MR. NIKKHIL PAATHAK

Q. What were the key reasons behind your technical collaboration with the Italian firm Electromeccanica from 1997 and in what ways did this partnership impact the development of your cast-resin transformer range?

We had Technical collaboration with M/s Electromeccanica Italy, primarily to develop & build Dry Type Technology in India, mainly for India & Export Market. This collaboration has worked in multiple ways for building technological Engineering Solutions, Casting plants, required manufacturing Infrastructure with accuracy & precision, developing skilled manpower to align this technology & suitable after sales services. Hence, we offer end to end solutions to every customer for their customized requirements including validation of product performance in External NABL Labs. With this, we could develop +100 nos. of customized configurations for various segments of India & overseas.

Even today, this collaboration exists, in case if any additional support require.

Q. Among your core offerings oilcooled ONAN - KNAN, Cast-resin & VPI, and customised Transformers & Compact Substations —which product segment contributes the most to your revenue, and what factors drive its leading performance?

Our performance is driven by Brand & Trust that we built over the decades through our Engineering Expertise, Consistency & Innovation.

Out of our overall product range, so far, we were getting our highest revenue from Cast Resin Product line, which is core expertise of our organization, however this year will be a gamechanger for us, as we are expanding our market reach as well as production capacity for oil cooled Transformers, as we are oriented towards Renewable Energy segment, as a strategic focus. Hence this year we may end up with 50-50 sharing Revenue from Dry type & Oil cooled product line. Additionally, we also have growing share in Compact Substation segment, as we can supply both Hermetically Sealed (ONAN/KNAN) & or Cast Resin Dry Type Transformers in Compact substation as per customized requirements.

Q. What are the advantages of cast-resin (dry-type) transformers compared to oil cooled transformers in terms of safety, noise levels, and maintenance requirements? 

As we can understand, Dry type Transformers has no oil presence for cooling, but an Air as a cooling media. Hence it gets free from any & every maintenance issues related to oil. Additionally, it facilitates installation inside the buildings & factories for Indoor application, being nonflammable & non-hazardous, completely safe in operation. It offers Class F / H insulation which has better thermal coefficient over class A insulation of Oil cooled Transformers. Additionally, Dry type Transformer its Core Coil Assembly can be dismantled from the enclosure & can again assembled at site wherever we have to deal with space constraints situation.

Additionally, our “ENVIRO GREEN” KNAN Transformers uses “Natural Ester oil” which offers non-flammable, non-toxic, non-hazardous, completely bio-degradable & fire safe solutions. Additionally, it requires periodic oil BDV checks & related preventive maintenances as per Sealed & non-Sealed Transformers O & M guidelines.

As per as Noise level is concern, irrespective of type of Transformer, it depends on CORE material grade, its stacking, intactness, no voids or air gaps in core assembly, compositeness, ensure low noise & smoother operation.

But having said that both Oil cooled Market & Dry type Market is very well established by its core performance values & applications, like Dry Type Transformers are mainly preferred for Indoor Installations which comes with ECBC losses. Segments like Thermal Power Plants, Steel plants, Ports, Metros, Railways, Highways & Tunnels Infrastructure, Private & Govt Utilities, Hospitals, Hotels, Malls & Multiplexes, Institutes, High Rise Residential & Commercial buildings, IT Parks, Data Centres, are widely adopting Dry type Transformers and oil cooled Transformers are widely adopted throughout the industries, Utility boards, Renewable Energy and whenever space gets available for outdoor installations for Distribution Range. For capacities 5 MVA & above, oil cooled Transformers remains the only available option and we feel immense proud to cater both product lines catering to all segments together under the same manufacturing facility with distinguish focus & dedication.

Q. What are the key challenges you encounter in managing international standards and certifications when exporting to diverse regulatory environments?

We have exported to Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Nigeria, Philippines, Russia, Nepal, Bhutan, Yaman, Iran, Oman, Iraq, UAE, but yes, there are specific certifications are required to Export in US i.e. UL certification, For Dubai i.e. DEWA certification, for Europe i.e. E2, C2, & F1 certification, etc, wherein these certifications doesn’t facilitate in our Indian Testing NABL Labs. Hence, our Electrical Power Industry to build an equivalent testing Infrastructure like CESI Italy or other International Laboratories which will facilitate economical, Autonomous & timely evaluation process for OEMs which can eventually boost export from Indian Power sector.

Q. Could you elaborate on your after-sales service framework, and do you maintain dedicated in-house client support teams or primarily rely on partnerships with local service providers?

Being a very important aspect of Business, we have inhouse & dedicated after service support team which operates centrally from plant for PAN India networks, followed by regional Service channel partner networks for immediate local assistance.

Q. What strategic investments are being directed toward R & D, especially in advancing next-generation technologies and enhancing energy-efficient transformer designs? 

We are being one of the oldest manufacturers in the country, R & D has remained our integral part of development. As a part of continuous process, we are setting up best in class infrastructure for Oil cooled Transformers. This will help our actual product to meet R & D expectations in terms of accuracy & precision. In addition, we are trying to develop Young Talent, as we are in process of recruiting Seasoned Professionals to be part of our R & D Team.

Moving ahead, we are working with our suppliers & partners to add value proportion in the products to optimize its foot prints as a part of Global Compact concept, energy conservation by using prime grade CRGO, adding innovative controls & measuring relays in the Transformer which can facilitate enhanced operational monitoring & protection systems for Transformer, especially AI based controls, on time or real time monitoring, etc.

As a part of continuous Development & innovation, we have developed, Tested & Successfully Passed AMES IMPEX make 3.6 MVA 33/0.950 KV Aluminium FOIL wound Generator Transformer for Dynamic Short Circuit Tests from CPRI. Our next target is to develop 5.5 MVA 33/1.14 kV AL wound WTG Transformer suitable for 5 MW Envision Wind Turbine.

This product is designed for step duty Power Generation from 3.3 MW Envision make Wind Turbine, which is probably having one of the largest market shares in India. As of now, 72 MW supply is done & another 100 MW is under execution. Our entry in this market is adding new dimensions to the Renewable Wind market. Many such developments are in process & will share the same in near future….

Q. How do you envision the company evolving over the next few years in terms of capacity growth, innovation advancements, market expansion, and its global presence?

Yes, success brings Growth by dealing with opportunities & challenges together which comes from learning & experiences. We truly believe that Growth should be sustainable, long term & bringing more responsibilities to handle market dynamics. With our core expertise, we are working on making strong Market Presence in Renewable Energy, Airports & Metros followed by Industrial sectors. With this approach, we are participating in Various Exhibitions, Business Events across the country. Maybe next year, we can move actively in Global Market with added Dynamic Sales Team.

Hence this year will be largely a product + capacity developments followed by capitalization over next 3 years. As the Industry is growing very fast, we need to meet the customers on time demand with SQDT Model i.e. Safety, Quality, Delivery & Team.