Molouk Y. Ba-Isa Saudi Gazette Arabian Power Electronics Company's (APEC) manufacturing facility is up and running in Al Khobar. Monday was APEC's official opening, but APEC's Chairman, Nishith Deodhar, stated that a UPS system built by the company at the Al Khobar plant is ready for testing and then delivery to their first customer. APEC manufactures power electronics equipment such as uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, battery chargers, inverters, frequency converters and solar power systems. These are mammoth pieces of equipment created to serve various industrial sites. APEC's initial focus will be on developing UPS systems customized for the Saudi market. A UPS system provides emergency power when the power from the mains is cut.
There are commercial and Industrial-grade UPS systems and APEC is building the latter. A commercial-grade UPS system would most often be used in a climate-controlled environment, such as a data center. Industrial-grade UPS systems are designed and built to withstand extreme temperature and humidity ranges. They may be placed in locations with poor airflow or even poor air quality. The longevity of these systems is generally at least 10 years, depending on design specifications. Industrial-grade UPS systems are most often sold to organizations that need reliable back-up power, such as the oil & gas, petrochemical, defense and utility industries. Some other organizations, such as schools and hospitals might not want to set up the required indoor environment for a commercial-grade UPS to provide back-up for essential services, and will elect to use an industrial grade UPS instead. “The large public sector firms in Saudi Arabia import SR600 million in UPS systems and inverters annually,” said Deodhar. “At APEC we anticipate that we will be able to take 20 percent of that market. This will benefit the Kingdom in several ways. First, with purchases made locally, those funds will be kept within the Kingdom's economy. There are a lot of industrial UPS manufacturers so our differentiator is going to be our R & D and local support in Saudi Arabia and the GCC. Based on a few conversations with potential customers, we've understood that getting the international manufacturers to make changes in products is very difficult. We will be different. We will customize more and with our design engineers being close to the local ground conditions, we will be able to target customer requirements. There is also the possibility that once we have been working in the environment here, there could be some local innovations that will come about.” APEC is set up under licensing from the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority as a 50 percent Saudi, 50 percent Indian joint venture. India's APLAB Limited is providing the technology for APEC and Saudi Arabia's Eram Group is facilitating its operations in the Kingdom. The initial investment in the plant is SR12 million and Dr. Siddek Ahmed, CMD, Eram Group, expects that investment to rise as APEC ramps up production, depending on the orders it wins. The initial plans are to start with sales in the GCC. APEC is already well into the process of gaining supplier registration with SEC and SABIC, with Saudi Aramco a target for the future. The company also has leads on potential clients in Qatar and other GCC nations. Once they have fully explored the GCC market, Deodhar anticipates that Africa will be the next region to conquer. “We are here for the long term,” Deodhar advised. “'That means investing in the brand. While it was relatively easy for us to set up operations in Saudi Arabia, especially when I consider the challenges of doing business in India, we still have to overcome the shortage of skilled Saudi electronics engineers. Typically, if we were to make a hundred units annually, we would require up to fifty engineers for all aspects of development, production, testing and service. Currently our total staff at APEC is 50 - so we have to work hard to achieve our goals.” While people commonly think of a UPS system as a back-up battery, the units created by APEC aren't something that's found at a consumer electronics store. According to Deodhar, a 50 kVA UPS system can cost anywhere from $100,000 to $200,000 depending on the options required by the customer. “Each of these customized systems that APEC makes will require designs, skilled labor and time to be properly built. APLAB is providing the technical knowhow,” Deodhar said. “From India, APLAB is supporting the staff here. APLAB has transferred some of its technical engineers from India to Saudi Arabia to educate new Saudi hires. For now the drawings and blueprints will come from APLAB in India and they will be customized locally. Eventually, we want to source more and more local talents. And we hope this will mushroom into lots of Saudi ancillary suppliers to provide us and our clients with various types of equipment and services.” He continued, “We foresee that APEC can be at the center of a much larger effort to support local industries. The fact is that there is a lot of consumption of UPS systems in the Kingdom because the oil & gas industry requires many back-up systems. It's not only new projects that we will supply. Every eight years or so the UPS systems installed at client sites have to be refurbished or replaced. The repetitive nature of this business means that by providing quality products, APEC can grow to become a trusted local supplier, supporting Saudi companies, our Saudi employees and the Saudi economy, forever.”
