SIEMENS

Brazil has been experiencing rapid economic growth for years. In 2011, according to a report issued in December of that year by the London-based Centre for Economics and Business Research, it overtook the UK to become the world’s sixth-largest economy. The discovery of new oil deposits is contributing to this trend, enabling Brazil to make substantial investments in new infrastructure — especially power supply systems, which have long been a weak spot in the country’s development. However, special converter stations and high-performance transformers are still needed for high-voltage direct current transmission lines (HVDC), which transport energy across large distances.

Since 2006, Siemens has been able to manufacture all of the necessary components for the country’s power transmission needs at its own facility in Brazil. That gives the company a major competitive edge. “Transport costs are very high in HVDC projects,” says Tamyres Machado, Technical Director at the Siemens plant in Jundiaí, near São Paulo, the biggest production facility for energy systems in South America. The transformers alone, which step up direct current to as much as 800,000 volts for transmission, are almost as big as a single-family house and weigh around 100 tons. “We build everything here in Brazil, so we’re able to offer a good price,” says Machado.

Local Design. Jundiaí is one of five Siemens locations around the world that manufacture HVDC systems. “We’re number two after Nuremberg, Germany, in terms of know-how,” Machado says proudly. “Brazil urgently needs more energy — and the best way to get it is with hydroelectric power plus HVDC.” New “power highways” are also being planned in Chile and other Latin American countries, and the U.S. is expanding its use of this technology as well. “We’re manufacturing two transformers for a planned HVDC link between New York and New Jersey,” Machado says.

Machado first had to set up a local team to develop the expertise required for this sophisticated technology. This team consisted of a group of experienced Siemens specialists, some of them from Germany, as well as Brazilian experts and talented and motivated young professionals. “It’s becoming more and more difficult to find qualified technical personnel, which is why we’re increasingly training people ourselves,” says Carlos Tiburcio, Director of Power Transmission Sales at Siemens in São Paulo.

The Jundiaí plant has therefore set up internship programs and established partnerships with technical colleges and universities in order to ensure that the workforce remains completely up to date. This approach also includes sending employees to headquarters in Germany. Machado sent 25 engineers to work at the plant in Nuremberg for two to three years in order to prepare them for their first project — a new HVDC link between the Spanish mainland and the island of Majorca. The project was launched in 2009.

The team built converter stations for the Cometa line, which is now transporting energy produced from mainland wind, solar, and hydroelectric power plants to Majorca, thereby covering a large portion of the island’s electricity requirements. The Majorca project, which transmits 400 megawatts at 250 kilovolts, was relatively small by international standards, but it nevertheless served as a good pilot project for setting up the required manufacturing capacity in Brazil and building complex test fields for transformers.

The Brazilian facility originally utilized HVDC technology from Siemens in Nuremberg. “But our engineers have also been working on their own developments and making adjustments in order to meet the specific needs of local markets,” Tiburcio explains. “In some cases, these changes have almost led to the creation of a completely new product design.”

Brazil is an exceptional case because of the long distances over which its electricity must be transmitted. One planned project involves two parallel lines for moving a total of 11 gigawatts of power across more than 2,000 kilometers — which would set a new world record. “The operation of such parallel transmission lines and the converter stations at both ends must be carefully coordinated in order to ensure grid stability,” Tiburcio explains. Siemens facilities for HVDC technology in Nuremberg, Jundiaí, Kalwa (India), Zagreb (Croatia) and Guangzhou (China) maintain constant contact with one another in order to share information and ensure that all of them benefit from the new expertise each develops.

Motors that Don’t Mind Tropical Weather. Siemens is also investing in new facilities in Colombia in the north of South America, which has undergone rapid economic growth over the last few years and is considered to be an insider tip by investors. Rating agencies have raised Colombia to “Investment Grade,” which means the country is now viewed as a safe place to invest. Foreign direct investment in Colombia did in fact increase by 56 percent in 2011. Export revenues have also reached record levels thanks to high prices for raw materials. Siemens has been present in Colombia since 1954. In 2009 it opened a state-of-the-art electric motor factory in Tenjo, near the capital, Bogotá. The facility has an extremely efficient manufacturing system and meets all the latest environmental standards.

The plant, which received lots of help during its ramp-up phase from a sister facility in Bad Neustadt, Germany, began producing electric motors of various sizes and performance classes in May 2011. The motors can be used in sectors ranging from food production to the oil and gas industry. “Siemens is now the first company in Colombia that manufactures motors boasting the highest international efficiency standards,” says Wilson Ruiz, who is responsible for industrial motor sales in Tenjo. In addition to their lower energy use, the Colombian motors also have other advantages — for example, they’re impervious to tropical weather and their voltage and dimensions meet the requirements of local customers.

