Mr. P Ramachandran, India

Life came a full circle for me on my retirement day in May 2020

Today I can proudly say that I have done what I love doing for 53 years, that is contributing to advancement of Transformers technology. Of these I have spent the last 20 in ABB Power Grids and 33 in a company that was a Joint Venture with Hitachi in India.

The Joint Venture of ABB Power Grids with Hitachi has brought me to where I started as a young man of 22.  In 1966, I joined TELK, a new transformer factory in the state of Kerala India. TELK was a joint venture between Hitachi, Japan and the Government of Kerala, India. This was the first Indo-Japanese joint venture in the country with 30 percent equity held by Hitachi. I remember with nostalgia, the months I spent in Japan, working as a trainee in Hitachi Kokubu Works, Ibaraki, during 1970s. I learnt a bit of Japanese and cultivated some lifelong friendships. I worked there for 33 years.

The next 20 years of my career were spent working for another global market leader in transformers, ABB. I joined their manufacturing unit in Vadodara, Gujarat in 1999 when they were rolling out the first transformer from their factory. I used to say, “I am fortunate to have the exposure of the best of the East and of the best of the West in power transformers.” I was there when these two greats rolled out their respective first transformers in India and I was there when they were devising strategies to resolve teething engineering problems in the initial period. It is therefore a momentous occurrence for me that the two leaders are now coming together and a part of me will always be here.

I have worked in the transformer industry for 53 years and my passion and interest in transformers has not waned. I have handled at various times, engineering and design of almost all types of transformers and accessories like bushings and tap-changers. I had also worked in the substation business for some years.

Quite often still, I come across technical problems that I have not experienced before, and I spend several hours trying to understand and resolve them. I have seen great changes in the Indian electric power industry and had been part of some – I feel very happy about that. So, if you ask me what is the most memorable moment of my career? I would say, it was the successful short circuit testing of a Power Transformer first time in India (in 1984) and exporting a Power Transformers for the first time to a customer in USA (1972 & 1997).

I am proud to have been a ‘cog in the wheel’ in the transformers journey in India. I have grown in tandem with the technological advancements and changes in the transformers industry.

I have always been interested in standardization and, hence, was actively involved with several Indian governmental and industrial bodies like, BIS, CEA, CBIP, IEEMA - in the formulation of national or industry standards. Through the years, my work with transformers and standard formulation has allowed me to contribute to the Indian Transformer Industry.

Life with transformers took me around the country and abroad. I came across many veteran transformer engineers from different countries and attended and organized many international transformer conferences, especially the IEEMA TRAFOTECH.

As I conclude my professional journey in the transformer industry, I send my best wishes to Hitachi ABB Power Grids and to my ex-colleagues as they unfold the next chapter in their career.