Booming Enervac Proves 'Green' Innovations Pay Off in Exports

Enervac Corporation of Cambridge, Ontario is in the enviable position of expanding its export business, even in the recent economic downtown.

The largest manufacturer of transformer oil purification equipment in the world, Enervac won gold in the Innovation - Exports category at this year's Ontario Global Trader Awards for its latest innovative, environmentally-friendly equipment.

"We put in about four years of research and development in this new system, the E575R, so all of us at Enervac are very proud to win OGTA gold," says Anthony Guglielmi, president of the company since 2002 with vice-president Scott Allen. "Our commitment to producing eco-friendly, state-of-the- art equipment, as well as to R&D, is paramount in our success."

Growing from humble beginnings in 1978, Enervac now has 40 employees in Cambridge and its own worldwide distribution system. After focusing primarily on the North American market until the late 1990s, Enervac shifted its focus to international markets, which now account for more than half of sales.

"That's really where our growth has taken off. We've actually grown in the recession," says Scott, who has been with Enervac since 1990, first in the engineering department, then in sales. "After our highest sales ever in fiscal 2008-09, we expect to exceed that in 2009-10."

The company has manufactured more than 5,000 custom-designed oil purification systems, mostly for utility companies in over 80 countries, including the United States, Brazil, South Korea, Australia, Bahrain, Norway and Hong Kong.

"We're in a niche market which presents us with great growth opportunities, so we're now on virtually every continent," says Anthony. "Our customers are always impressed that such leading-edge equipment is developed, designed and manufactured entirely in our Cambridge facility."

Enervac's E575R transformer oil purification system uses a vacuum process to upgrade or clean oil that is used to cool the interior of transformers, such as the ones in electrical substations, as electricity is converted from higher to lower voltages for distribution to houses and businesses, for example.

"In a nutshell, our equipment allows utility companies to physically purify the oil in their electrical transformer on site, without having to dispose of the old oil and bring in new oil," says Scott. "Our system turns transformer oil from a contaminated, cloudy brown to a purified, sparkling yellow and extends the life of the oil to 100 years!"

Old technology used a system in which oil used to cool an electrical transformer was passed through a clay-like medium called Fuller's Earth. This substance would absorb the carbon and bring the oil back to virgin condition. But afterwards, the company would have to dispose of this "clay", which was now sludge full of contaminated, oily waste.

Enervac has modernized the technology so a company can reuse the Fuller's Earth up to 300 times before disposing of it. When it finally is thrown out after three to five years, Enervac's purification system cleans the spent "clay" until it is free of oil and contaminants and can be dumped safely in a normal landfill site. This cleaning system also extends the life of transformers, a further saving.

"The payback period for a client's investment is very quick. The savings in operating costs makes their decision to purchase our equipment easily justifiable," says Scott.

One customer, China Light and Power (CLP) in Hong Kong, won an environmental award for using Enervac's equipment.

"The Hong Kong award was a significant milestone for Enervac," says Anthony. "This particular system was one of the first commercial designs of our E575R transformer oil regeneration equipment and an early sign that our focus on research and development was the right move for us. Since then, the E575R system has been a key product for Enervac and a driver of our company's growth."

As a sign of that growth, Enervac has recently hired three people at its Cambridge operation.

"Enervac's most impressive asset is the people who make this company what it is today," says Anthony. "Everyone here works well together and adapts quickly to tackle any challenges that come our way."

That adaptability combined with innovation are what make Enervac a leader in its field and a gold prize winner.