The Tenjo plant has already landed three major orders. The first was placed by the Grasco Group — one of Colombia’s biggest companies — for 200 particularly robust special motors that are oscillation- and dust-resistant, among other things. “They’re being used to replace older motors in pumps, mills, mixing machines, and production lines in Grasco’s oil and butter factory,” says Ruiz.

Siemens was chosen from among numerous bidders because of its motors’ high efficiency and their good compatibility. “Another key point was the local support we offer,” adds Ruiz, who stresses how enormously important direct contact with the customer is in such situations. “Customers appreciate our local service. Having a factory near them is a key advantage,” he says. Siemens also helped Frito Lay conduct an energy consumption study that led the potato chip and snack manufacturer to replace many of its old motors with efficient electric ones from Siemens. Cemex, an international cement manufacturer, opted for Siemens motors mainly because of their great reliability. “Our new motors will significantly reduce downtime at that company’s packaging facilities,” says Ruiz.

Energy suppliers and industry aren’t the only booming sectors in the emerging markets of South America; demand for healthcare solutions is also rising. Siemens began manufacturing entry-level X-ray machines in Brazil ten years ago. “We decided to produce inside the country so that we could compete locally with aggressive pricing,” says Guilherme Marques, Director of the Clinical Products Department at Siemens in Brazil. A Siemens plant in São Paulo manufactures Multix B analog X-ray machines that are known for their flexibility and compact design. They also deliver outstanding image quality and minimal radiation. The devices are sold in Brazil where they fulfill customer requirements as well as price expectations.

In order to meet rising demand, production volumes will be increased in 2012. “In June, we’ll move into a new factory in Joinville, which will make us more competitive and will boost local know-how. We also plan to expand our product portfolio,” Marques reports. Brazilian customer interest in digital X-ray technology has increased, but price has been a barrier. With this in mind, Siemens’ entry-level Multix Select DR digital X-ray machine will be manufactured at the site. The machine will provide an affordable digital solution that is not only robust, but easy to operate. Furthermore, CT and MR systems for the local market will also be produced in Joinville.

To support its local activities, but also because of its long-term commitment to the country, Siemens intends to conduct associated work at Joinville. Development activities for local and regional markets will increasingly be conducted on-site. This is already the case to some extent at Siemens’ plant in Tenjo, Colombia, although the facility still relies on German expertise for its new motors. Siemens has been building transformers in Colombia since 1956 — everything from small systems for power distribution to large high-performance units. Over the last two years, the Tenjo plant has specializing in production of distribution transformers for renewable energy facilities. “This market is growing rapidly, particularly in the U.S. and Canada,” says Head of Transformer Marketing Andrés Villate,

Extreme Conditions. Colombia has large ports on its Pacific and Atlantic coasts, which puts it in a strategic position for exporting to North America. Colombian engineers were largely responsible for developing the high-performance transformers produced in Tenjo. Their biggest challenge was the unfavorable weather conditions in which the units need to operate. “Most wind farms in North America are located in remote areas often marked by extreme temperatures and high winds. That means that their transformers need to be particularly reliable,” says Villate.

Specialized transformers for use in renewable energy generation systems are in great demand. As Tenjo Sales Director Jairo Sandoval reports, Siemens delivered 41 transformers to the Flat Water wind farm in Nebraska at the beginning of 2011. The First Light Project — the largest solar park in Canada — has ordered ten transformers. “These units only account for ten percent of our production at the moment, but that figure is sure to increase over the next few years,” says Sandoval.

Siemens pays close attention to the environmental compatibility of all of its products, which is why Colombian engineers are now testing the use of vegetable oil as a coolant and insulating fluid for the first time in South America. Mineral or silicone oil is normally utilized for these purposes in transformers, but the substances are harmful to the environment, which is why transformers out in the open need to be protected against leaks.

“The oils that we’re currently testing don’t contain any mineral oils or halogens, silicone oils, or other problematic substances,” Villate says. “They also stand out through their high flash point and good dielectric properties.” State-of-the-art, environmentally-friendly technology and high efficiency are attributes that customers around the world appreciate in Siemens products — and North and South America are no different in this regard. Through its growing presence in local markets, Siemens is now in a perfect position to provide South American customers with the right solutions.