Document 99bqLLLKwyGnX3MYXoKkXVmXp

General Electric Rome, Georgia Date of Call: June 23, 1969 ' Pereon Contacted: For General Electric For Monsanto John Dutton - Mgr. Adv. Design Engr. D. Ha.mil Bob F.istcw - Unit Subst. Design Engr D. Pogue James Kinney - Adv. Dev. Engr. ' Frank McCann - Prod. Planning, Ind. Kkt. ' Ken Cor - Mgr., Prod. Planning . Larry Crowe - PA ?-.:r-.csa of Call: Transformer Dielectric Study Transformer Production : Rome is General Electrics medium transformer department. They produce liquid filled, unit substation transformers in the 112 1/2 - 2500 KVA, 15 KV and less range. Secondary voltages are normally 2C8-6C0V, with a few up to 5 XV. Askarol represents 80/ of total liquid units, and less than naif of th total production. They also produce open dry, _sealed dry and oil uni substations and KV padmounts, normally' oil filled'. " Rome-es t irnat es they have to _ Gi/ of the unit substation market, -with the remainder shared by bootinghouse, Sharon/ So. Boston and 2 - 3 others. Rome1 s unit substation end-customers are the industrial and commercial market. Tno utility market represents only 3 -4/ of their production. Conversely the Pittsfield plant produces all utility substation union. Apparently Pittsfield5 s proouction can be expected to be 50/ power era .-.^formers and AC/ distribution (including unit substations). 0 DSW 233638 STLCOPCB4053868 Juno yOj 1969 Pago 2 No can expect about -the same or slightly le as in aroclor demand from Rome this year. Their forcasted transforme r production schodul 0 is , follows: UNIT SUBSTATION SALTS - G.E., ROME, G20RGIA (Number of Tran sformer s) ''3 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 IS7-4 Liquid 1 Open Dry Sealed Dry Total 1944 ------- 2 ------- 2 1944 1851 469 93 2433 2115 653 93 2871 i. 80# askarel; 20% oil filled 2435 658 98 3191 2580 667 .97 3444 2968 736 107 3811 3508 872 127 4507 2. Information not obtained :ovs decree in the number of units; should be offset by immediate "pl ins "Increase askareTs-usage by 2p-3U9 oer Uranrm l --- - t iv/l'cchln from copber~v/iuoj.nub to aluminum -v;hien v;iXTj--'because resistivity oemano mcreasea con ana rank size: sealed dr?/ typ.e production. represents annual sales of Frec-n C-F18 gas filled substation units to General Motors. According ;o bob Ristow General Motors is predominately dry type. Co^rpJ^r Profitability General Electrd' er.v . u OSi type is specj.^i.^^. more profit on askarel ritude is complacent towards . ; get the sale they Production - Cvcles;. Purchase La re They v/cre interested to find that their five year history of monthly purchases correlated closely with the total industry. Normal purchases patterns are heavy during the first and fourth quarters with a June July slowdown. Rome represented 1-4-159; cf our sales in 19c4, 17-199 in I90V-190S. Currently they are running ipy. DSW 233639 STLCOPCB4053869 June 30, 1969 Page 3 ariety of reasons wore voluntarily discussed as possible sources their very slow performance this year,'until this month. The concensus was not V'ostinghouse-price cutting, nor a serious decline . in transformer sales, but that 1963 inventories were not depleted cue to their one day per month production strike during 1963. This created a large backlog of oil filled power transformers that received priority an production through.1969 YTD. They're now scrambling to meet*Pyranol c omrni ttment s. c_ ' '--------------- -------- ------------------------ - Industries winter sales peaks were explained as due to utility and h-dustry capital expenditure budgets being approved late in the year. . :rs are then placed early in the new year with actual transformer shipments not in the late year when construction is completed. Normally GE has a 10-12 week production lag for askarel units. This represents tits rime required to build the unit once the production orders received. ' 7 "o 4 v jt 1 Electric markets Pyranol transformers through multi line district salesmen, who also handle all types of switchgear, motors and related electrical equipment. Each salesman is a market specialist, i.e. industrial, commercial, utility,, etc'. They are not profit oriented marketers thus salesmen do not give preference to askarel transformers. McCann did agree to my meeting with a"St. Louis district representative to learn more about GE's marketing organization. I am to advise him first, and