Equipment importer and distributor Smith Power Equipment is expanding its product and service offering to the telecoms industry, with particular focus on the provision of generators for the sector in Southern Africa.

Smith Power will supply China-based generator manufacturer Kipor’s range of telecoms generators in Africa.

Kipor’s telecoms generators are market-specific and include direct-current gene- rators and variable-speed generators, both offering fuel efficiency, less running time and a lower carbon footprint.

“The telecoms industry runs on diesel and battery power. Batteries are often used to run a site during downtime, which requires a direct-current generator, as it is able to charge batteries in a far shorter time than a regular alternating-current generator,” says Smith Power GM Tom Bloom, adding that less charging time means less of an impact on the environment and costs to the company.

Further, he tells Engineering News that Smith Power will soon introduce a range of cost-effective generators, in addition to its existing range of generators, which includes general-purpose, super-silent and ultrasilent generators that are suitable for standby power generation in the home and office, environment-friendly digital generators and new-to-the-range industrial generators.

“Kipor manufactures all the components in-house and engineers factory-made engines, which offer fuel efficiency by using common rail-engine systems,” adds Bloom.

Dedicated Service Provider

Adopting Kipor’s business mantra – Life goes on when the power goes out – Smith Power has a dedicated service team, offering specific ad hoc solutions to customer requirements.

“Service has become an important part of the generator industry,” says Bloom. “We work with our customers to find a more cost-effective and environment- friendly solution. “This entails using less oil, upgrading our generator filtration systems and cleaning oil on a more advanced level than simple standard filtration.”

Smith Power is also considering expanding the generators’ service inter- vals to mitigate damage to the environment. This would mean servicing the generator every 500 hours, as opposed to every 250 hours.

The company also prioritises matching the right generator with the appropriate application. Not doing so could result in burning diesel unnecessarily and damaging the generator, which not only costs money but also increases a business’s carbon footprint, says Bloom.

Further, Smith Power orders generators on a monthly basis to ensure that only new stock is available.

Following the rolling blackouts in South Africa in recent years, an over- supply of generators flooded the market. While this situation has since improved, Bloom notes that many of the opportunists are no longer in business.

“Many distributors have, however, managed to sell their products, but there are still warehouses with an oversupply. This is a problem, as generator parts would have started to perish by now,” he says.

While the 2008 energy crisis in South Africa was under way, Smith Power focused on strategy and maintained a presence in the generator market, says Bloom.

He believes there will always be a need for standby generators because industry has become more reliant on such technology and power outages can cause major revenue loss during downtime.

“Moreover, large corporates are often audited and asked if they have standby power as part of their risk management processes. Therefore, there always is and always will be a need for standby power, and partnering with the correct supplier is key to the success of any generator investment.”

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