Conversion to EATON IZM

In the summer of 2021, disaster struck across large parts of Wallonia. Unprecedented volumes of rainfall caused flooding in several towns and cities. Aside from the human trauma, businesses were also severely affected. In these difficult circumstances, they started looking for ways to get up and running again as quickly as possible. Butter maker Corman in Béthane was one of these businesses. Service Manager Bart Van Herck, Account Manager Pawandeep Singh and Project Manager Davy Van Doormalen tell the full story.

Pawandeep: “The first thing we do is visit the site to get a better picture of the situation. That’s a standard part of all projects. That said, this was a highly unusual site visit: all aspects of production had been shut down at the factory. The place didn’t even look anything like a factory anymore: all rooms were empty and plaster was peeling off the walls. The only equipment that was up and running were the pumps to drain the final remnants of water out of the building. The water had risen to a height of one and a half metres during the floods — everything had been submerged.”

Davy: “Only the chassis and copperwork of their electrical panels remained sufficiently intact. Everything else had to be replaced. Speed is often a factor, but it was paramount on this project: the people at Corman wanted to get their production up and running again as soon as possible.”

Bart: “Something else was unusual too: they had already ordered the switchgear. Normally, all materials go through us. They opted for EATON, for no other reason than the fact they could deliver the quickest. And it was through EATON that we got involved in this project.”

“They provided the switchgear; we provided the speed of execution and expertise in conversion. The latter was required as Corman had a different make in its cabinets. In normal circumstances, customers might opt for a like-for-like replacement from the same make, but this was an emergency. Fortunately, we’ve got experience in all possible makes as a multi-brand panel specialist.”

Davy: “Our task was clear cut: convert the chassis and copperwork for use with EATON switchgear. This type of process always starts right here in our workshop. The preparatory work is performed on-site at P&V as much as possible. Firstly, because we’re working in ideal circumstances here, secondly, because we’ve got everything to hand.”

“And thirdly, it’s much quicker that way. While their technicians were still removing the switchgear from the cabinets in the factory, we’d already started making the copperwork to measure. Everything departs our site as ‘ready-made’ as possible. That way, we can start fitting the new switchgear and connecting the copperwork straightaway when we get to our customer. Our team of four technicians managed to fit the four switches in just four and a half days.”

Conversion to IZM

Replacement and conversion to four EATON IZM 2500 A circuit breakers.