I agreed not to discuss profitability. Rome also serves the international market. These sales are directed by a team at Rome. Foreign agents sollclte the business abroad. Market Demand . _ They see an increase in askarel unit substation demand, as evidenced by their rising production forecasts. However, they repo'rt": ------- 1. The 95 EIL di*v type transformer will be detrimental Pyranol sales (undetermined magnitude)^ The" 95 BIL "offers similar economy and greater resistance to"' imrurgi? surgSB and customers are requesting then, i'.tcar.n feels the greatest detriment to Pyranol will occur in the commercial market, high rise office buildings, etc. `r" . DSW 233640 STLCOPCB4053870 rsfc commercialised 3-3 1/2 years ago actured by 3-^ companies, including 1c and Standard Transformer Co. 2 of their future transformer plans, due to past failures. G-S feels many smaller utilities follow the leadership of the giants like Con. Ed. Also transformer specifier's traditionally are experienced personnel with long memories for the occasional askarel explosions in industry. 3. Out* TVP-Smarv untamed. and available market are architects and engineers, who represfinr. t-.he iaTgpai: drv type- market-. 'unj.ike utilities the A 4 i1? continue to specify dry type even though higher losses are experienced with dry units. Reason--commercial customers do not monitor losses; utilities do monitor losses. 'rejects market demand based on guidance from general economic (construction and KV generating capacity) and in detail from 'industry shipments via NEMA. They weren't aware that N3MA ai.-w-ars inconsistent due to member companies not reporting in years. ' `Market Attitude - Needs Attention ?. Benignus: Rome's foremost concern 13 arc formed gases. Amney stressed a meeting wiun raui and Munch a3 soon as possible. They -want to revie-w results of our studies re. explosive characteristics of various TCB blends. Another concern is to quickly resolve whether or not to redefine askarel in view of the arc formed gas problem. They are relying on the results of Monsanto tests and current tests at "ittcfield before moving ahead on redefinition. Their criteria for a ..nsformcr blend only meeting NEMA standards (-20P) and filterable _o room temperature. .- DSW 233641 STLCOPCB4053871 June 20, 1969 Page 5 .onay Electr explosion mushroomed the sy on askarel a: forced gases. Moloneys experience was at 1232 arc made PU7OS'.S1 r> m:r, inutes. In general they expressed re: 1 concern that; utility attitudes were increasingly negative towards Cited was the Port Authority, N. Y., Baltimore Gas & 21ectrie, .='od r. oXidated Edison. Rome's market, the A & 21s, tend to follow oiic; ci u tituces of large utilities. Industry" trends are to higher voltage requirements, 22.9 and 34.5 KV. Normal askareI limit is 40 XV, however, the insulation class level is , lost above 15 KV. I* . ; Rome suggests more research for dielectric fluid blends with higher impulse strengths and new economical insniai-.inrs to gain dO" rise ftemneratures. without severe core and load losses. Dry types^can withstand 80 - 150? rise over 30 ambient, but with high losses. 1 However they are economic enough to use near generating stations where losses are cheap. A major manufacturing problem seems to exist with incorrect materials of^construc'tion, which in turn could cause askarel transformers failures' tnrough moisture leaks. .Some thinks this is a major cause of failure. They are looking for askarel resistant gasket and wiring " chalifT and economical paints. Their ultimate need is a universally "iL'le system for both oil and askarel, or a fodL proof way to use ------------_;: mg 1 r c:_ e oil and askarel materials without occasional errors ;;-.a : result in field problems. * G2 supported continued advertising (with changes as "suggested) to reach consultants and A & E`s. They didn't feel our marketing capabilities would be of value in reaching the utility specifiers. Askarel Usage Par KVA . The following, data was provided on askarel consumption per KVA unit substation transformer .(copper coils), at 15 KV rating. KVA Rating 500 750 1000 ' 1500 2000 3500 lb. Askarel/KVA 2.5 2.07 1.8 1.56 1.37 1.22 (Average) . DSW 233642 STLCOPCB4053872 June 30j 1359 Page 6 lie above usage rates would Increase with higher voltage ratings and ith- the use ox" aluminum ceils. "* \\ D R. Pogue DSW 233643 STLCOPCB4053873