Gutor Electronics: Global Leader in Secured Power Solutions

Powering the industry

Founded in 1946 in the Wettingen region of Switzerland, where the majority of its engineering and production is still based today, Gutor Electronics has evolved over the years to become a specialist provider of secured power for industrial applications.

With a particular focus on oil and gas and power generation the company has grown to be the market leader in these sectors and is regarded as the gold standard when it comes to quality and reliability.

Throughout its 60-year history, the organisation has undergone a number of strategic changes including joining the Silcon Group in Denmark, APC (American Power Conversion), and finally Schneider Electric in 2006. Gutor also opened a factory in Malaysia in 2008. Its premier portfolio also bears many notable achievements including the construction of the first UPS (uninterruptible power supply) system with static bypass and the first triple redundancy UPS system. Today, Gutor Electronics is an internationally ranked UPS engineering company with nearly 400 employees producing 2000 systems a year, testing equipment in 24 system test stations and providing training in four customer training centres across the world.

As a provider of complete power supply protection solutions the company covers all elements of a project from consultation to engineering, assembly and testing. Its dedication to long-term relationships with its clients is also industryfacilitated through its spare part, preventive and corrective maintenance, upgrade, training and inspection capabilities, which all guarantee longevity of service. As such, Gutor Electronics has enjoyed lucrative employment with the majority of the industry leaders including BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Total and Indian Oil, to name but a few.

Eran Freiwald, business and product development manager at Gutor Electronics attributes the company’s ongoing achievements to its depth of experience in the market: “We have specialised in our field for over 50 years and have established ourselves as a leading provider of UPS and related equipment to industrial customers. Our large installed base and years of experience means that clients know exactly what they are getting with a Gutor system. We have also amassed much expertise with regards to operating in industrial environments – our systems are able to operate in the harshest of conditions. We are able to meet the quality demands of even the most exacting customers through tight quality processes and a culture of attention to detail, while support is always available through our field services engineers based throughout the globe.”

With a unique philosophy of treating every customer order as a dedicated project, Gutor Electronics can also supply an unrivalled degree of flexibility with every system meeting individual demands. Over 50 per cent of the company’s revenue comes from oil and gas applications spanning upstream, midstream and downstream solutions and its core competence lies in the fields of AC and DC UPS systems utilising online, double conversion technology. Its UPS, inverter and DC supply systems are also backed by a thorough series of complementary products such as batteries, electrical distributions, and battery management systems.

Gutor invests heavily in R&D and has a large dedicated R&D team devoted to new product development and product improvement. In early 2011 it released its complete PXP range, complementing the existing UPS range. The PXP is an on-line, double conversion UPS (1 or 3 phase output) designed for industrial applications. It is groundbreaking because it is the first truly industrial UPS systems to use a PFC rectifier (power factor correction). This greatly enhances the overall efficiency of the UPS and at the same time drastically reduces the reflected input harmonics (THDi). Other key benefits of the PXP are a reduced footprint for space-critical applications, extensive communication options to connect to the outside world and an optional transformerless configuration, further reducing footprint and increasing efficiency.

In September 2011 Gutor also released the Mxx SMPS (switch-mode power supply) line. The Mxx platform is based on modular, n+1 technology and can be configured to supply reliable AC and/or DC power. This flexibility, as well as the robust industrial design, makes Mxx ideal for oil and gas applications such as pipelines.

Most recently the organisation has won an impressive contract to supply all UPS systems for the JERP (Jubail Export Refinery Project) in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, managed by a joint venture entity between Saudi Aramco and Total known as SATORP. “Although UPS purchases were divided between several EPCs spread across the globe, our strong reputation and international presence allowed us to be chosen as sole supplier for this project. This success can be attributed to the strong relationships we have built with these customers over many years, as well as to strong teamwork and professional co-ordination within Gutor, allowing us to provide the customer a consistent and clear communication throughout both the sales and execution phases of the project.” Eran explains.

In addition, the company has recently been awarded major oil and gas contracts in projects such as the Gorgon gas field development (Australia), Hainan LNG (China), and the Ruwais refinery expension (UAE). Despite its impressive global recognition, Gutor Electronics is hoping to leverage its expertise in industrial applications to further strengthen its position in markets such as mining and transport, while building on its leadership position with oil and gas customers and those in the NPP (nuclear power plant) segment. Sights are also set on extending the Gutor offering to provide a one-stop-shop for secured power.

“Our vision is to grow internationally while maintaining our industrial focus, obsession with quality and the high level of customer satisfaction on which our name is built,” Eran notes. “Within industrial environments, the UPS system often provides protection not only against large financial losses, but also, most importantly, against the loss of human life. For this reason customers should and do expect the highest degree of reliability from their solutions. Gutor’s continuing mission first and foremost is to provide this peace of mind.”

Gutor Electronics LLC
Products: UPS systems and related equipment