For Cegelec, the Zagreb-based company Končar is an equipment supplier, particularly for transformers, a partner in the construction of hydroelectric projects, and a client for the development of renewable energies in Croatia.
Darinko BAGO, President of the Management Board of Končar
Končar has been specialized for several decades now in electromechanical equipment for electrical power plants and the transportation industry. What position does your Group occupy now on the market and what are your various activities?
Darinko Bago: The Končar Group was created in 1921. It now comprises 19 independent and one associated companies located in Zagreb. The Group employs nearly 4,300 employees. Our annual revenue exceeds €350 million.
Our manufacturing programme includes the production of equipment for generating, transmitting and distributing electrical power (generators, power transformers, instrument transformers, switchgear, as well as power supply, instrument, monitoring and control equipment).
In the field of electric traction, we manufacture low-floor tramcars as well as commuter and intercity railcars and locomotives having the maximum permitted speed of 160 km/h.
Our engineering services include turn-key construction of hydro power plants, transformer substations as well as monitoring and control systems for managing of transformer substations, power distribution areas, transmission networks and national power and gas supply networks.
Končar branded plants, facilities and products can be found in over one hundred countries on all the continents.
What is your positioning on the international market and what are your priorities in terms of technologies and geographical sectors?
D.B.: We export half of our total production, a sign of our determination to bolster our position on foreign markets. Our largest market is the European Union. In addition to stimulating the quality of our products, il also sharpens our competitive edge which is primarily based on our know-how, our ability to innovate, and our production flexibility that allows us to offer "made to measure" solutions.
A recent example of a Končar product is the low-floor tramcar, entirely developed in our factories, enabling each new buyer to make its own model (pattern) based on Končar low floor tramcar basic elements and meeting in such a way customer specific requirements. Tramcar manufacturing series are limited and such a flexible approach has proven to be a winning combination opening the gates of the global market.
I would like to emphasize the research and development as well as manufacture of transformers as one of Končar specific values. Three factories (Power Transformers, Distribution Transformers and Instrument Transformers), with total sales of approximately €300 million, mostly generated in export, and Končar Institute for Electrical Engineering, as well as the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing of Zagreb, operate as Excellence Centres regarding transformers aiming at education and training of new experts in the field of transformers and developing scientific programmes involving methods and technologies necessary in the transformer industry.
Your Group is not just a supplier to Cegelec, but also a partner and a client. In what areas would you like to develop this cooperation?
D.B.: As a manufacturer of the primary equipment for the generation, transmission and distribution of electric power with references worldwide, we are able to play the role of a reliable supplier for plants under construction by Cegelec. If appropriate, we can act as consortium partners as well.
In the services providing area, Končar is able to offer integrated erection, assembly and commissioning services for Cegelec facilities, regardless of the type of installed equipment. Following the increasingly deployed LCC (Life Cycle Care) concept, we are able to assume this type of service for Cegelec facilities in appropriate cases (depending on the country, customer, etc.).
Broad Končar and Cegelec programmes, as well as the positive results of our cooperation so far, offer indeed significant opportunities to expand our mutual cooperation. Standardizing cooperation areas and improving knowledge of respective areas we cover, we can ensure a more efficient market approach for both companies.
Ivan MILČIĆ, President of Končar Power Transformers
Can you tell us, in a few words, about the history of your company and explain to us its position on the transformers production market?
Ivan MILČIĆ: Our company was initially known as Končar – Electrical Industries Inc. We became a Siemens Group company in 1995, but retained our name. Over the past eight years, we have increased our sales more than seven times to reach €150 million today.
This performance level has ranked us fourth by volume within the Siemens Transformer Division. With installed capacities of around 22,000 MVA and 470 experts and a highly motivated workforce, of whom around 93 hold an academic degree, KPT has been recognized on the marked as a medium-sized, market-oriented company, that treats its customers as the top priority.
You are often considered as part of Siemens; what are the exact ties with Siemens and what characterizes your independence?
I.M.: Since 1995, KPT has been a joint company owned by Siemens AG and Končar – Electrical Industries Inc. Siemens holds 51% of the company and Končar 49%. We are operating actively with both groups. Today, the power transformers manufactured by KPT are installed in 80 countries worldwide including France, Belgium, Norway, Czech Republic, South Africa, Qatar ...
KPT manufactures all transformer and autotransformer types, up to 800 MVA, 550 kV for electricity generation, transmission and distribution systems, electric traction transformers and those for industrial purposes. We use the infrastructure of our two parent companies and our independent activities on the global market to generate more than 95% of our average annual revenues from exports. In 2008 alone, we delivered 109 industrial transformers for za total power of 16,500 MVA.
You just recently became a Cegelec supplier. What do you consider as your edge over your competitors?
I.M.: We realized very early the crucial importance for our sales and production team to understand the requirements and needs of our clients. We offer to build a successful market reputation and trust. I would say that the key advantage of KPT is that our experts understand and are skilled in their trade, and we treat each new deal as a new challenge. Our power lies also in our adaptability to individual markets and customers. We offer tailor-made products, quality, competitive prices and favorable delivery terms.
