Meidensha Corporation is a member of the Sumitomo Group. The company has a track record that places it among leading transformer manufacturers in Japan. For the current project, Meidensha shipped 192 transformers in Phase 1 and has won an order for Phase 2. The manufacturer got its business into full gear in the Indian market when it supplied substation equipment to Japanese-affiliated automakers’ factories. One crucial turning point for Meidensha occurred when it invested in a local Indian transformer manufacturer. This served as a background factor that enabled them to win the order for the project.

“We won the order for the current project jointly with Prime Meiden Limited, an India-based transformer manufacturer. Currently, the world’s transformer market is shared by global major companies and local businesses. Against this backdrop, Meidensha made an investment to a local firm considering it important to gain a firm foothold in India. The local firm named Prime Meiden has promoted sales to power companies and other customers. Acquiring more than 50% stake in Prime Meiden in June 2016, Meidensha established close Japan-India collaboration for production. The resultant framework positively responded to the “Make in India” slogan advocated by the Indian government. It is highly likely that we won the bid due to the client’s high assessment of safety-minded Japanese standards and quality, as well as our track record in Japan,” said Mr. Haruo Hirakawa of Prime Meiden.

Meidensha won the order without any collaboration with the Sumitomo Electric Group. However, there may be some opportunities for both to cooperate in the future for another project. Mr. Hirakawa positively expects such development in an All Sumitomo framework.

“Prime Meiden has an eye toward the global market, as well as the Indian domestic market. Africa is one region in the company’s mind. Although large-scale infrastructure projects in the region have been conquered by China, there remain areas still unreached by China. Meanwhile, we are confident that there are needs for power infrastructure, although on a small scale. I hope to secure new business opportunities in these areas with the power of the Sumitomo Electric Group,” says Mr. Hirakawa.