Pauwels leads transformer market in ASEAN and beyond

Pauwels leads transformer market in ASEAN and beyond

JAKARTA (JP): Amid fierce competition in the electricity
market in Southeast Asian region and beyond, PT Pauwels Trafo
Asia (PTA) has proven itself the leader in power transformer
production by gaining ISO 9001 certification from KEMA.

Company President Albert Calluy said that his company had
forced itself to penetrate markets beyond Southeast Asia due to a
monetary crisis, which hit the region more than two years ago.

"We have experienced promising opportunities in some new
markets," he said, adding that the company traditionally sold 60
percent of its products on the domestic market and exported the
rest to Southeast Asian countries.

He said that as a result of the crisis, several projects in
Indonesia and other Southeast Asia countries were postponed.

"In order to fill the gap in order intake, PTA has become
successful in exporting transformers outside the Southeast Asian
region, that is, to North America and Africa."

PTA, incorporated nine years ago, aims to become a global
player and the best performing transformer factory in the region,
he said.

"To realize this plan, PTA is strengthening its organization,
training its staff and engineers for more complex products. Also,
the marketing and sales force has been extended to enter new
markets."

The company is 60 percent controlled by Belgium's Pauwels
International NV and 40 percent by PT Meta Epsi Engineering.

Pauwels International is a leading European transformer
manufacturer headquartered in Mechelen, with an annual output of
30,000 megavolt ampere (MVA). In addition to Indonesia and
Belgium, the Pauwels Group has manufacturing plants in Ireland,
Saudi Arabia, the United States and Canada.

Business carried out by Meta Epsi, originally a contractor for
mechanical and electrical work established about 25 years ago,
includes engineering procurement construction work in the oil and
gas field, constructing oil tank farms, pipelines, oil and gas
processing facilities, as well as becoming a main contractor for
150 kilovolt (kV) and 500 kV networks.

With such outstanding ownership, PTA has become a prominent
company producing high-voltage power transformers. The company's
modern 10,000 square-meter plant is located in a 33,000 square-
meter plot in Cileungsi, Bogor, West Java. PTA's total
investments in fixed assets is about US$20 million.

Calluy said his company had benefited from the growing
electricity market in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian
countries. The company currently produces from five MVA to 250
MVA up to 230 kV transformers with a production capacity of 3,000
MVA a year, or 80 units per annum.

"PTA is implementing the Pauwels design criteria based on
international and national standards such as IEC, BS, ANSI/NEMA,
CSA and JEC. Each transformer is individually designed to
specific requirements and applications," he said, adding that
besides manufacturing power transformers, PTA offers power
transformer testing, erecting, commissioning, maintenance and
service.

He said there were some manufacturers for small distribution
transformers in Indonesia.

"In the range of power transformers, however, there are only
two manufacturers. PTA can manufacture high range transformers up
to 250 MVA and 230 kV. Within ASEAN, PTA is the only manufacturer
that can build and test this range of power transformer."

He said that locally, the state-owned electricity provider PT
PLN was the traditional buyer, in addition to particular heavy
industries like cement or steelmakers as well as oil and gas
companies.

PTA's leading customers include Caltex, Siemens, Sumitomo,
Schneider, Chiyoda, Petronas, China Light and Power Hong Kong.

He said PTA purchases raw materials, including silicon steel,
copper wire, insulation materials and oil, steel, bushings and
high-voltage switchgear, from world-class manufacturers in
Europe, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, the U.S. and
Indonesia.

"Though the industries in Indonesia are affected by the
financial and economical crises, PTA closed 1997 and 1998 with
positive results. And the cash flow and forecast for 1999 is also
positive."