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."