In the beginning of June – after a longer break due to the global pandemic – we were able to gather together our partners and sales people from 18 countries! In the Arcteq Sales Meeting, we went through the market situation and common goals to ensure the future growth and success of Arcteq products on the global market.
The event was not only an excellent way to discuss our goals and demonstrate the latest product innovations to our partners but it also enabled the exchange of ideas between the partners. Such events are essential as they help us to bring the Arcteq family even closer together.
The year of fast growth and innovations
We at Arcteq acknowledge the importance of long lasting partnerships. But at the same time as we aim to help our existing partners to grow, we want to develop our partner network further by acquiring new qualified partners and OEM partners. We are at the moment focusing on expanding our markets particularly in the USA and Middle East. To be able to obtain the best possible partners in selected areas and segments – such as railways – we constantly work on building Arcteq name recognition and enhancing awareness of our superior products. Joining Ensto group last year brought us a vast amount of additional growth opportunities thanks to group synergies and M&A.
As an independent, focused protection relay manufacturer we are here to challenge the global conglomerates in the world market by value adding technology and superior service.
The Sales Meeting was built around presentations and workshops that focused on product overviews, latest product innovations and their unique benefits. Lately we have kept ourselves particularly busy and are very proud to give you a sneak peek of some of the latest innovations.
New features out this Fall
Some of the newest additions to our product line – available this Fall – is AQ-C255 Capacitor bank protection and control with its truly modular design. It is easily upgraded at factory or site, there are less parts to stock and functionality upgrades can be easily done with software options.
The AQ-C255 comes with 4 different variants:
- AQ-C255A = all capacitor bank protections
- AQ-C255B = power factor controller (PFC) for up to 5 banks
- AQ-C255C = voltage protection and PFC for up to 5 banks
- AQ-C255D = all capacitor bank protections and PFC for up to 4 banks
What makes the AQ-C255 series groundbreaking is the power factor controller (PFC) with its tremendous benefits. It has both automatic and manual mode, it can be operated even if one or several capacitor banks are under maintenance and it is easily upgraded with Arcteq´s Aqtivate 200 software that can be downloaded from our website free-of-charge. And let´s not forget the Capacitor bank protection specific functions – Capacitor bank overload, neutral unbalance and current unbalance protection – in addition to various standard protection functions. Just to name a few.
Another functionality worth mentioning is The Transformer parallel AVR (automatic voltage regulator). The new released version has the innovative parallel automatic voltage regulator that allows you to control more than one transformer at the same time.
Both AQ-C255 series and all of its variants as well as Transformer parallel AVR are available this Fall. Are you interested in learning more? Don´t hesitate to contact us.
The new era of Line protection is closing in
We are especially excited about the upcoming launch for the Line protection functionality in AQ 250 series. The launch consists of several releases and will be done gradually. By the end of this year we will release:
- the new version of the AQ-F255A – Feeder protection
- AQ-F255B – with Line Differential Protection (new variant)
- AQ-F255C – with Line Differential Protection and full Feeder Protection (new variant)
What makes the line differential protection functionality so superior?
- It uses the 1-ms simplified, 16 s/cycle FFT current calculation for a fast response to the master unit.
- Ultra fast communication between units on a dedicated process bus.
- The distance between relays is defined by the connection media: up to 120 km with optic fiber, and 8…10 km with copper.
- Devices synchronized by prioritizing them on the process bus.
- Compensation of transformers in line solutions.
And there is even more to come: variants D and E will follow – including segmented distance protection, with patented features to make distance protection more accurate than before.
“We are bringing our new and ground-breaking technology for line protection. This new technology allows for protection that is even better, faster, and more accurate.“
Juha Arvola, CEO, Arcteq
Cyber Security is everyone´s business
The statistics show that cyberattacks directed at industrial control systems, especially critical infrastructures like substations and power plants, are increasing. This is seen as a major risk for the economy. Consequently EU has released the NIS directive – the first piece of EU-wide legislation on cybersecurity – in order to reach a common level of cybersecurity across all EU member states.
Arcteq in its turn has taken action to ensure secure processes and products. Information Security Management System (ISMS) – ISO 27001 –and IEC 62443 on product level are important pillars for Arcteq and are under implementation company-wide. The ISO 27001 certification will encompass all the parts of the company, from production and system development to project management and support. Developing products securely is of importance to our customers. Hence, software and hardware development processes are designed in accordance with ISO standards and the best practices.
Best in class customer service even during turbulence
The turbulent market situation caused by global pandemic, tradewar between USA and China as well as the war in Ukraine has created challenges for everyone operating in the field of production. The availability of components has been difficult – mildly put. However, as an independent manufacturer Arcteq is very agile and quick on its feet.
We are constantly looking for alternative distributors for the components from spot markets, making changes to designs to adopt new type of components, which are available to buy from markets, we are filling stock more than normal demand requires and placing longer binding forecasts to suppliers. We are happy to say that our actions are working and availability situation is getting better. This in turn translates into “best in class” -customer service and delivery capability which can be seen as an important competitive advantage.
