Elcon ensures working rail traffic in challenging circumstances

Energel Oy is Vantaa-based, soon-to-be 30-year-old importer of medium and high voltage equipment, materials and components for the electronics and electrical industry as well as automation components. The company is a part of a Norwegian group which employs 150 professionals.

The first common project of Elcon and Energel, Jokeri Light Rail, is extensive: the most used bus line in Helsinki-area will be history, when approximately 25-kilometer-long light rail line will replace the bus line early in 2024. Collaboration between Elcon and Energel has been easy from the start, and they have been able to stay on the schedule despite the global component shortage.

Energel delivers process equipment for the substations which electrify the light rail.
– At this point, there is altogether 15 installed substations on the route giving energy for the trams. Energel delivers converters and DC equipment for the contact wire system. Elcon’s part is to take care of the battery backed up auxiliary power supply and make sure that it works for the control and protective systems as it should, Mika Väärämäki, CEO of Energel, tells.

Price, security of supply and staying on the schedule are competitive advantages

The construction of the Jokeri Light Rail has stayed on the schedule irreproachably: the construction started in 2019 and the test runs started already in 2022. It is estimated that the test runs will last until the June of 2023. Väärämäki appreciates two factors above everything else in Elcon’s work:

– Competitive price, security of supply and quality are always the most important things when we are choosing a partner. It is especially great that the Jokeri Light Rail has stayed wonderfully on the schedule, though during these challenging times delays are more than common in many construction projects.

Elcon’s activity in reacting to service requests makes the collaboration smooth

Diverse and fast service is Elcon’s trademark: during the Joker Light Rail-project Elcon customized the assembly of equipment’s after the delivery by adding an inverter to the equipment cabinets so they could add one extra output voltage level to each cabinet.

Väärämäki has been pleased to the smooth collaboration with Elcon through the project. Though this project was first as a company for Energel with Elcon, Väärämäki already had positive experiences from the company. He has worked with Elcon when he was a contractor for another company:

– Elcon has always reacted fast to service requests. I cannot emphasize enough the significance of response time when we are speaking of smooth collaboration, Väärämäki ends.

Source of light railway car image: City of Helsinki Media Bank