Written by Robert Hoshowsky In a time when longevity of equipment and com- ponents is exceptional rather than expected, Reinhausen Manufacturing Inc. is a leader in an industry whose lifeblood is reliability, day and night, summer and winter, years on end: power transformers. Reinhausen Manufacturing Inc. so successfully and famously produces high-quality and long-lasting components for the power transformer industry that over 50 percent of the world’s electricity flows through products created by this company. Working with well-known and respected power trans- former manufacturers, energy utilities, and heavy industry, Reinhausen’s decades of experience, quality products, innovative solutions and outstanding service makes the company a top choice for a certain kind of customer – experienced transformer manufacturers as well as utility and industrial end-users who demand lon- gevity and dependability for their high-voltage systems. Active in every area dealing with the flow of energy, Reinhausen Manufacturing's commitment is to inno- vation in voltage regulation supporting the global supply of energy. With extensive experience and core competencies second to none, the company’s products crop up in a variety of applications, including power and distribution transformers production, oil filled transformers, trans- formers filled with alternative insulating fluids, dry type transformers, and sealed power transformers. From on-load tap-changers and off-circuit tap- changers to automatic voltage controllers, monitor- ing systems, motor and manual drives, protective relays and a great deal more, any power transformer must stand up to the harshest conditions at all times. That's non-negotiable. “Transformers have a long life,” says Bernhard Kurth, President of Reinhausen Manufacturing Inc. “They are not something that you replace after five or ten years. Some transformers built in the 1920s and 1930s are still in operation. It is very important for the owners of those transformers that there are still opportunities to maintain the components that were used by the original transformer manufacturers so many years ago.” Kurth joined Germany's Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen – an established and prominent company with a rich history – back in 1987. With its operations expand- ing to other locations across Europe and worldwide, including Milan, Moscow, the Middle East, India, Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Japan, China, and Canada, among others, Kurth traveled to Humboldt, Tennessee in April of 1991 to head up Reinhausen’s American operations.150 years of excellence With over 39 subsidiaries and affiliated companies around the world, Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen has grown to more than 3,600 staff globally, with approximately 180 working at Reinhausen Manufacturing’s operations in Tennessee and U.S. satellite offices. Founded in 1868, the company is headquartered in Regensburg, Germany, which remains the global hub for marketing, sales activities, research and development, significant production, and the testing and innovation center. All of these activities at the center of Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen contribute to the success of the company and its global network of over 45 subsidiaries, which includes production sites in Germany, Italy, Sweden, China, and the United States. “We are a company that started producing products back in 1868,” says Kurth. “Reinhausen has been in the business we are now in with transformer components since the 1920s – our first patent was filed in the 1920s – and we have been able to continue as an independent company since the start. Today we serve more than 8,000 customers in 185 countries across the globe.” It was, however, in 1929, when Dr. Bernhard Jansen invented the high-speed resistor-type tap-changer that allowed the trans- mission ratio of transformers to be changed under load without interruption, that the company truly became a global force. Working in collaboration with brothers Oskar and Richard Scheubeck, Jansen achieved an industry breakthrough that became known worldwide as the “Reinhausen tap-changer,” and demand for the company’s high-quality products grew. With tap-changers – devices used in power transformers to regulate output voltage to required levels – as the compa- ny’s main product, every one of Reinhausen’s tap-changers are customized. Built to exacting specifications from each transformer manufacturer and end-users, they are precision made and tested. “Everyone who builds power transformers in the North American market buys from us,” says Kurth of the company, whose clients include Virginia Transformer, Pennsylvania Transformers, Delta Star, SPX Transformer Solutions, Hyosung HICO, WEG Transformers, Hyundai Power Transformers, HAPG, Prolec-GE, Voltran, Siemens, Prolec-GE, and many other well- known and respected global entities. At the Reinhausen operation in Humboldt, the primary focus is not on the manufacturing of the company’s products, but assembly. Parts are purchased from suppliers across the United States and Germany and brought into the facility, where assembly and testing is carried out. “All parts are exclusively made for us with our own tooling. So the tooling that is necessary to produce the part belongs to us,” says Kurth. These assembled components are then sold to transformer man- ufacturers. “The tap-changers that we produce in Tennessee are not produced anywhere else in the world. Even our main plant in Germany does not produce the same type and model that we produce here in the States. In other words, the product that we produce here in the U.S. is dedicated to the U.S. market.” 