Indulec - Future-proof cooperation for electrification

Indulec installs medium-voltage cabinets for the electrification of industry and the community. Indulec recently started sourcing the required compact and solid distribution boards from Siemens, via Breemes. Working with Siemens was a learning process for the three parties in the first project, but it immediately yielded a “very nice” result. “The support provided by Breemes was top-notch. We will do more projects with Siemens in the future.”

Indulec is the continuation of the well-known Pellens Yvo bv from Hechtel (B) under new ownership and in new premises in Heusden-Zolder (B). With 12 employees, the installer carries out projects in Flanders and South-West Netherlands. The company focuses on automation and industrial electrical work: factory automation, Internet of Things, home automation, lighting and, more recently, electrification - connecting solar panels, charging stations and batteries. Indulec installs medium-voltage cabinets for this.
 

Intensive relationship

“We carry out projects from A to Z, including the engineering, and build our own distribution boards,” says director Benny Kessels. Indulec has been sourcing its electrical components from Breemes for many years. “As an installer, we have an intensive relationship with our wholesaler. It’s not just phoning for components and then them delivering them. No, when our customers have problems, we work with Breemes to find solutions.” Breemes director Kurt Colin agrees with that. “The installation world provides solutions for industry, and this requires a wide range of components. Customers like Indulec have a lot of experience with this, as do we. We combine our knowledge and perfectly complement each other.” Indulec has traditionally worked with Siemens for PLCs, but for switchgear and installation products with another manufacturer, which often supplies complete plug-and-play packages. However, in a recent electrification project for transport company Gheys in Mol (B), Siemens' Sivacon S4 low-voltage distribution boards came into the picture. Kessels: “Those boards are very solid and compact, which is important because space is often limited, especially if we want to keep expansion space free. Moreover, Siemens was able to deliver faster at that time.”

A lot of work on industrial boards for energy distribution is coming our way

This was a perfect fit in the partnership that Breemes entered into with Siemens two years ago for their ‘Power Distribution Centre’. “With increasing electrification, we see a lot of work on industrial boards for energy distribution coming our way. Thanks to this collaboration, we can now also sell heavier boards,” explains Colin. Meanwhile, Breemes employees have been trained by Siemens in working with Simaris Design, the planning tool for calculating electrical installations. For example, Breemes can conduct low-voltage studies, make short-circuit and section calculations for cables and copper, develop the resulting proposal in Simaris Configuration according to the standards and ultimately supply the necessary Siemens products.
 

Energy monitoring

At Gheys, this involved renewal of the medium-voltage cabinet and new low-voltage boards. These include solar panels on the roof and AC charging stations for employees’ and visitors’ cars. A DC charging station for trucks is also planned. Kessels: “Our distribution boards are designed for AC charging, but we have already prepared them for DC charging. We always want to future-proof our facilities.” An emergency generator will also be connected, for which Indulec supplies the mains disconnection board. In case of grid failure, the generator takes over the power supply for Gheys and vice versa, grid operator Elia can switch it on remotely if there is a threat of instability on the grid. “That generator then transmits 630 kVA into the grid. The customer gets paid per minute by Elia to make this power available.”

Furthermore, Indulec immediately builds in energy monitoring, for which Siemens again provides the appropriate solutions. “This ties into our future-proof story,” Kessels explains. “Soon our customer will be able to see perfectly how much power goes to charging stations, offices, garage and so on. Getting insight into electricity consumption is now hot. From 1 April 2023, firms in Belgium with high consumption will be obliged to monitor where the large consumers are located in order to smooth out peak consumption if necessary and ultimately gain more control over their own consumption. That is why we are already helping customers to be able to monitor their consumption and perform analysis.”

We always want to future-proof our facilities

The project was under time pressure as the charging stations had to be connected by a certain date due to the subsidy. At the same time, Indulec itself had to put in more work than expected beforehand, accustomed as it was to plug-and-play deliveries from its regular supplier. “We had to do extra engineering and make more things ourselves,” reports Kessels. “Breemes’ support here was top-notch; they came to our aid several times to make adjustments and help us make the best choices. Furthermore, we had to bend the copper ourselves and, as a relatively small firm, we had no experience with that. We looked for a mechanical processor who could do that for us and had previously done trial work in this area. We had been told this beforehand, but we only realised what was involved when we got started. Overall, it took us a long time.” Colin: “Of course, we supported Indulec where possible and also helped with the assembly. But we learned from this.”
 

Pilot project by pioneer

The first project with Siemens, for Gheys, was thus quite a challenge, but the end result is “very neat and solid”, says Kessels. “This was a kind of pilot project, which we put a lot of energy into, so it will be faster next time.” Colin: “We are already in discussions with Siemens regarding whether we can play a bigger role in copper, for example by keeping pre-assembled copper connectors in stock.” Subsequent projects using Siemens materials are already underway and Indulec director Benny Kessels hopes there will be many more. “Because electrification is continuing. Our projects not only provide solutions for customers, but also contribute to grid stability.” Kurt Colin of Breemes concludes: “For us, Indulec is a pioneer in this market. Electrification is a hot topic, with issues such as energy monitoring and load balancing, for which Indulec and Breemes have many in-house solutions.”

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