Alive & Kicking after 28 years

At ITL we always promote the reliability and quality of our transformers, and from a marketing perspective, it can be seen as spin in front of the customer. It is great to have supporting feedback from the field and today this CT was part of a 12 off manufactured for Centre Switchgear (latterly amalgamated into ABB in the 90's to become ABB Centre Switchgear Limited). The project was for Bishopsgate Incoming Main Power and has been faithfully serving for 28 years.

Normally in system upgrades the CT is removed and replaced, not this one, the customer is connecting upgraded monitoring equipment and we expect that this CT will continue to provide steadfast performance.

We stand by the quality & reliability of our products and are proud of our achievements over the past 45 years. Always welcoming new challenges from whatever our customers throw at us and whilst we may not be the cheapest in the market, without a doubt we can say that our customers definitely get a positive return on investment when installing an Instrument Transformers Current Transformers or Voltage Transformers.

If you are not using our transformers, firstly I would cheekily say WHY, but I'm sure you have your reasons. None the less if you haven't already joined our global customer base where our goal is to exceed your expectations and help you build your brand as a quality manufacturer of switchgear & electrical equipment then speak to us now.

Reach out today on using our chat page, email our sales & marketing teams or do it the old-fashioned way and give us a call on +44(0)1355236057 where one of our highly qualified engineers will assist with your requirements.

2016 in ITL

2016 has definitely been a year full of changes and events all around the World. There were actually so many it would take quite a while to list them all. The two obvious ones are the new American President and UK leaving the EU. Brexit was the one which has influenced us the most and will probably even more in the future. We will talk about that in one of our future posts so stay tuned.

But what changes happened on our end in 2016? As every year, we have focused on improving our products and services for our customers. We are very well known in the market for our Low Voltage range of products but in the last couple of years there has been a spike in demand for our Medium Voltage units. To meet this increase, we have acted and invested in our Vacuum resin casting plant. There was a lot to learn and still is but the equipment is up and running.

2016 is also the birth-year of our Test Reports Repository, or TRR. Below you can read about why we did it, what feedback we got from our customers and why some of us have grey hair.

Resin casting Plant

The decision to invest into new resin casting plant was actually made at the end of 2015. For couple of years we have experienced a continuous increase in demand for ITL Medium Voltage products and the new plant was a logical step. It makes our life a bit easier, our products better and allows us to better control the quality of the finished product. There was a lot of research done by our engineers, we had to move things around on our production floor and it took us quite the while to find the product to suit our needs. But at the end we have opted for state-of-the-art German quality and as far as we can tell it was the right call. Bottom line, our resin casting capabilities drastically improved.

The TRR rises

Every single unit that is manufactured in our East Kilbride factory is tested on our premises (and like as a carpenter measure twice & cut once, we randomly test twice) before despatch. This way we ensure that every CT and VT coming out of our factory floor is fully compliant with required international standard. The outcome of the test is a Routine Test Report. Historically, we were sending paper copies with the goods. Then, with the coming of electronic age we have started sending them in PDF format via e-mail. There is a slight shortcoming though. The buyer who receives the Report is not the person who actually needs it. It is the Manager spearheading the project or, QA Dept. or in some cases the actual commissioning team at site who needs to see the results. With all these touch points with a customer, we decided to simplify and improve the process by providing an online Test Report Repository (or TRR as we call it here) idea was born.

Test Report Repository

Basically, the idea is to have a dedicated space which customers can access online and simply download the document without having to phone in or e-mail us. Please, don’t get us wrong, we love to talk to you. But we have customers all over the world and sometimes we might not be here to pick up the phone or e-mails can get lost. And let’s be honest, it saves time for everybody and we all know time is a precious commodity.

Great idea. But the road to make it happen was a difficult one. Our marketing guy Jerry sure has something to say.

Jerry – “It surely was a challenge. First, we had to rebuild our sites from scratch in-house as it gives us a more flexibility and control in what we want to do and the TRR was one of the major factors to go for it. There were so many things to consider. Security of the reports, login process, search criteria, actual documents storage, you name it. Both I and Paul have put a lot of time and effort into developing the platform and rolled out the beta version to a couple of customers and it got quite a bit of traction. Now we are up and running, sure, however as with any software platform there are still tweaks to be made but the main thing for us now is to educate our customers and roll it out on a large scale.”

ITL Reaches 30,000!

