Total transformation Kolektor Etra

TOTAL TRANSFORMATION

Kolektor Etra is a market leader in the design and manufacture of high-power transformers rated up to 500MVA and to 420kV. It leads the field in the development of heavy-duty eco-friendly power transformers. This high-tech Slovenian company recently secured a contract with Fingrid Power of Finland, for around 20 million euros, the biggest single contract in the companys history, as Philip Yorke reports.

Based in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Kolektor Etra was founded in 1933 and to this day remains a privately-owned limited company with more than 1,000 employees and revenues of over 100 million euros. According to the latest press release from Fingrid, the Slovenia-based company Kolektor Etra will shortly totally transform Finland’s electricity transmission connection capabilities between the south and north of Finland and provide significantly improved power access and overall eco-efficiency from east to west.

The EUR 20 million plus contract involves the supply of 400 MVA 400/120kV power transformers to boost Finland’s national grid. The heavy-duty, high-tech equipment will be delivered to the Finnish transformer substations located in Pyhäselkä and Petäjävesi Fingrid said, adding that the signed contract also allows for the delivery of five optional power transformers in 2020–2023.

Accordingly, the purpose of allowing for five optional power transformers, is to provide for the several pending wind power projects planned across Finland. The transformer substation in Pyhäselkä will be replaced within twelve months. This upgrade and the new power transformers ordered now, relate to the renewal of the Oulujoki grid.

The Oulujoki grid will be replenished in a number of stages throughout the 2019–2020 period. This means that the country’s aging power grid will now be thoroughly modernised, with additional wind power projects of several hundred megawatts also planned for the area. Fingrid has developed its advanced power grid in close cooperation with the electricity producers and distribution system operators in the area.

The replacement of the transformer substation in Petäjävesi and the new power transformer ordered for the main substation relates to a much larger project called Forest Line, which will improve the transmission connection between the south and north of Finland, in order to better serve the growing needs of Finnish industrial companies and its consumers.

The aim of the projects in both Pyhäselkä and Petäjävesi is to ensure that Finland remains a single-price region for electricity supply, according to the Fingrid press release. The purpose of the five optional power transformers is to provide connectivity for the many pending wind power projects across Finland.

Big developments in Belarus

Following the recent agreement signed between the Belarusian national electrical company, ‘Belenergo’ and Slovenia’s largest power engineering company Kolektor Etra to establish a modern manufacturing facility in Belarus, work has begun on the construction of the latest state-of-the-art plant. This has been initiated in order to produce powerful, eco-friendly transformers to be installed throughout the region. The company sees this as heralding a new era of cooperation between the two countries.

Kolektor Etra has well-established contacts with Belarusian companies and earned the reputation as a supplier of the highest quality

high-power transformers. For more than 80 years Kolektor Etra has been manufacturing and repairing a broad range of power transformers. These account for the bulk of the company’s output, of which more than 90 per cent is manufactured for export markets. The company excels in its many disciplines where it focuses special attention on power loss and noise reduction. Today the Belarus facility is fully operational and providing reliable power supplies across the full breadth of the country.

Award winning exporter

Recently Kolektor Etra received a prestigious award for the best Slovenian exporter of 2018. This was granted by the Conference of Slovenian Exporters, which was held a few months ago at Brdo pri Kran. “Apart from export achievements, Kolektor Etra was able to prove that as a manufacturer it is growing three times faster than the European marketplace. This does not come at the expense of getting low-priced deals, but by joining higher price levels managed by multinationals, while increasing its profitability. In the foreign markets, it promotes its own brands, built by technically advanced energy transformers and in the development of which, it also uses artificial intelligence.

“Kolektor Etra generates 90 percent of its revenues from export sales abroad, more than half of which are focused on the demanding Scandinavian markets. It is distinguished by its stable financial performance indicators, including 15 per cent annual sales growth over the past five years, above-average profitability and an ambitious future plan for growth”, “These facts were stated by the judges as the key reasons for the company winning the coveted prize.

A Kolektor Etra spokesperson said, “We are proud that with clear vision, hard work and dedication, as well as continuous improvements, investment in development and the use of artificial intelligence, we have been able to prove why we deserve this special award. For further details of Kolektor Etra’s latest range of ecofriendly, high-power transformers visit: www.kolektor-etra.si n