LOCATION
Melbourne, Victoria
PRODUCTS
Terasaki Circuit Breakers | IME Energy Meters | Technical expertise & support
The Introduction
The concept of a mantra isn’t new. By definition it’s a word or phrase that expresses someone’s or something’s beliefs and when applied in business, can encapsulate a company’s mission statement and be present in all that it does. For local switchboard manufacturer, DRC Switchboards, this is certainly the case and when DRC’s owner David Webb says ‘You can’t build quality in at the end’, you know that he means it.
“You can’t build quality in at the end – it can’t be added in. Quality needs to be there throughout the build and if you can’t get that right from the beginning you’ve got nowhere to go,” said David Webb, owner of DRC Switchboards.
The longevity of DRC Switchboards stems from this engrained mantra of quality which will be evident when the company celebrates its 30th year of operation in 2017.
The overview
Another highlight sure to feature will be one of the company’s recently manufactured switchboards - a 4000A modular switchboard built for a global food and beverage operator in southern New South Wales. The clients’ requirements were strictly specified to ensure that the switchboard complied with the latest standards and offered maximum safety and reliability.
With a strong grounding in switchboard design and holding positions on a number of Standards committees including IEC 61439, Mr. Webb ensures all DRC switchboards meet the highest levels of compliance and this switchboard was no exception.
“Early on in my career, I realised that I didn’t have a comprehensive understanding of the Australian and International standards. It’s now become a hobby for me to ensure I know everything there is to know about standards,” Mr. Webb continued.
When it came to this project, that knowledge and experience served DRC well. With its state of the art busbar system, the Vector switchboard measured over 12 metres in length and the specification stated that the site prospective short circuit current exceeded 85kA. Having successfully tested the Vector switchboard for 100kA, this presented no problem for the DRC team.
The Solution
“Working alongside our team at DRC, NHP assisted with a technically and commercially competitive package. It was the strong product offer, coupled with their technical expertise and support that made NHP the only choice for the project,” said Mr. Webb.
“Due to our unique modular system we were able to complete the design phase quickly. Once reviewed and approved by the client we moved quickly in to the manufacturing stage. Working with the team at NHP and other local manufacturers expedited the build process and we easily achieved the delivery date specified,” Mr. Webb continued.
The completed switchboard included over 50 Terasaki circuit breakers, as well as a series of IME Energy Meters – both exclusive to NHP. In July 2016, the switchboard was successfully transported from the DRC facility to the site in New South Wales and was in service a short time later.
Combining DRC’s mantra of quality with the reliability and performance of the NHP product range, the specified 15 year lifecycle will certainly be achieved and exceeded whilst offering the highest levels of compliance, performance and safety.
NHP Products/Services
Get in touch
For more information or any other inquiries, please don't hesitate to contact NHP. Our team is ready to assist you.