30000/1A Current Transformer from ITL

When testing current transformers it is always best to inject the appropriate rated primary current to ensure that the product truly can meet service conditions. For lower ratio transformers, there is a trend by customers for traditional transformer testing to be replaced by a CT Analyser which injects voltage and using some fancy algorithms provides test data to show compliance. Whilst helpful on the reporting side and field validation, ITL have elected not to use a CT Analyser for primary testing. Opting to continue traditional testing methods for high ratio current transformers by direct current injection to prove compliance and incorporating hybrid reporting format from a CT analyser.

Led by ITL’s Technical Director Greig McFarlane, the company has invested heavily in upgrading its High Current Test Dept. which allows current transformers to be tested to 30,000 Amps with a secondary ratio of 1 Amp. In keeping with our philosophy of exceed customers expectations of giving exactly what the customer asks for, these secondary ratios can be customised should this be necessary.

With such high ratio transformers, many of ITL’s competitors have chosen to loop multiple cable turns through the primary to achieve high current accuracy resolution and while this may be an acceptable method of testing for other organisations, it is not for ITL. This procedure can have the effect of introducing localised saturation which can influence test results and not reflect true operational performance. Greig said “especially when providing accuracy results at very high levels you want to ensure that any downstream risk is minimised.”

“By using state of the art high accuracy test bridges ensures that we continue surpass our customers’ expectations for accurate, reliable and long service transformers.”

As always, we stand ready to meet our customers’ ever demanding needs for CT /VT measurement & protection solutions, with enthusiasm and look forward to helping you soon.

Call us on +44 1355 236 057, or email sales@itl-uk.com

ITL – TransformingYourWorld.net

Our test reports repository

ITL Test Certificate Example

We are always striving to make our customers’ life as easy as possible. ITL have always been known as the "go to CT/VT guys" but also for a great customer service. Fast responses, knowledge, quick orders, you name it (as in life we have stumbled in our past but more importantly we learn from our mistakes to prevent recurrance). However, our other great asset is efficiency. And that is where Test Reports Repository comes in.

Test Reports, or Test Certificates, are very important part of our products. It may seem they are just a supporting document but they clearly state that our CTs and VTs meet international requirements which is an invaluable information for a buyer and particularly for an engineer.

Traditionally, we supply paper copies or electronic copies of test reports. Sometimes we have buyers, engineers etc. e-mailing/ phoning us asking for duplicate test reports for a particular unit (I'm sure you can relate to this scenario). Emails are not always perfect and get lost, sent to junk or just plain deleted in error and don’t get to the intended recipient for what ever reason. We are sure you know it can get messy. So we created TRR. It is an easy way you can access your current transformer or voltage transformer test report by just logging in and doing quick search.

It makes life easier for both us and our customer. And that is what ITL is about.

Below you can see a short video of how it works. Or you can have a quick test run here. (Username: C110011; Password: TestCertsTest)

Want to sign up? Take a look here!

Keep a lookout for our developments.

ITL – one of the Key Players on Transformers market

The instrument transformers market is always changing. The next four years look bright for the industry. According to this analysis the market will grow at a CAGR of 7.81% during the period 2016-2020. This is obviously great news for all the players in the industry. But first, let’s take a look at why.

Modernisation of the Grid

One of ITL Split core units!

One of the main reasons for this growth is investments in the grids. There is an increased demand for new transformers as governments are funding schemes to improve power transmission and distribution. A great example is India with their APDRP scheme (Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme). The trend is to find more effective and reliable solutions for grids to minimise waste of energy during long range transmission and avoid outages as much as possible.

Transformers play a significant role to support this movement. We understand that and focus on providing the perfect product for every project. Our units are well known in the industry for their longevity (see image below) and our engineers have the knowledge to solve almost any obstacles. That is why we are the “go to” guys when an unusual solution is needed. Sometimes it tends to go like this: “I need the CT to do this and it needs to fit here, make it happen”. Luckily, custom transformers are our specialty and words like "Magicians" & "Wizards" are regularly referred to our talented transformer design & manufacturing teams.

More than 20 years old. A bit weathered but still going strong!

All these points plus our dedication to provide the best service to our customers means we have been listed as one of the key players in the Transformers industry by RnR Market Research last month. You can read all about it here. It is obviously great to receive a recognition like this as it is a reflection on the attitude of our whole team.

Tag Archives: instrument transformers

Alive & Kicking after 28 years

Main Incoming CT