Power Partners, Inc.
Power Partners is a leading manufacturer of distribution transformers, serving utility, industrial and commercial customers in North America, Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean and other markets. Working with our suppliers, we provide value to our customers, associates and community by responsibly producing reliable, energy-efficient distribution and cooling solutions. Power Partners’ products include single-phase and three-phase pole-type transformers at 34.5 kV and below, in ratings from 5-1000 kVA single-phase and 30- 500 kVA three-phase.
Company details
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- Business Type:
- Manufacturer
- Industry Type:
- Energy
- Market Focus:
- Internationally (various countries)
This company also provides solutions for other industrial applications.
Please, visit the following links for more info:
About Us
Customers realize these advantages when they do business with Power Partners:
- We have the shortest manufacturing cycles in the industry. Alliance customers can take advantage of a two-week or less option using our pull inventory system that lets us see the inventory status of each transformer style at a customer’s location on a daily basis.
- Our storm response is extraordinary. We can respond to customer emergencies in less than 48 hours when the customer needs us to, and this includes the manufacture of new designs.
- We are ISO 9001 certified. Our as-received quality and in-service reliability are outstanding, as evidenced by an extremely low field incident rate.
- Our unique center-bolt cover design provides numerous advantages. These include tank safety (withstand) far beyond industry requirements, self-venting and resealing, 15 kV cover dielectric, and superior resistance to corrosion.
- We are a leader in green manufacturing initiatives. We are a partner in the Green Suppliers Network, a collaborative venture among industry, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Power Partners has ISO 14001 environmental management certification.
Vision and Values
PPI’s vision is to transform the world through innovative manufacturing, Our mantra is that work culture governs success, and values, of course are the basis of culture. PPI’s values are:
- Safety, quality, delivery, cost -- in that order.
- Thrill the customer.
- Rise to the challenge.
- Enthusiastically improve everything we can.
- Take pride and be passionate about all we do.
- Encourage and serve daily.
- Think like an owner.
History
PPI is a green innovator with roots in a traditional industry. Our story began in 1958, when Westinghouse built a distribution transformer plant in Athens, GA. The Athens plant was purchased by ABB in 1990, and two Athens-based experts in lean manufacturing and team-based work cultures, Dr. Sherrie Ford and Steve Hollis, purchased the plant from ABB in 2003 and named the company Power Partners. Purchased in a turnaround situation in 2003, the company has reshaped its factory and work culture while maintaining the highest level of customer service. One of Power Partner’s proudest achievements is the ability to manufacture transformers in less than two days in an industry where typical lead times are six to 10 weeks. This allows a quick response to all customers, particularly those in emergency situations such as hurricane recovery. More than 8.5 million transformers have been produced at the Athens facility, which will celebrate its 55th year during 2013.
Another company came into the fold in 2008 when Ford and Hollis purchased a Rabun Gap, GA, company that specializes in precision sheet metal fabrication, machining and mechanical assembly services and named it Gap Partners. PPI has invested in significant expansions of Gap Partners twice during its five years of ownership.
In 2009, Power Partners began manufacturing and marketing energy-efficient, environmentally friendly ECO-MAX adsorption chillers that utilize waste heat to provide cooling and other process capabilities, enabling customers to benefit from its high quality, short manufacturing cycles and innovative designs.
Power Partners and Gap Partners put into practice each day the organizational development expertise honed by Ford and Hollis at Change Partners, the consulting firm Ford established in 1996 (Hollis joined several months later) to advance work cultures of manufacturing companies around the world.
Sherrie Ford died in 2011. She was a visionary and was recognized worldwide as a hands-on leader in manufacturing work culture. While she headed Power Partners, it was one of the ten largest women-owned businesses in the United States. Her deep engagement as a leader and personal knowledge of her associates was a fundamental part of her and of the culture-making she practiced. Her associates honored her in 2012 by establishing the Dr. Sherrie Ford Memorial Learning Center, whose purpose is to promote the growth and development of each and every associate at PPI. The learning center features a computer lab with online learning tools, a library, and a comfortable sitting area.
In 2012, Luke Faulstick, a lean manufacturing expert whose global operations teams and manufacturing plants at other companies have won numerous awards, became co-owner, President and CEO. Faulstick had served on Power Partners’ Board of Advisors ever since the company was established in 2003. Steve Hollis is Chairman of the company and Executive Vice President for Development. Faulstick and Hollis established PPI as the parent company for Power Partners, Gap Partners, Change Partners, and future acquisitions in 2012.
In 2013, the company gained another PPI partner when Hollis and Faulstick purchased StampSource, a metal stamping and fabricating company located in Charlotte, NC. StampSource is aligned with Gap Partners under the PPI umbrella and is helping to expand metal stamping and fabrication services.
Across the board, the owners and associates are focused on building strong relationships with partners, suppliers and PPI’s communities…reinventing manufacturing and making manufacturing processes so waste-free they are nearly perfect by following the PPI Way… and creating sustainable, breakthrough products and practices.