Taking UPS technology to a new level Piller Group

TAKING UPS TECHNOLOGY TO A NEW LEVEL

The Piller Group is a global leader in the manufacture of uninterruptable power supply (UPS) protection systems. Philip Yorke talked to Andrew Dyke, the company’s global managing director, about its latest rotary and hybrid UPS systems and its growth in supply to the world’s mega data centres.

The Piller Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of the global UK engineering group, Langley Holdings, and can trace its roots back to 1919 when Anton Piller began manufacturing electrically-driven fans in Osterode-am-Harz in Germany. The company saw consistent growth, developing the first aircraft ground power supply systems and frequency converters in the early 1960s, and by the 1980s was responsible for developing the world’s first rotary hybrid UPS system known today as ‘Uniblock’. In 2005 the Piller Group was acquired by Langley Holdings plc, a British, privately owned diversified global engineering group.

Today Piller manufactures high capacity rotary UPS, hybrid UPS, diesel UPS, static UPS and static transfer switches. The company maintains a unique position as the only UPS manufacturer in the world with a range of products that encompasses both rotary and static power supply technologies. From this strong position Piller is able to offer the most cost-effective and appropriate solution for any specific UPS application. The company’s head office is located in Osterode, in Germany where Piller was originally founded. The Piller Group employs more than 750 people with regional offices in Asia, Europe and the Americas and in 2011 recorded sales of over €200 million.

Expanding range of products and services

Piller’s diverse portfolio of products and services continues to expand in order to meet the growing demands of the global power supply industry. The company offers critical power solutions across a wide range of applications, including banking, telecommunications, outside broadcasters and healthcare facilities as well as airports and air traffic control centres. Another growth area for Piller is the computer data centres market and other similar operations that require a totally reliable, high capacity power source. Piller power converters and related products are in widespread use in both military and civil applications, providing ground power systems to airports worldwide and shore-to-ship and on-board power systems for both submarines and surface vessels.

At the heart of every rotary UPS is the tailor-made Uniblock machine which comes in many forms and represents the hallmark of Piller’s product quality and reliability. The company’s latest generation of static UPS and AP premium products, are just two of a limited number of Piller products on the market that offer sinusoidal input with the use of both IGBT rectifiers and inverter technology. Other premium power systems from the company include the Apotrans range of static transfer switches and the unique Powerbridge kinetic energy storage system for battery replacement and voltage stabilisation.

Mr Dyke said, “There is a growing global demand for energy and higher voltage UPS systems, and our latest Powerbridge 21 product is the largest single energy system in the world and our well known Uniblock+ range offers higher efficiency for high voltage applications, designed to meet the ever-increasing

demands of the global energy industry. We operate two main business divisions, the first of which is dedicated to serving the world’s large-scale data centres, which is a fast-growing sector for us. Then there is the industrial process division which applies to any industry that requires continuous uninterrupted power supplies, from the retail banking sector and stock exchange trading floors, to hospitals, broadcasting and aviation.”

Mr Dyke added, “In addition, there is an ever-increasing demand for more and more complex electronic platforms, especially in the computer power sector where the power required to drive these new systems is growing exponentially. However, we are not just involved in providing energy-saving, cost-effective UPS systems to our customers, but also the power to cool them. Today we are seeing a continual migration to where the power is cheaper and a trend towards ‘natural cooling’ systems. Today we are basically a one-stopshop energy solutions provider and can offer companies the best building block on which to base their energy needs, so in that way, as in many others, we can offer added value to our many high-profile customers.”

Pioneering modular UPS systems

The growing tendency towards mega data centres in the internet and IT business sectors, produces an increasing demand for highreliability power at individual, single locations. An increasing number of critical industrial processes rely on a power quality level which cannot be provided by the public grid. Medium voltage systems from Piller provide the answer, as they are able to reduce power distribution losses downstream of the UPS or DRUPS systems on one common output bus. In addition, Piller has pioneered the development of a unique range of modular UPS systems. The special design of Piller’s line of interactive UPS systems allows for a simple replacement of the grid-to-load interface from low voltage to medium voltage components upon demand.

Piller is also delivering high-quality UPS systems to companies with short-term power requirements. Today, Piller offers a comprehensive on-site rental service, which is available on a short- or long-term basis and can be tailored to suit any client’s specific needs.

For example, in Poland and the Ukraine, Piller has been retained to provide a range of UPS products for the 2012 European Football Championships. This high profile international event relies on uninterrupted supply for both radio and television coverage of the games whilst in progress and represents a huge logistical and technical challenge.

In order to meet these challenges, Piller provided its state-of-the-art rotary UPS system that delivers 500kVA of power, which is fully containerised and filters any kind of disturbance. In the case of mains failures, Piller is able to supply the total load required with a battery system that guarantees there will be no break in power supply. For long-term mains interruptions, Piller offers mobile diesel emergency generators, which are started automatically in the event of any mains failure. n