As the leading switchgear provider in the utility segment of the electrical industry, AZZ | Central Electric is known for its design innovations and commitment to quality and customer service. The Fulton, Mo.-based company produces switchgear, protective relay panels and portable substations for utility clients nationwide.
Established in 1956, the product AZZ | Central Electric is best known for is its medium-voltage, metal-clad switchgear. “The cornerstone of our focus has been our all-welded design for our enclosures, which provides superior strength,” Marketing Manager Michael Ryan says. AZZ | Central Electric is the only switchgear manufacturer to produce an all-welded enclosure, he adds.
As the company grew, it added protective relay panels to its product portfolio. These can be integrated into outdoor, medium-voltage switchgear enclosures, as well. AZZ | Central Electric also builds portable substations mounted on a trailer or a skid that can be easily moved to the site of damaged equipment for rapid recovery, which provides “significant flexibility” to the utility industry, Ryan says.
Another legacy product offered by AZZ | Central Electric is a special type of switchgear used in surface mining applications, which works exceedingly well in hostile environments due to its rugged, all-welded design.
All of these items are fully assembled and tested on site to meet American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) requirements. In addition, AZZ | Central Electric was one of the first U.S. switchgear manufacturers to achieve ISO certification, which it has held since 1994. Its most recent certification is ISO 9001:2008. “From a quality standpoint, it has always been a key point for us to follow the ISO standards,” Ryan says. “If you are a custom manufacturer, you have to be able to provide a quality product.”
In 2001, AZZ | Central Electric was acquired by AZZ, a global provider of electrical and industrial products and hot-dipped galvanizing based in Fort Worth, Texas. AZZ has grown significantly through 32 corporate acquisitions and now is the largest galvanizing corporation in the United States, and it has additional electrical and industrial operations in Canada, China and the Middle East.
All of its operating companies function independently and receive a fair amount of autonomy, Ryan says. And because its sales representatives are managed at the corporate level, AZZ | Central Electrical has a broader customer base. “AZZ continues to look for complementary acquisitions in the electrical segment that would help sell more of our products to the same customers and increase our market basket, so to speak,” he notes.
The acquisition enabled AZZ | Central Electric to grow significantly, and by 2008, it had outgrown its 85,000- square-foot factory. Plus, in keeping up to date with market trends and customer demands, the company began constructing larger, more technologically advanced substations. “To adapt, we added over 40 percent of new office and factory space to our facility, including a high-bay manufacturing operation with 120,000 pounds worth of crane lifting capacity to better handle these bigger equipment enclosures,” Ryan says.
“In a market that has been declining because of the current downturn in the economy, we have actually added engineering support and more employees to help with design and project management to support our customers and increase our total value package,” he continues. “Since our projects are very large and the resulting lead times are long, we went into last year with a very large backlog and have been able to work from that backlog into this year, as well.”
Poised for Growth
Looking ahead, AZZ | Central Electric intends to continue its focus of staying ahead of the manufacturing curve with new machinery, technology and processes, and to maintain its position as an industry pioneer. The company has developed a computer program that enables it to design outdoor switchgear to specific building codes.
“We can type in the zip code of where the switchgear will be installed, and the program will automatically incorporate the soil conditions, wind loads and what the seismic requirements are in that area of the country,” Ryan says. “It’s been a big advancement for us, and it makes us feel confident we will meet the needs of customers in any location.”
In addition, the company has ventured into new markets, such as collector substations for wind and solar applications.
