Albesol Looks to Build off Schneider Electric Premset Medium Voltage Switchgear Partnership in Canada

Dec 14, 2020

By Sarah Pickard

As a Premset Medium Voltage Switchgear and modular system electrical cabinets manufacturer and service provider, Albesol INC is the first licensed partner on the Premset offer for Schneider Electric in Canada. Albesol’s Canadian operations were founded in 2018 when the company expanded its operations from Albania, where they worked primarily in the energy and power sector. The Canadian arm of the company is centered around Premset Switchgear, which is applicable across a number of industry segments: mining, data centres, commercial, industrial and institutional buildings, as well as portable substations.

Albesol’s partnership began with Schneider in 2008 as a panel builder for low-voltage panels, bringing on some interesting and challenging projects for the company. They expanded that partnership in 2017, becoming a licensed partner of Schneider, manufacturing and selling SM-6 Medium Voltage Switchgear up to 20 KV.

“In 2020 we became a licensed partner in Canada for Premset, which is the most innovative medium voltage switchgear,” said Albesol CEO, Artan Pulti.

“The relationship that we have with Albesol in Albania really forges a partnership between the network of partners around the globe. As they look at their footprint here in Canada, it was a natural thing for us,” said Schneider Electric’s Wayne Gray, Senior Director of Power Systems and Services. “It’s really more about the journey that we’re on together: the shared values that we have about our customers and our safe and reliable cost-effective solutions.”

Pulti explained their partnership with Schneider allowed them to successfully expand their European operations and they would like to the same in Canada, “and the good thing is, this product is made in Canada, for the first time.”

“When we look at this partnership,” added Gray, “it’s a key way for us to get more market penetration. We’re hoping to expand this as we go forward.”

In terms of Premset, moving forward means focusing on safety and reliability. The new system employs a shielded, solid insulation system. With no exposed live units accessible to the user, the risk of inadvertent shocks and arcing is minimized. The operating mechanisms are accessible from the front of the switchgear and can be worked on without powering down the main bus.

The product’s modular size and design allows for easier installation and replacement, coming in at 60% less square footage when compared to an equivalent design. “With leveraging the Albesol flexible manufacturing processes, we can reduce manufacturing lead time. It’s a low maintenance product, sort of install and forget, and we think that’s good for the client and good for the workforce,” Gray said.

On the manufacturing side of things, Pulti explained, “Our goal is to be very flexible to the customer, to be close with them and to shorten the delivery times.” Pulti added that flexibility extends to any customization customers will require. Their team is experienced in design, allowing them the expediate the time needed for the design phase. 

The system runs on a ten-year maintenance cycle, and only needs to be cycled once every ten years to ensure operation thanks to its fixed breaker and 2SIS system. Most of the withdrawable breaker maintenance is done on the finger clusters and the withdrawing mechanism. These features are nullified in Premset’s fixed breaker system, which allows for a longer maintenance cycle. In addition, the 2SIS system seals the vacuum bottles for the life of the switchgear. They are protected from environmental effects such as humidity, dust, chemicals, and vermin inside of the core unit. Unsealed systems are prone to these possible defect modes and thus a higher maintenance frequency is required.

Premset also boasts innovative auxiliary features, optional for the consumer. One feature is the live cable interlock, which helps prevent the grounding of live cables in main circuit breakers. Another is the cable test device interlocked with the isolating ground switch, which simplifies the cable testing diagnosis. Testing can be done without accessing the cable compartment, instead working from the front of the switchgear while the cables remain grounded.

As for where they see this product’s applications, both Pulti and Gray turned their focus to the industrial and institutional sectors, as well as in mining and data centres. The application for Premset is broad, explained Pulti . They are beginning to see a demand for the product across multiple industries and are still exploring potential applications beyond the industry segments they are currently operating in.

Gray added, “We are looking at the academia space. The mining mineral/metal space, that segment—we think there’s tremendous applications there. As we’re working with our clients, we’re discovering other ways that we can come up with unique solutions, using this particular product. We’re excited about the product, we’re excited about our partnership.”