.  The cast resin encapsulated, dry type insulated transformers come as free-standing units for installation in ventilated enclosures or cubicles.

And coming to what is the most exciting product on offer from Indo Tech - a 'first' in Asia, and what only two or three companies in the world boast of - Mobile Substation Transformers and Substations.  Indo Tech manufactures these mobile substations and transformers in technical collaboration with Moblesource Industries Inc., Ontario, Canada.  These substations have many advantages - they can meet short-term peak load condition at any particular substation or emergency replacement in case of failure of any substation equipment.

"For those unable to afford cast resin transformers, we have the R-Temp Fluid Filled Transformers, an economical alternative.  The performance of fluid filled transformers is inherently superior to their non-liquid counterparts and their other advantages are that they take the heat, withstand harmonic and electrical stress, give added protection and can be recycled.  These are manufactured in association with Cooper Power Systems, USA" said Jagdish.

Indo Tech also manufactures special application transformers - Induction Furnace Transformers, Arc Furnace Transformers and Convertor Transformers.  "In the last two years we have developed our export markets and have exported transformers to Nigeria, Germany, Egypt, Singapore, Ghana, Switzerland, USA, Canada and several other countries.  We are the first company in Asia after Japan to export transformers to the USA" said Jagdish.

When queried about the local market Jagadish said, "Its only in Tamil Nadu that the large manufacturer is not given preference by the local electricity board. In most other states, the local manufacturer is always given preference by their local electricity boards.  Because of this we have to keep our prices low and our margins get hit.  But we do this because we are committed to developing the power sector in our State and in the country. Another unique highlight of Indo Tech is that 60% of windmills in the country are served by our products".

"We have three manufacturing facilities, two of which are in Chennai and the third in Palakkad, Kerala.  The total installed capacity of the three facilities is 2250 MVA per annum.  The latest facility at Tirumazhisai has been set up at a cost of Rs 100 million and has a capacity of 1800 MVA per annum.  The other two facilities are mainly to service distribution transformers, while the new facility is focussed on the power transformer business" said Jagdish on the manufacturing facilities.

Jagdish says that there is a widespread feeling especially among dealers of consumer electrical goods that, Tamil Nadu is not a force to reckon with when it comes to the Electrical industry.  This is not because of the absence of any major players in Tamil Nadu.  Omega Cables, Andrew Yule Switchgears, Alsthom previously English Electrical...these are some of the big companies with manufacturing facilities in Tamil Nadu.  It is just that dealers are able to get products at very low prices from other states.  But when the prices are low the quality also suffers.  "For example, there is a difference when you buy something from Philips or MK Electricals, while there is something available from Delhi or some other state at a much lower price sometimes five times as low.  This belief could hold true only when it comes to consumer electrical goods.  When it comes to electrical equipment like power transformers, cables, conductors and switchgears, Tamil Nadu is certainly at the top in India" he said in conclusion.

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