Electric machines, drives and components

ELECTRIC MACHINES,

DRIVES AND COMPONENTS

With 100 years of experience in the production of electrical equipment, TES VSETÍN aspires to be the global partner of choice for purpose-built rotating electrical machines, drives and components. Piotr Sadowski writes for Industry Europe.

TES VSETÍN s.r.o. of the Czech Republic is a renowned European player in the field of power engineering, with expertise in design and in-house skills in the production of motors, generators, drives and subcontracting services. The company offers both serial and unit production solutions, to suit the individual needs of every customer.

“In the past five years we have experienced a major change in the ownership of the business, as it was acquired by a renowned private equity fund,” says Lukáš Konečný, Global Business Development director. “This has influenced the company’s strategy for the future and brought in a series of important investments. The biggest upgrade in our production offer has been the introduction of electric motors and generators over 5MW and assembly machines of 5–30MW. In addition, investments have been focusing not only on hardware, but also on design skills in the division, and the know-how of our engineers.”

Three key divisions

The company employs a stable workforce of 700 staff and grows by revenue through increasing the value per machine produced. Within TES there are three divisions: TES Electric Machines (TEM), TES Electric Components (TEC) and TES Electric Drives (TED). These generate roughly 35–40 per cent, 40–50 per cent and the rest, respectively, of the overall revenues. TEM focuses on the production of generators, motors, PMGs and test field equipment designed in-house. TEC manufactures subcomponents for other producers of rotating machinery, such as laminations, frames and endshields, shafts and other related parts, coils, wound stacks, and stator and rotor stacks, for customers who are the the biggest world producers of electric motors, generators as well as complete wind power plants. TED in turn focuses on a range of industries, from automotive to supplying the biggest European producer of electric switchboards. Products offered by TED include industrial automation and drives, test stands, special purpose machines and switchboards.

As Mr Konečný explains, what is really important is that there exists a clear synergy between the three divisions, with production and engineering also set up for small series production. Within TEM, typically no more than three machines are produced per series, and the design customisation – for hydro-power plants or other specific projects, for example – is crucial, with the machines being characterised by a high number of hours of engineering per machine. TEC has the advantage of ensuring lower-cost for customers based on production efficiency per component, with the main customers located in surrounding countries (thus further reducing supply costs), mainly Germany, as well as Austria and France.

“Know-how is also of vital importance and something that the new owners have been investing in,” explains Mr Konečný. “Across TEM and TED we have 66 R&D and application engineers, constituting nearly 10 per cent of the workforce. This allows us to provide a high level of design customisation according to specific needs of customer application. We operate in a lean manner and develop solutions in a cheaper way, as the cost of engineering and R&D is lower.”

New products

With increasing global investments in renewable energy sources, decentralisations of power production and the introduction of smartgrids for energy generation (so plants can be smaller and thus fall into the lower ranges of wattage offered in TES products), TES is in an excellent position to offer its customers cutting-edge and tailored products. For example, within TEM, generators for hydro-power plants, marine and other industries, including steam power, ranging from 300 to 30,000 kW, can be synchronous or asynchronous or with permanent magnets. Not many other competitors are able to offer such a Watt range. Wind-power plants can also be supplied with PMGs, with Watt range from 500 to 4000 kW. Furthermore, asynchronous motors are supplied to heavy duty industry branches, mining, steel production and other areas, ideal for the environments in which they are used as they have robust, firm frames and can withstand vibrations and dust pollution.

“Alongside TEM, TEC also offers a major element of stability for the company, as does TEM, where we are diversifying across the energy market, including into marine and steam power branches,” adds Mr Konečný. “Our products are also an answer to another

important trend, which is the search for low-speed machines with increased reliability of drives, where the use of gearboxes is avoided – for areas such as ski lift construction or the cement industry.”

Operating across Europe and beyond

TES supplies its solutions to a wide range of customers, from producers of electric motors in the MW range to energy companies or facilities selling electric energy, power plants, hydro, steam power and geothermal energy producers. Manufacturing is centralised in Vsetin in the Czech Republic, with engineering offices in Brno and Prague, which means being close to very good technical expertise, including universities, institutes and test facilities.

“Our exports make up more than 80 per cent of the overall production with 70 per cent going to Europe, mostly western Europe, and the rest going mainly to North America, South America and Asia,” says Mr Konečný. “We are also actively engaged in wider geographical diversification, with sales offices in Peru, South Africa, Spain and a new office in the Philippines – the idea being to take advantage of the large potential of these markets and increase the sales of our machines there.”

Outlook for the future

TES invests in completely new products, such as low speed permanent magnet machines for direct drive applications in energy production, ropeway applications, wave power plants and the marine sector. The common factor to invest into such new products is the general interest of customers in avoiding drives using gearboxes and increasing energy conversion efficiency. Other investments into equipment for production of high voltage coils or capability of own testing equipment are also an important part of the growth plan. The company is confident in the high quality of its existing products and solutions, thus the focus will primarily be on reinforcing its sales in the current and new markets, but also in those industries which offer important new opportunities. This includes renewable energy industrial branches, steam power generation, and other areas, including the marine industry.

As has already been mentioned in the introduction to the article, TES and its owners know that people are one of the most important elements for current and future success. It has motivation systems and KPIs beyond the job description in place, for all levels the company organisational structure. “We have a win-win philosophy for our people, as well as suppliers and customers, to ensure that all stakeholders benefit from our growth and success,” concludes Mr Konečný. n