South Africa-based Trafo Power Solutions has recently supplied a turnkey mobile transformer solution to an Australian mining customer. Managing Director, David Claassen, says this success is underpinned by Trafo Power Solutions’ depth of experience across industries, combined with its in-house design expertise and a responsive approach to business, which is opening doors for it to grow its export markets.
Partial discharge testing is conducted to verify the integrity of the insulation system and confirm the dry-type transformers’ compliance with performance and safety standards.
Claassen says the company designed and supplied a robust skid-mounted transformer solution for the opencast mine in Queensland. The turnkey substation project allows the customer to step up its generated power supply from 400 V to 6.6 kV, with the mobile substation able to move with the customer’s generator set around the mine site.
“Our 2 000 kVA substation includes the necessary low voltage and medium voltage switchgear and gives the customer quick and easy plug-and-play functionality when moving locations,” Claassen says. “This means there is no need for time-consuming termination of cables when the unit is moved and reconnected to the generator. To facilitate mobility, the skid is equipped with hooks for dragging as well as push bars for moving it into position.”
He adds that it was important to take into account the high vibration levels presented by such mobility when specifying the components to be included in the design, with rigid mounting for strength and the use of anti-vibration equipment.
Meeting the region’s specific standards was also an important aspect of the contract. “The design needed to be within the requirements of Australia’s national standards and specifications. We have extensive experience with this standards framework from our work there with other customers,” he says. “Further, the customer wanted certain equipment that is common in the Australian market specified, as this would be an important consideration in ensuring adequate technical after-sales support.”
This demonstrates the flexibility in Trafo Power Solutions’ design process, Claassen highlights. It can accommodate and meet any national standards – and incorporate customer preferences for certain locally sourced equipment. This was especially relevant in the low voltage aspects of the design, such as protection relays and monitoring systems.
“We are not rigid in the options we consider and can easily adapt to customers’ choices that best suit their preferences and local market availability,” he says.
Claassen adds that inspections and witness testing remain a core priority in fulfilling export orders, in spite of the customer’s physical distance from the country of design and manufacture. He says the Covid-19 pandemic encouraged the development of various communication technologies which the company now uses to ensure the customer’s involvement in the technical aspects of the contract.
“We put this technology to good use in this project, allowing the customer to carry out all necessary inspections and factory acceptance testing remotely and to their full satisfaction,” he says. “At Trafo Power Solutions, we take pride in being easy to work with and finding creative solutions – even across long distances and under tight deadlines.”
The contract indicates the company’s growing success in the international market, he says, as well as in its journey from being a transformer supplier to becoming a turnkey electrical power solutions provider. Having initially carved a niche for itself in dry-type transformer applications in Africa, Trafo Power Solutions is evolving rapidly on the strength of its design and engineering capability and its in-depth technical understanding of various aspects of electrical projects.
For more information visit: https://www.trafo.co.za/
