Alstom invests in high voltage competence centre in Noventa di Piave, Italy

Alstom Grids Noventa di Piave site today inaugurated a new switchgear production and testing line for the Italian market and a showroom dedicated to high voltage products for air-insulated substations. The ceremony was attended by Alessandro Nardese, Mayor of Noventa di Piave.

This half a million euro investment responds to the Italian market need to provide locally manufactured high voltage products and switchgear as well as testing facilities. The expansion establishes the Noventa di Piave site as the Italian reference centre for the production of switchgears and primary air-insulated substation equipment, and reinforces its role as Alstoms competence centre for high voltage disconnectors.

The showroom will display Alstoms range of innovative equipment which underlies the development of todays Smart Grids and the modern digital substation. Alstoms locally-manufactured disconnectors and circuit breakers can be integrated with new digital controls and optic fibre connection to allow real time exchange of the operating and predictive diagnostic information needed to intervene at a substation. 

Our dedication to the production, research and development of energy transmission solutions in Italy, clearly reinforces local excellence in this sector. Alstom Grids Italian sites design and produce innovative technologies that are exported throughout the world for leading projects such as Rio Madeira in Brazil, the longest electricity power line in the world, declared Alberto Galantini, Managing Director of Alstom Grid Italia.

Alstom is committed to innovation at the Noventa site and already has 40 years of expertise in dielectric, heating and mechanical testing for knife switches, terminal boards and high voltage switches. Research and development is focused on various projects, including the digital applications for remote control and complete diagnostic equipment, special treatment to improve current conduction and new composite materials to increase performance in extreme environments.

More than 160,000 high voltage disconnectors from the Noventa di Piave production plant, where exports account for 90% of its turnover, have been installed in more than 130 countries. The centre has references for some of the most important projects in the world, such as the 500 kV DC Three Gorges project (China), the 600 kV DC Rio Madeira project (Brazil), the 1200 kV Power Grid (India), and the 420 kV DC and 315 KV DC South-West Link (Sweden). The Noventa site supports the development and growth of ten additional Alstom Grid plants dedicated to high voltage disconnectors in the world.

About Alstom
Alstom is a global leader in the world of power generation, power transmission and rail infrastructure and sets the benchmark for innovative and environmentally friendly technologies. Alstom builds the fastest train and the highest capacity automated metro in the world, provides turnkey integrated power plant solutions and associated services for a wide variety of energy sources, including hydro, nuclear, gas, coal and wind, and it offers a wide range of solutions for power transmission, with a focus on smart grids. The Group employs 92,000 people in around 100 countries. It had sales of 20 billion and booked close to 22 billion in orders in 2011/12.

About Alstom in Italy
Alstom has been operating in Italy since 1998, and is now active in the energy production and transmission and rail transport markets through its controlled companies Alstom Power Italia S.p.A., Alstom Grid S.p.A. and Alstom Ferroviaria S.p.A.. The Group, which has taken over the heritage of such historical Italian industrial names as Ercole Marelli, Fiat Ferroviaria and Passoni & Villa, has 13 sites in Italy and employs about 3,500 people. In the fiscal year 2010-2011, recorded a turnover of 1.2 billion. Using its own technologies, Alstom is actively involved in developing the countrys infrastructures and contributing to its progress.

Alstom Grid currently has around 400 employees in Italy, and a turnover of 135.5 million.

Press contact:
Daniela Pradella - Tel. + 39 02 24348.4493; Cell. +39 348 2586205
daniela.pradella@alstom.com