Company in the Spotlight: Robicon revs its motors, looks abroad Westmoreland-based center sees potential in China

Company in the Spotlight: Robicon revs its motors, looks abroad Westmoreland-based center sees potential in China

Sunday, June 04, 2000

By Frank Reeves, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

The congressional debate in Washington over the China trade bill hasn't gone unnoticed at Robicon's headquarters, set amid the lush, green woods and rolling hills of Westmoreland County.

  Jeff Rogina of Robicon assembles a 140-amp cell for a Perfect Harmony variable frequency drive. (Lake Fong, Post-Gazette)

Sales to China now represent about $5 million of the company's approximately $80 million in annual sales. But Robicon's president, Gary Rauscher, sees potential for a lot more orders from China as that country modernizes its economy.

Robicon manufactures power control systems and variable-speed drives that are crucial components of the electric motors used in water and wastewater treatment, glass manufacturing, cement production, petrochemical processing, and oil and gas extraction and transportation. Electric motors drive the fans, pumps, mixers, and conveyers that are at the heart of many of these industries.

Robicon, a subsidiary of Massachusetts-based High Voltage Engineering Corp., markets and sells its products primarily in North America and Southeast Asia. In recent years, it has increased its sales in Europe, South America and the Middle East.

And a major component of the company's growth strategy is to increase its penetration of existing overseas markets and expand into new ones.

Toward that end, High Voltage Engineering last year acquired an Italian company, Ansaldo Sistemi Industriali. HVE plans to merge Robicon and ASI.

"The combination of ASI's applications expertise in metal and steel, pulp and paper, marine and cable, combined with Robicon's applications expertise in water and waste-water treatment systems, oil and gas, power generation, glass and cement sectors, will provide customers a global organization capable of meeting their industrial automation needs," said Russell L. Shade Jr., HVE's chief executive officer.

Robicon and ASI together will have about 2,100 employees and outlets in the United States, Europe, Brazil and China.

Robicon

 Business: Robicon, a subsidiary of High Voltage Engineering Corp., is a leading designer and manufacturer of high power conversion products, which are used to regulate electric power, reduce energy costs and improve the efficiency of electric motors used in a variety of industrial applications. High Voltage Engineering (HVE) is a privately owned company, with publicly traded debt.

 Employees: 300

 History: Founded in 1964 by former Westinghouse Corp. engineers. The company was acquired in 1989 by High Voltage Engineering Corp.

 Web site: www.robicon.com

To understand variable frequency drives, one of Robicon's principal products, a little explanation is in order.

In the early 1990s an article in Scientific American estimated that electric motors used for industrial applications consume more than half of the electricity generated in the United States at an annual cost of $90 billion.

Not surprisingly, major users of electric motors -- from paper mills to metal smelting plants, from power generators to water treatment plants -- are always seeking ways to reduce energy costs.

Electric motors are built to operate at certain speeds. Variable frequency drives, or VFDs, regulate the speed at which a motor operates by reducing the electric power that surges through it.

This can reduce energy costs and improve the efficiency.

For example, electric motors drive the pumps that transport water in a municipal water system. But the demand for water isn't constant and may vary depending on the time of day. There may be less demand at 1 a.m. when most people are in bed, than between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m., when many people are taking showers before work.

A municipal water system could simply close a valve and reduce the amount of water entering its pipelines. But this would still leave the pump motors running at the same speed, wasting large amounts of electricity and driving up costs.

VFDs allow a water treatment facility to reduce the motors' speed, reflecting the reduced demand for water.

In the past, Robicon has manufactured VFDs for small and medium-sized electric motors (20 to 1,500 horsepower). But recently, the company has introduced its Perfect Harmony-Tim series of VFDs for large electric motors (400 to 15,000 horsepower), which are used in oil pipelines and cement production.

VFDs can have potentially harmful side effects on the motors and the electric grid from which they obtain power. Robicon has developed a patented technology to alleviate some of those side-effects.

The company's story has a familiar ring from start-up to its subsequent acquistion by a larger company.

Robicon was founded in 1964 by four former Westinghouse Corp. engineers.

Its first home was a former bakery on Penn Avenue in East Liberty. Four years later, Robicon moved to a 23,500 square-foot facility in Plum.

The company moved to its current location in Upper Burrell when it had outgrown its Plum offices.

Robicon has changed ownership several times since it was founded nearly 36 years ago. In 1989, it was acquired by its present owner, High Voltage Engineering (HVE).

ID-CSI 456 Series Current Source Drive

The ID-CSI 456 Series units are rugged Variable Frequency Drives known for high performance

Robicon0 HP

380 - 4160 VAC

The ID-CSI 456 Series units are rugged Variable Frequency Drives known for high performance and outstanding reliability.

Reliable Induction Motor Drive Design

This drive design provides energy efficient and process efficient operation with full range speed control with smooth torque. Robicon Drives Group has extensive drive experience and has supplied similar induction motor drive designs since 1975.

Dual Performance

The ID Series drives operate with any standard AC induction motor for variable torque or constant torque applications. The VECTOR CONTROL operating mode is built into the drive design. It can easily be implemented with the speed feedback device option for application requiring low speed/high torque and 4-quadrant operation.