Orion makes Ugandan transformers

By Prossy Nandudu and Jacky Achan

Orion, a company based in Namanve Industrial Park, has been at the heart of manufacturing and supplying transformers to both the Government and the private sector since 2015.

It is the largest transformer manufacturer in Uganda. According to the general manager, Hanlin Liu, they take pride and care in ensuring that their products are of high quality. Currently, the plant manufactures transformers, switch gears and smaller transformer parts.

A joint venture between China and Uganda, the transformer manufacturing company was founded in 2015. "We joined the transformer manufacturing business in Uganda because the majority of it was being imported.

There were about one or two manufacturers at the time. But even the transformers that were being imported into the country were not the right type for the Ugandan powerline which is either 11KV or 33KV," he says.

It meant on purchase the imported transformers had to again be converted to fit and work properly which would cost more money. Also, those companies that would buy imported transformers had no one to fix them upon developing problems.

All these gaps provided the environment for Orion transformers and electrics to start business in Uganda, Liu says.

He adds that above all, the conducive political environment and peace that prevails in Uganda has made it easy for them to do business. Today, Orion transformers and electrics employs about 80 workers, a big leap from the 10 or so they had in 2015.

"Those that work with us are exposed to training opportunities in various departments, which include winding, insulation, core assembly and testing," he says.

Liu adds that they also repair transformers with capacity from 16KVA, 2.5MVA up to 7.5MVA. Due to services of companies like Orion, access to electricity will soon be guaranteed for Ugandans in both urban and rural areas.

Currently, the industrial sector contributes 18.5% towards the country's gross domestic product (GDP), but there are hopes to grow the figure to 30% by 2030, according to the trade ministry. With the availability of power in rural areas, more youth will set up small processing units and this will reduce rural-urban migration, especially by the youth who move to urban centres in search of employment.

For the Government to effectively spread electricity and realise its dream of industrialising the country by 2030, they will need enough equipment such as transformers that will be stationed in rural areas to help in the distribution of power.

But since most transformers being used in Uganda are imported, it will be costly for the Government to import them for the entire country, hence the need for investors to venture into the manufacturing of transformers within Uganda. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THIS SUPPLEMENT