33 BUSINESS IN FOCUS Research and development The products assembled at Reinhausen’s Humboldt facilities are the result of rigorous research, development, and ongoing testing at the company’s main operations in Germany, where there are over 400 engineers solely dedicated to R&D. One of the key pillars of the company’s success for decades, Reinhausen is dedicated to not only maintaining the superior quality of its existing products, but remaining ahead of the competition by investigating emergent technology and product ideas that offer clients added value. “Our engineers are also inspired by unconventional ideas,” says the company. “To develop new, innovative products, they pursue their own paths and constantly question existing rules and conventions. One thing counts “At the same time, they use MR’s unique wealth of experience to continuously improve the reliability of our products. Because only one thing counts in the world of energy supply – the reli- ability and availability of the operating equipment.” All products are tested, and every new development must be absolutely reliable from the moment it is launched. At the company’s unique Test Center, tap-changers are subjected to a number of tests – electrical, mechanical, and climatic – to ensure they will be able to perform reliably in extreme condi- tions without exception. In addition to providing clients with the most reliable products on the market, Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen will tool products based on customer feedback. “The products are not developed to be sold by themselves, they are designed to be installed in a bigger piece of equipment, which is a transformer,” says Kurth. Tap-changers, drive systems, and accessories created by Reinhausen are not only the result of years of design and manu- facturing excellence, but are made to have an extremely long lifespan, lasting for decades. In recent years, the company has taken on a number of initiatives, including the introduction of a number of innovative products like MSense®. MSense® new sensors for online monitoring of bushings and dissolved gas analysis, as an example, allow online monitoring of power transformers and components as well as condition-based maintenance. “MSense® represents an impor- tant element in our new ETOS® platform. ETOS®, which stands for Embedded Transformer Operating System, is an innovative open and modular system to integrate all sensor measurements (including sensors from third parties) to monitor the condition of installed components, regulate voltage and control/monitor the on-load tap changer (OLTC), control and monitor the trans- former cooling system, and, as an additional benefit, provide ‘Asset Intelligence.’ Asset Intelligence provides a qualified failure diagnosis for the condition/information gathered by the sensors when encountering abnormal conditions and offers concrete recommendations for action to solve those conditions,” Kurth explains. And later in 2022, Reinhausen will be launching a new intelligent motor drive for the on-load tap-changers produced in Tennessee, based on the ETOS® platform. In 2012 Reinhausen Manufacturing introduced SAP as its ERP system. Together with this step the company implemented all new manufacturing processes that have led to a reduction of manufacturing lead times from previously 14 to 16 weeks to currently just 8 weeks for the products made in the Humboldt, TN facility. “That was a big step for us,” says Kurth. “That, and the ability to now respond to customers more quickly when clients need quotations and drawings. With this system in place, within five days we are able to provide all quotations and applicable drawings needed by a customer.” “Reinhausen remains independent, and offers the same quality, selection and exceptional service it has provided for decades.” 4Content Developed by Wendy Hood-Morris | Designed by Ebic Tristary New product development Back in 1999, the company acquired MESSKO® Albert Hauser GmbH and Co KG, which were added to other companies within the Reinhausen Group family. A sister company in Germany, MESSKO® concentrates on smaller components. The wide range of products in Messko’s portfolio include oil level indicators, mechanical temperature indicators, electronic temperature monitors, protective components like mechanical pressure relief devices and Buchholz relays, other sensors, and transducers. “Our continual investment in technology and new products is the foundation of our continuing existence in this market,” says Kurth. “We have the same values we had when we started more than 150 years ago.” Independence and quality While many companies grow only through acquisition, Reinhausen remains independent, and offers the same quality, selection and exceptional service it has provided for decades. “We have a unique proposition to customers, in that even today we offer support for products that we produced 50 or 60 years ago,” Kurth shares. “We are still the original manufacturer, not a company that got bought up by another company and at some point dis- continued a line of products and support. We have main- tained it, and still offer support to any of the products that we have produced.” In addition, and beyond the foundation of quality compo- nents and manufacturing, Reinhausen has added a transformer service (asset management) division, which is solely focused on providing service throughout the entire transformer life cycle. From advanced OLTC retrofit solutions, including mod- ernization upgrades, and traditional maintenance, to assembly and commissioning of new transformers, as well as diagnostic electrical testing, Reinhausen has the expertise to service trans- former manufacturers, energy providers, and industrial custom- ers across the U.S. With more than fifty service technicians, five service locations, and ten state-of-the-art oil processing rigs (and two more coming in 2022), Reinhausen is always close to its customers and ready to respond. As featured in October 2021Next >