Promoting energy efficiency Končar

PROMOTING ENERGY

EFFICIENCY Behind the name KONČAR – Electronics and Informatics Inc. (Končar INEM) stands a company that is a part of the Končar Group, the leading manufacturer of electrical equipment and electric energy plants in the region. Vanja Švačko talks to its CEO Mr Željko Tukša about his corporate vision.

Founded in 1974, Croatia-based Končar INEM is responsible for the production of industrial electronics in the areas of energy and transportation within the Group. It develops, engineers, designs, manufactures, tests and maintains power electronics devices and systems for industrial facilities, electronic equipment related to railway tracks and general ICT technologies.

“So far energy dominates as our main source of income,” says Mr Tukša. “Transport is often very close in the sense of profitability, and when investment happens, it is on the large scale. However, this industry area still does not have the same continuity in revenue stream as the energy sector.”

The company’s main production programmes include converters and control systems for railway vehicles, DC and AC UPS, static excitation systems for synchronous machines, ripple control systems, protection relays, electric measurement devices and systems, process informatics, devices and systems-integrated information solutions, electronic module production and switches.

The infrastructure company

Owing to the global economic situation, investments within Končar INEM are currently directed towards the improvement of existing technological processes. Competitiveness is ensured by investing in maintenance.

Mr Tukša says: “We like to call ourselves ‘the infrastructure company’. Since we depend on the Končar Group, we are obliged to monitor closely its growth. While nearly half of our production can be done independently, the other part entirely relies on the Group’s development.”

Market consequences of EU membership

Being a heterogeneous company, the market position of Končar INEM largely depends on the specific markets related to the different products it offers. When it comes to power engineering, the company dominates the regional market and beyond, as evidenced

by recent collaborations and contracts won in Turkey. Končar’s excitation systems can be found around the world, wherever there are generators. In the former Yugoslav states, the company brand is widely recognised in this market area.

As far as transportation and equipment for rail vehicles are concerned, this segment of production is closely tied to products from Končar Group. “Our products are shipped within Croatia and surrounding markets and we offer services for modernising older vehicles that are later exported to the countries of the Balkans,” explains Mr Tukša. “In terms of promoting our electrical traction connected products, we are bound to geographically close regions where we don’t have strong competitors.”

The economic implications of Croatia’s accession to the EU for Končar INEM have already been reflected in an improved purchasing system, which is crucial since a significant quantity of components come from the European markets. Like many other Croatian companies, Končar also enjoys the benefits of fast shipment and goods being delivered straight to its warehouse.

“The other substantial advantage of the new economic position of Croatia is the easy access to the supplier lists of large energy companies. It is not an undemanding path, but with some of our products in the field of electric power we can become eligible participants in their projects,” claims Mr Tukša.

Collaborative business relationships

Končar INEM has collaborative working relations with many suppliers and partners. The most fruitful alliance is with KONČAR Electrical Engineering Institute Inc., which is also part of the Group. With the Institute the company works on large number of development projects.

The principles of supply in Končar INEM are narrowly related to the standardisation of

components, which means that the company has strictly defined technical supply conditions. That is why they have to refer to specific manufacturers and then to order material and products through regional distributors. A considerable amount of equipment originates from the leading German manufacturers of power semiconductor components and devices, Semikron and Infineon, supplied through their Croatian representatives.

“I would like to mention batteries as a crucial part of our uninterruptible power supply and the distributorship agreements we have with an American company Exide (its German plant in Budingen), Austrian Enersys GmbH and Italian company Riello for the mass production of industrial UPSs. Our product range is aimed at specific clients and projects, but for the multi-serial products we have partnerships with individual manufacturers,” explains Mr Tukša.

Emphasis on new programs

In order to attract clients on a wider scale, Končar INEM is focusing on two emerging areas. One is in the field of energy. “We are passionate about renewable energy,” says

Mr Tukša, “and are committed to small hydro power plants for which we offer an electromechanical equipment package on a turnkey basis.”

The second segment is in the area of ICT and has to do with the smart grid. “Smart metering is something that we have been developing through several pilot projects and is an advanced system for remote and wireless monitoring and optimisation of energy consumption. It measures various energy sources (water, heating, gas etc), processes measurement data and forwards them to the centralised system,” continues Mr Tukša. “Our main customers in this segment of production are utilities, municipalities etc.”

These programmes are very beneficial and cost-effective, especially for the energy companies. Increasing commitment to green development inevitably leads to a need for smart grid technologies, Končar INEM intends to carefully plan, invest and expand in those particular fields. n

Visit: www.koncar-inem.hr