Transforming Energy for America
Virginia Transformer - Pocatello, ID
VTC acquired its third plant in 2003 from UST West. The plant can produce 230 kV at 1050 kV BIL, making it the best-equipped plant of its range in North America.
The plant features five 25,000-square-foot bays. One bay contains winding and insulation. There are two core-cutting machines, providing full backup in case of machine failure. Both machines are capable of cutting up to 37 wide step-lap cores and produce burr levels of <20 micros, easily beating the industry standard of 55 dB, and losses of less than .25% of the MVA.
The assembly floors are sealed to ensure a dust-free environment. Air pallets are used to effortlessly move 100-ton transformers around the plant. The overhead cranes lift the 50-ton core smoothly to maintain low core loss.
The plant has its own tank shop, completely isolated from the assembly shop, enabling it to produce the shortest lead time. The paint system is polyurethane, making it suitable for the most aggressive environments in our country. The coal-tar-coated bottom of the tanks offer protection against rust for a long time.
The air particle count in the assembly shop is less than what is found in a restaurant. The plant routinely achieves less than 150 PC partial discharge compared to the 500 allowed by ANSI. A lower partial discharge can mean doubling the life of a transformer that has 500 PC. It all goes back to our value statement of designing the perfect transformer to meet your specific needs.
The winding shop is under positive pressure to eliminate any dust. This is the key to achieving longer life. The coils are hydrostatically pressed to secure tightly against short circuits.
The drying of the coils is done in an oil-spray drying oven under vacuum pressure. This assures optimum dryness of the insulation for maximum life. Too dry insulation can become brittle, too wet and it becomes very lossy, failing prematurely. Drying is an art that we have been able achieve.
The Pocatello plant has its own rail line, allowing it to ship over 100 tons of transformers securely all throughout the country. The engineering team has more than 100 years of experience in large-power design.
Plan a visit to the plant with our sales team to see for yourself and let us showcase our people and technology.