Production, sales and service: The activities of the SGB-SMIT Group in the USA cover the entire customer service and product life for transformers. And not only that: By concentrating on cast resin transformers, especially for the wind energy sector, production in the USA set the course for lasting success with sustainability at an early stage. We look back on a ten-year success story and venture a first look at the future of SGB-USA at the new company headquarters.
In 2009, SGB-USA was founded in Golden, Colorado, and after a move in 2014, the SGB-SMIT Group had two representative offices in the USA: In Summerville, South Carolina, SMIT SALES is the sales office of Royal SMIT for North America. In Louisville, Ohio, two companies of the group shared one location for five years: OTC Services stands for the repair, overhaul and maintenance of oil transformers, while SGB-USA is a synonym for the production of sustainable cast resin transformers. Over the last ten years, SGB-USA has established itself as a competent partner in the regenerative North American energy market and produced transformers for wind farms in the USA: So far, our group member has produced, delivered and installed a total of approx. 3,000 transformers with a capacity of 6.2 GW. In 2019, the next big step for SGB-USA was the introduction of the new VPI technology: VPI stands for epoxy cast resin insulation by vacuum impregnation, which prevents even small air inclusions in the resin and improves both insulation and corrosion protection. A clear product advantage, the realization of which required the investment in additional production machines - and additional space in the production line. However, because the buildings in Louisville had already reached their capacity limits, SGB-USA moved to a new, dedicated site in Tallmadge, Ohio in 2019. OTC Service will remain in Louisville and will expand accordingly on the space that has become available.
Tallmadge is part of the metropolitan region of the city of Akron with a total of almost 700,000 inhabitants and is located in the northeast of the USA, close to the Great Lakes. At the new location, SGB-USA will continue to pursue its proven customer-oriented strategy and manufacture cast resin transformers, which are particularly suitable for the limited space in the nacelles of wind turbines and are ideally equipped for the sometimes extreme weather conditions in North America.
SGB-USA offers wind energy customers cast resin transformers, in which the complete windings are cast with cast resin. SGB-USA now also offers VPI technology as an extension of its range of cast resin transformers - and is now even more strongly recommended as a manufacturing partner for customers with particularly high demands on the robustness and climate resistance of the transformers.
Under "Compact Core" SGB-USA’s VPI transformer technology offers a unique dry transformer solution with a triangular core construction. This wound core technology makes this type of transformer even more compact, efficient and noiseless. With this product, we are gaining a market advantage which SGB-USA would like to expand further in the future.
At the location in Tallmadge, the "Home of the Compact Core", SGB-USA produces cast resin transformers with up to 25MVA / 36 kV and VPI transformers with up to 3,000 KVA / 27 kV; both in accordance with IEC & IEEE standards and quality-monitored in accordance with ISO 9001 & 14001. More about SGB-USA and the "Compact Core" transformers at www.sgbusa.com.
Ten years of SGB-USA: A good reason for the entire SGB-SMIT Group to celebrate - and one to say thank you! To all the employees of our three North American group members, who are committed to our customers in a highly competitive market on a daily basis and thus further promote the SGB-SMIT brand in the USA.
