25 years of changing power usage

Power quality expert REO UK is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month. A division of REO AG, the Shropshire based firm was setup in 1989 to cater for the growing demand for high-quality power equipment for use in industrial automation. With 300% geographic and an increase in turnover of 8000% over the last quarter-century, the company focuses much of its research and development on new markets such as renewable energy and electric vehicles.

In the UK the last 25 years have seen a paradigm shift in the use of electronic and electrical devices. The use of the internet, laptops and smartphones has become the norm. In industrial environments the rise in continuous manufacturing has led to advancements in motors and variable speed drives (VSDs). The trend is now towards smarter electricity distribution networks, renewable energy and electric vehicles.

“Our changing consumer behaviour as a society has changed the way we think about electricity generation, distribution and usage,” explained Steve Hughes, managing director of REO UK. “Although innovations such as switch-mode power supplies in your computer and VSDs for industrial motors allow more controllable, compact designs, they also introduce power quality and heat problems that can cause electromagnetic interference (EMI) at a local level and voltage distortion problems at a mains level.

“With 11 offices worldwide, we’ve made it our life’s work at REO to tackle these issues. Working in markets as diverse as drive engineering, electrical testing, transport and medical, we help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to save money on energy bills by using filters, chokes, braking resistors and test equipment such as power supplies and load units to increase efficiency,” said Steve.

Major product breakthroughs for REO over the last 25 years have included fluid cooling, ingress protection, space optimisation and efficiency gains working with higher frequencies. Major industry achievements have included collaborations with trade bodies such as GAMBICA and Power Electronics UK to improve industry standards and encourage better enforcement of legislation.

“The Government has a target to reduce carbon emission 20% by 2020,” explained Steve Hughes, managing director of REO UK. “We are working with trade bodies to consult with the European parliament to introduce not only better legislation, but also better enforcement of those standards.

“We’re especially excited about working in new markets such as marine, petrochemical and renewable. What makes REO stand out as a company is our approach in guiding customers from the design stages, to the testing, implementation and after sales support. We hope this integrated approach will continue to help us build many more successful relationships over the next 25 years.”

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